USA > Pennsylvania > Bedford County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 85
USA > Pennsylvania > Fulton County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 85
USA > Pennsylvania > Somerset County > History of Bedford, Somerset, Fulton counties Pennsylvania > Part 85
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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Lower Turkey-Foot .- Jacob Rush ( of William ), 1848; Alex. Hanna, 1850; Jacob Rush, 1853; Alex. Hanna, 1855; Thomas Ream, 1858; Alex. Hanna, 1860; Sylvester Colborn, 1863; Alex. Hanna, 1865; Thomas Ream, 1868; David R. Lewis, 1870; Alex. Hanna, 1872; Thomas Ream, 1873; Green B. King, 1874; Alex. Hanna, 1877; Thomas Ream, 1878; Thomas Ream, Wm. M. Tisue, 1883.
Addison .- Andrew Mitchell, John Hartzell, 1840; Thomas Liston, John Campbell, John Bowlin, An- drew Craig, 1845; Horace Luddington, 1848; John Campbell, William Roddy, David Robinson, 1850; Horace Luddington, 1853; John Bradfield, John Hanna, Josiah Ringer, 1855; Joseph Bowlin, John Endsley, 1856; Jonas Augustine, 1857; James Endsley, Horace Luddington, 1858; John Campbell, 1859; Josiah Ringer, 1860; William Roddy, 1862; Thomas Liston, 1863; Horace Luddington, 1864; John W. Tressler, 1865; William Roddy, 1867; Thomas Liston, 1868; Henry Rishebarger, 1870; Wm. Silbaugh, 1871; Wm. Roddy, 1872; Thomas Liston, 1873; Wm. Sil- baugh, 1876; Henry Rishebarger, 1877 ; Josiah Ringer, 1881; Henry Rishebarger, 1882.
Elk Lick .- Michael Dively, John Shirer, 1840; Daniel Forney, 1841; Michael Hay, 1845; Daniel Forney, 1846; Michael Hay, 1850; C. C. Livengood, 1851; Jacob Hershberger, Jost J. Stutzman, 1853; J. J. Stutzman, Jacob . Hershberger, 1858; Jacob Hersh- berger, Samuel Compton, 1863; Jacob Hershberger, Samuel Compton, 1868; Wm. F. Garlits, 1873; Adam C. Lepley, 1876; W. F. Garlits, 1878; David Fuller, 1881; W. F. Garlits, 1883.
Greenville .- Hiram Findley. John 8. Weimer, 1840; Geo. W. Haller, Samuel Griffith, 1845; Solomon Engle, Geo. Klingaman, 1850; Samuel Griffith, 1851 ; Benj. I. Yoder, 1855; Daniel P. Miller, 1856; Daniel Keefer, 1857; Benj. Lowry, 1860; John C. Kennel, 1862;
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HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.
Benj. Lowry, 1865; Andrew J. Stoner, 1867; Benj. Lowry, 1870; A. J. Stoner, 1872; John C. Kennel, 1873; Solomon M. Housel, 1877; A. J. Stoner, 1878; J. C. Kennel, 1882; A. J. Stoner, 1883.
Southampton .- Daniel Lepley, William Critchfield, 1840; Geo. Cook, Daniel Lepley, 1845; Geo. G. Walker, Wmn. Critchfield, 1850; Solomon Korns, 1852; Geo. G. Walker, 1855; Henry Martz, 1856; Jacob L. Kennell, 1857; Dennis Cook, 1861; Henry Martz, 1862; Dennis Cook, 1866; Chas. Sturtz, 1867; Israel Emerick, 1869; Israel Emerick, 1874; Jacob L. Kennell, 1875; Israel Emerick, 1879; M. L. Tauber, 1882.
