Archives West Finding Aid
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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)18801929
- 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
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 |
Elizabeth
McGilvra
Tintype.
|
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)