William J. Magie was a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1880 to 1900.
Background
William Jay Magie was the son of David Magie, a Presbyterian minister who preached in Elizabeth, New Jersey, from early manhood until his death in 1865. His mother was Ann Frances (Wilson), a woman of considerable wealth, who for many years devoted herself to the needy in her husband's parish.
The earliest member of the Magie family, of whom reliable information exists, was John MacGhie who was born in 1659 and died in 1735. He was banished from Scotland, according to tradition, for the part he took in a religious controversy.
Arriving at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, in 1685, he soon settled in Elizabeth, where the family subsequently remained.
Education
William Jay Magie attended school and prepared for college in Elizabeth, entered the College of New Jersey (Princeton), and was graduated in 1852. He studied law under Francis B. Chetwood of Elizabeth.
Career
Magie was admitted to the bar as an attorney in 1856, and as a counselor three years later. While studying law he was elected clerk of the court of common pleas of Elizabeth and continued in this office until the abolition of the court in 1857. He was elected superintendent of schools in Elizabeth in 1857, serving in that capacity until 1861.
For two years, from 1858 to 1860, he was also a commissioner. The records show that he organized and greatly improved the school system, many of the regulations drafted by him being yet in force. The years immediately following were fully occupied with a rapidly growing law practice. He found a time, nevertheless, to serve as prosecutor of the pleas of Union County from 1866 to 1871, and as a state senator from 1876 to 1879. He declined a nomination for re-election to the Senate, and shortly thereafter refused to stand for election to the national House of Representatives.
As a legislator he served with distinction upon the judiciary committee and gave much time to the work of drafting bills, in compliance with the constitutional mandate of 1875, providing for the government of municipalities through general laws.
His judicial career began in 1880 with his appointment by Gov. George B. McClellan to the supreme court of New Jersey. He was elevated to the office of chief justice in 1897, and in 1900 was appointed by Gov. Foster M. Voorhees as chancellor of the state to fill out an unexpired term. In 1901, he was elected for the full term of seven years.
Thus he sat as a justice of the supreme court for seventeen years, as chief justice for three, and as chancellor for nearly eight years, until his retirement early in 1908, a three-fold honor not conferred on any other member of the New Jersey judiciary. His long judicial career was marked by constant attention to duty. If any part of his activities were to be singled out for special excellence, it would be his work at the circuit.
From 1891 to 1917, he was a trustee of Princeton University. Upon his retirement from the bench, he was chosen trustee of the public library in Elizabeth and became president of the board, a position which he continued to hold by reelection each year until his death.
Achievements
During the Civil War, Magie held a commission of Lieutenant in the New Jersey State Militia, and helped recruit troops to fight the Rebellion.
Connections
Magie was married, October 1, 1857, to Sarah Frances, daughter of Jediah and Abby (Jonson) Baldwin.
