USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume IV > Part 36
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In 1780, so great was the distress of the American army that Washington was apprehensive they would not be able to keep the field. He wrote to Richard Peters, Esq., giving him full information of the state of affairs, and that gentleman immediately called on J. M. Nesbitt, and explained to him the distress of the army, and the wishes of the General. Mr. Nesbitt replied that a Mr. Howe had offered to put up pork for the firm of Nesbitt & Company if he could be paid in hard money. The firm had contracted with Howe to put up all the pork and beef he could possibly obtain, for which he should be paid in gold. Mr. Howe having performed his engagements, and been paid as stipulated, Nesbitt & Company informed Mr. Peters that he might have this beef and pork, and in addition a valuable prize, just arrived to Bunner, Murray & Company, loaded with valuable stores. These provisions were sent forward in time, and the army was saved. In addition to this relief, Nesbitt & Company subscribed £5000 for the use of the Government during the war. Both General Washington and Robert Morris, the financier, gratefully acknowledged their obligations for this generous aid.
John Maxwell Nesbitt, the senior member of the firm of Nesbitt & Company, was a native of the North of Ireland and emigrated to Philadelphia about the year 1769. During the Revolutionary War he was a faithful coadjutor of Robert Morris in the support of public credit. He was appointed Paymaster of the Pennsylvania Navy, September 14th, 1775, and March 14th, 1777, he was appointed Treasurer of the Board of War at Philadelphia.
In 1777 he joined the "Troop of Light Horse," and was a member of it for a number of years. He was the second President of the "Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick," of Philadelphia, and held the office for fifteen years. This Society was founded in 1771, and in 1792 was succeeded by the "Hibernian Society," which still exists in Phila- delphia. Mr. Nesbitt was one of the charter members of the "Hibernian." General Washington, Governor Mckean, General Wayne, and Robert Morris, Esq., were members of the two Societies. Washington, in 1782, described the "Friendly Sons" as "a society distinguished for the firm adherence of its members to the glorious cause in which we are embarked."
After the Revolutionary War David H. Conyngham became the owner of the Pennsylvania title to certain lands in the Wyoming region. The following extract from his diary refers to a visit he made to this region, coming on horse- back via Bethlehem: "Left Philadelphia, July 8th, 1787, with Mr. Meredith. * * * Arrived at Wyoming, 123 miles, and put up at John Hollenback's. *
* * Nanticoke pleases me most, and the settlers there at present
appear better advanced than any others. * * Colonel Pickering came in on the 17th (Tuesday). The other * * * Commissioners not coming made the settlers in general uneasy.
* Lots in town sell for $40 to $50. Meadow lots at £3 per acre. Lots of 300 acres, £200 to £275."
In Claypoole's Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, October 25th, 1796, there appeared the following item in the column devoted to "Shipping Intelligence:" "In the America (Captain Ewing, Hamburg, 27 days) came ten passengers. Among them is L. P. B. Orleans, eldest son of the ci-devant Egalité, and distinguished in the French Revolution as a Lieutenant General at the battle of Jamappes and the final flight of the celebrated Dumonriez." The "L. P. B. Orleans" referred to was the Duke of Orleans, afterwards King Louis Philippe of France, who had sought the shores of America in compliance with the requirements of the French Directory, and out of regard to his mother's wishes. The ship America was owned by Conyngham & Nesbitt, and when the Duke landed he was invited by Mr. Conyngham to lodge at his house on Front street, which he did for several weeks, and then established himself in a house on Spruce street, near Third. February 6th, 1797, the Duke was joined by his brothers, the Duke de Montpensier and the Count de Beaujolais, after their release from three vears' imprisonment at Marseilles. In the following June the three exiles set out on horseback for Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
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David H. Conyngham was a Trustee of the College of Philadelphia, and afterwards of the University of Pennsyl vania, from 1790 to 1813. He died at Philadelphia, March 5th, 1834. He had married, December 4th, 1779, Mary West of Philadelphia, who bore him ten children; five daughters and five sons.
