History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 91

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418

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A meeting of the Philadelphia bar, held in the Law Library of that city, adopted appro- priate resolutions in testimony of his high character and his distinguished ability. Of this meeting William Rawle was chairman and T. L. Wharton secretary.

GABRIEL HIESTER, a son of Hon. Gabriel Hiester, a prominent representative man of Berks County, was born in Bern township Jan- uary 5, 1779. He was given a good English and German education, and his youth was spent on his father's farm. His father having taken an active and very successful part in our local politics, he naturally exhibited the same spirit at an early age. By appointment from the Gov- ernor, he was prothonotary of the county from 1809 to 1817, and clerk of the Quarter Sessions from 1809 to 1812 and 1814 to 1817, and asso- ciate judge from 1819 to 1823. During the War of 1812-15 he served as brigade-major under General William Addams, of Berks County, in the campaign at Washington and Baltimore. He served as a Presidential elector in 1817 and 'in 1821, casting his ballot upon both occasions for James Monroe. Governor Andrew Shulze appointed him surveyor-general of the State on May 11, 1824, when he removed to Harris-

burg, and he officiated in that position for six years.

Whilst at Harrisburg he became interested in the iron business, and erected the first rolling- mill in that vicinity, at Fairview, on the Cone- doguinet, and he continued actively engaged in it till his decease. He died there on September 14, 1834. He was married, in 1803, to Mary Otto, a daughter of Dr. John Otto, of Reading. She died in 1853. They had the following child- ren : Louisa, Harriet (intermarried with C. B. Bioren), Augustus O., Gabriel and Catharine.

JACOB SALLADE, a son of Andreas Sallade and Eva (née Schmidt), his wife, was born at Womelsdorf (Middletown) July 13, 1789, and there educated. He was employed for a time as clerk in the general store of a brother of Gov- ernor J. A. Shulze, at that place, and also offici- ated as a justice of the peace. In 1824 he re- ceived from Governor Shulze (with whom he was upon intimate terms, having been brought up together in the same town) the appointment of clerk of the Orphans' Court and clerk of the court of Quarter Sessions, and then he removed to Reading. He held these offices for three years, after which he filled the office of prothon- otary for three years-from 1826 to 1829-by appointment also from Governor Shulze. Dur- ing the next ten years he was engaged in the business of general merchandise at Reading, and he also served as a justice of the peace for a time.

In 1839 Governor Joseph Ritner appointed him surveyor-general, and he continued to serve in this position for six years. During that time he resided at Harrisburg, and he died there shortly after his term expired. His remains were brought to Reading and buried in Charles Evans' Cemetery. He was a man of fine per- sonal appearance, and enjoyed much popularity during his official career.

He was married to Susanna Mayer, with whom he had issue seven children-Maria Catharine, Andrew M. (an attorney at Reading), Charles M., Sarah, Susanna, Rebecca and Jacob M. (an attorney at Reading).

JOHN BANKS, a State treasurer during the year 1847. (For sketch see biographies of Presi- dent Judges.)

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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

WILLIAM STRONG, LL.D., associate judge of the Supreme Court of the United States until the time of his voluntary retirement, at the age of seventy years, was born at Somers, Conn., May 6, 1808, and is the son of the Rev. William L. Strong, an eminent Presby- terian clergyman and graduate of Yale College. His preparatory education was acquired at the Munson Academy, Massachusetts, and when sixteen years of age he entered the freshman class at Yale College, from which institution he was graduated in 1828, with honor to himself and the institution. He subsequently taught a classical and mathematical school, occupying his leisure hours in the study of the law and so continued until February, 1832, when he en- tered the Law Department of Yale College. In the following month of October he was ad- mitted to the bar of the Superior Court of Con- nectient, and shortly afterward he was admitted to practice in the District Court and Court of Common Pleas of the city and county of Phila- delphia. On November 17th of the same year he opened a law-office in Reading and made that place his residence. In political faith lie was a Democrat of the old school and as such was several times elected a member of the City Councils of Reading and also one of the control- lers of the public schools. In 1846 he was elected as representative of the Eighth District in the Congress of the United States, and was re-elected in 1848. He served on several im- portant committees and was chairman of the Committee on Elections. In 1850 he declined a re-election and returned to the practice of his profession. In 1857 he was elected by the people of the commonwealth a judge of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for the term of fifteen years, but resigned his position on the bench October 1, 1868, and returned to prac- tice his profession at Philadelphia. On Febru- ary 18, 1870, he was appointed by President Grant an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, which high position he held till 1878, when he was retired under the act of Congress.

