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 42
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zer and Abigail (Israel) Greenough, of Sunbury, Penn'a. Ebenezer Greenough, a native of Canterbury, N. H., was a school teacher in Wilkesbarré in 1804-'5, and possibly in other years. He was admitted to the Bar of Northumber- land county, Penn'a, January 19th, 1808, and to the Bar of Luzerne county the same year. He was, for a number of
as Captain of Co. "B," and then Major. He lost a limb at the battle of Averysboro, N. C., March 16th, 1865. From 1879 to 1883 he was a member of the military staff of Governor Hoyt, of Pennsylvania, with the rank of Colonel. iv .- Polly, born in 1797, and died October 20th, 1813. v .- William, born December 18th, 1799. He was a tan- ner and currier in Wilkesbarré as early as 1820. Later he removed to what is now the borough of Luzerne, Luzerne county, where he car- ried on his trade for many years, and resided until his death. Novem- ber 10th, 1851, he was commissioned Associate Judge of the Luzerne county Courts. He was twice married, his first wife being Laura, daughter of Obadiah Smith (who was a member of LODGE 61), and his second wife-to whom he was married in 1848-being Elizabeth, daughter of Lazarus Denison (see pages 243 and 497, ante). Judge Hancock died January 7th, 1859. vi .- Nancy A., born in 1801. She was married to James D. Haff October 23d, 1828, at that time a mer- chant in Wilkesbarré in partnership with Nathaniel Rutter.
Mrs. Martha (Young) Hancock died at Wilkesbarré September 15th, 1813, aged fifty years, and February 22d, 1814, Jonathan Hancock was married by Joseph Wright, Esq., to Mary, daughter of William Wright of Wilkesbarré (see note, page 428, ante). They became the parents of the following named children : Frederick, George, Charles, Mary, Jonathan (died in infancy), Martha, and Jonathan. The only surviving child of Jonathan Hancock is Frederick, who was born at Wilkesbarré December 13th, 1814, and now resides at Bentonsport, Iowa. May 18th, 1864, he was commissioned Captain and A. Q. M. of Volunteers in the service of the United States, and was honorably mustered out of service September Ist, 1866. Mary, the elder daugh- ter of Jonathan and Mary (Wright) Hancock, died unmarried at Ben- tonsport, Iowa, September 2d, 1856, aged thirty-seven years; and Martha, the younger daughter, married James P. Atherton, son of Elisha Atherton of Kingston, Penn'a (see page 478, ante).
Jonathan Hancock, Sr., died at Wilkesbarré July 11th, 1830, aged sixty-two years, and his wife Mary died at Bentonsport, Iowa, Sep- tember Ist, 1870.
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years, a lawyer of high standing at Sunbury, Northumber- land county, and in 1829 was elected a member of the Penn- sylvania Legislature. He died December 25th, 1847. Eben Greenough Scott, who was born at Wilkesbarré June 15th, 1836, and was admitted to the Bar of Philadelphia in June, 1860, and to the Bar of Luzerne county September 9th, 1872, is the son of William Boies and Susan (Greenough) Scott. He was married February 14th, 1863, to Elizabeth, daughter of the late Judge George W. and Sarah (Trott) Woodward (see note, page 534, post). He is the author of a "Commentary on the Intestate System of Pennsylvania," "Development of Constitutional Liberty in the English Col- onies of America," and "Reconstruction During the Civil War in the United States of America."
II. MARTHA A. SCOTT, born at Wilkesbarré April 17th, 1814. She was married at Wilkesbarre October 13th, 1835, to Luther Kidder, Esq., a native of Waterford, Vt., where he was born November 19th, 1808. He was educated at Cazenovia, N. Y., and came to Wilkesbarré when he was about twenty-one years of age. From 1831 to '33 he was editor and part-owner of The Susquehanna Democrat, Wilkesbarré, and during this time he was also studying law. He was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county November 5th, 1833. From 1841 to '44 he represented Luzerne county in the State Senate.
Having been nominated by Governor Porter-near the close of his gubernatorial term-for the office of President Judge of the 21st Judicial District (comprising the counties of Schuylkill, Carbon, and Monroe), Mr. Kidder was, Janu- ary 23d, 1845, appointed and commissioned by Governor Shunk to the office for the term of ten years. He performed the duties of the office from March 10th, 1845, until 1851, when he resigned and returned to Wilkesbarré. Upon his retirement from the Bench the members of the Bar of
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Schuylkill county adopted a series of resolutions highly complimentary to him-one of which was as follows : "Re- solved, That we tender to the Hon. Luther Kidder our thanks for the able, impartial, and amiable manner in which he has presided among us, and wish him in his retirement to private life full happiness and prosperity, which he justly de- serves ; and that we shall still cherish, with feelings of pleas- ure, the same friendship which has so happily existed be- tween us during his continuance among us."
