Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 33

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526

USA > Pennsylvania > Butler County > Butler > Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th > Part 33

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The successor of Judge Addison was the Hon. Jesse Moore, a native of Montgomery County, who was commissioned president judge of the Sixth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, April 5th, 1803. Previous to that time he had practiced law for some years at Sunbury, Penna. Judge Moore was said to be a solemn, dignified and aus- tere man both in his official and private life. Dressing after the fashion of the colonial days, and punctilious in observing the old- time manner, he adhered to the old-time dress coat, knee-breeches, buckles and stockings as well as the powdered wig and buckled shoes which caused him to be long remembered by the early settlers of the county. He presided over the Courts of Common Pleas in Butler County from 1804 to 1818. His death occurred December 21, 1854.

Hon. Samuel Roberts was appointed president judge of the district including Butler County in 1818 and held the office until his death in 1820. He was born in Philadelphia, December 8, 1763, and was admitted to the bar in that city in 1793. He practiced in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, previ- ous to his appointment to the bench.

Hon. William Wilkins was the successor of Judge Roberts. He presided in Butler County from April 2, 1821, until July, 1824.

Hon. Charles Shaler was commissioned judge of this district July 5, 1824. His term of office was marked by a large amount of litigation and his rulings, espe- cially in land cases, disclosed an intimate knowledge of the intricacies of the law.

Hon. John Bredin was born in the town of Stranorlar, Donegal County, Ireland, in 1794. He came to Butler County with his parents in 1802 and at the age of sixteen, he went to Pittsburg and took a position as a clerk in a general store. He purchased a tract of wild land in what is now Summit Township, Butler County, when he was eighteen years of age, and in 1817 he was employed as a clerk in the prothonotary office in Butler. He began reading law un- der Gen. William Ayres and the year 1824 found him in the newspaper business with his brother Maurice, combining law and journalism until 1830. He was appointed president judge of the judicial district in 1831 and filled the position with marked ability until his death in 1851. His associa- tion as a student with General Ayres, who was a well-known lawyer and land owner, gave him an insight into the land business and an acquaintance with the early land laws that proved of great value to him, not only in his practice, but in the discharge of his duties on the bench. For more than a quarter of a century he was regarded as an authority in land title disputes.

He was married in 1829 to Miss Nancy McClelland of Franklin, Venango County.

The president judge of this district from 1851 to 1863 was Hon. Daniel Agnew, a son of Dr. Agnew, who was one of the early practicing physicians in Butler and at Har- mony. Judge Agnew was afterwards asso- ciate justice and chief justice of the su- preme court of Pennsylvania. He was a man of eminent ability as a lawyer and a jurist and his decisions were very rarely re- versed on appeals. After his retirement

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from the supreme bench he removed to Beaver, Penna., where he died.

Hon. Lawrence L. McGuffin was presi- dent judge from 1863 to 1874. His term was marked by a number of important criminal and civil trials, among which were the Addlington murder trial from Porters- ville in 1867, and the trial of Zachary Tail- or Hockenberry for the murder of Nancy Ann McCandless in October, 1868. Judge McGuffin was deservedly popular, an able lawyer and made an excellent record on the bench.

Hon. Charles McCandless was born in Center Township, Butler County, Novem- ber 27, 1834. He was educated in the com- mon schools of the county and at the old Witherspoon Institute in Butler, which was then one of the leading academies in West- ern Pennsylvania, and after leaving school read law in the office of his uncle, Charles C. Sullivan. He was admitted to practice in June 14, 1858, and became a partner of his preceptor. This partnership continued until 1860 when Mr. Sullivan died and Mr. McCandless succeeded to his large practice. He was elected to the State Senate in 1862 for a term of three years and in 1872 was a delegate to the Republican national con- vention in Philadelphia which nominated Grant and Wilson. Under the constitution of 1873 Butler County became a separate judicial district with Lawrence County at- tached, and was entitled to an additional law judge. Judge McGuffin was president judge and Mr. McCandless was appointed by Governor Hartranft assistant law judge of the Seventh Judicial District to fill the vacancy. He was one of the Republican candidates for the office at the ensuing elec- tion but was defeated. He was appointed chief justice of New Mexico in February, 1878, by President James A. Garfield, but resigned in the following October and re- turned to Butler, where he continued to practice until his death, March 4, 1893.

