Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 3

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 3
USA > Pennsylvania > Centre County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 3
USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 3
USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1 > Part 3

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On the creation of the office of Additional Law Judge by Act of the Legislature of April 9, 1874, in the district composed of the counties of Centre, Clearfield and Clinton, the members of the three bars, without regard to political affili- ations, unanimously petitioned the Governor to appoint Mr. Orvis. In obedience to this demand, and in graceful recognition of his merits and dis- tinguished services by a political opponent, Gov. Hartranft appointed him to the judgeship. Judge Orvis accordingly accepted the appointment, and tendered his resignation from the Legislature. In November following he was elected by the people to the judgeship for a period of ten years. His elevation to the Bench was an epoch in the criminal history of the district. He immediately reduced the number of drinking places in the dis- trict, cutting down those in Bellefonte from over twenty to three. After his first court his name became a terror to evil-doers; the police were made efficient: the public were notified and as- sured that criminals would be punished, and un- der the efficient assistance of Col. Spangler, then district attorney, long trains of criminals were convicted of most serious crimes and sentenced to the severest penalties of the State. Judge

Orvis smote crime with an iron hand. He did more-he crushed and destroyed it. During the latter years of his term, the criminal weeks under his administration ceased to become features of his court, while terms would go by without seri- ous crime, so that the office of district attorney actually became profitless. Judge Orvis was the greatest reforming agency in the central part of Pennsylvania. His greatness as a judge mani- fested itself more particularly in the trial of civil causes. By his fairness and impartiality he at once won for himself the friendship and compan- ionship of all the members of the Bar. He was in no sense a case judge, but he was a great judge, because while giving due deference to the standing decisions of the Supreme Courts, he made his own rulings in harmony with the eternal principles of law and justice. Before his eleva- tion to the judgeship his competitors acknowl- edged hiin to be a good lawyer, on the Bench they found him to be a great one. As Gov. Beaver said of him in the memorial service held by the various Bars of the State: "Judge Orvis not only knew the law, but he knew what the law ought to be." So that when the circum- stances demanded it, he did not hesitate to start out in new lines and lay down general principles consonant with human reason, but heretofore un- announced in the books. For this reason ap- peals from his decision to the Supreme Court have established an unusual number of leading principles. Very few minds could reflect better than his the legal thoughts and language of the older judges, but it was not the cold reflection of some mere judicial satellite; his mind glowed with its own internal heat and warmth, and shone with self-created and luminous knowledge. It was he that first settled the principle that where lands were divided by a county line, the tax sales of the county would convey title to the land only within its boundaries. It was also he that checked the Supreme Court in its tendency to. destroy the old common-law principle relative to the character and nature of negotiable paper. It was also Judge Orvis that established and for- mulated many of the leading principles of land location in what was probably the most compli- cated system of land law in the world. To be a good land lawyer in Pennsylvania requires extra- ordinary intellectual power and labor. When one is a great lawyer, such as Judge Orvis was, he is necessarily a mental phenomenon. The general reader cannot realize the force of this un- less he has watched the course of some eject- ment in the county, lasting for weeks and months, involving knowledge of the most complicated and artificial system of trial ever invented by

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

man, with a mastery over a myriad of technical points of original locations, of engineering. sur- veying, woodcraft, botany, topography, drafting, and of new and ancient titles marvelous to even the most initiated. All these must one be and have to be a great land lawyer. When Judge Orvis died he was the greatest land lawyer in the State. It was he who presided over the cele- brated ejectment brought by Burley against the Houtz heirs, which involved property to the value of millions of dollars, and it was his charge in that celebrated case that has been adopted by the profession of the State as the best text-book of land law in existence. In obedience to the demand for it from every section of the State he was obliged to have it printed in pamphlet form for general distribation.