JOHN NESBITT CONYNGHAM, the subject of this sketch, was the youngest child, and was born in Philadelphia, December 17th, 1798. He received his academic education at Mount Airy Institute and the public Academy in German- town, near Philadelphia, and in 1817 grduated from the University of Pennsylvania with high honors. Immediately
after receiving his degree he commenced the study of the law with the Hon. Joseph R. Ingersoll, of Philadelphia, and was admitted to practice in the Courts of that city in February, 1820. Of an ardent and sang- uine temperament, he was unwilling to wait the slow progress to eminence in his native city at a time when the Bar was lustrous with some of its brightest legal lights, and so he resolved to remove to Wilkesbarre, then a town of only a few hundred inhabitants, but the centre of in- fluence, social and civil, for_all Northern Pennsylvania.
The Wyoming Valley was settled by some of the most intelligent people who came into Pennsylvania,-certainly by the most heroic, gallant, and patriotic men that ever lived in any part of the Common- wealth of Pennsylvania. The people of the Valley, from their earliest history, paid more attention than the people of any other portion of the State, outside of the large towns, to the cultivation of their intellects and their manners. The first schools of any importance established in the State. outside of Philadelphia, were in the Valley of Wyoming.
Hither, then, to the almost frontier town of Wilkesbarre, came the young Philadelphia lawyer in March, 1820, and on the 3rd of the following month was ad- mitted to the Bar of Luzerne County. At thatitime the Luzerne Bar hadla reputation for learning and talents second to none in the State. Rosewell Welles,! Ebenezer Bow- man, Garrick Mallery, Thomas Dyer, and George Denison, who resided here, were all men of a high order of legal ability And then there were other gentlemen of high professional attainments who were in the habit of attending the Courts here; Hon. Thomas Duncan, afterwards a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, David Watts, of Carlisle, and John Ross, of Easton. Hon. David Scott, "a man of stern integrity and iron will, upright in the administration of justice, and fearless in the discharge of his official duties," was President Judge of the Judicial District comprising Luzerne County.
HON. JOHN N. CONYNGHAM, LL. D.
At the time of his coming here, Mr. Conyngham's figure was tall but spare, his face ruddy and finely chiselled, his manners easy and graceful, and his whole bearing full of that unselfish kindness which is so magnetic in drawing to itself the love and confidence of all who come within the area of its attraction.
During the first two years of his residence here, his prospects as to success were exceedingly doubtful. There were many struggles and trials. He had had hut very little experience and practice in the law, and particularly as to proceedings before Justices of the Peace, about which he was more generally consulted; and he was thus compelled to trust to his own judgment and his own resources. He had, however, full time for reflection, as the visits of clients were in those days few and far between. In later life Judge Conyngham, in speaking of the experiences of those early days, said: "I landed here and burned my boats. There was no return, and I made up my mind to work hard, early and late; to ride the circuit with or without a brief, and to use every effort to obtain position." He acknowledged, however, that sometimes his heart failed him, but his resolution was strengthened by whispers around that "the slim, tall, and pale Philadelphian would not hold out in his country life."
He found it was the habit to ride the circuit, and he plunged at once into the fullness of the labor and fatigue thereof. Without business in the commencement, he attended in succession the Courts of the Counties of Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna, and Bradford. He started out as a Wilkes-Barre lawyer, and soon found that among the people the reputation of a Wilkes-Barre lawyer was that he must know everything. He was thus called upon immediately to learn self-dependence, to trust to his own knowledge, and to use every means of self-improvement in his power. The best means of this self-improvement in the Bar was by steady and constant attendance at the Courts during their hours of session, and personal attention to the various questions arising in every trial. The evenings at the houses of sojourn were usually passed with other lawyers, and these gatherings became a sort of moot Court in review of the proceedings of the previous day. Libraries in several of the counties were very small, and a traveling lawyer upon the circuit was obliged to keep his own stock of knowledge always ready for use. The offices at home furnished the means of replenishing the stock.
As early as the fourth year after he commenced practice Mr. Conyngham may be said to have had as good a pos- ition at the Luzerne Bar as any one, save Garrick Mallery.
