USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > History of Clarion County, Pennsylvania > Part 43
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Suspicion began to attach to the strangers at Major's. Since leaving the Stewart's they had been engaged in no apparent occupation. At one time, during their absence, a store in Butler county had been robbed, and the mys- tery connected with their movements did not tend to dispel these surmises.
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On Sunday, the 2d of September, 1860, the people of that locality were startled by two daring robberies, at McEwen's near Sligo, and Thomas Stew- art's, in Toby township. At McEwen's, while the house was temporarily va- cant, $125 were taken. The robbers then proceeded to Stewart's, and reached there about ten o'clock A. M., while all but the aged Mrs. Stewart were absent at church. Mrs. Stewart was silenced at the point of a revolver, and eighty- five dollars taken from a bureau. The plunderers were unmasked and she recognized one as Charles Logue. Mr. Stewart, on returning, and hearing the tale, immediately raised a hue and cry. He proceeded to Callensburg and had a warrant issued for the arrest of Charles Logue and Ira Davis. The warrant was given to W. F. Cartwright, constable of Callensburg. Cartwright deputed Jared Lewis, a citizen and ex-constable of Callensburg, about thirty years of age, to make the arrest. Lewis went the same evening to Canoe Rip- ple, where constable McCall, of Toby, and William Thomas had been watch- ing for the culprits, surmising that they would cross there that night in passing to or from Major's to "Boss " Buck's, then living near Tippecanoe Furnace, and whose house was suspected as being a rendezvous for the criminals. About half past eleven, as Lewis and McCall lay in ambush by the roadside, two men appeared walking down the road, one of whom was identified as Logue. When they had approached within a few feet Lewis sprang up, pre- sented his pistol and ordered the twain to halt. Almost immediately two shots flashed from a weapon in Logue's hand. Lewis said, "My friend, you've shot me ; I'm shot through the side and through the thigh." The party then scattered and ran, McCall receiving a wound in the leg. Lewis reached Thomas's house, which was close by, lay down on a bed, and after a few con- vulsions expired, about ten minutes after receiving the shots.
Of course the tragedy aroused intense excitement. The commissioners offered $500 for the arrest of the murderer; descriptions of the men were sent out in all directions, and a number of detectives became interested in the case. The confederates escaped to Ohio, and, being hotly pressed by officers on their trail, separated, Shotwell going further west and Logue returning to Pennsyl- vania. On the 28th of October he was traced to the house of one Thompson in Crawford county, near Jamestown, by Sheriff Smith and ex-Sheriff Leach, of Mercer county, and after some show of resistance gave himself up. About the same time, Shotwell was captured by Robert Hague, chief of the Pitts- burgh police, while husking corn at a relative's farm near Laporte, Ind. By a strange coincidence both parties arrived in Clarion with their prisoners on the same day, and within a few hours of each other. Neither had heard of the other's coming.
Charles Logue was arraigned on December 4, 1860. The trial took place in the Presbyterian Church, then occupied as a court-room on account of the destruction of the court-house. It was filled with eager spectators from all
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parts of the county. The Commonwealth was represented by District-Attorney Barr and Messrs. Corbett, Campbell and Lamberton. Myers & Knox were retained by Mr. Irwin, Lewis's father-in-law, and Reynolds Laughlin by other parties. Defendant's counsel were John D. Mahon, of Pittsburgh, and B. J. Reid. The jury consisted of John Cummings, Irvin McFarland, Charles Beatty, John Himes, B. J. Rankin, Luther Stone, Peter Knight, Jeremiah Best, D. R. Craig, Thomas F. Riley, Jacob Brinker, and G. W. Arnold. The trial lasted a week. William L. Corbett and James Campbell made the closing argument to the jury on the part of the prosecution ; Mahon and Reid for the defense. On the I Ith the jury found the prisoner guilty of murder in the first degree, and on the 13th, a motion for a new trial being overruled, he was sentenced to be hung.
A writ of error was taken to the Supreme Court, and in February a new trial granted on the following assignment: "The Court erred in charging the jury, as follows : 'The prisoner's counsel have contended that the homicide might be justifiable or excusable, if Logue, the prisoner, had reasonable cause to apprehend danger to his life, and if it appeared imminent. I cannot so in- struct you, unless there was actual danger to his life, and not occasioned by his own resistance or attempt to resist.'" Logue was tried again at the May ses- sions, 1861 ; his counsel admitted his guilt of murder in the second degree, and he was sentenced to imprisonment for twenty-two years on three several indictments, viz. : murder in the second degree, robbery, and breaking into a dwelling-house. Logue lived only five years after his commitment.