One who knew Judge Kidder well, described him as "a rough diamond, self polished-the man who never gave up -who courted obstacles other men shuddered at, for the joy of conquering them." He died at Wilkesbarré Septem- ber 30th, 1854, and was survived by his wife (who lived until June 10th, 1870), two sons, and two daughters. One of the daughters became the wife of the late O. K. Moore of Wilkesbarré. The Rev. Charles Holland Kidder, some- time rector of St. Clement's Episcopal Church, Wilkesbarré, and now a member of the editorial staff of The Churchman, New York city, is the youngest son and only surviving child of Judge Kidder.
III. MARIETTA SCOTT, who married Oliver Watson, Esq., of Williamsport, Penn'a, and died only a few years ago, the last survivor of her father's family.
IV. CATHARINE SCOTT, born July 6th, 1823 ; married the Hon. Warren J. Woodward; died May 28th, 1857. (See sketch of Judge Woodward, page 532, post.)
V. ELIZABETH SCOTT, who became the wife of the Rev. Robert Bethel Claxton, S. T. D., a very talented man, and rector of St. Stephen's P. E. Church, Wilkesbarré, 1840-'46. Doctor Claxton was born in 1814; was graduated from Yale College in 1838; was ordained to the ministry in 1840, and succeeded the Rev. William J. Clark as rector of St. Stephen's. He resigned from this parish in 1846, and after
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serving three other churches was elected professor in the Philadelphia Divinity School, to take the place of the Rev. James May, D. D., who had been rector of St. Stephen's from 1827 to '37. From 1873 until his death in 1882 Doctor Claxton was rector of St. Andrew's Church, West Phila- delphia.
VI. ELLEN SCOTT, born at Wilkesbarre April 13th, 1827, and died at Bloomsburg, Penn'a, February 18th, 1861, un- married.
VII. GEORGE SCOTT, born June 30th, 1829 ; admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county January 10th, 1854; Register of Wills, Luzerne county, in 1860; died at Wilkesbarré Sep- tember 26th, 1861, unmarried.
HON. WARREN J. WOODWARD, LL. D.
WARREN JAY WOODWARD was a descendant, of the ninth generation, of Richard Woodward, who immigrated from Ipswich, England in 1634, and settled at Watertown, Mass., where he was admitted a freeman in 1635.
Enos Woodward, born January 3Ist, 1726, was a descend- ant, of the sixth generation, of Richard the immigrant, and resided at Canterbury, Conn. In 1774 he came into Penn- sylvania with a body of Connecticut settlers and located in the valley of the Waullenpaupack creek, which forms the present boundary between the counties of Wayne and Pike. Within a year after the arrival of these Yankee pioneers, two townships were erected under the names of Lackaway and Bozrah, which were within the territorial limits of, and united in jurisdiction with, first the town, and then the county, of Westmoreland-organized in January, 1774, and . existing until December, 1782, under and within the claim, protection and government of Connecticut .* (Westmore- land, it must be remembered, comprised what was commonly known as "the Wyoming region," which comprehended cer- tain portions of the Connecticut Susquehanna and Delaware Indian Purchases.)
Abisha Woodward, son of Enos and Mary Woodward, was born in Canterbury January 10th, 1768, and was only six years old when he came with his parents into the wilds of Waullenpaupack. October 6th, 1789, he was married to Lucretia Kimble (born 1775; died April, 1842), daughter of Capt. Jacob Kimble, Sr. (born 1735 ; died 1826), of Pal- myra, Penn'a, and a few years later removed to Bethany, Wayne county, Penn'a. For a number of years Abisha Woodward was a school teacher. He also held several pub-
* See pages 450 and 499, ante.
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HON. WARREN J. WOODWARD, LL. D. After a photograph by GUTEKUNST, Philadelphia.
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lic offices in his town, and in 1807 was elected Sheriff of Wayne county. From 1814 to 1829 he was Associate Judge of the county Court. He died on his farm near Beth- any November 27th, 1829.
Abisha and Lucretia (Kimble) Woodward were the parents of several children, the eldest of whom was John K., and the youngest George W. Woodward .* John K. Woodward
*GEORGE WASHINGTON WOODWARD was born at Bethany, Penn'a, March 26th, 1809. He received his education at Geneva Seminary- now Hobart College-New York, and at the Wilkesbarre Academy. In 1828 he left the latter institution to begin the study of law-first under Thomas Fuller, Esq., of Wayne county, and then under Gar- rick Mallery, Esq., at Wilkesbarre. He was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county August 3d, 1830.
