Arthur MacArthur Sr. (January 26, 1815August 26, 1896) was a Scottish-American immigrant, lawyer, and judge. He was the fourth Governor of Wisconsin and was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. He was the father of General Arthur MacArthur Jr., and the grandfather of General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur is the modern spelling used by his descendants, but in documents from his own time his name was spelled McArthur. Education and career Arthur MacArthur was born on January 26, 1815, in Glasgow, Scotland. His parents were both MacArthurs from the western Scottish Highlands, but his father died before his birth. His mother, Sarah, remarried to Alexander Meggett, and, in 1828, the family immigrated to the United States, settling near Uxbridge, Massachusetts. MacArthur attended Uxbridge and Amherst, but left school to help the family during the depression of 1837. He eventually graduated from Wesleyan University, in Connecticut, in 1840. He studied law in New York, and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1841. He also became interested in politics while in New York, joining the Democratic Party. While in New York, he met and fell in love with Aurelia Belcher, who convinced him to move to Massachusetts. He entered private practice in Springfield, Massachusetts, and, in 1843, was a public administrator in Hampden County. Around 1844, he married Aurelia, and, with financial assistance from her father, expanded his law practice. He successfully practiced law in New York and Massachusetts for several years, and, in 1849, moved with his wife and son to Milwaukee, in the new state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin public offices In Wisconsin, MacArthur continued practicing law from 1849 to 1851, and resumed his interest in politics with the Democratic Party in the city. In 1851, he became City Attorney for Milwaukee. In the 1855 election, MacArthur was the Democratic Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, running alongside incumbent Governor William A. Barstow. He defeated Republican Charles Sholes, of Kenosha, to become the 5th Lieutenant Governor of the state. 1855 election dispute The 1855 election, however, also produced a controversy with the apparent re-election of Barstow by a mere 157 votes. Barstow's Republican opponent, Wisconsin state senator Coles Bashford, claimed fraud and challenged the results. On January 7, 1856, both Bashford and Barstow were sworn in as Governor of Wisconsin in separate ceremonies. The outgoing Attorney General, George Baldwin Smith, filed quo warranto