California Biographies Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm Source: History of the state of California and biographical record of the San Joaquin Valley, California. An historical story of the state's marvelous growth from its earliest settlement to the present time. Prof. James Miller Guinn , A. M. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago 1905 Notes: Missing Page: 865-866,983-984,1175-1176 JUDGE JOHN K. LAW. As one of the leading attorneys of the state of California, no man occupies a more assured position than Judge John K. Law, whose ability and achievements have won him eminent professional success. The possessor of great legal acumen, learning and cour- tesy, he invariably inspires respect and esteem in those with whom he is brought in contact. In addition to attending to his extensive general law practice, he has filled various official posi- tions in a commendable manner, and as judge of the superior court for nine years added to the glory already reflected on the Merced county bench by his predecessors. Coming originally of French stock on the paternal side, he was born in Darlington county, S. C, which was like- wise the birthplace of his father, E. A. Law. His paternal grandfather, William A. Law, was born and bred in Williamsburg county, S. C, but became an early settler of Darlington county of that state, where he owned and managed a valuable plantation. He married a Miss Du Bose, a descendant of a Huguenot family of prominence. After his graduation from Union College, at Schenectady, N. Y., E. A. Law prepared himself for the legal profession, and was for more than four decades a practicing attorney, being senior member of the Darlington county bar at the time of his death, and one of the foremost law- yers of South Carolina. He filled many important official positions, serving as judge of the district court, as commissioner in equity for one term, and for one term was a member of the state legislature. He was a man of spotless reputation and unblemished character, and for more than thirty years, was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He married Sarah Elizabeth McIver, who was born in South Carolina, of Scotch ancestors, and there spent her entire life. Her father, Evander Roderick McIver, a planter, was major-general of the state troops of South Carolina, and married Eliza Cowan, of North Carolina, a sister of Gen. William Cowan, an officer in the war of 1812, and subsequently speaker of the North Carolina house of repre- sentatives. Of the eleven children born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Law, eight grew to years of maturity, and five are living, Judge J. K. and T. C. being residents of Merced, and the only ones in California. The oldest son, E. M. Law, served as a major-general in the Confed- erate army, and was several times wounded in battle. He now resides in Florida, being the founder and superintendent of the South Florida Military Institute. Another son, Junius A. Law, who died in his native state, served in the Confederate army, first as captain of a company, and afterward as colonel of the Sixty-third Alabama Regiment. Still another son, A. E. Law, enlisted as a soldier in the Confederate army, and was killed at the siege of Petersburg. The fourth child in succession of birth of the parental household, John K. Law, was born Jan- uary 19, 1841, in Darlington county, S. C, and was educated in his native state. He was a stu- dent in the South Carolina Military Academy, at Charleston, when the Civil war broke out, and with his companions built a battery on Morris Island. During the summer of 1861 he spent his vacation in Virginia, being drill master in General Beauregard's corps. Returning to Charleston in the fall, Mr. Law resumed his studies at the academy, being frequently called out for military duty. The following vacation he again went to Virginia, where he served as aid on the staff of his brother, Gen. E. M. Law, and took part in the battle of Boonesboro, or South Mountain, and in the battle of Sharpsburg, or Antietam, in the latter engagement be- ing wounded in the left ankle, and compelled to use crutches for eighteen months. Returning to the academy, Mr. Law was graduated there in April, 1863, and subsequently did some military service in South Carolina as captain of a mounted company, participating in repelling Potter's raid. Then entering his father's office, he studied law, and in November, 1866, was admitted to prac- tice in the supreme court of South Carolina. The following three years, in company with his father, he practiced law, acquiring valuable professional experience. Coming to California in 1869, Mr. Law taught a private school in Solano county, and afterward taught in the public schools of that and Mariposa counties. Locating in Merced in 1873, he re- sumed the practice of his profession, and also served as county superintendent of schools, be- ing appointed to fill out an unexpired term. Being elected district attorney on the Democratic ticket in 1875, Mr. Law served until 1878, but declined a renomination, preferring to return to his general law practice. Receiving the Democratic nomination for superior judge in 1890, he was elected by a large majority, and took the oath of office in January, 1891. In 1896 Mr. Law was re-elected to the same high position over two opponents, and served as judge until April 27, 1900, when he resigned from the bench and again took up the practice of his profession. In 1902, at the state convention, he was the Democratic nominee for chief justice of the supreme court, but went down with his ticket. He was one of the organizers of the Merced Security Bank, and served as its attorney until taking his seat on the bench, and until that time was likewise attorney for the Crocker-Huffman Land & Water Company. Judge Law married, in South Carolina, Mary L. James, the daughter of a planter, and the de- scendant of a family of prominence. She is of Revolutionary stock, her grandfather, Major James, fought under General Marion in the war of the Revolution, acquiring fame for having knocked down a British officer with a chair. Mr. and Mrs. Law occupy a fine residence at the corner of Canal and Twenty-third streets, where they entertain their many friends and acquaint- ances with true southern hospitality. Judge Law is an influential member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he has been an elder for more than thirty years. The Presbyterian congrega- tion of Merced was organized in August, 1873, in Judge Law's house, and he was afterward chairman of the building committee that erected the present church edifice. He was moderator of the Stockton Presbytery one term, and also served one term as moderator of the Synod of California, and has the distinction of being the only layman that ever held that office. In pol- itics he is a stanch Democrat.