While a resident of Reading he was for many years a director of the Farmers' Bank, as well as a director of the Lebanon Valley Railroad.

He was counsel for the Philadelphia and Read- ing Railroad Company until he was elevated to the Supreme bench. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, having been for many years a member of that denomination and ruling elder. For several years he was one of the vice-presi- dents of the American Bible Society, as also of the American Sunday-School Union ; and in 1873 was elected president of the American Tract Society. He received in 1867 the hono- rary degree of Doctor of Laws from Lafayette College, at Easton, and in 1870 the same hono- rary diploma was granted him by Nassau Hall, Princeton, N. J., and also by his Alma Mater, Yale College.

WILLIAM MUHLENBERG HIESTER, son of the celebrated physician, Dr. Isaac Hiester, was born in Reading, May 15, 1818. His grand- father, on the maternal side, was General Peter Muhlenberg, of Revolutionary fame. His mother, Hetty Muhlenberg, died in 1872, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He received a preparatory training at the West Nottingham Academy in Maryland, and subse- quently entered Bristol College in Pennsylva- nia, and graduated in 1837, in the second and last class of graduates from that institution. He read law in the office of Judge Banks, at- tended a course of lectures in the Law Depart- ment of Harvard College, and was admitted to the bar at Reading, January 7, 1840. The honorary degree of A. M. was conferred upon him in 1843, by Harvard College. He prac- ticed his profession four years in Erie, Pa., and in 1845 returned to Reading, and asso- ciated himself with the Hon. Henry A. Muhl- enberg, and soon acquired a large practice. In 1852 he was elected by the Democratic party as a member of the State Senate, and served until 1855, taking foremost rank among thie Democratic members. At the opening of the session of 1855, after an exciting contest, he was elected Speaker of the Senate on the twenty- seventh ballot. His career as Speaker was dig- nified, firm and impartial. In January, 1858, he was appointed secretary of the common- wealth by Governor William F. Packer, and continued in that office during the administra- tion of three years. He supported Stephen A.

529

POLITICS AND CIVIL LIST.

Douglas for President of the United States in the campaign of 1860, but subsequently ear- nestly advocated the administration of Abraham Lincoln, and was a warm friend of the Union. In the summer of 1863, when Pennsylvania was being invaded by General Lee, Mr Hies- ter was appointed by Governor Curtin one of the mustering officers, with the rank of major, to muster in troops that volunteered for ninety days' service, in response to the Governor's proclamation of June 26, 1863, calling for sixty thousand men. He was assigned to duty at the temporary rendezvous on the Agricultu- ral Fair Grounds at Reading, which, in com- pliment to him, was designated Camp Hiester. In the execution of his military commission, he mustered into the State service eight full regi- ments of volunteers, comprising an aggregate force of eight thousand men. After the war he supported the Republican party, and in 1864 was the Republican candidate for Congress in the Berks County District. After this event, he retired from participation in public affairs, and devoted his attention to the benevolent and business interests of his native city. He was a director in the Reading Library Company, in the Charles Evans Cemetery Company and the Reading Gas Company, and a liberal supporter of the public and private charities of the city. He died in Reading August 16, 1878, and left a widow, and a son Isaac, who is a practicing attorney at Reading.

WILLIAM H. KEIM, a surveyor-general of Pennsylvania from 1860 to 1861. (See sketch in chapter on Civil War.)

WARREN J. WOODWARD was the second president judge elected in Berks County under the amended Constitution of the State of Pennsylvania. He was called here by a very strong public sentiment which had been devel- oped in his favor by his high and spotless character as a man, and by his ability and repu- tation as a young and promising jurist.

He was born September 24, 1819, at Beth- any, in Wayne County, Pa. His father, John K. Woodward, was a civil engineer and journalist, and at the time of his decease, in 1825, was prothonotary of Wayne County ; his grandfather was an associate judge of that

county for fifteen years, and sheriff in 1807. After acquiring an academic education at Wilkesbarre, he taught school for several terms in his native county. At the age of seventeen years he directed his attention to the publication of the Bethany Herald, having had at that early age editorial control of that newspaper. Subsequently, he was employed in the editorial staff of the Pennsylvanian, a prominent Demo- cratic newspaper published at Philadelphia, and continued his connection with it till 1840. He then returned to Wilkesbarre, and, select- ing the law as his profession, entered the office of his uncle, George W. Woodward, a practi- cing attorney at the Luzerne County bar, for the purpose of pursuing the necessary course of study. Whilst in this office his uncle was ele- vated to the bench as president judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. His preparation was completed under the preceptor- ship of Hon. Edmund L. Dana, and he was admitted to the bar at Wilkesbarre on August 1, 1842.