In 1836 Mr. Woodward was elected a delegate to the convention to form a new State Constitution, and in it he served as a member of the Committee on the Judiciary. In April, 1841, he was appointed by Gov- ernor Porter President Judge of the 4th Judicial District of Pennsyl- vania, then comprising the counties of Huntingdon, Mifflin, Centre, Clearfield, and Clinton. Having completed his term of ten years in this office he was, in May, 1852, appointed by Governor Bigler a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State; and in the following October he was elected to the office for the full term of fifteen years. From 1863 to '67 he was Chief Justice of the Court. In 1863 he was the Demo- cratic candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, but was defeated by Andrew G. Curtin. In 1867, during his absence in Europe, he was elected to fill the vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress from the XIIth District of Pennsylvania, caused by the death of the Hon. Charles Denison ; and in 1868 he was re-elected to a full term. In 1870 he was the Democratic candidate for the office of President Judge of the IIth Judicial District, but was defeated by the Hon. G. M. Harding. In 1872 he was elected a delegate-at-large to the State Constitutional Convention.
"Judge Woodward was a man of commanding personal appearance, being over six feet high and built in proportion. On the Bench he was the very personification of noble dignity, and with him no lawyer or any other person dared to trifle. Nevertheless, he was a courteous Judge, always regardful of the rights and privileges of all with whom he came in contact. He was deeply versed in all legal lore, was emi- nently a just and upright Judge ,and an earnest and sincere Christian
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was born in 1790. He was a surveyor by profession, and an excellent mathematician, and when Pike county was
gentleman." He died at Rome, Italy, May Ioth, 1875, while sojourn- ing there with his wife and one of his daughters. His remains were brought to Wilkesbarré, and interred in the Hollenback Cemetery.
Judge George W. Woodward was twice married. His first wife (to whom he was married at New London, Conn., September 10th, 1832,) was Sarah Elizabeth, only daughter of Dr. George W. and Lydia (Chap- man) Trott, of Wilkesbarré. (George Washington Trott, M. D., was born in 1777, and was the youngest child of Jonathan and Lydia (Proctor) Trott, who lived at Norwich, Conn., and for some time kept the well-known "Peck" tavern. Doctor Trott removed to Wilkes- barré in the Summer of 1804, and entered upon the practice of his profession. His home and office were in the house of Capt. Peleg Tracy. June 24th, 1806, he married Sarah Rogers, daughter of Gen. Elihu and Elizabeth (Rogers) Marvin of New London county, Conn. Elihu Marvin was, in 1777, Adjutant of Col. John Durkee's regiment of the Connecticut Line. Mrs. Sarah R. (Marvin) Trott died at Wilkes- barré September 13th, 1807, and in 1809 Doctor Trott married Lydia, daughter of Capt. Joseph and Elizabeth (Abel) Chapman, of Norwich, Conn. Doctor Trott was made a Free Mason in a Connecticut Lodge, and was admitted to membership in LODGE 61, as a Master Mason, February 12th, 1805. He died at Wilkesbarré May 24th, 1815.) Mrs. Sarah E. (Trott) Woodward died at Wilkesbarré June 25th, 1869, aged fifty-nine years and four days, and in 1871 Judge Woodward was married to the widow of Edward Macalester of Lexington, Ky.
The Hon. Stanley Woodward, born at Wilkesbarre August 29th, 1833, is the eldest of the nine children born to George W. and Sarah E. (Trott) Woodward. He was graduated (A. B.) from Yale College in 1855, and was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county August 4th, 1856. Since 1879 he has been a Judge of the Courts of Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions, and Oyer and Terminer of Luzerne county, and is now President Judge of the same. He was made a Free Mason in LODGE 61 October 26th, 1857. One of the daughters of George W. and Sarah E. (Trott) Woodward is the wife of E. G. Scott, Esq., (see page 529, ante). Another daughter was the second wife of Col. E. A. Hancock, of Philadelphia (see note, page 527, ante), and the young- est daughter was the wife of the late J. Pryor Williamson, the first Worshipful Master of Landmark Lodge No. 442, F. and A. M., Wilkesbarré.
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erected out of Wayne in 1814 he surveyed the line of division. December Ist, 1816, he was married to Mary, daughter of Silas Kellogg, Esq., of Wayne county, and to them were born three children, one of whom was the sub- ject of this sketch-WARREN J. WOODWARD. He was born near the village of Bethany, Wayne county, September 24th, 1819.