Allegheny .- Samuel Boyer, Jacob Hoon, 1840; Jacob Hoon, Daniel Martz, 1845; Jacob Hoon, Daniel Martz, 1850; Jere. Glessner, 1852; Isaac S. Coughenour, 1855 ; Jere. Glessner, 1857; Francis A. Werner, 1860; I. S. Coughenour, 1862; F. A. Werner, 1865; Henry Landis, 1867; Emery George, 1870; John Mowry, 1871; John Topper, 1873; Samuel Custer, 1874; Geo. G. Walker, 1876; Samuel Custer, 1879; John Mowry, 1881.
Brother's Valley .- Geo. Walker, John N. Coleman, 1840; Samuel Kuhns, David Dickey, 1845; Jonathan Knepper, 1848; David Dickey, 1850; Henry Landis, 1852; Geo. P. Hay, 1855; John Rauch, 1857; Lewis Glessner, 1860; David Dickey, 1862; Lewis Glessner, 1865; David Dickey, 1867; Jacob J. Coleman, 1870; Joseph H. Pritts, 1871; Daniel J. Brubaker, 1874; John R. Boose, 1875; D. J. Brubaker, 1875; D. J. Bru- baker, Francis J. Countryman, 1880.
Stony Creek .- John B. Miller, Peter Rhoads, 1840; Jacob Lambert, John Grove, 1845; David Smith, Jacob Lambert, 1850; David Smith, Henry G. Landis, 1855; Chauncey A. Brant, David Smith, 1860; Benj. Baldwin, 1864; C. A. Brant, 1865 ; John Glessner, 1869; C. A. Brant, 1870; Abraham Musser, 1874; C. A. Brant, William M. Schrock, 1875; William M. Schrock, L. C. Ackerman, 1880.
Quemahoning .- Michael Zimmerman, John Lohr, 1840; Jacob Bowman, 1841; Henry Lohr, 1845; John Penrod, 1846; Samuel Miller, 1849; Michael Zimmer- man, Henry Lohr, 1850; Jonas Hoover, 1852 ; Michael Zimmerman, 1855; George Ackerman, 1857; Jonas Hoover, 1857; William Bowman, William Maurer, 1862; William Bowman, William Maurer, 1867; John Stufft, Samuel Barnett, 1872; John Hamer, John Stufft, 1877 ; John Hamer, William H. Miller, 1882.
Shade .- John Reel, John Hamer, 1840; William Reel, 1841; William Reel, John Hamer, 1845; Will- iam Reel, 1846; Jesse Slick, Ezra Dunham, 1850; Jesse Slick, John B. Richardson, 1855; J. B. Richard- son, William Reel, 1860; J. B. Richardson, Jesse Slick, 1865; Jesse Slick, F. R. Rankin, 1870; F. R. Rankin, D. W. Buchanan, 1875; C. W. Williamson, M. A. Brubaker, 1879.
Jenner .- Reading B. Conover, Samuel Murphy, 1840; Henry Landis, Samuel Murphy, 1845 ; Henry Landis, Samuel Murphy, 1850; Jacob Fleck, 1852; Samuel Murphy, 1855; Jacob Fleck, 1857; Samuel Murphy, 1860; Jacob Fleck, 1862; Samuel Murphy, 1865; Levi Griffith, Jacob Fleck, 1867 ; Benj. S. Fleck, 1870; Levi Griffith, 1872; B. S. Fleck, 1874; Wm. S.
Morgan, 1877; B. S. Fleck, 1880; Wm. S. Morgan, James M. Cover, 1882; Wm. Winter, 1883.
Paint .- Adam Holsapbel, Peter Berkey, 1840, 1845, 1850; Adam Holsapbel, Samuel Custer, 1855; Adam Holsapbel, Samuel Fyock, 1860; Adam Holsapbel, John E. Seese, 1865, 1870, 1875, 1880.
