USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > Commemorative biographical encyclopedia of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania : containing sketches of prominent and representative citizens and many of the early Scotch-Irish and German settlers. Pt. 1 > Part 70
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SHOCH, MICHAEL, the grandfather of Col. Samuel, was a native of Germany, and on his emigration to America settled near Phila- delphia. He had several children, among whom was John, whose birth occurred at the paternal home near Philadelphia. He re- moved to Harrisburg in 1792 and remained there until his death in 1842. He married Miss Salome Gilbert, of Philadelphia, and their children were : Mary, Sarah, Rebecca, Eliza, Cassandra, Samuel, John, Jacob, and one died in childhood. Samuel was born in
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Harrisburg May 28, 1797. His career covers somne of the most eventful periods in our national history, and has been so closely identified with local events that it forms an inseparable part of them. His early educa- tion was commenced at preparatory schools before the establishment of the present school system, and continued at the Nottingham Academy, Cecil county, Md. His further education and preparation for professional life were the result of personal application directed only by himself. As early as 1812 he was recorder of patents nder John Coch- ran, secretary of the land office and recorder of surveys in the office of Andrew Porter, then surveyor general. In September, 1814, he joined the Harrisburg artillerists, a com- pany formed within twenty-four hours after the British had burned the capitol at Wasl; - ington, and was the youngest man in the four companies that volunteered from Har- risburg on that occasion. The company marched to York and thence to Baltimore, and remained on duty there until the British withdrew and abandoned their contemplated attack on that city.
In May, 1817, he began the study of law under Hon. Amos Ellmaker, attorney gen- eral, and was admitted to the Dauphin county bar in 1820. He was always aggres- sive, and as a young lawyer displayed great energy and fearlessness in prosecuting what he believed to be wrong. He took an active part in an nnsuccessful attempt to impeach Judge Frank, of the Lebanon and Dauphin district, for alleged offenses. In 1835 he was elected clerk of the House of Representatives by a union of the Whig and Anti-Masonic members, defeating Francis R. Shunk, the Democratic candidate. In 1837 he was sec- retary to the convention which gave us the Constitution under which Pennsylvania lived from 1838 to 1873, and at the adjourn- ment of that body was unanimously thanked. The Colonel finds special pleasure in recount- ing his services with that body.
In 1839 he cast his fortunes with Colum- bia and went there to live, having been elected cashier of the Columbia Bank and Bridge Company. The company had a nominal capital of $150,000, but actually not more than $80,000 to $100,000, as a bridge costing more than $175,000 had been swept away by an ice freshet in 1832 and the loss had not been wholly made up. The capital was afterwards increased first to $250,000 and in 1837 to $322,500 with a
change of title to Columbia Bank. In 1865 the bank accepted the national bank law and became the Columbia National Bank, with a capital of $500,000, at which it still remains, with a surplus fund of $150,000. Ile has thus maintained official relations with the corporation as its cashier and president for forty-four years, during a period the events of which are matters of local history. Colonel Shoch was married, in 1832, to Mrs. Hannah Evans, daughter of Amos Slay- maker, of Lancaster county, who was the leading manager of the line of stages between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Her death having occurred in March, 1860, he was mar- ried a second time, August, 1865, to Miss Anna E., daughter of Robert Barber, of Co- lumbia, Pa.
In 1848 Colonel Shoch was appointed aide to Gov. William Johnson, which by courtesy conferred upon him the title of a colonel, a title by which he is better known than by his Christian name. In 1860 he was made a member of the State committee of the Re- publican party and a delegate to the Na- tional Convention at Chicago which nomi- nated Abraham Lincoln, the martyr Presi- dent. During the war he was foremost in deeds of charity and patriotism, and pre- sented to the first company formed in Colum- bia a beautiful and costly silk flag. He al- ways took a warm interest in our public schools, and through his active exertions and liberal donations the Shoch library, in honor of its patron, was established.
Colonel Shoch also took an active interest in local enterprises, and was at one and the same time president of the Columbia Gas and Water companies, the Old Public Ground Company, and the Marietta, Chest- nut Hill and Washington Turnpike Road companies. He was also treasurer of the Reading and Columbia Railroad Company, but resigned in 1862, before going abroad on a continental tour. He was for ten years president of the school board of the borough of Columbia, during which period a spacious edifice devoted to the use of the public schools was erected. He served a term as director of the poor of Lancaster county, two terms as county auditor, was a trustee of the Millersville Normal School, and a direc- tor of the Wrightsville, York and Gettys- burg railroad. If responsible official posi- tions are a measure of public confidence, then Colonel Shoch was surely favored by his fellow-citizens.