About 1873 Judge Orvis was elected a trustee of the Pennsylvania State College. The fortunes of this institution were then languishing. It had been an experiment in the line of higher educa- tion to the agricultural and mechanical classes in the direction of their particular trades and occu- pations; the experiment up to that time had proved a failure. The idea which had given birth to the college had been lost sight of, and it had sunk to the level of an ordinary preparatory school; the general sentiment was that the scheme had proved a failure, and that the insti- tution should be abandoned. In addition to these discouraging circumstances, it was over- whelmed with an indebtedness both funded and floating. The college had, however, a few warm and faithful friends; these men-like Gen. Beaver-pursuaded Judge Orvis to interest him- self in the fortunes of the college. Accordingly he was elected a trustee, and from that time to his death he gave his best thoughts and purpose and much of his time to the college. Judge Or- vis and his co-trustees at first met with many obstacles, yet they never faltered. Year after year without compensation they worked; slowly at first, but step by step they reformed the pur- poses of the institution, and brought it back to its original position. Their first success was in inducing the Legislature of the State to feel some- thing of its responsibility by paying off the heavy indebtedness contracted for the building and plant itself. Conveniences being added, and its

income diverted to the proper channels of edu- cation instead of paying interest, more and abler professors were engaged, and the scope of the institution enlarged. Nothing permanent could be done until the right man could be secured for the presidency of the institution. For years Judge Orvis and its other friends felt this, and hunted through the United States for their ideal presi-

dent. At last they found him in Dr. George W. Atherton. After some delay they induced this gentleman to accept the responsibility of this position, and devote his life and strength to this particular work. After years of experiment and trial, the trustees have the same confidence in Dr. Atherton as at first. Things began to look brighter for the college; more students began to come; the Legislature manifested increased in- terest in its protege by erecting handsome build- ings and finely-equipped laboratories, until to-day the institution is fast becoming the pride of the great State of Pennsylvania. Judge Orvis' am- bition for the State College was limitless. His scheme for the future was a vast industrial uni- versity that dazzles the imagination. While he did not live to see the realization of such golden dreams, he did live to see the success of his favor- ite established beyond question, and doing a great and acknowledged work in the line of in- dustrial education. His work and services will never be forgotten in the annals of this great and growing institution of learning, and he will ever be recognized as one of the moulding minds and hands of its career.

During the great railroad strikes in 1877 that paralyzed the industries of the country from ocean to ocean, and were particularly dangerous on the line of the Pennsylvania Company, a spirit of anarchy and communism penetrated into every town and county in the State; the masses sympathized with the rioters and strikers, and those who did not were cowed into silence. Bellefonte was not exempt from this; mobs took possession of her streets; sensational addresses were made to excited crowds, and prominent citizens were groaned at and threatened. In this moment of danger some careless expressions of three business men were whispered through the streets and construed by the rioters into dis- approval of themselves. Immediately the wrath of an irresponsible mob wasupon them, and they were hunted down like wild beasts; stores were broken into, violence used, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that the men by the aid of active friends escaped from violence and fled from the town. The mayor of the town ha- rangued the people on the streets, read the riot acts, and ordered the citizens to their homes, but to no purpose. His constabulary was powerless, or in active sympathy with the offenders. Judge Orvis, then on the Bench, took prompt and ef- fective measures to meet the emergency of the hour. He summoned the sheriff, explained to him the gravity of the situation, and instructed him to use his powers and do his duty. Under his instructions the sheriff summoned several

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

hundred resolute and law-abiding citizens, arm- ing and empowering them to act as deputy sher- iffs, and had them patrol the streets night and day. Before such vigorous measures violence ceased, and the town at once relapsed into its wonted quiet. On the trial of the offenders in a subsequent court, two were convicted and sen- tenced at hard work in the penitentiary. It was said at the time that Judge Orvis was the one judge in the State that thus vindicated the out- raged majesty of the law.