Conemaugh .- Garrett Ream, Geo. Masters, 1840 ; Geo. Masters, Henry Howard, 1845; Josiah Swank, James Howard, 1850; Peter Levy, 1853; James H. Howard, 1855 ; Peter Levy, John Howard, 1858, 1863; S. J. Cover, 1864 ; Joseph J. Mishler, 1868; 8. J. Co- ver, 1869; Hiram J. Boyts, 1873; Stephen Griffith, 1874; Jacob D. Swank, 1878; Stephen H. Griffith, 1879; J. D. Swank, 1883.
Summit .- Gillian C. Lint, Abraham H. Miller, 1842 ; G. C. Lint, Levi Heckert, 1847; Levi Heckert, Josiah Miller, 1852; G. C. Lint, 1854; Elijah Walker, 1857; Gillian H. Walker, 1859; M. D. Miller, 1861 ; Isaac Miller, 1863 ; John Yorty, 1864; Josiah Miller, 1868; Nelson H. Walker, 1869; Wm. B. Shaffer, 1873; N. H. Walker, 1874; Peter N. Davis, 1878; S. J. Mckenzie, 1879; Michael Shannon, 1883.
Jefferson. - Daniel Lohr, Moses Will, 1847 ; Henry J. Stevens, 1848 ; Henry Baker, 1850; Geo. W. Baker, Ludwick Baker, 1851; Geo. N. Barkley, 1854; Geo. Weller, 1855; Jonas Shultz, 1856; Franklin King, 1858; Cyrus Bowman, 1859; Henry Hay, 1860; Hiram Morrison, 1861; Chauncey Berkey, 1863; Hiram Morrison, 1866; Solomon Baker, 1868; Chaun- cey H. Baker, 1869; Solomon Baker, 1873; C. H. Baker, 1874; Geo. Barclay, 1878; Solomon Baker, 1879; Geo. Barclay, 1883.
Middle Creek. - Thomas Van Horn, Cassimer Cramer, 1853; Gabriel Christner, 1856; Jacob R. Mc- Millen, 1858; James G. Elder, 1860; Cassimer Cramer, J. R. McMillen, 1863 ; Aaron Schrock, 1867 ; Josiah Gerhard, 1868; Aaron Schrock, 1872; Josiah . Gerhard, 1873; Aaron Schrock, 1877; Jesse C. Sweitzer, 1878; Elijah P. King, 1882; Jesse C. Sweitzer, 1883.
Larimer. - Augustus Madary, John S. Weimer, 1854; Edwin Deal, 1856; John S. Weimer, 1859; Samuel Bowman, 1861; John S. Weimer, 1864; Michael Baker, 1866; Josiah Lepley, 1867; Samuel P. Geiger, 1868; John S. Weimer, 1869; Michael Shannon, 1873; J. S. Weimer, 1874; Herman John- son, 1876; Simon P. Sweitzer, 1879 ; Herman Johnson, 1881.
Northampton. - William Critchfield, Michael Flick- inger, 1855; Elias Caton, 1858; Andrew Wagaman, 1860; Jacob Poorbaugh, 1862; Andrew Wagaman, 1865; Jacob Poorbaugh, 1867; John B. Deffler, 1871 ; John M. Stief, 1872; D. G. Bowman, 1875; John M. Stief, 1877 ; Philip J. Poorbaugh, 1880; John H. Mil- ler, 1882.
BOROUGHS.
Somerset. - Joseph Cummins, John Neff, 1840; Chauncey F. Mitchell, Gillian Lint, 1845; Gillian Lint, 1850; Enos O'Neal, 1851 ; R. P. Cummins, 1855 ; Gillian Lint, 1856; John C. Kurtz, 1860; Robert Laughton, 1861 ; J. C. Kurtz, 1865; Joseph Cummins,
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THE BENCH AND BAR
Robert Laughton, 1866, 1871 ; Robt. Laughton, Wm. A. Ogle, 1876; La Rue M. Hicks, Gillian Lint, 1881.
