Isaac Milton Kalloch (1852–1930): Avenger, Attorney, and the Son at the Center of San Francisco’s Most Infamous Feud

Kalloch & de Young front page murder story

Isaac Milton Kalloch was born in 1852 into a family whose name became synonymous with some of the most dramatic political and journalistic battles in 19th-century San Francisco. His father, Rev. Isaac S. Kalloch, was a firebrand Baptist minister whose entry into politics during the tumultuous 1879 mayoral race set off a public war of words with the powerful de Young family, founders of The San Francisco Chronicle.

The feud escalated with stunning speed. During the campaign, Charles de Young, the Chronicle’s young and combative editor, accused Rev. Kalloch of moral improprieties in print. Kalloch retaliated from the pulpit with barbed insults of his own—including remarks aimed at the de Youngs’ late mother. On August 23, 1879, ten days before the election, de Young answered the feud with violence: lying in wait outside Metropolitan Baptist Church, he shot Rev. Kalloch twice at point-blank range as the minister stepped from a carriage. Miraculously, Kalloch survived and went on to win the mayoralty while still recovering.

Charles de Young, arrested and released on bail, eventually left town for several months. Local authorities delayed formal charges, frustrating Kalloch supporters. When he returned to San Francisco, de Young re-ignited the controversy by publishing a 60-page “biography” of Mayor Kalloch—part political attack, part personal smear.

Chronicle building where de Young was shot

When Isaac Milton Kalloch, then 28, obtained an advance copy of the pamphlet, he saw it as the final assault on his father’s character. On April 23, 1880, he armed himself, entered the Chronicle Building at Kearny and Bush Streets, and shot Charles de Young dead in the lobby. The killing stunned California and drew national attention. During his sensational trial, the younger Kalloch claimed self-defense, and in one of the most controversial verdicts in San Francisco history, a jury acquitted him.

After the trial, Kalloch retreated from public life and eventually built a quiet career as an attorney. Conflicting historical accounts arose regarding his later years. A 1910 newspaper reported that he shot himself accidentally while cleaning a revolver in preparation for a hunting trip—an incident that indeed left him seriously wounded. But despite the grave tone of early reports, he survived the mishap.

The definitive record comes from his burial information: Isaac Milton Kalloch died on May 1, 1930, decades after the newspaper feud and murder trial that made his name known throughout California. He rests far from the political storms that once swirled around him, a figure whose life embodies San Francisco’s turbulent Gilded Age—an era when newspapers wielded extraordinary power, public feuds turned deadly, and a son’s loyalty changed the course of the city’s history.

Sources: San Francisco Chronicle Vault; Los Angeles Herald (Sept. 29, 1910); The Silver State (Unionville, NV, Mar. 25, 1881); San Mateo Times (Apr. 23, 1926); NewspaperArchive.com; Find-a-Grave memorial for Isaac Milton Kalloch; Guardians of the City - San Francisco Sheriff's Office; Metropolitan Baptist Church historical accounts; The Wasp, May 8, 1880 Cover