USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 20
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1st
2d
CANDIDATES.
Dist. Dist.
76
188
61
51
James O'Hara.
32
6
63
9
8
Assembly-+-
James Bovard.
32
46
84
60
58
Jacob Mechling.
50
76
78
25
4
Abner Laycock.
.32
22
80
43
58
John McBride.
.32
8
196
43
66
Jonathan Coulter
32
34
50
25
5
Jacob Ferree.
6
51
7
5
John Negley.
Commissioners-
Abner Coats.
12
40
60
James Scott.
18
42
121
4
2
Francis Kearns
1
72
23
3
David Armstrong.
27
40
1
..
Wililam Brown
3
53
. .
1
. .
At the election held for state senators in the county in 1805, David Martin received 207 votes and Samuel Ewalt 149 votes. The election, however, seems to have fallen to the lot of one of the other counties in the district, and Butler County did not elect a state senator until 1811.
The following year Jacob Mechling of Butler was elected to the legislature, re- ceiving 229 votes in this county. Abner Laycock received 232 votes and Francis McLure 231 votes.
A NEW JUDICIAL DISTRICT.
By an act of the legislature approved February 24, 1806, the sixth judicial dis- trict was reconstructed, Butler County be- ing placed in the same district with Mercer, Butler, Venango, Crawford, and Erie. The same act provided for the holding of court in Butler on the first Monday in March, June, September and December of each year, for terms of one week.
Dist.
Dist. Dist. Dist.
Congress-
John B. C. Lucas ..
32
12
102
. .
. .
. ..
3
. .
Hugh Lee.
13
92
·
George Robinson
4th 5th 6th
145
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
The act of March 21, 1808, put Alle- gheny, Beaver and Butler Counties in the same senatorial district. and Allegheny and Butler Counties in the same representative district and entitled the two counties to four representatives.
The act of April 4, 1809, changed the time of holding court in Butler to the sec- ond Mondays of the months given above. An act was also passed in 1809 to validate the acts of justices of the peace from the erection of the county in 1800 to November 1, 1808.
Francis McLure and Samuel Ewalt ap- pear to have been the candidates for state senate in Butler County in 1809, but failed of election in the district. The same year John Negley of Butler was elected repre- sentative.
In 1810 James Patterson, the candidate for representative, received a majority of the votes in this county, but failed of elec- tion. In the same year Walter Lowrie of Butler was elected to the legislature and in 1811 to the state senate. He was re-elected in 1814 and elected United States Senator in 1818.
THE FOURTEENTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
The Legislature of 1812, on March 20, passed an act apportioning the State into fifteen congressional districts. Butler and Allegheny Counties constituted the Four- teenth District. The political machinery of those days was much simpler than at present. The candidates ran largely on their personal merit and popularity, and as the representatives of the political ideas and principles which were then di- viding the people into parties. The Demo- cratic-Republicans, who were followers of Jefferson, were in a majority in the county for many years. Sometimes a candidate would achieve success by sheer dint of personal popularity, this more frequently happening when too many candidates from the leading party sought the same office. The "scrub race," however, gradu-
ally fell into disrepute, as was inevitable, and served to pave the way for the dele- gate system which succeeded it and which continued in operation almost until the close of the last century, when it too gave way to the system of nomination by popu- lar vote now in use.
As an indication of the tendency toward the delegate method in 1814, an advertise- ment which appeared in the Pittsburg paper of that year is of interest :
" At a general meeting of the Democratic-Republican delegates from the different townships of the county of Butler, held at the Court House in the town of Butler, on the 4th day of July, 1814, for the purpose of putting in nomination suitable persons to be sup- ported at the next general election, the following persons were unanimously agreed upon: Governor, Simon Snyder; Assembly, John Potts. It was resolved, That Hugh McKee and Robert Scott be delegates to meet two delegates from Allegheny County at Mr. James Carnahan's at such time as may be agreed upon; and that they be instructed to support John Potts for a member of the House of Representatives in the State in conjunction with three members from Allegheny County; and also after a conference with the delegates from Allegheny County to put in nomination a suitable person to be supported for a member of Congress from this district. Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be signed by the chairman and secretary and published in the Pittsburg papers."
The minutes of the meeting were signed by Robert Martin as chairman and Robert Lemmon as secretary. Mr. Potts who was a citizen of Butler County was elected to the Assembly.
