USA > Pennsylvania > Clearfield County > History of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 25
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83
236
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
By an act of the Legislature, approved April 15, 1851, in pursuance of an amendment to the constitution, the creating power in the judiciary was trans- ferred from the chief executive to the people of the Commonwealth. This is such a radical change from former procedure, that the text of the leading enacting clauses are quoted in full.
Section 1. Be it enacted, etc. " That the qualified electors of each of the several counties of this Commonwealth shall, at the next general election, at the times and places of electing representatives, and whenever it shall thereafter become necessary for an election under this act, and under the constitution of this Commonwealth, vote for five persons at the first election, and at every election thereafter as many as may be necessary under the provisions hereof, to serve as judges of the Supreme Court of this Commonwealth, one person to serve as president judge of the judicial district in which such county shall lie, and two persons to serve as associate judges of the several courts of such county."
The next section provides " That the qualified electors residing within the jurisdiction of any District Court or other Court of Record now existing or hereafter to be created by law, shall, at the next general election, and when- ever thereafter the same shall be necessary, at the times and places for holding such election within their respective election districts, vote for one person for president judge of such court, and for as many persons for associate judges thereof as shall be required by law."
Under the new constitution adopted in 1873, and which became operative on the first day of January, one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-four, " Article V, Section I. The judicial power of this Commonwealth shall be vested in a Supreme Court, in Courts of Common Pleas, Courts of Oyer and Terminer and general jail delivery, Courts of Quarter Sessions of the Peace, Orphans' Court, Magistrates' Courts, and in such other courts as the general assembly may from time to time establish.
"Section 2. The Supreme Court shall consist of seven judges, who shall be elected by the qualified electors of the State at large. They shall hold their offices for the term of twenty-one years, if they so long behave themselves well but shall not be again eligible. The judge whose commission shall first ex- pire shall be chief justice, and thereafter each judge whose commission shall first expire shall in turn be chief justice."
By section three, the jurisdiction of justices of the Supreme Court extends throughout the State, and they are ex-officio justices of Oyer and Terminer and general jail delivery over the several counties; they have original jurisdic- tion in cases of injunction against corporations, habeas corpus, of mandamus, to courts of inferior jurisdiction, and of quo warranto as to all officers of the Com- monwealth having jurisdiction over the State. They have jurisdiction by ap- peal, certiorari, or writ of error in all cases.
237
BENCH AND BAR.
The Courts of Common Pleas by the act remain unchanged, except that not more than four counties shall be included in any one judicial district.
The Court of Nisi Prius is abolished, and no court of original jurisdiction, to be presided over by any one or more of the judges of the Supreme Court, shall be established.
Whenever a county shall contain forty thousand population it shall consti- tute a separate judicial district, and shall elect one judge learned in the law. The office of associate judge, not learned in the law, is abolished in counties forming separate districts.
The intent of the foregoing portion of this chapter has been only to furnish a synopsis or outline of the organization of the various courts, or the judiciary of the Commonwealth, as based upon the constitutions adopted from time to time, and of the several acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto, and upon such further acts as the legislative body of the Commonwealth were empowered to adopt. Detail has been avoided, and possibly some facts should have been stated that are omitted. In the preparation of it, reference was had, not only to the several constitutions as adopted, but other acts of the Legis- lature, passed from time to time, and the works of standard text and elementary writers, from all of which free quotation and use of material has been made.
In pursuance of the changes and amendments adopted under the constitu- tion of 1790, the Commonwealth was divided into five judicial districts or cir- cuits, the first comprising the city and county of Philadelphia, and the counties of Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware ; the second, Chester, Lancaster, York, and Dauphin ; the third, Berks, Northampton, Luzerne, and Northumberland ; the fourth, Cumberland, Franklin, Bedford, Huntingdon, and Mifflin ; the fifth, Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington, and Allegheny.
But, as the population of the Commonwealth increased, new counties were organized to suit the convenience of the people. This necessitated frequent changes in the districts throughout the entire State, and it can hardly be within the province of this chapter to follow them.