As a young attorney he was close and dili- gent in the preparation of the cases that came to him. His great care and thoroughness soon won the attention of older attorneys, and they selected him as junior counsel in important litigation. He continued in active and very successful practice for fourteen years. In April, 1856, the Legislature erected a new judicial district out of Columbia, Sullivan and Wyoming Counties-the Twenty-sixth in the State. These counties adjoined Luzerne on the west and north. In that section of the State Mr. Woodward had come to be thoroughly known as an upright man and a distinguished lawyer, and public sentiment drifted naturally towards him as the person qualified to fill the responsible position of president judge of that district. The Governor, James Pollock, re- sponded to this sentiment by appointing him to the position, and in October following he was elected for the term of ten years. The quali- ties of his mind, developed through earnest ap- plication and a long and wide experience in the practice of the legal profession, fitted him em- inently for this high office, and the community, whose several rights had been placed under his

530

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

judicial care, soon found the able lawyer ad- vance into the noble judge. His reputation spread rapidly into adjoining districts. Half of his term had not expired, yet the old and influential district comprising Bucks and Montgomery Conntics gave him the nomination for the president judgeship on the Democratic ticket, and asked him to accept it. This was a flattering recognition of his judicial character and ability ; but he declined the honor. In the

gles and excitements, he gave our community to know that he, in the matter of the Civil War then raging, was most positively for the preser- vation of the Union of all the States, and for the enforcement of the Constitution. "To secure these ends," he said, in concluding his letter, " some personal sacrifices must be made, and some peculiar political theories must be post- poned. Present exigencies demand the united and cordial support by our whole people of

W.J. Woodward.

same year, 1861, the term of our president judge in Berks County was abont to expire, and the major part of the attorneys of our bar gave him a pressing invitation to become his suc- sessor. The Democratic convention held at Reading, August 31, 1861, gave him the nom- ination by acclamation, and this he accepted. In a letter dated at Bloomsburg, September 11, 1861, besides expressing his gratitude for the high honor conferred upon him, and his opiniou about the impropriety of law judges of the commonwealth participating in political strug-

every legitimate and constitutional effort of the national government to bring the existing war to a successful issue." His sentiments were highly approved by our community, and in Oc- tober following he was elected by a majority of four thousand and ninety-two votes over a local candidate for the same position. The Repub- lican party had nominated Henry W. Smith, Esq., a prominent attorney of Reading, who was affiliated with the Democratic party, and a strong effort had been made for his election. The majority was therefore highly complimentary.

531

POLITICS AND CIVIL LIST.

Judge Woodward moved to Reading and took his seat upon the bench in December, 1861. His judicial and social deportment at once inspired the citizens of the county withi unqualified confidence. The Civil War caused much commotion in the county. The Demo- crats were displeased with the extreme course of the Republican administration in national affairs, but he, notwithstanding his election by them, advised co-operation and the enforcement of law to restore peace. His earnest public actions as a citizen of this community, in behalf of the war, in conjunction with prominent and influential professional and business men, con- tributed a powerful influence towards the crea- tion of a proper spirit in that alarming period. The majority of the people in the county were opposed to the war, especially to the new administration, and a bad influence at that time might have resulted in a great social disturbance, if not in loss of life and property. If it lay here concealed, it would not have dared to develop itself with such men as he to condemn it. His patriotic conduct as a man of Democratic prin- ples and associations is therefore worthy of special mention.

During his term he was unusually devoted to his office, and his administration of its re- sponsible duties gave entire satisfaction ; and he became thoroughly identified with the interests and welfare of our county. His re-election was therefore assured. Shortly before the expira- tion of his term the Legislature established a District Court for Luzerne County, and the bar of that county unanimously invited him to accept the office of president judge of the new court. When the movement became known to the members of the bar of Berks County they held a special meeting and passed resolutions expressing the highest regard and affection for him, and inviting him to remain with them. The thorough appreciation of his course upon the bench by the entire community, and the earnest expressions of good will by all the attorneys who practiced under him, induced him to decline the honor proposed by the Bar of Luzerne County, and to remain in the county of Berks. He was nominated by acclamation at the Democratic Convention in June, 1871,

and re-elected for a second term of ten years by a majority of 5968 votes.

