Frederick W. Henshaw

Frederick William Henshaw (May 24, 1858 – June 8, 1929) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from December 29, 1894, to January 1, 1918, whose 23-year tenure is among the longest on the high court. Early life and education Henshaw was born in Ottawa, Illinois, to Sarah Edward Tyler (September 18, 1822 – August 30, 1894) and Edward Carrington Henshaw (c. 1821 – September 14, 1872), who was captain of Henshaw's Battery Light Artillery, or Ottawa Light Artillery, in the American Civil War. Henshaw followed his brothers, Edward T. Henshaw and William G. Henshaw, to California and attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 1879. He began reading law, joining the bar in 1880. Legal and judicial career In 1883, Henshaw won election as Justice of the Peace, or Police Court judge, in Oakland, California at the age of 25. In 1889, he was found in contempt of the Superior Court for not vacating the office of Police Judge to the next elected official, S. F. Daniels. In 1889, Henshaw was elected judge of the Alameda County Superior Court, and on January 5, 1890, began his term. Having succeeded E. M. Gibson, Henshaw would serve four years on the superior court. When he left for the Supreme Court, Governor Henry Markham appointed A. L. Frick to the vacant superior court seat.