McGilvra Family Photograph Collection, approximately 1880-1929

Overview of the Collection

Creator
McGilvra (Family : McGilvra, John J. (John Jay), 1827-1903)
Title
McGilvra Family Photograph Collection
Dates
approximately 1880-1929 (inclusive)
Quantity
20 photographic prints (1 box)
Collection Number
PH0487
Summary
Photographs of John J. McGilvra, his wife, Elizabeth Hills McGilvra, their children, Oliver and Caroline, and their house and gravesite.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public.

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

John Jay McGilvra was born in Livingston County, New York, in 1827 and moved with his family to Illinois in 1844. After teaching school for several years, he began reading law, was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1853, and entered private practice in Chicago. In 1861, McGilvra was appointed U.S. attorney for Washington Territory, a post he held until 1865, when he returned to private pratice and politics. McGilvra was elected to the territorial legislature in 1866 as a Republican. The most notable accomplishment of his single term was the passage of enabling legislation for a wagon road over Snoqualmie Pass, the first trans-Cascade connection between eastern and western Washington. Following the Northern Pacific Railway's announcement in 1873 that Tacoma would be its West Coast terminus, he joined with other prominent Seattleites in organizing the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad Company. Even after the failure of his railroad venture, McGilvra lobbied and litigated against the Northern Pacific and remained one of its most vocal critics.

McGilvra, one of the first attorneys in Seattle, spent most of his career in private practice but served a short time as city attorney. In addition to practicing law (he would eventually earn the title of "Judge" as a tribute to his longevity), McGilvra speculated in real estate. He and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased a large tract of land bordering Lake Washington, becoming the first white settlers in what is now the Madison Park neighborhood in Seattle. He built what became Madison Street to link his property with downtown Seattle and organized the Madison Street Cable Railway Company. McGilvra was also an advocate of municipal improvement and civic reform in Seattle, remaining active in civic affairs even after his retirement in 1893. He was a primary backer of the Lake Washington Ship Canal and promoted the concept of bringing Cedar River water to Seattle. He and other community leaders established a Municipal League in 1894, although it was soon disbanded.

McGilvra's son Oliver was a successful Seattle lawyer. Daughter Caroline McGilvra, a philanthropist and avid collector of Native American artifacts, was married to Seattle pioneer Judge Thomas Burke, for whom the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is named. John J. McGilvra died in 1903.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The collection consists of photographs of John J. McGilvra and his wife Elizabeth M. (Hills) McGilvra. There are also photographs of the McGilvra children, Oliver and Caroline. In addition, the collection contains one 1902 photograph of the McGilvra home and two snapshots of the McGilvra family gravesite.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Gift of the Thomas Burke estate, June 1, 1935.

Processing Note

Processed by Rebekah Dalby, 2002.

The photographs were relocated from the John J. McGilvra Papers, Accession No. 4806-1, in the repository.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

John McGilvraReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Folder item
1 1
John McGilvra
Bogardus, New York, NY (photographer)
1 2
John McGilvra
Moore, George, Portrait and Landscape Photographer, Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
1 3
John McGilvra
Jacob Shew's Photographic Gallery, San Fransisco, Calif. (photographer)
1 4
John McGilvra
Bell, C. M., Washington, D.C. (photographer)
1 5
John McGilvra
McClaire, Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
2 6
John McGilvra
Moore, Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
2 7
John McGilvra
Engraving based on John McGilvra photograph #487.6.

Elizabeth McGilvraReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Folder item
3 8
Elizabeth McGilvra
Moore, George, Portrait and Landscape Photographer, Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
3 9
Elizabeth McGilvra
3 10-11
Elizabeth McGilvra
Moore, George, Portrait and Landscape Photographer, Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
3 12
3 13a-b
Elizabeth McGilvra as an old woman
Webster & Stevens, Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
13b is an engraving based on 13a.

John and Elizabeth McGilvraReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Folder item
4 14

Oliver and Caroline McGilvraReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Folder item
5 15
Oliver and Caroline McGilvra
Moore, George, Portrait and Landscape Photographer, Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
5 16
5 17

McGilvra Home and GravesiteReturn to Top

Container(s) Description
Folder item
6 18
McGilvra home
Peiser, [Theodore E.?], Seattle, Wash. (photographer)
6 19-20
McGilvra gravesite

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Lawyers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs
  • Pioneers--Washington (State)--Seattle--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Burke, Caroline McGilvra--Photographs
  • McGilvra, Elizabeth M., 1835-1926--Photographs
  • McGilvra, John J. (John Jay), 1827-1903--Photographs
  • McGilvra, Oliver C.--Photographs

Family Names

  • McGilvra family--Photographs

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Moore, George N (photographer)