Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....McGinn, Judge Henry E. February 11, 1859 - February 27, 1923
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Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com June 9, 2009, 1:04 pm

Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company

     JUDGE HENRY E. McGINN.  High on the list of Portland's honored dead is 
written the name of Judge Henry E. McGinn, who was a distinguished lawyer and 
jurist and one of the city's loyal sons. He was born February 11, 1859, and 
inherited the strong physique and keen wit of his Celtic ancestors. His 
father, Charles McGinn, was born July 13, 1831, at Three Rivers, in the 
province of Quebec, Canada, and was a son of Charles and Bridget (Conroy) 
McGinn, both of Irish lineage. Charles McGinn, the grandfather, engaged in 
merchandising and died during the early boyhood of his son and namesake, who 
was educated in Nickelett College. Afterward he followed agricultural pursuits 
in his native province until 1849, when he crossed the border into the United 
States. He had been reared in a French community and became proficient in that 
language, which he taught for a time in New York city, where he learned the 
baker's trade. For five years he lived in the eastern metropolis and in 1854 
started for San Francisco as a passenger on the old Star of the West. After a 
few months' stay in California's largest city he journeyed to Oregon and on 
June 16, 1854, arrived in Portland, where he was met by relatives who had 
induced him to come to the northwest. For a short time he resided in Oregon 
City, going from there to Salem, and later joined a stepbrother at Port 
Orford, Oregon, where he engaged in mining for about a year. Returning to 
Oregon City, he secured work at his trade and was employed in the bakeries of 
Thomas Charman and Arthur Warner. In 1856 Mr. McGinn located in Portland and 
was connected with the firm of A. Strong & Company, bakers, until about 1860. 
He then embarked in business on his own account, opening a bakery at the 
corner of Main and First streets, and afterward moved to Madison and First 
streets, where he remained for fifteen years. The next location was on 
Washington street and there he maintained his headquarters until about 1895, 
conducting a large business as a baker and cracker manufacturer. In 1895 he 
retired, establishing his home at the corner of Twenty-third and Johnson 
streets, but three years later went to California for his health becoming a 
resident of Los Angeles. He was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church and 
gave his political support to the republican party, casting his first 
presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln.

     In Hamilton, Canada, Charles McGinn, Sr., was married April 20, 1858, to 
Miss Anna Maria Hill, a native of that country and a daughter of Michael and 
Mary (O'Rourke) Hill, who were of Irish descent. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. 
McGinn were twelve children, two of whom died in infancy — the third in order 
of birth, and the youngest. The others were Henry E., Mrs. J. T. Shea, 
Gilbert, Edward E., Walter A., Edith M., John L., Katherine F., Margaret and 
Charles.

     In the acquirement of an education Henry E. McGinn attended the public 
schools of Portland and continued his studies in the University of Oregon. His 
displayed a special aptitude for the legal profession and was admitted to the 
bar at the early age of twenty years. Locating in Portland, Mr. McGinn became 
a general practitioner and when a young man of twenty-one was elected 
prosecuting attorney. The prestige which he won in that office brought him a 
large and lucrative clientele and before his marriage he was called to the 
bench, serving six years. In the discharge of his duties he displayed legal 
ability, judicial qualifications, and such fairness, intelligence and industry 
that his court won the approval of the bar and the admiration of the community.

     In 1909 Judge McGinn married Louise Summers, a daughter of Claude and 
Louise (Claude) Pater, both of whom died in Portland, Oregon. In politics 
Judge McGinn was a strong republican and along fraternal lines he was 
identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He was a member of 
the Multnomah Athletic Club and the local, state and national bar 
associations. Judge McGinn never courted popularity, caring more for the 
approval of his own conscience than the applause of the majority, and through 
his example and efforts he inculcated among men high regard for the dignity of 
the law and respect for its observance. To all movements for the advancement 
and betterment of his community he was quick to respond and his death on 
February 27, 1923, was a great loss to the city and to his profession. The 
following tribute to his worth was paid by Fred Lockley, one of the editors of 
the Oregon Journal:

     "When I learned that my friend, Henry McGinn, had gone to that far land 
whose portals men call death, there came to my mind Hamlet's description of 
his father:

                  `He was a man, take him for all in all,
                   I shall not look upon his like again.'

     "I picked up from my desk a book of quotations to verify the lines. The 
book fell open and my eye fell upon these words:

                  `That best portion of a good man's life,
                   His little, nameless, unremembered acts
                   Of kindness and of love.'

     "I looked no farther, for those words fit Henry McGinn as your glove fits 
your hand.

