I203B: James Madison CASE (ABOUT 1824

James Madison CASE

ABOUT 1824 -

OCCUPATION: Preacher
BIRTH: ABOUT 1824, Tennessee

MARRIAGE: ABOUT 1854
DIVORCE: ABOUT 1887

 
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|--James Madison CASE 
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Notes:

From the History of the Disciples of Christ in Calif., by E. B. Ware (F. W. Cook: Healdsburg, CA, 1916), p. 307-308:

Dr. J. M. Case was born in Tennessee, came to California in 1850 in Sonoma County near Santa Rosa, was charter member of the Santa Rosa Christian Church, lived in San Francisco and was elder of the first church organized in San Jose. Dr. and Mrs. Case left a son and three daughters, all members of the church and loyal to our plea.


	From the History of Sonoma County, by J. P. Munro-Fraser (San Francisco, Alley, Bowen Co., San Francisco: 1880), pp. 420-421:
	The Christian Church, Santa Rosa.-- As there are no records preserved of this church we are indebted to Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Hood, Mr. and Mrs. Shane and James Fulton for the information contained in the following remarks:-- To Elder Thomas Thompson is the honor due of organizing this congregation in November, 1854, and preaching the first sermon to them in that month. The original members of the church were: T. B. Hood and wife, Mrs. C. E. Hood, Joel Miller, Sarah Miller (now Mrs. Shane), Elizabeth Miller, Harrison Valentine, W. R. O'Howell, J. M. Case, Samuel Hand and wife, Mrs. Coleman Talbot, and R. Fulkerson and wife. Services were then held in the town of Franklin, in the Baptist church, and continued there until the town was moved to Santa Rosa, when the congregation met in the court-house, but after the removal of the church building from Franklin to Santa Rosa in 1856, then in that edifice where they prosecuted their devotions until the erection in 1857 of their own place of worship on the corner of Fourth and B streets, which, in 1874, was transferred to its present position on Fifth street. The entire cost of the church, inclusive of lot, bell, fixtures, etc. was about three thousand dollars, while its size is thirty-eight by sixty feet. Since its organization the following pastors have officiated: J. P. McCorkle, W. W. Stephenson, Robert Graham, William T. Haley, Alexander Johnson, H. K. Hallman [S.K. Hallam?], J. W. Butler, J. M. Monroe, Judge Durham, G. O. Burnett, and O. K. Dibble [P. K. Dibble], with occasional air from the Professors of the Christian College. The church has a present membership of one hundred and sixty, while the Sabbath-school, under the superintendency of J. A. Eveleth, has an average attendance of eighty scholars.

From Santa Rosa: A Nineteenth Century Town, by Gaye LeBaron (Historia, Ltd., Santa Rosa: c1985), p. 158:

Church congregations sprouted like mushrooms in the fertile fundamentalist soil of the Santa Rosa Valley. A group of Disciples of Christ -- Thomas and Caroline Hood, Drusilla Talbot, James Fulton, Joel Miller, Dr. James Madison Case, and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hand -- was gathering in Franklin in 1854, shortly before the town of Santa Rosa was formed. By 1857 they shared honors with the Baptist of having the only two church buildings in Santa Rosa.
Credit for the Disciples' early organization went to Thomas Thompson (not to be confused withe newspaper editor), who preached his way across the plains in '49 and founded most of the Christian Churches in California, and the fiery "Bro Mac," Brother John P. McCorkle, a zealous young man who later recalled that in his early days in Napa-Santa Rosa area he "felt like a stranger in a strange land." "Bro Mac" preached his first sermon wearing "homespun Kentucky blue jean trousers and a hickory shirt." Church history described him standing under the shade of an immense oak tree: "His audience," the history said, "was made up of people of every walk of life, mostly men, the rancher, the vaquero, the gamblers and horseracers, besides a few professional people -- a great crowd there gathered to hear the 'Campbellite' preacher in California of any denomination." [from the History of the Disciples of Christ in Calif., by E. B. Ware (F. W. Cook: Healdsburg, CA, 1916), p. 30-31]
Their first church building, with "Father Thompson" assisting "Bro Mac," who had many congregations to serve under many oak trees, was at Fourth and B streets. The Disciples of Christ also built a handsome two-story Italianate building on a five-acre site on B street, which they open as Christian College in 1872. After operating only seven years the church abandoned its attempt at frontier education; but in that period the young Edwin Markham, destined to become one of the best-known American poets of the early 20th century, attended and was graduated from that institution.