The Bench of Clearfield County .- While Clearfield was organized as a sep- arate county by act of the Legislature in the year 1804, it was several years attached to and under the jurisdiction of the officers of Centre county. The act provides that, for the present convenience of the inhabitants of the county, and until an enumeration of the taxable inhabitants of the county shall be made, and it shall be otherwise directed by law, the said county of Clearfield shall be, and the same is hereby annexed to the county of Centre, and the jurisdiction of the several courts of the county of Centre, and the authority of the judges thereof shall extend over, and shall operate and be effectual within said county of Clearfield.
This act remained in full force until January, 1822, when the Legislature passed a further law organizing Clearfield county for judicial purposes, and authorizing courts to be held therein. 31
238
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
The first court was held in the county in October, 1822, Hon. Charles Hus- ton, president judge.
At a special session of the Legislature held in the year 1883, and pursuant to the provisions of the constitution relating to counties having over forty thousand population, Clearfield county was organized as a separate judicial district.
In pursuance of the authority conferred by the constitution of 1874, upon counties forming separate judicial districts, the office of associate judge of Clear- field county was abolished, but by serving out their unexpired term, the law became operative January first, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven.
Charles Huston was born in Bucks county, Pa., January 16, 1771. He was educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, and graduated in 1789, after which he taught a select school for two years. While teaching he studied law, and was afterward admitted to the bar, in August, 1795. In the early part of 1795 he went to Williamsport, Lycoming county, and in 1807 removed to Bellefonte, Centre county, where he resided at the time of his appointment to the presi- dency of the courts of the district. His sterling worth as a jurist and strict integrity as a man were fully eulogized by Judge Walker, whom he succeeded upon the bench. A man of plain manners, integrity, learning, sound under- standing, deep legal research and natural eloquence. For eight years Judge Huston presided over the Fourth district, and, in 1826, was advanced to the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth, where he served until 1845. The latter years of his life were devoted to the preparation of a text work on the " History and Nature of Original Titles to Land in the Province and State of Pennsyl- vania." Judge Huston died November 10, 1849.
Judge Thomas Burnside next succeeded to the bench. Thomas Burnside was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, July 22, 1782, and at the age of ten years came to this country with his father. His studies for the bar were prosecuted in the office of Hon. Robert Porter, of Philadelphia, and in 1804 he was ad- mitted to practice, after which he came to Bellefonte ; was chosen State sena- tor in 1811, and elected to Congress in 1815. He was appointed judge of the Luzerne district in 1816, but resigned in 1818. In 1823 he was again State senator. He was appointed judge of the Fourth district in 1826, and of the Seventh district in 1841. In 1845 he was advanced to the Supreme Court bench. Judge Burnside was an exceptional man. Every lawyer, young and old, knows well his eccentricities and peculiarities. He possessed unusual de- termination, having a full understanding of the law and an abundance of cour- . age to enforce. He enjoyed a joke at whosever expense, and was, withal, one of the most popular judges on the bench. Judge Burnside died at German- town, March 25, 1857.
George W. Woodward next came upon the bench. Judge Woodward is described as a tall, heavy, and well proportioned man, of excellent personal
239
BENCH AND BAR.
appearance and remarkably good address. On the bench he presided with dignity and ability ; always courteous and affable, he became one of the most popular judges in the State. He was, after serving a full term on the Common Pleas bench and performing other judicial service, made chief justice of the State. Judge Woodward died about twenty years ago.
Robert G. White, of Tioga, succeeded Judge Woodward. Judge White was in this district but a single year, when, by legislative act the district was changed and he was transferred. He died before his term of office expired. During his incumbency an assistant law judge was appointed in his district to assist in the transaction of business. Judge White died from an epileptic at- tack.
John C. Knox, of Venango county, came next. He presided but a short time, and was consequently advanced to the Supreme Bench. He died in an asylum for insane. At one time Judge Knox was attorney-general of the Commonwealth.
