Los Angeles County
Biographies
HON. WALTER BORDWELL
For seven years judge of the superior court of Los Angeles County and at one time a candidate for the office of chief justice of California, the Hon. Walter Bordwell was a man of high professional attainments and unblemished record. He was born on a farm in Eckford Township, Calhoun County, Michigan, February 26, 1855. Of English lineage, he was descended from Sir William De Berdewell, a valiant warrior and zealous churchman, who was lord of Bardwell Manor, Suffolk County, England, early in the fifteenth century. The family history in Massachusetts dates back to the early colonial period. Medad Bardwell, the grandfather of Walter Bordwell, left Massachusetts in 1833, casting in his lot with the pioneers of Michigan and at that time changed the spelling of his name from Bardwell to Bordwell. His son, Charles M. Bordwell, the father of the judge, was born in the Wolverine state December 16, 1815, and died September 26, 1864. He was a prominent man of his locality, holding several offices of importance. On the distaff side Walter Bordwell was of the fourth generation in direct line of descent from Jonathan Edwards, the theologian. Eliza (Ingersoll) Bordwell, the mother of the judge, was a daughter of Eliza Ingersoll, a prosperous farmer and a man of prominence in his district. He served on the board of supervisors and also became a justice of the peace. Because of his keen discernment and strong sense of justice he was called upon to act as arbiter in various disputes and claims, all of which were satisfactorily adjusted.
Walter Bordwell was a pupil in the public schools of Olivet, Michigan, where he attended Olivet College for three years, and later took a course in Eastman’s Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York. He was engaged in commercial pursuits at Marshall, Michigan, before he decided to enter upon the study of law in the office of Samuel J. Kilbourne at Lansing, where he mastered the principles of jurisprudence, and passed on examination before the Supreme Court of Michigan on October 11, 1888. He came to California January 1, 1889, and with his admission to the state bar opened a law office in Los Angeles, engaging in general practice. Throughout the remainder of his life he was active not only as a lawyer and as a jurist but was also closely associated with the civic, business, and cultural development of his adopted community. In 1890 he assisted in the founding of the German-American Trust & Savings Bank, which later became the Guaranty Trust & Savings Bank, and from this time of its organization until his death on September 2, 1926, was not only legal adviser but an active director of the institution. He was occupied with his steadily growing practice until 1905, when he became justice of the superior court of Los Angeles County through appointment of Governor Pardee, and in 1906 was elected for the full term. He became known as one of the fairest, ablest and most courageous jurists in the history of the state. It fell to his lot as presiding judge to render decisions in some of the most important cases heard in the courts of California during the last quarter century of his lifetime. Among his important rulings may be mentioned that in the famous tidelands case, which was sustained in the United States Supreme Court, and in effect is said to have given the city of Los Angeles its harbor. This decision secured for the city the waterfront and tidelands at Wilmington and is generally regarded as a service second to none in the history of Los Angeles.
Another cause celebre in which Justice Bordwell gained additional prestige was when he presided over the trial of the McNamara brothers in the superior court, the defendants confessing to dynamiting the Times building, causing the loss of twenty lives and the destruction of property valued at five hundred thousand dollars. It was a case in which some of the finest legal talent in the country was engaged and which ended in the sentencing of the McNamara’s to prison after a trial which attracted the attention of the world. For his conduct of this trial the following tribute was paid Justice Bordwell: “In itself this case stands as a monument to an able jurist, fearless, courageous, honest and firm, with an unshakeable judicial poise that formed a part of his character.”
In recognition of his legal learning and noteworthy achievements Olivet College conferred the honorary degree of LL. D. upon Judge Bordwell in 1912. He retired from the bench January 1, 1913, and in the following year as a candidate for chief justice of California. On completing his judicial service he resumed the practice of law with W. B. Matthews, who was his partner for thirty-five years and who paid the following tribute to his associate: “I cannot say to much of Judge Bordwell as a man, a citizen and a member of the profession. I never knew a judge who to a greater degree had his opinions and was so fearless and courageous. He knew law. He was an outstanding character, liked to do things for the public, and possessed the sterling traits of his New England ancestors.”