At an early age he came to Wilkesbarré to clerk in a store and to attend school at the old Academy. His pro- gress as a student was rapid, his acquisitions thorough and accurate, and it was apparent that opportunity alone was requisite to give him a high rank in scholarship. Obliged to rely on his own earnings, he taught school several terms in Wayne county after leaving the Wilkesbarré Academy. He then became connected with The Wayne County Herald published at Bethany, and, in the absence of the proprietor for a time, conducted the newspaper. From Bethany he went to Philadelphia, where for two years he was connected with The Pennsylvanian newspaper in an editorial capacity. "The profession of the law, however, was the object of his aspirations, and these temporary employments, and the training they supplied, were subordinated to this end."
Returning to Wilkesbarré in 1840 he entered the law office of his uncle George W. Woodward. The latter hav- ing been appointed Judge of the 4th Judicial District of Pennsylvania in April, 1841, his legal business in Luzerne county was placed in the hands of Edmund L. Dana, Esq., who had just been admitted to the Bar; and under the direction of this gentleman Warren J. Woodward continued his law studies, and was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne county August Ist, 1842. He was then within two months of his twenty-third birthday. Having the tastes and habits of a student, and being one of the most indefatigable work- ers-always disposed to master difficulties and go to the bottom of a subject-he soon reached prominence as a law-
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yer, and secured a large and lucrative practice. This posi- tion he held as long as he practiced at the Luzerne Bar, and it was said that during the last few years he was located in Luzerne "he did more work than any other man at the Bar." "There were none who could prepare a case with him, or who would spend the same time and labor over a case as he. He devoted himself assiduously to his business, using common sense in everything he undertook." By this de- votion to the law he qualified himself for the high judicial positions which later he obtained without personal solicita- tion or effort.
In 1842 Mr. Woodward wrote for Charles Miner an inter- esting account of the first settlement of Waullenpaupack Valley by emigrants from Connecticut, and gave a brief sketch of the life and experiences of the people in that region during 1774-'84. Mr. Miner published the article as Chap- ter, or "Letter," XXIX. in his "History of Wyoming,"* and said of it: "The memoir will be found full of interest, res- cues from oblivion fast fading facts, and adds valuable mat- ter to the history of Wyoming, and the early settlements in North-eastern Pennsylvania." In 1846-'47, and possibly during other years about that time, Mr. Woodward was the Luzerne county agent for the Delaware County Insurance Company, of Philadelphia. He was one of the original members of the Wilkesbarre Law and Library Association organized June 18th, 1850. In 1855 he was a member of the Wilkesbarré Borough Council.
Early in 1856 he was appointed by Governor Pollock President Judge of the 26th Judicial District of Pennsylva- nia, comprising the counties of Columbia, Sullivan, and Wyoming. This appointment was made upon the general request of the members of the Bar, of both political parties, in the district ; and in the ensuing Fall Judge Woodward
* See page 448, ante.
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was elected by the people to the same office without oppo- sition. In 1861, before the expiration of his term, he was invited to accept the nomination of President Judge of the Courts of Berks county-the 23d Judicial District. At the general election in October, 1861, being chosen to that office by a large majority, he moved with his family from Blooms- burg to Reading, where he resided during the remainder of his life.
At the expiration of his first term of ten years in this dis- trict, he was re-elected to a second term without opposition, for he had become known to the people of Berks as a most admirable Judge and estimable man, and his retention upon the Bench was considered an object of the utmost impor- tance to the people of that county. Just about this time (1872) there was a bill before Congress which provided for the establishing of a United States District Court to include Luzerne and contiguous counties. As it was expected that the bill would become a law, the Bar of Luzerne unani- mously petitioned Judge Woodward to permit his friends to urge upon the President his appointment to the office of Judge of that Court-should it be created. When this matter became known to the Bar of Berks county they pro- tested against their Judge leaving them; and he, though inclined to accede to the wishes of his friends and admirers in Luzerne, decided that his duty required him to decline the request. A higher compliment from the Bar where he had practiced, and the Bar over which he presided, could not well be imagined.
In the Fall of 1874, having been nominated by the Dem- ocratic party, he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, and took his seat as such on the first Monday of January following. In this position he fully justified the reputation which he had earned in the Common Pleas.
In 1875 he received from Franklin and Marshall College, Pennsylvania, the degree of LL. D.
