USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography : illustrated, Volume I > Part 17
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tive city, any plan for the promotion of these ends which commends itself to his judgment receives from Mr. Henderson hearty co-operation. His career presents the combined records of the public-spir- ited civilian and the citizen-soldier- types essential to the security and well- being of any community.
WANNER, Nevin M., Lawyer, Jurist.
From the earliest days of our history, Pennsylvania has been justly proud of the professional eminence of the mem- bers of her bar. No other State in this great country can boast of as many emi- nent jurists as are to be found in the annals of her forum, and none other can point with as much pride to the forensic ability and legal acumen of its practi- tioners, living or dead, as can our own. Prominent in this class, and one whom his fellow-citizens have seen fit to honor with offices and trusts of no ordinary responsibility, is Hon. Nevin M. Wan- ner, President Judge of the York county courts.
He was born of German extraction on both sides of his family, at Washington- ville, Columbia county, Ohio, May 14, 1850, son of Rev. A. Wanner, a former well known minister of the Reformed Church, and Rebecca (Miller) Wanner, both of whom died in York, Pennsyl- vania, the former in 1894, the latter on November 8, 1905. His early education was obtained in a typical log school- house of a bygone day ; his public school studies were completed when he was graduated from the high school at Ger- mantown, Ohio, in 1866. In the same year when only sixteen years of age he entered Heidelberg College, at Tiffin, Ohio, leaving after two years to enter Franklin and Marshall College, where he was graduated in 1870, carrying off one of the leading honors of his class, the
"Franklin Oration." After his gradua- tion he took a two-years course of law lectures in the Law Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and obtain- ing the necessary office experience with General B. F. Fisher, of Philadelphia, and Erastus H. Weiser, of York. On August 28, 1872, he was admitted to the bar of York county, and soon after to the Su- preme Court of his State and various courts of the Commonwealth. Beginning his career with an excellent classical edu- cation, Mr. Wanner has confined himself to a close relationship with the law, to the practical exclusion of all other inter- ests. During the last quarter century of his practice Mr. Wanner is said to have attended every session of the Su- preme Court hield for York county cases, and throughout his practice of thirty- three years gained such renown as a trial lawyer that he probably tried more cases than any other member of the local bar had ever done. As a lawyer he held nu- merous positions of trust and honor, not the least of these being that of solicitor for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the Northern Central Railway Company and the lines controlled by them in York, Adams, Cumberland and Perry counties.
In politics Mr. Wanner has always supported the principles of conservative Democracy. In 1887 he was elected dis- trict attorney of York county, and on November 7, 1905, was elevated to the bench. His election to this honored po- sition was not merely the usual result of a party nomination, as his party in the county of York had received a disastrous defeat in the preceding general election, but it was because of his long experience at the bar, his acknowledged ability and intimate personal acquaintance with all classes of the people, that he received the hearty general support that was indi- cative, not of party mandates, but of strong public sentiment.
On November 1, 1882, Judge Wanner
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married Amelia Doudel Croll, daughter of the late John S. Croll, of York, Penn- sylvania.
Judge Wanner's faithful performance of public trusts and his pre-eminence as a lawyer make him a conspicuous figure in his county and an object of the regard, esteem and respect of his acquaintances. He is a man of marked ability, in or out of his profession ; possesses original and decided views on all subjects, which he enforces with clear and cogent reason- ing, and occupies a position socially, in- tellectually, and officially that places him among the most highly esteemed of Pennsylvania's representative men.
SCOTT, Jesse Y., Physician and Surgeon.
Dr. Jesse Y. Scott, one of the leading and successful physicians of Washington county, Pennsylvania, was born in Fal- lowfield township, November 13, 1848, son of Joseph A. and Eliza (Shepler) Scott. He is of pioneer and Revolution- ary ancestors. His great-grandfather Scott entered the Revolutionary army at the age of seventeen and served through- out the war. He was in the encampment at Valley Forge. Shortly before he en- tered the army all the members of his father's family, excepting only himself, were killed by the Indians. Dr. Scott's parents were both natives of Washing- ton county, and of Scotch ancestry. His father was a farmer, a Presbyterian, and a man of high character. He died Febru- ary 15, 1881, and his wife died April 15, 1802.