James T. Hale, the next president judge of the district, was born in Brad- ford county, October 14, 1810. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1832, and in 1835 moved to Bellefonte. In the month of April, 1851, he was appointed president judge to succeed Judge Knox in the district. Judge Hale occupied the bench but a short time, but during his incumbency dis- charged the duties of the office impartially and with marked ability. After retiring from the bench Judge Hale practiced a few years and then retired from the profession to engage in other pursuits. He became largely inter- ested in the development of the coal and timber lands of Centre, Clearfield, and Cambria counties, and was largely instrumental in the construction of the Clearfield and Tyrone branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In March, 1865, he resumed the practice of his profession, but was suddenly taken sick and died in the early part of April of that year.
James Burnside, the next judge upon the bench in this district, was born at Bellefonte, February 22, 1807. Of the children of Hon. Thomas Burnside, formerly judge, he was the eldest. He studied law in his father's office and was admitted to practice in November, 1830. In 1844 he was chosen to rep- resent his assembly district in the State Legislature, and was re-elected for a second term. Upon the erection of the Twenty-fifth Judicial District Gov- ernor Bigler appointed James Burnside as president judge April 20, 1853, and in the month of October following, at the general election (the office having become elective instead of appointive), he was elected without opposition. Judge James Burnside was instantly killed by being thrown from a buggy July 1, 1859.
Next in the succession of presidents came Judge James Gamble. Judge Gamble is remembered on the bench as a dignified, strict, and careful presiding officer. He made no pretension to extensive social qualities, but as a judge
240
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
was universally respected. As a jurist he ranked high and his opinions were frequently quoted.
Samuel Linn next came upon the bench. He was born in February, 1820, and at the age of twenty-four years commenced to prepare himself for the legal profession, to which he was duly admitted. In 1847 he formed a partnership with James T., afterward Judge Hale, which continued until 1851. He then practiced with W. P. Wilson, and so continued up to 1859, when he was elected president judge of the district comprising Centre, Clearfield, and Clinton coun- ties. In, 1868 he resigned his position and resumed the practice as an at- torney.
Joseph Benson McEnally, who succeeded Judge Linn by appointment from the governor, was the first person residing in Clearfield to be honored by elevation to the bench of the district. Mr. McEnally was born in Lycoming county, January 25, 1825. At the time of entering an office for the purpose of fitting himself for the profession, he was well prepared, having taken a pre- paratory and regular course at Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pa., from which he graduated in June, 1845. After a course of study in the office of Alex- ander, afterward Judge Jordon, he was admitted to the bar in 1849. He practiced a short time in Schuylkill county, and from there came to Clearfield, where he has since resided. In 1868 he was appointed president judge to succeed Judge Samuel Linn, in the district comprising Clearfield, Centre, and Clinton counties. Judge McEnally presided over the courts of the district for several months, and at the next general election a successor was chosen. At that time he was the nominee of his party (the Republican), but as the district was largely Democratic he was defeated. In 1872 Judge McEnally formed a law partnership with Daniel W. McCurdy, which relation has ever since con- tinued.
Charles A. Mayer, the successful candidate for the office of president judge of this district, over Judge McEnally, was born in York county, Pa., Decem- ber 15, 1830. At the age of twenty-one years he entered the office of White & Quiggle, at Lock Haven, as a student at law, and after two years' course of study was admitted to the bar in 1854. He was elected to the office of attorney for Clinton county and served in that capacity two terms. In 1868 he became a candidate for the president judgship of the Twenty-fifth District, and was elected. In 1878 he was re-nominated and elected for a second term and is now engaged in the discharge of his official duties, but does not now preside over the courts of Clearfield county, it having been made a separate judicial district. In fact Judge Mayer held but few courts here after the creation of the office of " addition law judge," that duty having fallen to his associate, Judge John H. Orvis.
John Holden Orvis was born in Sullivan township, Tioga county, Pa., February 24, 1835. At nineteen years of age he commenced the study of the
IBMEenrally
ALITTLE.
