proceedings to have Barstow removed, and the case Atty. Gen. ex rel. Bashford v. Barstow soon reached the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Barstow initially attempted to challenge the jurisdiction of the court over election results, but eventually relented, and, on March 21, 1856, sent his resignation to the Wisconsin Legislature. MacArthur, therefore, became the acting Governor of Wisconsin. Four days later, the Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously decided in favor of Bashford, ruling that the results from several precincts from remote northern counties appeared fraudulent. MacArthur, though he had at first decided to hold the governor's office regardless of the court's decision, reconsidered and relinquished the governorship to Bashford. He resumed his duties as Lieutenant Governor, and officially remained in this position until the end of his term, January 1858. Wisconsin circuit court In 1856, Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge Levi Hubbell had resigned his seat on the 2nd Circuit, covering Milwaukee and Waukesha counties. Alexander Randall had been appointed to temporarily fill the seat, but a new election was scheduled for April 1857 to fill the remainder of the term. Randall did not run in the election for a full term; MacArthur, while serving as Lieutenant Governor, ran for and was elected to the position without opposition, taking office the following year. He was re-elected in 1863 and resigned in the fall of 1869. Washington, D.C. Federal judicial service MacArthur was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant on July 15, 1870, to the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia (now the United States District Court for the District of Columbia), to a new Associate Justice seat authorized by 16 Stat. 160. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 15, 1870, and received his commission the same day. He served on the court for 17 years, and retired on April 1, 1887. Later life MacArthur remained a prominent member of Washington, D.C., society in his later years. He was a strong supporter of the National University, and served as a trustee, president of the Board of Regents, and Chancellor of the university. He was also President of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Children. Family Around 1844, MacArthur married Aurelia Belcher (1819–1864), the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. They had two sons, Arthur Jr., born in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, in 1845, and Frank, born in Wisconsin in 1853. At the outbreak of the American Civil War,