USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Families of the Wyoming Valley: biographical, genealogical and historical. Sketches of the bench and bar of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, vol. III > Part 3
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JACOB RUSII.
pointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania February 15, 1784, in place of John Evans, deceased, and as such was a member of the high Court of Errors and Appeals before the ad- option of the constitution of 1790. Judge Rush presided here until 1806, when he was succeeded by Thomas Cooper. From 1806 to 1820 Judge Rush was president judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, where he died January 5, 1820. Princeton gave him the degree of LL. D., in 1804. While a judge of our circuit he resided in Reading, Pa. He was a brother of the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the declaration of independence. David Paul Brown says of him: "He was a man of great ability, and great firmness and decision of charac- ter. He was also an eloquent man. Perhaps there are few specimens of judicial eloquence more impressive than those charges which he delivered during his occupation of the bench. An accurate idea of his style may be readily formed from an ex- tract from his charge to a grand jury in 1808, and his sentence pronounced upon Richard Smith for the murder of Carson in 1816. We refer as much to the moral tone of his productions as to their literary and intellectual power. Some of his early literary essays were ascribed to Dr. Franklin, and for their terse- ness and clearness were worthy of him. Judge Rush's charges to the jury, and decisions generally, were marked by soundness of principle and closeness of reasoning. Having been a judge of the Supreme Court and of the high Court of Errors and Ap- peals he never appeared to be satisfied in his position in the Court of Common Pleas, yet his uprightness of conduct and unques- tionable ability always secured to him the respect and confidence, if not the attachment of his associates, the members of the bar, and the entire community. He was one of the gentlemen of the old school, plain in his attire and unobtrusive in his deportment ; but while observant of his duties towards others, he was never forgetful of the respect to which he was himself justly entitled." He was the author of "Charges on Moral and Religious Sub- jects," published in 1803 ; "The Character of Christ," 1806, and "Christian Baptism," 1819. There were some ceremonies con- nected with the courts now entirely abrogated, and which, in fact, would be annoying in the present day, which are worthy of
WYOMING
WILKES-BARRE I noen til
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NATHAN PALMER.
being noted in the records of the past. At the opening of every term the sheriff, with his staff of office, attended by the crier of the court, and frequently by several constables, waited upon the judges attheir lodgings, and then conducted them in formal prosession to the court house. It is certainly more agreeable in this day for a judge to regulate his own time and enter the court house with- out any such idle parade. Judges McKean, Smith, Yeates, and others, of the Supreme Court, always wore swords when they attended court in Wilkes-Barre,-some bearing rapiers, others, heavier weapons. The first court house ivas erected on the public square and was constructed of hewn logs, and consist- ed of two stories, the lower one being used for the purposes of a jail and as a dwelling place for the jailor ; the upper story for court purposes, and also as a place where the people of the vicinity met for religious services and duties. In this secluded spot the weeks of court, years since, attracted more of interest in the inhabitants than is found at present. They were decidedly, as tradition remembers and brings down to us, gala days and periods of frolic and of fun. The lawyers were assembled from various parts of the state, and, while business was not so burden- some and pressing as it is now, much time was afforded for amusements.
NATHAN PALMER.
Nathan Palmer, a lineal descendant of Myles Standish, was ad- mitted to the Luzerne county, Pa., bar in 1794. He was a native of Plainfield, Conn., and removed in early manhood to Pennsyl- vania. On January 8, 1800, he was appointed by Governor Mc- Kean prothonotary, and clerk of the Courts of Quarter Sessions, Oyer and Terminerand Orphans' Court, for the term of three years. From 1808 to 1810 he represented Luzerne and Northumberland counties in the senate of Pennsylvania. In 1813 he was treasurer of Luzerne county. In 1814 he was appointed one of the trustees of the Wilkes-Barre Academy, and served for five years in that position. Judge Strange N. Palmer, of Pottsville, was his son, and Hon. Robert M. Palmer, of the same place, his grandson.
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THOMAS GRAHAM.
NOAH WADHAMS.
Noah Wadhams was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., in 1794. In the minutes of the sessions of the court for the last named year it is stated that the only attorneys in Luzerne county are Ebenezer Bowman and Putnam Catlin (Rosewell Welles had been appointed judge and A. Bradley had removed); that E. Bowman had declined practice and P. Catlin was about to decline; that Nathan Palmer and Noah Wadhams, jr., having been admitted in the Supreme Court of Connecticut, be, "under the circumstances," admitted, &c. (the two years residence and study within the state being dispensed with). For further infor- mation regarding Mr. Wadhams see pages 109 and 755.
JESSE FELL.
