John F. Chellis

John F. Chellis (1792-1883)

Chellis was a Republican who became the ninth Lieutenant Governor of California from 1862 to 1863.

Because the state had recently taken control of the prison system, his position carried a dual role placing him as warden of San Quentin State Prison.^[1]
On the evening of July 23, 1862, there was a prison breakout by up to 300 inmates,^[2] later regarded as one of the biggest and bloodiest in American history, with Chellis being taken hostage.^[3] The previous few years had seen an increasing number of prison escapes with the resulting manhunts ending in violence. This escape was no exception and a large posse tracked down the escapees; Chellis was released relatively unharmed in the process.^[4]

Chellis died September 17, 1883 in Oregon.^[5]

References

1. Warden
3. John Boessenecker (11 October 2012). Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-0-8061-8316-9.
4. Shelley Bookspan (1991). A Germ of Goodness: The California State Prison System, 1851-1944. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 20–. ISBN 0-8032-1216-X.