Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 18

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848-
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck
Number of Pages: 1318

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HON. LAFAYETTE FITCH (1825-77) was a native of Eaton, Madison County, N. Y., and the son of Stephen and Alta Sheldon Fitch, farmers at that place. Upon the death of his mother, when he was only thirteen years of age, he came to live with his sister at Montrose, who had married Benjamin S. Bentley, Esq., a lawyer. Here he attended the academy, studi- ously applied himself, and early became a teacher in the free school of the place, and in the district schools in the vicinity, where he taught for several terms, and he was always afterwards interested in school-work as director most of the time. He read law with his brother- in-law, Mr. Bentley, was admitted to practice August 21, 1848, and became the law partner of his tutor, which business relation continued until Mr. Bentley went to Williamsport, in 1866. With the exception of a short time during the existence of the business relations with Mr. Watson, under the firm-name of Fitch & Watson, Mr. Fitch continued his law business alone the remainder of his aetive life. He was elected State Senator in 1871, from the district com- prised of Susquehanna, Bradford and Wyoming Counties and served one term. He was proffered a re-nomination, but deelined, and his law part- ner, Mr. Watson, was elected to take his place. Mr. Fitch in early life was religiously inelined, was aetive in Sunday-school work as a teacher, and at the time of his death a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church at Montrose. He was

HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

one of the first to interest himself in assisting widows and orphans, to secure their pensions from the government after the close of the late war; and when Pennsylvania was invaded by the rebels in 1863, he responded to the call for troops, and served as first lieutenant of an emergency company, which, however, saw 110 active service, but was returned home. Upon the occasion of his death, the trustees of the Presbyterian Church, recognizing the great loss sustained by his death to the church, met and passed appropriate resolutions and ordered them entered upon the records of the society. The Rough and Ready Fire Company, of which Mr. Fitch had once been foreman, draped their hall in mourning, and by resolutions adopted at their meeting May 18, 1877, publicly recognized their high sense of his worth and honor. At a meet- ing of the Legal Association, held in the court- room at Montrose, on the same day, of which Hon. Wm. H. Jessup was elected president and Hon. W. W. Watson secretary, resolutions fit- ting the occasion of the death of their honored associate were adopted, and appropriate remarks on his life and character were made by Hon. Wm. J. Turrell, Hon. Wmn. H. Jessup, Hon. J. B. McCollum, Hon. W. W. Watson, Hon. Franklin Frazier, E. L. Blakeslee and A. O. Warren, Esqs., and it was resolved that the officers of the court and the members of the bar proceed in a body to the funeral of the deceased, who had passed away the day before.

At the time of Mr. Fitch's decease the Independent Republican, of Montrose, said of him,-

"Mr. Fitch was a man of sterling integrity, whether as a citizen, a lawyer, a statesman or a Christian. In the dignified retirement of his late years he ever manifested an eminent ex- ample of modest talent, substantial learning and unpretending wisdom, with exceedingly affable manners, strong social affection, absolute fidelity in every relation of life, and probity beyond the slightest suspicion of reproach, as rarely adorns even the highest walks of professional excellence.

" His public services in political life were botlı useful and incorruptible. His Senatorial career at Harrisburg was earnest, beneficial, and patri- otic. The members of the bar of this county

have lost a companion who was an honor to his profession, a model to themselves and an exam- ple of virtue and excellence to all.

"Mr. Fitch was a man of ardent feelings and of ingenuons temperament. He was strong in his attachments to true men and to opinions, and was not easily turned from any course of specu- lation or action which he had once satisfied him- self was right. He put on no airs and assumed no superiority on the ground of his intellectual attainments, but placed himself on a level with every one with whom he had any concern. He was ever a conscientious man. He was always true to his moral as well as intellectual convic- tions, and followed them whithersoever they led. His straightforwardness and frankness were among the secret causes of the remarkable influ- ence which he confessedly exercised over the minds and judgments of others. By his honesty, as well as by his resoluteness and de- cision, he was the mainspring of everything with which he was connected. By this moral influence he controlled and swayed all men with whom he was associated. As Ben Jonson says of Lord Bacon, 'he commanded where he spoke.' He has left an example full of instruc- tion and encouragement to the young men of our county, and especially those of the legal profession. He has shown them to what heights of greatness and usefulness they may ascend by truth, temperance and toil. He has left to all a most glorious and precious legacy in his ex- ample of integrity, moral courage and indepen- dence. He has taught the young men that there is nothing so grand and beautiful as moral principle, nothing so sublime as adherence to truth, and nothing so adventitious as integrity, pursued through all circumstances, adverse or propitious."