Jesse Fell was appointed a judge of Luzerne county, Pa., Feb- ruary 5, 1798. For a sketch of his life see page 344.
THOMAS GRAHAM.
Thomas Graham was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., in 1798. In 1805 he was appointed to the offices of register and recorder, and in 1807 he was appointed prothonotary and clerk of the Courts of Quarter Sessions, Oyer and Terminer and Orphans' Court. In 1809, 1810 and 1811 he represented Luzerne county in the legislature of the state. From 1807 to April 26, 1814 (the date of his death), he was one of the trustees of the Wilkes-Barre Academy.
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WILLIAM PRENTICE.
WILLIAM PRENTICE.
Willianı Prentice was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., in 1799. He was then thirty-four years of age, and was the first full-fledged attorney in that part of Luzerne county which is now Bradford county. He was a descendant of Captain Thomas Prentice, born in England, 1620, who had a son, Thomas, born in 1649, who had a son, Samuel, born in 16So, who had a son, Samuel, born November 25, 1702, who had a son, Amos Prentice, M. D., born April 24, 1748. The latter removed with his family from New London, Conn., to Athens township, Lu- zerne (now Bradford) county, and was among the early physicians of the county. He was one of the sufferers in New London at the time the city was burned by Arnold, in 1781, where he prac- ticed his profession for several years. His wife was the daughter of Rev .--- Owen, of Groton, Conn., a friend and contemporary of President Edwards. William Prentice was the son of Amos Pren- tice, M. D., and died suddenly at the home of his father in Mill- town, Luzerne (now Bradford) county, October 6, 1806. He had studied law and had been admitted to the bar in New London previous to his coming to this county. After the dismember- ment of the county he practiced in Lycoming county until his death. The history of this dismemberment is as follows: Col- onel John Franklin was a resident of Athens, after the troubles at Wyoming were settled and the organization of Luzerne county completed. In the years 1795 and 1796 he represented Luzerne county in the assembly of Pennsylvania. From 1799 to 1803 he was also a member of the legislature. An attempt was made in the session of 1802-3 to expel him from the assembly on ac- count of his indictment under the intrusion law, but on account of political reasons, many in the land-holders' interest were in- duced to vote against his expulsion. Determined, however, to get rid of him, the legislature in 1804 passed an act dividing the county of Luzerne, and setting off that part which contained the residence of Colonel Franklin to Lycoming county. It is said that the first draft of the bill included that part of Luzerne
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GEORGE GRIFFIN.
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west of the Susquehanna and north of the Towanda creek. When the bill was read Colonel Franklin arose in his seat and remarked, "he wished to inform the gentlemen that he lived east of the river." The boundaries were accordingly changed, so as to include him in the dismembered portion. In 1805, however, much to the chagrin of his enemies, he was elected by the people of Lycoming, and appeared in triumph at Lancaster, and took his seat. Subsequently, a portion of the dismembered portion was recovered to Luzerne county. Hon. William Ellwell, of Bloomsburg, is a nephew of William Prentice, his mother-being Nancy Prentice, who was the wife of Daniel Elwell, the father of the judge.
GEORGE GRIFFIN.
George Griffin was admitted to the bar of Luzerne county, Pa., in 1800. He was a descendant of Jasper Griffin, who was born in Wales in the earlier half of the seventeenth century. He came to America before 1670. The first notice of him is in that year, in Essex county, Mass. In 1674 he was at Marblehead, Mass. In 1675 he and his wife Hannah settled at Southold, Long Island. She was born at Manchester, New England, and died at South- old April 20, 1699, aged forty-six years, eight months, and "was the mother of fourteen children." Mr. Griffin was commissioned major of militia, and had charge of two guns, which were mounted near his house, and fired on public days. He died at Southold April 17, 1738, aged eighty years. Jasper Griffin, son of Jasper Griffin, and eldest of his fourteen children, was born at Southold in 1675. After his father's death he removed to Lyme, Conn., where he had married, April 29, 1696, Ruth Peck, born August 19, 1676, daughter of Joseph Peck, of New Haven, Conn., and Sarah, his wife. Joseph Peck was the third son of William Peck, one of the original proprietors of New Haven, and was the progenitor of all the Pecks in New England. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin had five children. He was over ninety years of age
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GEORGE GRIFFIN.
at the time of his death. Lemuel Griffin, second son of Jasper Griffin, was born at Lyme in 1704. He married Phoebe Com- stock. She "was of literary and artistic tastes." They had two sons-George Griffin, eldest son of Lemuel Griffin, was born at East Haddam, Conn., July 10, 1734. He married, March 9, 1762, Eve Dorr, born March 4, 1733, daughter of Edmund Dorr and Mary Griswold. Edmund Dorr was born at Roxbury, Mass., October 16, 1622; married, September 4, 1719, Mary Griswold, daughter of Matthew Griswold and Phoebe Hyde, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Lee) Hyde, of Norwich, Conn. Edmund Dorr was sixth son of Edward and Elizabeth (Hawley) Dorr. Edward Dorr, born in the west of England, 1648, is sup- posed to be the progenitor of all the Dorrs of New England. Samuel Hyde was the eldest son of William Hyde; both were of the thirty-five original proprietors of Norwich. Matthew Griswold was the eldest son of Matthew Griswold and Anna Wolcott, of Lyme. Matthew, the first, was an assistant of the colony, and a man of mark in the community. Mary (Griswold) Dorr was the aunt of Governor Matthew Griswold. "George Griffin was a man of strong mental ability, of rare judgment and decided character. He endeavored to develop the mental powers of his children."-Sprague's Memoirs of Rev. E. D. Griffin. Eve (Dorr) Griffin died April 3, 1804. George Griffin died August 6, 1804. They had three sons and five daughters. The daugh- ters married into the families of Jewett, Beckwith, Lord, Welles and Austin, well known names in Connecticut. The eldest son, Colonel Josiah Griffin, born June 7, 1765, was also judge of the county court, and for several years a legislator of his native state. He "was a man of commanding presence, dignified mien and strong intellect, of rare judgment and taste for mental cul- ture, a man of prominence in the community. It is said of him that he was scarcely less gifted than his more distinguished brothers." His descendants live at East Haddam. The second son, Rev. Dr. Edward Dorr Griffin, born January 6, 1770, gradu- ated at Yale College in 1790. He married, May 17, 1796, Frances Huntington, niece and adopted daughter of Governor Samuel Huntington, of Norwich, and sister of Governor Samuel Huntington, of Ohio. Dr. Griffin was one of the most eloquent
1555756 GEORGE GRIFFIN.
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and effective preachers of the day, was professor of pulpit elo- quence at Andover, pastor of the Old South church, Boston, and for fifteen years president of Williams College. Dr. Griffin died November 8, 1837. He had no sons, but two daughters- Frances Louisa, a poetess, married Dr. Lyndon A. Smith, of Newark, N. J., and left descendants. Ellen married the Rev. Dr. Crawford, and also left descendants. The third son, and youngest child of George Griffin and Eve (Dorr) Griffin, was George Griffin, born at East Haddam, Conn., January 14, 1778. He graduated from Yale College in 1797, studied law with Noah B. Benedict, at Woodbury, Conn., for six months, and then entered Judge Reeve's law school at Litchfield, Conn., where he was ad- mitted to the bar in December, 1799. He removed to this city in the summer of ISoo, and practiced here until 1856. He mar- ried, July 3, 1801, Lydia, daughter of Colonel Zebulon Butler. (See page 326). The immediate cause of Mr. Griffin's leaving Wilkes-Barre was the perpetration of a practical joke upon him by electing him high constable at the first election under the borough charter of Wilkes-Barre. He removed from here to the city of New York, where he became a very eminent lawyer. It is related of him, that after he was settled in that city he was en- gaged for the plaintiff in the trial of a slander suit growing out of an altercation over a game of cards. Not very much had · been said by the defendant, but Mr. Griffin opened his argument to the jury with the proverb, "the constant falling of the water drop will wear away the hardest stone," and from this he pro- ceeded to argue that, though the words spoken did not at first blush seem injurious, yet the frequent repetition of what the de- fendant was responsible for setting in motion, was calculated to undermine the fairest reputation in any community. The ver- dict was for $5000, which the plaintiff gave Mr. Griffin as his fee, and from that time forward his reputation was made. The trial of Goodwin, for killing James Staughton, was one of the oc- casions in which Mr. Griffin's forensic eloquence shone forth with peculiar splendor. The case was tried at New York in 1820. It was one of all absorbing interest in the city, occupying an entire week. Mr. Griffin's address to the jury was, without doubt, one of the great legal speeches which have rendered the New
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GEORGE GRIFFIN.
York city bar so distinguished before the nation. He closed his speech in the following language: "The siren voice of pity has been sounded in your ears in behalf of the prisoner's youth, and you have been invoked, as you value your own salvation, to temper justice with mercy. Mercy is indeed a heavenly attri- bute-it is the very attribute of the Godhead to which erring mortals will cling in that day of retribution, when we must all appear before the judgment seat, not as judges, or jurors, or coun- sel, but to await our final sentence. Nor is this favorite of the skies a stranger to our jurisprudence. Our constitution has pro- vided a place for it to dwell, even the mercy seat of the execu- tive. But jurors may not, must not tamper with it; an oath en- joins them to forbear. It is chiefly because the law knows that jurors have compassionate and erring hearts, that it fortifies them by an oath compelling them to lay their hands upon the word of life and to call upon God to help them as they decide according to the law and evidence. Awful alternative, cleaving unto or re- nouncing the help of God. And yet, gentlemen, this oath, with all its sanctions, rests upon your souls."
He was in full practice in New York for fifty-two years. He received the degree of LL. D. from Columbia College in 1837. He was "a profound scholar in every department of literature and science, but he was above all things a lawyer." He died at his residence, 15 West Twentieth street, New York, May 6, 1860. His wife died May 1, 1864. They are buried in the " Marble cemetery," between First and Second streets and First and Second avenues, New York. He died of a softening of the brain, ending in paralysis, and superinduced, thought the celebrated Dr. Dela- field, by a complete cessation from all mental labor. He stopped the machine too quickly. Just before retiring from active prac- tice he published two religious works-"The Gospel Its Own Advocate," (New York, Harpers, 1850), and "The Sufferings of Christ," (New York, Harpers, 1852). He was seventy-four years old when the former book issued from the press. All the courts of New York city and the Supreme Court adjourned out of respect to his memory, and he was eulogized by famous lawyers. Judge Hoffman, of the Supreme Court, said : "He was, both in profes- sional and private life, a gentleman of the highest and purest
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· GEORGE GRIFFIN.
character." Justice Woodruff, of the same court, made similar remarks. In seconding the motion for an adjournment of the Supreme Court, Mr. David Dudley Field termed him "the Nestor of our bar ; eloquent, learned and painstaking." Others, in news- paper editorials and sketches, said : "Removing to New York in 1806, he rose at once to a distinguished position in the profession, and divided forensic honors with such men as Colden, Emmett, Ogden, Hoffman and Wells. Possessed of a well-stored and highly-cultivated mind, great powers of analysis, untiring energy of purpose and industry, a gift of eloquence excelled by few, a tall, commanding figure and polished manner-he won the respect of opponents and the admiration of friends. In his successful career he acquired a handsome competency, and always dispensed his charities with a liberal hand. Few men have ever succeeded in using more conscientiously the gifts of intellect." (New York Herald, May 7, 1860.) James W. Gerard, who studied in his office, wrote the obituary which appeared in the Journal of Com- merce ; Henry Alexander that in the Post. Some of his speeches have been published in books, from which school boys get speeches. The "National Orator" contains his celebrated speech for the plaintiff in the slander case of Livingston vs. Cheetham. He wrote (but by the law of courts martial the defendant himself spoke it) the defense of Captain (afterwards Commodore) A. S. Mackenzie, tried at the Brooklyn navy yard in 1843 for the hanging of Mid- shipman Spencer, and others, for the celebrated mutiny on board the United States brig "Somers." George Griffin was six feet two and a half inches in height-almost as tall as either of his two brothers, each of whom exceeded six feet three inches, and well proportioned. His head was of rare intellectual beauty. George ·and Lydia (Butler) Griffin had children, viz :
I. Francis, born November 26, 1802, at Wilkes-Barre.
2. Edmund Dorr, born September 10, 1804, at Wilkes-Barre.
3. Ellen, born February 15, 1807; died December 9, 1823, at New York, unmarried.
4. Caroline Ann, born May 7, 1809 ; died April 23, 1810, at New York, unmarried.
5. George, born February 25, 1811, at New York.
6. Charles Alexander, born November 8, 1814, at New York.
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GEORGE GRIFFIN.
7. Caroline Lydia, born March 1, 1820; died May 10, 1861, at New York, unmarried.
8. Ellen Ann, born February 6, 1826; died November 30, 1831, at New York.
I. Francis Griffin graduated at Yale College 1820, studied law with his father and was admitted to practice at New York in 1823. He married, November 29, 1829, Mary I. Sands, born April 17, 1804, daughter of Joseph and Theresa Sands, of Sand's Point, N. Y. He became a prominent and very popular lawyer. At his death eulogies were pronounced by William Kent, F. B. Cut- ting, John Van Buren, J. W. Gerard, J. J. Roosevelt, and others. He was "of honorable standing, unsullied integrity, and distin- guished attainments, endeared to us by his manly deportment, generous nature and kindly sympathies." He died at New York January 12, 1852. Mary (Sands) Griffin died at Dresden, Sax- ony, March 9, 1888. She had printed, for private distribution, several volumes of novels and tales, at Dresden. She endowed liberally an orphan asylum in that city. They had children :
I. Theresa, born at New York July 27, 1832; married, June 3, 1850, Egbert L. Viele, born at Waterford, N. Y., June 17, 1825, and educated at West Point. He was brigadier general of United States volunteers during the civil war, 1861-5. They have several children. She lives at Paris. Her son Francis, educated there, is a rising member of the Parisian bar. Another son, Herman, is a civil engineer in New York city. Mrs. Viele published "Following the Drum" in IS58. It is a sketch of her garrison life in Texas.
