Serranus Clinton Hastings

American judge and politician (1814-1893)

Serranus Clinton Hastings (November 22, 1814 – February 18, 1893 ) was an American politician, rancher, and lawyer in California . Born in Watertown, New York , he studied law as a young man and moved to the Iowa District in 1837 to open a law office. Iowa became a territory a year later, and he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of the Iowa Territorial General Assembly. When the territory became the state of Iowa in 1846, he won an election to represent the state in the United States House of Representatives . After his term ended, he became Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court .

After one year in office, Hastings resigned and moved to California. He was appointed to the California Supreme Court as Chief Justice a few months later. He won an election to be Attorney General of California , and assumed office shortly after his term as Chief Justice ended. He began practicing law again as Attorney General. He earned a small fortune with his law practice and used that fortune to finance his successful real estate ventures. In 1878, he founded the Hastings College of the Law (now University of California College of the Law, San Francisco ) with a donation of $100,000 (equivalent to $3,340,000 in 2025).

Responding to press reports about Hastings' involvement in killing and dispossessing Yuki people in the 1850s, a commission of Hastings College of the Law concluded in 2020 that Hastings participated in the California genocide in Mendocino County , California. The commission initially opposed a change in the name of the college, but in November 2021, the Board of Directors of UC Hastings voted to change the name of the institution.

Early life

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Hastings was born in Watertown, Jefferson County, New York , on November 22, 1814, to Robert Collins Hastings and Patience Brayton. Robert Collins Hastings was a good friend and supporter of DeWitt Clinton , from whom Serranus got his middle name. When Robert died in 1824, the family moved to St. Lawrence County, New York . He completed a six-year course at Gouverneur Academy , and in 1834, he taught and became the principal at Norwich Academy , located in Chenango County, New York . He introduced the Hamiltonian system of instruction and the Angletean system of mathematics to the academy. In 1835, he resigned from his position at the academy to study law.

Hastings began to study law with Charles Thorpe, Esq. , of Norwich . After a few months of study, he decided to move to Lawrenceburg, Indiana . He completed his legal studies there with Daniel S. Majors, Esq. He did not immediately enter the practice of law and instead became an editor of the Indiana Signal, where he supported Martin Van Buren in his presidential campaign. He moved to Terre Haute, Indiana , in December 1836 and underwent a legal examination by Judge Porters of the Circuit Court.

Career

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In January 1837, Hastings moved to the Iowa District, which was part of the Wisconsin Territory .

He settled in Burlington for a short time and then moved to Bloomington, which would later become Muscatine, Iowa . He was examined by Judge Irwin, was admitted to the bar, and opened a law office. Shortly after this, he was commissioned Justice of the Peace by Wisconsin Territorial Governor Henry Dodge . He had jurisdiction over the 90 miles between Burlington, Iowa , and Davenport, Iowa , the western boundary was undefined. He only had one case to deal with: a man accused of stealing US$30 from a citizen and $3 from the court. He found the man guilty and sentenced him to be tied to an oak tree, receive 33 lashes across his back, be transported across the Mississippi River to Illinois , and be banished from the territory forever.

When Iowa Territory was organized in 1838, he won an election to represent Muscatine County , Louisa County , and Slaughter County in the House of Representatives of the Iowa Territorial General Assembly. He served from November 12, 1838, to January 25, 1839. He was reelected to that position in 1839, this time representing Muscatine County and Johnson County from November 4, 1839, to January 14, 1840. In 1840, a border conflict with Missouri called the Honey War took place. He received the military title of Major and helped capture a sheriff. No battle took place, and the two states compromised on the border issue.

Serranus Clinton Hastings as a young man

Hastings married Azalea Brodt on June 10, 1840, in Muscatine, Iowa. They had two children while living in Muscatine, Marshall and Clara L. He was elected to the Legislative Council that year, representing Muscatine County and Johnson County again, and served from November 3, 1840, to January 15, 1841. He was re-elected the following year, and served from December 6, 1841, to February 18, 1842. He was not elected to the Fifth and Sixth General Assemblies. He was elected President of the Legislative Council for the Seventh Gene

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