Son of Frederick William and Mary (Glynn) Fickert. Married March 1, 1905 in San Francisco, Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace.
Age 64 at time of death per death index.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in China for the Federal Telegraph Company. [Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.]
From Wikipedia:
Charles Fickert (1873 - October 19, 1937) was San Francisco District Attorney from 1909 until 1920. He is best known as the DA who persecuted Tom Mooney and Warren Billings for the Preparedness Day bombing of 1916.
Born in Kern County California, Fickert entered Stanford University in 1894 and became well known for his skill on the football field. Admitted to the California Bar in [1895]] in Los Angeles, he arrived in San Francisco and joined the law offices of Edward Robeson Taylor, who soon replaced Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz when Schmitz was indicted during the graft trials.
Fickert's first public office was assistant United States Attorney, serving for two years. He then successfully opposed DA Francis J. Heney for DA in the fall of 1909. He was regularly reelected until defeat by Matthew Brady in 1920.
Fickert was in office in 1916 and drew national attention and scandal for his prosecution of Mooney and Billings. Witnesses claimed Fickert coached them to perjure themselves in subsequent hearings in order to defend the original convictions. Fickert continued his battles with his fists, first against Heney at the Olympic club and later against editor Fremont Older at the Palace Hotel.
A 1919 Grand Jury exonerated Fickert from charges made by John B. Densmore, investigator from Washington, Director General of Employment, in the framing of Mooney and Billings and for his having conspired with Pete McDonough in the freeing of wealthy defendants. President Theodore Roosevelt declared, "anyone assailing Fickert for prosecuting anarchists should be deprived of citizenship".
Fickert ran for Governor of California in 1918 but was defeated. His wife, Mrs. Ethel Wallace Fickert, obtained a divorce from him in 1935 citing excessive drinking and gambling and was awarded the Fickert home at 7060 Green Street in San Francisco. Fickert died of pneumonia at 11:12 p.m. on October 19, 1937 at Franklin Hospital, surrounded by family.
From Sparticus:
Charles Fickert, the son of a farmer, was born in 1873. He attended Stanford University where he studied for a law degree. A talented sportsman, Fickert was the star of the university football team.
In 1898 Fickert entered the law office of W. B. Kollmyer and Edward R. Taylor. However, two years later he returned to Stanford to become assistant varsity football coach under Fielding H. Yost. In 1901 Fickert replaced Yost as head coach. The following year, after a series of bad results Fickert resigned and resumed his career as a lawyer.
In March 1904 Fickert became Assistant United States District Attorney in San Francisco. The following year he began working as a freelance attorney.
Fickert, a member of the Republican Party, ran for the post of San Francisco's District Attorney in 1909. He fought a dirty campaign and the Governor of California, Hiram Johnson, stated: "Fickert has run riot with lies. I think he's gone stark, staring mad." Despite this Fickert defeated Francis Heney by 36,192 to 26,075.
On 22nd July, 1916, employers in San Francisco organized a march through the streets in favour of an improvement in national defence. Critics of the march, such as William Jennings Bryan, claimed that the Preparedness March was being organized by financiers and factory owners who would benefit from increased spending on munitions.
During the march a bomb went off in Steuart Street killing six people (four more died later). Two witnesses described two dark-skinned men, probably Mexicans, carrying a heavy suitcase near to where the bomb exploded.
The Chamber of Commerce immediately offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the dynamiters. Other organizations and individuals added to this sum and the reward soon reached $17,000. Offering such a large reward was condemned by the editor of the New York Times claiming it was a "sweepstake for perjurers".
On the evening of the bombing Martin Swanson went to see Fickert. Swanson told Fickert that despite the claims that it was the work of Mexicans, he was convinced that Tom Mooney and Warren Billings were responsible for the explosion. The next day Swanson resigned from the Public Utilities Protective Bureau and began working for the District Attorney's office. On 26th July 1916, Fickert ordered the arrest of Mooney, his wife Rena Mooney, Warren Billings, Israel Weinberg and Edward Nolan.
