John J. McGilvra

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JUDGE JOHN J. McGILVRA, the oldest member of the legal profession in Seattle, Washington, both in years and practice, is recognized as the father of the Seattle bar. Being thus prominently connected with the city and surrounding country, he is eminently deserving of honorable mention in this volume, and it is with pleasure we present the following sketch of his life.

The ancestors of Judge McGilvra were of the celebrated McGilvra Clan of the highlands of Scotland. They were originally of the Clan Chattan, who suffered severely in the conquest of the Romans. The McGilvra branch then settled along the Caledonia Canal, east and south of Inverness, their capital and stronghold. Colonel McGilvra was chief of the clan at the battle of Culloden, and led the McGilvras and Macintoshes in that terrible fight, he himself falling in the front, and only three officers of the combined clans led by him escaping with their lives. Major John Mohr McGilvra, a stalwart Highlander more than six feet in height, in leading his command against the English, himself cut through the English lines and attacked the reserves sent to its support, and not until he had slain a dozen of the enemy was he laid low.

The great-grandfather of our subject emigrated to the United States prior to the Revolutionary War, and settled in New York State. John and Margaret (Grant) McGilvra, natives of New York, settled after their marriage, in Livingston county, where their son, John J. McGilvra, was born July 11, 1827. He was reared on the farm and attended the schools of that county until 1844, when he removed with his parents to Illinois, where he taught school for several winters, and in the summer attended the Seminary at Elgin.

Judge McGilvra commenced the study of law in 1850, under the direction of Edward Gifford, a graduate of Yale College and the Cambridge Law School. He finished his studies in Chicago, under Ebenezer Peek, subsequently one of the Judges of the Court of Claims, and was admitted to the bar in 1853. He at once entered into practice, which was continued with gratifying success. He did not engage in politics except to show his colors in private conversation and at the polls; but, having known President Lincoln for a number of years, he was appointed by him in 1861 as the United States Attorney for the Territory of Washington. He arrived with his family in Olympia in June, 1861.

The Territory then embraced the three northern counties of Idaho, and contained a population of less than 12,000. He traveled over the Territory twice a year, attending courts, in many instances prosecuting for the Territory, and looking after such civil business as came in his way, as well as conducting the business of the United States, which kept him busily occupied. Having an extensive practice and becoming weary of so much travel, he removed to Seattle in 1864, and declined a reappointment, although he was not relieved until the following year. Since then he has practiced his profession in King and adjoining counties until about 1890, when he withdrew from the firm of McGilvra, Blain & DeVries, and retired from practice.

He served one term in the Territorial Legislature of 1866 -- �67, and during the session procured an appropriation of $2,500 for a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains, through the Snoqnalmie Pass. This amount was supplemented by an appropriation of like amount from King county, and by later appropriations and contributions the road was kept open, and for many years was the only means of communication across the Cascade Mountains north of the Columbia river.

In 1873, immediately after the location of the Northern Pacific terminus at Tacoma, Judge McGilvra, with others, proceeded to organize the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad Company. The Judge drew the articles of incorporation and all the papers and documents connected with that enterprise, and served as the attorney of the incorporation some two years without compensation. The process of grading was started was started May 1, 1873, with a picnic party, in which nearly every man, woman and child joined, and one-half mile of road was graded at the head of the bay on that occasion.

The enthusiasm was intense and every citizen that could afford it contributed either in money or land to the enterprise, taking in return the stock of the company, paid up and unassessable. They also issued assessable stock, to which the citizens subscribed very liberally. As a result, the people of Seattle, entirely unaided by capital from abroad, constructed and put into operation twenty-one miles of road from Seattle to New Castle coal mines. Subsequently they carried another branch of road up Cedar river to the Cedar River, Black Diamond and Franklin coal mines. That enterprise, which was undertaken at a critical time in the history of Seattle, had the effect to stay the confidence of the citizens, and assisted materially in building up the town in spite of all opposition, and the unjust discrimination against it by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company.