His wife, whom he married in 1855, was Mary Sayre, a daughter of Mason S. and Mary Sayre Wilson, of Montrose, wliose ancestors were the first settlers of Bridgewater township. She survives him and cares for her aged father in his declining years.

ALBERT CHAMBERLAIN was born in Choco- nut township, and obtained his education at the common schools, teaching winters and studying summers. He was ambitious, and

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read law with Bentley & Richards, and was admitted to the Susquehanna County bar in August, 1843. He was elected district attor- ney twice, from 1856-62, and was justice of the peace a number of years, also revenue col- lector. He removed to Scranton, where he died.

LEONARD P. HINDS, son of Stephen Hinds, was born at Montrose in March, 1828, and died at Susquehanna December 23, 1882. Hc at- tended the academy at Harford, and was a student at Alexandria, Va., where he devoted considerable time as a writer for the local press. He read law with Ralph B. Little, of Mon- trose, and was admitted to the bar November 17, 1851. He was a member of the Baptist Church. He settled in Susquehanna in 1849, and practiced law there until his death, a period of thirty-three years. His ability was marked as a lawyer, especially in the prime of life, and was equally divided in the two departments of law, as a pleading and counseling advocate.

FREDERICK A. CASE read law with his father, Benjamin T. Case, and was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna County January 16, 1854. He was remarkable for his great mem- ory of cases and legal forms. It is said that he could write deeds without printed forms, entirely from memory. He was a modest, re- tiring man of many eccentrieities. Hc died, while yet in his prime, February 3, 1880.

ALBERT BUSHNELL, son of Hezekiah Bush- nell, was born in Ararat December 30, 1815. With no school privileges but the common schools of his time, he early developed great fondness for books and study. At the age of seventeen he taught a distriet school near where Susquehanna now stands. He taught each year thereafter until the second year after his marriage, in 1842. He then located on a farm in Ararat. Few men, with no resources but their own labor, would have undertaken to prepare for admission to the bar of Susquehanna County ; but with a large family to support, he commenced reading law under the direction of Bentley & Fitch, and was admitted to the bar November 20, 1853, and the following spring removed to Susquehanna, where he devoted the remainder of his life to the practice of liis pro- fession.

ISAAC J. POST, only child of Rev. Albert L. and Eleanor C. Post, was born at Montrose June 21, 1837, and was graduated at Yale Col- lege in the class of 1860. He read law in his native village with William & William H. Jessup, and was admitted to the bar January 20, 1862; but in September following he en- tered the army of the Union and served one year. He next held a position under the solici- tor of the Treasury Department, at Washington, two years; he then resigned and removed to Scranton, and formed a law partnership with Alfred Hand, which was- dissolved in 1879, when Mr. Hand was appointed judge. He continued to practice alone until January, 1885. He formed a partnership with his preceptor, William H. Jessup. Isaac J. Post was no or- dinary man. A close student, with a clear, logi- cal mind, he had mastered the intricacies of the law, and was, by alınost universal consent, acknowledged to be the best real estate lawyer at the Lackawanna bar. He was particularly strong as a consulting lawyer. His integrity and candor gained for him a large clientage of business men in Lackawanna County. His clients became warmly attached to him both for his merits professionally and his genial character- istics socially. A thorough knowledge of legal principles and a practical knowledge of busi- ness demands made him of great value to clients when intricate problems in business needed to be harmonized with the principles of law. He had a keen perception of right and a disposi- tion to follow it. He loved his profession for the principles it presented, and despised cnn- ning and trickery, and was always equal to its designs and would almost invariably eircum- vent it. He was a man of few words, simple and courteous to men in every condition of life. He was a multifarious reader, a elose observer of scientific progress, a successful student of geology. He kept paec with all the attacks of scientists upon the Christian faith, but never wavered from the choice of his youth in his belief in the power of a sincere, humble Chris- tian faith on the soul. His faith was grounded in the truths of revelation-in life a solace and comfort to him, in death it did not fail him. He was married, June 23, 1868, to Eliza Blake

HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Todd. He died Jnly 10, 1885, at Montrose, and was buried with his fathers in the peaceful ceme- tery of lis ancestral home.