Stoystown. - John G. Tantlinger, Geo. Hartzell, 1840; Jonathan Statler, 1841 ; Geo. Hartzell, Jonathan Statler, 1845 ; Geo. Foy, 1847 ; Jonathan Statler, 1850 ; Geo. Foy, 1852; Jacob Custer, 1855; Jacob Thomp- son, 1857; Augustus Heffley, 1860; Jacob Thompson, 1862; Jacob Custer, 1865; Jacob Thompson, 1867; Fred. Groff, 1870; Augustus Heffley, 1872; Fred. Groff, 1875; A. Heffley, 1877; J. Custer, 1879; A. Heffley, 1882.
Berlin .- Jacob Kimmel, Alex. H. Philson, 1840; Chas. Hefflly, Wm. F. Dively, 1845, 1850, 1855, 1860; Chas. Heffley, J. P. Philson, 1865; Geo. John- son, 1869; John P. Philson, 1870; Geo. Johnson, 1874; J. P. Philson, 1875; Augustus D. Floto, 1879; Albert Heffley, 1880.
New Centreville. - Allen S. Will, 1844; Aaron Will, 1855; Wm. Scott, 1856; Aaron Will, 1860; Henry Freese, 1861; Wm. Scott, 1865; Sam'l H. Dull, 1866; Aaron Will, 1870; Sam'l H. Dull, Alfred Evans, 1871 ; Aaron Will, 1875 ; Wm. Flick, 1876; Aaron Will, 1880; Dan'l W. Will, 1881.
Wellersburg. - John J. Witt, 1857; Chas G. McClel- land, 1859; Michael Long, 1862; D. B. Troutman, 1862; Michael Long, Josiah B. Hicks, 1867; M. Long, 1872; M. Long, 1877; M. Long, 1882.
Salisbury .- Samuel Meier, John W. Lambert, 1863; Sam'l Meier, 1868; Oliver W. Boyer, 1872; Michael Hay, 1873; Levi Lichliter, 1877; Michael Hay, 1878; Levi Lichliter, 1882 ; C. T. Hay, 1883.
.Dale City (Meyersdale). - George W. Case, 1871; Josiah Miller, 1873. Meyersdale. - Frank Wolf, 1875; Wm. B. Cook, 1878; H. H. Geiger, 1881; Wm. B. Cook, John F. Staub, 1883.
Ursina. - N. B. Lichleiter, Wm. H. Berger, 1872; Geo. W. Anderson, 1873; Wm. H. Berger, 1877; Abel Thompson, G. W. Anderson, 1879; Wm. Shaw, 1882.
Confluence. - John D. Van Horn, Daniel Mickey, 1874; Geo. G. Groff, 1878; Dan'l Mickey, 1879; Geo. G. Groff, 1883.
Jennertown. - Henry Rauch, 1874; Henry Rauch, 1880
New Baltimore. - Wm. Gillespie, 1875; Joseph Han- kinson, 1879; F. J. Gillespie, 1883.
CHAPTER LII. THE BENCH AND BAR.
Hon. Alexander Addison, the Presiding Officer of the First Court - Judges Riddle, Cooper, Young, Baird, Tod, Thomson, Black, Kimmel, Nill, King, Hall and Baer, his Successors - Roster of Attorneys - Biographical Sketches.
THE BENCH.
IN accordance with the provisions of sections three and twelve of "An Act for erecting part of the county of Bedford into a separate county " passed April 17, 1795, the first term of
court held in the county of Somerset was con- vened for the first time on Monday, the 25th day of December, 1795. . Hon. Alexander Addi- son as president judge of the fifth judicial dis- trict presided, assisted by James Wells, Abraham Cable, and Ebenezer Griffith, Esqs., associate judges of Somerset county.
Judge Addison presided over the courts of this county until early in the year 1800, when he was succeeded by Hon. James Riddle, of Chambersburg. The latter was the president judge of the fourth* district, composed origin- ally of the counties of Cumberland, Franklin, Bedford, Huntingdon and Mifflin. He officiated from the opening of the September term in 1800 until the close of May term in 1804. His suo- cessor was the Hon. Thomas Cooper, who first appeared at Somerset, as president judge, at the beginning of the December term in 1804.