Davis, or Shotwell, was brought to trial at the February term, 1861, con- victed of being accessory to murder in the second degree, and robbery, and sentenced to sixteen years confinement in the Western Penitentiary.
An incident arising out of this trial is of uncommon interest. Judge Camp- bell was holding court at Mercer in the fall of 1862. At the supper table one evening he noticed a girl who seemed to watch him anxiously. Her face was somewhat familiar to the judge, but he could not identify her. He soon dis- covered, through Sheriff Leach, that the girl was Lucetta Major, and that she had traveled all the way from Michigan to interview one of the attorneys who had taken part in the Logue trial, and inform him that the gang to which Logue belonged, and with whom she was connected in some manner, were plotting to kidnap the son of Governor Curtin, then attending school in Union county, and extort Logue's pardon as a ransom. The Major girl had been actuated in this revelation by fear of Logue, against whom she had testified. It appears that he had made dire threats against her, and she dreaded that if released he would carry them out. Judge Campbell gave little credence to the story, aware of the light character of the girl, but on returning he met his former partner, Lamberton, at Franklin, and communicated it to him. Lamberton kept it to himself a few days, and then advised with Arnold Plumer, ex-State
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treasurer. Plumer counseled him to notify the governor, saying, "If anything happens to that boy you'll never forgive yourself for not telling Curtin all about it." Colonel Lamberton therefore wrote to the governor, giving him all the particulars of the story. A few weeks afterwards he chanced to be at Harris- burg, and visited Governor Curtin; as soon as the governor recognized him he advanced hastily to meet him, and grasping his hand cordially, exclaimed, " Do you know that you have saved my boy ?" On receiving Lamberton's letter Governor Curtin had promptly taken precautions for his son's safety, and set a detective at work to ascertain the truth of the affair. The officer re- ported that a deeply laid plot had really existed, as the girl said, and in all probability, were it not for the warning, a loved child would have fallen into the hands of these desperadoes.
After Logue's, the most notable murder trial before the Clarion county Oyer and Terminer was that of Commonwealth vs. David L. King. February 5, 1887, James C. Davis was shot and instantly killed by King in a house of ill-repute at St. Petersburg. The tragedy arose out of mutual jealousy in regard to their respective claims over the house and its mistress. The trial began April 20, and occupied six days. W. D. Moore, esq., of Pittsburgh, appeared as senior counsel for the prosecution ; John W. Reed and M. A. K. Weidner were attorneys for the prisoner. A verdict of murder in the first degree was rendered. Its mysterious character, and the delicate questions of fact and medical jurisprudence involved, made this one of Clarion county's celebrated cases. Fifteen murder trials have occurred in Clarion county. Seven of these resulted in acquittal; in two a verdict of murder in the first degree was rendered, but in one case, a new trial being granted, the verdict was changed to the second degree, making in all three convictions in that degree. There was one verdict of voluntary and one of involuntary man- slaughter ; the latter was reversed on technical grounds by the Supreme Court.
Glenni W. Scofield, of Warren, was appointed in September, 1861, to fill the vacancy occasioned by Judge McCalmont's resignation. He held one, the September term of court, in Clarion. The judicial year began then in Decem- ber, and in that month, 1861, Judge Campbell ascended the bench. After his short judicial career, Mr. Scofield was elected to Congress, serving several terms there. He was subsequently appointed registrar of the national treasury, and finally judge of the Court of Claims, a life office. He resides principally at the capital, spending his vacation at his home in Warren.
The Republican convention nominated William Stewart, of Mercer, for the eighteenth district judgeship. His nomination was received with great dissat- isfaction by many Republicans, and they looked about for an independent can- didate. Campbell, of Clarion, a prominent member of the party, was selected. Through the exertions of Charles L. Lamberton, Campbell's law partner, the Democrats were induced to refrain from nominating, and to support Campbell,
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and with the united aid of the Democrats and bolting Republicans, Judge Campbell won, although the district, Mercer, Venango, Forest, Clarion and Jefferson, was strongly Republican. A notice of the life of Hon. James Camp- bell will be found in another part of this work.
Hons. P. Clover and J. Kahl were succeeded, in 1861, by Thomas Stewart and John McCall, who both served out their terms. In 1866 Hugh Maguire and John Keating were elected associates.