HON. ALFRED HAND was born in Hones- dale, Pa., March 26, 1835, and was graduated from Yale in 1857. He commenced to read law with William & William H. Jessup in 1857, and was admitted to the bar November 21, 1859. He married one of Hon. William Jessup's daughters for his first wife, and located in Scranton, where he practiced law successfully until he was elevated to the bench, first by appointment as judge of the Eleventh Judicial District (Luzerne), March 4, 1879, and the fol- lowing fall he was elected law judge of the Forty-fifth Judicial District (Lackawanna Coun- ty), and is now president judge, commissioned in January, 1880, for ten years. Judge Hand enjoys the confidence of the bar, and is esteemed for his many excellent qualities, not only as a judge, but as a leading citizen and Christian gentleman.

WM. M. POST was born February 10, 1825, at Montrose. In his boyhood he assisted in the work upon his father's farm ; but, at the age of twenty, having received a fair academical edu- cation at the Montrose Academy, he read law with his brother-in-law, the late Ralph B. Lit- tle, at that time one of the ablest lawyers in this part of the State. Hon. J. B. McCollum was his fellow-student in the same office. After his admission to the bar, in 1856, Mr. Post became a partner in the well-known law-firm of Little & Post.

the old farm his father cleared up-to the culti- vation of which, since his return, he has given much of his time.

Mr. Post has a comprehensive knowledge of the law, and in the trial of a cause he is col- lected and self-possessed. No member of the Susquehanna bar, of the past or present, has excelled him as an orator, and but few have equaled him in his influence with juries. His mind is logical, and his reasoning powers re- markably clear and strong. He has been the trusted, confidential legal adviser of many of the most prominent and successful business men in the county, because of his rare business sa- gacity. In dealing with his clients he is always candid and invariably favors settlements where they are possible, and, so far as his influence can be consistently exerted, discourages litiga- tion.

Being a large owner of real estate, he has made sales of building lots to a greater number of persons than any one else in the county dur- ing the same period of time. He has assisted a large number of men to build homes on lots sold to them by him, and many poor men owe it to his liberality and leniency that they now have homes of their own.

Mr. Post's family were Whigs, and his first vote was for that party. But when, on the defcat of Henry Clay, of whom he was an ar- dent admirer, the Whig party disbanded, he became a Democrat, and has steadfastly re- mained suclı, although he has never taken an active part in mere partisan politics. His per- sonal and social relations have ever been as cor- dial and friendly with those with whom lie dif- fered as with those with whom he was affiliated by party relations.

In 1864 he moved to Susquehanna Depot, whither he was attracted by interests in real estate of considerable value, consisting princi- pally of a tract of land lying across the river from Susquehanna, upon which the largest por- The poor and distressed have always found in him a sympathizing friend; and to the young, struggling for advancement, he has al- ways extended words of encouragement and, in many cases, actual assistance. He has never been an office-seeker, but has preferred the re- tirement and comforts of private life. tion of the present village of Oakland has since been built up. He opened an office in Susque- hanna, and, besides giving attention to his own business affairs, continued the practice of law there until about 1880, when he returned to his former home in Montrose, and now lives on the old homestead where he was born-still one of He was recently president of the Borough Council, although two-thirds of the Council was composed of Republicans. He is a vestryman the most comfortable and attractive homes in the village. Connected with his residence he still owns a small farm -- about sixty acres of | in the Episcopal Church. He has long been an

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honored and respected member of the Masonic order-having presided over a lodge and chap- ter in Montrose, also a lodge in Susquehanna, and is now one of the oldest members of Malta Commandery, of Binghamton.

The only political office ever held by Mr. Post was that of United States assessor for the Twelfth District, composed of Susquehanna and Luzerne Counties. This, at the time, was an office of great labor and responsibility, requir- ing the aid of ten or twelve assistants, mostly in Luzerne County, and a competent clerk. Nearly four hundred thousand dollars was at that time annually assessed in the district. The office had been previously filled by the late Judge Jessup, and, after him, by the present Judge Jessup. A vacancy had been made in the office of assessor and the business was being conducted by one of the assistants. President Johnson, at the suggestion of Judge Woodward, then Con- gressman of the district, had nominated some half-dozen good men for the position, all of whom had been rejected by a Republican Senate upon political grounds. Mr. Post was then nominated, and, upon the recommendation of leading Republicans of Susquehanna County, General Cameron, then in the Senate, favored this nomination, and it was confirmed without dissent. Mr. Post assumed the arduous duties of the office and discharged them to the entire satisfaction of both the Revenue Department and the people. He went out with the admin- istration which appointed him, and the office itself gradually declined in importance until it was finally consolidated with that of collector.

