Edwin B. Crocker

Edwin B. Crocker
Edwin B. Crocker, c. 1872 by Stephen W. Shaw
Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court
In office May 21, 1863 – January 2, 1864
Appointed by	Governor Leland Stanford
Preceded by	Stephen Johnson Field
Succeeded by	Elections under 1862 amendment to California constitution and 1863 enabling law
Personal details
Born	Edwin Bryant Crocker (1818-04-26)April 26, 1818 Jamesville, New York, USA
Died	June 24, 1875(1875-06-24) (aged 57) Sacramento, California, USA
Resting place	Sacramento Historic City Cemetery, Sacramento, California
Spouses	Mary Norton ​ ​ (m. 1845; died 1847)​ Margaret Rhodes ​ (m. 1852)​
Children	Mary Crocker 1848 Kate Crocker 1854 Edwin Crocker 1856 Nellie Crocker 1857 Jennie Louise Crocker Fassett 1860 Aimée Crocker1863 Elwood Crocker (adopted) 1870
Occupation	Lawyer California Supreme Court Justice
Known for	Crocker Art Museum

Edwin Bryant Crocker (26 April 1818 – 24 June 1875) was a California Supreme Court Justice and founder of the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California.

Biography

Crocker was born in Jamesville, New York to Isaac and Elizabeth Crocker. He earned a degree in civil engineering at Rensselaer Institute in Troy, New York. He went on to read law in South Bend, Indiana. While there, he started a practice that earned him a reputation as an abolitionist. In June 1850, Crocker lost a civil case brought by a slave owner for helping four slaves escaping from Kentucky. In July 1850, Crocker attended the Liberty Party convention in Syracuse, New York, where he retold the story of helping the slaves. In June 1851, he spoke at the Christian Anti-Slavery State convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. In August 1852, he was named a delegate from Indiana to the Free Soil Party convention. In 1852, he and his second wife Margaret Ellen Rhodes Crocker moved to Sacramento, California.

When they arrived in Sacramento, Crocker resumed his legal career. He was also involved in politics. On March 8, 1856, he chaired the state's first meeting of the Republican Party. In 1863, Governor Leland Stanford appointed Crocker as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court, which position he held from May 21, 1863, to January 2, 1864. In 1863, elections were held for all seats on the Supreme Court due to an 1862 amendment to California constitution and 1863 enabling law, and Crocker chose to step down rather than seek re-election.

The next year, Crocker agreed to be legal counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad, a company run by the Big Four, which included Edwin's younger brother, Charles Crocker. Crocker was the Central Pacific's attorney during the building of the First transcontinental railroad, culminating in the ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.

Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California

The stress of all of his work took a toll on Crocker. He suffered from a stroke in June 1869. He retired from his other pursuits and took up less stressful hobbies. With a net worth of a million dollars from railroad investments, Crocker and his family traveled throughout Europe and collected art. His family renovated their home to include an art gallery. Their home and the art that they had acquired would eventually become the Crocker Art Museum.

Crocker Gravesite

After his stroke, Crocker's health never fully recovered. On June 24, 1875, he died in Sacramento. He is interred in the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery in Sacramento, California.

Personal life

On September 3, 1845, Crocker married Mary Norton in Mishawaka, Indiana. She died on April 12, 1847, in South Bend, Indiana. They had a daughter, also named Mary. On July 8, 1852, he remarried to Margaret Rhodes in New York in a ceremony performed by Henry Ward Beecher. They had four daughters: Aimée Crocker, Jennie Louise Crocker Fassett, Nellie Margaret and Kate Eugenie Gunn; and two sons: Edwin Clark, who died as a baby, and Elwood Bender, a relative whom they adopted.

Family tree

Crocker family tree

Nancy Crocker 1792–1854 Isaac Crocker 1781–1856 Mary Norton 1821–47 Edwin B. Crocker 1818–75 Margaret Rhodes 1822–1901 Mary Ann Deming 1827–89 Charles Crocker 1822–88 Clarke Crocker 1827–90 Henry S. Crocker 1832–1904 Mary Norton Crocker 1846–1923 [two marriages] Edwin Clark Crocker 1856–56 Nellie Margaret Crocker 1856–79 Aimée Isabella Crocker 1864–1941 [five marriages] Henry J. Crocker 1861–1912 Kate Eugenie Crocker 1854–74 James O.B. Gunn 1846–1923 Jennie Louise Crocker 1860–1939 Jacob Sloat Fassett 1853–1924 [multiple children] [multiple children] [multiple children] Emily Elizabeth Crocker 1853–53 Emma Hanchett 1855–1904 George Crocker 1856–1909 Harriet Valentine Crocker 1859–1935 Charles Beatty Alexander 1849–1927 Jennie Easton 1858–87 Charles Frederick Crocker 1854–97 Francis Crocker 1858–62 Ethel Sperry 1861–1934 William Henry Crocker 1861–1937 Mary Crocker 1881–1905 Francis Burton Harrison 1873–1957 Harriet Crocker Alexander 1888–1972 Winthrop W. Aldrich 1885–1974 [multiple children] Helene Irwin 1887–1966 Charles Templeton Crocker 1884–1948 Janetta Alexander 1890–1973 Arnold Whitridge 1892–1989 Harry Crocker 1893–1958 Malcolm Whitman 1877–1932 Jennie Adeline Crocker 1887–1974 Robert Henderson 1877–1940 Mary Crocker Alexander 1895–1986 Sheldon Whitehouse 1883–1965 [multiple children] [multiple children] [one child] [multiple children] [multiple children] [multiple children] Notes Sources "Crocker Family Tree". San Mateo County Historical Association.

See also

• List of justices of the Supreme Court of California
• Warner Cope
• Edward Norton

External links

• Edwin Crocker Family papers, 1885-1936.
• Edwin B. Crocker at Find a Grave
• Past & Present Justices. California State Courts. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
• Portrait of Edwin B. Crocker Archived 2017-09-12 at the Wayback Machine. Calisphere.org.