None of the witnesses of the bombing identified the defendants in the lineup. The prosecution case was instead based on the testimony of two men, an unemployed waiter, John McDonald and Frank Oxman, a cattleman from Oregon. They claimed that they saw Warren Billings plant the bomb at 1.50 p.m. Oxman saw Tom Mooney and his wife talking with Billings a few minutes later. However, at the trial, a photograph showed that the couple were over a mile from the scene. A clock in the photograph clearly read 1.58 p.m. The heavy traffic at the time meant that it was impossible for Mooney and his wife to have been at the scene of the bombing at 1.50 p.m. Despite this, Mooney was sentenced to death and Billings to life-imprisonment. Rena Mooney and Israel Weinberg were found not guilty and Edward Nolan was never brought to trial.
Mooney's defence team complained about the method of selecting his jury. Bourke Cockran pointed out that in San Francisco "each Superior Court Judge places in the box from which the trial jurors are drawn the names of such persons as he may think proper. In theory he is supposed to choose persons peculiarly well qualified to decide issues of fact. In actual practice he places in the box the names of men who ask to be selected. The practical result is that a jury panel is a collection of the lame, the halt, the blind, and the incapable, with a few exceptions, and these are well known to the District Attorney who is thus enabled to pick a jury of his own choice."
Fickert ran for re-election as District Attorney in 1919. Discredited by the publication of the Densmore Report he was defeated by Judge Matthew Brady (47,000 votes to 40,000). Four years later he tried again but this time he was overwhelmed 71,000 to 27,000.
Fickert moved to Los Angeles where he established himself as a lawyer. In later life he became an alcoholic and was divorced by his wife for intemperance and habitual gambling. Charles Fickert died of pneumonia in 1937.
Charles Marron Fickert was born in Kern County, California, February 23, 1874. Father, Fred Fickert, deceased, a native of Prussia, came to California in 1847 or 1848, prior to the gold rush. His life was passed in Kern County, where he had a big cattle ranch. Mother, Mary Fickert, of Ireland, lives in Kern County and is still looking after the ranch interests.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in china for the Federal Telegraph Company.
Mrs. Fickert's mother was Minnie (Clark) Wallace, a native of Placer County, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Fickert are the parents of three children: Marshall Marron, Ruth and Ethel Louise, all attending school.
Louise E. Shoemaker, Transcriber April 7, 2004
Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Record
about Charles Marron Fickert
Name: Charles Marron Fickert
City: San Francisco
County: San Francisco
State: California
Birth Date: 23 Feb 1873
Race: White
Roll: 1544262
Occupation listed as District Attorney
Wife: Ethel Wallace Fickert
Residence: 1060 Green Street, San Francisco
Tall, Blue eyes, brown hair.
1910 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles M Zickert
Name: Charles M Zickert
[Charles M Fickert]
Age in 1910: 37
Estimated birth year: abt 1873
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Spouse's Name: Ethel W
Home in 1910: San Francisco Assembly District 42, San Francisco, California
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles M Zickert 37
Ethel W Zickert 28
Marshall M Zickert 3
Ruth Zickert 1 7/12
Anna Judge 22
Alice Robinson 40
1920 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles Fickert
Name: Charles Fickert
Home in 1920: San Francisco Assembly District 32, San Francisco, California
Age: 46 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1874
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Ethel
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Marital status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Own
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 761
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles Fickert 46
Ethel Fickert 38
Marshall Fickert 12
Ruth Fickert 11
Ethel Louise Fickert 8
Annie Flynn 40
Volicka Parloflki 3
Age 64 at time of death per death index.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in China for the Federal Telegraph Company. [Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.]
From Wikipedia:
Charles Fickert (1873 - October 19, 1937) was San Francisco District Attorney from 1909 until 1920. He is best known as the DA who persecuted Tom Mooney and Warren Billings for the Preparedness Day bombing of 1916.
