Plumas County Biographies

Thomas Cox

Transcribed by Craig Hahn, Dec. 2004 

This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm

 
the first district attorney of Plumas county, failed to secure the nomination 
for a second term because of his extremely intemperate habits. A reminiscence of 
him is given in the history of the court of sessions. He was born in North 
Carolina, and at an early age removed to Nashville, Tennessee, where he married 
a most estimable lady, by whom he had at least one child, a son. Some reckless 
act committed in or near Nashville induced him to remove to California. He was 
nominated for congress in 1860, but was withdrawn from the ticket by the central 
committee before the election. One night in 1862 he was on a big drunk in 
Quincy, and walked into William Schlatter�s beer-saloon, where he deliberately 
fired his pistol at the proprietor, who was standing quietly behind the bar and 
had in no way offended. The ball struck the intended victim in the forehead, and 
he fell to the floor apparently dead. He was picked up, when it was found that 
the bullet had not penetrated the skull, but was lodged in the bone. It was 
extracted, and the man recovered in a short time. Cox was indicted, obtained a 
change of venue to Butte county, and there the indictment was dismissed. Cox 
afterwards removed to Nevada, and is now practicing law in Virginia City. He 
left Plumas, regretted by none, and seemed to have few friends even among his 
political associates. 
 
Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties, with California from 
1513 to 1850. � Fariss and Smith, San Francisco,  1882. p 180-181