USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Lodge no. 61, F. and A. M., Wilkesbarr?, Pa. with a collection of masonic addresses > Part 32
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"As Judge Mallery had in his early career practiced in the North- east counties, and presided as Law Judge in the district next south- ward, he became well known and appreciated by the people of full one-fourth the area of the State ; a section in which then prevailed the greatest enterprise in opening mines and in building railroads and canals. This was a harvest to him. The capitalists engaged were chiefly in Philadelphia, and many other clients followed him here. He reaped many and large fees, and freely used them as a pioneer improver.
"Soon after he came here I was visited by Judge [David] Scott [of Luzerne], who had long been the presiding Judge before whom Mr. Mallery most practiced in his early professional life. On him our conversation turned, and the Judge gave me a close analysis of the
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character of our mutual friend ; of his good foundation in a good course of reading in the law; of his indefatigable industry ; his full prepara- tion in the facts and law of his case, and prompt readiness for trial or argument ; of his good judgment and tact. These seemed to me, and were, high praise; higher, indeed, than he implied when he further said with a 'but'-' Judge Mallery was a self-made man ; he owes all he has been, and is, to himself.' I did not say it then, but I thought, and have ever since thought, that the qualifying 'but' followed the climax of merit. Still it was what we commonly do; we admire and praise a man more for what God has given him than for that which by labor he has given himself.
"But Judge Mallery had, if not a brilliant imagination, more useful traits of mind. He had naturally a right-mindedness, good judgment, quick perception, ready repartee improved by much use, and in a de- gree was humorous and cutting in his logic-at times severe in his sarcasm, if well deserved. A small instance of his readiness occurs to me. He was cross-questioning a witness strongly favoring the op- posite party, who persisted that something vital to the case could not have been said without his having heard it. Judge M. said quietly, 'Did you hear the city clock strike awhile ago ?' 'No, I did not,' said the witness. Most of those in Court had heard it strike twelve, five minutes before. His very positive negative testimony went for noth- ing.
"In all respects but a too ready disposition to engage in new enter- prises, Judge Mallery's character was one to be held up for an exam- ple to all professional men ; and to all others wishing to pass through life wisely and well. He was well self-schooled in philosophy and re- ligion to meet with equanimity all the events of life. His greeting was always kindly and cheering. If he had grief at his heart he chose to bear · it himself. He did not ask sympathy, yet was ever ready to serve his friends. He was always fortified, self-reliant, and endured, as things that must be endured, all the trials of life. I never perceived any infirmity or obliquity to mar the perfection that constituted the moral and religious beauty of his character. He was an honor to our State, and his memory should be preserved in her history for the admiration and love of mankind. I am truly yours,
" To OSCAR J. HARVEY, Esq.
ELI K. PRICE."*
* ELI KIRK PRICE, son of Philip and Rachel (Kirk) Price, was born July 20th, 1797, at East Bradford, Chester county, Penn'a, within sight of the battle ground of the Brandywine. Every branch of his ancestry was of the Society of Friends. He was educated at the Westtown
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Judge Mallery died at his residence on Sixth street, oppo- site Washington Square, Philadelphia, Friday, July 6th, 1866, and was buried at Woodlands Cemetery on Monday, July 9th. A meeting of the members of the Philadelphia Bar was held on Monday evening in the Supreme Court room, and was presided over by Chief Justice John Meredith
school, Chester county, and in 1815 entered the shipping-house of Thos. P. Cope, well known from its connection with the "Cope Liners," the celebrated packets that sailed between Liverpool and Philadelphia, and were the most important vessels which came to the latter port.
About the year 1820 he became a student of law in the office of the Hon. John Sergeant, Philadelphia, and was admitted to the Philadel- phia Bar May 28th, 1822. "From this time forward his course in life was fixed. No shadow of doubt as to his vocation appeared. The people themselves seemed to have made him a real estate lawyer, and no one in Philadelphia ever surpasssed him in knowledge con- cerning its land titles. Probably very few equalled him."
In 1853 he prepared and had enacted that celebrated law which bears his name-the " Price Act." It was the result of his years of experience, and was prepared at the request of Governor Bigler. It is entitled, "An Act relating to the Sale and Conveyance of Real Es- tate." In the Fall of 1853 Mr. Price was elected to the State Senate for a term of three years, and while a member of that body he drew up and procured to be passed several important acts-among them being "An Act for the greater security of title and more secure enjoy- ment of real estate." In 1857 he published his most excellent and conservative book on the Law of Limitations and of Liens against Real Estate.
