District Attorney Edmund Tecumseh Manwell accompanied by Sheriff Richard Voss and Deputy Sheriff Eugene Reardon went to the Durst Ranch where a member of the International World Workers, a union, was trying to organize the workers.

Durst Ranch raised hops and many people were employed. Richard “Blackie” Ford was the union organizer and he had been fired and ordered off the ranch by Mr. Durst.

He refused to leave and a warrant was issued. When the officers arrived, there was a large assembly of people and Voss ordered them to disburse. Fighting broke out and in the melee, Reardon and Manwell were shot and killed and Voss suffered a broken leg.

District Attorney Edmund Tecumseh Manwell accompanied by Sheriff Richard Voss and Deputy Sheriff Eugene Reardon went to the Durst Ranch where a member of the International World Workers, a union, was trying to organize the workers.

Durst Ranch raised hops and many people were employed. Richard “Blackie” Ford was the union organizer and he had been fired and ordered off the ranch by Mr. Durst.

He refused to leave and a warrant was issued. When the officers arrived, there was a large assembly of people and Voss ordered them to disburse. Fighting broke out and in the melee, Reardon and Manwell were shot and killed and Voss suffered a broken leg.

Manwell was born on August 19, 1868, at his camp of Far West in Placer County, but shortly afterwards his parents removed to Wheatland and the remainder of his life was passed as a resident of Yuba County.

A self-made man in its broadest sense. He graduated from the public schools of Wheatland and by his own efforts became a teacher at an early age. After a number of years spent as a teacher in the public schools of the county, most of this time as principal of the schools at Wheatland, he was admitted to the bar.

He immediately commenced the practice of his profession in Wheatland and while there was elected and served one term as member of the assembly. After this time he was appointed superintendent of schools of Yuba County to fill the unexpired term of J.A. Scott, which office he was holding when he was elected district attorney in 1910.

He was married August 22, 1889 to Nellie Scott, who with eight children, now survive him.

He died at Wheatland August 3, 1913, he having been assassinated while fearlessly performing his duty as a public official.

Whereas, Edmund Tecumseh Manwell in his life’s work, through his earnestness, public spirit and faithfulness in the administration of the duties of his office of district attorney of Yuba County, made for his self an honored place and won for him the love and respect of the whole county.

Resolved, That we, the members of the board of supervisors of Yuba County, hereby give expression to the kind regard we have for him, his work and his memory; that to his wife and bereaved ones, in this the hour of affliction, we extend our heartfelt sympathy; that these resolutions be spread upon the record of this board; that a page of the record be set aside and dedicated to his memory and that a copy of this resolution be sent to the bereaved family.

The people of Yuba and Sutter counties turned out in large numbers to pay their last respects to the memory of the late E.T. Manwell on Aug. 6. The funeral, which was held in Wheatland, was the largest the little town ever saw and the procession was the longest ever seen in Yuba County.

The services were under the auspices of the Masonic Lodge of Nicolaus, of which the deceased was a prominent member, and the exercise were held in the Odd Fellows’ Hall at Wheatland. The hall proved entirely too small to accommodate all who attended and during the services the streets were filled with mourning friends and acquaintances of the deceased. The services at the grave were also conducted by the same lodge.

A military escort led the funeral cortege to the cemetery and there were nearly a hundred soldiers of Company A of Chico, Company E of Sacramento and Company I of Woodland, N.G. C., Second regiment, in line. The soldiers were followed by the uniform escort of Maryville commandery No. 7, Knights Templar. Next came the Odd Fellows, Elks and the members of the Nicolaus Masonic Lodge.

Mr. And Mrs. H.A. Niemeyer and Mr. And Mrs. E.F. Mouson composed the choir, and they remembered some beautiful selections.

Herman D. Suhr and Richard “Blackie” Ford were convicted of the murders of Manwell and Reardon and sentenced to Folsom Prison.

On December 16, 1912, an unknown outlaw attacked a 16-year-old girl near Irvine Station in the area known as Tomato Springs and later held off a small army of deputy sheriffs, militiamen and citizens in a desperate gun battle that lasted six hours. In the exchange of gunfire, Undersheriff Robert Squires emptied his revolver, wounding the suspect, while receiving six rifle wounds.

After killing Undersheriff Squires, 44, and seriously wounding three others, the outlaw was finally shot and killed by the pose.

Undersheriff Squires formerly served with the Canadian Mounted Police and had done scouting in Montana before joining the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. He was popular in the community and his funeral service was one of the largest in Santa Ana history. He was described in his eulogy as “one of those men with a heart as big as a water bucket.”

At “the noon hour” on Friday, October 18, 1912, near a cannery in the small city of Winters, James Chapman noticed a man parading down the street brandishing a shotgun.  He summoned City Marshal William P. Rice and another officer, Constable Andrews.  The suspect, Jacinto Vaca, saw the men approach and retreated to his house.  Chapman and Andrews circled around the back of the home while Marshal Rice approached Vaca on the front porch, assuring him that he only wanted to discuss the matter.  Without warning Vaca fired at Rice, killing him instantly.  Vaca reloaded and ran into the street where Chapman apprehended him, throwing him to the ground.  Vaca was handcuffed and quickly taken to the city jail.

William Preston “Dick” Rice was 41 years old.  He was survived by his wife, “one of the most popular and charming ladies of this vicinity” the former Miss Alice Chadwick.  The two had one son who was 14 months old at the time of Rice’s death.

The family of Special Officer Charles A. Williams said that it was his life-long ambition to wear a uniform and badge.

In the late afternoon hours of April 21, 1912, Williams was on patrol in the area of East 12th Street and 13th Avenue. He saw two suspicious looking men alight from a streetcar and opted to stop and question them regarding pick-pocketing activities.

Williams felt that their answers to his questions were unsatisfactory, so he decided to walk them to the “lock-up” at the rear of the firehouse on East 14th Street. Williams did not search the suspects, an oversight that would cost him his life.

As the trio neared their destination, one suspect pulled free from his grasp and ran down an alley. Williams lunged after the suspect. Suddenly, two loud, sharp reports accompanied by a large cloud of smoke came from the alley. Williams fell dead to the sidewalk. He had been shot once in the heart and once in the head.

Williams entered the Oakland Police Department service in 1907. At the time of his death he was being considered for promotion to full membership in the department. His wife and five children survived him. His murderer was captured and sentenced to life imprisonment.