Oscar L. Shafter

Oscar Lovell Shafter (October 19, 1812 – January 22, 1873) was an American attorney and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from January 2, 1864, to December 11, 1867 with a legacy of expanding the California dairy industry.

Originally from Vermont he moved to California in 1854 and practiced law in San Francisco. In 1857, he and his brother James McMillan Shafter won a legal battle after which their client sold them the contested property of Point Reyes. They bought almost the entire peninsula for less than $85,000 and developed it as the leading dairy region in the entire West.

Early life and education Shafter was born in Athens, Vermont to Mary and William R. Shafter. His father was an attorney, judge and member of the Vermont Legislature. His grandfather, James Shafter, fought in the American Revolution, was one of the founders of the town of Athens in Vermont in 1779, and served in the Vermont Legislature for 20 years. Shafter attended Wilbraham Wesleyan Academy in Massachusetts, and in 1834 graduated from Wesleyan University. After graduation, he returned to Vermont and commenced reading law. He entered Harvard Law School and in 1836 graduated with a LL.B. He returned to Wilmington, Vermont, and entered into private practice for the next 18 years. He was elected to the state Legislature, and ran as the Free Soil Party and Liberty Party candidate for the United States House of Representatives, Senate, and Governor of Vermont.

Career In 1854, at the invitation of a Vermont friend, Trenor Park, Shafter came to California and practiced law in San Francisco with Halleck, Peachy, Billings & Park. His brother, James McMillan Shafter, also attended Wesleyan University, and graduated from Yale Law School. Arriving in San Francisco in 1855, James joined his brother Oscar in forming the firm of Shafter, Shafter, Park and Heydenfeldt with Park and Solomon Heydenfeldt, who was the first elected Jewish member of the California Supreme Court, serving from 1852 to 1857. Oscar was renowned as a real estate attorney and expert in quieting title.

In 1857, a complex real estate litigation resulted in Shafter winning a victory for his client, Dr. Robert McMillan, of a large tract of land at Point Reyes (including Rancho Punta de los Reyes Sobrante and Rancho Punta de los Reyes) in Marin County. McMillan sold the 75,000 acre property at a discount to the Shafters, who paid roughly $85,000 for the parcel. The families of Oscar and James Shafter owned large portions of Point Reyes from 1857 to 1919, when the land was sold in parcels.

In 1860, Shafter was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, but lost to Lecompton Democrat Milton Latham. In 1863, a constitutional amendment meant all of the seats of the Supreme Court of California were open for election. In October 1863, Oscar Shafter was elected as a justice on the Republican Party ticket, and begin his term in January 1864. The justices drew lots for term length and Shafter was assigned the long, 10-year term as an associate justice. In December 1867, he resigned due to ill health. His nephew was William Rufus Shafter, a general in the American Civil War and recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Shafter kept a journal which describes the natural environment, social customs and living conditions of the California pioneers.