The president of the Los Angeles Bar Association said of him: “Judge Bordwell was a real man as well as a highly successful and competent attorney and jurist. He was admired and respected by judges and attorneys throughout the State of California.”
At Monroe, Michigan, on the 18th day of July, 1883, Judge Bordwell was married to Miss Mary E. Willits, a daughter of the Hon. Edwin Willits, who was a prominent lawyer of that city and who served in the United State House of Representatives from 1876 to 1883. Helen Bordwell, the only child of this marriage, is the wife of Linford C. Lull and the mother of a son, Walter Bordwell Lull.
Judge Bordwell was a scholarly gentleman whose tastes and interests were indicative of a refined and cultured mind. He was a music lover and the possessor of a well-trained voice of pleasing quality. From 1889 until his death he held membership in the Ellis Club, a choral society of one hundred male voices, and was chairman of its music committee from 1907 to 1917, when he was chosen president of the committee, occupying the office for a period of nine years. He also belonged to the California and Sunset Clubs. Active in behalf of the public schools of Los Angeles, he served for a number of years on the board of education and was its president from 1913 to 1915. Long identified with the Young Men’s Christian Association as a director and with the Young Men’s Christian Association as a director and senior member of its legal committee, he continue in the latter capacity until 1924, when he resigned. For thirty-seven years he was a consistent member of the First Presbyterian Church, contributing liberally toward its maintenance, and was ever ready to cooperate in those plans and measures which are seeking the benefit of the individual and the race. He was broad-minded man of wide sympathies and his influence upon the life of his city was one f the highest order.
Transcribed
By: Michele Y. Larsen on April 26, 2012.
Source: California
of the South Vol. II,
by John Steven McGroarty, Pages
289-292, Clarke Publ., Chicago, Los Angeles,
Indianapolis. 1933.
For seven years judge of the superior court of Los Angeles County and at one time a candidate for the office of chief justice of California, the Hon. Walter Bordwell was a man of high professional attainments and unblemished record. He was born on a farm in Eckford Township, Calhoun County, Michigan, February 26, 1855. Of English lineage, he was descended from Sir William De Berdewell, a valiant warrior and zealous churchman, who was lord of Bardwell Manor, Suffolk County, England, early in the fifteenth century. The family history in Massachusetts dates back to the early colonial period. Medad Bardwell, the grandfather of Walter Bordwell, left Massachusetts in 1833, casting in his lot with the pioneers of Michigan and at that time changed the spelling of his name from Bardwell to Bordwell. His son, Charles M. Bordwell, the father of the judge, was born in the Wolverine state December 16, 1815, and died September 26, 1864. He was a prominent man of his locality, holding several offices of importance. On the distaff side Walter Bordwell was of the fourth generation in direct line of descent from Jonathan Edwards, the theologian. Eliza (Ingersoll) Bordwell, the mother of the judge, was a daughter of Eliza Ingersoll, a prosperous farmer and a man of prominence in his district. He served on the board of supervisors and also became a justice of the peace. Because of his keen discernment and strong sense of justice he was called upon to act as arbiter in various disputes and claims, all of which were satisfactorily adjusted.