241
BENCH AND BAR.
law under the direction of N. L. Atwood, esq., of Lock Haven. Mr. Orvis spent a greater portion of his time in a printing office, and read law in connec- tion with his labors as a printer, not being sufficiently possessed of money to prosecute his legal studies unassisted. In February, 1856, he was admitted to practice, a few weeks prior to having attained his majority ; but as the ques- tion of age was not asked on his examination he was admitted; had he been questioned as to his age he would have been disqualified. In December, 1862, Mr. Orvis went to Bellefonte, where he has since resided. Upon the petition of the attorneys in all parts of his district he was appointed by Governor Hart- ranft to the office of additional law judge of the Twenty-fifth District, to assist President Judge, Charles A. Mayer. His appointment was made April 10, 1874. At the general election in November following, he was elected to the same office for a full term of ten years, which he held until November, 1883, when he resigned and resumed practice as an attorney.
David Luther Krebs, the present president judge of the courts of Clearfield county, was born in Ferguson township, Centre county, on the 5th day of October, 1846. David was brought up on a farm, and in his younger days received only a common school education, under what was formerly known as the " old academy " system. He was engaged in preparing himself for a col- legiate course when the war broke out, which event entirely changed his plans. In the fall of 1864 Mr. Krebs came to Clearfield county and engaged in teach- ing school, and at the same time studied law with Hon. William A. Wallace. At the time of the last draft ordered by the general government, two older brothers of David were drafted into the service ; one of them was rejected on account of physical disabilities, and the other having the care of a family on his hands disliked to enter the service. David L., the subject of this sketch, offered to, and did take his brother's place, and was assigned to military duty in the Ninety-eighth Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, where he served until mustered out by general orders in 1865. After returning from the service Mr. Krebs spent a year in the oil regions of Venango county, and afterward taught school at Limestoneville, Montour county.
In 1867 he returned to Centre county and read law under the instruction of Adam Hoy, esq., and at the same time performed clerical duties in the office of the prothonotary of the county. He was examined in open court in May, 1869, and admitted to the bar, and on June I, following, came to Clear- field, where he has since resided. In the year 1870, Mr. Krebs, in company with John P. Irvin, succeeded to the business of H. B. Swoope, esq., then recently appointed United States District Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania. This firm relation continued about two years, when Mr. Krebs purchased the entire business and practiced alone until late in the fall of 1873. A law partnership was then formed with Hon. William A. Wallace, which continued up to the time of Mr. Krebs's election to the office of president judge
242
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
of Clearfield county in the year 1883. The county, by act of the Legislature in 1883, was made a separate judicial district.
It is eminently fitting and proper that in the succession of events and lives of those who have presided over the courts of the judicial district in which Clearfield county is situate, there should be mentioned one person, who, al- though he was never on the bench in the district, but occasionally presided at the courts thereof by invitation, yet has been a life long resident of the county, and has ever been identified with its substantial growth and prosperity.
George Rodden Barrett was born in Curwensville on the 31st day of March, in the year 1815. In the year 1831 he was apprenticed to Governor John Bigler, to learn the printer's trade. In 1833 he became editor of the Brookville Jeffersonian, published at Brookville, Jefferson county, which he continued for two years. He moved to Lewisburg in 1835 and edited the Lewisburg Democrat. While there he read law with James F. Linn, and was admitted to practice in 1836, and, in the same year came to Clearfield. The next year, 1837, he was made deputy attorney-general for Clearfield and Jef- ferson counties. Mr. Barrett was elected to the State Legislature in 1840, and re-elected the succeeding year. He served as a member of the judiciary com- mittee when the law abolishing imprisonment for debt was passed. In 1852 he was chosen as one of the presidential electors. On account of his recog- nized legal ability he was selected by President Pierce for the purpose of codifying the revenue laws. He was appointed president judge of the Twenty- second Judicial District, comprising the counties of Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Carbon, in the year 1853. At the general election in the district in 1855, he was elected to the same position and re-elected in 1865. He resigned in 1869, but was appointed to the same office by Governor Geary, and served one year. In 1872 Judge Barrett returned to Clearfield and resumed the practice of the law, which practice he continued up to 1884, at which time he retired from the active duties of the profession, content to rest upon the well earned honors of nearly a half century. During his long years of practice Mr. Barrett never lost a case in the Supreme Court, and during his sixteen years of duty on the bench, his decisions were reversed but thirteen times.