Among the Clarion county attorneys admitted to practice since 1865, are the following :
Joseph H. Patrick was born in 1840, at New Derry, Westmoreland county. While he was a child his parents removed to Armstrong county. Mr. Patrick graduated from Glade Run Academy, near Dayton, that county. He began to teach at the age of sixteen, and at the breaking out of the war was engaged in that profession in the South. He came to Clarion in 1862, as principal of the public schools there, remaining so for two years. In June, 1863, he began the study of law in the office of B. J. Reid ; in July of the same year joined the army as a volunteer. December, 1865, he entered the bar, and immediately became Major Reid's partner. In 1880 he formed a partnership with his brother, Jno. B. Mr. Patrick is ranked as an energetic lawyer ; his bounty and pension clientage is extensive.
John T. Hindman, born in Clarion county, 1842. Took a course at Glade Run Academy ; read law with Corbett and Boggs, was admitted in 1865, and entered into partnership with Mr. Corbett. His untimely death at Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1876, in returning from a Western trip, which he had taken to benefit his health, cut short a promising career.
William E. Latlıy, a son of George W. Lathy, studied with his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1866. Shortly before his father's removal he went to Tidioute, and finally to Erie, where he served a term as city solicitor. Mr. Lathy is now a successful lawyer at Newton, Kansas.
James T. Maffet, a son of John Maffet, was born on his father's farm in Clarion township, February 3, 1837. After graduating at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, he went-at the age of twenty-two-to Missouri, and thence crossed the plains to California, where he married, taught school, held the posi- tion of tax collector, and studied law, but irregularly. In 1870, on the death of his sister, he returned home, and after remaining there awhile, started again for California, but upon reaching Indiana circumstances induced him to return and settle at Brookville. Here he completed his legal studies with George A. and W. P. Jenks. He removed to Clarion in 1872, and in the autumn of that year formed a partnership with Colonel James B. Knox; his integrity, assiduity, and high professional acquirements soon winning deserved recognition. In 1881, when Mr. Knox was elevated to the judgeship, William H. Ross, esq., became Mr. Maffet's partner, the firm being Maffet & Ross. In 1886, Mr.
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Restrictfully James Compbeer
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Maffet was elected to Congress from the twenty-fifth district over St. Clair, Fusionist.
Martin Alonzo K. Weidner, born at Earlville, Lancaster county, Pa., in July, 1839. Studied at the common school, and began to teach early in life, and continued from 1857 to 1862, attending the Millersville Normal School during the summer vacations. In 1862 he entered Company B, One Hundred and Twenty-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, on nine months' serv- ice. In 1865 he came to Clarion to clerk for Mr. N. Myers. Began to read law with Theo. S. Wilson in 1869, and was admitted in November, 1874. He immediately entered into partnership with his last preceptor, James Boggs, esq. Mr. Weidner has a facile tongue, and a fascinating address ; his style is more oratorical than that of any of his fellows of the bar. He is about remov- ing to Wellington, Kansas, as a means of removing an asthmatic affection.
John W. Reed is a native of Clarion, having been born there in 1853. He taught school three terms at Lineville and Clarion ; studied Blackstone under the tutorship of Hon. James Campbell, and was admitted in August, 1875. Mr. Reed practiced two years at Brookville, in the office of Hon. A. C. White ; returned to Clarion and shortly after became a member of the firm of Wilson, Jenks & Reed. In May, 1883, he removed to Grand Forks, Dakota, and returned the succeeding year, resuming partnership with Messrs. Wilson and Jenks, which partnership continued till January, 1886. In January, 1887, the firm of Reed & Wilson was formed (John W. Reed and Harry R. Wilson). Mr. Reed is a leader among the younger lawyers. He has successfully grappled the large practice thrown upon his shoulders by the retirement of his senior partners, and in argument is plain, but earnest and convincing.
Jasper E. Wood, born in 1842, in Ashland township, Clarion county, fin- ished his education at the Edinboro Normal School. At seventeen he had become a pedagogue ; between 1869 and 1875 two terms, he filled the office of county superintendent; studied under William L. Corbett, and was admitted in May, 1877.
Madison M. Meredith resided at Brookville originally, became a member of this bar August 13, 1877, at first practicing at Edenburg, later at Clarion. He was the partner of George F. Kribbs for a short time. In 1883 he was appointed corporation clerk in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth at Harrisburg, where he still remains.
Among the young attorneys of talent and rising fame we may mention William H. Ross, Samuel K. Clarke, William A. Hindman, Frank R. Hind- man, A. B. Reid, F. J. Maffet, H. R. Wilson, G. G. Sloan, and G. F. Kribbs.
