MCDOUGAL, John M., b. 1850; 1905 Bio, Gunnison County, Colorado http://files.usgwarchives.net/co/gunnison/bios/mcdougaljm.txt --------------------------------------- Donated September 27, 2001 Transcribed by Judy Crook from the book: Progressive Men of Western Colorado Published 1905, A.W. Bowen & Co., Chicago, Ill. --------------------------------------- John M. McDougal That jealous mistress, the Law, who is displeased with any division of loyalty in her devotees, and lays them under the most exacting requirements, but who rewards true devotion at her shrine with bountiful benefactions, has an able and creditable follower in Judge John M. McDougal, of Gunnison, one of the leading lawyers of western Colorado, where for nearly a quarter of a century he has been practicing his profession, and where he has high standing at the bar and a conspicuous place in the regard and good will of the people. He is a native of Larue county, Kentucky, born on April 21, 1850, and the son of John and Mary E. (Willette) McDougal, the former a South Carolinian and the latter a Kentuckian by birth. The paternal grandfather, Alexander McDougal, was born and reared in the highlands of Scotland, and on his arrival in the United States in his young manhood, settled in South Carolina, afterward removing to Larue county, Kentucky. He was a Baptist clergyman of the old school, and had a wide circle of pastoral and professional duties in his new home amid the wilds of the Blue Grass state, marrying many persons who afterward won distinction, baptizing their children, and at the close of their careers piously consigning their remains to their last resting places. Among the marriages of celebrated persons whose nuptial knot he tied was that of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks, the parents of Abraham Lincoln. His son, the father of John M. McDougal, was a hard-working farmer, whom the Civil war stripped of all his accumulations, and both he and his wife died on their old Kentucky home, the latter passing away in 1852 and the former in 1875. They had six children, four of whom are living, their son John being the last born of the family. He was reared on the farm, passing his boyhood and early youth there during the Civil war and being about fifteen years of age at its close. The desperate struggle left the section of the country in which he was living bereft of much of its valuable property and prostrated in all its energies, and he not only was thereby deprived of the educational advantages he would otherwise have had, and obliged to get along as best he could with a meager common-school training, but also compelled to labor long and diligently to aid his father to save some remnant of a once promising estate and support the rest of the family. He was, however, industrious and frugal, and was moreover filled with an ambition to become something more than an obscure farmer. At the age of nineteen he entered Lynnland Institute in Hardin county, Kentucky, and passed two years within its classic halls to good advantage. He got this part of his education on credit, and when he left the college he was in debt to nearly the amount of two hundred dollars for his advantages there. He then taught school a number of years, making a good record as an instructor, and saving enough out of his earnings to pay his debt and seek another vocation more in the line of his tastes. In 1874 he went to Frankfort, in his native state, and became special librarian to the court of appeals. During the two years he occupied this position he studied law, and in the latter was on the staff of Gov. P.H. Leslie with the rank of colonel, having been previously private messenger to the Governor. On May 16, 1876, he was admitted to the bar, and during the session of the legislature that year was sergeant at arms of the house of representatives. In September he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and began the practice of his profession on his own account, and was soon afterward admitted to the district and circuit courts of the United States there. Continuing his active practice in the Missouri metropolis until 1880, he rose to good standing at the bar of that portion of the country; but in the year last named, feeling a desire for the freer life and larger opportunities of the undeveloped West, he came to Colorado, arriving at Gunnison on April 28, at that time a small hamlet with many of its people still living in tents. He became a member of the law firm of Thomas, Cougar & Thomas, which opened an office at Irwin and one at Gothic in addition to the one it had at Gunnison. Judge McDougal was established at Irwin, then the principal mining camp of the county, and for three years had charge of the business of the firm at that place. Since 1883 he has maintained his office and residence at Gunnison. In 1884 he was appointed deputy district attorney under Charles Rood, and he afterward served two terms as deputy superintendent of the county schools and served as a member of the Gunnison city council. In 1888 he was elected county judge to fill an unexpired term and at its close was re-elected for a full term of three years. In the fall of 1902 he was chosen to represent Gunnison county in the state house of representatives. In all these positions he has discharged his duties with an ability and a fidelity that have won him general and high commendation. In politics he is an unwavering Democrat, and so active has he been in the service of his party and so wise and influential in his work that he is recognized as one of its leaders on the Western slope. On January 29, 1898, he was married to Miss Lucile S. Goade, a native of West Virginia and the daughter of Albert L. and Sophronia (Wood) Goade, who also were born in West Virginia. The mother has died and the father is now living near Carthage, Missouri. The Judge and Mrs. McDougal have one daughter, Mary Lucile. As a lawyer Judge McDougal is learned in the law and its construction by the courts, alert, shrewd and resourceful in the trial of cases, and eloquent and convincing in presenting them to and arguing them before court and jury. As a citizen he is public-spirited, progressive and far-seeing. As a man he is upright, candid and trustworthy, and has a pleasing personality and manner that make him universally popular. =================================================== Contributed for use by the USGenWeb Archive Project (http://www.usgenweb.org) and by the COGenWeb Archive Project USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.