Seattle Mayor. He served as mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1879 to 1880. Born as the second of eight children, he grew up in the Genesee Valley of Livingston County, New York, before moving with his parents to the fertile farm fields of Michigan in 1831. He received his education in law from Albion College and the University of Michigan, before being admitted to the Michigan Bar Association in 1850. At the urging of his father, he moved to the Oregon Territory in 1852, serving as editor and publisher of the Jacksonville Sentinel. In 1859 he moved north into the Washington Territory, serving first as associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1869, and then as chief justice of the Supreme Court beginning in 1871. He was selected as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Washington Territory in March 1875, where he remained as a member of Congress until March 1879. From 1885 to 1887 he served as a member of the Washington Territorial Council, serving as chairman of the judiciary committee, and as a member of the committee on education. Returning to Seattle in the late 1880s, he served as a member of the Seattle Charter Revision Committee in 1889 and as a King County Superior Court judge from 1896 to 1900, before resuming a private legal practice. He died in Seattle at the age of 87.
Seattle Mayor. He served as mayor of Seattle, Washington from 1879 to 1880. Born as the second of eight children, he grew up in the Genesee Valley of Livingston County, New York, before moving with his parents to the fertile farm fields of Michigan in 1831. He received his education in law from Albion College and the University of Michigan, before being admitted to the Michigan Bar Association in 1850. At the urging of his father, he moved to the Oregon Territory in 1852, serving as editor and publisher of the Jacksonville Sentinel. In 1859 he moved north into the Washington Territory, serving first as associate justice of the Supreme Court in 1869, and then as chief justice of the Supreme Court beginning in 1871. He was selected as a delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the Washington Territory in March 1875, where he remained as a member of Congress until March 1879. From 1885 to 1887 he served as a member of the Washington Territorial Council, serving as chairman of the judiciary committee, and as a member of the committee on education. Returning to Seattle in the late 1880s, he served as a member of the Seattle Charter Revision Committee in 1889 and as a King County Superior Court judge from 1896 to 1900, before resuming a private legal practice. He died in Seattle at the age of 87.
Bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.
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