Henry Clay Daulton represents a powerful political and economic force in local history. Having been appointed by the governor in 1893 to head the commission to organize the new county of Madera, he was elected as its first Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Daulton’s influence in those early days can hardly be overstated. His story is well known.
What is not so well known are Daulton’s ties to one of California’s most violent figures from California’s past, State Supreme Court Justice David S. Terry.
Terry came to California in the gold rush, and within a few years had secured a seat on the State Supreme Court. Always politically active, Terry injected a little color and a lot of violence into anything he touched.