This rare and historically significant 2 ¼ x 3 oval ambrotype features Seneca Carroll of Santa Cruz, California, circa 1860s. Housed in a plush case, this image provides a glimpse into the life of a man who played a vital role in early California history. Carroll was a farmer and the first teacher at the public school in Watsonville in 1853. He gained further notoriety in 1863 when he and Matt Tarpey tracked and captured horse thief Francis Hedden of the notorious Minor Gang. In 1867, Carroll was accused of killing Amos Young but was acquitted on grounds of justifiable homicide. By 1870, he was one of four Lieutenants in Matt Tarpey’s Pajaro Property Protective Society, an 83-member vigilante group in Santa Cruz dedicated to restoring law and order in the region by tracking gangs and horse thieves. The case also includes a companion tintype of an unidentified man, adding further intrigue to this exceptional piece of California's vigilante history.