John Ricord
Encyclopedia
John Ricord whose birth name was probably Jean Baptiste Ricord-Madianna II, was a lawyer and world traveler. He was involved in cases in Texas, Oregon, Hawaii, and California.
. His mother, Elizabeth Stryker (1788–1865), was an educator and writer. His father, Jean Baptiste Ricord de Madianna (1777–1837), was a physician and naturalist who had escaped the French Revolution
with his parents. John Ricord grew up at the home of his maternal grandparents in Belleville, New Jersey
after his parents separated. His brother, Frederick William Ricord, became a judge and Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
, then wrote articles on the history of New Jersey as secretary of the historical society.
He studied law in 1829 in the office of his uncle, James Stryker, and was admitted to the bar in Buffalo, New York
, on March 12, 1833.
Some time in the next few years another uncle, John Stryker, encouraged him to go to the Republic of Texas
. Ricord reached Velasco, Texas
, in the summer of 1836 and was hired by President David G. Burnet
as private secretary. Ricord then served President Sam Houston
as his secretary, then chief clerk in the State Department and District Attorney of the Fourth Judicial District on December 19, 1836.
. He joined a wagon train from St. Louis, Missouri
, to the Oregon Territory
by 1843. He was retained by Alvin F. Waller
as lawyer for a land dispute against John McLoughlin
of the Hudsons Bay Company. He left from Vancouver, British Columbia in late 1843 with a group of missionaries including Jason Lee
and Gustavus Hines
.
on the Columbia. He was the first Western-trained lawyer in the islands.
The previous year a land dispute by Richard Charlton
led to a British occupation known as the Paulet Affair
. A related case of Ladd & Co.
required lengthy arbitration. These and one other case would consume his entire time on the islands.
He was described as:
Within a few weeks he swore allegiance to King Kamehameha III
and on March 9, 1844, was appointed first Attorney General
and Registrar of Conveyances
of the Kingdom of Hawaii
. In July 1845 he joined the Privy Council
of Kamehameha III.
On October 29, 1845, the executive branch of the government was formally organized through legislation he proposed. On February 10, 1846, he became a founding member of a board to review land titles. Former missionary William Richards
was elected president of the board, and another former missionary Lorrin Andrews
was appointed as a judge.
On May 17, 1847, he resigned all his offices, and on June 12 was released from his oath of allegiance, so he could resume his citizenship of the United States.
He left August 19, 1847.
The office of Attorney General was suspended until the 1860s.
His work on organizing the courts was taken over by the second trained attorney to arrive in the islands, William Little Lee
.
The cause for his departure has been speculated as a power struggle with Gerrit P. Judd
. A former client from his Florida days might have also had a dispute that caught up with him.
. He made an attempt to talk William Tecumseh Sherman
and Richard Barnes Mason
, then military governor of California, into letting him design a government for the territory as he had done for Hawaii. He was selected to judge a case between Thomas J. Farnham
and William Robert Garner.
During the California Gold Rush
of 1848 he first speculated on a Mercury
mine with Thomas O. Larkin
and then ran a store.
However, he must have not been successful in his business, because by 1853 he asked the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
to resolve him of his debts. The resolution failed. At some point he ended up on a ship that was involved with Juan José Flores
, who had been involved in the revolution of Ecuador
. It is not known if he returned himself to Hawaii. He is recorded as buying 6102 acres (2,469.4 ha) of land surveyed by Chester Lyman
in present day Santa Clara County, California
to the south of Rancho San Antonio.
, Thailand
, and other places in the Pacific Ocean.
In December 1859 Ricord was in Austin, Texas
(now capital of the U.S. State) and persuaded the Texas Legislature
to grant him land and salary for his services to the republic 33 years earlier.
He then returned to visit relatives in New Jersey and after a few months went to Liberia
. He died in Paris on March 26, 1861, at the home of his uncle Philippe Ricord
, personal physician to Napoleon III. Ricord is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery
.
Life
John Ricord was born on September 5, 1813, in New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. His mother, Elizabeth Stryker (1788–1865), was an educator and writer. His father, Jean Baptiste Ricord de Madianna (1777–1837), was a physician and naturalist who had escaped the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
with his parents. John Ricord grew up at the home of his maternal grandparents in Belleville, New Jersey
Belleville, New Jersey
Belleville is a Township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 35,926.-History:...
after his parents separated. His brother, Frederick William Ricord, became a judge and Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, then wrote articles on the history of New Jersey as secretary of the historical society.
