Richard Rains Veale was the son of Richard Roe Veale and Martha (Rains) Veale. His paternal grandfather, William Veale, was one of four children whose parents had brought them to Pike County, Missouri, from St. Columb Major, Cornwall, England, in 1820, only to die suddenly and leave them orphans in the New World, growing up under the care of a court-appointed guardian and estate trustee. William had moved to California with most of his family in 1857.
In his youth Richard worked for his father on the family farm near Brentwood. He also learned blacksmithing. Later he operated a 4,000-acre ranch with his brother William Worth Veale, raising cattle, horses, and hogs. The two brothers introduced modern mechanized equipment to the area, such as steam plows and harvesters.
He was first elected Sheriff of Contra Costa County in 1894 while he was still ranching. The county was still largely untamed, and the job presented a real challenge -- one that he met. He became such an effective, and efficient, peace officer that he retained the job for over 40 years.
Sheriff Veale was one of the best-known law officers on the Pacific Coast. He captured several notorious criminals and solved countless crimes, with highlights such as capturing a man who stole $300,000 of gold bullion from a smelter and hid it in the Bay, and tracking down several murderers.
Ahead of his time on prison reform, Sheriff Veale made sure prisoners were given sanitary conditions and nutritious food; and he was proud of having never had to kill a man he was pursuing.
In other public service work, Richard Rains Veale was instrumental in various bay and harbor improvements, state highway construction, and organizing a Home Guard during WWI. He was secretary for 35 years of the California Sheriff's Association, which he organized. After his defeat for re-election in 1934, he was elected Treasurer for Contra Costa County, a position he held until his death in 1937.
Richard Rains Veale married Mary Elizabeth Martin November 11, 1883. They had six children: William Minor, Leila (Mrs. A. F. Bray), Robert Howard, Mortimer Belshaw, Mariam Estelle (Mrs. Francis McMahan), and Leola Rains (Mrs. Bernard McDonald). Following the death of his first wife, and a second marriage that ended in divorce, he married Mrs. Marian Cranston Wright, former postmistress of El Cerritos, who survived him. He died of complications following gall bladder surgery, age 73.
**Information from the East Contra Costa Historical Society and the Byron-Brentwood-Knightson Cemetery District dated September 2003, augmented November 2010 with information from other sources. There is a wealth of information about Sheriff Richard Rains Veale, as his was a long and very public life. A video about his career can (in 2014) be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH-YacnjVhQ.
In his youth Richard worked for his father on the family farm near Brentwood. He also learned blacksmithing. Later he operated a 4,000-acre ranch with his brother William Worth Veale, raising cattle, horses, and hogs. The two brothers introduced modern mechanized equipment to the area, such as steam plows and harvesters.
He was first elected Sheriff of Contra Costa County in 1894 while he was still ranching. The county was still largely untamed, and the job presented a real challenge -- one that he met. He became such an effective, and efficient, peace officer that he retained the job for over 40 years.
Sheriff Veale was one of the best-known law officers on the Pacific Coast. He captured several notorious criminals and solved countless crimes, with highlights such as capturing a man who stole $300,000 of gold bullion from a smelter and hid it in the Bay, and tracking down several murderers.
Ahead of his time on prison reform, Sheriff Veale made sure prisoners were given sanitary conditions and nutritious food; and he was proud of having never had to kill a man he was pursuing.
In other public service work, Richard Rains Veale was instrumental in various bay and harbor improvements, state highway construction, and organizing a Home Guard during WWI. He was secretary for 35 years of the California Sheriff's Association, which he organized. After his defeat for re-election in 1934, he was elected Treasurer for Contra Costa County, a position he held until his death in 1937.
Richard Rains Veale married Mary Elizabeth Martin November 11, 1883. They had six children: William Minor, Leila (Mrs. A. F. Bray), Robert Howard, Mortimer Belshaw, Mariam Estelle (Mrs. Francis McMahan), and Leola Rains (Mrs. Bernard McDonald). Following the death of his first wife, and a second marriage that ended in divorce, he married Mrs. Marian Cranston Wright, former postmistress of El Cerritos, who survived him. He died of complications following gall bladder surgery, age 73.
**Information from the East Contra Costa Historical Society and the Byron-Brentwood-Knightson Cemetery District dated September 2003, augmented November 2010 with information from other sources. There is a wealth of information about Sheriff Richard Rains Veale, as his was a long and very public life. A video about his career can (in 2014) be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH-YacnjVhQ.
