From an email message (3 Nov 2002) by Barb Ballard Miller:

...I think [the middle name] Augustus is pretty much ingrained into family tradition. I... have some notations in the San Jose Register for a Henry Augustus Grant in 1867-8, 1873, 1877, 1878, as a laborer and in 1878 Henry A. Grant was listed as a Housemover and in 1884 a Henry A. Grant was listed as a foreman for Jul. G. Gindel. I had always assumed he was the same person, but maybe there were two I also believe (but can't find my information right now) that he had spent some time in Lexington and Alma.

From the Directory of the City of San Jose for 1878:

Grant H. A., Carpenter and house mover, res ss Pond bet State and First.
Grant Hattie Miss, res. ss Pond bet (Southside) State and First.

In Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery, 1853-1997, there is a listing in the Fulkerson Cemetery for Grant, F. (Fergus?) (COCKRILL) b. 1804 d. 28 Jan 1877. I do not know what the relation is however?

According to family stories, Henry was abusive and eventually separated from Ruhamy. However, it appears that Hattie lived with or near her father from at least 1878 to the time of his death.

From an email message (7 Oct 2002) by Barb Ballard Miller:

...As you know, Henry was murdered in Los Gatos. Family lore had it that he was murdered in a fight over a plow, but obviously that was somewhat inaccurate. I had lived in San Jose and took that opportunity to do some digging...and came across pretty much the same historical references that you have. I was able to read the actual trial transcripts housed in the county seat and 'microfilmed' them as best as I could (that is to say I was able to take 35mm black and white pictures) so have captured that on film (but probably next to impossible to read in that state as it is a negative form and I don't think fits the microfilm reader's screen). There is disappointingly way more information about Henry's murderer than there was about him. According to some of the information I have (somewhere) he had sold his interest in the house moving business a few months before he died. Henry is buried in Oak Hill Cemetary in a potter's grave, so either his interests were minimal or somehow the money was gone before he died, I assume.

I did not know that Hattie lived with him in later years, although I do have pix of him and her (again I'm relying on memory here so don't use it as fact) which I believe was taken in Santa Rosa...

Henry Grant's subsequent demise at the hands of Charles Goslaw is an interesting example of the distortions of popular history and the reportage of crime and justice in the newspapers at the turn of the century (of which, only a sampling of this particular case is given here). It is unfortunate (from a genealogical point of view if anything else) however, then as now, much more information is available about the perpetrator than the victim. However, it is of some comfort in our present coarse times that our century did not have the only corner on using lurid and banal sensationalism to sell newspapers.

The story of Henry Grant's murder from the book, The History of Los Gatos: Gem of the Foothills.

Another account of Grant's murder can be found in a History of Santa Clara County California.

Contemporary newspaper coverage of the incident:

San Jose News, January 20 & 21, 1887.

San Jose Mercury, January 22, 1887.

San Jose Mercury, January 23, 1887.

San Jose News, March 15, 1887.

San Jose Mercury, March 16, 1887.

San Jose News, November 25, 1887. (large file)

Excerpt from the San Jose Mercury, November 25, 1887.

Excerpts from the San Jose Mercury, November 26, 1887. (large file)

San Jose News, November 28, 1887.