Hon. John Young, of Greensburg, Penn- sylvania, then president judge of the tenth judicial district, succeeded Judge Cooper, and began his first term of court at Somerset on the 12th day of May, 1806. His successor was Hon. Thomas H. Baird, of Washington county, who opened his first term at Somerset at the beginning of November sessions in 1818.
On the 29th day of March, 1824, the sixteenth judicial district was formed of the counties of Franklin, Bedford and Somerset. Hon. John Tod, of Bedford, was appointed president judge of the newly formed district June 8, 1824, and first appeared in Somerset, in that capacity, at the beginning of the August term of that year. Since the formation of the sixteenth district, nearly sixty years ago, both Bedford and Somer- set counties have formed part of it. Of Judge Tod's successors, full mention is made in the chapter devoted to the Bench and Bar of Bed- ford county. Hence, we refer the reader to chapter eighteen, also to subsequent pages in this chapter.
Since the organization of the county about two hundred attorneys have been admitted to practice in its several courts. Of these about one-half are classed as residents. The names of present members are designated by an asterisk.
Jacob Nagle, admitted December, 1795.
Samuel Riddle, admitted December, 1795. SAMUEL SELBY, admitted December, 1795.
* In 1800 the fourth district was composed of Franklin, Bed- ford, Huntingdon, Mifiin, Somerset and Centre counties.
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HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.
ABRAHAM MORRISON, admitted December, 1795. JOSEPH VICKROY, admitted December, 1795. JOSEPH WEIGLEY, admitted September 27, 1796.
John Clark (of York, Pennsylvania), admitted Sep- tember, 1800.
Roger Perry, admitted September, 1800. Andrew Dunlop, admitted May, 1801.
Samuel Duncan (of Bedford, Pennsylvania), ad- mitted November, 1801.
John Smith (of Suffield, Connecticut), admitted February 2, 1802.
OTHO SHRADER, admitted September 5, 1803.
JOSIAH ESPY (of Bedford, Pennsylvania), admitted September 5, 1803.
JAMES CARSON (of Bedford, Pennsylvania), ad- mitted September 10, 1804.
William A. Thompson (of Huntingdon, Pennsyl- vania), admitted September 10, 1804.
William Ward (of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania), admitted February 11, 1805.
JOHN PROBST, admitted February 12, 1805.
John Tod (of Bedford, Pennsylvania), admitted May 9, 1805.
James M. Riddle, admitted August 25, 1806.
SAMUEL W. LEEPER, admitted February 23, 1807.
Andrew Henderson, admitted August 29, 1808. John B. Alexander, admitted May 30, 1810. Richard Wm. Lane, admitted May 30, 1810.
Walter Forward (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), admit- ted August 27, 1810.
John Kennedy (Bedford, Pennsylvania), admitted August 27, 1810.
ROBERT FINDLEY, admitted August 27, 1810.
Charles B. Ross, admitted February 26, 1811.
GEORGE Ross, admitted May 27, 1811.
CHARLES B. SEELY, admitted, date unknown. John A. T. Kilgore, admitted February 27, 1815. ALEXANDER B. FLEMING, admitted May 26, 1817. CHAUNCEY FORWARD, admitted May 26, 1817. Thomas Irvine, admitted November 30, 1818. DRYDEN FORWARD, admitted February 28, 1820. Thomas S. Smith, admitted February 26, 1821. HORATIO N. WEIGLEY, admitted May 27, 1822. CHARLES OGLE, admitted May 28, 1822.
SAMUEL G. BAILEY, admitted August 27, 1822. Stewart Steel, admitted August 29, 1825.
John H. Williams (Greensburg, Pennsylvania), admitted December 5, 1825.
James Todd (Uniontown, Pennsylvania), admitted December 6, 1825.