The operations of the Philadelphia Branch Bank at Wilkes-Barre ceased January Ist 1821 and Joseph McCoy Esq., the former cashier, was appointed agent to collect outstanding debt3. Mr. McCoy having died, Mr. Conyngham was, in September, 1828, appointed to close up the affairs of the bank in this locality, with descretionary powers to do what he should think best under the circumstances. The debt to the bank lazy like a mill-stone about the necks of the people, paralyzed industry, and, connected with the low prices of grain and other farm products, almost destroyed hope.
As before remarked, this bank was the first institution of the kind which the people here ever had among them. Many of the farmers and mechanics thought that there was offered a fine chance for them to make their fortunes, and consequently they ran to the bank for money almost without knowing to what uses they were to appropriate it. Strange inconsistency! as if a whole country could get rich by a bank. Many of the men who had obtained discount s had failed in business, and their endorsers or guarantors, who were mostly the farmers of the county, had become liable to the bank.
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"Many of these endorsers were soldiers of the Revolution, and several of them had survived the terrible massacre of Wyoming. These old veterans being thus threatened with impending ruin, the whole community was in sympathy with them. It was in his capacity as agent and attorney for the bank that John N. Conyngham made that fame and reputation for benevolence and kind-heartedness, that established his reputation in the county. He gave these old veterans time, indulged them in their misfortunes, and saved most of them from total and absolute ruin. And they remembered these acts of generosity, and their children after them did also. And he acted in good faith to the bank, which. in addition to his fees, presented him a set of silver as a token of the satisfactory manner in which he had dis- charged the trust confided to him." He served as attorney and agent for the bank until 1833.
He was a man of remarkable industry. He would annually devote a week or ten days to visiting his father in Philadelphia, and this was the extent of his pastime. He labored incessantly. Col. H. B. Wright, in a communication printed in The Luzerne Legal Register in 1877, said: "He [Judge Conyngham] was a great reader (of law, I mean) ; he had every decision at his tongue's end. He prided himself on this, and he has told me time and again that he at- tributed al. his success to his industry. He was too modest a man to admit that he had enough of natural ability to reach the position he knew he enjoyed as a lawyer. I have known Judge Conyngham, when in the height of his practice, to devote a half day or more to the preparation of an elaborate opinion, and accept a fee of five dollars! I have oftener seen him charge three dollars than five. During all the time I was a student in his office, the price of preparing and writing a deed for the conveyance of land was always one dollar and a quarter, and this included the examination of the docket as to liens. I always wondered why the extra quarter of a dollar was added!"
Mr. Conyngham maintained a commanding position at the Bar until the year 1837. In that year the celebrated trial of the Commonwealth vs. "Red" John Gilligan, "Black" John Gilligan, et al., occurred at Wilkes-Barre. The defendants, six in number, had been indicted for the murder of George McComb, a skilled mechanic employed in the construction of dam No. 4 in the Lehigh River, about three miles below White Haven. The prisoners were defended by Luther Kidder, John N. Conyngham, and Hendrick B. Wright, Esqs. In conducting the defense in this trial, Mr. Conyngham broke down. He made in it the best speech of his life. His violent effort brought on, at the close of the trial, a bronchial affection from which he never entirely recovered. He was laid aside with this attack for more than a year, most of the time confined to his house. He never appeared in Court again as an advocate. He had just reached the point for which he had been long striving-to stand in the forefront of the Bar of Northern Pennsylvania, when his bright hopes seemed blighted, and he was appointed to sickness and to silence.
"The delicate state of his health was, of course, matter of deep regret to the Bench, the Bar, and the people. All remedies failed to restore him, and the common voice was that he must go upon the Bench; and there he went, with a reputation for ability, legal learning, and honesty of purpose, all of which he most faithfully sustained." In March , 1839, he was appointed by Gov. David R. Potter to the presidency of the 13th Judicial District of Pennsylvania, then one of the largest districts in the state, and comprising the counties of Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Potter, and Mckean. The first session of his Court was held in Tioga.