At the same time, in the neighboring city of Altoona, a similar spirit manifested itself; in fact in greater crowds and still more violent and dan- gerous methods. Gov. Hartranft ordered the militia of the State to arms, and Maj .- Gen. Beaver to take command in the city. Unfort- unately the railroads were in the hands of the rioters, and the transportation of troops both de- ficient and dangerous. Still more unfortunately the members of the National Guard were badly disciplined, and too much in sympathy with those against whom they had been called to arms. It was a dangerous crisis; the alarm of citizens was increasing, fires and murders beginning to occur, and no one could forsee when and where would be the end. Gen. Beaver needed intelligent and patriotic assistance. Judge Orvis, D. H. Hast- ings and a few other non-militants offered them- selves as volunteers, and were gratefully accepted by the perplexed commander. Judge Orvis was placed upon Gen. Beaver's staff, finally acting as judge advocate. As a staff officer and in the councils at headquarters, no one showed superior discretion or courage. Under these trying cir- cumstances he displayed the same qualities of judgment, coolness and bravery that distinguished him as a jurist, and would have made his reputa- tion in the battles of his country. At one time it became necessary to take ammunition to a point some fifty miles west of the city; the officer in command sent secret intelligence of his wants to Gen. Beaver, but all trains were in the hands of the rioters, and the task of taking ammunition in person was one of such imminent danger that at first all shrank from it. At once Judge Orvis offered himself, and Col. J. L: Spangler volun- teered to be his companion. To be successful meant relief to troops in danger; to be detected meant exposure to personal violence if not death. During the night the two men prepared them- selves, and had large satchels filled with cart- ridges. In the early morning gray the two friends walked with their heavy loads, and board- . ed the train in the midst of suspicion and angry faces. It took nerve to do this in a moment of such intense popular excitement. Fortunately

both men had it, and without accident reached in safety the place to be relieved.

In 1883 the Legislature of the State erected the counties of Centre and Huntingdon into the 49th Judicial District, and made Judge Orvis its president judge. In November of the same year he voluntarily tendered his resignation of the office for the purpose of resuming his practice of the law. During the latter part of 1884 he formed a partnership with J. Frank Snyder, un- der the firm name of Orvis & Snyder, for Clear- field county, and January 1, 1885, formed a partnership with C. M. Bower and his son, Ellis L. Orvis, under the firm name of Orvis, Bower & Orvis, for the county of Centre. Both of these law firms continued unchanged until his death. From the time of his resignation until his last sickness, his practice was large, and as- sumed more and more immense proportions. It led him into almost every county in the State. His time was occupied with important legal en- gagements for every day for months ahead, and, with the exception of short vacations in the sumn- mer, his life was one of continuous legal battle in the various courts of Pennsylvania. Those who knew him, and had some proper conception of the stupendous work he was doing, could not believe that one weak man could stand the strain. So numerous were his engagements, that in spite of all his precaution, his presence would be required at the same time in widely different courts; the perplexity and anxiety aris- ing from this multiplicity of engagements and the clashing calls upon his time would alone have broken down an ordinary man. But Judge Orvis delighted in legal strife. He loved a hard- fought legal battle, enjoyed its victories, and found comparative pleasure even in honorable defeat. It was because he loved his profession and enjoyed the society of his professional breth- ren, even when arrayed against him at the coun- sel table; it was because all lawyers were his friends and companions, and none his rivals; it was because there was no bitterness to him in the victory of others, that he lived so long and stood the tremendous strain upon his vital forces. What really killed him was overwork-exhaus- tion of the vital forces-whatever other name physicians may see fit to give it. The uniformn- ity of his legal success is astonishing, considering the extent of his practice. One reason of this is that he either prepared his own cases, or had them prepared by others whom he directed how to do it. Another reason is that he would not intentionally undertake a case he believed with- out merit. But the main cause of his success is that he entered the legal arena armed at every

