Biography
Amos P. Catlin was born in New York January 25, 1823, where he studied law and came to California in 1849. He formed a law partnership in Sacramento with John Currey in 1850. In 1851, he organized the Natomas Water and Mining Company to provide water from the American River for agriculture and mining. In 1852, he was elected State Senator for Sacramento and was instrumental in permanently locating the state capital at Sacramento. He helped to defeat a scheme to extend the waterfront of San Francisco 600 feet further into the bay. In 1863, he argued the Leidesdorff ranch case before the United States Supreme Court and won the case. He was a friend of Theodore D. Judah and defended his reputation in articles appearing the the Sacramento Union. He subsequently served as editor of the Sacramento Union and a judge of the Superior court. He died in Sacramento on November 8, 1900.
From the guide to the Amos Parmalee Catlin Papers, 1850-1900, (California State Library)
