Marriage, Murder, and Betrayal in Nineteenth-Century California

James Black, once abandoned and dying in California, built a vast empire, leading to a bitter inheritance battle after his death.

In 1832, the captain of the brigantine Catalina ordered Scotsman James Black, dying of typhus, abandoned at Monterey, California. Nursed by J. B. R. Cooper's wife, Black survived to hunt the last of California's sea otters, defend San Francisco from invading Russians under General Vallejo, and drive cattle to feed gold rush miners. Black's ranching and dairy empire, founded on a single Mexican land grant, ultimately encompassed 20,000 Marin County acres. Black, his wife, and daughter enjoyed the privileges of the landed gentry until January 1864 when his cherished wife died in their son-in-law's dental chair. An obsessive resentment, excesses of whisky, and a scheming second wife consumed Black's bereavement. Augustina learned after her father's death that she had been written out of his will. For four years and across two counties, she fought her stepmother for a fair portion of her father's $15,000,000 estate. After multiple notorious trials, Augustina gained a partial victory--but would she receive the land and gold the jury awarded her?