He was a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania ; President of the University Hospital ; Vice President of the American Philosoph- ical Society ; President of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society ; and an active member of various scientific, historical, literary and other organizations of Philadelphia.
He amassed and left a large estate, the steady accumulation of his moderate and reasonable charges, and died at Philadelphia Novem- ber 15th, 1884. He was survived by one son-J. Sergeant Price, Esq., a well-known lawyer of Philadelphia.
4II
Read .* The Hons. Samuel H. Perkins,* Eli K. Price, A. V. Parsons, James Ross Snowden, and others addressed the meeting. The following paragraphs are from the speech of Mr. Snowden-at that time Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and later Superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia :
" I desire to add a few words to what has been so well said by my brethren who have spoken in reference to our deceased friend. My intercourse with Judge Mallery has been of the most cordial and friendly character for a long series of years. Our acquaintance com- menced in the Valley of Wyoming, more than thirty-five years ago. That beautiful valley was the home of my mother's ancestors in the times that tried men's souls. The remains of some of those ancestors lie in the cemetery at Forty Fort. I have occasionally visited that interesting region, and it was there that our distinguished and lamented friend commenced his useful and eminent career.
" When I first met him there he was in the front rank of the lawyers of Pennsylvania, and the acknowledged leader of the bar of Luzerne and the adjoining counties. Captivated at the first interview by his kind and cordial manners, my respect and admiration for him in- creased with the years which have since rolled around. I think I may venture the declaration that no citizen, lawyer or judge had so firm a hold upon the affection and confidence of all classes of the peo- ple of that country, as had Judge Mallery. I particularly refer to the counties on both branches of the Susquehanna, where he practiced law for many years; and I also include the counties on the Lehigh, and the county of Berks, where he presided as judge of the several courts for a few years previous to his removal to the city of Philadel- phia. * * *
" Our learned and estimable friend is gone. All that we can now do is to bear our testimony to his great talents and eminent worth ; to venerate his memory ; and endeavor to emulate his virtues and high attainments.
'The longest day brings the shades of evening, And the longest life the shadows of death.' "
* Both of these gentlemen were Past Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge, F. and A. M., of Pennsylvania. See pages 92, 93, and 293, ante.
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The following resolutions were adopted at the Bar meet- ing :
Resolved, That by the decease of the Hon. Garrick Mallery, the legal profession throughout the State has lost one of its bright and shining ornaments ; society, a noble and patriotic citizen ; the Com- monwealth, a wise statesman.
Resolved, That we recognize in our deceased brother one who, in early life, distinguished himself as a leading member of the Bar in the northern part of the State; in more mature life, as a prominent member of the Legislature, with distinguished ability advocating the great system of internal improvements of the Commonwealth by her canals and railroads ; preparing wise laws in relation to the finances of Pennsylvania ; subsequently adorning the Bench in a most im- portant judicial district by his learning and eminent abilities, and afterwards resigning that station and becoming a prominent and lead- ing member of the Philadelphia Bar.
Resolved, That in all the stations of life which have been occupied by Mr. Mallery, he has discharged his duties with signal and honor- able fidelity to those who entrusted him with business, to the pro- fession, and to the State at large.
Resolved, That we believe few members of our profession have been more beloved and venerated by all who knew him than our de- parted friend and brother, and we can point to no better example for imitation than that exhibited by his long life, in his kind intercourse with his brethren of the Bar.
Resolved, That as a tribute of respect to the memory of our departed brother, we will, this afternoon, attend his funeral and wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days.
Resolved, That a committee of three shall be appointed, to whom shall be added the Chairman and Secretary, to present to the family of our deceased friend a copy of the proceedings of this meeting and of the resolutions adopted thereat.
GARRICK MALLERY, like his father, was married three times and had eleven children. He married first, in June, 1811, Sylvina Pierce Butler (born March 5th, 1794; died March 28th, 1824), daughter of Gen. Lord Butler, and granddaughter of Col. Zebulon Butler, of Wilkesbarré. He married second, June 30th, 1830, Catharine Julia Hall
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(born August 14th, 1804; died July 17th, 1832), daughter of Dr. Henry Hall of Harrisburg, Penn'a, and a descendant of John Harris, the founder of Harrisburg, and of William Maclay, the first United States Senator from Pennsylvania. His third wife, whom he married June 27th, 1838, was Janette Otto, daughter of Dr. John C. Otto of Philadelphia.