Born in Kern County California, Fickert entered Stanford University in 1894 and became well known for his skill on the football field. Admitted to the California Bar in [1895]] in Los Angeles, he arrived in San Francisco and joined the law offices of Edward Robeson Taylor, who soon replaced Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz when Schmitz was indicted during the graft trials.
Fickert's first public office was assistant United States Attorney, serving for two years. He then successfully opposed DA Francis J. Heney for DA in the fall of 1909. He was regularly reelected until defeat by Matthew Brady in 1920.
Fickert was in office in 1916 and drew national attention and scandal for his prosecution of Mooney and Billings. Witnesses claimed Fickert coached them to perjure themselves in subsequent hearings in order to defend the original convictions. Fickert continued his battles with his fists, first against Heney at the Olympic club and later against editor Fremont Older at the Palace Hotel.
A 1919 Grand Jury exonerated Fickert from charges made by John B. Densmore, investigator from Washington, Director General of Employment, in the framing of Mooney and Billings and for his having conspired with Pete McDonough in the freeing of wealthy defendants. President Theodore Roosevelt declared, "anyone assailing Fickert for prosecuting anarchists should be deprived of citizenship".
Fickert ran for Governor of California in 1918 but was defeated. His wife, Mrs. Ethel Wallace Fickert, obtained a divorce from him in 1935 citing excessive drinking and gambling and was awarded the Fickert home at 7060 Green Street in San Francisco. Fickert died of pneumonia at 11:12 p.m. on October 19, 1937 at Franklin Hospital, surrounded by family.
From Sparticus:
Charles Fickert, the son of a farmer, was born in 1873. He attended Stanford University where he studied for a law degree. A talented sportsman, Fickert was the star of the university football team.
In 1898 Fickert entered the law office of W. B. Kollmyer and Edward R. Taylor. However, two years later he returned to Stanford to become assistant varsity football coach under Fielding H. Yost. In 1901 Fickert replaced Yost as head coach. The following year, after a series of bad results Fickert resigned and resumed his career as a lawyer.
In March 1904 Fickert became Assistant United States District Attorney in San Francisco. The following year he began working as a freelance attorney.
Fickert, a member of the Republican Party, ran for the post of San Francisco's District Attorney in 1909. He fought a dirty campaign and the Governor of California, Hiram Johnson, stated: "Fickert has run riot with lies. I think he's gone stark, staring mad." Despite this Fickert defeated Francis Heney by 36,192 to 26,075.
On 22nd July, 1916, employers in San Francisco organized a march through the streets in favour of an improvement in national defence. Critics of the march, such as William Jennings Bryan, claimed that the Preparedness March was being organized by financiers and factory owners who would benefit from increased spending on munitions.
During the march a bomb went off in Steuart Street killing six people (four more died later). Two witnesses described two dark-skinned men, probably Mexicans, carrying a heavy suitcase near to where the bomb exploded.
The Chamber of Commerce immediately offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the dynamiters. Other organizations and individuals added to this sum and the reward soon reached $17,000. Offering such a large reward was condemned by the editor of the New York Times claiming it was a "sweepstake for perjurers".
On the evening of the bombing Martin Swanson went to see Fickert. Swanson told Fickert that despite the claims that it was the work of Mexicans, he was convinced that Tom Mooney and Warren Billings were responsible for the explosion. The next day Swanson resigned from the Public Utilities Protective Bureau and began working for the District Attorney's office. On 26th July 1916, Fickert ordered the arrest of Mooney, his wife Rena Mooney, Warren Billings, Israel Weinberg and Edward Nolan.
None of the witnesses of the bombing identified the defendants in the lineup. The prosecution case was instead based on the testimony of two men, an unemployed waiter, John McDonald and Frank Oxman, a cattleman from Oregon. They claimed that they saw Warren Billings plant the bomb at 1.50 p.m. Oxman saw Tom Mooney and his wife talking with Billings a few minutes later. However, at the trial, a photograph showed that the couple were over a mile from the scene. A clock in the photograph clearly read 1.58 p.m. The heavy traffic at the time meant that it was impossible for Mooney and his wife to have been at the scene of the bombing at 1.50 p.m. Despite this, Mooney was sentenced to death and Billings to life-imprisonment. Rena Mooney and Israel Weinberg were found not guilty and Edward Nolan was never brought to trial.