WILLIAM H. POSTLETHWAITE, admitted December 26, 1826.
JEREMIAH S. BLACK, admitted December 2, 1830. JOHN. MYERS, admitted August 31, 1831.
DARWIN PHELPS, admitted September 2, 1831. MOSES HAMPTON, admitted, date unknown. JOSEPH WILLIAMS, admitted, date unknown. JOSHUA F. Cox, admitted October 16, 1832. ALEXANDER H. MILLER, admitted December 2, 1835. SAMUEL W. PEAR ON, admitted December 2, 1835. SAMUEL GAITHER,* admitted January 31, 1838.
FRANCIS M. KIMMEL, admitted March 19, 1839.
SIMON GEBHART, admitted March 19, 1839. JOHN R. EDIE,* admitted April 28, 1840.
ISAAC HUGUS,* admitted April 28, 1840. SAMUEL S. AUSTIN, admitted, date unknown. DANIEL WEYAND, admitted July 19, 1841. CHARLES H. HEYER, admitted April 26, 1842. Ross FORWARD, admitted January 31, 1843.
ANDREW J. OGLE, admitted April 25, 1843. JOSEPH J. STUTZMAN, admitted September 6, 1843.
EDWARD SCULL * admitted August 31, 1846.
Amos Steck ( Westmoreland county), admitted Sep- tember 18, 1846.
ROBERT L. STEWART, admitted February 10, 1847.
JOSEPH F. LoY, admitted August 31, 1847.
JOHN D. RODDY, admitted August 31, 1847.
HEZEKIAH P. HITE, admitted August 31, 1847. HENRY F. SCHELL,* admitted August 31, 1847.
WILLIAM J. BAER,* admitted May 7, 1849.
Cyrus L. Pershing, admitted November 12, 1850.
JAMES H. OGLE, admitted August 27, 1850.
ALEXANDER H. COFFROTH,* admitted February 3, 1851.
THOMAS F. BROOKE, admitted February 4, 1851.
JAMES W. BLACK, admitted February 4, 1851.
James W. Logan, admitted November 10, 1851.
WILLIAM H. KOONTZ,* admitted November 10, 1851.
Henry B. Woods (Adams county, Pennsylvania), admitted June 13, 1852.
GEORGE W. BENFORD, admitted March 25, 1853. ALEXANDER STUTZMAN, admitted March 25, 1853.
CYRUS MEYERS, admitted February 6, 1854. ROBERT R. RODDY, admitted April 24, 1854. JAMES O'CONNER, admitted April 24, 1854. A. J. COLBORN,* admitted February 5, 1855. BENJAMIN F. MEYERS, admitted November 12, 1855.
LEWIS LICHTY, admitted November 16, 1855. CYRUS ELDER, admitted June 13, 1856.
HERMAN L. BAER,* admitted June 13, 1856. BENJAMIN F. STUTZMAN, admitted June 13, 1856. HENRY G. BAER, admitted June 13, 1856.
O. H. GAITHER, admitted September 15, 1857. WILLIAM A. OGLE, admitted September 15, 1857. JOHN O. KIMMEL,* admitted September 15, 1857. VALENTINE HAY,* admitted April 26, 1858. GEORGE LOBINGIER, admitted November 18, 1859. ELIAS CUNNINGHAM, admitted May 15, 1860. JOHN H. UHL,* admitted March 12, 1861.
A. THOMSON ANKENY, admitted March 12, 1861. CHAUNCEY F. BLACK, admitted April 23, 1861. GEORGE F. BAER, admitted April 26, 1864. CHARLES A. GAITHER, admitted April 26, 1864.
JAMES C. POSTLETHWAITE, admitted February 5, 1867.