Hon. Ebenezer McJunkin was born in Center Township, Butler County, March

28, 1819, and was the son of David McJun- kin, a pioneer settler of that township. He was graduated from Jefferson College at Canonsburg in 1841 and began the study of law in the office of Charles C. Sullivan of Butler, being admitted to the bar Sep- tember 12, 1843. He was a partner of his preceptor until 1849, when he was appoint- ed deputy attorney general and began to practice on his own account. In politics he was first a Whig and afterwards a Repub- lican, being one of the organizers of the Re- publican party in Butler County. He was a delegate to the national Republican con- vention in Chicago in 1860 and a member of the Electoral College in 1864. He was elect- ed to Congress from this district in 1870 and was reëlected in 1872. In 1874 he ran as an independent Republican candidate for the office of judge of the Seventh Ju- dicial District and was elected, resigning his seat in Congress to accept that office. He drew lots with his colleague, Hon. James Bredin, for the president judgeship which he won, filling the position until Jan- uary, 1885. After his retirement from the bench he devoted himself to the practice of his profession until failing health com- pelled him to retire. His death occurred in Butler, November, 1907.

Hon. James Bredin was a son of Hon. John Bredin and was born in Butler, Penn- sylvania, May 9, 1831. He was educated at the local schools and at Washington Col- lege and in the Naval School at Annapolis. He participated in the naval operations in the Gulf of Mexico during the Mexican war and early in 1850, he resigned and returned to Butler, and began reading law in his father's office. After his father's death, in 1851, he continued his studies in the office of Hon. Ebenezer McJunkin and was ad- mitted to the bar June 14, 1853. He did not at once begin practice, but engaged in the banking business with James Camp- bell, S. M. Lane and others and established a bank in Butler and a branch at New Cas- tle. He returned to the profession, how-

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ever, in 1855 and 1871 removed to Al- legheny, where he practiced until 1874, when he was elected one of the judges of the Seventeenth District and served ten years. After his retirement from the bench in 1855 he removed again to Allegheny, where he continued to practice until his death, November, 1906. He was recognized as an able lawyer and was held in high es- teem by the legal profession and the pub- lic, and his record on the bench in Butler County was an excellent one.

Hon. Aaron L. Hazen is a native of Shenango Township, Lawrence County, and was born February 19, 1837. He was educated in the district schools and in Beaver Academy and Jefferson College at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, graduating from the latter institution in 1861. He en- listed April 19, 1861, in the Twelfth Penn- sylvania Volunteers, but being disqualified from service in the ranks on account of deafness, he became a clerk in the pay- master's department in the army and served until the close of the war. He was admitted to the bar in New Castle in Sep- tember, 1855, was elected district attorney in 1870, and reelected in 1873. He was elected one of the two judges of the Seven- teenth Judicial District, then embracing Butler and Lawrence Counties, in 1884, and after his election took up his residence in Butler as president judge. Under the di- vision of the judicial district in 1893, Law- rence became a separate judicial district and Butler County alone became the Seven- teenth Judicial District. Judge Hazen then became president judge of Lawrence County and removed to New Castle. His term of office expired in 1895 and since that time he has engaged in practice of his pro- fession at New Castle, and enjoys a large clientele as well as the confidence of the community.

Hon. John McMichael, a member of the Lawrence County Bar, was elected assist- ant law judge in 1884, and served until his death in 1892.

Hon. J. Norman Martin, a member of the Lawrence County Bar, was admitted to practice at the Butler Bar, September 3rd, 1889. He was appointed assistant law judge to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge McMichael, and served until January 1st, 1893.

Hon. John M. Greer is a native of Jef- ferson Township, Butler County, where he was born August 3rd, 1844. At the age of eighteen, in July 1862, he enlisted in the defense of the Union, and remained in the service until February, 1866, when he was mustered out. He taught school after his return from the army and read law in the office of Charles McCandless. He was ad- mitted to practice September 23rd, 1867, and in 1868 was elected district attorney for a term of three years. He was elected state senator in 1876 and reëlected in 1880. In 1882 he was nominated as secretary of internal affairs but suffered defeat with the entire Republican ticket that year. He was one of the two nominees of the Re- publican party for judge of the Seven- teenth Judicial District in 1884, but failed of election, the candidates from the Law- rence County end of the district, both be- ing successful. He was engaged from 1887 to 1891 as inspector and examiner of the Soldiers' Orphans' School, and in 1892, on the death of Judge McMichael, he was elected as his successor as additional law judge of the Seventeenth Judicial District. Under the operation of a special act of the legislature in 1893, Butler County alone became the Seventeenth Judicial District, and Lawrence County was erected into a new district, with Judge Hazen as presi- dent judge. Judge Greer then succeeded to the judgeship of the Seventeenth Judi- cial District and served until the expira- tion of his term in 1903. Judge Greer made an excellent record on the bench and was one of the most popular judges that have ever occupied that position. Since his retirement from the bench he has de- ,voted his time to the practice of his pro-

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fession and has associated with him his two sons, Thomas H. Greer and John B. Greer.

