Lockley, Fred.  "History of the Columbia River Valley, From The Dalles to the
Sea." Vol. 2.  S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1928.  p. 804.
 
STEWART B. LINTHICUM
 
     Endowed with a mind of great capacity, Stewart B. Linthicum enriched it by
untiring effort and was long a notable figure in legal circles of Portland. He
was a public-spirited citizen and exemplified in his conduct the lofty ideals of
an ancient and noble calling. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, he was born May
9, 1861, and attended the public schools of the Monumental city, later taking an
under-graduate course at Johns Hopkins University. For a time he studied law in
Baltimore with his cousin, Julian Alexander, and then matriculated in the
University of Maryland, which awarded him the degree of LL. B. He passed an
examination before the Maryland court of appeals in October, 1883, and a few
months later came to Portland, where his uncle, Dr. Ghiselin, was practicing
medicine. Mr. Linthicum was admitted to practice in the supreme court of Oregon
in January, 1884, and began his legal career in Portland with George H. Williams
and C. E. S. Wood. Later they admitted him to a full partnership, forming the
firm of Williams, Wood & Linthicum, of which he remained a member until his
death, July 2, 1911. In 1909 his partner, Judge Williams, had passed away and a
few months later J. Couch Flanders, the junior member of the organization,
responded to death's summons. Theirs was one of the oldest and best known law
firms in Portland and successfully handled much important litigation.
 
     Mr. Linthicum was married October 20, 1892, in Portland to Miss Maria
Louise Wilson, a daughter of Dr. Robert Bruce Wilson, a distinguished physician
and surgeon. He was a native of Portsmouth, Virginia, and studied medicine at
the University of Virginia, afterward taking a postgraduate course in
Philadelphia. In 1849 he went to California, locating in San Francisco, and in
December, 1850, opened an office in Portland, where he spent the remainder of
his life. He was the first physician of note to settle here and rendered service
of great value to the city. In 1854 he married Miss Caroline Couch, the eldest
daughter of Captain John H. and Caroline (Flanders) Couch. Mrs. Wilson's father
was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, and became a master mariner. It was in
1839, when twenty-eight years of age, that he made his first trip to the Pacific
coast, at which time he was in command of the brig Maryland, owned by Captain
Gushing of Newburyport. In Massachusetts, Captain Couch built the bark Chemamus,
in which he returned to Oregon in 1844, and after selling the boat he took up a
donation land claim in what is now the heart of Portland, leaving the deep
impress of his individuality upon the history of the city's development. Mr.
Linthicum left two children: a son, Alexander W., who was born in 1896; and a
daughter, Louise W., born in 1901; also a married sister at that time living in
Baltimore; and a brother, Thales Linthicum. The last named was engaged in the
insurance business in Portland for many years and is now deceased. The widow of
Stewart B. Linthicum still makes her home in Portland, residing at No. 571 Buena
Vista drive.
 
     Mr. Linthicum was a devoted husband and father and his leisure hours were
spent in the society of his family. In religious faith he was an Episcopalian
and his political activities were confined to one term in the Oregon
legislature, in which he took his seat in 1897. He was a member of the local and
state bar associations and constantly added to his store of legal knowledge by
broad experience and intensive study. The leading business and professional men
of Portland expressed deep grief over the death of Mr. Linthicum and on July 5,
1911, the following resolutions were presented by the committee appointed by the
circuit court of Oregon:
 
     "Mr. Linthicum's great characteristic was absolute loyalty, loyalty to his
clients, his friends and his principles. In this he was unswerving and solid as
a rock. He combined rare business sense with a clear technical knowledge of the
law, which made his services invaluable in handling the important matters and
shaping the affairs of the large corporations who were his clients. He had a
gracious, winning manner, always approachable, giving the same patient attention
to the recital of the troubles of some humble client as he would to the demands
of the corporations he represented, and even when overwhelmed with the pressure
of most important work he would unhesitatingly listen to a less experienced
younger member of the bar and help unravel his perplexities. His nature was
naturally buoyant and optimistic, and he had an aboding faith in the city of
Portland."
 
     "Stewart Linthicum was not only honest in conduct but he was absolutely
honest in thought," said T. B. Wilcox, one of his closest associates and most
intimate friends. "As he gained experience his mind broadened and he was
already, though a comparatively young man, one of the ablest lawyers in Oregon.
His death is a serious loss to this community."
 
     "Mr. Linthicum was probably my closest friend in the city," said Edward
Cooking-ham, vice president of the Ladd & Tilton Bank. "He had been counsel for
our corporation for many years. My relationship to him was exceedingly close. I
feel in his death as great a loss as if he had been a member of my own family.
In all my business and social experience I never came in contact with a higher
minded man or one who combined greater characteristics of fidelity and loyalty
to duty, nor a greater warmth of personal attraction as a friend."
 
     "I feel as if I had lost a brother," said C. E. S. Wood in speaking of his
late partner. "Mr. Linthicum's essential characteristic was absolute loyalty to
his friends and clients. He did not know how to wrong anybody."
 
     In commenting upon the death of Mr. Linthicum, W. B. Ayer, president of the
Eastern & Western Lumber Company, said: "Mr. Linthicum, besides being one of the
ablest lawyers on the Pacific coast, had a personality that endeared him to
everyone that had the pleasure of his acquaintance. One of his strongest
personal traits was loyalty, and I have never known a man with this
characteristic more largely developed. He was the biggest, most generous and
sweetest character I have ever known. His interest in and solicitude for those
for whom he cared was remarkable."

 
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in January 2013 by Diana Smith. Submitter
has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.