THE CLEARFIELD BAR.
Of the practitioners at the bar of Clearfield county, past and present, many have attained distinction, and some eminence. Among the leading legal minds of the Commonwealth, this county has furnished her full quota. On the bench ard at the bar of her courts, have been found lawyers of rare ability and strict integrity-men of worth, men of character, men whose social and mental qual- ities have made them famous, men whose marked attainments have made for them a high standard in the legislative halls of the Commonwealth, and of the nation ; men whose influence has been so pervading and salutary that the whole
ALITTLE
S. R. Baneit
243
BENCH AND BAR.
bar seems to have caught something of their spirit, and maintained a freedom from all unworthy methods that can be found in very few communities.
The pioneer of the bar of Clearfield county was Josiah W. Smith. Mr. Smith was a native of Philadelphia, and came when quite young to this county, in company with his brother, Lewis Smith. They occupied a farm tract in the south part of Lawrence township, known in later years as the Benjamin Spack- man farm, and is situate about four miles up the West Branch. Josiah, not being accustomed to farm life and its consequent labors, conceived the idea of studying law, and in pursuance of it commenced a course of study in the office of Judge Thomas Burnside, of Centre county. In the year 1826 he was exam- ined and admitted to practice, and in the month of December of the same year was appointed deputy attorney-general for the county of Clearfield, an office equal to that now known as District Attorney. No accurate information is at hand as to how long Mr. Smith held this office. He continued practice, how- ever, up to 1856, when he retired and moved to his native city of Philadelphia. There he resided until 1862, and then returned to Clearfield, where he lived at the time of his death, March 22, 1882, in the eighty-first year of his age.
After returning from Philadelphia Mr. Smith never engaged in active prac- tice, but was always ready to assist any who were in trouble. As an evidence of the high regard and esteem in which he was universally held by his associ- ates at the bar, the following action of the court and bar of the county as entered upon the records of the Common Pleas will fully attest:
"At a meeting of the bar, held in open court, convened for that purpose by Hon. George R. Barrett, the following resolutions were offered by Hon. William A. Wallace, and seconded by Hon. J. B. McEnally and Thomas H. Murray, esq.
" Resolved, That in the death of Josiah W. Smith, esq., the senior member of the bar of this county, his family has lost a loving and affectionate husband and father, the community at large an upright, pure and respected citizen ; these courts a link of the past history more than half a century old, and the bar has lost a member whose legal knowledge was unexcelled, whose experi- ence and skill is attested by the records of the court from 1825 to the date of his retirement from active practice, and whose personal character remains to us pure and spotless."
Lewis Smith, brother of Josiah W. Smith, was also a native of Pennsylva- nia, and the circumstances of his coming to this county are the same as those related in the foregoing sketch of Josiah W. Lewis Smith read law with his brother, and was regularly admitted to practice at the courts of the county. Lewis was more of an advocate at the bar, and more successful in practice relating to contested cases, while Josiah W. was a counselor and mediator, fre- quently endeavoring to compromise causes that most lawyers would desire to litigate. Lewis Smith died in the year 1847.
244
HISTORY OF CLEARFIELD COUNTY.
Joseph M. Martin came from the interior of the State about the year 1830; he practiced up to about 1835, when he died. Mr. Martin is remembered as a lawyer of ability, and established a fair business in his profession. He was a bachelor.
William Christie came to practice at the courts of the county about the time that Josiah W. Smith was admitted. He located at Curwensville. He was a strong lawyer and a man of good understanding, but possessed some faults, and indulged in excesses which hastened his death. He had no family, but boarded with " Aunt" Ann Reed, a prominent figure in the schools of Curwensville at an early day.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.