Since 1849 the congregation of Santa Rosa Christian Church has played a vital role in shaping the history of Sonoma County. Please visit the Santa Rosa Christian Church website for additional pastoral biography. (Thanks to A Better Server webmaster).

Like the Case family, Edwin Markham (“Man and a Plow”) also came to San Jose, and was in the first graduating class of the Normal School of San Jose (later San José State University) and graduated March 28, 1872. His house once stood near the University on 8th Street and I often walk by the stone marking its spot.

Family stories related to both Dr. John Baker and Jeanne Miller describe Dr. Case being very mean to Mary and they later divorced. From the San Francisco Call, Nov. 30, 1887 5-5:

Case, James, divorce from Ella M. Case. Judge Maquire on grounds of extreme cruelty. She got custody of a single child.

There is a listing for a 38 year old James Case born in Tennessee, from New York, enumerated with a William Myers in the 1852 California Census for Yolo County.

There appears to be no listing for James M. Case in the early Sonoma County Censuses. It is not an uncommon name for the area: there is a 34 year old James Case from Kentucky showing up in the 1860 Census for Petaluma which is probably not him.

He was involved in some sort of business deal, with William A. Buster, early Sonoma County treasurer turned embezzler, and the property in which he co-invested in, ended up in a Sheriff's sale. James and Mary subsequently moved away from Sonoma.

Jeremiah Claypool sued James on January 23, 1865 (Sonoma County District Court Case #463) and won a settlement of $365.15. James was living in Colusa County at the time.

James then appears to have been living in Yolo County in 1866-1867 when Jeremiah and Ellender Claypool declared him as a plaintiff in their lawsuit for James A. Cockrill's estate (case #561 & #657).

The list of James and Mary's children comes from Jeanne Miller.

James is listed in the 1870 Census as living in the City of San Jose, 1st Ward (Alviso Postoffice) in dwelling #466, as James M. Case, a 46 year old Physician (!) born in Tennessee. Enumerated with Mary M. Case (a. 43, bp. IN) and Walter Cockrill (a. 17, bp. CA), "Learning Tin Smith." Enumerated in dwelling #467 as head of the household is John W. Case (a. 14, bp CA) with a personal wealth of $1500 (!), Sarah M. Case (a. 12, bp. CA), Lizzie M. Case (a. 5, bp. CA), John D. Myers (a. 14, bp. CA), Matilda McDonald (a. 23, "Domestic Servant", b. Ireland), Martha Hulbert (a. 26, "Keeping House", bp. Ohio), Charles Miller (a. 25, "Medical Student", bp. IL), Amanda Miller (a. 23, "Keeping House", bp. ME), James Black (a. 35, "Laborer", bp. Ireland), Thomas McR?uno (a. 27), Angustus Lumquest (a. 26, bp. Sweden), and John Murphy (a. 30, bp. Ireland). One assumes that this is a boarding house and there is probably a very interesting story here as well.

From the Sonoma County Deed Index:

Grantee -- J. M. Case:
Grantor	Instrument/Date	Book	Page
O' Howell, W. R. & Wife	Deed Jan 1 1855	N	165

Grantee -- J. Case (James Mason?):
Grantor	Instrument/Date	Book	Page
Boyreau, Clement	Deed Dec 1 1859	10	38

Grantee -- Sarah J. Case (? Other Cases as Grantees: A. B. Case, G. W. Case ):
Grantor	Instrument/Date	Book	Page
Nevill, J. N. & Wife	Bond Feb 15 1856	B	40

Grantor -- James M. Case & Wife:
Grantee	Instrument/Date	Book	Page	Remarks
Buster, Wm. A. & Crane, James E.	Deed Jan 3 1856	B	8tc	William Buster was the Sonoma County Treasurer in the late eighteen fifties.
	Buster was convicted of embezzlement in 1857. There was also a sheriff sale of two lots that had been owned by James M. Case, Mary M. Case, Wm. A. Buster, James E. Crane and Joseph Browning. James E. Crane is believed to be the husband of Lucy Margaret Beaver, who is related to Henry Beaver somehow.

This page created on 03/27/01 12:22:35. Updated 01/09/05 15:06.