Mary Jane Spurlin
Mary Jane Spurlin (1883–1970) was a lawyer who became Oregon's first woman judge in 1926 when appointed to the Multnomah County District Court.
Sourcing: strong 3 reference · 1 book · 1 genealogy
Mary Jane Spurlin (January 16, 1883 – June 4, 1970) was an American lawyer, judge and civic leader who became the first woman to serve as a judge in Oregon.[1]
Early life and education
Sources disagree about where Spurlin was born. Women of the West, a biographical directory published in 1928, calls her a native of Virginia and the daughter of D. A. and Daisy Marie Spurlin. It says she had then lived in Oregon for 15 years, which would date her arrival to about 1913.[2] Wikipedia follows this account.[1] A Find a Grave memorial instead gives her birthplace as Sparta, Alleghany County, North Carolina, and names her parents as Daniel Aris Spurlin (1855–1939) and Daisy Marie Williams Spurlin (1858–1933). It says she moved to Oregon in 1916.[3] For other Spurlins from that part of North Carolina, see Spurlins of Ashe and Alleghany Counties. She graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1924.[1]
Judicial career
Before her judicial appointment she served on Oregon's Child Welfare Commission.[1] Governor Walter M. Pierce appointed her a judge of the Multnomah County District Court, and she was sworn in on April 1, 1926, becoming Oregon's first woman judge.[1] She lost her bid to keep the seat at the November 1926 election.[1]
Later work
On April 9, 1927, she was elected president of the Portland Federation of Women's Clubs.[1] In 1935 she became director of women's programs for the Works Progress Administration in Oregon. That year she also wrote that policewomen in street clothes had an advantage over uniformed patrolmen in winning the confidence of troubled children and their parents.[1] She belonged to the Women Lawyers Association of Oregon, the League of Women Voters, the Soroptimist Club and the Business and Professional Women's Club, among other groups.[1][2]
Her career is discussed in legal historian Elizabeth D. Katz's study of the first women judges in the United States, published in the Washington University Law Review in 2025.[1] She died in Portland in 1970.[1] The Find a Grave memorial records her burial at River View Cemetery in Portland and cites an obituary in The Oregonian of June 6, 1970.[3]
Wikidata and Commons
Mary Jane Spurlin has a Wikidata item, Q6779900, which describes her as a "judge (1883-1970)". The item gives Salem, Oregon, as her place of birth, which neither of the sources above supports.[4] Wikimedia Commons hosts a portrait of her dated September 20, 1959, taken from The Oregonian of that date.[5]
See also
- Notable Spurlins · People strong
An index of notable people surnamed Spurlin, with related Spurling-surname figures listed separately as variants. - Spurlins in public service · People strong
A roundup of people surnamed Spurlin (and, separately, Spurling) in government, politics, the military and the courts, from a 19th-century Indiana sheriff to a Kentucky utility commissioner and recent local candidates, with links to the individual articles. - Spurlins of Ashe and Alleghany Counties, North Carolina · Genealogy weak
Spurlins from Fairfax County, Virginia, settled in the Blue Ridge counties of Ashe and Alleghany, North Carolina, in the late 18th century. Descendants served in the 22nd North Carolina Infantry, were merchants and farmers around Sparta and Ennice in the 20th century, and gave their name to three family burial grounds. - Spurlin cemeteries · Places weak
A roundup of burial grounds named for the Spurlin family on Find a Grave: eight Spurlin cemeteries in Arkansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina, plus Spurlington- and Spurling-named cemeteries and the graves of notable Spurlins. - Spurlin on Wikidata · Culture strong
The Spurlin items in Wikidata, the free knowledge base: the family-name item, places, cemeteries and notable people. - Spurlin on Wikimedia Commons · Culture strong
Freely licensed images on Wikimedia Commons that relate to the Spurlin name, including portraits of Ashley Spurlin and Mary Jane Spurlin.
References
- ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Mary Jane Spurlin — Wikipedia Reference
- ↑ ↑ Women of the West (ed. Max Binheim, 1928), Oregon section — Wikisource — entry "SPURLIN, Mary Jane" Book
- ↑ ↑ Mary Jane Spurlin (1883–1970) — Find a Grave Memorial 59062767 — birth, burial, parents; created 2010 Genealogy
- ↑ Mary Jane Spurlin (Q6779900) — Wikidata Reference
- ↑ File:Mary Jane Spurlin in 1959.png — Wikimedia Commons Reference
Last reviewed 2026-09-24.