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Dr. Scott's boyhood life was passed on the home farm, where he assisted in the general work and attended the country schools. This elementary training was supplemented by a course at the South- western State Normal School at Califor- nia, and for several terms he taught school. In 1870 he commenced the read-
ing of medicine with Dr. J. H. Leyda, of Bentleyville, and later attended the Med- ical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which he was gradu- ated with honorable mention in 1875, receiving the degree of Doctor of Medi- cine. His first practice was at Centre- ville, Washington county, where he re- mained for two years; for one year fol- lowing this he practiced in Pittsburgh, and then came to Bentleyville, where he remained for eleven years. In June, 1889, he came to Washington, and here he has remained and followed his profes- sion from that time. Dr. Scott's prac- tice is naturally of a general character, yet he makes a specialty of surgery. In all his work he has been very successful, and has shown also the possession of the necessary personal qualities to win a creditable standing in the profession. From the organization of the Washing- ton Hospital in 1901 he has been the sur- geon of this institution. For twelve years he has been a member and during the greater part of this time he has been president of the United States Pension Examining Board. As a progressive physician and surgeon, he is a member of the Washington County Medical So- ciety, of which he was at one time presi- dent ; the Pennsylvania Medical Society, and the American Medical Association.
Dr. Scott is prominent in public af- fairs, and a supporter of efforts for the public welfare, and is highly regarded and well liked socially. Ile has also a number of business interests locally, a farm in the country, and large hoklings of real estate in the city. There are real estate holdings in Kentucky also, and extensive lumber interests in that State, another one of his hollings being a third interest in a 2.700-acre ranch in Texas. Dr. Scott is a director of the Washington Trust Company, member of the Benevo- lent and Protective Order of Elks and of the Improved Order of Heptasophs.
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In politics Dr. Scott has never been a seeker for office ; he has, however, served on the city school board. His party is the Republican, and both he and his wife are members of the Central Presbyterian Church, of which Dr. Scott is an elder.
Dr. Scott married, June 16, 1881, a daughter of Henry B. and Mary Ann (Rogers) McLean, of Beallsville, Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania. Henry B. McLean, now deceased, was a former county commissioner. Dr. Scott is a man of much force of character and strong individuality, and his pleasant, social manner has won him a host of warm friends.
MELOY, Robert H.,
Lawyer.
One of the well educated lawyers, of good professional and social standing, in the city of Washington, Pennsylvania, is Robert H. Meloy. He was born in the county, July 1, 1868. His parents, Robert Y. and Jane (Brownlee) Meloy, were both natives of the same county, where his father was a farmer. He was a Republican and a member of the United Presbyterian church. Robert Y. Meloy died October 25, 1887, and his wife died in 1912.
of Washington. July 1, 1898, he was ad- mitted to the bar in Washington county. He opened an office at Washington, and has practiced in this place from that time to the present. He has been admit- ted to practice in all the State and Fed- eral courts. Mr. Meloy is a member of the Washington County Bar Associa- tion.
The law does not exhaust his inter- ests. His business standing is such that he is a director of the Real Estate Trust Company at Washington. Likewise, his interest in history has led to his being a member of the Washington County IIis- torical Society. He is and always has been active in public matters, and is a supporter of the Progressive party, but has never sought office. As a social man and a believer in sane and true recrea- tion, he is a golf player, and a member of the Washington Country Club, also of the Bassett Men's Social Club, which organization takes its name from the former name of what is now the city of Washington.
Mr. Meloy married, June 5, 1902, Sara, daughter of D. K. and Sara (Brownlee) Albright, who died April 17, 1912. He has two children, both daughters,-Jane and Sara. Mr. Meloy is a member of the Second United Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Meloy was brought up on his father's farm, and attended the district HUGHES, Blanchard G., school. For two years, while preparing himself for a higher education, he taught Lawyer. in the country schools, studied at Buf- Barnabas Hughes, the founder of this family, a native of Ireland, came to the American colonies in 1756, and settled in New Jersey. His son John was a Revo- lutionary soldier; after the expedition to Quebec, in which he had part, he was promoted to be a captain. After the war he came to Western Pennsylvania, to the region of the present Greene and Wash- ington counties, where he became pos- sessed of large holdings of land. His falo Academy, afterward at McDonald Academy. Thus he was enabled to en- ter Washington and Jefferson College, and in 1892 to graduate therefrom, re- ceiving its baccalaureate degree in Arts. Mr. Meloy also received the degree of Master of Arts from the same college. Then for four years more he taught, but now in the Jefferson Academy at Ca- nonsburg. At the same time he was studying law with T. B. H. Brownlee, great-grandson was James M. Hughes, a
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native of Washington county, who died December 19, 1905. He during the Civil War was a member of Company D, I40th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun- teer Infantry, and saw hard service for three and one half years. At Gettysburg lie was wounded, though not seriously. His widow, Sarah E. (Bayne) Hughes, is now living.