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He was always an active worker in the Sunday-school cause. In the early part of his professional career he was both a teacher and superintendent of the Sunday-school of the Lutheran church in Harrisburg. His zeal for the cause has been re-awakened, and his active services as a teacher of a Bible class in the Columbia Fifth Street Presby- terian Sunday-school, together with the erec- tion, furnishing and endowment of their beautiful chapel, named " Salome," in honor of his mother, attests the sincerity of his mo- tives. In 185-4, and for several years there- after, he maintained at his own expense a public night school, employed teachers and furnished books, etc., for the benefit of ap- prentices and other young persons who could not attend school during the day, and was happily rewarded by finding the school well attended. Many of the pupils, since grown up, have become prominent and well- to-do citizens, who gratefully acknowledge the advantages they derived from the enter- prise. In politics he has been uniformly and radically anti-Democratic, a great admirer of Thaddeus Stevens, and is in full accord with the Republican administration. His life has been an eventful and busy one, and he has the consciousness of knowing that he has neglected no duty or shirked no respon- sibility. Having faithfully performed the duties of cashier of the Columbia National Bank for a period of thirty-nine years he was, in December, 1878, elected its president.
PEARSON, JUDGE JOHN JAMES, was born in Delaware county, Pa., October 25, 1800. He was the son of Bevan Pearson and his wife Anne Warner, the former of English and Welsh decent, the latter of English descent exclusively, their ancestors having come from the counties of Derbyshire and York- shire and from Glamorganshire in Wales. They belonged to the Society of Friends and were prominent in early colonial history. The first members of the family who came to this country were John Blunston, chosen by William Penn as one of his council of State, and William Warner, who was ap- pointed judge by King Charles II. and pre- sided over the first court ever held in Penn- sylvania, at. Upland (Chester), September 13, 1681.
In his fifth year John J. Pearson was taken with his father's family to Mercer county, this State, where he enjoyed the edu- cational advantages of the best schools of the
county, and prosecuted his studies in the classies and certain branches of science, but not getting a regular college course and graduation. His native tastes and talents led him to choose the legal profession for his occupation, and he was probably influenced also by the example of his grandfather, John Pearson, a prominent judge. He began his preparation for his life work by a course of reading and study under Hon. John Banks, a lawyer of high standing in Mercer county at that time, and subsequently a member of Congress and a judge.
Mr. Pearson was admitted to the Mercer county bar in August, 1822, and immediately took up his residence at Franklin, Venango county, where he began his practice. It was the practice of attorneys of that day to travel long circuits, and following this custom, Mr. Pearson sought and obtained much business in the counties of Venango, Mercer, Crawford, Warren, Erie, Beaver and Butler. Although fully qualified and equipped for a general practice and equally able in all departments of professional service, he became most emi- nent in the trial of land titles, in which he was recognized as the highest authority.
In the spring of 1830 he removed his residence to his former home in Mercer county, and continued to travel his large curcuit until 1849. During this period his time was given almost entirely to his profession, the only interruption he permitted being his acceptance of the office of congress- man from the Beaver-Mercer district, in 1835-36, and that of State senator for four years, beginning in 1837. While in the State Senate he served three years as chair- man of the judiciary committee, one of the most important and laborious positions in that body.
On the 7th of April, 1849, Governor Will- iam F. Johnson appointed Mr. Pearson to the office of president judge of Twelfth judicial district, comprising the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon. His appointment was im- mediately confirmed by the Senate, and in the following summer he changed his resi- dence to Harrisburg, where he spent the re- mainder of his life. Owing to growing popu- lation and consequent increase of State busi- ness, the docket of this court had become crowded, and business was much in arrears, but Judge Pearson's industrious and method- ical methods and tireless and patient dili- gence soon brought all cases to proper trial. The office filled by Judge Pearson became
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elective under the changed Constitution of the State, and its term was made of ten years duration. In the autumn of 1851 Judge Pearson was elected and commissioned judge of the same district, and was re-elected for a second term in 1861, and for a third term in 1871, and completed these three terms of service with his characteristic fidelity and ability. His election in every instance was by a unanimous vote of the district.