Mooney's defence team complained about the method of selecting his jury. Bourke Cockran pointed out that in San Francisco "each Superior Court Judge places in the box from which the trial jurors are drawn the names of such persons as he may think proper. In theory he is supposed to choose persons peculiarly well qualified to decide issues of fact. In actual practice he places in the box the names of men who ask to be selected. The practical result is that a jury panel is a collection of the lame, the halt, the blind, and the incapable, with a few exceptions, and these are well known to the District Attorney who is thus enabled to pick a jury of his own choice."
Fickert ran for re-election as District Attorney in 1919. Discredited by the publication of the Densmore Report he was defeated by Judge Matthew Brady (47,000 votes to 40,000). Four years later he tried again but this time he was overwhelmed 71,000 to 27,000.
Fickert moved to Los Angeles where he established himself as a lawyer. In later life he became an alcoholic and was divorced by his wife for intemperance and habitual gambling. Charles Fickert died of pneumonia in 1937.
Charles Marron Fickert was born in Kern County, California, February 23, 1874. Father, Fred Fickert, deceased, a native of Prussia, came to California in 1847 or 1848, prior to the gold rush. His life was passed in Kern County, where he had a big cattle ranch. Mother, Mary Fickert, of Ireland, lives in Kern County and is still looking after the ranch interests.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in china for the Federal Telegraph Company.
Mrs. Fickert's mother was Minnie (Clark) Wallace, a native of Placer County, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Fickert are the parents of three children: Marshall Marron, Ruth and Ethel Louise, all attending school.
Louise E. Shoemaker, Transcriber April 7, 2004
Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Record
about Charles Marron Fickert
Name: Charles Marron Fickert
City: San Francisco
County: San Francisco
State: California
Birth Date: 23 Feb 1873
Race: White
Roll: 1544262
Occupation listed as District Attorney
Wife: Ethel Wallace Fickert
Residence: 1060 Green Street, San Francisco
Tall, Blue eyes, brown hair.
1910 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles M Zickert
Name: Charles M Zickert
[Charles M Fickert]
Age in 1910: 37
Estimated birth year: abt 1873
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Spouse's Name: Ethel W
Home in 1910: San Francisco Assembly District 42, San Francisco, California
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles M Zickert 37
Ethel W Zickert 28
Marshall M Zickert 3
Ruth Zickert 1 7/12
Anna Judge 22
Alice Robinson 40
1920 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles Fickert
Name: Charles Fickert
Home in 1920: San Francisco Assembly District 32, San Francisco, California
Age: 46 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1874
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Ethel
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Marital status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Own
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 761
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles Fickert 46
Ethel Fickert 38
Marshall Fickert 12
Ruth Fickert 11
Ethel Louise Fickert 8
Annie Flynn 40
Volicka Parloflki 3
Son of Frederick William and Mary (Glynn) Fickert. Married March 1, 1905 in San Francisco, Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace.
Age 64 at time of death per death index.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in China for the Federal Telegraph Company. [Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.]
From Wikipedia:
Charles Fickert (1873 - October 19, 1937) was San Francisco District Attorney from 1909 until 1920. He is best known as the DA who persecuted Tom Mooney and Warren Billings for the Preparedness Day bombing of 1916.
Born in Kern County California, Fickert entered Stanford University in 1894 and became well known for his skill on the football field. Admitted to the California Bar in [1895]] in Los Angeles, he arrived in San Francisco and joined the law offices of Edward Robeson Taylor, who soon replaced Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz when Schmitz was indicted during the graft trials.
Fickert's first public office was assistant United States Attorney, serving for two years. He then successfully opposed DA Francis J. Heney for DA in the fall of 1909. He was regularly reelected until defeat by Matthew Brady in 1920.