John Gilmore was elected representa- tive to the General Assembly from Butler County in 1816-17-18-19 and in 1821. In the year last mentioned he was chosen speaker of the House. He was a candidate for state senator in 1821 and again in 1825, but was not elected, although he re- ceived a majority of the votes cast in the county.
Moses Sullivan, a brother of Hon. Charles C. Sullivan, was elected repre- sentative in 1822 and 1823, and state sen- ator in 1824, serving three terms in the Senate.
In 1825 the congressional district was composed of Beaver, Butler and Arm- strong Counties, and Robert Orr was
-
146
HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
elected to Congress, receiving 5,157 votes in the district. The vote on the proposed Constitutional Amendment of that year was 624 for and 691 against the amend- ment. At the same election John Brown, James Powers, William Beatty and Will- iam B. Foster were elected representatives from the district composed of Allegheny and Butler Counties. William Beatty was a citizen of Butler County and was re- elected in 1826 and 1827. Moses Sullivan was elected State Senator in 1825 from the district composed of Allegheny, Beaver and Butler Counties.
CAMPAIGN OF 1828.
The campaign of 1828 saw three tickets in the field. They were known as the "American System," "Independent," and "Jackson." William Purviance, of But- ler, was a candidate for the Assembly on the first named ticket, Robert Stewart on the second, and James McKee on the third. McKee was elected, receiving 3,250 votes in the district, of which 720 were given him in Butler County. The vote of the county was 1,068 for Andrew Jackson and 610. for John Quincy Adams, a majority of 458 for "Old Hickory." The campaign of that year was marked by much bitter- ness of feeling and many heated discus- sions over the relative merit of the oppos- ing presidential candidate. Occasionally there was violence resorted to on the part of some over-rash champion of "Old Hickory," which was usually met in kind by the advocates of Adams, but no serions damage was done outside of a few bloody noses and blackened eyes. The spirit en- gendered by that campaign is forcibly expressed in a toast expressed on the 4th of July and on training day. It is as fol- lows :
" May the skins of the enemies of JJackson be con- verted into carpeting for his friends to dance upon. "
Notwithstanding the free expression of such strong sentiments personal encoun-
ters and deeds of violence were rare as the result of political differences.
» THE CASE OF HUGH LEE.
The case of Hugh Lee, of Butler County, attracted general attention in the legis- lature in March, 1829. Lee had filled the office of justice of the peace from 1808 to 1829 and was charged with being an alien. This charge was carried forward from court to court and ultimately came before the legislature for adjudication. Lee refuted the charge with the evidence that he had been naturalized in New Orleans prior to coming to Butler County. After a lengthy discussion the legislature disposed of the matter by adjourning the debate by a vote of 54 to 28. Lee com- pleted his term as justice of the peace in 1830, and was not again molested by his persecutors.
By the act of April 29, 1829, Butler and Beaver Counties were made a senatorial district, and Butler County created a rep- resentative district entitled to one member of the House of Representatives.
The opposition to Free Masonry, due primarily to the disappearance of William Morgan in 1826, appears to have been the leading issue in Butler County in 1830. A meeting of the "antis" was held at the courthouse on February 6 of that year and presided over by General Ayres. An- other meeting was held on February 17, at which George W. Smith was chosen as a delegate to the State Anti-Masonic Con- vention, and a Committee of Vigilance was appointed.
In 1832 the State was again apportioned into Congressional districts and Butler County was placed in the same district with Armstrong and Clearfield Counties. William Ayres, the candidate for Congress from Butler County that year received 1,254 votes in the county, but failed of an election in the district.
At the October election in 1835, Butler County cast 1,780 votes against the pro-
147
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
posed Constitutional Convention to be held in 1838, and 541 votes in favor of it. William Ayres and Thomas Denny were chosen senatorial delegates and Samuel A. Purviance representative delegate.
The campaign of 1838 was an exciting one in Butler. Previous to the election in October, the Whigs raised a flag on the Mechling corner, concealing their project so well under the cover of darkness that the Democrats did not discover it until the next morning. A Whig flag in Butler in 1838 was out of the question, and as soon as the amazed Democracy discovered the streamer flaunting defiance in the morning breeze, they immediately removed it with- out ceremony. The chief actor in the re- moval of the flag and the flagpole was Paulhemas, the blacksmith.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.