James M. Hughes was an insurance and real estate dealer, transacting a large business in these lines. Although inter- ested in public affairs, he did not take an active part. In politics he was a Repub- lican. His sons were brought up in Washington, attending public school, in- cluding the high school, and both gradu- ated from Washington and Jefferson Col- lege.
Blanchard G. Hughes, the older of these sons, was born at Washington, May 14, 1868. His public school gradua- tion occurred in 1886, and his college graduation five years later. He then en- tered the Law Department of the Uni- versity of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, and, having completed his course, he was admitted to the bar in New York State. Intending, however, to remain in Penn- sylvania, he was admitted to the bar in Washington county, January 27, 1896. Soon after this admission he began prac- tice at Washington, where he has re- mained. He is admitted to practice in all the State and Federal courts. He also has other business interests, and is a man of high standing both professionally and as a citizen. While he was in college he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He is a member of the Ma- sons and of the Elks. Mr. Hughes holds membership in the Bar Associations of his State and county. While not active in public affairs, he is interested, and he is a Republican voter.
& Hughes. This brother was born at Washington, August 15, 1871. He graduated from the Washington High School in 1887, and from Washington and Jefferson College in 1892. His legal training was gained by reading with Hon. James F. Taylor, now district judge, and he was admitted to the bar October 30, 1895. From the first he has been in partnership with his brother, and, like him, he has been admitted to practice in both State and Federal courts. He is president of the Washing- ton County Bar Association, and is a member of the Washington county ex- amining board for admission to the bar. As may be supposed from these facts, he is an able lawyer and advocate of high repute. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a Republican, and is active in public af- fairs, supporting all measures which he judges to be for the best interest of the community. His standing is high, not only professionally, but also as a citizen.
Blanchard G. Hughes has not married. Haldain B. Hughes married, November 17, 1911, Charlotte M. Martin, of Wash- ington.
HAMILTON, Harry D.,
Lawyer.
Harry David Hamilton, of Washing- ton, is descended from a sturdy, honest, progressive stock, which has been promi- nent in the affairs of its section. The im- migrant, Alexander Hamilton, who came from County Down, Ireland, in 1793, was his great-great-grandfather. He settled in Nottingham township, Wash- ington county.
The father of Harry David Hamilton, Alexander T. Hamilton, was born in the county. He became a physician, and was in active practice till his death, which oc-
Associated with him in his legal prac- tice is his younger brother, Haldain B. Hughes, and the firm is named Hughes curred May 15, 1897. He was a fore-
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most citizen, attempting to fulfil his civic duties to the advantage of the people among whom his life was cast. He was a Democrat and a Presbyterian. His widow, Saralı (Camp) Hamilton, a na- tive of Columbiana county, Ohio, is still living. Beside his professional activi- ties, Dr. Hamilton maintained the home farm, and here his son, Harry David, was born, in Chartiers township, January 21, 1874, and brought up. His education was begun in the country district school. This, however, he attended but for a few terms. The family removed while he was a lad to Finley township, Alle- gheny county, and from there again in 1887 to Pittsburgh. In each of these places his father practiced his profession, and the son attended public school. In Pittsburgh Dr. Hamilton died, but mean- while his son had graduated, in 1895, from the high school of that city, and entered Washington and Jefferson Col- lege. From this he graduated in 1899, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. At once, in the fall following his gradua- tion, he entered the Law Department of the Western University of Pennsylvania, now known as the University of Pitts- burgh. lle was registered as a student of law September 12, 1899. Having gradu- ated in the class of 1902 and received his degree of Bachelor of Laws, he was ad- mitted to practice in the courts of Alle- gheny county. Admission to the courts of Washington county was granted De- cember 2nd, 1902. For a short time be- fore his admission in Washington county, Mr. Hamilton was with the Fi- delity and Trust Company. Since that time, he has had his office at Washing- ton, and been actively engaged in prac- tice, in which he has been successful. He has been admitted to practice in all the State and Federal courts. In June, 1907, he was appointed a member of the Wash- ington County Board of Law Examiners, and he is secretary of this board. He is a
member of the County and State Bar As- sociations.