PIERCE BUTLER MALLERY, Judge Mallery's eldest son, was a member of the Luzerne Bar, having been admitted to prac- tice January 5th, 1836. He died, unmarried, in 1838, aged twenty-six years.
PRISCILLA LEE MALLERY, second daughter and third child, was born at Wilkesbarré October 6th, 1816. She was married at Philadelphia November 28th, 1836, to William Strong, Esq., of Reading, Penn'a. William Strong was born at Somers, Conn., May 6th, 1808, and was graduated A. B. from Yale College in 1828. Having pursued a course of study in law, he decided to settle in Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the Bar in Berks county in 1832. In 1846, and again in 1848, he was elected a Member of Congress as a Democrat. In 1857 he was elected a Justice of the Su- preme Court of Pennsylvania. Having served in that office for eleven years, he resigned in 1869 and removed from Read- ing to Philadelphia, where he resumed the practice of law. In February, 1870, he was appointed by President Grant an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1877 he was a member of the Electoral Commission to decide the Hayes-Tilden Presidential contest. He served on the Supreme Bench until 1880, when, at his request and conformably to law, he was retired. For a number of years he was a lecturer in the Law Department of the Columbian University, Washington, D. C. (in which city he continued to reside after his retirement from the Bench), and also de- livered courses of lectures before the students of other insti- tutions. The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Lafayette College in 1867, and by Yale and Princeton Uni-
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versities in 1870. He was for many years President of the American Tract Society, and of the American Sunday School Union.
Mrs. Priscilla L. (Mallery) Strong bore her husband two daughters and one son, and died April 8th, 1844. Judge Strong married, in 1850, his second wife, who was Mrs. Rachel H. (Davis) Bull of Lancaster county, Penn'a. She died in 1886, at Washington, and the Judge died August 19th, 1895, at Minnewaska, Ulster county, N. Y.
CHARLES BRONSON MALLERY, second son and fourth child, was born at Wilkesbarré in 1820. He was educated at La- fayette College, and became a civil engineer. January 6th, 1848, he married Josephine Purdon, of Philadelphia, a daughter of John Purdon, Esq., the author of the well-known "Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania."
He died in Philadelphia on the 6th of May following.
EDWARD GARRICK MALLERY, third son and fifth child, was born at Wilkesbarré in 1824. He was a student at Lafayette College with his brother Charles, and afterwards studied law and was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county August 14th, 1843. He was a young man of great ability, and was a graceful writer and a pleasing and popular public speaker. He was the author of the inscription on the monument at Wyoming, commemorating those who fell in the massacre of July 3d, 1778. He was a member of St. John's Lodge No. 233, F. and A. M., Pittston, Penn'a, and its Secretary in 1849. May 27th, 1852, at the age of twenty-eight years, he died in the South, of consumption-the same disease that had carried off both his brothers and a sister.
GARRICK MALLERY, JR., fourth son and sixth child, was born at Wilkesbarré April 23d, 1831, and was the only child of Judge Mallery and his second wife, Catharine J. Hall, who grew to maturity. In 1846, when only a few months past the age of fifteen years, he, with his cousin Thomas Dyer Conyngham of Wilkesbarré, who was under fifteen
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years of age, entered Yale College. Both were graduated in 1850 with the degree of A. B. While in college they were members of the 4 K E Fraternity .*
Returning to Philadelphia, Mr. Mallery studied law under the direction of his father, and also attended a course of lec- tures and examinations in the Law Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. In 1853 he received from the Uni- versity the degree of LL. B., and was admitted to the Bar of Philadelphia. The same year he received from Yale the degree of A. M. He practiced his profession and did some editorial and literary work in Philadelphia until the break- ing out of the Civil War, when, at the first call of President Lincoln for volunteers, he entered the service as First Lieu- tenant of an infantry company.
June 4th, 1861, he was mustered into the United States service for three years as Captain of Company "H" in a regi- ment of infantry known as the "California Regiment," com- manded by Col. Edward D. Baker, U. S. Senator from Cali- fornia. Recruiting for this regiment had commenced in Philadelphia in April, 1861, under the direction of Colonel Baker, who had been specially commissioned by President Lincoln. In about six weeks' time 1100 men were enlisted in Philadelphia and neighboring counties, and mustered into service. For some time the regiment was not recognized as being a part of Pennsylvania's quota, but was treated as be- longing to the Regular Army, and its returns were made ac- cordingly. Later, however, it was credited to Pennsylvania and was designated as the 71st Regt. Penn'a Volunteers.