     "Henry McGinn was one of the richest men in Portland — yes, in the entire 
west; not rich in stocks and bonds, in bank deposits and real estate, the 
things many men sell their lives for, but rich in real wealth, the worth-while 
things — friends, the regard, the esteem and the love of his fellow travelers 
on life's rough road, a road he was always making more smooth for others. He 
had a large law practice, but the greater part of it was done away from his 
office, for newsboys who sold him a paper would tell him their troubles; 
street cleaners, casual acquaintances on the street, men who were down but not 
out — scores of people — sought his shrewd and friendly advice. His only fee 
was their need.

     "I spent an hour or so with Mrs. McGinn recently and we talked of Henry. 
She showed me a letter that Theodore Roosevelt had written to her husband, 
and, pointing to Henry's chair, with its shaded light and the table in front 
of it, she said: 'See, I have left his table just as he left it the night 
before.' There on the table was a leather-covered Bible, almost worn out from 
constant use, and also Macbeth and Horace. Taking from the bookcase a large 
volume of poetry, Mrs. McGinn said: `This book was given Henry when he was 
twenty-three years old. He had read it until he almost knew it by heart. Yes, 
Henry had a wonderful memory. You see how worn is his Bible. He read it 
probably more than any other book, even though he knew much of it by heart. He 
loved it for its literary charm as well as for its teachings. Henry took as 
his life motto this couplet

                  'Work as if life were eternal,
                   Live ready to die tomorrow.'

     "As we were talking Mrs. P. G. Nealand said: 'I wish you could have been 
with Henry on his sixty-fourth birthday on February 11. I baked a pie for him 
and also a birthday cake. I put candles on the cake and they were lit. They 
all had such a merry time — Henry and his wife, Henry's brother Emmett, his 
sister Edith, his sister-in-law, Miss Pater, and his brother-in-law, John 
Shea, who were here to help him celebrate his birthday. Franklin T. Griffith 
sent him a pot of tulips and on the card he had written, "While we are here, 
Henry." Henry could not get over exclaiming about the gift and its kindly 
message. It seems now that it was almost prophetic.'

     "Picking up John Fiske's `Discovery of America' where Henry had laid it 
on the front room table, Mrs. Nealand said: 'Last summer I was sitting on the 
porch, when Henry came out and, sitting near me, said: "I am going to read you 
a paragraph about Las Casas. He was a bishop whose father was with Columbus on 
his voyage of discovery. To my mind, no finer eulogy could have been written 
of a man than this, particularly when such a eulogy is deserved." He read me 
the passage. See, he has marked it and put a bookmark in, so he could turn to 
it.'
     "Here is the passage: 'In contemplating such a life as Las Casas' all 
words of eulogy seem weak. The historian can only bow in reverent awe before a 
figure which in some respects is one of the most beautiful in the annals of 
Christianity since the apostolic age. When now and then in the course of 
centuries God's providence brings such a life into this world, the memory of 
it must be cherished by mankind as one of its most precious and sacred 
possessions. For the thoughts, the words, the deeds of such a man there is no 
death. The sphere of their influence goes on widening forever. They bud, they 
blossom, they bear fruit from age to age.'

     "'Henry's people were Irish and French-Canadians and as a boy he learned 
to speak French,' said Mrs. McGinn. 'I was born in Paris and am also French. 
My parents came to America in 1871, when I was a little tot. From New Jersey 
we moved to California and there we lived five years. We came to Portland 
forty-four years ago. My father was one of the early manufacturing jewelers 
here. I first met Henry in his father's bakery at Second and Madison streets. 
My people were French and were very strict. They would not let me follow the 
American custom of going to parties with young men, so Henry called at my home 
and we grew to know each other.

     "'When we came to Portland there were ten of us — my mother's father and 
mother, my own father and mother, and we six children. All are gone now but my 
sister and myself.

     "'Henry loved Portland as the Frenchman loves his native acres. He was 
restless and unhappy when away from his native city. Neither wealth nor fame 
nor high position could tempt him to leave Portland and his Portland friends. 
He loved to live where he was called by his first name. To him what a man 
possessed or how he was dressed were matters of no consequence. It was the 
integrity of the man's character, his sincerity of purpose, that counted. My 
husband loved people. Love is not for sale. It cannot be bought. You must earn 
love by loving others and Henry was rich in the love of many men in all walks 
of life here in his well-loved Portland.'"  For nearly a half century Mrs. 
McGinn has resided in Portland, experiencing many phases of pioneer existence 
on the western frontier and watching with deep interest the progress of 
civilization in this region. Her heart responds readily to the call of the 
needy and the cry of the distressed and she reveals in her nature those 
qualities which inspire strong and enduring regard.

Additional Comments:
History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. II, 
Pages 810-814

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