Mr. Hamilton is active also in public and political affairs. The Democratic party has given him its nomination for the office of district attorney and for membership in the State legislature; but, as this party is heavily in the minority, he has failed of election. He is now a member of the City Council, having been elected in November, 1911, for a term of four years. Of the Democratic county committee he has been a member, and he has represented the District and State in party conventions. Nevertheless, he is not a rigid party man, but disposed to be independent, although favoring the Dem- ocratic position in general, and a decided and leading progressive within the party. Mr. Hamilton is especially interested in historical studies, and is a member of the Washington County Historical Society and of the American Historical Associa- tion. In the Masons, he is a member of several bodies, of the chapter and coun- cil, and holds the rank of past master.
He married, June 3, 1903, Mabel, daughter of Frederick and Mary E. (Charlton) Hood, of Washington, Penn- sylvania. They have one daughter, Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton are members of the Second Presbyterian Church, and he is a deacon in that con- gregation. He is also treasurer of the Sunday school, and is active in both church and Sunday school work.
MURDOCH, John Huey,
Lawyer, Financier.
With the truest and bluest of old Scotch blood flowing in his veins, and the honorable example of forbears who raised the name of Murdoch high, the remarkable career of John Huey Mur- doch is not surprising, although no credit or praise should be withheld from him. The legal turn of mind which has char-
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acterized the family for the past century was strong in his grandfather, Alexan- der Murdoch, who was appointed pro- thonotary of the Court of Common Pleas and Orphans Court by Governor Snyder of Pennsylvania. During the war of 1812 he was extremely active, supporting and upholding all the move- ments of the military leaders. In the development and improvement of the lo- cality in which he lived (Washington county, Pennsylvania), he also was great- ly interested, and was one of the incor- porators of the Washington and Wil- liamsport Turnpike Company and the Pittsburgh Turnpike Company. He mar- ried Elizabeth Henderson, whose father, Rev. Matthew Henderson, was one of the early ministers of the Associate Church (now the United Presbyterian) and one of the organizers of the Canons- burg Academy, which was later incorpo- rated as Jefferson College.
The father of John Huey Murdoch, Alexander Murdoch, was graduated from Washington College in 1837, and after a short time spent in business in Virginia began studying law in the office of the Hon. John L. Gow, and in 1843, upon his admittance to the Pennsylvania bar, be- gan his long and successful career as an advocate of the right and protector of the weak and oppressed. In early life his political allegiance was with the Dem- ocratic party, but he afterward became one of the ardent, active and enthusiastic members of the Republican administra- tion. He was twice appointed United States Marshal for the Western District of Pennsylvania by President Lincoln, and was appointed a third time by Presi- dent Grant, but after serving three years of his third term resigned, at the same time retiring from active legal and po- litical pursuits. He was a member of the board of trustees of Washington Col- lege, resigning in 1853, and after the paigns. He was a delegate to the Re-
merging of the two colleges, Washing- ton and Jefferson, was elected a member of the board of trustees of that institu- tion, an office he later resigned. For many years he was a member of the board of directors of the Washington Fire Insurance Company, and from 1864 until his death served as its president. The First National Bank of Washington claimed his services as director for sev- eral years, and later made him president, a position he held until his death. The United Presbyterian Church owed much of its prosperity to his untiring efforts and generous contributions, while his private charities were many and varied. He married Eliza Huey, who now, with him, rests in the cemetery at Washing- ton, after lives of usefulness. He died April 14, 1903, in the eighty-ninth year of his age.