By Act of April 13th, 1840, Luzerne County was attached to the 13th District, and Susquehanna County was transferred to the 11th District, then presided over by the Hon. William Jessup, of Montrose, Susquehanna County. By this transfer Judges Conyngham and Jessup were enabled to live at their respective places of abode within their districts. Judge Conyngham took his seat upon the Bench of Luzerne County at April Term, 1841. His commission expired in 1849, and he was not reappointed, as the then Governor of Pennsylvania was a Whig, and Judge Conyngham was a Democrat; but in the Fall of 1851, under the amended Constitution, he was unanimously elected to the presi- dency of the 11th Judicial District, then composed of Luzerne. Wyoming, Montour, and Columbia Counties. These last three counties were in 1853 and 1856 transferred to other districts, leaving Luzerne to constitute the 11th District.
In October, 1861, Judge Conyngham was re-elected President Judge of the Luzerne District, on the Union and Democratic tickets.
On the 18th of June, 1870, he informed his fellow-citizens, through the press, of his resignation of the office which he had held for twenty-nine years. He said: : * * Advancing years and some physical infirmity, clearly perceived by myself in times of official labors, admonishing me of my inability to attend to official duty as I would desire to do, have led me to the determination to deliver back to you, through the proper channel, the trust which, in my younger days, you committed to my charge .* * * I retire from you, however, only officially.
It is my comfort and my pride that, though hereafter determined to remain in a private station, I intend to live, and hope to die, a citizen of old Luzerne-a county in which I have resided upwards of fifty years, the period of my professional and judicial life. * * *
I trust and hope you will obtain an abler judge, though I feel in my conscience that you will not acquire one who will more faithfully and laboriously strive to do his duty.
I separate, officially, with deep and abiding regret from a people who have so often, by the expression of their wishes, and the indorsement of my course, sustained me in my official position, and with feelings which no language can express, from my friend and brother the learned Additional Law Judge [Edmund L. Dana] elected by you, and from my other brethren on the Bench, and from the Bar, to whose friendship, forbearance, and consideration I owe so much, with each and all of whom I have ever maintained the kindest relations, and for whom I have so strong a regard."
The members of the Luzerne Bar, desiring to express their kind feelings towards Judge Conyngham, tendered him a banquet, which took place at the Wyoming Valley Hotel, Wilkes-Barre, on the evening of August 4th, 1870. Eighty-two members of the Bar and invited guests were present, and the Hon. H. B. Wright presided. During the evening a very handsome silver tea service was presented to the honored Judge, in behalf of the company present, as the lasting evidence of their personal and official regards. It is not often that such a tribute is paid to a Judge. It was the first instance of the kind in Pennsylvania.
Judge Conyngham was succeeded on the Bench by the Hon. Garrick M. Harding.
From May, 1827, to May 1828, and from May, 1834, to May, 1837, Judge Conyngham was Burgess of Wilkes-Barre Borough, and in 1849 and in 1850 he was President of the Borough Council. He was a member of the first Board of Directors of the Wyoming Bank of Wilkes-Barre, organized in November, 1829.
In 1850 he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Luzerne County; was chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and took an active part in the several important questions then before the Legis- lature. Among other matters he advocated the then proposed amendment, to the Constitution, taking the appoint- ment of Judges from the Executive and giving the selection to the votes of the people.
In 1850 he was prominently mentioned in connection with the Democratic nomination for Governor of the State. In 1855 the "Hollenback Cemetery Association of Wlkes-Barre" was organized and Judge Conyngham was elected a member of the first Board of Managers. He continued in the Board as long as he lived, and at the time of his death was President of it.
In 1821 Judge Conyngham was elected a vestryman of St. Stephen's P. E. Church, Wilkes-Barre. In October, 1826, he was elected a lay deputy from St. Stephen's parish to the Annual Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. In 1844 he was nominated and elected by the Convention a Deputy to the General Convention, and in the following October he took his seat in that body at Cincinnati. Subsequently, with but a single exception, he was returned to the General Convention at every session. In the Diocesan Convention he was one of the most promising and influential members; was placed on many important committees, and was highly respected for his earnestness and sterling talents. In the General Convention, a body composed of four clergymen and four laymen from each Diocese, and meeting every third year in order to legislate on matters involving the interests of the whole Church in the United States, he early attained an active and prominent position. In 1862 he was placed on the most important of all committees of the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies, that known as the Committee on Canons. His lay colleagues were Murray Hoffman, Esq., of New York, Judge Chambers of Maryland, the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop of Massachusetts, the Hon. Hamilton Fish of New York, and other gentlemen of equal ability and prominence. He brought into the body the same calm, deliberate, impartial judgment which gave him reputation in the civil courts. His suggestions were always listened to with respect and deference. He was recognized as one of the leaders of the Low Church party of his Church in the United States.
