Background
Timothy N. Machin was born in 1789 and died in 1877.
Timothy N. Machin was born in 1789 and died in 1877.
Machin studied law at John West. Fowler"s newly established State and National Law School in Ballston Spa, New York, along with Niles Searls and Chancellor Hartson.
He previously served in the California State Assembly, representing Tuolumne and Mono counties for two terms in 1862 and 1863. He moved west and settled near Mono Lake in California. In 1863, he was chosen Speaker of the Assembly.
Staunchly pro-Union in the Civil War, he made many influential contacts in the Republican Party and its successor, the Union Democrat parties.
He was noted for his integrity and straight dealings. In 1863, he received the nomination for Lieutenant Governor of California running with Frederick Low on the Union Democrat ticket.
He ran against East.W. McKinstrey, beating him by 21,120 votes. As Lieutenant Governor, he was selected to prosecute the impeachment proceedings instituted against a popular jurist, Judge Hardy.
During his tenure he was appointed the Superintendent of San Quentin State Prison.
He remained Lieutenant Governor through 1867. After his retirement from the Lieutenant Governorship, he made his home in the Clinton Park section of Oakland at 1276 Sixth Avenue.
Machin was the son of Thomas Machin Junior., a Brigadier General of the militia and veteran of the War of 1812.
And grandson of Captain Thomas Machin the architect of the great West Point Chain which was emplaced in 1778 to prevent the British from ascending the Hudson River. Machin married Nancy M. Knight on April 15, 1864.
Practicing law in Monoville he was elected Mono County"s choice for the California State Assembly as a Member of the California"s 12th State Assembly district, 1862-1863.