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Judge Woodward was made a Free Mason in LODGE 61 June 16th, 1845, and retained his membership in the Lodge until the day of his death, a period of over thirty-four years. He was Secretary of the Lodge during the year 1847, Junior Warden in 1848, Senior Warden in 1850, Worshipful Mas- ter in 1851, and in 1852 District Deputy Grand Master for the district composed of the counties of Luzerne, Susque- hanna, Bradford, Wayne, and Pike. As long as Brother Woodward resided in Wilkesbarré he was very regular in his attendance at Lodge meetings, and was looked upon by the Brethren as a loyal and valuable member of the Fra- ternity, and was honored accordingly. Of course, after leaving Wilkesbarré he was unable to meet with his Breth- ren in old "61," but the records of the Lodge bear positive testimony to the fact that through all the years of Judge Woodward's absence from Wilkesbarré he never lost his interest in the welfare and success of his Lodge. He was, by vote of the Lodge December 13th, 1869, constituted an honorary member of the same; as such, being entitled to all the privileges of membership without payment of dues.
WARREN J. WOODWARD'S career was marked by no ex- ceptional or extraordinary incident, but was a continuous progression from small and obscure beginnings, through toil and perseverance, up to eminence ; to usefulness from youth up to the strength of a ripened and an honored manhood. In one word, his success was a logical sequence of sustained and well-directed effort. Intense earnestness in the matter in hand, whether it was the examination or acquisition of law, or the dispatch of a matter of business, was one of his predominant characteristics. The union of this trait with habits of order, a retentive memory, unusual perseverance and industry, and a high standard of integrity, ensured ac- curacy and commanded success. Endowed by nature with a clear and vigorous mind, he concentrated its energies to the attainment of proficiency in the law, although he kept
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up with the scientific and literary progress of the times, and was a diligent student of history. He possessed in an emi- nent degree an accurate knowledge of the early political history of the country, and particularly of Pennsylvania.
During the fourteen years of his practice, and the twenty- three years of his service on the Bench, his reputation for honesty and ability as a lawyer, and for learning and impar- tiality as a Judge, was above reproach. With physical infirm- ities that do not tend to make a man amiable or clear- headed, he was on the Bench a courteous gentleman and a just Judge. Nor did he rely on his great ability, or learn- ing, or experience, but tempered them all with the greatest industry. When he left the Courts of Berks county to take his seat upon the Supreme Bench there was but one of all the cases, that had been heard before him, left undisposed of in his hands.
Two volumes entitled "Woodward's Decisions" were pub- lished in 1885. "The cases reported in these volumes com- prise the bulk of those in which Judge Woodward's opin- ions, and some of those in which his charges, remain on file in the courts of the 23d Judicial District. Whilst, in point of time, they are confined to the period of his presidency over the Berks county courts-the scene of his longest and most fruitful judicial activity-their subject matters, with very few exceptions of a local character, are of general interest and importance. Those decisions which became the subject of review in the Supreme Court, and which are elsewhere re- ported, have not been included. The fact that compara- tively so few of his rulings were questioned by appeal or writ of error, and that so many cases of magnitude and intricacy ended with the judgment pronounced by Judge Woodward, bears the strongest possible testimony to the value attributed by lawyers to his opinions, and to the trust and confidence with which laymen submitted their
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interests to his arbitrament and acquiesced in his decision." [From the Editor's preface.]
As illustrating the official character of Judge Woodward an intimate friend, who was with him during his last illness, relates the following : "The Judge seemed to suffer greatly from the thought which came to him, time and again, that while he was drawing his salary from the State he was un- able to render an equivalent-being disabled from writing opinions in cases submitted to him. Although very feeble, he penned with great difficulty and with frequent pauses for rest, a letter of resignation to Governor Hoyt. This being done he seemed to feel easier. In a day or two the letter came back from the Governor with another, declining in the handsomest terms to accept the resignation." Judge .Wood- ward had been, many years before in Wilkesbarré, Governor Hoyt's law preceptor, and when the latter was inaugurated Governor of Pennsylvania in January, 1879, Judge Wood- ward administered to him the oath of office, and occupied a seat with him in his carriage in the inaugural procession.
In politics Judge Woodward was a Democrat. In early life he was very active in the councils and in the campaign work of the party, but after he became a Judge he refrained from active participation in political conflicts. However, he contributed of his means, and frequently of his advice and counsel, to the managers of the party. He was not fitted for promiscuous intercourse with men, and therefore not, according to popular acceptance, a politician. Yet he was a born politician in the sense of diplomatic politics, and as such exerted a large influence in the inner councils of his party.
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