February 17th, 1863, Captain Mallery was promoted Lieu- tenant Colonel of the 117th Regt. (13th Cavalry) Penn'a Vols.
He distinguished himself at Fair Oaks, in the Seven Days' battle, at Winchester, and in the defense of Washington in 1864. He was twice wounded, was taken prisoner and con-
* See pages 222 and 224, ante.
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fined in Libby Prison, and three times was brevetted for gal- lantry in action. He served as Acting Assistant Adjutant General, Acting Inspector General, and Judge Advocate of a Department. The highest volunteer rank he attained was that of Lieutenant Colonel of Cavalry and Brevet Colonel. During "reconstruction " in Virginia he was Secretary of State, and Adjutant General of the State with local rank of Brigadier General.
After the war, on the reorganization of the Regular Army, Colonel Mallery was commissioned (July 28th, 1866) Cap- tain in the 43d U. S. Infantry, and March 2d, 1867, he was . brevetted Lieutenant Colonel. December 15th, 1870, he was assigned to the Ist infantry. Prior to that assignment he had been detailed for duty with the chief signal officer of the army, and he served as executive officer of the Signal Service Bureau till 1876. In that year he was ordered to the command of Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, and while there he found a rude and interesting native picture record which he published in 1877. His investigations into the mythologies and sign language of the Indians, led to his being assigned in 1877 to Major Powell's expedition for the geological and geographical survey of the Rocky Mountain region, for special duty in connection with the ethnology of the North American Indians.
July Ist, 1879, he was placed on the retired list of the army on account of wounds received in the line of duty, and was almost immediately appointed Ethnologist of the Bureau of Ethnology (established in 1874) of the Smithsonian In- stitution, Washington, D. C., which position he retained un- til his death.
Colonel Mallery was the founder and President of the Anthropological Society, and of the Cosmos Club, Wash- ington, and was a Vice President of the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science. He was considered a leading authority on anthropology and archæology, and by
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publication and encouraging research he added much to the knowledge of both subjects. He contributed largely to periodical literature, but his most important works, some of which have been translated, are : "A Calender of the Dakota Nation"-published in 1877, as hereinbefore mentioned ; "A Collection of Gestures, Signs, and Signals of the North American Indians," "Pictographs of the North American Indians," and "Picture Writing of the North American Indians.“
Colonel Mallery was a member of Columbia Lodge No. 91, F. and A. M., Philadelphia, and was its Worshipful Master in 1855.
April 14th, 1870, he was married at Richmond, Va., to Helen Marian Wyckoff, daughter of the Rev. A. Voorhis Wyckoff of New Brunswick, N. J., whose ancestors were among the early Dutch settlers of New York. Through her mother Mrs. Mallery is a descendant of Col. Richard Townley, who came to this country with Lord Howard, Governor of Virginia from 1684 to 1688.
Colonel Mallery died at his residence in Washington Oc- tober 24th, 1894, and was buried with military honors in the National Cemetery at Arlington. His wife survives, but there are no children.
HON. CHARLES MINER.
"At the commencement of the present century there ap- peared upon the stage of active life in the Valley of Wyo- ming a young man, who was destined, at a later period, to leave an impress upon its literary and scientific history above all competitors."
"He possessed a fertile brain, a brilliant imagination, a ready pen, great powers of thought, a thorough knowledge of mankind, and an energy and will which never wavered until age and infirmity had bound the strong man in their chains, and rendered him helpless as the cradled infant."
The name of that man was CHARLES MINER. He was the son of Capt. Seth Miner of Norwich, Conn., who was a de- scendant, of the fifth generation, of Lieut. Thomas Miner, or Minor,* the first of the name to immigrate from Old to New England.
In 1683 Lieutenant Miner obtained from the Hearlds' College, London, a "Miner Pedigree." The original docu- ment was transmitted from sire to son through six genera- tions of the descendants of Lieutenant Miner, and was then, about forty years since, deposited in the custody of the Con- necticut Historical Society, at Hartford. There the writer of this recently saw and read the curious and interesting pedigree, which is engrossed upon a strip of parchment, illuminated with the Miner coat of arms and the nine several arms impaled with Miner. The document is well preserved, and reads, in part, as follows :
"AN HERAULDICAL, ESSAY UPON THE SURNAME OF MINER."
