The other day a family came in to visit the Old Sacramento Museum, led by the matriarch. I had a nice conversation with the woman, the subject of which prompted me to write this post. We were discussing Black Bart, and we got on the subject of James Hume, Wells Fargo's Special Detective who brought Black Bart to justice after years of investigation.

She told me that she and her husband were caretakers of Hume Castle in Berkeley, California  back in the 1970s. I had no idea there was such a thing as Hume Castle in Berkeley — I wondered if it had anything to do with Wells Fargo's legendary Detective. I know Hume died in Berkeley in 1908, at age 77, after his retirement from Wells Fargo. But again, I never knew of a Hume Castle.

I started researching the castle and discovered there was a relation between Wells Fargo's Hume, and this castle in Berkeley. I discovered the castle was built in 1927, long after Hume's death. The original owners of the castle were Samuel James Hume and his wife Portia Hume. Samuel was James Hume's only son, born in 1885.

Samuel Hume was educated at Harvard and earned a degree in theater. He created the first exhibition of stagecraft   in the United States. By 1918, Samuel had returned to Berkeley as an assistant professor at the University of California , eventually becoming the head of the Greek Theater Department there. His wife, Portia Bell Hume , was a pioneer in the field of Psychiatry and lent her name to the modern Portia Bell Hume Behavioral Health and Training Center .

In 1927 the Humes engaged architect John Hudson Thomas  to build a replica of a 13th-century French Monastery . This became their home, known alternately as Hume Cloister or Hume Castle. The building still stands at 2900 Buena Vista Way in Berkeley, and has been listed as a historic landmark of Berkeley  since 1985.

There it is! Wells Fargo had a role in the history of this landmark! James Hume was headquartered in San Francisco, grounded in the area. The Humes resided across San Francisco Bay in Berkeley, home to the great new University of the West.

You can imagine conversations at dinner, with the elder Hume encouraging his creative child to go to college and holding UC as the model. The younger Hume took the advice and brought his talents back to Berkeley and established a monument to the family name.

Cool!

Posted by Greg at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Found in Artifacts, James Hume, Misc, Remember, San Francisco, Wells Fargo Bank

You remember the posts about James B. Hume, Wells Fargo's chief detective, who tracked down the bad guys and brought them to justice. There's a very real, human side to the story of law enforcement in these times, which is usually forgotten. People favor "Gunfight at the OK Corral "-type stories over lowbrow larceny or inept outlaws. Or the round-the-clock action by agents, determined to nab dangerous people because it's the right thing to do.

On June 19, 1884, Wells Fargo's transport in León, Mexico , was robbed. Agent Thompson in León detailed the incident in a letter to the superintendent. Thompson left the León railroad depot as usual that evening, with his clerk and driver named Alberto Romero and an armed guard provided by local police. A few blocks into the three-mile route, the wagon turned onto Calle Honda—"hardly a street," Thompson wrote, "more of a watercourse and the spot is very lonely."

There, several bandits opened fire and swarmed the wagon. The mules were terrified, the guard fell wounded, and Romero cried out that he was also shot. Thompson emptied his pistol, and a policeman on foot joined the firefight. Outnumbered and outgunned, they dove for cover. The thieves made off with the treasure box that contained $500 in cash. Alberto Romero died at the scene.

When things calmed down, the entire neighborhood came to aid the victims, and local police sprang to action. Local businessmen provided a substantial funeral for Romero, Thompson wrote,

"a number of whom attended in person. I take it these demonstrations are a compliment to the dead boy, but also to the Company, which has acquired a reputation of being the only foreign enterprise in this country which gives good service to the public.

"The boy had earned the goodwill of business men here by his activity, intelligence and obliging disposition."

Thompson was authorized to give the wounded guard a $15 "gratification," which had, he wrote, "a very good effect throughout the country."

J.N. Thacker, Hume's top assistant, was sent to León to investigate the incident for Wells Fargo. Thacker's report details his unrelenting efforts to find witnesses and nab the gang. But Thacker's report also tells of his intelligent collaboration with law enforcement and political machinery. Thacker worked closely with local, state and federal police. Each level pledged its cooperation as Thacker showed his determination to let Mexican officials do their jobs. Thacker was even able to work with the Mexican presidency  in his quest.

On July 14, 1884, Thacker reported that several people had been detained, questioned or convicted in the case. The final case against the robbers, Thacker wrote,

"will come to a close within a week, and the judge has given me to understand that he will Sentence (the crook) for a term of three years to ... Penitentiary."

Posted by Charles at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Found in Artifacts, First-hand Accounts, James Hume, Perspective, Remember, Wells Fargo Bank