Walter Bordwell was a pupil in the public schools of Olivet, Michigan, where he attended Olivet College for three years, and later took a course in Eastman’s Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York. He was engaged in commercial pursuits at Marshall, Michigan, before he decided to enter upon the study of law in the office of Samuel J. Kilbourne at Lansing, where he mastered the principles of jurisprudence, and passed on examination before the Supreme Court of Michigan on October 11, 1888. He came to California January 1, 1889, and with his admission to the state bar opened a law office in Los Angeles, engaging in general practice. Throughout the remainder of his life he was active not only as a lawyer and as a jurist but was also closely associated with the civic, business, and cultural development of his adopted community. In 1890 he assisted in the founding of the German-American Trust & Savings Bank, which later became the Guaranty Trust & Savings Bank, and from this time of its organization until his death on September 2, 1926, was not only legal adviser but an active director of the institution. He was occupied with his steadily growing practice until 1905, when he became justice of the superior court of Los Angeles County through appointment of Governor Pardee, and in 1906 was elected for the full term. He became known as one of the fairest, ablest and most courageous jurists in the history of the state. It fell to his lot as presiding judge to render decisions in some of the most important cases heard in the courts of California during the last quarter century of his lifetime. Among his important rulings may be mentioned that in the famous tidelands case, which was sustained in the United States Supreme Court, and in effect is said to have given the city of Los Angeles its harbor. This decision secured for the city the waterfront and tidelands at Wilmington and is generally regarded as a service second to none in the history of Los Angeles.
Another cause celebre in which Justice Bordwell gained additional prestige was when he presided over the trial of the McNamara brothers, James B. and John J., in the superior court, the defendants confessing to dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building and the Llewellyn Iron Works, causing the loss of twenty lives and the destruction of property valued at five hundred thousand dollars. It was a case in which some of the finest legal talent in the country was engaged and which ended in the sentencing of the McNamara brothers to prison after a trial which attracted the attention of the world. For his conduct of this trial the following tribute was paid Justice Bordwell: “In itself this case stands as a monument to an able jurist, fearless, courageous, honest and firm, with an unshakeable judicial poise that formed a part of his character.”
In recognition of his legal learning and noteworthy achievements Olivet College conferred the honorary degree of Bachelor of Law (LL. D.) upon Judge Bordwell in 1912. He retired from the bench January 1, 1913, and in the following year as a candidate for chief justice of California. On completing his judicial service he resumed the practice of law with W. B. Matthews, who was his partner for thirty-five years and who paid the following tribute to his associate: “I cannot say too much of Judge Bordwell as a man, a citizen and a member of the profession. I never knew a judge who to a greater degree had his opinions and was so fearless and courageous. He knew law. He was an outstanding character, liked to do things for the public, and possessed the sterling traits of his New England ancestors.”
The president of the Los Angeles Bar Association said of him: “Judge Bordwell was a real man as well as a highly successful and competent attorney and jurist. He was admired and respected by judges and attorneys throughout the State of California.”
At Monroe, Michigan, on the 18th day of July, 1883, Judge Bordwell was married to Miss Mary E. Willits, a daughter of the Hon. Edwin Willits, who was a prominent lawyer of that city and who served in the United State House of Representatives from 1876 to 1883. Helen Bordwell, the only child of this marriage, is the wife of Linford C. Lull and the mother of a son, Walter Bordwell Lull.
Judge Bordwell was a scholarly gentleman whose tastes and interests were indicative of a refined and cultured mind. He was a music lover and the possessor of a well-trained voice of pleasing quality. From 1889 until his death he held membership in the Ellis Club, a choral society of one hundred male voices, and was chairman of its music committee from 1907 to 1917, when he was chosen president of the committee, occupying the office for a period of nine years. He also belonged to the California and Sunset Clubs. Active in behalf of the public schools of Los Angeles, he served for a number of years on the board of education and was its president from 1913 to 1915. Long identified with the Young Men’s Christian Association as a director and with the Young Men’s Christian Association as a director and senior member of its legal committee, he continued in the latter capacity until 1924, when he resigned. For thirty-seven years he was a consistent member of the First Presbyterian Church, contributing liberally toward its maintenance, and was ever ready to cooperate in those plans and measures which are seeking the benefit of the individual and the race. He was broad-minded man of wide sympathies and his influence upon the life of his city was one of the highest order.
Sources to update Bio: http://law.jrank.org/pages/2770/McNamara-Brothers-Trial-1911.html
http://darrow.law.umn.edu/trials.php?tid=2
© 2012 Michele
Y. Larsen.
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