In 1886 Mr. Post received the Democratic nomination of the district composed of Susque- hanna and Wayne Counties for State Senator. The district is largely Republican, and Mr. Post was defeated, although he ran six hundred votes allead of his ticket.

Mr. Post has been twice married. His first wife was Lucy J., a daughter of Sabin Hatch, Esq., of the Montrose bar. They had thirce daughters,-Fannie M., wife of Stanley M. Mitchell, Esq., also a member of the bar, resid- ing at Binghamton ; Nancy J., wife of D. W. Mabce, died at Binghamton, aged twenty; and Agnes also dicd there while on a visit to licr

sister, aged eighteen. Mrs. Lucy J. Post died in 1877, and Mrs. Harriet Blossom, his second wife, died in 1883.

DANIEL W. SEARLE is the son of Daniel Searle and Johanna Stark, who came from Wyoming Valley and located at Montrose in 1827, where Daniel W. was born, January 7, 1836. He received his education at Montrose Academy, where he prepared for college under the tuition of Professor Crampton. He entered Yale in the class of 1858, but sickness com- pelled him to relinquish his design, and he rc- turned to Montrose. He entered the law-office of Honorable William Jessup and William H. Jessup, and, after a thorough preparation under tlie direction of his able preceptor, was admit- ted to the bar in November 1859. He com- menced the practice of law with his brother-in- law, Honorable J. B. McCollum, under the firm-name of McCollum & Searle, and continued this business relation until the second year of the late war. In 1862 he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment Penn- sylvania Volunteers. This company was re- cruited in Susquehanna County by Captain Tyler and Mr. Searle, who was first lieutenant when the company started out ; but when the regiment was fornicd at Harrisburg, he was ap- pointed adjutant, a position which he held until he was discharged, June, 1864. He served with the heroic One Hundred and Forty-first until only thirty-five men reported for duty, after the battle of Gettysburg, whicre he was wounded. (For a fuller account of the gal- lantry of the men who served in Company H, tlic reader is referred to the military chapter of this history.) After the war Mr. Searle was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of militia, on the staff of General Jessup. After his return from the army he resumed the practice of law, and was clected district attorney in 1865, and again in 1868. He has been an active partisan in the Republican party, acting as chairman of the County Committee a number of times, and was the choice of the Republi- cans of Susquehanna County for Congress in 1874,' 80,'82 ; but, through combinations among the conferees of the other countics, the claims of Susquehanna were not recognized, and he failed

HISTORY OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

to receive the district nomination. Mr. Searle's life-work, however, has been that of a lawyer, in which profession he holds an honorable place at the Montrose bar. He is an able and safe counselor, prudent and careful in the prepara- tion and management of a case, and during a trial he is fair with his opponent. His argu- ments are candid and logical. He has a keen perception of the principles of law which govern in a case, and uses good judgment in their application. He is kindly disposed to- wards the younger members of the bar, who always find in him a cheerful and ready ad- viser. In 1883 he entered into partnership with A. H. McCollum and A. B. Smith, under the firm-name of McCollum, Searle & Smith. In February, 1883, he married Irene, daughter of Colonel G. F. Mason, of Towanda.

WILLIAM D. LUSK, son of Franklin Lusk, was born at Great Bend in 1833. He received an academic education at Homner, New York, preparatory for college, which course he was pre- vented from taking because of his father's death, which occurred about that time. He read law with Little & Post, and was admitted to the bar in November, 1859. He was in the army after that, and also in the West for two years. From 1866 to 1871 he had an office at Montrose, and from 1871 to 1874 he had an office with Mr. Loomis, in Scranton. In 1879 he was in partnership with Eugene O'Neill. He was elected vice-president of the First National Bank of Montrose in January, 1886, and has spent most of his time there since that time. At the last election, in January, 1887, he was made president of the bank.