The new Constitution of the State increased the number of the justices of the Supreme Court from five to seven members, and the two new members were to be elected in 1874, one by the Democratic party and the other by the Repub- lican party. The superiority of Judge Wood- ward's judicial qualifications and experience brought him prominently before the Democrats of the State as a worthy candidate for this im- portant position, and he received the nomination of their State Convention. This honor was given to him without solicitation of any kind on his part. The office sought the man. Upon his nomination he received numerous congratu- latory letters, and the people of Berks County rejoiced at this honor, though they should suffer the loss of his valuable services. One of these letters was from Mr. Thomas C. Zimmerman, one of the editors of the Times and Journal, which elicited the following, among other ex- pressions of gratitude :

"To what extent my professional reputation has been enhanced by the liberal and ungrudging eulo- gies of the Journal and of the Times it is of course impossible to conjecture. That I have been very greatly indebted to those articles for my general posi- tion in the State, I have never for a moment enter- tained a doubt. . . I believe I am indebted to the course of the Journal in former years, and of the Times since you purchased it, for the existence of that sentiment [pervading the State, as to his fitness and capacity for the position for which he was a candidate], more than to any other cause. The effect of that course, moral and direct, has been a most significant and essential element of the force that has secured my nomination."

The one was a thorough Democrat, the other a thorough Republican. The deliberate ex- pressions of the former are significant, in show- ing how he, on the one hand, had won the favor of a person of opposite political sentiments, and, on the other, how he regarded the extent and power of its influence.

Shortly after the election of the two Asso- ciate Justices the Hon. Edward M. Paxson, the Republican candidate elevated at the same time to the Supreme bench, visited Judge Woodward at Reading. Whilst here they cast lots for precedence in the order of suc-

532

HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

cession to the position of chief justice, and Judge Paxson won it. The term was for twenty-one years, without re-election, and Judge Woodward could therefore not hope to fill the highest position in the court except by the death or resignation of Judge Paxson. He took his seat on the Supreme bench on January 1, 1875, and filled the office with honor and distinction till his decease, September 23, 1879. He was particularly regarded for devotion to his office and for ability and conscientiousness in the dis- charge of its duties. His remains were buried at Wilkesbarre.

Judge Woodward was elected president of the Reading Benevolent Society, at Reading, in 1871, and he occupied this office till his decease. He took a deep interest in the benevolent affairs of our community and gave generously towards the relief of poor people. In 1875 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Franklin and Marshall College.

Whilst upon the bench in Berks County for a period of fourteen years, he adjudicated many cases, the opinions in which were not questioned by writ of error or appeal. This exhibits the high degree of confidence which lawyers and laymen had in his judgment and discrimination. These cases have been compiled by G. A. End- lich, Esq., an attorney of the Berks County bar, and published in two volumes. They are known as "Woodward's Decisions." The lan- guage in which his opinions are expressed is terse, indicating a clear and logical condition of intellect. ' His handwriting was ever recognized for its neatness, regularity and legibility, char- acteristics which manifested the extreme care and deliberation of his actions. And his con- duct in the associations of life was, like his lan- guage and handwriting, thoroughly exemplary.

He was married to Katharine Scott, daughter of Hon. David Scott, of Wilkesbarre, with whom he had three children - two sons (Henry and Warren, both educated for and admitted to the bar, but now deceased) and a daughter, Kath- arine Scott (intermarried with Frank Perley Howe, son of Rev. M. A. De Wolfe Howe, D.D., residing at Danville, Pa.).

CHAPTER XX. JUDICIARY-BENCH AND BAR.

Judges-Attorneys-at-Law-Biographical Sketches.

JUDGES .-- Various Acts of Assembly were passed before 1722, for a period of forty years, to establish the powers of courts for the purposes of protecting men in the enjoyment of their personal rights, of redressing wrongs, of adjudicating the rights of property and of administering estates. Finally, in that year, the law for the several courts of the province became settled, and con- tinued so till the Revolution, with the exception of certain amendments by two supplementary acts passed in 1759 and 1767.