In 1876, the Northern Pacific abandoned its northern line, known as the Skagit branch, and located its road south of Mount Rainier, through what was known as Packwood or Cowlitz Pass. They had almost the entire territory covered by the withdrawal of the odd sections of public land in their favor, and, corporation-like, still refused to submit to a restoration to settlement the lands on the abandoned Skagit Pass route. The evil was so great that it became the subject of public agitation. Funds were raised and Judge McGilvra was sent to Washington, where he passed two winters in an effort to procure a restoration of those lands to the public domain in the interests of settlers.

The Judge was offered every possible facility for doing effective work before Congress. He was given the privilege of the floor of the House by the Speaker, and, through the courtesy of Senator Mitchell, he had practically the same privilege on the floor of' the Senate. He appeared before each committee of the Senate and House to which the various bills introduced upon this subject were referred, and made oral arguments and submitted printed briefs, and finally succeeded in restoring to settlement those lands, amounting to upward of 5,000,000 acres. Judge Jacobs, then delegate from Washington, cheerfully and ably assisted in this good work.

While he was City Attorney of the city of Seattle, in 1876 and '77, the east half of the Maynard donation claim, embracing 320 acres now in the heart of the city, was declared to be vacant public land by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The city of Seattle applied to enter these lands under the town-site laws. As City Attorney, Judge McGilvra made the application and argued the case before the Register and Receiver of the Land Office at Olympia. There were several contestants who had filed homestead and pre-emption claims on the same lands.

Obtaining a favorable decision from the Land Office, the case was appealed to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, who affirmed the decision of the local land office. Subsequently, and after the expiration of Judge McGilvra's term of office, the case was complicated by the intervention of other parties claiming the right to locate the land with Valentine scrip. The result was that the city finally lost the case through the inattention or incompetency of the attorney who represented the case. Judge McGilvra was the first resident attorney who settled in Seattle, and for many years was on one side of nearly every case on the docket.

In 1864, the Judge purchased 420 acres of land bordering Lake Washington. He then constructed the Lake Washington wagon road, now known as Madison street, at a personal expense of $l,500, and from that time on has continued to improve his property. He was one of the first contributors to the Madison street cable road, which he subsidized by giving twenty-one acres of property on Lake Washington for park and terminal facilities.

Judge McGilvra was married in Chicago, in 1855, to Miss Elizabeth M. Hills, a native of Oneida county, New York. They have three children living: Carrie E., now the wife of Judge Thomas Burke; Oliver O.; and Lillian. Judge McGilvra's career has been one of uniform success, and in his extensive business he has always found it advisable to have one or more partners, several of whom have risen to positions of distinction in their profession. Among them we mention James McNaught, the present attorney for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company; and Judge Thomas Burke, attorney for the Western Division of the Great Northern Railroad Company, who is an established authority on corporation law.

While the Judge has retired from active practice, he still retains his office and takes an active interest in the discussion of all questions pertaining to the city's and State's improvement. The last question of importance to which the Judge has given considerable attention, and has debated through the press and otherwise, is that of what is called the Park and Boulevard system of Seattle, about which there seems to be a sort of a craze at the present time.

The system projected is estimated to cost some $10,000,000, covering an area of 100 square miles, with forty-five miles of boulevard from 150 to 250 feet wide, with about 150 miles of roadway altogether, in opposing this wild scheme, the Judge gives his reasons, which are: that the vast sum proposed to be expended in such a scheme could be better and more profitably spent in building up business and commerce; that Seattle is not suffering for the want of parks, the whole surrounding region, including the beautiful lakes, being of itself a grand system of parks. He further takes the position that the scheme originated principally with the real-estate men, and is intended more to boom real estate than for any other purpose, and that real estate has already been boomed beyond its present value.

For several years past, Judge McGilvra has spent much of his time traveling with his family, and has visited nearly all portions of the Pacific coast, from Alaska to the city of Mexico, also many portions of the interior and Atlantic coast as far south as Florida. Last year, they went to Europe, visiting England and Scotland, and then made a trip on the continent, through France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Belgium. This last trip was quite fully described in a series of letters, written by the Judge during his journey, and published in the Seattle papers. All of these letters were of great interest to and fully appreciated by the many personal friends and fellow citizens of the Judge.