Title	Finding aid for Records of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856, 1853-1858.
Creator	San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856.
Extent	3,750 pieces.
Biographical Note	The San Francisco Committees of Vigilance of 1851 and 1856 were formed when crime became widespread in the city of San Francisco in the wake of the Gold Rush. In 1856, the murder of James King of William sparked the reactivation of vigilante activities. King, a San Francisco newspaper editor, was shot by James. P. Casey, a corrupt official, after King attacked Casey in the columns of his paper. Immediately 10,000 men hastened to join the vigilantes, and William T. Coleman was again chosen as leader. Opposition to the vigilance committee was led by California Supreme Court Justice David S. Terry, but the efforts of his group were largely ineffective. The "Great Committee" of the vigilantes functioned for five months, then surrendered its powers to a regularly constituted civil authority.
Scope and Content	The collection contains letters and documents related to individuals making charges or giving information about suspects or prisoners to the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856. It also contains completed applications for membership, lists of members and members of the executive committee, and financial documents.
Notes	All inquiries about this collection should be directed to the H. Russell Smith Foundation Curator, Western American Manuscripts.
Date	1853-1858.
Provenance	Purchased from Augustin S. MacDonald, 1916 and Sigurd Frederickson, 1931.
Subject	Casey, James P. Coleman, William Tell, 1824-1893. King, James, 1822-1856. McGowan, Edward, 1813-1893. Terry, David Smith, 1823-1889. San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856. Vigilance committees -- California -- San Francisco -- History -- Sources. Vigilantes -- California -- San Francisco -- History -- Sources. San Francisco (Calif.) -- Politics and government -- 19th century.
Form/Genre	Application forms California San Francisco. (aat) Documents California San Francisco. (aat)
Department	Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery. Manuscripts Department.
Call Number	mssSan Francisco Committee of Vigilance
Physical Collection	San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856 Records.
Digital Collection	Finding Aids, Huntington Digital Library
Physical Description	4 p.
Digitization Specifications	Original finding aid converted into PDF document by B. Black, 2011-12-23.
Date Digital	2011-12-23.
DCMI Type	text
Digital Format	pdf
Original Finding Aid	Finding aid prepared by Jennifer L. Martinez, May 23, 2000.
Citation Information	Finding aid for San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856 Records, Huntington Digital Library, San Marino, California.
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