territorial judge, b. Albemarle County, Va. He practiced in Virginia, and served as federal judge for the "additional court" of western Michigan (1832-1836). When Wisconsin Territory was created in 1836, Irvin was appointed associate justice of the territorial supreme court. He served in that capacity until 1848, presiding over the judicial district west of the Mississippi River until the separation of Iowa Territory, and thereafter over the second district, comprising the central area of Wisconsin Territory. Irvin was a colorful character, more noted for his love of hunting and his common-sense decisions than for his legal knowledge. When Wisconsin became a state (1848), he moved to his large land holdings near Galveston, Texas. Colls. State Hist. Soc. Wis., 6 {1872), 14 (1898); Wis. Mag. Hist., 32; Proc. State Bar Assoc. Wis., 1 (reprint, 1905).

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]