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Born in Farmington, Utah, HENRY MC BRIDE was educated for the Episcopal priesthood at Trinity College in Connecticut but left school due to illness. He moved to Washington Territory in 1882, where he studied law while teaching school. He became Prosecuting Attorney for Whatcom and Skagit Counties, after which he was appointed by Governor E.P. Ferry as Judge of the Superior Court for Skagit and Island Counties. He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1900, and became governor upon the death of John Rogers. Advocating reform within the Republican Party, he made adversaries of members of the conservative wing of the party. He pushed for a Railroad Commission to limit the power of the Great Northern Railway and refused to fire the Regents of the University of Washington to satisfy the desires of Republican leaders. As a consequence, the Republican Party declined to nominate him for the governorship in 1904. After leaving office, McBride served as president of a savings and loan association, practiced law, and worked in the lumber business.

Sources:

Official Records at Washington State Archives, 1901-1904, 5 cubic feet.

List of finding aids available at the Division of Archives and Records Management, Office of the Secretary of State. Available in hard copy: Guide to the Papers of the Governors of Washington, Volume 2: 1889-1919—Governor Ferry through Governor Lister.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 14 (Supp.). New York: James T. White & Company.

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Washington State Library: Governors of Washington State