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

point, encased in the full panoply of juridic armor, and that he never failed at the right mo- ment to use the weapon that would pierce his adversary, if that adversary were assailable. His mental resources were almost infinite, and he generally took the enemy unawares; then, again, it was his habit to keep strong points in reserve for an emergency, so that many a time he routed the other side, and convinced the judge at the very moment his cause seemed weakest. His last argument to the court, his last reply to his opponents, his last words to the jury, were al- ways his strongest and most unanswerable. His argument was always strong and clear, even from the start, but his clearness and strength in- variably made a crescendo. His power came from his intense self-reliance, as well as from his in- tense truthfulness. He never misquoted a case or, consciously misapplied a legal principle. The presiding judge as well as his opponents could implicitly trust his quotation from authori- ties, and rely upon his citation of cases. He was too good a lawyer and too great a man to ignore the decisions that seemed to bear against him. With extraordinary candor he was always willing to give these full weight; but his peculiar power consisted in nice discriminations between the ap- plication of principle to the facts in the cases cited and the facts in question. More than any other lawyer living, was he able to turn the weapons of his opponents against themselves, and use the case most relied upon by them as the basis of an argument fatal to their position. Many of his most brilliant victories were gained because of his ability to turn the enemy's artil- lery against themselves. Though some few of his greatest trials were on the calendars of the crim- inal courts, he was only a great criminal lawyer because he was a great lawyer. That class of cases was not to his taste, and it was always with reluctance and under pressure that he ac- cepted such; the great bulk of his practice was in the trial of causes in the Court of Common Pleas and Appellate Court of the State; but he was an all-around lawyer.

In the drawing of the ordinary legal docu- ments, the preparation of pleadings, convey- ancing, in the practice of the Orphans' Court and settlement of estates, in the drawing of contracts between business men, in the formation and con- duct of corporations and partnerships, in the consultation in his private office, in the courts of equity-in all alike he excelled. Though he was remarkably successful in persuading the under- standing of judges, he was equally so in reaching the convictions of jurors. His arguments upon facts were as clear and limpid as the magnificent

spring that wells up in the town of his adoption. Jurors believed him because he never deceived them. He had a reputation for telling them the truth. He did not conceal or disguise facts that were stubborn and seemed contrary to his theory of the case .. He never twisted or distorted such facts, but gave them their due weight, and cap- tured the understanding of his hearers by giving unexpected but translucent explanation of their existence, thereby harmonizing them with the structure he had been carefully building out of the evidence and obtaining the verdict of the jury.

At the memorial service it was said of him that he was a master builder, that he laid his foundations deep, building his walls of ponderous but polished granite. His work was beautiful and admirable because strong and true and en- during forever. He did not delight in useless ornamentation, yet it would be a wrong to him to say that in his mental armory there lay only the weapons of logic. He could shoot the sharp arrows of satire, wit, and humor, and many a fallacy has he pierced, and many a foe has he abashed with his truthful wit and genuine humor. Sometimes, when the occasion demanded, he did not disdain the weapon of rhetoric, and when he felt strongly the wrongs of some injured client he would burst forth into pathos and a tremendous. . indignation that thrilled the crowded court-room and stormed the jury-box. But in the main his triumphs were those of reason and a great legal and judicial mind, that forced its superiority to be acknowledged by all his associates and pro- fessional brethren. To the world at large he was. known as a distinguished lawyer, a stern expo- nent of justice, and the logical and invincible speaker in the courts. But in the home and inner circles of his chosen friends he was a differ- ent personality. To the public he was a man of iron; at home he was the tender, loving husband and indulgent father. He was possessed of an exceedingly delicate organism; he could not en- dure the sight of pain or suffering in others. Any genuine tale of woe would bring tears to his eyes, and he wept with those that suffered. The news of the Johnstown horror prostrated him for days so that he lost his appetite and could not sleep. No one that had the slightest claim upon him ever failed of sympathy or came to him for aid and went away refused. He was generous to the detriment of his own fortune; so much so that he could keep no money about his person, for every one that asked received. For this rea- son he did not accumulate, and was compelled for the protection of his family to place all the sur- plus of his earnings in life insurance. He was

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

remarkable in the tenacity of his friendships; his boyish companions retained his favor to the last, though many times this favor was sadly abused. His charity was broad, though never paraded, and his alms munificent, though never known save to its recipients. He was a man that bore no en- mities, and kept no resentments.

In early manhood he became a Christian, and was received into the church by immersion. From that hour until his death he never faltered in his belief in the cardinal principles of the Chris- tian religion. He was a Christian by belief from the outstart of his career, and the clouds of doubt and skepticism never cast a shadow on his clear intellect ..