"It is more praise worthie in noble and excellent things to know something, though little, than in mean and ignoble things to have a
* J. Hammond Trumbull, LL. D., of Connecticut, says that Lieu- tenant Miner and his immediate descendants (all of whom were good penmen) uniformly wrote the name Minor.
alış.
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perfite knowledge. Amongst all those rare ornaments of the mind of man Herauldrie hath had a most eminent place ; and hath been held in high esteem, not only at one time and in one climate, but during all times and through those parts of the world where any ray of humanitie and civilitie hath shined: for without it, all would be drowned in the Chaos of disorder. * * * Edward the third going to make warre against the French, took a progresse through Somer- sett ; and coming to *
* Mendippe hills in Somersett, where lived one HENRY MINER, *
* who with all carefullness and Loyalltie having convened his domesticall and meniall servants, armed with battle axes, proffered himself and them to his master's service ; mak- ing up a compleat hundred. Wherefore he had his coat armorial. *
* This Henry died in the year 1359, leaving behind him Henry, Edward, Thomas, and George, MINERS. Henry married one Hen- reta Hicks *
* and had issue William and Henry. William mar- ried one Hobbs of Wiltshire, and had issue Thomas and George. * * Thomas, 1399, married one Gressleys, *
* and had issue Lodovick, George, and Mary. Lodovick married Anna Dyer * *
and had issue Thomas, borne 1436, and after that twins, being twenty- two years after the birth of the said Thomas. * * Thomas married Bridget, second daughter of Sir George Hervie de St. Martins in Com. Middlesex, and died 1480, leaving his son WILLIAM, and daughter Anna Miner, in tutorage to their mother Bridget. * * WILLIAM mar-
ried * * and lived to revenge the death of the two young princes murdered in the tower of London, upon their inhuman uncle Richard the 3d. It was said of this William Miner that he was 'Flos Militia,' the flower of chevallrie. He left behind him ten sons. * *
William, the eldest son, had issue-Clement and Elizabeth Miners- and was buried at Chew-Magna, the 23 day of February Anno Domini,
1585.
*
*
Clement succeeded his father in heritage, and married
and had issue Clement, Thomas, Elizabeth, and Mary Miners ; and departed this life the 31 day of March, 1640, and lyes interred in Chew-Magna in the countie of Somersett. Clement the eldest mar- ried Sarah Pope. * * THOMAS his brother is now alive at STONING- TOWN, in CARNETICUTE COLLONEY, in New England, Anno Domini 1683, and has issue John, Thomas, Clement, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Judah* Miners, and two daughters Marie and Elizabeth." * * *
* Judge Richard A. Wheeler, of Stonington, a careful student of genealogy and history, who possesses a great deal of information rela- tive to Lieut. Thomas Miner and his descendants, has informed the
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A marginal note on the original is as follows :
"This coat of the Miners of Chew I attest to be entered at Bath in Somersett by Clarencieux the 4 of K. James the first, which visitation is in custody of me, 1606."
"ALEX : CUNNINGHAME."
Thomas Miner was born in Chew-Magna, England, April 23d, 1608, and came to New England in 1630. April 23d, 1634, he married Grace, eldest child of Walter Palmer (by his first wife), who came to this country in 1629 and located in Charlestown, Mass. From 1636 to 1645 Thomas Miner resided at Hingham, Mass., and then he removed to New London, Conn. In May, 1649, he was appointed by the General Court, in connection with John Winthrop and Samuel Lathrop, a Justice of the Court at New London, "to decide all differences among the inhabitants under the value of forty shillings." He was a Representative in 1650, and was often re-elected.
In 1652 he removed to that part of the Colony called Pawcatuck (now Stonington), where he bought and occu- pied a tract of land east of and adjoining Wequetequoc Cove, and erected a house thereon. The first organization of a township in what is now Stonington was formed by the Pawcatuck people June 30th, 1658, and Thomas Miner, Wal- ter Palmer, Capt. George Denison, and Capt. John Gallup were four of the eight men who signed the "Articles of Association."
Thomas Miner was one of the commissioners appointed in 1663 "to hear the case depending between Uncas and the inhabitants of New London, respecting lands, and to make
writer that the name "Judah" appears erroneously in the pedigree. Thomas Miner had no child of that name, but his fifth child was named Joseph, and, without doubt, the engrosser of the pedigree mis- read the name and set down "Judah."
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