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...
In 1857, coal mine manager Edmund C. Fitzhugh killed a drunken trespasser in his garden. Though Fitzhugh was under indictment for murder and only marg...
