Volney Howard

Volney Erskine Howard (October 22, 1809 – May 14, 1889) was an American lawyer, statesman, and jurist.

In 1856, he was appointed Adjutant General of California, following the resignation of William T. Sherman during the time of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance.

Afterward, he moved to Sacramento in 1858 to practice law but decided to leave northern California because he had made too many enemies while battling the vigilantes in San Francisco.

His law firm included two of his lawyer sons, Charles Howard (killed in a gunfight with Daniel B. Nichols, son of a former mayor of Los Angeles, in 1869 in a saloon) and Frank H. Howard, who served as city attorney of Los Angeles.

He was nominated to a seat on the United States Supreme Court but declined because of failing health.