Lewis Linn McArthur

Lewis Linn McArthur (March 18, 1843 – May 10, 1897) was known as an American newspaper publisher, attorney, and state judge in Oregon. He was an Oregon Supreme Court associate justice, serving from 1870 to 1878.

Lewis Linn McArthur
20th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
In office
1870–1878
Preceded byBenoni Whitten
Succeeded byposition eliminated
Personal details
BornMarch 18, 1843
Virginia
DiedMay 10, 1897(1897-05-10) (aged 54)
Portland, Oregon
Spouse(s)Harriet K. Nesmith

His son Clifton Nesmith McArthur also became an attorney and served in the United States Congress. His second son, Lewis A. McArthur, was the first editor of the Oregon Geographic Names publications.

Early life

Lewis McArthur was born on March 18, 1843, in Portsmouth, Virginia.[1] His father was a US naval officer and hydrologist, Lieutenant Commander William Pope McArthur, and his mother was Mary Stone (Young) McArthur.[2] McArthur's father died at sea in 1850 while returning from a U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey mission to survey the Oregon Coast.[2] His father was the nephew of Missouri Senator Lewis F. Linn.[3] Lewis McArthur grew up in Portsmouth and Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, but did not graduate.[2] He transferred and completed his degree at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.[1] In Rhode Island he passed the bar in 1864; he moved to Oregon to set up a practice in the developing state.[1]

Once in Oregon, Mcarthur began working for various newspapers in Eastern Oregon before founding the Bedrock Democrat in 1870 at Baker City.[1] He was the first city recorder for Umatilla, Oregon, after its incorporation.[2] During this time, McArthur conducted some mining and also practiced law.[1]

Judicial career

In 1870, McArthur won election to the Oregon Supreme Court.[4] He was re-elected in 1876 to the state’s high court, but the term ended in 1878. That year the legislature reduced the number of sitting justices from five to three.[4] Prior to 1878, Supreme Court justices rode circuit and sat on the Supreme Court bench.[4] In 1878, the legislature split off the circuit court, and Supreme Court justices were given separate responsibilities.[4]

McArthur returned to the bench as a circuit court judge in 1883, serving until 1886.[1] In 1886, he was appointed as the United States Attorney for the state of Oregon, serving until 1890.[1]

Later life

McArthur married Harriet K. Nesmith in 1878.[1] Harriet was the daughter of Oregon Senator James W. Nesmith.[2] They had two sons, Clifton Nesmith McArthur and Lewis A. McArthur.[2] From 1890 until his death, Lewis Linn McArthur practiced law in Portland, Oregon.[1] He died in Portland on May 10, 1897.[2]

Clifton McArthur became an attorney and a politician, being elected to the US Congress from Oregon. He was the namesake for McArthur Court at the University of Oregon.[2] Lewis Linn McArthur started the Oregon Geographic Names series.

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References
  1. Corning, Howard M. Dictionary of Oregon History. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.
  2. Lewis Linn McArthur (1843–1897). Dickinson College. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  3. A Liberating History of Oregon And Its Coast: Volume I. Archived 2012-02-05 at the Wayback Machine Sovereigns of Themselves. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  4. "Earliest Authorities in Oregon - Oregon Supreme Court Justices" (PDF). Oregon Blue Book. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved 2007-05-03.
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