Back in March I wrote a series that I called “Murder at the Mansion,” the true story of the brutal murder of Billy Simpson, a Rancho Chico employee, for the gain of a few dollars. That story has now been published in the Butte County Historical Society‘s quarterly The Diggin’s. If you are a member of the BCHS (and if not, why not?) then you will be receiving it shortly in your mailbox.

The printed version contains a significant update to the story. By contacting California State Archives, I was able to obtain the San Quentin mug shots of the two perpetrators, who entered the prison in the year 1900. At the time, John Richards was 19 years old and Steve Thompson was 21. The census taken that year listed their occupations (before they went to prison) as teamster for John and laborer for Steve.

The photos are contained in the San Quentin State Prison Records (1880-1920), 46 volumes of photographs of inmates. The photos are not available online — I was able to acquire them by sending a request to reference@sos.ca.gov. They kindly copied the photos and mailed them to me. That’s what librarians do!

I am grateful to the state archives for preserving these mug shot books. What would historians and researchers do without archives!