Hon. James M. Galbreath is the second son of Robert Galbreath and was born in Winfield Township, Butler County, Sep- tember 27th, 1852. He received a com- mon school education and subsequently at- tended Slate Lick Academy, Armstrong County, and Witherspoon Institute, But- ler. He then entered Princeton College, where he graduated in 1880, and com- menced reading law with W. D. Brandon, Butler. He was admitted to the bar, March 6th, 1882, and in 1884 he formed a partnership with James B. McJunkin, which was continued until 1901. He was elected president judge of the Seventeenth Judicial District in 1902 and has filled the position with marked ability.

THE BAR.

John Gilmore was prominent as a law- yer and politician in the early years of the county's history. He was a son of James Gilmore, a native of Ireland, who came to Sumerset County, Pennsylvania, prior to or during the Revolution, in which county John Gilmore was born in 1780. His youth and manhood were passed in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Admitted to the bar at the age of twenty-one years, he shortly afterwards began the practice of law in Pittsburg, and in 1803 came to But- ler as deputy attorney general. He served several terms in the legislature from But- ler County, was speaker of the House in 1821, and was prominent in the legal and political history of the county during the first twenty-five years of his existence. He died in 1845, after a long, useful and hon- orable career.

Col. John Purviance was born in Wash- ington County, Penna., September 28, 1781. He came to Butler as a practicing attorney in 1804 and was among the first

attorneys admitted to the Butler Bar after the organization of the court of the county. He was the legal adviser of the Harmony Society from 1805 to 1815, with the excep- tion of the time passed on the frontier as Colonel of the Second Pennsylvania Mili- tia Regiment during the War of 1812. Col. Purviance was a brother-in-law of John Gilmore, having married an elder sister of Mrs. Gilmore. The family returned to Washington, Penna., in 1814, where Col. Purviance died December 28, 1820.

Gen. William Ayres came to western Pennsylvania in 1794 with the troops sent to quell "the whiskey insurrection" in the southwestern part of the state. He began the study of law in the office of Judge Breckenridge, of Pittsburg, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1809. When Butler County was organized Gen. Ayres was ap- pointed to the office of prothonotary, which at that time included the duties of the clerk of courts and of registrar and recorder. He became a large land owner and a pow- erful factor in the political life of the coun- ty. Although a bachelor, he built for him- self a comfortable and well-furnished home on the site now occupied by the residence of the late Judge Ebenezer McJunkin, on South Main Street, and lived in what was then considered an affluent and luxurious life. At his death in 1843 he left an es- tate valued at $150,000.

John Galbraith, who was admitted to the Butler bar November 10, 1818, was also the pioneer newspaper man of the county. He studied law in Butler under Gen. Will- iam Ayres and after he was admitted to the bar he took up newspaper work and es- tablished the Butler Palladium and Repub- lican Star, which was the first newspaper published in Butler County. In 1819 he removed to Franklin and became one of the prominent lawyers of Venango Coun- ty. He afterwards removed to Erie, where he became president judge of the district.

Hon. Joseph Buffington began his ca- reer in Butler as editor of a weekly paper

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called the Repository. He read law under Gen. William Ayres and was admitted to the Butler bar July 4, 1826. About a year afterwards he moved to Kittanning. He was elected to Congress in 1842 and served two terms. In 1849 he was appointed judge of the Eighteenth Judicial District and in 1852 was tendered, but declined, the chief judgeship of Utah. He was ap- pointed judge of the Tenth Judicial Dis- trict in 1855 to fill a vacancy, and was elected in 1856 and reelected in 1866. Ow- ing to failing health he resigned in 1871, and his death occurred February 3, 1872. Judge Buffington took high rank as a jurist.

Col. Francis McBride, who kept a hotel where the Lowry House now stands, and who was sheriff of the county in 1830, studied law and became the partner of the late Louis Z. Mitchell. He lived for a while in the old Walter Lowry residence.

