lawyer, judge, politician, author, b. Glasgow, Scotland. He migrated as a youth to the U.S. with his widowed mother. He attended schools in Uxbridge and Amherst, Mass., graduated from Wesleyan Univ. (Middletown, Conn.), studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He practiced law in New York and Massachusetts for several years, and in 1849 moved to Milwaukee where he soon became active in politics. A Democrat, he was city attorney (1851), and in 1855 was elected lieutenant governor as the running mate of William A. Barstow (q.v.). Barstow's election was contested by the Republican candidate, Coles Bashford (q.v.), who charged that fraud had been committed in the balloting. Governor Barstow resigned, and on Mar., 21, 1856, McArthur became governor. The state supreme court upheld Bashford as the duly elected governor, and although McArthur had at first decided to hold the governor's office regardless of the court's decision, he reconsidered and relinquished the office four days after assuming it. He resumed his duties as lieutenant governor, and officially remained in this position until Jan., 1858. In 1857 he was elected judge of the 2nd Wisconsin circuit, and served in this capacity for two terms (1858-1869). During the Civil War, McArthur was known as a "War Democrat," and subsequently joined the Republican party. In 1870 he was appointed associate supreme court justice of the District of Columbia by President Grant, and served in this capacity until his resignation in 1888. After leaving the bench, he devoted himself to writing and lecturing; his writings ranged from law publications to historical studies of Mary Stuart and Lady Jane Grey. He died in Atlantic City, N.J. Natl. Cyclopaedia Amer. Biog., 13 (1906); P. M. Reed, Bench and Bar of Wis. (Milwaukee, 1882); E. B. Usher, Wis. (8 vols., Chicago, 1914); Milwaukee Sentinel, Aug. 26, 1896; WPA MS.Learn More
Dictionary of Wisconsin History
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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]
