The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-03-02


Tho Washington correspondent Of the San
Francisco Times. in writing up the notaolnties
~ a,;forpia who are now in the national cap
;io1 Owes The following bit of romance about
ana of the best known among them:
Among the Ca.ifurnans here. James M.
or;,,, Veil known 10 San Franciscans, ls prob
shIx the most celebrated because there IS a
bit of tho lomance attached to his history. Ii
is britfiv tbi After an abst nee oftwenty years r
in Mcxtao and California, he returned TO
0harlestoo. his native place, and there found
his father ald mother deceased; but an OLD
and faiihidl negro woman, bis nurse wnen
child. had boen intrusted by his mother, oe-
fore her death, with the custody OF oox, 10
be de ivercd te her son James should ne ever
return. Upon his arrival in Charleston. aoou.
two wears since. the old negress learning q
him sought him out and delivered the box
which she had 50 long and faithfully preserv-
ed. and. upon examination OF tne contentE, II
was found to contain papers, documents ana
correspondence establishing clearly ms legal
right to alarge estate IN Ire and, ano 10 ens .i.as
bis papers i. the hands Of Messrs. Hughes,
Denver & Peck law firm OF this city, ana MI;
Hnohes and alr. Qulnn will leave for Ireland
soon TO take poss ession of the latter's estate.
Who among his old friends in San Francisco
can tully rea ize bat jim Quinn, that used 10
be, is now and was the Earl OF DunravenF
On this hint, the Times speaks of Mr. Quinn
as follows:
The strange freak Of fortune narrated in our
wasbinD1uu correspondence brings to the
memory.ot many an Old Californian the lucSy
horr,6re who, aller long years OF the Viclssl,
tudes Of liic on the Pacific coast. has turned
up the heir to the Etr,aom OF Duhrateu auU W
the master of n splendid estate. the peer Oh
The landed gentry of Ireland hnd an import
ant acc, ssiou to The brilliant circles OF Hlbel-
man NOBILITY. james NJ. Quinn Is o native OF
Char eston: s. c., and Ut Irish ancestry. de
came TO California in carly days. ana was par
ticulary known at one tlm; as proprietor OF
the "Wilows," favoriie resort, afterwards
absorbed in the rush Of ever g. Falling III
that lie went to Portland, Oregon, orened
public house, made another failure OF 1t, re-
turned 10 san Francisco and put out his shln-
ole on Clay-stle:t at a saloon called the LIS
meralda." Mr. Quinn was quite character
in his way. Ho generally attended tne ses-
sions Of tue LegisEltur was noted 1or us
scrupulous meet, i'll costume. and certain
reserved. distant mauuer which, while 1t did
rot tend 10 increase the number OF MS casual
friends. conveyed tho idea that under bis
walstcoat Leaf noble" heart, and that he
entertained high es,lmlte and lively appre-
citation Of Mr. Q uDn personally, and tna1
sooner or ,aier he would figure IN some bright
or or lottier sphere. About three years aso
becoming convinced that San Francisco was No
longer the advcnturers evsium that 1t had been
in tho more primitive days If Ell Dorado, aud
being troubled, wlthal, by chronic impecu-
niosity-unortunatcy too frequent among
.forty-nners"-M Qainn vent 10 New York
found his way thence to his Southern birth
place, aud there learned the agreeable fact ne
was an earl and rich man.
No doubt the new.msde no6leman Will sup
port Ills honors with due dignity, and with
now and then pie lsant remn scence OF his
political experiences at Sacramento and glauce
generally at the plebeian life on the shores OF
the Pacific.