Henry A. Tefft

Candidate Biography:

Henry Amos Tefft
Born: 1824 in Union Village [now Greenwich], New York
Married: Eliza Josefa (in 1848) [Daughter of W. G. Dana]
Child: Henry Tefft, Jr.
Died: February 6, 1852 in Avila Beach, CA*

1849: Delegate, First California Constitutional Convention (representing San Luis Obispo District)
1850: Resigned from the State Assembly on April 20.
1850-1852: Justice, Second Judicial District

• PLACE OF DEATH: Tefft died when a small boat carrying him to shore from the steamer Ohio capsized in heavy surf at Port San Luis (in San Luis Obispo County). Port San Luis is located at Avila Beach (and is not actually in the city of San Luis Obispo, which is seven miles inland).
• PLACENAME: Tefft Street, in Nipomo, is named for the Assemblyman. 
• At the 1849 Constitutional Convention, Tefft lobbied to have San Luis Obispo serve as the capital of California (he lost). He also proposed electing Assemblymembers to a one year term, which was accepted.

Source: Descendants of William Goodwin Dana and Maria Petra Josefa Carrillo de Dana. Compiled by John Bowen and updated by Colleen M. Beck and Dana family members. (accessed 6/19/2012)
Source: History of Political Conventions in California, 1849-1892 by Winfield J. Davis (1893)
Source: Governmental Roster, 1889. State and County Governments of California by W. C. Hendricks