John Huey Murdoch was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, No- vember 5, 1848. He received his prepara- tory education in the public school, later entered Washington and Jefferson Col- lege, where he was graduated in 1869 with the degree of A. B. He entered his father's office and began the study of law. During his years of preparation he was a deputy under his father, who was at that time United States Marshal. He was admitted to the bar in 1873 and im- mediately opened an office in Washing- ton, Pennsylvania, where he has ever since resided. His practice extends to all the District, State and Federal courts; he is a member of the County and State Bar Associations, and has gained an en- viable reputation as an able, resourceful, energetic and upright lawyer. He has naturally had much exercise in public speaking and is a finished, accomplished orator, and his oratorical talents have always been at the service of the Repub- lican party in times of strenuous cam-
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publican National Convention in Phila- LEWIS, Robert J., delphia in 1900, and a member of the committee which notified Theodore Roosevelt of his nomination for vice- president in that same year. His politi- cal strength has never been directed to obtaining office for himself, but freely and unselfishly devoted toward the ad- vancement and ultimate benefit of the party he supports.
His business life has been crowned with the same success which has marked his legal and political life. He suc- ceeded his father as president of the Washington County Fire Insurance Company; has been president of the Union Trust Company since its organi- zation in 1902, prior to which time he was president of the Washington Trust Company ; president of the Waynesburg Water Company; vice-president of Citi- zens' Water Company of Washington; director of the Pittsburgh Life and Trust Company of Pittsburgh; solicitor of the First National Bank of Washington; and president of the board of trustees of Washington Seminary. Besides the above enterprises he is interested in va- rious business operations of minor im- portance. Since 1879 he has been an elder in the United Presbyterian church, and for thirty-three consecutive years was superintendent of the Sunday school, in which position he has been succeeded by his son Edgar. Seldom is there a man found whose entire life has been so above reproach, so clean and so whole- some and, more than that, so uniformly a success.
He married, January 8, 1874, Martie Boyle, daughter of Robert and Anne (Miller) Boyle. Children: Edgar B .; May Huey, married Rev. William M. French, of Beaver county, Pennsylva- nia; Anna Virginia and John Huey (2). Both sons have chosen the profes- sion of law and are associated with their father.
Lawyer, Public Official.
The Lewis family is of ancient Welsh origin. Robert J. Lewis of York, Penn- sylvania, descends lineally from Ellis ap Lewis (Ellis, son of Lewis) fifth in de- scent from John ap Griffith, second son of Griffith ap Howell (living 1542), Lord of Nannau in Wales, born 1680. He was a Quaker, and to escape persecution pre- pared to emigrate in 1698, but illness pre- venting, he went to Ireland, coming thence in 1708. The certificate of Ellis Lewis's removal from Mount Mellick, Ire- land is 5-5-1708. Settlement was made in Chester county, where the family be- came prominent as they have in York county, producing many eminent jurists and business men.
Melchinger Robert Lewis was born in Dover, York county, Pennsylvania, Sep- tember 29, 1838. He was a well-known manufacturer of agricultural implements, and was the last sealer of weights and measures in York county under the old law. He married Justina, daughter of Jacob Maul, a farmer, whose ancestry traced to the Palatinate of Germany.
Robert J., son of Melchinger Robert and Justina (Maul) Lewis, was born in Dover, York county, Pennsylvania, De- cember 30, 1864. His early and academic education was obtained in the public schools of Dover and York high school. Deciding upon the profession of law he entered Yale University (law school) whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 1891, which fact entitled him to practice in the Connecticut courts. On August 3, 1891, he was admitted to the York county bar, later being admitted to all State and Federal courts of the district. He began practice in York and is now actively en- gaged there in his profession.
In 1893 he was elected a member of the Board of School Control from the
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9th ward of York, reelected in 1897 and 1903, serving as chairman of the teachers' committee. From 1895 to 1897 he was city solicitor. In 1896 he was the Repub- lican candidate for mayor of York, and after a close vote was finally declared defeated by a majority of seventeen. In 1898 he was the unsuccessful candidate of his party for Representative in Con- gress, but carried his own city of York by a majority of 896. In 1900 Mr. Lewis was again the candidate of his party for Congress from the Nineteenth Congres- sional District, composed (then) of the counties of Adams, Cumberland and York. An evidence of the high esteem and one particularly gratifying is the fact that although President Mckinley lost the district by 1495, Mr. Lewis on the same ticket carried it by a majority of 986. The city of York gave him a majority of 1257, although two Democra- tic wards had been added to the city area since the election of 1898. This support from his home city speaks volumes in favor of Mr. Lewis. He served his full term of two years and then returned to private life, his law practice and his priv- ate business enterprises. Mr. Lewis was elected as a school director from the city at large in 1911, and has been president of the board for two years.
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