Copyrighted © 1997. Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Nancy Morefield . USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogy information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations."Persons or organizations desiringto use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must contact the submitter or the listed USGenWeb archivist. Uploaded 8 November 1997. *** COUNTY WAS SLEEPY LITTLE PLACE IN 1889 *** Southland News Service Orange County, when it was incorporated in 1889, was a quiet, sleepy agricultural county that had just been severed from Los Angeles County. The county, on incorporation day, Aug. 1, 1889, had a population of about 15,000 persons. Three incorporated cities in the county at that time were Anaheim, with a population of 881, Orange with 600 persons and the county's big city, Santa Ana which had a population of 2,000. In fact, the county was so quiet and sparsely populated that it was almost a full month before the first death in the county was reported. According to Coroner's report No. 1, the victim was Henry CHARLES, a 51-year-old immigrant from Russia. According to this report, CHARLES died as a result of a gunshot wound, and was buried after the first Orange burial permit was issued. In a more relaxed and less crowed time in the county, the coroner failed to indicate whether the fatal gunshot wound came as a result of a homicide, a suicide or an accident. It took almost a month for the first death to occur, it only took a few hours for the first marriage. On Aug. 1, 1889, Miss M. B. WALLIS, 18, Santa Ana, married F. S. BENEDICT, 27, Santa Monica. The couple took out their marriage license a few minutes after the Orange County marriage license bureau opened its doors for the first day of business. The first child born after the county was formed was Edward T. ABBOTT, who was born on Oct. 26, 1889 in Garden Grove to William and Sarah ABBOTT. ABBOTT officially remained nameless until 1952 when his brother William A. ABBOTT informed the county clerk of the correct name. Fifteen days after the county was formed, Juan RUIZ was hailed into court for the first felony trial in the county. After two days of testimony before Superior Court Judge J. W. TOWNER, RUIZ was acquitted of the grand larceny charge. Strangely enough, the first person sentenced to the state prison from Orange County was a woman. Modesta AVILA, after being convicted by a jury on Oct. 28, was sentenced to three years in San Quentin state prison for obstructing a railroad track. Past records of the county shed no further light on how Miss AVILA fared in prison or whether she ever returned to Orange County. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I found this yellowed clipping in my aunts box of old family stuff. The article may have been clipped from the Fullerton Daily News or possibly one of the other local news papers around Fullerton. Submitted by: Nancy Morefield toiyabe@qnet.com