Hon. James Campbell, was succeeded in 1871 by William P. Jenks.
William Parsons Jenks was born at Punxsutawney, Jefferson county, and is the son of Dr. John W. Jenks, of that place. In 1843 he went to Brook- ville to read law with his brother, D. B. Jenks, esq., and became an attorney
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in September, 1845. He was elected to the Legislature from Clarion and Jef- ferson in 1866, and re-elected in 1867. Judge Jenks is still engaged in the practice of law at Brookville, where he has his home, but devotes himself almost entirely to the legal management of the estate and business of John E. Dubois, which position he received when his brother, George A. Jenks, resigned it to become solicitor- general.
James Sweny and Alexander McCall were chosen associate judges in 1871. Christian Brinker and James Sweny were elected in 1876 and served until 1881.
The Standard Case .- What promised to be a legal contest of extraordinary magnitude and national concern was the conspiracy suit against the Standard Oil Company, instituted before the court of Clarion county in 1879. The case did not reach the stage of actual trial, but the proceedings, so far as they went, are of sufficient interest to merit preservation.
For some time previous there had been mutterings against that great cor- poration on the part of oil producers and refiners ; oppressive monopoly and merciless " squeezing out " were laid to its charge. As an outcome to this hostility, it was determined to prosecute the Standard criminally, and Clarion county was selected as the field of the attack. B. B. Campbell, of Parnassus, Pa., the president of the Producers' Association, on April 24, 1879, made in- formation before Esquire Shanafelt, of Clarion, setting forth that he was informed and expected to be able to prove that John D. Rockafeller, William Rockafeller, Jabez A. Bostwick, Daniel O'Day, William G. Warden, Charles Lockhart, Henry M. Flagler, Jacob J. Vandergrift, Charles Pratt, George W. Gisty, and others, on the 17th of October, 1877, and at divers times before and after that date, had conspired "to cheat and defraud the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the public, by confederating together to secure a monopoly, and prevent lawful and legitimate competition, and to injure the occupation and business of producing and selling crude petroleum, by com- pelling the owners and producers thereof to sell the same to the aforesaid de- fendants and their confederates below its actual and market value." The next section specifies J. A. Vera as one of the victims of this conspiracy. The fol- lowing ones complained that the defendants attempted to prevent competition in the refining of petroleum by extorting rebates from various railroads ; that they had confederated to deprive the Pennsylvania and Allegheny Valley rail- roads of their petroleum traffic; and lastly, that the company had corruptly conspired to control the petroleum trade in all its branches-producing, buy- ing, and selling, storing, transporting, and refining-in the markets of the United States, and the entire world.
Upon an affidavit from District Attorney W. A. Hindman, stating the weighty nature of the case, and the distant residences of most of the defend- ants, leave was granted to present the indictment to the grand jury at the May
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term without a preliminary hearing. The bill, as found, contained seven counts, and is in substance an elaboration of the complaints which have been given in the affidavit of Campbell. Upon this inquest warrants were issued, and Warden, of Philadelphia ; O'Day, of Buffalo ; Vandergrift, of Oil City ; and Lockhart, of Pittsburgh, arrested. All but O'Day appeared at Clarion May 27, and gave security for their appearance at the August session. O'Day gave bail August II.
Lewis C. Cassidy, of Philadelphia; A. B. Richmond, of Meadville; D. T. Watson, of Pittsburgh ; S. C. T. Dodd and C. Heydrick, of Franklin ; and as local counsel, James Campbell and B. J. Reid, were retained by the Standard. George A. Jenks, of Brookville, was senior counsel for the prosecution. He was assisted by Roger Sherman, of Titusville, and Knox and Maffet and Will- iam L. Corbett, of Clarion.
It was conceded by the attorneys on both sides that it would be impossible to try the cause at the August term, and that a special session would be nec- essary. The defendants, therefore, did not appear when that court met. In their absence the president, Judge Jenks, ordered their local attorneys to plead for them, and Messrs. Campbell and Reid entered a plea of not guilty. The suit was continued till November. In the mean while the defendants obtained a rule on the Commonwealth to furnish a bill of particulars, specifying more distinctly the offenses and their circumstances ; and pending this, at the argu- ment court, October 2, it was mutually agreed to withhold the trial till Decem- ber 15. After considerable delay, the desired bill was furnished, but at the November sessions the Standard's attorneys asked for a further postponement, on account of its vague and unsatisfactory character. This was refused.