Hon. Samuel A. Purviance, who became a man of national note in his lifetime, was born in Butler, January 10, 1809, and was the son of Col. John Purviance. He was largely self educated and prepared him- self for a professional career by reading law in the office of Gen. William Ayres, be- ing admitted to practice October 2, 1827. He began his legal career in Warren Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, where he was appointed deputy attorney general, but within a few years he returned to Butler County. He was a member of the convention that framed the Constitution of 1838, his col- league from Butler County being Gen. William Ayres. He was a member of the House of Representatives from Butler County in the General Assemblies of 1838 and 1839 and in 1844 he was elected a dele- gate to the Whig National Convention, which nominated Henry Clay for presi- dent. He was also a member of the first Republican National Convention held in 1852, and was recognized as one of the founders of the Republican party. He was elected to Congress from this district

in 1854 and reelected in 1856, and took a prominent part in the Kansas-Nebraska debates, opposing with his voice and his vote the attempt of slave power to extend its dominion over the western territory. After the expiration of his term in Con- gress Mr. Purviance moved to Pittsburg. He was chosen delegate to the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1860, which nominated Abraham Lincoln. In 1861 he was elected attorney general of Pennsylvania and in the same year he was tendered an important diplomatic appoint- ment by President Lincoln, but declined it. He was chosen delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1864 and aided in a nomination of President Lincoln for a second term, and in 1868 he was a delegate to the convention that nominated General Grant as presidential candidate of the

Republican party. This convention also chose Mr. Purviance as a member of the National executive committee. In 1872 Mr. Purviance was prominently mentioned as a candidate for the nomination of vice president on the Republican ticket, and in 1873 he was chosen a member of the con- vention that framed the state constitution of that year. His public career closed with the discharge of his duties as a member of that notable assemblage, and his death oc- curred at his home in Pittsburg, February 14, 1882. From his first appearance in public life to the signing of the constitution of 1873 Mr. Purviance had given his na- tive state over forty years of able, faith- ful and distinguished service and had se- cured the respect and esteem of her citi- zens. His widow died in Pittsburg in De- cember, 1891.

George W. Smith was one of the early attorneys at the Butler bar who attained prominence in the west. He was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in 1806, and he came to Butler to work in the woolen factory. He began to study law in the office of Gen. William Ayres and was admitted to the bar April 7, 1829. He

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was elected to the legislature from Butler County in 1835 and in 1848 he was the Whig candidate for Congress in this dis- trict, but was defeated by that popular Democrat, Alfred Gilmore, of Butler, who carried the district by a very small major- ity. In 1855 Mr. Smith went to Kansas and subsequently became a prominent fac- tor in the politics of that State, at one time being speaker in the legislature. He died in the city of Lawrence, Kansas, Septem- ber 28, 1878.

Walter H. Lowrie, who was admitted to the bar July 6, 1830, was a native of Butler County and a son of Matthew P. Lowrie, of Allegheny Township. His grandfather, John Lowrie, was one of the pioneer settlers of the northeastern sec- tion of the county. Walter H. Lowrie was chief justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1857 to 1863.

One of the ablest members of the Butler bar for many years was Hon. Charles Cra- ven Sullivan. He was born in Franklin Township, Butler County, March 10, 1807, and was the son of Charles Sullivan, who was a native of Northumberland County, Virginia. After graduating from Jeffer- son College in 1828 Mr. Sullivan became a law student in the office of Gen. William Ayres and was admitted to the bar Octo- ber 10, 1831. He was elected to the state Senate in 1841 and reelected in 1844. Mr. Sullivan was an able lawyer and a success- ful advocate and his legal practice grew to be very large. He died February 27, 1860. His widow is still living in the old Sullivan homestead on West Diamond Street.

David C. Cunningham, a brother of the Cunninghams who founded the borough of Butler, was admitted to practice in 1804, and was well known to the bench and bar of the earlier years of the county's history.