In October, 1868, he was elected President of the American Church Missionary Society, one of the most important organizations in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and having its central office in New York City. "In this office," said the Rev. Dr. Tyng, "his presence has brought commanding dignity to the fulfillment of his duties, his eminent christian character has added veneration and respect to his position, and his decided evangelical judgments and ex- pressions have enhanced the confidence with which its operations have been regarded."
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The masterful address of Judge Conyngham upon that occasion, from which frequent extracts have been quoted in these volumes, summed up with pains- taking accuracy the history of Luzerne County from its inception to the date of the new cornerstone. In speaking of the proposed building itself, the orator left the following description :
"Some persons have supposed the new plan to be unnecessarily large; but if such persons will only, calmly enquire what is needed in the County buildings, and then examine the details of the plan, the conveniences and objects to which the various parts are to be applied, they will be satisfied that a building to answer the required purposes, not only at the present time, but for many years to come, will require dimensions at least as extended as appear by the foundation under our eyes.
"Our County, one of the most prominent in her growing prosperity in the State, is worthy also of handsome buildings, which will vie with those of other Counties not more prominent. Yet while, it is believed, these buildings, proposed to be erected, will be handsome, comparatively little of the expense will arise merely from the ornamental parts. It is in the solid character of the work, the safety and security of the office rooms. and the conveniences connected with the building, that the heavy portion of the expenditure is to be found. The people of this Borough, too, feeling a pride in the progress of this improvement, have been willing, from their own indi-
On the 20th of February, 1871, owing to the serious illness of his eldest son, Lient. Col. John B. Conyngham, of the 24th U. S. Infantry. at Fort Clark, Texas, Judge Conyngham, accompanied by his second son, William L., started for Texas to bring home the dying son and brother.
On their way, at Magnolia, Miss., Thursday, February 23rd, Judge Conyngham, in attempting to leave the train was run over by the cars, and both of his legs were crushed below the knees. Willing hands and kind hearts were present to render all the assistance possible, and he was gently carried to the Central Hotel where two physicians examined his wounds. His mind was not in the least affected; he inquired about his wounds, asked his son to be calm, thanked the men who had been with him from the time of his injury for their great kindness to him, and was often heard praying.
About thirty minutes before his death, which occurred within two hours from the time of the accident, one of the gentlemen present at his bedside said "Judge, you are a perfect hero; I never saw so much nerve in a man of your years." As if in reply to this remark he clearly but calmly said, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." These were his last words, as he almost immediately fell asleep.
The remains of Judge Conyngham reached Wilkes-Barre on the morning of March Ist. The Borough authorities, the members of the Bar, and the police force escorted the remains from the railroad station to the late residence of the deceased.
The funeral took place the next afternoon. At noon all business was suspended in town and stores closed, while early preparations were made by almost the whole population to testify respect for the deceased. Upon many buildings were displayed mourning emblems. At three o'clock the general procession was formed on Franklin Street under the direction of Gen. Henry M. Hoyt. The coffin containing the remains of the honored dead, covered with floral emblems, was then escorted to St. Stephen's Church. Brief addresses were delivered by the Rev. Charles DeKay Cooper, Rector of the Church of the Holy Apostles, Philadelphia; the Rev. George D. Miles, Rector of St. John's Church, Taunton, Mass; and the Rev. R. H. Williamson, Rector of St. Stephen's. After these services the funeral procession moved to the Hollenback Cemetery, where the interment took place.
Judge Conyngham was a handsome, refined, gentlemanly man, of soft voice and persuasive manners, and had not mentally. morally, or physically, an angle about him. In his presence you thought of Shakespeare's lines:
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