Bakken, Gordon M. Practicing Law in Frontier California.
Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
Interesting and carefully researched account of the early days of the legal profession in California.
Bell, Kate Den. Swinging the Censer. Santa Barbara, 1931.
Provides the Den side of the Den vs. Hollister litigation.
Brewer, William H. Up and Down California. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966.
Brewer passed through Santa Barbara in 1861 as part of California Geological Survey headed by Professor Josiah D. Whitney. Among other things, Brewer records that Santa Barbara was “so notorious a place for horse stealing and robbery that we have kept guard since we have been here.”
Elison, William H. and Francis Price. The Life and Adventures in California of Don Agustin Janssens. San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1953.
Gidney, C.M. Santa Barbara County History. Chicago, 1917.
Excellent early history of Santa Barbara.
McGrath, Roger. Gunfighters, Highwaymen and Vigilantes. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
Provides interesting insights about pioneer attitudes toward badmen and the criminal justice system in frontier California.
Price, Francis (trans.) and Edith Conkey (ed.), The Huse Journal. Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Historical Society, 1977.
Francis Price’s translation of attorney Charles Huse’s journal (written in Spanish) from the 1850s. A fascinating account of the early legal profession in Santa Barbara.
Richards, Jarrett T. Romance On El Camino Real. St. Louis, B. Herder, 1914.
Novel about a young Pennsylvania lawyer who comes to Santa Barbara and starts a law practice. Directly based on Richards’ own experiences.
Rogers, Cameron. Charles Fernald: A County Judge In Arcady. Glendale: Arthur Clarke Company,1954.
An outstanding biography of Judge Fernald based on his personal papers, which are now in the possession of the Huntington Library in San Marino.
Thompson, Thomas H. and Albert A. West. The History of Santa Barbara County.Berkeley, 1880.
Provides a nineteenth-century perspective of Santa Barbara’s history, which was often quite different from our own. For example, meaning to praise Judge Fernald’s law practice, the authors proudly state: “Judge Fernald has little liking for criminal law, and has never aided or assisted in any way the turning of criminals loose to prey upon society.”
Tompkins, Walker A. Santa Barbara History Makers. Santa Barbara: McNally & Loftin, 1983.
Highly readable biographies of local figures such as Fernald, Richards, Price, Joaquin Carrillo, Charles Huse, W.W. Hollister, Jack Powers and Max Fleischmann.
Tompkins, Walker A. Santa Barbara Past & Present. Santa Barbara: McNally & Loftin, 1980.
Good historical narrative of the city from its founding to the modern era.
Tompkins, Walker A. Santa Barbara’s Royal Rancho. Santa Barbara: McNally & Loftin, 1960.
Even-handed account of the Den vs. Hollister litigation and its effect on the Goleta Valley.
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