John McQuade was born Oct 14, 1863 in County Tyrone, Ireland. He immigrated to the United States in 1880 and lived in Pennsylvania and Montana for four years when he traveled west on the overland route. John married Margarette (Lewis) in Seattle on March 15, 1890. They had four sons; Thomas, Charles, John and William and three daughters; Edith, Ethel and Margarette.

Issaquah Historical Society photo

Gilman was incorporated on April 29, 1892. John was appointed as the second Marshal (Henry Beebe was the first, if only for three days). John remained in office until 1899 although there is some confusion as the 1900 census lists him as Marshal for that year. As was common in those days, he may have served for part of that year, hence the entry in the census report.

It's unknown what John's pay was as Marshal, but it is recorded that his salary was cut to $30.00 for the last five months of 1894. It was later reinstated back to it's unknown original amount.

To give an idea of the size of the Gilman voting precinct in those days, the 1900 census recorded it's population as 1,060. In 1900 the Issaquah Independent also started business with George Webster as owner/editor. In August of that same year the Issaquah Telephone Company was organized. In January , 1901 it had two subscribers!

John appears to have gone into private business after leaving the Marshal's Office. He was listed as a coal miner, Alaskan prospector and timberland developer. An article from the newspaper of in 1926 noted that he was owner of the West Coast Mine at Cedar Mountain, and that he had built a "splendid" home there.

John died at the family home on Cedar Mountain on June 24, 1934. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Renton. Margarette, who was born on April 8, 1869, died on April 12, 1940.

He is listed in Vol. II, page 313, of Washington State Pioneers published by the Washington State Genealogical Society. Obviously he played an important part in the early settlement of the state.

See the Full List of Issaquah Marshals and Police Chiefs

Issaquah Law Enforcement History

Images in this article are courtesy of the Issaquah Police Department, unless otherwise noted.