The record-union., 1899-04-09

delegates claimed seats in the county
convention, and two conventions were
held, each claiming to be the regularly
chosen representatives of the party, ana
each branch sent a delegation to the
State convention-one headed by David
c. Broderick and the other by Elcan
Heydenfeldt.
AS result of this trouble from the
bay, the interior delegations divided.
and the situation was serious. Wnen
the convention was called to order, on
simultaneous motions Coffroth and
Walker sprang upon the stage and each
endeavored to act as temporary CHAIR
man.. For a time there was the great
est excitement, when a motion was
made requesting the aspirants to with
draw from, the stand and allow the con-
vention to decide, but Broderick was
too quick for the other side, and when
the question was about to be put he
sprang to his feet and named Thomas
e. Van Buren as Chairman Pro Tenn,
and decided that he had been chosen.
This action did not settle the mat
ter, but the two delegations from San
Francisco were directed to retire from
the hall and the next day the conven-
ton admitted the Heydenfeldt set. On
permanent organization Milton S.
Latham was elected presiding officer
by a vote of 169 to 116 for Coffroth, who
represented the Broderick wing.
AT the fail election that year Coffroth
was elected to the State Senate, and
| served as a Democrat in the sessions
of 1S53-1S54. 1t was during the session
of 1888 that Coffroth perpetrated
cruel joke on a young lady, the daugh-
| ter of United States Senator VIM. NJ.
| GWin- She was a social belle, and the
| story was told in the old Alta few
days after the incident happened in this
| item:
"The other evening a gentleman of
Benicia (the then eapitaD gave party,
to which were invited various of the
| members of the Legislature. Among
others was the Senator from one of the
mining counties. In the course of the
evening this Senator chanced to be en-
gagged for a dance with one of the fair
daughters of Benicia, who, not having
previously been l1onored with his ac-
quaintance, asked him where he lived
He answered: AT Benicia.' And how
long have you resided here?' asked the
inquisitive fair one. About three years.
never met you BEFORE she said May
I ask what is your business here?' oh,
said the mischievous Senator, I keep a
barber shop down town The lady
danced but minute more, complained
of being tired, and asked to be excused
from dancing longer; but her vexation
can be imagined when she soon learned
that the barber was the promising
| In 1854 Coffroth was a candidate for
the Democratic nomination for Con-
gress, but withdrew. The following year
he was elected Chairman of the State
Convention of the American, or Know
Nothing party. and was rendered the
nomination for Governor, but declined.
He felt sure that the new party would
sweep the State, as it did, but was con-
fident that he would be returned to the
Senate, and that he would be sent TO
the United States Senate, as soon as
he reached the required age Had he
accepted the rendered nomination he
would have been Governor in place of
| J. Neely Johnson. He was returned to
the State Senate as an American mem
Der, and served in the sessions of 1856
and 1851
| trated by Cofroth on James 7. Farley.
the Speaker of the Assembly in 1856
Toward the close of the session Farley
came to Coffroth for some points for his
valedictory address to the House. Cof-
| froth agreed to prepare for Farley a
| splendid speech, and he furnished the
| manuscript. Farley committed it to
memory and delivered it with great or
| a IL. i
mortified when the next mornings issue
of the Sacramento Union" published
his valedictory, and in parallel column
its word-forw word counterpart that had
been delivered by the Speaker who had
presided two sessions before Coffroth
had simply copied the old valedictory
! from the printed journal The plagiar-
ism was not discovered by Farley, and
! the latter never forgave the Senator
| from Tuolumne for his cruel deception
In 1886 Coffroth's friends named him
in the American Convention for Con-
gresham, but he declined The next
year ne declined the nomination for
Lieutenant Governor in the State
Convention of the same party. He
then hastened back to his old Dem
| ocratic associates, and at the first con-
he arose and told them how lonesome
he had been while away from the fold,
how glad he was to return, and how
| humble he felt. He ended amid a storm
of applause, was reinstated at once. and
was made President of the next DEM
ocratic State Convention. AS a presid-
| ing officer he was in his glory. His
tact and good humor We're infinite, and
| he held the hundreds of excitable and
explosive men in the hollow of his hand
| He would dismiss dangerous motion
with a witticism so apt that the mover
| himself would join in the laugh and
| give it up. His broad face in repose
was that of a Quaker, at other times
that Of a Falstaff
In 1889 he was a candidate for the
! nomination for Congressman before the
Northern, or Tammany, Democratic
| Convention, but was defeated. He was
chosen Chairman of the Union Demo-
/ cratic State Convention that met in
this city July 4, 1861. and was again an
unsuccessful candidate for the Congress
Sicnal nomination In 1863 the two
wings of the Democratic party came to-
| Sether, and Coffroth was again the pre-
siding officer over the State Convention.
! The next year he was nominated for
| Congressman from the Second District
by the Democrats, but was defeated by
| William Highly, the Union nominee In
| 1867 Coffroth was again nominated for
| Congressman by the Democrats, but
| was again defeated by Highly, though
| the Union majority was very materially
reduced In 1868 Coffroth was again
| the standard bearer for the Democracy