Contra Costa County CA Archives History - Books .....Killing Of ____ Jamiens 1882
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Book Title: History Of Contra Costa County, California

KILLING OF _____ JAMIENS.—What is known as "Sydney Flat," about half a mile
below Somersville, was the scene of a most wanton murder, committed about one
o'clock on the morning of Monday, January 27, 1873. Two wretched and disorderly
brothels, to the annoyance and mortification of the respectable residents of
Somersville, had been for some time shamelessly maintained on "Sydney Flat." At
the hour named on Monday morning, as is gathered from the evidence, a drunken
inmate of one of the establishments, named Hattie Davis, in company with an
American, were on the way from one of these houses to the other, which are
separated by a distance of two or three hundred yards, followed by a Mexican
named Jamiens, and a Mexican boy about seventeen years of age. Jamiens was
playing upon a toy musical instrument, and the boy was carrying a bottle of
whisky. The woman's drunken brawling attracted the attention of some of the
visitors at the brothel she was approaching, and several of the men, among whom
was James Carroll, started from the house towards them. On meeting, one of the
number, named Green, said the woman asked him to take her home; but, on his
attempting to do so, the man who was with her tried to detain her, and he
knocked him down. At this moment the two Mexicans joined the group, Jamiens
playing upon his harmonica, the toy instrument before mentioned. Carroll asked
the Mexican boy what he had in his hand, and on being answered that it was
whisky, he snatched the bottle from the boy and knocked him down, either with
the bottle or his pistol, and, turning on Jamiens, fired. Jamiens fell,
exclaiming, "I am shot through the head," which were his last words, though he
did not cease to breathe for some three or four hours afterwards. The deceased
had been employed for some time at the Somersville mines, where he bore a good
character, and was generally known by the name of "Frank." On April 18th Carroll
was convicted of murder in the second degree, and was sentenced to twenty years
imprisonment in the State Prison.

Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA,
INCLUDING ITS GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATOGRAPHY AND DESCRIPTION;
TOGETHER WITH A RECORD OF THE MEXICAN GRANTS; THE BEAR FLAG WAR; THE MOUNT
DIABLO COAL FIELDS; THE EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT, COMPILED FROM THE MOST
AUTHENTIC SOURCES; THE NAMES OF ORIGINAL SPANISH AND MEXICAN PIONEERS; FULL
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY; SEPARATE HISTORY OF EACH TOWNSHIP, SHOWING
THE ADVANCE IN POPULATION AND AGRICULTURE;
ALSO,
Incidents of Pioneer Life; and Biographical Sketches
OF EARLY AND PROMINENT SETTLERS AND REPRESENTATIVE MEN;
AMD OF ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, CHURCHES, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
SAN FRANCISCO: W. A. SLOCUM & CO., PUBLISHERS
1882.


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