ANDREW O. WARREN was born June 5, 1817, in Jeffrey, N. H. He was educated at Melville Academy, and studied theology at Westmoreland, N. H., and entered the ministry of the Universalist Church; and preached for them abont thirty years. He read law with E. B. Chase and F. B. Streeter, and was ad- mitted to the bar August term, 1862, and has practiced law at Montrose, preaching occasion- ally since that time.

CHARLES A. WARREN, son of A. O. War- ren, was born September 2, 1846, and educated at Montrose. He read law with his father, and

was admitted to the bar in 1868. He became associated with his father in law practice at Montrose until recently, 1886, he has taken the place of M. M. Riley, at Susquehanna.

GEORGE P. LITTLE, son of Ralph B. Little, Esq., was born April 25, 1842. He received his education at Montrose Academy, and read law with Little & Post and was admitted to the bar at April term, 1863. He went out with the emergency men when General Lee invaded Pennsylvania. His father took him into part- nership under firm-name of R. B. & G. P. Little. Subsequently, E. L. Blakeslee became a member of the firm, and, since the death of R. B. Little, there have been several changes. George P. Little occupies the same office that his father did, and has associated with him David W. Brown, under the firm-name of Little & Brown. Mr. Little has been retained in a number of important cases. He is a conscientious painstaking lawyer, and attends carefully to whatever matters are placed in his hands. He is a Democrat in politics, but has recently taken a decided interest in the Prohibition movement.

JONATHAN J. WRIGHT, a colored man, was born in Springville township, where his brother, an intelligent blacksmith, now resides. He obtained his education in the common schools and Montrose Academy. While in Montrose he was porter at the Tarbell House a part of the time, and blacked boots and did all kinds of porter work at thirteen dollars per month. Mean- while he read law with Bentley & Richards, and was admitted to the bar of Susquehanna County August 13, 1866, after sustaining a good exam- ination, and is said to have been the first colored man admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania. He made some political speeches about home that were received with favor by his party. Shortly after the war carpet-bag rule began in the South, and his opportunity was in that sec- tion. He formed a law partnership with a Yankee in Beaufort, S. C. Here he acquired a good practice and immediately rose to positions of distinction. He was delegate to the Consti- tutional Convention, a member of the South Carolina Legislature, and finally he was ap- pointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Mr. Wright now donned

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the robes of office and lived in Columbia, S. C., in great style. W. J. Turrell, who happened down there about that time, was driven about the town in his carriage, and in all respects was well entertained by him. He trained up three other colored men to the law, one of whom was a sober, industrious man. But his prosperity was too great for him ; he soon became dissi- pated, and was compelled to resign his office. He had now lost caste among his fellows, and at a public meeting, shortly after, he was hissed. Instead of being stimulated to reform by this mark of disapproval, he only sank lower, and soon after died, aged about forty. A good anec- dote is told of him and Judge Mercur : It seems that Judge Mercur hesitated about admitting him to the bar, and he was admitted when some other judge was presiding. After Wright was elevated to the Supreme bench he met Mercur one day, who congratulated him upon his good for- tune, when Wright replied that he hoped that he should be able to congratulate him (Mercur) on attaining as high a position in Pennsylvania as he had attained in South Carolina. This assump- tion of superior dignity is said to have not been very highly appreciated by Judge Mercur; but true enough, Judge Mercur was elevated to the Supreme bench in Pennsylvania, and died in 1887, while chief justice of the State; but whether Wright ever congratulated him, the writer cannot say.

JAMES E. CARMALT, son of Caleb Carmalt, of Friendsville, was born May 11, 1840. He obtained his education at Haverford and Alex- andria. He read law with Judge Streeter and at Harvard Law School, and was admitted to the bar April 3, 1865. He was elected district attorney in 1871. He practiced law at Mon- trose about ten years, until his mother's death, when he returned to Friendsville to superintend a large farm. He has been active in promoting the Susquehanna County Agricultural Society, and has given considerable attention to stock- raising. In 1880 he removed to Scranton and engaged in law practice four years. During this time he helped organize the Lackawanna County Agricultural Society, and acted as direc- tor and treasurer one year. In 1884 he returned to Friendsville, where he now resides.

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Centennial history of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Part 18

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848- Publication date: 1887 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck Number of Pages: 1318

Author: Stocker, Rhamanthus Menville, 1848-
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : R. T. Peck
Number of Pages: 1318