Fickert was in office in 1916 and drew national attention and scandal for his prosecution of Mooney and Billings. Witnesses claimed Fickert coached them to perjure themselves in subsequent hearings in order to defend the original convictions. Fickert continued his battles with his fists, first against Heney at the Olympic club and later against editor Fremont Older at the Palace Hotel.
A 1919 Grand Jury exonerated Fickert from charges made by John B. Densmore, investigator from Washington, Director General of Employment, in the framing of Mooney and Billings and for his having conspired with Pete McDonough in the freeing of wealthy defendants. President Theodore Roosevelt declared, "anyone assailing Fickert for prosecuting anarchists should be deprived of citizenship".
Fickert ran for Governor of California in 1918 but was defeated. His wife, Mrs. Ethel Wallace Fickert, obtained a divorce from him in 1935 citing excessive drinking and gambling and was awarded the Fickert home at 7060 Green Street in San Francisco. Fickert died of pneumonia at 11:12 p.m. on October 19, 1937 at Franklin Hospital, surrounded by family.
From Sparticus:
Charles Fickert, the son of a farmer, was born in 1873. He attended Stanford University where he studied for a law degree. A talented sportsman, Fickert was the star of the university football team.
In 1898 Fickert entered the law office of W. B. Kollmyer and Edward R. Taylor. However, two years later he returned to Stanford to become assistant varsity football coach under Fielding H. Yost. In 1901 Fickert replaced Yost as head coach. The following year, after a series of bad results Fickert resigned and resumed his career as a lawyer.
In March 1904 Fickert became Assistant United States District Attorney in San Francisco. The following year he began working as a freelance attorney.
Fickert, a member of the Republican Party, ran for the post of San Francisco's District Attorney in 1909. He fought a dirty campaign and the Governor of California, Hiram Johnson, stated: "Fickert has run riot with lies. I think he's gone stark, staring mad." Despite this Fickert defeated Francis Heney by 36,192 to 26,075.
On 22nd July, 1916, employers in San Francisco organized a march through the streets in favour of an improvement in national defence. Critics of the march, such as William Jennings Bryan, claimed that the Preparedness March was being organized by financiers and factory owners who would benefit from increased spending on munitions.
During the march a bomb went off in Steuart Street killing six people (four more died later). Two witnesses described two dark-skinned men, probably Mexicans, carrying a heavy suitcase near to where the bomb exploded.
The Chamber of Commerce immediately offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the dynamiters. Other organizations and individuals added to this sum and the reward soon reached $17,000. Offering such a large reward was condemned by the editor of the New York Times claiming it was a "sweepstake for perjurers".
On the evening of the bombing Martin Swanson went to see Fickert. Swanson told Fickert that despite the claims that it was the work of Mexicans, he was convinced that Tom Mooney and Warren Billings were responsible for the explosion. The next day Swanson resigned from the Public Utilities Protective Bureau and began working for the District Attorney's office. On 26th July 1916, Fickert ordered the arrest of Mooney, his wife Rena Mooney, Warren Billings, Israel Weinberg and Edward Nolan.
None of the witnesses of the bombing identified the defendants in the lineup. The prosecution case was instead based on the testimony of two men, an unemployed waiter, John McDonald and Frank Oxman, a cattleman from Oregon. They claimed that they saw Warren Billings plant the bomb at 1.50 p.m. Oxman saw Tom Mooney and his wife talking with Billings a few minutes later. However, at the trial, a photograph showed that the couple were over a mile from the scene. A clock in the photograph clearly read 1.58 p.m. The heavy traffic at the time meant that it was impossible for Mooney and his wife to have been at the scene of the bombing at 1.50 p.m. Despite this, Mooney was sentenced to death and Billings to life-imprisonment. Rena Mooney and Israel Weinberg were found not guilty and Edward Nolan was never brought to trial.
