Isaac S. Belcher (27 Feb 1825 in Vermont - 30 Nov 1898 in San Francisco, California) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California from March 4, 1872 to January 5, 1880.
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Biography
Belcher was born in Stockbridge, Vermont, the second of three brothers. His father Samuel Belcher was a farmer who believed in the dignity of work and did not permit any sort of laziness. He attended school off season. In 1842, he enrolled in the University of Vermont in Burlington, from which he graduated in 1846. When he was 21, he entered the law office of J. W. D. Parker, Esq., a leading practitioner of that time, as a student, and there commenced a thorough course of legal study. Blessed by nature with a very retentive memory, he soon became master of legal principles, and was admitted to the bar of the supreme court of Vermont in 1852.
Career
He was "allured" to California and arrived on 16 June 1853, after spending a month in Oregon. He settled on the Yuba River during the Gold rush but resumed a law career. He moved to Marysville, California in 1855 and opened a law practice.
It was during a break in 1861 that he visited his old home and met Adeline Johnson of August Maine. They married and had three children, one of whom, Richard, entered the practice of law.
Belcher served as District attorney for Yuba County, California from 1856 to 1867. He served as district judge of the tenth judicial district from 1785 to 1869, also presided in the 21st district as well. He was appointed to the court on March 4, 1872 and served to 1880. Afterwards, he was an original trustee for Stanford University and a commissioner for the supreme court from March 16, 1885 to his death.