Monday, December 15, the day set for the commencement of the trial, the defendants, who had given bail, and their array of counsel were on the scene, as also the representatives of the opposition. On December 11, Judge Jenks had been served with a writ, issued from Justice Paxon of the Supreme Court, eastern district, staying proceedings till a motion for a certiorari, that is, a transfer of jurisdiction in the cause from the District to the Supreme Court, could be argued. As a reason it was urged that the amount of prejudice, heightened by inflammatory editorials, which existed in and around Clarion county, precluded the prospect of a fair trial. To support this, affidavits from various parties, and extracts from the hostile press, were produced.
Judge Jenks in deference to this writ, but under protest, postponed the trial.
January 8, 1880, after argument before the Supreme Court, a rule was issued fixing a date for a final hearing on the certiorari before a full bench ; but before this day a compromise was effected, a nolle pros. entered, and the great suit ended.
The Clarion bar was at its best and strongest between 1876 and 1881, when 42
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Messrs. Campbell, Reid, Corbett, Knox, Maffet and George A. Jenks, were all in the arena, and enjoying the full development and vigor of their powers. Its aggregate ability then could scarcely be excelled by any provincial bar in the State.
In 1881 James B. Knox was elected president judge over A. C. White. A biographical sketch of Hon. J. B. Knox appears elsewhere.
Isaac Clover and Charles Weaver were elected to succeed Sweny and Brin- ker as associates, in 1881. Judge Clover died in office, 1883. R. D. Newell was appointed in his place, but before the next election the operation of of the constitution abolishing the office of associate judge in counties which are entire districts, went into effect. Hon. Charles Weaver served out his term, and was Clarion county's last associate.
On the death of Judge Knox in December, 1884, William L. Corbett was appointed temporary president judge by Governor Pattison. His competitor for the honor was B. J. Reid.
William Lucas Corbett was born on the paternal farm near Clarion, in 1826. He was educated at the common schools and Clarion Academy, and at the age of eighteen commenced reading law with D. W. Foster, esq. He was admitted to practice in February, 1847 ; and served as district attorney from 1848-50. He was a member of the constitutional convention which formed the constitu- tion of 1873. In 1876-78 he represented the thirty-eighth district in the State Senate. William L. Corbett ranks deservedly high as a lawyer, especially as a forensic lawyer. Forcible in argument, sometimes vehemently so ; his antago- nist's armor must be well tried to withstand his hammer-like blows.
At the election of November, 1885, Judge Corbett was defeated, after a sharp contest, by Theo. S. Wilson, the Republican nominee, who took his seat January 1886.
Theophilus Strattan Wilson, the oldest son of Samuel Wilson, was born at Strattanville in 1837. He was educated at the Brookville Academy and Al- legheny College. For a short time he was engaged in the iron and mercan- tile business at Helen Furnace. In 1857 Mr. Wilson registered as a law student at the office of George W. Lathy, esq., and was admitted to the bar in 1861. He immediately entered the practice of law at Clarion, and in 1872 united with George A. Jenks, of Brookville. The firm enjoyed a lucrative business, especially in the collection branch. Mr. Wilson was never conspicuous as a pleader, but through an extensive office practice became thoroughly conver- sant with the many ramifications of the legal science, and since his elevation to judicial honors, has given promise by his systematic methods, his concise and generally lucid diction, and his dignified bearing, that the traditional in- tegrity and learning of the Clarion bench shall find in him no unworthy guardian.
A. A. Carlisle, of the Clarion Jacksonian, May 15, 1886, through his attor- ney, C. Heydrick, esq., of Franklin, made application at Philadelphia before
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Lewis C. Cassidy, attorney-general, for a writ of quo warranto on Hon. Theo. S. Wilson, alleging at the same time the use of corrupt means in securing his election, and producing several affidavits to support the specific charges of bri- bery. The hearing was fixed for June 17, and in the absence of Cassidy took place before his deputy, Mr. Snodgrass, at Harrisburg. The complainant was represented by Messrs. Heydrick and D. F. Patterson, of Pittsburgh. Coun- ter affidavits, denying all the accusations, were presented by the defense, and Judge Wilson's side argued by George A. Jenks, B. J. Reid, Lyman D. Gil- bert, and C. Z. Gordon, esqs. On January 16, 1887, two days before the close of Governor Pattison's administration, Attorney-General Cassidy announced that the writ was refused.
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