Biography
Halleck, Peachy & Billings was one of the leading San Francisco law firms in the settlement of titles to Mexican land grants; Frederick Billings arrived in San Francisco in 1849; he immediately established a law practice, and soon formed a partnership with Archibald C. Peachy; Peachy later became a member of the California State Assembly in 1852, and of the State Senate in 1860 and 1862; Henry Wager Halleck graduated in engineering from West point, participated in the Mexican War, and later prepared a report on California land titles; became an active member of the California Constitutional Convention; he resigned from the army and joined the law firm in 1854, compiling his books: The mining laws of Spain and Mexico, and International law; returned to the U.S. Army in 1860, later becoming a general during the Civil War; the firm was dissolved in 1861.
From the guide to the Halleck, Peachy & Billings Records, 1842-1862, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)