General John N. Purviance, who was prominent in the affairs of Butler County for more than fifty years, was the son of Col. John Purviance and was born in But-

ler, September 27, 1810. He was educated in the old schools of Butler and the But- ler Academy and at the age of sixteen filled the position of clerk in Foxe's store on the Clarion River. After serving as clerk to the county commissioners, he completed his law studies in the office of Hon. John Bredin, and in 1832 was admitted to the bar. Mr. Purviance took an active inter- est in the early militia organization of the county, and in 1843 he was commissioned major-general of the military division comprising Butler, Mercer and Beaver Counties. In 1861 he was captain of the Butler Blues, which was mustered into the United States service as Company H of the Thirteenth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and at the organization of the regiment in Harrisburg on April 25, 1861, he was pro- moted to lieutenant-colonel. He was audi- tor-general of the State from 1845 to 1851 as well as escheater-general and a member of the board of property. His death oc- curred in Butler in 1885.

Edward M. Bredin, who was regarded as one of the ablest advisers of the bar of But- ler County in the middle of the last cen- tury, was a nephew of Hon. John Bredin and was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1819. He came to Butler when a youth, read law in the office of his uncle and was admitted to the bar of Butler County Octo- ber 2, 1839. His death occurred August 9, 1887.

William Timblin, a native of Center Township, Butler County, read law in the office of Samuel A. Purviance and was ad- mitted to the bar September 14, 1841. His death occurred in Butler in 1856.

John Graham was a native of Connoque- nessing Township, Butler County, and was born in 1821. In 1842 he began the study of law in the office of Samuel A. Gilmore. He was admitted the bar in 1844, and in 1845 he was appointed deputy attorney general, making for himself a good legal reputation. His death occurred in 1860.

Louis Z. Mitchell was born in Dauphin

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County, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1824, and came to Butler County when about ten years of age. He began the study of law in the office of Samuel A. Purviance about 1843 and was admitted to the bar February 11, 1845. For almost half a century he was one of the leading members of the bar in Butler County and won an excellent repu- tation both as advocate and counsellor. His death occurred in Butler August 28, 1904.

Colonel John McPherin Sullivan was born in Butler, August 9, 1822. He was educated at the Old Stone Academy at But- ler, and at Jefferson College, graduating from the latter institution in 1843. After leaving college he became a law student in the office of Hon. Samuel A. Gilmore of Butler, and was admitted to practice in September, 1845. A few months later he formed a law partnership with his precep- tor, which continued until 1855. He subse- quently occupied many public positions, his official career closing about 1882, after he had filled the position of collector of inter- nal revenue of the Twenty-third District for nearly fifteen years. He died in But- ler in 1899.

Arcus McDermitt, a native of Butler County, studied law under C. C. Sullivan and was admitted to practice September 30, 1850. He moved to Mercer County, Penn- sylvania, a few years later and in 1874 was elected judge of that district under the new Constitution.

Col. Archibald Blakeley was born in For- ward Township July 16, 1827. He began life as a school teacher, read law with George W. Smith of Butler, and was admit- ted to the bar November 10, 1852. In 1853 he was elected district attorney, and in 1855 he was chosen delegate from Butler Coun- ty to the first Republican state convention held at Pittsburg. During the Civil War he served as lieutenant colonel and colonel of the Seventy-eighth Pennsylvania Volun- teers for three years, and made an excel- lent war record. Upon his return to civil life he practiced law at Franklin, Pennsyl-

vania, from 1864 to 1868, when he removed to Pittsburg.

Hon. James Thompson, eminent in the legal annals of Pennsylvania, was born in Middlesex Township, Butler County, in 1805, being the youngest son of William Thompson. He entered the active duties of life as the first printer's "devil" in the of- fice of the Butler Palladium, the pioneer newspaper of the county. In 1826 he began reading law under John Gilmore, at that time a leading member of the Butler bar, and he completed his studies at Kittanning under Thomas Blair, and was admitted to the Butler Bar April 9, 1828. He located later at Franklin, Pennsylvania, where he resided for thirteen years. He was elected to the general assembly in 1832, 1833 and 1834, and during his last term was chosen speaker of the House. In 1839 he was ap- pointed judge of a special district, created to dispose of accumulated business, and in 1842 he removed to Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1844 he was elected to Congress and re- elected in 1848. He was elected on the Dem- ocratic ticket associate justice of the su- preme court, in 1857, and served the last five years of his fifteen-year term as chief justice. With the beginning of his term on the supreme bench he took up his residence in Philadelphia, where he passed the re- mainder of his life. One of his sons, Sam- uel Gustine Thompson, succeeded his fath- er on the supreme bench, retiring in 1893.

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Century history of Butler and Butler County, Pa., and representative citizens 20th, Part 33

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp Publication date: 1909 Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1526

Author: McKee, James A., 1865- ed. and comp
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1526