Arthur Beardsley was the head law librarian at the University of Washington School of Law from 1922 to1944. Dr. Beardsley was a lawyer, a librarian, and an historian. In 1939, Arthur Beardsley and Judge Donald A. McDonald began collecting newspaper clippings and photographs of Washington State lawyers and judges in an attempt to compile a history of Washington State's legal community. Dr. Beardsley used the detailed research to write a manuscript about Washington's legal history. The result of this meticulous research was a 42-chapter manuscript called The Bench and Bar of Washington: The First Fifty Years, 1849-1900. This work was never published, but the copy held by the Gallagher Law Library has now been digitized and made available here.
The search bar to the left allows researchers to run a keyword search across all of the chapters in the manuscript.
For additional information about Arthur Beardsley and the work that led to creation of this manuscript, see Rediscovering Dr. Arthur S. Beardsley: A Brief Introduction to His Life and Work by Carissa Vogel.
Submissions from 1949
Chapter 0 - Table of Contents and Preface, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 1 - Law and Order in the Oregon Territory, North of the Columbia River 1849-1855. David Stone, the First Lawyer; The Wallance Murder Trial, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 2 - Simpson Preston Moses - First Collector of Customs; Seizure of the Beaver and Mary Dare, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 3 - John B. Chapman the First Lawyer Admitted; The Monticello Convention, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 4 - First Legislative Session, 1854; and George N. McConaha, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 5 - The Judiciary Arrives at Olympia, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 6 - The Courts Begin Their Work, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 7 - Martial Law Closes the Court at Steilacoom; Judge Lander Arrested; First Meeting of the Bar, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 8 - Judge Chenoweth Reopens Court; The Trial of Leschi, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 9 - Settlers Charged with Treason; Governor Stevens Reprieves Himself, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 10 - Edmund Fitzhugh - a Colorful Judge; Courts and Cases in Whatcom, Jefferson, Island, and San Juan Counties, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 11 - Territorial Jurisdiction; Background of the Supreme Court and the Early Decisions, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 11A - Sketches of the Pioneer Bar, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 12 - Early Courts and Cases of Pierce County, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 13 - Walla Walla Under Judges Strong, Oliphant, and Wyche, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 14 - Early Bar of Central Washington and the Inland Empire, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 15 - Judge Wyche Supports Vancouver's Claim to the Capitol, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 16 - Quarrel Between Judges Hewitt and Wyche, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 17 - Judge C. Ben Darwin, Co-Respondent in the Wilson Divorce Case; Vacations, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 18 - Benjamin F. Dennison - Lawyer, Legislator, and Judge, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 19 - Life and Public Service of Selucius Garfielde, Orator and Statesman, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 20 - Tax Litigation Culminates in the Tragedy of Bion F. Kendall; Kennedy as Prosecutor and Judge, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 21 - Charles M. Bradshaw of Port Townsend and His Legislative Quarrels, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 22 - Joseph R. Lewis - Twice Resigned From Office; Lewis-Brents Dispute, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 23 - Judges Samuel C. Wingard and William G. Langford, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 24 - Two Territorial Judges Go To Congress (Orange Jacobs and Obidiah B. McFadden), Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 25 - Constitutional Convention of 1878 and Delegate Thomas H. Brents, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 28 - Judge John P. Hoyt and the Constitution of 1889, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 29 - Roger S. Greene, The Great Chief Justice, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 30 - Greene as a Jurist, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 31 - The Arrival of Judge George Turner - Judge, Senator, and Diplomat, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 32 - Two Opposing Judicial Philosophies, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 33 - The Bench and Bar of Snohomish County, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 34 - Lawyers and Law Courts of Spokane County, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 35 - The Bar of Seattle in Later Years, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 36 - Sketches of the Bench and Bar of Western Washington in the 1880's and 1890's, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 37 - Lawyers and the Anti-Chinese Riots, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 38 - Final Years of the Territorial Supreme Court, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 39 - Struggle for the First United States Judgeship - Calkins vs. Hanford, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 40 - Mining Booms, Irrigation, and Stockraising Bring New Counties, Courts, and Lawyers, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 41 - Lawyers and Judges Under the Law, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 42 - Organization of the Bar; Courts of Statehood, Arthur S. Beardsley
Chapter 42 (part 2) - Tables of Territorial Justices, County Courts & Judges, Supreme Court Justices, U.S. Judges, and Attorneys General, Arthur S. Beardsley