Mooney's defence team complained about the method of selecting his jury. Bourke Cockran pointed out that in San Francisco "each Superior Court Judge places in the box from which the trial jurors are drawn the names of such persons as he may think proper. In theory he is supposed to choose persons peculiarly well qualified to decide issues of fact. In actual practice he places in the box the names of men who ask to be selected. The practical result is that a jury panel is a collection of the lame, the halt, the blind, and the incapable, with a few exceptions, and these are well known to the District Attorney who is thus enabled to pick a jury of his own choice."
Fickert ran for re-election as District Attorney in 1919. Discredited by the publication of the Densmore Report he was defeated by Judge Matthew Brady (47,000 votes to 40,000). Four years later he tried again but this time he was overwhelmed 71,000 to 27,000.
Fickert moved to Los Angeles where he established himself as a lawyer. In later life he became an alcoholic and was divorced by his wife for intemperance and habitual gambling. Charles Fickert died of pneumonia in 1937.
Charles Marron Fickert was born in Kern County, California, February 23, 1874. Father, Fred Fickert, deceased, a native of Prussia, came to California in 1847 or 1848, prior to the gold rush. His life was passed in Kern County, where he had a big cattle ranch. Mother, Mary Fickert, of Ireland, lives in Kern County and is still looking after the ranch interests.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in china for the Federal Telegraph Company.
Mrs. Fickert's mother was Minnie (Clark) Wallace, a native of Placer County, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Fickert are the parents of three children: Marshall Marron, Ruth and Ethel Louise, all attending school.
Louise E. Shoemaker, Transcriber April 7, 2004
Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Record
about Charles Marron Fickert
Name: Charles Marron Fickert
City: San Francisco
County: San Francisco
State: California
Birth Date: 23 Feb 1873
Race: White
Roll: 1544262
Occupation listed as District Attorney
Wife: Ethel Wallace Fickert
Residence: 1060 Green Street, San Francisco
Tall, Blue eyes, brown hair.
1910 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles M Zickert
Name: Charles M Zickert
[Charles M Fickert]
Age in 1910: 37
Estimated birth year: abt 1873
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Spouse's Name: Ethel W
Home in 1910: San Francisco Assembly District 42, San Francisco, California
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles M Zickert 37
Ethel W Zickert 28
Marshall M Zickert 3
Ruth Zickert 1 7/12
Anna Judge 22
Alice Robinson 40
1920 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles Fickert
Name: Charles Fickert
Home in 1920: San Francisco Assembly District 32, San Francisco, California
Age: 46 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1874
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Ethel
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Marital status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Own
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 761
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles Fickert 46
Ethel Fickert 38
Marshall Fickert 12
Ruth Fickert 11
Ethel Louise Fickert 8
Annie Flynn 40
Volicka Parloflki 3
Age 64 at time of death per death index.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in China for the Federal Telegraph Company. [Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.]
From Wikipedia:
Charles Fickert (1873 - October 19, 1937) was San Francisco District Attorney from 1909 until 1920. He is best known as the DA who persecuted Tom Mooney and Warren Billings for the Preparedness Day bombing of 1916.
Born in Kern County California, Fickert entered Stanford University in 1894 and became well known for his skill on the football field. Admitted to the California Bar in [1895]] in Los Angeles, he arrived in San Francisco and joined the law offices of Edward Robeson Taylor, who soon replaced Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz when Schmitz was indicted during the graft trials.
Fickert's first public office was assistant United States Attorney, serving for two years. He then successfully opposed DA Francis J. Heney for DA in the fall of 1909. He was regularly reelected until defeat by Matthew Brady in 1920.
Fickert was in office in 1916 and drew national attention and scandal for his prosecution of Mooney and Billings. Witnesses claimed Fickert coached them to perjure themselves in subsequent hearings in order to defend the original convictions. Fickert continued his battles with his fists, first against Heney at the Olympic club and later against editor Fremont Older at the Palace Hotel.