He decided many questions of great mag- nitude and tried many noted criminal cases. He evolved the principles upon which the taxation of corporations by this State are now decided, both by the courts of this State and of the United States. As a lawyer and judge he attained prominence. Two volumes of his decisions are published and are univer- sally accepted as standard authority on the points involved.
Judge Pearson having reached the age of four score, declined to stand for re-election in 1881. ITis letter of declination is a classic in its language and sentiment, and showed that he was a man as great in his views and feelings in the ripeness of age as he had been in the prime of his powers. Judge Pearson was married, first, on the 12th of October. 1828, to Ellen, only danghter of Gen. Samuel Hayes, of Venango county. She died in Feb- ruary, 1840. On July 12, 1842, he married, secondly, Mary Harris Briggs, only daughter of Joseph and Caroline Briggs, grand-daugh- ter of Gen. John Andre Hanna, and great- granddaughter of John Harris, the founder of Harrisburg. In his personality Judge Pearson was attractive and inspiring. Dig- nity was never wanting, nor was it ever prominent and oppressive. He was genial and cordial in social life, always careful and considerate to others, and genuine in his sympathy with all classes. He could safely be named as worthy of the closest imitation in character and conduct. His death oc- enrred May 30, ISSS, and was mourned as a public bereavement. The memory of his greatness and goodness remains and is im- perishable.
- ABRICKS, HERMANUS, son of James and Martha (Hamilton) Alricks, was born at Lost Creek Mill, in Juniata county, in 1801. His descent in the paternal line was from Jacob Alricks, of Amsterdam, who was a di- rector for the Dutch West India Company on the Delaware in 1657, and in the mater- nal line granddaughter of John Hamilton
and Jane Allen, who came to Pennsylvania in 1745. In 1814 the family of Mr. Alricks removed to Harrisburg and there the son grew to man's estate, thereafter one of the most respected citizens, receiving his educa- tion in the Harrisburg Academy, reading law in the office of Thomas Elder, Esq., mar- rying a daughter of Rev. William Kerr, who was a great-granddaughter of Rev. John Elder, of Paxtang. He quickly obtained a lucrative business before the courts, be- came one of the prominent men at the bar, and at his death the senior practitioner in Dauphin county. He was averse to hold- ing office. The only one of prominence held by him was that of deputy attor- ney general in 1829, by appointment of Hon. Amos Ellmaker, an appointment which made a great political uproar at the moment and it is said caused the resignation of Mr. Ellmaker and of his deputy. He frequently served his fellow-citizens in mu- nicipal office, was a popular man with them and his counsel sought upon all questions of importance. In addressing a jury his man- ner was qniet, his statement clearly pre- sented and his argument logical. Ilis rule was to undertake no cause unless his client was able to demonstrate the justice of his case. His early training in the practice of the orphans' and registers' courts soon gave him a lucrative business in that branch of his profession, where clear, concise exposi- tions are of far more weight than the stirring elements of the quarter sessions. Ilis per- sonal acquaintance was extensive, and his taste ran in acquiring the family traditions of our earliest settlers. He died at Harris- burg, February, 1874. His surviving family are : Mary Wilson, who married James Mc- Cormick, William Kerr, Hamilton, Clara B. and Martha O.