THOMAS J. GRIER, admitted May 9, 1867. FRANCIS J. KOOSER,* admitted September 18, 1867. HENRY BLACK, admitted November 23, 1868. JAMES B. GAITHER, admitted February 16, 1869. ISRAEL F. RAUDEBAUGH, admitted May 5, 1871. PAUL H. GAITHER, admitted November 26, 1872. WILLIAM H. RUPPEL,* admitted November 26, 1872. JOHN G. OGLE,* admitted February 20, 1873.
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
JAMES L. PUGH,* admitted May 4, 1874. LEWIS C. COLBORN,* admitted May 7, 1874. JOHN R. SCOTT,* admitted April 4, 1876. A. BRUCE COFFROTH, admitted April 4, 1876. EDWARD B. SCULL,* admitted July 12, 1877. HARRY S. ENDSLEY,* admitted August 7, 1878. SAMUEL U. TRENT,* admitted November 11, 1878. GEORGE R. SCULL,* admitted August 29, 1879. EDGAR H. BAER, admitted August 29, 1879. N. I. Potter, admitted April 26, 1880. ROBERT F. PATTERSON, admitted August 28, 1880. MILTON J. PRITTS,* admitted August 23, 1881. DENNIS MEYERS,* admitted November 14, 1881. PARKER Y. KIMMEL," admitted April 25, 1882. FREDERICK W. BIESECKER,* admitted August 28, 1882. JAMES B. O'CONNER, admitted June 8, 1883.
THE BAR.
The bar of Somerset county is one justly cele- brated for the distinguished ability of many of its members who have not only attained emi- nence as jurists, but have been conspicuous in matters of state.
Its history is illumined by the names of Jeremiah S. Black, the Ogles, Chauncey For- ward, Joseph Williams, and others, while many of those now actively engaged in the practice have added to its fair renown. In giving bio- graphical sketches of its members we instinct ively begin with that of Judge Black, whose illustrious career had its inception in its courts.
HON. JEREMIAH S. BLACK.
Jeremiah Sullivan Black was born in Stony Creek township, Somerset county, Pennsylvania, on January 10, 1810, about seven miles east of Somerset, on the farm now occupied by Mr. Charles Ream. Close by the old Bedford pike, on the south side, a stone wall, crowning an eminence on the farm, incloses the remains of some of his ancestors, and a few rods down the hill, on the north side of the pike, is a new dwelling-house upon the site of his birthplace and his boyhood's home. As early as 1760 his grandfather came into this county, then a wil- derness, and began the work of clearing a farm and establishing the home in which the county's greatest son was to be born. Here, dur- ing the period of the revolutionary war, his father, Henry Black, was born. He, too, was a farmer, although he served twenty years upon the bench as associate judge, and was a member of congress at the time of his death in 1842. Jeremiah S. Black was of Scotch-Irish ancestry on one side, and of Pennsylvania-German and Irish on the other. His early years were spent
in vigorous outdoor exercise, along the banks of the Stony creek, and upon the hillsides of his native township, giving him for the time thus spent great physical strength and perfect health for the labor he afterward undertook. . His father was more inclined to indulge the studious inclinations of the youth than to press him into the harder work of the farm; but it is true, notwithstanding many idle stories to the contrary, that when he was at work he never failed to make a fair " full hand," and to the end of his long life he resented, with no little spirit and a great deal of keen wit, the imputa- tion that he ever showed the least aversion to the labors of the farm. His thirst for knowl- edge and his fondness for books led him from his father's fields. He was a tireless reader and student, and forgot nothing of value. In his youth and to the end of his life his conversa- tion was constantly illuminated with apt quota- tions from the classics and from the whole field of English literature. While these tastes and these qualities unfitted him for duty on the farm, the time he spent there aroused in him a love for rural sights-for hills and trees, fields and flowers -that never forsook him, and through his whole life he wandered among them, finding health and recreation in yielding to a passion. Mental activity was but an amusement to him also, and, because he liked nothing else so well, severe mental labor and outdoor physical exercise alternated so regu- larly, and so certainly, that each thoroughly fitted him for the enjoyment of the other. He was a giant, physically and mentally. His features, like his body, were massive and strong. Power and dignity were shown in every line of his face. Affable, genial and charming in man- ner and speech, he was always surrounded with eager listeners, but no one approached him with- out feeling that he was in the presence of true royalty. The first few sessions of school he attended were in the neighborhood of his father's farm, and during this time he made no special promise of his future greatness. He simply learned his tasks well. His develop- ment was not in harmony with his surroundings, and its oddity brought him continual vexations. He finished his education at an academy in Fayette county. There, and during eighteen months he spent upon the farm after leaving school, and before beginning the study of the law, he translated into English verse nearly all
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HISTORY OF SOMERSET COUNTY.