A 1919 Grand Jury exonerated Fickert from charges made by John B. Densmore, investigator from Washington, Director General of Employment, in the framing of Mooney and Billings and for his having conspired with Pete McDonough in the freeing of wealthy defendants. President Theodore Roosevelt declared, "anyone assailing Fickert for prosecuting anarchists should be deprived of citizenship".
Fickert ran for Governor of California in 1918 but was defeated. His wife, Mrs. Ethel Wallace Fickert, obtained a divorce from him in 1935 citing excessive drinking and gambling and was awarded the Fickert home at 7060 Green Street in San Francisco. Fickert died of pneumonia at 11:12 p.m. on October 19, 1937 at Franklin Hospital, surrounded by family.
From Sparticus:
Charles Fickert, the son of a farmer, was born in 1873. He attended Stanford University where he studied for a law degree. A talented sportsman, Fickert was the star of the university football team.
In 1898 Fickert entered the law office of W. B. Kollmyer and Edward R. Taylor. However, two years later he returned to Stanford to become assistant varsity football coach under Fielding H. Yost. In 1901 Fickert replaced Yost as head coach. The following year, after a series of bad results Fickert resigned and resumed his career as a lawyer.
In March 1904 Fickert became Assistant United States District Attorney in San Francisco. The following year he began working as a freelance attorney.
Fickert, a member of the Republican Party, ran for the post of San Francisco's District Attorney in 1909. He fought a dirty campaign and the Governor of California, Hiram Johnson, stated: "Fickert has run riot with lies. I think he's gone stark, staring mad." Despite this Fickert defeated Francis Heney by 36,192 to 26,075.
On 22nd July, 1916, employers in San Francisco organized a march through the streets in favour of an improvement in national defence. Critics of the march, such as William Jennings Bryan, claimed that the Preparedness March was being organized by financiers and factory owners who would benefit from increased spending on munitions.
During the march a bomb went off in Steuart Street killing six people (four more died later). Two witnesses described two dark-skinned men, probably Mexicans, carrying a heavy suitcase near to where the bomb exploded.
The Chamber of Commerce immediately offered a reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the dynamiters. Other organizations and individuals added to this sum and the reward soon reached $17,000. Offering such a large reward was condemned by the editor of the New York Times claiming it was a "sweepstake for perjurers".
On the evening of the bombing Martin Swanson went to see Fickert. Swanson told Fickert that despite the claims that it was the work of Mexicans, he was convinced that Tom Mooney and Warren Billings were responsible for the explosion. The next day Swanson resigned from the Public Utilities Protective Bureau and began working for the District Attorney's office. On 26th July 1916, Fickert ordered the arrest of Mooney, his wife Rena Mooney, Warren Billings, Israel Weinberg and Edward Nolan.
None of the witnesses of the bombing identified the defendants in the lineup. The prosecution case was instead based on the testimony of two men, an unemployed waiter, John McDonald and Frank Oxman, a cattleman from Oregon. They claimed that they saw Warren Billings plant the bomb at 1.50 p.m. Oxman saw Tom Mooney and his wife talking with Billings a few minutes later. However, at the trial, a photograph showed that the couple were over a mile from the scene. A clock in the photograph clearly read 1.58 p.m. The heavy traffic at the time meant that it was impossible for Mooney and his wife to have been at the scene of the bombing at 1.50 p.m. Despite this, Mooney was sentenced to death and Billings to life-imprisonment. Rena Mooney and Israel Weinberg were found not guilty and Edward Nolan was never brought to trial.
Mooney's defence team complained about the method of selecting his jury. Bourke Cockran pointed out that in San Francisco "each Superior Court Judge places in the box from which the trial jurors are drawn the names of such persons as he may think proper. In theory he is supposed to choose persons peculiarly well qualified to decide issues of fact. In actual practice he places in the box the names of men who ask to be selected. The practical result is that a jury panel is a collection of the lame, the halt, the blind, and the incapable, with a few exceptions, and these are well known to the District Attorney who is thus enabled to pick a jury of his own choice."