He studied law in 1829 in the office of his uncle, James Stryker, and was admitted to the bar in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, on March 12, 1833.
Texas
 |
Clients included Texan Sam Houston Sam Houston Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of... (above) and Hawaiian King Kamehameha III Kamehameha III Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his... (below) |
Some time in the next few years another uncle, John Stryker, encouraged him to go to the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
. Ricord reached Velasco, Texas
Velasco, Texas
Velasco was a town in Texas, United States, that was later annexed by the city of Freeport. Founded in 1831, Velasco is situated on the east side of the Brazos River in southeast Texas. It is sixteen miles south of Angleton, Texas, and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico.The town's early history is...
, in the summer of 1836 and was hired by President David G. Burnet
David G. Burnet
David Gouverneur Burnet was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas , second Vice President of the Republic of Texas , and Secretary of State for the new state of Texas after it was annexed to the United States of America.Burnet was born in Newark,...
as private secretary. Ricord then served President Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
as his secretary, then chief clerk in the State Department and District Attorney of the Fourth Judicial District on December 19, 1836.
Oregon
In 1837 Ricord left Texas before his term expired. He practiced law at some time in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. He joined a wagon train from St. Louis, Missouri
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...
, to the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
by 1843. He was retained by Alvin F. Waller
Alvin F. Waller
Alvin F. Waller was an American missionary in Oregon Country and an early leader at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He was a native of Pennsylvania and helped found the first Protestant church west of the Rocky Mountains in 1843 in Oregon City.-Early life:Alvin Waller was born in Abington,...
as lawyer for a land dispute against John McLoughlin
John McLoughlin
Dr. John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, was the Chief Factor of the Columbia Fur District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. He was later known as the "Father of Oregon" for his role in assisting the American cause in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest...
of the Hudsons Bay Company. He left from Vancouver, British Columbia in late 1843 with a group of missionaries including Jason Lee
Jason Lee (missionary)
Jason Lee , an American missionary and pioneer, was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec. He was the first of the Oregon missionaries and helped establish the early foundation of a provisional government in the Oregon Country....
and Gustavus Hines
Gustavus Hines
Reverend Gustavus Hines was an American missionary in Oregon Country. Working for the Methodist Mission in what became the state of Oregon, the New York native became involved in early attempts to form a government at the Champoeg Meetings in 1841...
.
Hawaii
Ricord arrived February 27, 1844, in the Hawaiian IslandsHawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
on the Columbia. He was the first Western-trained lawyer in the islands.
The previous year a land dispute by Richard Charlton
Richard Charlton (Hawaii)
Richard Charlton was the first diplomatic Consul from Great Britain to the Kingdom of Hawaii 1825–1843. He was surrounded by controversies that caused a military occupation known as the Paulet Affair, and real estate claims that motivated the formalization of Hawaiian land titles.-Life:Richard...
led to a British occupation known as the Paulet Affair
Paulet Affair (1843)
The Paulet Affair was a five month occupation of the Hawaiian Islands in 1843 by British naval officer Captain Lord George Paulet, of .-Paulet affair:...
. A related case of Ladd & Co.
Ladd & Co.
Ladd & Company was an early business partnership in the Kingdom of Hawaii.Its founders were William Ladd , Peter Allen Brinsmade , and William Northey Hooper...
required lengthy arbitration. These and one other case would consume his entire time on the islands.
He was described as:
...a restless adventurer practicing law on the frontiers of American expansionism, ...he was a true frontiersman, acting in legal debate like a fast draw sheriff who dared his opponent to test him.
Within a few weeks he swore allegiance to King Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III
Kamehameha III was the King of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name was Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kiwalao Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa Kalani Waiakua Kalanikau Iokikilo Kiwalao i ke kapu Kamehameha when he ascended the throne.Under his...
and on March 9, 1844, was appointed first Attorney General
Attorney General of Hawaii
The Attorney General of Hawaii is the chief legal and law enforcement officer of Hawaii. In present-day statehood within the United States, he or she is appointed by the elected governor with the approval of the state senate and is responsible for a state department charged with advising the...
and Registrar of Conveyances
Recorder of deeds
Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:...
of the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
. In July 1845 he joined the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
of Kamehameha III.
