James Urquhart served three terms in the Washington Territory

Washington Territory

The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....

 legislature. He was also elected to three terms as a county commissioner in Lewis County, Washington

Lewis County, Washington

Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of 2010, the population was 75,455. The county seat is at Chehalis, and its largest city is Centralia....

. He was a delegate to the Washington State Constitutional Convention. In 1873 he laid out the town of Napavine where he was Postmaster and ran the general store. He chose the town's name from the Indian word "napavoon" meaning small prairie.

He was born in Dingwall

Dingwall

Dingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It was formerly an east-coast harbor but now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north of Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies Tulloch Castle, parts...

, Ross-shire

Ross-shire

Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. In 1851 he sailed to New York and crossed the country to the Oregon Territory

Oregon Territory

The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...

. He homesteaded north of the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 and voted in the first election in the newly created Washington Territory. His wife and children joined him in 1854, sailing around the Horn on a journey that took six months.

He had eleven children who grew to maturity. His son, William Muir Urquhart

William Muir Urquhart

William Muir Urquhart was an American entrepreneur, businessman and public servant. For many years he was Treasurer of Lewis County, Washington. He also served as mayor, councilman, and postmaster of Chehalis, Washington where he lived and worked for over fifty years...

, served as Treasurer of Lewis County and Postmaster of Chehalis, Washington

Chehalis, Washington

Chehalis is a city in Lewis County, Washington, United States. The population was 7,259 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County.-History:...

, as did his son John. Two other sons, David and Henry, served as Lewis County Auditor and Sheriff respectively.