Judge Orvis was married in the spring of 1856 to Miss Caroline Elizabeth Atwood, daughter of Origen Atwood, an iron master of near Philadelphia. Their children were: Ellis Lewis, born November 16, 1857; William At- wood, born in October, 1859, died in infancy; Jennie Irene, born June 30, 1862, now the wife of Albert E. Canfield; Anna, born January 23, 1864, now the wife of Harry Keller, a member of the Bellefonte Bar; and Caroline Atwood, born July 3, 1871. In his family Judge Orvis was generous and indulgent to a rare degree even for fathers. His home life was a peculiarly happy one, and he was crowned with the love and ad- miration of his wife and children. The only regret in the home life was his necessary absence from home in the line of his professional work. When at home, where he loved to be with his own family, he welcomed his friends and neigh- bors. There his social qualities and conversa- tional powers appeared to their best, and there he showed his love of music, flowers and chil- dren.

E LLIS L. ORVIS, son of the late Judge John H. Orvis, and junior member of the law firm of Orvis, Bower & Orvis, Bellefonte, Centre county, was born at Lock Haven, Penn., Novem- ber 16, 1857. In 1863 he came with the family to Bellefonte, where he has since resided.

Mr. Orvis prepared for college at the Belle- fonte Academy, and in the fall of 1872 entered the freshman class of Pennsylvania State Col- lege, in which institution he took the classical course, in 1875 carried off the Kaine prize for the best English oration, and was graduated in 1876. He subsequently took a post-graduate course for one year in chemistry and modern languages. For a number of years after graduation he en- gaged in surveying, becoming quite an efficient surveyor, and while so engaged he studied law.

In the fall of 1880 he was admitted to the Bar of Centre County, but he still continued surveying until the winter of 1883-84, when he purchased an interest in the Centre Democrat, and became associated with the late S. T. Shugert as junior editor of that paper. Soon after his connection with that journal his health failed, and he was compelled to abandon the newspaper business.

The summer and fall of 1884 Mr. Orvis spent in the Rocky Mountains and along the Pacific coast, traveling as far north as British Columbia. While visiting the National Park he had a nar- row escape from falling into the hands of a band of highway robbers. The people in the carriage just ahead of the one in which he and party were traveling were attacked and "held up," and had Mr. Orvis' party not scattered so that the ban- dits could not surround them, they would un- doubtedly have met the same fate that befell those ahead of them.

On January 1, 1885, Mr. Orvis became the junior member of the law firm of Orvis, Bower & Orvis, since when he has been actively en- gaged in the practice of law, giving his entire time to his profession. After the death of Judge Orvis, which occurred in November, 1893, the business of the firm was continued by Mr. E. L. Orvis and Mr. Bower, the remaining members, and they have since been able to retain the ex- tensive practice that they had prior to the death of Judge Orvis.

Mr. Orvis is a man of excellent character, of fine attainments, and, although young in years, is one of the leading lawyers of Pennsylvania. He is strong in the trial of cases before the jury. and, in the presentation of questions of law to the court, has no equal among the members of the Bar of his county. In the trial of a case, and in presenting questions of law to the court, he is extremely courteous, but forceful and con- vincing.

Politically he is a Democrat, but has never been an office-seeker. In 1883 he was unani- mously tendered the nomination of his party for the office of County Surveyor, and was elected by the handsome majority of over nine hundred. Of his nomination the Watchman said:

Ellis Orvis, our nominee for county surveyor, is the only son of Judge. Orvis -- a young man of talent and education, and already well versed' in the art of surveying, having had considerable practical experience by association with the best surveyors. He understands the business theoretically, too, and will make an excellent official .. He is an attorney by profession, and studious and careful in all he does. His nomination is quite a compliment to him, and he will do it no discredit.

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Commemorative biographical record of central Pennsylvania : including the counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion, Pt. 1, Part 3

Author: J.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1358

Author: J.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: Chicago : J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1358