The Constitutional amendments sub- mitted at the election in 1838, received a majority of 1,671 votes in the county, the vote for them being 2,383 and against them 712. Under the new Constitution the offices of recorder and prothonotary were made elective, and at the election of Octo- ber 11, 1839, candidates for these offices were voted for, for the first time. Joseph McQuistion and William Walker, candi- dates for register and recorder, received 1,219 and 1,093 votes respectively, while Jacob Zeigler and John Levis received 1,318 and 1,021 votes respectively for prothonotary. For academy trustees the vote was: John Gilmore and Rev. Loyal Young, 1,146 votes; John Duffy and Dr. James Graham received 1,143 votes.
At the election held in October, 1840, for members of Congress, Joseph Buffington received 2,100 votes; William Wilkins 1,804 votes, and David Tarbox 5 votes. Buffington was afterward elected to Con- gress in the district in 1842 and served two terms.
THE TWENTY-FIFTH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
The Act of Assembly of March 25, 1843, placed Butler County in the Twenty-fifth Congressional District, with Armstrong, Indiana and Clearfield Counties. The Act of April 14 of the same year placed Alle- gheny and Butler Counties in the Twenty- fourth Senatorial District, which was en- titled to two members, while Butler County was continued as a Representative District, with one member.
THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT.
A new ticket was in the field in 1844. The Anti-slavery and Liberty men organ- ized in that year at a meeting held at the courthouse at which John Waldron pre- sided and John Smith was secretary. One of the resolutions adopted asserted : "That in organizing a Liberty party in Butler County we do it from the sense of duty to God and are determined to sup- port no man or party in the management of political affairs further than measures and men in office are governed by the Bible, which we take as our supreme law to which all other laws must conform."
In the election that followed, the Lib- erty party candidate, John Shryock, re- ceived 146 votes for county commissioner, while Dodds, the Democrat, received 2,103, and Bracken, Whig, received 2,066 votes.
The Anti-Masonic advocates were active in 1846 and placed a full ticket in the nom- ination under the title of the Anti-Masonic Whig Party. In March, 1847, the people voted on the Option, or Liquor Law, giving 1,960 votes for the sale of liquor and 1,225 against such sale. The same year a new road law was voted for and resulted in 695 votes for the new law, and 1,771 for the old law.
On July 29, 1848, the Free Soilers and Free Laborites held a meeting at Porters- ville to prepare for the conventions of their party, but little was accomplished.
148
HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
The same year the charter of the Colum- bia Bank was the cause of much discussion and a debate in the Assembly at Harris- burg in March.
The anti-slavery movement appears to have been gathering some force in Butler County in 1850. In October of that year an anti-slavery meeting was held at Cen- treville, now Slippery Rock Borough, for the purpose of considering the provisions of the new Fugitive Slave Law. The meet- ing was presided over by John Hays and Thomas Stephenson, and a committee was appointed to draft a petition to Congress for the repeal of the law.
The Free Soil element were active in the campaign of 1853 and succeeded in defeat- ing the Democratic candidates for judge of the Supreme Court in the county that year. The decrease in the total vote of 1853 over the preceding year was 1600, the Democratic party suffering the most from the defection of the Free Soil element. The vote cast on October 11, for Thomas A. Budd, Whig candidate, for judge of the Su- preme Court, was 1952, for John C. Knox, Democratic candidate, 1835, and for Will- iam A. Stephenson, Free Soil candidate, 95. The Whig candidates that year were successful for both the state and county offices.
THE KNOW NOTHING PARTY.
The first election in the county held after the organiaztion of the thirty-three town- ships and the four boroughs of the county brought into light the dangers of introdu- cing "isms" into politics. While the Know Nothing Party had a state ticket that year, it secretly gave its support to the Whig candidates, and by this means defeated the Democratic ticket. In the local election the Know Nothings supported those candidates in the Whig and Democratic tickets, who were members of their (so-called) "dark- lantern organization," or whom they be- lieved to be in sympathy with it.
The Whig candidate for governor re- ceived 2955 votes. William Bigler, the
Democratic candidate, 2381, and Ben R. Bradford, the Know Nothing candidate, fourteen. The highest Know Nothing vote cast for assemblyman was sixty-one for H. F. Aderhold, while W. McClelland, T. Barry and John Cowden each received sev- enteen votes. Samuel A Purviance, Whig candidate for Congress, received 2903 votes against 2367 cast for O. D. Palmer, Democrat. In county affairs, John McKee, Democrat, received 2675 votes for sheriff, against 2553 cast for J. A. Gibson; Mat- thew F. White received 2732 votes for pro- thonotary against 2445 cast for his Whig opponent, Nathan Brown. This vote was reversed in the battle for register and re -. corder, I. S. P. DeWolf, Whig, being vic- torious. John Graham, Democrat, was elected clerk of courts. Jacob Bentel, Whig, was elected coroner and William Smith, Whig, auditor. The vote for the proposed liquor law that year was 2301 for the law and 2293 against it.
