Benjamin Ignatius Hayes
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Ignatius Hayes (1815–1877), lawyer, first Judge of the Southern District of California
from 1852-1864. Writer and collector of historical information about early California.
Benjamin Hayes was born February 14, 1815 in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from St. Mary's College
in Baltimore and was admitted to the Maryland
bar in 1839. He went to practice law in Liberty, Missouri
in the early 1840s. While there he attempted to start a temperance journal in Saint Louis
with two other men. He was married in November 1848 to Emily Martha Chauncey, and they had two children, a son John Chauncey Hayes born April 27, 1853, and a daughter that died in infancy in 1855. Emily an invalid for many years died September 12, 1857.
He came overland via the Santa Fe Trail
and Southern Emigrant Trail
to Los Angeles
in February, 1850, and helped translate into Spanish the statutes of the first California legislature. This and his ability to read and write Spanish, brought him favor in the eyes of the Californio
s who needed legal services to secure the title to their ranchos due to the new California land laws. As a result he was elected as County Attorney in August 1851. A month after his election he formed a law partnership with Johnathan R. Scott and resigned his office in September 1851. In 1852 he was elected as the first Judge of the Southern District of California, an office he held until January 1, 1864. This District included Los Angeles County, San Diego County, and soon after San Bernardino County. Judge Hayes rode a horse or carriage or took a coastal steamship on a circuit between the county seats holding court in Los Angeles on the third Monday of March, July and November; in San Diego in April, August and December; and in San Bernardino in February, May and October. He presided over the transition period where the legal system of Mexican California was replaced by that of American California.
After leaving office January 1, 1864 he remained active as a respected jurist and a state assemblyman, from 1867 to 1868. In 1866 he was married to Adaleida Serrano, daughter of José Antonio Serrano, grantee of Rancho Pauma
. The couple had a daughter Mary Adaleida Hayes. Over the years Hayes had accumulated a series of scrap books of clippings and wrote notes on events in Southern California for his first wife to read and later for his son. The scrap books were later collected by Hubert Howe Bancroft
and the notes were formed into the book, Pioneer notes from the diaries of Judge Benjamin Hayes, 1849-1875.
After spending many years in San Diego he returned to live in the Hotel Lafayette, in Los Angeles and died there on August 4, 1877.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
from 1852-1864. Writer and collector of historical information about early California.
Benjamin Hayes was born February 14, 1815 in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from St. Mary's College
St. Mary's Seminary and University
St. Mary's Seminary and University is a Roman Catholic seminary in Baltimore, Maryland; it was the first seminary founded in the United States of America.-History:...
in Baltimore and was admitted to the Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
bar in 1839. He went to practice law in Liberty, Missouri
Liberty, Missouri
Liberty is a city in Clay County, Missouri and is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. At the 2007 population estimate, the city population was 29,993...
in the early 1840s. While there he attempted to start a temperance journal in Saint Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
with two other men. He was married in November 1848 to Emily Martha Chauncey, and they had two children, a son John Chauncey Hayes born April 27, 1853, and a daughter that died in infancy in 1855. Emily an invalid for many years died September 12, 1857.
He came overland via the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
and Southern Emigrant Trail
Southern Emigrant Trail
Southern Emigrant Trail, also known as the Gila Trail, Kearny Trail, and Butterfield Stage Trail, was a major land route for immigration into California from the eastern United States that followed the Santa Fe Trail to New Mexico during the California Gold Rush...
to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in February, 1850, and helped translate into Spanish the statutes of the first California legislature. This and his ability to read and write Spanish, brought him favor in the eyes of the Californio
Californio
Californio is a term used to identify a Spanish-speaking Catholic people, regardless of race, born in California before 1848...
s who needed legal services to secure the title to their ranchos due to the new California land laws. As a result he was elected as County Attorney in August 1851. A month after his election he formed a law partnership with Johnathan R. Scott and resigned his office in September 1851. In 1852 he was elected as the first Judge of the Southern District of California, an office he held until January 1, 1864. This District included Los Angeles County, San Diego County, and soon after San Bernardino County. Judge Hayes rode a horse or carriage or took a coastal steamship on a circuit between the county seats holding court in Los Angeles on the third Monday of March, July and November; in San Diego in April, August and December; and in San Bernardino in February, May and October. He presided over the transition period where the legal system of Mexican California was replaced by that of American California.
After leaving office January 1, 1864 he remained active as a respected jurist and a state assemblyman, from 1867 to 1868. In 1866 he was married to Adaleida Serrano, daughter of José Antonio Serrano, grantee of Rancho Pauma
Rancho Pauma
Rancho Pauma was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José Antonio Serrano, Blas Aguilar, and José Antonio Aguilar...
. The couple had a daughter Mary Adaleida Hayes. Over the years Hayes had accumulated a series of scrap books of clippings and wrote notes on events in Southern California for his first wife to read and later for his son. The scrap books were later collected by Hubert Howe Bancroft
Hubert Howe Bancroft
Hubert Howe Bancroft was an American historian and ethnologist who wrote and published works concerning the western United States, Texas, Mexico, Central America, British Columbia and Alaska.-Biography:...
and the notes were formed into the book, Pioneer notes from the diaries of Judge Benjamin Hayes, 1849-1875.
After spending many years in San Diego he returned to live in the Hotel Lafayette, in Los Angeles and died there on August 4, 1877.