Halleck, Peachy & Billings.

Organizational History

Halleck, Peachy & Billings, one of the leading law firms in San Francisco employed by claimants in the settlement of titles to Mexican land grants, consisted of three partners - Frederick Billings, Archibald C. Peachy and Henry Wager Halleck. Of these, the most prominent was Halleck, a graduate of West Point in engineering, a participant in the Mexican War who later prepared a report on California land titles, and was an active member of the California constitutional convention. He resigned from the army in 1854 to join the firm, and compiled two legal works acknowledged to be leading texts in their time - Mining Laws of Spain and Mexico and International Law. In 1860 he returned to the military life, rising to the position of general during the Civil War.

Both Frederick Billings and Archibald C. Peachy came to California in 1849. Billings immediately set up practice in San Francisco and soon formed a partnership with Peachy. Billings in a short while became well known as a legal adviser, and counseled General Riley during the aftermath of the Mexican War, thus meeting Halleck, then military secretary of California.

The other member of the firm, Archibald C. Peachy was also a member of the California Assembly (1852) and of the state senate in 1860 and 1862.

The firm dissolved in 1861 after Halleck left California, by mutual agreement, although the formal partnership was retained until Halleck's death in 1872.

From the guide to the Halleck, Peachy & Billings Records, 1852-1867, (The Bancroft Library.)

History

Halleck, Peachy & Billings was one of the most prestigious law firms on the Pacific Coast, headquartered in San Francisco and specializing in land cases. It was organized by Frederick Billings and Alexander Carey Peachy in 1849, who were joined soon after by Henry Wager Halleck. In 1853 Halleck built the Montgomery Black in San Francisco, and the partnership became permanently located there. The firm handled over half of the land claim cases in California immediately following the enaction of the Land Act of 1851. Although Halleck wrote the land title report that helped draft the Land Act of 1851, he did not support the Land Commission, and the firm of Halleck, Peachy & Billings defended many land titles against the Commission. It has been said that Halleck handled the preparation of the briefs for the cases, Peachy the oratory, and that Billings brought in the business. The firm was dissolved in 1861.

Henry Wager Halleck (1815-1872) was a West Point graduate (1839) and a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was sent to California at the beginning of the Mexican War, and was involved in military operations in Lower California and for a brief time was Lt.-Governor of Mazatlan. In 1847 he was made a captain and sent to Monterey where he became Secretary of State and Auditor of Revenues to the military governor of California, Colonel Richard B. Mason. In 1848 Halleck wrote a report on land titles which was based on land grant settlements made by the United States in Florida. After the termination of the law firm, Halleck became a general in the Civil War. He was a top aide to Abraham Lincoln and was present with those in the room at the time of Lincoln's death.

Frederick Billings (1823-1890) is supposed to have been the first lawyer to begin practice in San Francisco. He was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1844, admitted to the bar in 1849, and appointed legal advisor of California Territory under Governor Mason. At this time he became acquainted with Henry W. Halleck. In 1863 Billings was an important political figure and was credited by some with saving the state of California for the Union. After returning to Vermont in 1866, Billings reorganized the troubled Northern Pacific Railroad and was elected its president in 1879.

The third member of the firm, Archibald Carey Peachy (1820-1883) was a native of Virginia who came to California in 1849, became a member of the California Assembly in 1852 and of the state senate in 1860. It is said that his sympathy with the cause of the South in the Civil War was a contributing factor in the dissolution of the firm of Halleck, Peachy & Billings.

From the guide to the Halleck, Peachy & Billings Collection, 1837-1861, (The Huntington Library)