The full strength of the Know Nothing's was represented in the vote for Thomas H. Baird, candidate for judge of the Supreme Court, who received 1189 votes. The total Whig vote cast was 2955 and the total Dem- ocratic vote 2381.
THE ANTI-ADMINISTRATION PARTY.
Following the example of members of the legislature, a large number of citizens signed a call for a union meeting to be held at Butler March 19, 1856, at which the "Anti-Administration Party," or "Union- ists for the sake of the Union," was or- ganized. This meeting was largely at- tended by members of both the Whig and the Democratic Party, and was the begin- ning of the Republican Party in Butler County, as it now exists. The campaign of that year was one of the most exciting in the history of the state. Party spirit ran high, and the battle for political su- premacy was waged fiercely in every dis- trict. Butler County was the scene of many torch-light processions and campaign ral- lies. The entire interest of the campaign
149
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
centered on the presidential contest, the leading candidates being James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, Democrat, and John C. Fremont, Republican. The result of the election was an unexpected and disagree- able surprise to the Democrats. While Buchanan was elected president, the Re- publicans carried the state and county ticket, and for many years after political honors in the county were more evenly di- vided between the two great parties. The vote cast for president was as follows: Fremont, Republican, 3401; Buchanan, Democrat, 2648; Fillmore, Know Nothing, 67; Fillmore (repeaters), 14; Samuel A. Purviance, Republican, received 3092 votes for Congress; James A. Gibson, Democrat, 2581; Alexander Wardlaw, Know Nothing, thirteen. For state senator, John R. Har- ris, Republican, received 3090 votes; John H. Negley, Democrat, 2562. For the legis- lature, A. W. Crawford, Republican, re- ceived 3101 votes; DeLorma Imbrie, Re- publican, 3103; George P. Shaw, Repub- lican, 3102; Thomas J. Layton, Democrat, 2565; Charles H. Shriner, Democrat, 2566; Jacob Criss, Democrat, 2566. For district attorney, Eugene Ferrero, Republican, re- ceived 3106 votes; James M. Bredin, Dem- ocrat, 2546. For associate judge, Thomas Stephenson, Republican, received 3070 votes; Jacob Mechling, Jr., Republican, 3011; Samuel Marshall, Democrat, 2617; J. Bovard, Democrat, 2549. For county commissioner, P. Hilliard, Republican, re- ceived 3003 votes ; J. W. Martin, Democrat, 2644. For county surveyor, David Scott, Republican, received 3114 votes; Charles Cramer, Democrat, 2529. For county auditor, William S. Waldron, Republican, received 3050 votes; R. B. Maxwell, Demo- crat, 2565. For academy trustees, Archi- bald Blakeley, Republican, 3052 votes; Thomas H. Bracken, Republican, 3051; W. C. Pollock, Democrat, 2552; William Bor- land, Democrat, 2554.
The Know Nothing Party, which had cut considerable figure in the politics of
the county in 1854, fell into decadence and at the October election, 1857, the total vote polled by this party for Hazelhurst, their candidate for governor, was fifty-three. David Wilmot, the Republican candidate for governor, received 2,831 votes and William F. Packer, the Democratic candi- date, 2361.
The People's Reformed ticket of 1858 presented the names of James Kerr, of Harrisville, for Congress; R. J. Gregg, of - Buffalo Township, and John O. Jack, of Center Township, for the legislature. Thomas Dodds of Connoquenessing for commissioner, and William Mckinney of the same township for auditor.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
The Republican party again swept the county in 1860, when the campaign was formerly opened in Butler by a ratification meeting held to ratify the nomination of Abraham Lincoln, the presidential nomi- nee of the party. The bitterness of the campaign survived the election and indi- vidual members of the minority party were proscribed for their political views. In 1862 the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania decided that the act of extending the right of suffrage to soldiers in the field was un- constitutional. The legislature the follow- ing year offered an amendment to the Con- stitution providing a remedy for this in- justice to a volunteer army and the amend- ments were voted on at a special election held in August, 1863. The vote in Butler County was 2,679 for the amendment and 1,237 against it. The vote for governor the same year was for Curtin, Republican, 3,328, and Woodward, Democrat, 2,054.
