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Man of treacherous charm : territorial justice Edmund C. Fitzhugh  Cover Image Book Book

Man of treacherous charm : territorial justice Edmund C. Fitzhugh

Wellman, Candace (author.).

Summary: In 1857, coal mine manager Edmund C. Fitzhugh killed a drunken trespasser in his garden. Though Fitzhugh was under indictment for murder and only marginally qualified for the position, U.S. president James Buchanan made the stunning decision to appoint him to Washington Territory's District and Supreme Courts. The blue blood Virginian lawyer migrated to the California gold rush in 1849. After Fitzhugh's San Francisco law partner and others invested in a new Bellingham Bay coal mine, he moved north to open it. During the next ten years--including a few as Democratic Party chairman--he built and exploited his political network. In addition to serving on the federal bench and managing the militarily strategic mine, he was a county auditor, became Governor Isaac Stevens' Treaty War military aide and Indian agent, and helped Stevens run the 1860 Breckinridge for President national campaign. During the Civil War he returned home and was Confederate General Eppa Hunton's staff officer. After the war, he practiced law in a small Iowa town. Fitzhugh devastated the lives of four wives and six children, and eventually died alone in the fleabag remnant of a once-prestigious San Francisco hotel. Author Candace Wellman spent more than two decades researching Fitzhugh's life and contributions--both good and bad--to Pacific Northwest history. Although the court system played a large part in the region's future, Man of Treacherous Charm is the first full biography of an early Washington Territory justice. The volume offers unique insights into the people, personalities, politics, and practices of the territory and the American West in the 19th century.--Amazon

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780874224221
  • ISBN: 0874224225
  • Physical Description: xvii, 319 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm
    regular print
    print
  • Publisher: Pullman, Washington : Washington State University Press, [2023]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note: Introduction : E.C. Fitzhugh, an FFV -- The doctor's son -- Loss and Latin lessons -- West point reptile -- A young lawyer's paradise -- One mine, two marriages, and thirty-four stolen rams -- Death in the garden -- Loyalty's reward in the season of gold -- Sometimes judge, sometimes defendant -- Cards and candidates -- Courts and cora -- "Poor Fitz" -- Retreat to Iowa -- What cheer -- Epilogue.
Subject: Fitzhugh, E. C. (Edmund Clare) 1818-1883
Lawyers United States Biography
Lawyers Washington (State) Biography
Washington Territory History 19th century
Lawyers
United States
Washington (State)
Genre: History.
Biographies.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Northwest Indian College.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Lummi Library BIO FITZ WELL 2023 680881 Biography Available -

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