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Gold Rush Check issued to James King of William, Ties to San Francisco Vigilance Committee [155387]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Paper Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 800.00 USD
Gold Rush Check issued to James King of William, Ties to San Francisco Vigilance Committee [155387]
SOLD
325.00USD+ (65.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2022 Dec 03 @ 21:19UTC-8 : PST/AKDT
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Palmer Cook & Co. check (handwritten above Wells, Fargo & Co.). Dateline San Francisco, May 15, 1854. Issued to James King of William for $236.90. Signed by Freeman & Johnson. Stamped and cut cancelled. Not signed by James King of William. Nesbitt & Co., Printers. 2.75 x 6.75" James King of William was a crusading San Francisco newspaper editor whose assassination by James P. Casey, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1856 resulted in the establishment of the second San Francisco Vigilance Committee. He came to California in 1848 and had some success placer mining at Placerville. He then joined the mercantile house of Hensley, Reading & Company in Sacramento. On December 5, 1849, he opened his own bank on Montgomery Street and first began issuing private gold ingots. On October 8, 1855, the first edition of the Daily Evening Bulletin appeared, with King as the editor and C.O. Gelberding as the publisher. King "used his paper to crusade fanatically against immorality and corruption" and "his reputation of unimpeachable integrity" as well as his "blistering" and "frequently scurrilous" editorials "to turn on unscrupulous characters." He often denounced U.S. Senator and private coiner David C. Broderick. King called for the hanging of Charles Cora, a well-known gambler and husband of the madam Belle Cora. James P. Casey, a friend of Cora, believed shooting King would take the focus off of Cora. King was shot by Casey on May 14, 1856 and died 6 days later.

Date: 1854
Country (if not USA):
State: California
City: San Francisco
Provenance: