History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 43

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967

USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 43
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 43
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 43

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in his hand?" The judge's chin dropped upon his breast for a moment, and as he raised it he concluded the subject for that day at least by answering in a very earnest manner, "Well, I had not thought of that ; who but a rascal would have thought of it?"

Col. Robert Galbraith officiated for a number of years as justice of the peace. In 1777 he succeeded Thomas Smith as prothonotary, clerk of courts, etc., but resigned those positions soon after and removed to the town of York, Penn- sylvania, where for some time he served as deputy attorney-general of the commonwealth.

Thomas Smith succeeded Arthur St. Clair as prothonotary, clerk of courts, etc., in February, 1773, offices which he did not relinquish to Gal- braith without a struggle. He afterward at- tained prominence and distinction as a member of the continental congress and judge of the supreme court of Pennsylvania.

George Woods was a surveyor by profession, and in later years was admitted to practice as an attorney. As early as 1754 he was a resident of the region now known as Juniata county. In 1756 he was captured by a band of Delaware Indians, who, it seems, after journeying some distance to the westward, determined to burn him at the stake; but just as the torch was about to be applied to the brush and wood heaped about him, Capt. Hudson, a famous chief of the Seneca tribe of Six Nations, accompanied by a strong party of warriors, came up. The Delawares were but vassals of the Six Nations (the latter claiming ownership to all the lands embraced by the present State of Pennsylvania, a claim, too, which was conceded by the Penns), and when Capt. Hudson demanded possession of the prisoner, the demand was instantly com- plied with. To explain, the Delawares were then under the domination of the French at Fort Du Quesne, while the Six Nations, by the able, masterly management of Sir William Johnson, were the friends of the English. De- termined to restore Woods to his friends, the chief directed his warriors to return to their homes in the Genesee country while he set out alone with Woods. The undertaking was safely accomplished, though only after hardships al- most surpassing belief had been surmounted. After the close of the revolutionary war (a war in which the Six Nations fought against their allies of the French and Indian war period), Capt. Hudson was an occasional visitor at

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Bedford, and always, as well he might be, a welcome and honored guest of Judge Woods. Indeed, it has been related that the judge wished him to remain here during the remain- der of his life.

As before related, George Woods became a resident of Bedford about the year 1765, and here he passed the remainder of his days in ease and comfort, having amassed a competency. In 1774 he represented the county at a conven- tion held in Philadelphia to take action regard- ing oppressive legislation on the part of the mother country. At the beginning of the revolutionary war, he (as well as Thomas Smith) was not warmly in favor of the struggle for national independence, and for a time both were ignored by the more impulsive local whig leaders, but, as explained by Robert Galbraith (see letter in the chapter relating to the revolu- tionary period), a better feeling prevailed subse- quently, and thereafter both Woods and Smith rendered no half-hearted support in the terrible strife for freedom. George Woods served as a member of the supreme executive council in 1778-9, and from the close of the war for inde- pendence until the adoption of the state consti- tution of 1790, he, together with Barnard Dougherty and James Martin, served alternately as president of the courts of quarter sessions, etc. In September, 1791, he became the first associate judge of the county. During the so- tive years of his life, he performed a vast amount of surveying in this and adjoining counties. In 1784 he laid out the "old military plan " of the town of Pittsburgh, and one of the streets of that city derived its name from him.

James Carson, afterward a resident of Somer- set, Pennsylvania, Jacob Nagle, Samuel Rid- dle, John Woods, Henry Woods, a son of Col. George Woods, John Lyons, William Reynolds and Samuel Duncan were, all of them, residents of the town of Bedford, and prominent attor- neys in this part of the state during the closing years of the last century. Henry Woods served as a representative in the United States congress from this district during the years 1799-1803. He lived and died unmarried.

Hon. John Tod was a native of the State of Connecticut. When a mere youth, without friends or funds, he made his appearance in the town of Bedford about the year 1800. A well known attorney of that day, who at once dis- cerned that he was a young man of far more

than ordinary promise, proffered him material aid and instructed him in the law. Young Tod proved to be an apt student, and during the August term of 1802 was admitted to the Bed- ford county bar. Soon after, he became one of its most prominent representatives. At an early period, he served as postmaster of the town, and, in 1806-7, clerk for the county commissioners. In 1812, he occupied the position of speaker of the general assembly of the state, and in 1815, being then but thirty-six years of age, he pre- sided over the deliberations of the state senate. Five years later, he was elected to represent this district in the national house of representa- tives, and was re-elected in 1822-thus serving through the seventeenth and eighteenth con- gresses, or from 1821 to 1825. On the 8th of June, 1824, he was commissioned president judge of the sixteenth judicial district of the state, and held the office until May 5, 1827, when he was appointed one of the associate justices of the supreme court of the commonwealth. He died while holding the last-mentioned office, April 27, 1830, at the age of fifty-one years.

Hon. George Burd was another distinguished representative of the Bedford county bar. Be- side holding many other positions of trust and honor, he represented this district in congress from 1831-5. He was a son of Gen. Burd, who was a candidate in 1807 for some important office in the state legislature, we believe, and the fol- lowing article appeared in the Bedford Gazette at that time :

OCTOBER, 1807.

MR. MCDOWELL: It sets an old Whig almost mad to hear these young Republicans of the present day rail out against his old fellow-soldier, Gen. Burd. One says he can't read, another says he can't spell, a third says he can't write, and a fourth asserts some vile slander of him. But I say he can speak, and he can do more, too, he can fight. AN OLD SOLDIER.

Hon. Alexander Thomson was born in Frank- lin county, Pennsylvania, January 12, 1788. His grandfather was a Scotchman who settled on the Conococheague in 1771. His parents both died young, and at the age of fifteen, Alexander was apprenticed to his uncle to learn the trade of a sickle-maker. While.acquiring his trade, he manifested a love for study, and by the time he was through his apprenticeship, he had gained a knowledge of Latin, and was thor- oughly versed in the English poets. Later, he entered the family of Rev. Mr. Grier, of Nor- thumberland, the father of the late Justice

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THE BENCH AND BAR.

Grier, of the United States supreme court, to instruct his sons, and at the same time to con- tinue his own studies. His health broke down after three years of this life, and he removed to Bedford, hoping to be benefited by a change of climate. Here he took charge of the academy and studied law with Judge Riddle. After his admission to the bar, he soon attained public confidence. He was elected to the house of representatives in the state legislature, and afterward represented the district in congress from 1823 to 1827. In the discharge of his public duties he displayed untiring industry and scrupulous fidelity.

During his term in congress he took a warm interest in the welfare of the District of Columbia, and labored so zealously in its behalf that the citizens of Washington, in grateful recognition of his services, caused his portrait to be painted and placed in the city hall. About the end of his congressional career he was appointed by the governor to a judgeship in the city of Lancaster. He held the office but a short time before he was appointed, for life, president judge of the judi- cial district composed of Somerset, Bedford and Franklin counties. He removed from Bedford to Chambersburg, and held his office until his term expired under the limited tenure of the amended constitution of 1838. He was suc- ceeded in the judgeship by Hon. Jeremiah S. Black, before whom he practiced successfully, attending the courts of all the counties and being engaged in many important cases. He continued the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred suddenly from paralysis, August 2, 1848.

Besides his professional labors in the courts, he filled a professorship in the law school con- nected with Marshall College. To his pupils he gave diligent attention, and by his valuable in- struction and almost paternal care won their highest esteem and lasting gratitude. Among his pupils were his nephew, Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, late United States senator, governor of Indiana, and candidate for vice-president ; Hon. John Scott, ex-senator from Pennsylvania, and Hon. T. B. Kennedy, a prominent member of the Franklin county bar, and president of the Cumberland Valley railroad.

Judge Thomson was not only a busy lawyer, but an active, public-spirited citizen, evincing a hearty interest in everything affecting the com- munity in which he resided. As a judge, he was

laborious and conscientious in the examination of every case ; he maintained the dignity of his high office, and gave opinions which were the result of a sound judgment guided by the highest learning in his profession. His moral and reli- gious worth, his benevolence and courtesy, his legal and literary attainments, won for him the highest regard of all with whom he became asso- ciated.

Judge Thomson was twice married, first to Miss Abbie Blythe, of Bedford, and after her death to Miss Jane Graham, of Stoystown, Somerset county. Of the children of his first marriage there were living, in 1876, Dr. Alex- ander Thomson, of Mt. Savage, Maryland, and Mrs. John Culbertson, of Springfield, Missouri. George Thomson, Dr. William Thomson, a pro- fessor and eminent oculist of Philadelphia, Frank Thomson, general manager of the Pennsylvania railroad, Mrs. James B. Dayton, of Camden, New Jersey, and Mrs. James Lesley, widow of James Lesley, late chief clerk of the war department, are children of his second mar- riage.

Josiah M. Espy, known in his day as the cashier of Bedford's first banking institution, William Ward, Jr., William R. Smith, James Espy, William D. Smith, Jonathan Carlisle (the father, we believe, of Hon. John S. Carlisle, United States senator from West Virginia), Thomas B. McElwee, John A. Blodgett, Samuel Canan, David R. Denny, William F. Boone, Francis B. Murdoch, Nathaniel P. Felterman, William R. Roberts, William Van Buskirk and James Hepburn were also attorneys of Bedford who were admitted to the bar during the first quarter of this century.

Andrew J. Cline and William Lyon were prominent as attorneys many years ago, and are still well remembered by many of the oldest in- habitants of Bedford.

John Mower, the oldest surviving member of the present bar of Bedford county, was born in the town of Bedford, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1808. He was educated in the Bedford Academy, then in charge of Rev. Jeremiah Chamberlain. He read law in the office of Hon. George Burd, and after his admission to the bar, which occurred April 28, 1829, became the partner of his law preceptor. Mr. Mower has always resided in Bedford. For a number of years he together with Judge King published the Bedford Inquirer. A good citizen, an able

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and conscientious lawyer, he has ever com- manded the esteem and respect of his asso- ciates.

Espy L. Anderson, the second son of Dr. John Anderson, was born in the town of Bed- ford, Pennsylvania, and died in the same place May 29, 1866. For further mention of this family see the history of Bedford township.

Hon. Alexander King was born in Hunting- don county, Pennsylvania, September 27, 1805. His literary studies were completed in the Bed- ford Academy, then presided over by Rev. Alexander Kinmont. Subsequently he read law in the office of John Johnson, Esq., of Hunt- ingdon, and on the 26th day of November, 1833, he was admitted to the bar of Bedford county. In the spring of 1840 he removed to St. Louis, Missouri, where he practiced law for two years. He then returned to Bedford and continued as a resident of that town during the remainder of his life. In 1847 he was elected to represent the counties of Bedford, Blair and Huntingdon in the state senate, and was re-elected to the same position in 1850. On the 4th of June, 1864, he was appointed president judge of the sixteenth judicial district (then composed of Franklin, Fulton, Bedford and Somerset coun- ties), to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge James Nill. In October, 1864, he was elected to the same position for the term of ten years. He died before the close of his term - January 10, 1871-and Judge Hall was appointed to fill the vacancy.

Hon. Alexander L. Russell, a son of Hon. James M. Russell, was born November 29, 1812, in the town of Bedford, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the schools and academy of Bed- ford and at Washington College, Washington, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he studied law in the office of his father, James M. Russell, and was admitted to the bar of Bedford county Au- gust 28, 1834. He never practiced law however. Soon after his admission he went south, and resided for nearly three years in the States of Alabama and Mississippi. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1837. Since that time he has chiefly resided in the cities of Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, being known meanwhile as a prom- inent state and United States official. On Au- gust 7, 1848, he was appointed deputy secretary of the commonwealth under Gov. Johnston. About eighteen months later, or January 25, 1850, he was appointed secretary of the com-

monwealth. At an early period in its history he also served as secretary of the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad Company. On Janu- ary 9, 1862, he was appointed adjutant-general of the state by Gov. Curtin, and held the office until October 11, 1867. He was reappointed to the same position by Gov. Geary January 8, 1870, and continued in office until May 17, 1873. In 1879 he was appointed by President Hayes consul of the United States at Montevideo, Uraguay, South America, an office which he still holds.

Benjamin Franklin Mann, a grandson of Capt. Andrew Mann, of the Continental army, son of Hon. David Mann, and a brother of Lieut. Will- iam Findley Mann, was a native of Bedford county. He was admitted to the bar of this county in 1837. During the Mexican war he served with a Pittsburgh organization known as the " Du Quesne Greys," and as a result con- tracted a disease of which he died soon after his return from Mexico.

Samuel H. Tate was born in Bloody Run, now Everett, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1820. He was of Scotch-Irish parentage. His mother, Jane Mary Hamilton, was a daugh- ter of Gen. James Hamilton, of revolutionary fame. She married for her first husband James Cochran, who was killed at Fort Erie, in the war of 1812. In 1816 she was married to Mr. Tate, and removed to what is now Everett. The education of Mr. Tate was confined to the village school and the Bedford Academy. He studied law with Alexander Shampson, com- pleting his course at the law school at Cham- bersburg. In August, 1841, he was admitted to practice, and in the same year was appointed district attorney by Gov. Porter. In 1857 he was elected prothonotary and clerk of courts, and in 1860 was re-elected. He died October 1, 1862.

Hon. John Cessna was born in Colerain town- ship, Bedford county, Pennsylvania, June 29, 1821. His great-grandfather, whose name was also John, was a member of the convention which framed the constitution of 1776. He served three terms of two years each as sheriff of Bedford county, having been chosen to said office in 1779, 1781 and 1783 ; and likewise served as major of Bedford county troops dur- ing the revolutionary war. The grandfather of the latter, also named John Cessna, came to Pennsylvania in 1690, a Huguenot seeking free- dom and liberty.

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In 1842 John Cessna, the subject of this article, graduated from Marshall College at Mercersburg, now Franklin and Marshall Col- lege, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has been president of the board of trustees of this institu- tion since the resignation of James Buchanan, in 1865, having been re-elected unanimously each year since. In 1844 he was tutor of the Latin language in his alma mater. In 1848 he was a member of the revenue board of Pennsylvania by appointment of Judge Black. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania house of repre- sentatives in 1850, 1851, 1862 and 1863; was speaker of the same legislative body in 1851 and again in 1863, receiving at the end of each term a unanimous vote of thanks, every member present voting to compliment his integrity, fairness and ability as a speaker. During his two terms as speaker no appeal was ever en- tered, and consequently no decision reversed, which indicates the scope of his accurate knowl- edge of parliamentary law.

He was elected to the forty-first congress in 1868, and again in 1872 to the forty-third con- gress. There he was frequently called upon to preside over that body as speaker pro tem., and in committee of the whole. During the mem- orable and important contest over the civil rights bill, Speaker Blaine deputized him to take the chair, which he occupied through a whole night, and on all the many occasions of such service, no appeal was ever taken from his decisions. To be worthy the confidence of the great speaker, Mr. Blaine, and to be trusted with the mighty interests of the republican party on that momentous occasion when human rights and the sacred promise of his party were at stake, was a great honor, which this distin- guished leader of his party extended to Mr. Cessna. Doubtless there is no public man in the State of Pennsylvania who has not met John Cessna in many state conventions, nor any of note in the nation who have not met him in national conventions, where he was always a prominent figure, and his parliamentary skill and wisdom frequently guided those bodies quietly and safely to peace, good order and har- mony. Thus, as a member, has he attended national conventions which met at Cincinnati in 1856, at Charleston and Baltimore in 1860, at Chicago in 1868, at Cincinnati in 1876, and at Chicago in 1880.

In his career as a lawyer, he has shown marked

ability and integrity. After reading law in the office of Hon. Samuel M. Barclay, of Bedford, Pennsylvania, he was admitted to the bar, June 25, 1845. Since that time he has been in active practice in Bedford, Fulton and Franklin coun- ties, and occasionally in Blair, Somerset, Hun- tingdon and other counties, and in the supreme court of the state. He has attended every ses- sion of the latter court held for his district since 1848, except two-once by reason of illness, and once when his duties as a member of con- gress prevented.

The many volumes of Pennsylvania's state reports are also a monument to Mr. Cessna's skill and ability as a lawyer. He has been ex- ecutor, administrator, trustee and guardian for more than two hundred people, and in but one case was there an exception filed to his accounts, and that was withdrawn and costs paid by the party making it. In 1865, in the convention which nominated Gen. Hartranft for auditor- general, the Hon. Thaddeus Stevens moved iu open convention that Hon. John Cessna be made chairman of the state central committee, which was done, and the state ticket was elected by over twenty-two thousand majority, carry- ing every doubtful district in the state, legisla- tive and senatorial.

