Archives West Finding Aid

The papers document the career of John J. McGilvra, a lawyer, elected official, businessman, and civic activist.

The general correspondence is arranged chronologically and spans the years 1861-1907. The contents relate to both personal and business topics. Letters from the early 1860s discuss matters arising from McGilvra's duties as U.S. attorney. They include the investigation of suspected embezzlement by the customs collector in Port Townsend, Washington, settlement of land claims, and enforcement of the Indian Intercourse Act. Letters from the 1870s and 1880s address McGilvra's legal battles with the Northern Pacific Railroad as well as his general legal business. Much of the correspondence from the 1890s until his death in 1903 deals with civic matters, including the Lake Washington Ship Canal and Cedar River water line, and Republican politics. Major correspondents include Caroline McGilvra Burke, George Goss, and Oliver McGilvra. The outgoing letters are in the form of five letterpress books, 1873 to 1890, from McGilvra's law practice. They include correspondence from McGilvra and Burke (1875-1876); McGilvra and Blaine (1885-1889); and McGilvra, Blaine, and DeVries (1889-1890), law partnerships McGilvra formed during the course of his career. They constitute a daily record of economic conditions, legal practice, and politics in the Puget Sound region.

Court papers, largely legal briefs and notes, are grouped by subject, with the balance being catagorized as miscellaneous. The materials in this series represent the full range of McGilvra's law practice and include materials from his years practicing in Illinois. Legal documents include various contracts, article of incorporation, and affidavits. Also included are his reports as U.S. attorney for Washington Territory. The speeches and writings date largely from the 1870s and beyond and are grouped by topic, including the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Republican politics and Seattle municipal affairs, and the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. The series includes notes as well as complete speeches and writings.

The collection also contains several subgroups representing the papers of the McGilvra estate and several family members. There are also small subgroups containing the correspondence of McGilvra and Baxter, another of his law partnerships, and law partner Elbert F. Blaine. Blaine has been called the "father of the Seattle park system." Included in the Blaine subgroup is the 1903 report from the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Mass., to Blaine (in his capacity as chairman of the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners) outlining a comprehensive parks plan for the city.

The McGilvra collection also includes two 4-reel sets of positive microfilm which contain McGilvra's general correspondence and outgoing letters. The microfilm targets misidentify a few dates. The terminal date for reel 1 should be May 29, not June 2, and the starting date for reel 4 should be 1896 rather than 1895.