the classics, and with the aid of his extraordinary memory he was ever after their master. He had some desire to study medicine, but his father advised him to study law, and at the age of eighteen he entered the office of Hon. Chaun- cey Forward, in Somerset. He was most fortu- nate in the selection of his preceptor. Mr. Forward was then the member of congress from this district, and the leader of the bar. He was a master of the science of the law, a scholar, and an orator of the first order, and above all was conspicuous for his moral worth. These qualities Jeremiah S. Black had for his guid- ance and for emulation, and more than anything else they served to mould his character. He profoundly venerated the memory of Mr. For- ward, and in his later years said of him and of Charles Ogle, the competitor of both, at the Somerset bar, "I have never, in my relations with the men of great reputation in this country, met the superior, nor can I now name the peer, of either of these men as lawyers." Before Mr. Black was of age he was admitted to the bar and appointed deputy attorney- general, or district attorney, as that officer is now called. His relations with Mr. Forward brought immediate practice, and he soon ex- hibited the astonishing power as a lawyer that gave him subsequent eminence. At twenty- eight years of age he married Mary Forward, his preceptor's eldest daughter, who yet sur- vives him. For forty-four years she shared his struggles and triumphs, and was to him a great and capable helpmeet. In 1842, when not yet thirty-two years of age, Mr. Black was appointed, by Governor Porter, president judge of this district, then composed of Franklin, Bedford, Blair, Fulton and Somerset counties. For a young lawyer he already had acquired an envi- able reputation, and from his first term upon the bench he was pronounced to have been "Born a judge." To spotless integrity, a pro- feind knowledge of the law, and love for its principles, were united in him dignity, firm- ness, vigor of thought and perspiouity of expression, all of the highest order. Until December, 1851, he presided over the courts of this district, his home being in Somerset. There being no railroad through his district, he generally traveled on horseback from one county to another. From Somerset county, without a railroad or a telegraph, and hemmed in by mountains, his fame as a judge spread
over the state, and in 1851 he was chosen one of the judges of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, along with Gibson, Lowrie, Lewis and Coulter ; and having drawn the short term, was commissioned chief-justice of Penn- sylvania for three years, from the first Mon- day in December, 1851. In 1854 he was re-elected to the supreme bench, and after having served two of the fifteen years for which he was elected, he entered President Buchanan's cabinet as attorney-general of the United States. His opinions to be found in the Pennsylvania State Reports, from Vols. XVII to XXVII, are models of clearness, force and finish. Except in the great Judge Gibson, he has had no equal upon the supreme bench of Pennsylvania, and so long as there shall be students of the science of the law, and readers of legal literature, Judge Black will be cited as a masterly writer of judicial opin- ion. When he entered Mr. Buchanan's cabinet, Judge Black took up his residence in Washing- ton, and never afterward lived in Somerset county, though he retained to the last his love for her people and her hills. When he returned to private life at the close of Buchanan's ad- ministration, he was a poor man. The emolu- ments of office but supported him, and he knew nothing of and was morally incapable of using public trust as a source of profit. This county was yet without railroad facilities, and as his duties as a lawyer called him frequently to Washington and other eastern cities, he chose York, Pennsylvania, as his future home, as it was a point in his native state from which these other cities could be easily reached.
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