THE NEW REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT.
In 1857 Butler County was constituted as a separate representative district, and elected two representatives. The repre- sentatives under this arrangement elected from the county were W. W. Dodds, John M. Thompson, William S. Graham,
150
HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
Thomas Robinson, Hiram C. McCoy, H. W. Grant, and in 1863, John H. Negley and William Hazlett. In 1864 the district was enlarged by the addition of Lawrence and Mercer Counties and was entitled to four representatives, all the counties voting for the nominees. In this year William Ilazlett and John H. Negley of Butler, Samuel Mckinley of Lawrence County and Col. Josiah McPherrin, a native of Butler, but a resident of Mercer County, were the successful candidates. In 1865, John H. Negley and Capt. Henry Pillow of Butler were elected, as were also Mc- Kinley and McPherrin.
The returns of the presidential election of 1864 show that the civil and military vote of Butler County for president was - stead of annual sessions of the general as- for Lincoln, 3,475, and for McClelland, 2,937. The returns of Marion Township which gave Lincoln fifty-three and MeClel- lan 102 votes came in too late, so it was alleged, to be counted.
In 1868 Louis Z. Mitchell, Democrat, re- ceived 3,317 votes for Congress and Dar- vin Phelps received 3,396 in this county.
THE APPORTIONMENT OF 1871.
The legislature made a new apportion- ment of the state in 1871, in which Butler County was placed in a representative dis- triet with Beaver and Washington Coun- ties. Capt. Geo. W. Fleeger, of Butler, was one of the members elected under this apportionment.
At the same session of the legislature Butler County was placed in the twenty- sixth Senatorial District with Beaver and Washington Counties. This arrangement only lasted until a convening of the con- stitutional convention in 1873 and the legislature of the following year reappor- tioned the state to carry out the provisions of the new constitution.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.
The question of calling a convention to revise the state constitution was submitted
to the people at the fall election in 1872, and was Carried in Butler County by a de- cisive majority, the vote being 3,377 for, and 496 against it. General John N. Pur- viance and Louis Z. Mitchell of Butler were chosen delegates from this county, and the convention thus provided for met in the city of Philadelphia, in 1873, and concluded its labors on November 3d of that year. The new constitution, except wherein otherwise provided, went into effect January 1, 1874. This constitution provided for the election of state senators every four years instead of every three and members of the House of Representa- tives every two years instead of every year. It also provided for biennial in- sembly and fixed the date of meeting for the first Tuesday of January of every sec- ond year. The date of holding the general election in the state was changed from the second Tuesday of October to "the Tues- day next following the first Monday of November," of each year. In order to make effective the provision of the new constitution changing the terms of state senator from three to four years, the legis- lature of 1874 reapportioned the state, placing Butler and Armstrong Counties in the Forty-first Senatorial District, and providing that at the general election of that year the senator should be chosen in the district for a term of two years and that at the general election of 1876 the senator should be elected for four years. This apportionment is still in force.
Under the act of 1874 Butler County be- came a representative district alone and entitled to two members. The Congres- sional apportionment made the same year placed Butler in the Twenty-sixth Con- gressional district with Mercer and Craw- ford Counties.
CHANGES IN 1874.
The abnormal increase of population caused by the development of the Butler
151
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
County oil field, from 1869 to 1874, changed the manners and customs of the people and gave rise to new conditions in local politics. The men who followed the oil excitements were usually self-assertive and independent in character and were dis- posed to consider men and measures rath- er than party lines in the political cam- paigns of the last quarter of the century. While the Republican party had a nominal majority in the county for the fifteen years previous to this time and the majority kept. increasing as the population of the county increased, the independent element in the oil country exercised such an influence as to be able to elect dark horses or a Demo- crat who was favorable to their interests at the most unexpected times. The in- crease in the business of the Courts having kept pace with that population, the ques- tion of electing two judges for the district was presented at the Republican primary held in 1874. The legislature had recently passed an act authorizing the election of an additional law judge in Butler County and Hon. Charles McCandless had been ap- poined to fill the position until the fall elec- tion. At the Republican primary election of that year more votes were recorded than had been cast by both parties at the preceding fall election.
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