Again, in 1880, as chairman of the republican state committee of Pennsylvania, he distin- guished himself. At an early stage he recog- nized the importance of securing the vote of Indiana for Garfield, and amid the claims of the democracy as to their ability to carry Penn- sylvania, he announced that Indiana and Ohio should be the first care of the Keystone State, and while he organized his own he earnestly urged the prime importance of making a cer- tainty of those spoken of, and by great persever- ance secured the aid which largely tended to accomplish desired results in those states. So valuable were his services in that direction that the secretary of the Indiana state committee, the Hon. W. H. H. Terrell, in a letter dated October 30, 1880, addressed to Gen. James A. Ekin, late of Pittsburgh, recognized his services in these words : "Glorious John Cessna 'held up our hands' with material aid, as if Indiana was in his own bailiwick. While others lacked faith in our ability to carry Indiana at the state election, John Cessna stood by us manfully and bravely."

Among the records of the republican state

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committee is another letter, from the Hon. John C. New, chairman of the republican state com- mittee of Indiana, which is addressed to " Hon. John Cessna," and says : "My dear sir, in acknowledging the receipt of your communica- tion of the 28th inst., I desire first to say that my thanks are due to you, dating from the open- ing day of this campaign to today, for your hearty cooperation, generous sympathy and daily evidences of your intention to not only take excellent good care of Pennsylvania, but to give to Indiana the strongest help you could com- mand. I have received from you more assistance and more evidence of interest in our campaign work than from any man east of the Alleghenies, and Indiana stands today under obligations to Hon. John Cessna." As a republican politician his views are broader than the confines of his own state, and as chairman of the republican state committee he not only moored Pennsylva- nia safely by a splendid majority in the harbor of a nation, but he reached out and was largely instrumental in placing the whole northern fleet alongside the Keystone.

Besides having attended most assiduously to his professional duties and the many public trusts imposed upon him, Mr. Cessna has also devoted much attention to the development of the resources of his native county, and the building of needed avenues of commerce. He was a leading spirit during the inception and construction of the Bedford & Bridgeport rail- road, and since 1870 has served as president of the company. He has likewise been active in advancing the interests of the proposed new trunk line of railway, known as the South Penn- sylvania or Harrisburg & Western, which, lead- ing from Harrisburg westward, will intersect centrally, from .east to west, the counties of Bedford and Somerset, as well as others on the southern border of the state. In brief, his record as a citizen, lawyer and public official sufficiently indicates even to the most negligent observer of passing events that he is a gentle- man possessing superior ability and an untar- nished reputation - one who has ever enjoyed the confidence and respect of those composing the community in which he resides, as well as the esteem and admiration of the people of counties surrounding him.

He was married at Mercersburg, Pennsylva- nia, September 24, 1844, by John W. Nevin, D.D., to Miss Ellen J. Shaffer, daughter of

Daniel Shaffer, Esq., of that place. They com- menced housekeeping in Bedford in the fall of that year, and have resided there ever since. They have five living children - three sons and two daughters, having buried one son and one daughter many years since.

Hon. Francis Jordan was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, February 5, 1820. Hav- ing mastered a complete course of studies at Franklin and Marshall College, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, and at Augusta College, Ken- tucky, he read law in the office of Samuel M. Barclay and William C. Logan, Esqs., at Bedford, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the Bedford county bar on the same day that witnessed the admission of Hon. John Cessna, June 25, 1845.

Since that time Mr. Jordan has been one of the most prominent citizens of the common- wealth. He was appointed district attorney of Bedford county in 1847, and elected to the same office in October, 1850, thus serving in that capa- city from 1847 to 1853. In October, 1855, he was elected state senator from Bedford and Somer- set counties. After serving three years he declined a renomination. In July, 1861, he was appointed paymaster in the army, with rank of major. Having served in that position until January 1, 1864, he was then commissioned military agent of Pennsylvania, resident at Washington, D. C., with rank of colonel, an office in which he rendered invaluable service to the state and to the brave Pennsylvania volunteers for a period of two years. It is believed his is the only instance in the his- tory of the state in which a promotion to a colonelcy was made by special act of assembly. On January 16, 1867, he was appointed secre- tary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, an office which he held for six years, or during Gov. Geary's administrations. Again during Gov. Hoyt's term he occupied the same posi- tion for a period of three months at the close of his administration.

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History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania, Part 43

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co. Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Number of Pages: 967

Author: Waterman, Watkins & Co.
Publication date: 1884
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 967