-ALRICKS, HAMILTON, was born on the Ist of June, 1806, at Oakland Mills. in Lost Creek Valley, now Juniata county, Pa., and died July 16, 1893, at Harrisburg, Pa. He was educated at the Harrisburg Academy at such a period as those who passed through it, from 1816 until 1826, know that the whole land was stricken with poverty, and collegiate education out of the question. Indeed, out of the thirty students of the classics at the academy, and among them the son of Governor Findlay, but one is re- membered who went, or could afford to go, to college. With such an education as the
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school could afford, and the study of history on top of it, Hamilton Alricks commenced reading law with Samuel Douglas, Esq., afterwards attorney general, and was ad- mitted to practice in 1828. During his pro- fessional career of half a century Mr. Alricks has been engaged at every term of the court in the trial of many of the most important civil and criminal cases, and in numerous casesin the Supreme Court, as the reports will show from 2d Watts to the last volume of Onterbridge. In the outset of his practice he was engaged as counsel by Mr. Gest, in the case of Gest vs. Espy, 2d Watts, 266, after Thomas Elder, Esq., a senior member of the bar, had abandoned the case, upon a verdict being found for defendant. Mr. Alricks removed the case to the Supreme Court, where he succeeded in reversing the judgment. On one occasion, in arguing a case in the Supreme Court, and while read- ing an authority, he was abruptly inter- rupted by Judge Huston, saying, "That is not, the law.". "But," said Mr. Alricks, "I am citing from the opinion of the court." Judge Huston sharply responded : " I don't care ; no Judge ever deelared such to be the law." To which Mr. Alricks further re- plied: "I have been reading the opinion of the court delivered by your Honor." " Then," said the Judge, "the reporter took me down wrong ; let me see the book." After examining it for some time, the Judge closed it with the remark, " After all, I don't think this authority has any application to the case in hicaring." Proceedings were commenced before the Legislature of Penn- sylvania, about the year 1845, and testimony taken for the purpose of framing articles of impeachment against the Hon. William N. Irvine, judge of the York and Adams ju- dieial district, and the only counsel of the respondent was Mr. Alricks, who conducted the defense with such skill and ability that the committee refused to report articles. The then State treasurer and auditor general on several occasions selected Mr. Alricks to argue cases on the part of the Common- wealth involving questions of constitutional law. His argument before the Supreme Court of the United States in Butler et al., late canal commissioners of Pennsylvania, vs. the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 10th Howard, United States Supreme Court Reports, 402, was not only well received by the profession as a sound exposition of the
law as to what constitutes a contract within the meaning of the Tenth section of the First article of the Constitution of the United States, prohibiting a State from pass- ing any law impairing the obligation of con- tracts, but also an able definition of the power of the Legislature to create and abolish offices, to impose taxes, &c. ; and will remain a lasting memorial of his re- search, industry, and ability as a lawyer. Hle was one year a member of the Legisla- ture; was a member of the Chicago Con- vention in 1864, which nominated General McClelland for President, and the series of resolutions drawn up and offered in the convention by him abounded in patriotic sentiments, evincing marked ability. lie was a member of the Constitutional Conven- tion for the revision of the Constitution of the State, in 1872-73, that held its sessions first in Harrisburg and subsequently in Philadelphia, and acted on the committees on cities and charters, and on religious and charitable corporations and societies. Mr. Alricks married, December 28, 1837. Caroline Bull, daughter of Rev. Levi Bull, D. D., of Chester county, Pa., a son of Col. Thomas Bull, of Revolutionary fame. She was born August 3, 1811, and died February 28, 1885, at Harrisburg, Pa.
RAWN, CHARLES COATESWORTH, the son of David Rawn and Elizabeth Cheney, was born in the city of Washington in 1801. His grandparents, Caspar and Barbara Rahn (as the name was originally spelled), were na- tives of Germany, one of whose daughters. Elizabeth, was mother of Gov. Francis R. Shunk. Mr. Rawn's father dying when Charles was seven years of age, at Stanton. Va., his mother removed her family to her farm in Thornbury, Delaware county, Pa. He was educated at the West Chester Acad- emy, then in charge of that distinguished principal, Mr. Gause. In 1826 he came to Harrisburg and began the study of law with Francis R. Shunk, and was admitted to the Dauphin county bar January 18, 1831. Hle at once commenced his career as a success- ful pleader, and up to the time of his death was considered one of the leading criminal lawyers at the Dauphin county bar. lIc was an earnest antagonist of human slavery, and during the days of the Fugitive Slave Law was the eloquent pleader in behalf of the poor black. Hle died at Harrisburg on
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December 18, 1865. Mr. Rawn married Frances, daughter of Joseph Clendennin and Elizabeth Slough, of Harrisburg.
FLEMING, DAVID, deceased, lawyer, of Har- risburg, Pa., was born in Washington county, Pa., July 17, 1812; was one of a family of eleven children and son of Samuel and Sarah (Beckett) Fleming. His paternal grand- father was of Scotch ancestry and a native of Ireland. He settled in Cecil county, Md., from Ireland, afterwards in Chester county, Pa., and subsequently at Bald Eagle, from which place, with his family, he was driven away by the Indians. In the attack one son, Samuel, father of our subject, was shot through the arm. Hc afterwards settled in Washington county and in 1812 removed to Dauphin county, where he spent the re- mainder of his active life, a farmer, in West Hanover township. The family attended and were members of the Presbyterian church there under the well-known clergy- man, Rev. James Snodgrass.