2. Edmund Dorr, born in New York May 27, 1833 ; educated at Bonn and Heidelberg, Germany ; became a lawyer in New York; married, April 3, 1853, Lillie Hicks, of Flushing, L. I. He died April 22, 1864, at New Rochelle, N. Y. They have children living in New York, one son a lawyer and one a physi- cian. Edmund Dorr left poems of merit in manuscript.
3. Emily Seaton, born at New York October 2, 1836; mar- ried, February 27, 1857, at Dresden, Saxony, Karl Emil von Lengwicke, an officer of the Saxon army. He distinguished himself in the Prusso-Austrian and Franco-Prussian wars. They had several children ; all died in childhood.
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GEORGE GRIFFIN.
4. Charles Ferdinand, born at New York April 25, 1838; ed- ucated at Bonn and Carlsruhe, Germany ; became a civil engineer in New York city. His health failing, he went again to Europe, and died, unmarried, October 26, 1864, at Vienna, Austria, where he is buried.
HI. Edmund Dorr Griffin graduated with the highest honors of his class, at Columbia College in 1821, aged seventeen ; gradu- ated at the Theological Seminary of New York in 1825 ; became an Episcopal clergyman; travelled extensively in Europe; was a poet, and at the time of his early death, at New York, Septem- ber 1, 1830, was professor of belles lettres at Columbia College. He was a very brilliant man, and was called the handsomest man in New York. His head resembled that of Byron in intellectual beauty, but he was six feet in height and exceedingly well made. His literary "Remains" were published by his brother Francis (two volumes, Svo, New York, Carvill, 1831).
V. George Griffin graduated at Williams College 1834; entered no profession, and lived at Kaatskill, N. Y .; married, first, April 2, 1834, Anne Augusta, daughter of James Neilson and Malvina (Forman) Neilson, of New Brunswick, N. J. She died at Kaats- kill March 20, 1841. He then married, May 20, 1845, Mary Augusta, daughter of Judge Apollos Cooke, of Kaatskill. She died there August 19, 1848. He then married, October 14, 1851, Elizabeth Frances, daughter of Abraham Benson, of Fairfield, Conn. He died at Kaatskill in 1880. She is living (1889) at Elizabeth, N. J. He had children by all three wives. The sons now living are lawyers, physicians and merchants in New York city.
VI. Charles Alexander Griffin graduated at Williams College in 1833, and at the Yale Law School in 1835 ; married, October 26, 1836, Pastora Jacoba DeForest, third daughter of David Curtis DeForest and Julia (Wooster) DeForest, of New Haven, Conn. Pastora J. (DeForest) Griffin was born December 25, 1815, at Buenos Ayres, South America. Julia Wooster was born at Huntington, Conn., and was of the same family as Admiral Wooster and General Wooster. David C. DeForest was a de- scendant of an ancient French Walloon family of Hainault. Early in the seventeenth century Jesse DeForest, of Leyden, had been
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GEORGE GRIFFIN.
the originator of a scheme of colonization in America. He died Henry and Isaac DeForest, his sons, and Dr. Jaen La Montague, his son-in-law, were the leaders of the first Walloon colony at New Amsterdam, in 1636. Henry and Isaac De- Forest were founders of Harlem, now part of New York city. Isaac DeForest married, at New Amsterdam, 1641, Sarah, daugh- ter of Phillippe de Trieux (Truax) and Susanne de Cheney. Da- vid C. DeForest, fifth in descent from Isaac, was born 1774. In early life he went to Buenos Ayres, South America ; became a prominent and successful merchant ; returned- to New Haven and built what was then the finest house there ; was consul-general of Buenos Ayres in this country ; established the "DeForest fund" and the prize known as the "DeForest medal" at Vale College; died February 22, 1822.
Charles Alexander Griffin lived in New York and at New Brighton, N. Y., and practiced law in New York city. He cared more for literature than for law, and though he published very little, left a mass of manuscript, consisting of poems, and the results of historical research. Charles Alexander Griffin died at New Brighton, N. Y., October 6, 1859. Pastora J. (DeForest) Griffin is living (1889) at New Haven, Conn. They had chil- dren :
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