Houghton, S. O. (Sherman Otis), 1828-1914.

Sherman O. Houghton, a California lawyer and politician, was born in New York and came to California with Stevenson's New York Volunteers in 1847. In 1861 he married Eliza Poor Donner, whose parents, George and Tamsen Donner, had perished during the crossing of the Sierra Nevada in 1846.

Administrative History

These volumes were created by the attorneys for land and cattle baron Henry Miller in preparation for the lawsuite Miller et al. v. Thomas et al., involving title to land encompassed by the Las Animas Rancho, including the town of Gilroy. The purpose of the volumes was to expedite settlement of the lawsuit by gathering together all available information about chains of title to lands involved in the dispute.