From the time of the erection of the county in 1752 down to 1776 the following persons acted in the capacity of justices, the length of service of most of them being unknown :

Conrad Weiser.

Thomas Rutter.

Francis Parvin.

Jacob Morgan.

Anthony Lee. James Diemer.

Jonas Seely. John Patton.

Henry Harvey.

George Douglass.

William Bird. Henry Christ.

William Mangridge.

Seb. Zimmerman.

Moses Starr. Nicholas Harmony. Mark Bird.

James Boone.

Jacob Levan.

James Read.

Daniel Brodhead. William Reeser.

Peter Spyker.

Jonathan Potts.

Joseph Millard.

Baltzer Gehr.

Benjamin Lightfoot.

Thomas Dunlap.

George Webb.

In 1776 the Constitutional Convention provided in the first Constitution of the State that the Supreme Executive Council should consist of twelve persons, who were to be chosen by ballot by the respective counties for the term of three years. The apportionment gave one to Berks County. The following Councilors were elected from Berks till the adoption of the Constitution of 1790. The term of the first was fixed at two years, and after- ward three years.

Name. Term.

Richard Tea, elected in 1776, declined to serve

Jacob Morgan. 1777-78

James Read. 1779-81; 1788-90

Sebastian Levan 1782-84

Charles Biddle. 1785-87

533

BENCH AND BAR.

This Constitution also provided for the estab- lishment of courts of justice in every county of the State. The following persons officiated as judges of the county from 1776 till 1790. The first three were presideut judges of the courts for a time :

James Diemer.

Paul Groscup.

Henry Christ.

John Eckert.

Peter Spyker. Jacob Weaver.

James Read. John Otto.

Daniel Levan. Matthias Reichert.

Valentine Eckert.

Nicholas Hunter.

John Ludwig.

Egedins Meyer.

Jacob Morgan.

John Christ.

Charles Shoemaker.

And it provided also that each election district should elect two or more persons for the office of justice of the peace, and that the president of the Executive Council should commission one or more for each district for seven years. The following justices were elected in Berks County, and com- missioned from 1777 till 1790, the dash after the year indicating uncertainty whether or not the full term was served, and the repetition of the year indicating re-election :

Name. Term.

Henry Christ .. 1777-84; 1784-

Jacob Shoemaker. .1777-

James Read 1777-

Daniel Hiester.

1777-

Peter Spyker

1777-

Jacob Weaver

1777-84; 1784

John Ludwig

1777-84; 1784

Benjamin Shott.

1777

Christopher Schultz.

1777

Samuel Ely

1777-84; 1784-

Jacob Waggoner.

1777-

Daniel Rothermel

1777-

John Old. 1777-

Chas. Shoemaker.

1777-84; 1784-

Egedius Meyer

1777-84; 1784-

Jacob Morgan.

1777-84; 1784-

Thomas Parry 1777-

Michael Lindenmuth 1778-

Gabriel Hiester.

1778-

John Guldin.

1780-

Valentine Eckert.

1784

Paul Groscup 1784-

John Eckert.

1784-

John Otto 1785- Matthias Reichert. 1788-91-

Nicholas Hunter

1788

James Diemer.

1788-91-

PRESIDENT, ADDITIONAL LAW, ORPHANS' COURT AND ASSOCIATE JUDGES.

The Constitution of 1790 provided for the es- tablishment of Circuit Courts in the State, to be composed of certain counties-not less than three nor more than six ; and for the appointment by the Governor of a president judge of the courts in each circuit, and also of other judges, not less than three nor more than four in number, whose resi- dence should be in the county. All the judges appointed were to hold their offices during good behavior.

In 1791, in pursuance of the Constitution of 1790, the State was divided into five judicial cir- cuits or districts, and each district became entitled to a president judge. The Third District com- prised Berks, Luzerne, Northampton and North- umberland Counties. In 1806 the State was di- vided into ten districts, and Berks, Northamp- ton and Wayne comprised the Third District. In 1811 Schuylkill County was erected and in- cluded in the district, but it was cut off in 1815. In 1812 Lehigh County was erected and included in the district. In 1834 the State was divided into seventeen districts, and Berks, Lehigh and Northampton comprised the Third District.

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History of Berks county in Pennsylvania, Part 91

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards Number of Pages: 1418

Author: Montgomery, Morton L. (Morton Luther), b. 1846
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Peck & Richards
Number of Pages: 1418