Myron Norton
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Myron Norton | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Myron Norton (1822–1886) | |
| Born | September 23, 1822 |
| Died | April 16, 1886 (aged 63) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States Army |
| Branch | 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers |
| Service years | Mexican–American War |
Myron Norton (1822–1886), was an American attorney, and an officer in the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, fighting in the Mexican–American War, and remained in California afterward to become active in both San Francisco and Los Angeles legal circles and politics. He drafted California's first state constitution.
Norton was born in Bennington, Vermont, on September 23, 1822, and studied at Harvard University.[1]
Military
The day after he graduated from Harvard, he joined the Army and served under General Winfield Scott in the Mexican War. He then joined Jonathan D. Stevenson's 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, with which he came to California.[1] He was a lieutenant.[2]: 166
In 1850–51, the settlers were fearful of an Agua Caliente Indian "insurrection" under Chief Antonio Garra, so "Regulars and volunteers were accordingly mustered to guard against this danger." The Los Angeles volunteers were commanded by General Joshua Bean, with Norton as colonel and chief of staff.[3] In a letter written to Governor John McDougall, Bean commended Norton for his bravery.[4]
Later, Norton was second in command of the first legal militia organization in the state, the First California Guard,[2]: 207 where he was commissioned a first lieutenant on July 23, 1853.[5]
In their requisition for arms[,] the company requested that seventy-five rifles and accouterments be sent to them immediately, as there were very few arms in the Los Angeles area except what was held by bands of organized villains of the worst type. The members preferred rifles[,] as part of the time they would be engaged in cavalry routine, especially when dealing with gangs of robbers or raiding bands of Indians.[5]
Norton was one of the organizers and was elected chairman of a "large number of citizens assembled at the Montgomery House" on December 7, 1857, to demand protection by the U.S. Army from a feared invasion of Mormon fighters through the Cajon Pass in the wake of what was called the Mountain Meadows massacre, a Mormon attack in Southern Utah upon an emigrant wagon train in September of that year.[6]