David Fleming spent his boyhood on the farm, obtained his early education at the common schools and Harrisburg Academy, and for several years, alternating with at- tending school, he was a successful teacher here and in Baltimore county, Md., in the latter place teaching classics and the higher mathematics. On account of ill health he turned his attention to business pursuits and bceame a clerk for Dr. D. N. L. Reutter, a contractor on the Baltimore and Port Deposit railroad, and after a time took charge for him of the shipment of pine timber for the Navy yard at Washington, D. C., from North Carolina, making several trips by sea and greatly improving his health. In 1S3S he returned to Harrisburg and for several years edited a local paper and reported the pro- ceedings of the Legislature for four Philadel- phia journals, including the United States Ga- zette. In 1839 he entered the law office of William McClure as a student, was admitted to the bar at Harrisburg in November, 1841, and was uninterruptedly engaged in the practice of his profession until his death, January 12, 1890. Mr. Fleming practiced in the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth since 1843, and the reported decisions of that tribunal will show that he was concerned in a large proportion of the cases removed from Dauphin and other counties, many of them involving principles of great importance.
During his late years he attended to bank- ruptcy practice in the two Federal courts.
He closed his labors as newspaper corre- spondent in 1847 and was elected chief clerk of the House of Representatives and served during that session. He was renominated by the Whigs in 1848, but a tie in that body and the absence of one of his friends gave the place to the Democratic candidate by one vote. In 1854 he was elected district attorney, served three years and declined a re-election. In 1863 he was elected to the State Senate and served for three years in that body, being chairman of the committee on the judiciary during his second year and speaker in the closing session of his term. Outside his profession Mr. Fleming was identified in various ways with most of the leading interests of Harrisburg. He was one of the founders of the Harrisburg Car Works in 1853, subsequently obtained its charter and succeeded William Calder upon his death, in 1880, as president and also a member of the board and stockholder of the Foundry and Machine Company, which originated from the same enterprise ; mem- ber of the board and counsel for the Lochiel Iron Company and assisted in the organiza- tion of its successor, the Lochiel Rolling Mill Company. He was counsel and one of the directors of the Harrisburg National Bank for many years and was one of the incorpor- ators in organizing the First National Bank. of Harrisburg, for which he was a director and counsel. He was a director of the In- land Telegraph Company and afterwards of the United States Telegraph Company until its consolidation with the Western Union lines and has been counsel for the latter, as well as for the Atlantic and Ohio and the Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Companies, the Columbian Oil Company and many other large corporations in several importani suits, involving the taxation of these cor- porations by the State. He was one of the originators of the first Harrisburg Gas Com- pany and was president of the People's Gas and Gascous Fuel Company, of Harrisburg. Mr. Fleming was one of the founders and secretary and treasurer of the Harrisburg City Street railway and was a director. He was a trustee for the Home of the Friendless, of Harrisburg, and a member of the board of trustees of the Market Square Presbyterian church, of which he was president for many years. He was one of the oldest Sunday- school teachers in the city at the time of his
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death and always aided in any enterprise tending to better educate the rising genera- tion. Ile was patriotic and rendered sup- port to the Union cause by hisinfluenee and means in the Civil war. Mr. Fleming's law partner with whom he was associated since 1870 is Mr. S. J. M. MeCarrell, who read law with him and was admitted to practice in 1867.
He married, in 1852, Susan, daughter of Charles and Mary (Richmond) Mowry, of Harrisburg, who died October 19, 1895. Her father published the first newspaper at Downingtown, Pa., and after his removal to Harrisburg he was appointed one of the first canal commissioners in the State, and conducted a newspaper in company with Gen. Simon Cameron. Their children were Charles M., a graduate of Princeton College and a member of the Dauphin county bar, recently deceased ; Sarah, graduate of Vassar College, married Joshua W. Sharpe, of Cham- bersburg, Pa., June 3, 1889; David, a grad- uate of Princeton College, treasurer of the Foundry and Machine Works; George R., attorney-at-law, and Mary, born 1869, died in 1871.
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