Richard Rains Veale was the son of Richard Roe Veale and Martha (Rains) Veale. His paternal grandfather, William Veale, was one of four children whose parents had brought them to Pike County, Missouri, from St. Columb Major, Cornwall, England, in 1820, only to die suddenly and leave them orphans in the New World, growing up under the care of a court-appointed guardian and estate trustee. William had moved to California with most of his family in 1857.
In his youth Richard worked for his father on the family farm near Brentwood. He also learned blacksmithing. Later he operated a 4,000-acre ranch with his brother William Worth Veale, raising cattle, horses, and hogs. The two brothers introduced modern mechanized equipment to the area, such as steam plows and harvesters.
He was first elected Sheriff of Contra Costa County in 1894 while he was still ranching. The county was still largely untamed, and the job presented a real challenge -- one that he met. He became such an effective, and efficient, peace officer that he retained the job for over 40 years.
Sheriff Veale was one of the best-known law officers on the Pacific Coast. He captured several notorious criminals and solved countless crimes, with highlights such as capturing a man who stole $300,000 of gold bullion from a smelter and hid it in the Bay, and tracking down several murderers.
Ahead of his time on prison reform, Sheriff Veale made sure prisoners were given sanitary conditions and nutritious food; and he was proud of having never had to kill a man he was pursuing.
In other public service work, Richard Rains Veale was instrumental in various bay and harbor improvements, state highway construction, and organizing a Home Guard during WWI. He was secretary for 35 years of the California Sheriff's Association, which he organized. After his defeat for re-election in 1934, he was elected Treasurer for Contra Costa County, a position he held until his death in 1937.
Richard Rains Veale married Mary Elizabeth Martin November 11, 1883. They had six children: William Minor, Leila (Mrs. A. F. Bray), Robert Howard, Mortimer Belshaw, Mariam Estelle (Mrs. Francis McMahan), and Leola Rains (Mrs. Bernard McDonald). Following the death of his first wife, and a second marriage that ended in divorce, he married Mrs. Marian Cranston Wright, former postmistress of El Cerritos, who survived him. He died of complications following gall bladder surgery, age 73.
**Information from the East Contra Costa Historical Society and the Byron-Brentwood-Knightson Cemetery District dated September 2003, augmented November 2010 with information from other sources. There is a wealth of information about Sheriff Richard Rains Veale, as his was a long and very public life. A video about his career can (in 2014) be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH-YacnjVhQ.
In his youth Richard worked for his father on the family farm near Brentwood. He also learned blacksmithing. Later he operated a 4,000-acre ranch with his brother William Worth Veale, raising cattle, horses, and hogs. The two brothers introduced modern mechanized equipment to the area, such as steam plows and harvesters.
He was first elected Sheriff of Contra Costa County in 1894 while he was still ranching. The county was still largely untamed, and the job presented a real challenge -- one that he met. He became such an effective, and efficient, peace officer that he retained the job for over 40 years.
Sheriff Veale was one of the best-known law officers on the Pacific Coast. He captured several notorious criminals and solved countless crimes, with highlights such as capturing a man who stole $300,000 of gold bullion from a smelter and hid it in the Bay, and tracking down several murderers.
Ahead of his time on prison reform, Sheriff Veale made sure prisoners were given sanitary conditions and nutritious food; and he was proud of having never had to kill a man he was pursuing.
In other public service work, Richard Rains Veale was instrumental in various bay and harbor improvements, state highway construction, and organizing a Home Guard during WWI. He was secretary for 35 years of the California Sheriff's Association, which he organized. After his defeat for re-election in 1934, he was elected Treasurer for Contra Costa County, a position he held until his death in 1937.
Richard Rains Veale married Mary Elizabeth Martin November 11, 1883. They had six children: William Minor, Leila (Mrs. A. F. Bray), Robert Howard, Mortimer Belshaw, Mariam Estelle (Mrs. Francis McMahan), and Leola Rains (Mrs. Bernard McDonald). Following the death of his first wife, and a second marriage that ended in divorce, he married Mrs. Marian Cranston Wright, former postmistress of El Cerritos, who survived him. He died of complications following gall bladder surgery, age 73.
**Information from the East Contra Costa Historical Society and the Byron-Brentwood-Knightson Cemetery District dated September 2003, augmented November 2010 with information from other sources. There is a wealth of information about Sheriff Richard Rains Veale, as his was a long and very public life. A video about his career can (in 2014) be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH-YacnjVhQ.
Inscription
"Sheriff of Contra Costa Co.(1894-1935)" also,"Tax Collector(1936-1937)"
Gravesite Details
buried with his first wife, Mary Elizabeth(Martin)Veale(1865-1908)
