hired a foreman, Josiah Swain, and built a house for his wife and four children 

 at what became the site of F Ranch. 53 



Within a year Randall apparently had a flourishing cattle ranch, although 

 it is doubtful that he spent much time there. His property assessment for the 

 year 1854 listed land and improvements valued at $178,365. 54 



Earlier in 1854 Randall had purchased the remainder of Berry's ranch 

 from Phelps with $150,000 he had borrowed. Having already purchased Osio's 

 Point Reyes property and other parcels of land across the state, Randall soon 

 found himself deeply in debt. His problems were exacerbated by a financial 

 depression all over the country and he soon found himself pursued by creditors. 

 The Point Reyes ranch was foreclosed, setting the stage for a confusing and 

 costly battle over the property. 55 



One creditor, Joseph Hetherington, sued Randall; the Doctor refused to 

 answer questions from the judge during a debt hearing and fled to Sacramento 

 where he was arrested for contempt of court. Finally, on July 24, 1856, 

 Hetherington approached Randall in a San Francisco hotel and shot him to 

 death. After Hetherington's arrest, the city's vigilance committee seized him 

 and hanged him two days later in front of a large cheering crowd. 56 



Elizabeth Randall found herself not only a widow pregnant with her fifth 

 child but saddled with Andrew's debt of $237,000. Randall's credit troubles not 

 only led to his murder, but as Jack Mason wrote, "out of the turmoil was to 

 come a series of events that helped to write California legal history." 57 



Osio's mortgage to Bird had by 1853 grown from $3,000 to $8,400, with 

 the Point Reyes land put up as collateral. At a foreclosure sale, Thomas G. 

 Gary purchased it, obtained a deed from the sheriff, then sold it to John G. 

 Hyatt, who in turn sold it to Thomas G. Richards and Samuel F. Reynolds. All 

 received deeds from the sheriff. At the same time, on January 5, 1855, Dr. 

 Robert McMillan obtained a judgment against Randall and recorded the 



Mason, Point Reyes, p. 24; Jack Mason, Point Reyes Historian (Inverness: North Shore 

 Books, Vol. I-Vra, 1976-1984), pp. 726-735. 



54 Marin County Tax Assessments Vol. 2, 1854, p. 314, Bancroft Library, University of 

 California, Berkeley. 



55 Mason, Historian, pp. 731-733. 

 56 Ibid.. pp. 731-733. 

 "Mason, Point Reyes, p. 29. 



36 