On October 29, 1845, the executive branch of the government was formally organized through legislation he proposed. On February 10, 1846, he became a founding member of a board to review land titles. Former missionary William Richards
William Richards (Hawaii)
William Richards was a missionary and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Family life:William Richards was born in Plainfield, Massachusetts on August 22, 1793. His father was James Richards and mother was Lydia Shaw. He was schooled under Moses Hallock in Plainfield, attended Williams College...
was elected president of the board, and another former missionary Lorrin Andrews
Lorrin Andrews
Lorrin Andrews was an early American missionary to Hawaii and judge. He opened the first post-secondary school for Hawaiians called Lahainaluna Seminary, prepared a Hawaiian dictionary and several works on the literature and antiquities of the Hawaiians. His students published the first newspaper,...
was appointed as a judge.
On May 17, 1847, he resigned all his offices, and on June 12 was released from his oath of allegiance, so he could resume his citizenship of the United States.
He left August 19, 1847.
The office of Attorney General was suspended until the 1860s.
His work on organizing the courts was taken over by the second trained attorney to arrive in the islands, William Little Lee
William Little Lee
William Little Lee was an American lawyer who became the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:...
.
The cause for his departure has been speculated as a power struggle with Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit Parmele Judd was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.- Life :...
. A former client from his Florida days might have also had a dispute that caught up with him.
California
On September 24, 1847, Ricord arrived in Monterey, CaliforniaMonterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
. He made an attempt to talk William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
and Richard Barnes Mason
Richard Barnes Mason
Richard Barnes Mason was a career general officer in the United States Army and the fifth military governor of California before it became a U.S. state.-Early life:...
, then military governor of California, into letting him design a government for the territory as he had done for Hawaii. He was selected to judge a case between Thomas J. Farnham
Thomas J. Farnham
Thomas Jefferson Farnham was an explorer and author of the American West in the first half of the 19th Century. His travels included interaction with missionary Jason Lee, and he later led a wagon train on the Oregon Trail...
and William Robert Garner.
During the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
of 1848 he first speculated on a Mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
mine with Thomas O. Larkin
Thomas O. Larkin
Thomas Oliver Larkin was an early American emigrant to Alta California and a signer of the original California Constitution. He was the United States' first and only consul to the California Republic.-Early years:...
and then ran a store.
However, he must have not been successful in his business, because by 1853 he asked the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom
The Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom was the bicameral legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii. A royal legislature was first provided by the 1840 Constitution and the 1852 Constitution was the first to use the term "Legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom", and the first to subject the monarch to...
to resolve him of his debts. The resolution failed. At some point he ended up on a ship that was involved with Juan José Flores
Juan José Flores
Juan José Flores y Aramburu was a Venezuelan military general who became Supreme Chief, and later the first President of the new Republic of Ecuador. He later served two more terms from 1839 to 1843 and from 1843 to 1845, and is often referred to as "The founder of the Republic".-Biography:Flores...
, who had been involved in the revolution of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. It is not known if he returned himself to Hawaii. He is recorded as buying 6102 acres (2,469.4 ha) of land surveyed by Chester Lyman
Chester Lyman
Chester Smith Lyman was an American teacher, clergyman and astronomer.He was born in Manchester, Connecticut to Chester and Mary Smith Lyman. Chester is the descendant of Richard Lyman, a settler who arrived in America in 1631...
in present day Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
to the south of Rancho San Antonio.
Demise
He spent short periods in TahitiTahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and other places in the Pacific Ocean.
In December 1859 Ricord was in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
(now capital of the U.S. State) and persuaded the Texas Legislature
Texas Legislature
The Legislature of the state of Texas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The Legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin...
to grant him land and salary for his services to the republic 33 years earlier.
He then returned to visit relatives in New Jersey and after a few months went to Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. He died in Paris on March 26, 1861, at the home of his uncle Philippe Ricord
Philippe Ricord
Philippe Ricord was a French physician.Philippe Ricord was born December 10, 1800 in Baltimore. His father had escaped the French Revolution in 1790 from Marseille. He met French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur, who took him back to Paris in 1820. He worked for Lesueur as curator of his...
, personal physician to Napoleon III. Ricord is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
.