Fickert ran for re-election as District Attorney in 1919. Discredited by the publication of the Densmore Report he was defeated by Judge Matthew Brady (47,000 votes to 40,000). Four years later he tried again but this time he was overwhelmed 71,000 to 27,000.
Fickert moved to Los Angeles where he established himself as a lawyer. In later life he became an alcoholic and was divorced by his wife for intemperance and habitual gambling. Charles Fickert died of pneumonia in 1937.
Charles Marron Fickert was born in Kern County, California, February 23, 1874. Father, Fred Fickert, deceased, a native of Prussia, came to California in 1847 or 1848, prior to the gold rush. His life was passed in Kern County, where he had a big cattle ranch. Mother, Mary Fickert, of Ireland, lives in Kern County and is still looking after the ranch interests.
Charles was educated in the public schools of Kern County and Stanford University, class '99, degree Bachelor of Arts. He was admitted to the bar in 1901 and has handled many large cases. Republican and active in politics. In February 1904, he was appointed first assistant United States attorney under Marshall Woodworth. This appointment was by President Roosevelt upon the personal appeal of David Starr Jordan, then president of Stanford University. He served one year and then returned to private practice. In 1909 he defeated Francis J. Heaney by a big majority for the position of district attorney of San Francisco and held that position for ten years, retiring in 1919, to private practice. During that period he became nationally known in the Mooney case, convicting two against tremendous odds, and many other notable cases. He was a big man mentally, morally and physically, with an extraordinary wide circle of friends who looked up to him as one of the most capable attorneys in the city. He stood 6 feet 4 inches. Until the time he went to college he was a cowboy on his father's ranch and was a noted rider. He made the football team and played for five years as left guard on the Stanford team, serving as captain in 1898. He was a member of Stanford Parlor, Native Sons of the Golden West, also was a member of the Benevolent and Protective order of Elks, Olympic Club, Bohemian Club, National Guards (California). He was married March 1, 1905, in San Francisco to Miss Ethel Wallace, daughter of J.H. Wallace, who was a Southern Pacific engineer on the Maintenance of Way Department and who is now engaged in putting in radio stations in china for the Federal Telegraph Company.
Mrs. Fickert's mother was Minnie (Clark) Wallace, a native of Placer County, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Fickert are the parents of three children: Marshall Marron, Ruth and Ethel Louise, all attending school.
Louise E. Shoemaker, Transcriber April 7, 2004
Source: "The San Francisco Bay Region" by Bailey Millard Vol. 3 page 151-152. Published by The American Historical Society, Inc. 1924.
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Record
about Charles Marron Fickert
Name: Charles Marron Fickert
City: San Francisco
County: San Francisco
State: California
Birth Date: 23 Feb 1873
Race: White
Roll: 1544262
Occupation listed as District Attorney
Wife: Ethel Wallace Fickert
Residence: 1060 Green Street, San Francisco
Tall, Blue eyes, brown hair.
1910 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles M Zickert
Name: Charles M Zickert
[Charles M Fickert]
Age in 1910: 37
Estimated birth year: abt 1873
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Spouse's Name: Ethel W
Home in 1910: San Francisco Assembly District 42, San Francisco, California
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Gender: Male
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles M Zickert 37
Ethel W Zickert 28
Marshall M Zickert 3
Ruth Zickert 1 7/12
Anna Judge 22
Alice Robinson 40
1920 United States Federal Census Record
about Charles Fickert
Name: Charles Fickert
Home in 1920: San Francisco Assembly District 32, San Francisco, California
Age: 46 years
Estimated birth year: abt 1874
Birthplace: California
Relation to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Ethel
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Marital status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Own
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Image: 761
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Charles Fickert 46
Ethel Fickert 38
Marshall Fickert 12
Ruth Fickert 11
Ethel Louise Fickert 8
Annie Flynn 40
Volicka Parloflki 3
Gravesite Details
Charles Marron Fickert, son of Frederick William and Mary (Glynn) Fickert
Family Members
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