Hart Hyatt North was born in Marysville, California on July 12, 1871. His father, George North was a hardware merchant in Marysville and later a fruit farmer in Winters, California. In 1886, Hart Hyatt North moved to Alameda County and graduated from Oakland High School in 1889. He received his law degree from Hastings College of Law in 1892. He was elected to the California State Assembly to represent the 51st district in 1894 and served two terms. North married Emma Morgan, the sister of well-known architect, Julia Morgan. For many years he practiced law and worked with his father-in-law, Charles Bill Morgan, owner of the Shasta Iron Company. He served as U.S. Commissioner of Immigration for California and Nevada from 1898 to 1910. He was dismissed from his position as Commissioner after being charged by the Asiatic Exclusion League and others with being negligent in his administration of the Chinese Exclusion Law and for excessive leniency in the admission of Hindu immigrants. In the 1920s, Hart Hyatt North worked as an attorney for customs broker, William H. Thornley, in filing claims on behalf of the San Francisco seal fleet owners (or their descendents) whose ships had been seized by the U.S. government during the Bering Sea dispute of the 1890s.

Number of containers: 11 cartons, 3 oversize boxes, 2 oversize folders (linear feet: 15)

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