B.N. Bugbey House

In 1875, the Sacramento Republican Party had split. Amos P. Catlin had formed the Independent Taxpayers' Party, whose main supporters were Republicans. Catlin was running for District Court Judge under the Independent label and S. C. Denson was running as a Republican. The fear was that they would split the vote and a Democrat would be elected. I was surprised to read that B. N. Bugb[e]y was working with Catlin to find affect a compromise where one of the men would drop out of the race based on the decision by a committee of 24 men. The correspondence between Bugbey and the the Republican Party was published in the Sacramento Bee. No compromise was met, both men ran, Denson won the election over the Democrat. Catlin would be elected a Superior Court Judge in 1890.

B. N. Bugbey's life intersected with many notable individuals in the Sacramento region. One of those was Amos P. Catlin who mined for gold at Mormon Island and, like Bugbey, owned many lots in the town of Folsom. Bugbey and Catlin also met at Union and Republican Party events and conventions. Catlin represented Francois Lamblett in the sensational murder case of Francois' wife. Bugbey was a Deputy Sheriff charged with investigating and watching Francois in 1879. Catlin, as a ...Superior Court Judge, would declare Bugbey an insolvent debtor in 1893. Catlin founded the Natoma Water and Mining Company that gave rise to the property dispute at Bugbey's Natoma Vineyard that helped drive Bugbey into bankruptcy. The page below gives a timeline of Catlin's life in Sacramento and his numerous accomplishments. It is part of a larger body of research on Catlin's life for a biography about him. See more

I was recently doing some research on Amos Parmerlee Catlin and came across a receipt for property taxes paid on the Catlin estate in November 1900, when B. N. Bugbey was the elected Tax Collector for Sacramento County. Catlin, a Pioneer '49er, helped create the Natoma Water and Mining Company on the South Fork of the American River. The Natoma Company refused to pay Bugbey $19,000 for property they took from him for a flume across his Natoma Vineyard. The refusal to pay helped push Bugbey into bankruptcy in 1878. Catlin, as Superior Court Judge, declared Bugbey and insolvent debtor in the early 1890s. Catlin died on November 5th, 1900. Bugbey and Catlin knew each other very well.

In 1863, as Sheriff of Sacramento County, Bugbey sold the entire block of Sacramento City between O and P, 25th and 26th Streets to Jane Scroggs for $20.77 as a result of unpaid taxes by the former owners. I found this Sheriff's Sale Certificate recently at a history show and snatched it up.

This is an abbreviated presentation of my discussion on the life of B. N. Bugbey in video. It's not as exciting as seeing me, Kevin Knauss, doing a live presentation, but it covers most of the highlights of his interesting and color life in Folsom and Sacramento. https://youtu.be/Xuc71RvCXvY