USA > Pennsylvania > Dauphin County > History of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania > Part 33
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risburg
1850
James Dawson
1850
R. M. Lee
1850
William
Y. Johnson, Harris-
burg
1851
John Shelly Detweiler
. 1851
John Detweiler
.1851
William H. Stevenson
. 1851
William H. Elder
1851
James Bredin
1851
Benjamin Franklin Etter, Har- risburg 1851
John Wolfley Brown, Harris-
burg
. 1852
Abraham Herr Smith, Lancas- ter 1852
Henry W. Lamberton
1852
David Mumma, Jr., Harris-
burg
. 1853
John Wiggins Simonton, Har-
risburg
1853
William C. A. Lawrence, Har- risburg 1853
Jesse Landis
1853
William H. Davis
1854
George R. Hamilton
1854
Hiram Conrad Alleman, Har-
risburg
1854
J. Alexander Simpson, Philadel-
phia
1855
Robert Leyburn Muench, Har-
risburg
1856
John A. W. Jones, Harrisburg. 1856
D. H. Hoffius
1856
James McCormick, Jr., Harris- burg 1856
John Wesley Awl, Harrisburg. 1856
George Hilt
1857
Alfred Pearson, Harrisburg. . . 1857
Benjamin Law Forster, Harris-
burg
1858
John H. Hampton
1858
James Findlay Shunk, Harris-
burg
1858
Samuel Sherer Elder, Harris-
William Henry Eckels, Harris-
burg
1858
George Washington McElroy. . 1858
John F. Houston
1859
burg
1850
John P. Penny
1859
345
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
Daniel W. Rank .1859
Thomas Crawford MacDowell. 1859
John Peter Shindel Gobin, Leb-
anon
1859
Samuel Perry Auchmuty
1859
William Wallace Hays,
Har-
risburg
1859
Eugene Snyder, Harrisburg. . . . 1860
James D. Dougherty, Harris-
burg
1860
Jacob Hoffman
1860
Philip F. Hilgert
1860
George Fisher
1860
John M. Porter
1860
John A. Bigler
1860
William A. Sponsler, New
Bloomfield
1860
James A. Congdon 1860
Joshua M. Wiestling
1860
John Joseph Curtin McAlarney. 1860
Abraham Stewart
1861
A. C. Simpson
1861
Josiah Funck, Lebanon.
1861
S. B. Boyer
1861
Andrew Jackson Rockafellow .. 1861
Charles Hunsicker, Norristown,
Pa.
1861
Henry J. Walters, Lewistown. 1861
George W. Matchin
1862
John H. Wright
1862
E. P. Darling
1862
Edward S. Golden
1862
William L. Hirst, Philadelphia. 1862
A. C. Smith
1862
Joseph B. Ewing
1862
Myer Strouse
1862
Robert E. Ferguson
1862
Silas M. Clark, Indiana, Pa .. . 1862
John C. Bullit, Philadelphia.
.1862
O. W. Davis
1862
M. Williams
1863
Wallace DeWitt
1863
Robert Snodgrass
1863
John C. Barr, Pittsburg
1863
Ralph L. Malay, Lewistown.
.1863
F. M. Kimmel
1864
P. C. Gritman
1864
Isaac H. McCauley, Chambers-
burg
1864
Ovid Frazer
Johnson, Harris-
burg
1864
George Irwin Beatty, Harris- burg 1865
John W. Landis
1865
Solomon Malick, Sunbury
1865
John E. Heller
1865
Levi Bull Alricks, Harrisburg . 1865 Francis G. Coburn, Towanda. 1865 Charles G. Longfellow, New Haven 1865
John H. Weiss
1865
Simon Sallade Bowman, Har- risburg 1866
Francis S. Bowman,
Harris-
burg
1866
James B. Speese, Harrisburg.
1866
David Sterrett
1866
E. Charles Richenbach
1866
Samuel J. M. McCarrell
1866
William A. Wallace
1866
John Roberts
1867
R. W. Shenk
1867
Edward S. Lawrence
1867
George J. Kunkel
1867
Silas H. Alleman, Harrisburg. 1867
Samuel Knorr
1867
Matthias Wilson McAlarney. .1867
Elisha Allis
1867
John M. Hershey, Harrisburg. 1867 Elias Hollinger, Harrisburg. . . 1867 James W. M. Newlin, Phila-
delphia
1867
Harrison
Plumer
Laird,
Greensburg
1867
James Edward Gowen, Phila-
delphia
1867
Samuel E. Dimmick
1867
W. W. Ketchum
1867
S. B. Townsend
1867
William A. Fisher
1867
George B. Cole
1868
John Wesley Young,
Harris-
burg
1868
Nelson Haas
1868
George H. Morgan,
Harris-
burg
1868
Francis Jordan
1868
William Perrine Mesick, Phil-
adelphia
1868
Charles A. Mayer
1868
Samuel G. Thompson
1868
David C. Harrington
1868
346
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
Lyman DeHuff Gilbert, Har-
risburg 1868
Joseph MI. McClure
1868
Lewis Waln Smith. 1868
Samuel Linn
1868
A. Stanley Ulrich
1868
Henry Shellenberger,
Harris-
burg
1868
Lewis H. Gause 1868
Lawrie J. Blakely 1868
H. H. Cummins
1868
Hervy E. Smith
1868
George A. Rathburn
1869
George L. Crawford
1869
John A. Rogers .
1869
Grafton Fox, Harrisburg
1869
W. E. Mclaughlin
1869
C. B. M. Smith.
1869
Michael Norton
1869
William Penn Lloyd
1869
G. B. Nicholson
1870
John B. McPherson,
Harris-
burg
1870
Silas W. Pettit 1870
Joshua Beans 1870
Abram H. Jones,
Philadel-
phia
1870
George H. Irwin, Harrisburg. 1870
John M. Hummel
1870
Joseph G. Vale
1870
William D. Seltzer
1871
Thomas B. Metzgar
1871
IV. J. Shearer
1871
Robert A. McCoy
.1871
John Gibson
1871
John C. Wallis
1871
David Wills, Gettysburg 1871
Penrose G. Mark, Lebanon 1871
Cyrus P. Miller, Lebanon 1871
Charles E. Maglaughlin, Car- lisle 1871
J. H. Jacobs 1871
James Starr 1871
Wayne McVeagh, West Ches- ter 1871
Alfred W. Sumner 1871
John Cessna, Bedford 1871 Samuel Hepburn, Jr., Carlisle. 1871
John C. Knox, Jr.
1872
A. Frank Seltzer, Lebanon
1872
Jeremiah Lyons
1872
J. K. Davis, Jr.
1872
James C. Durbin
1872
John E. Patterson,
Harris-
burg
1872
Herman E. Long
1873
Martin M. L'Velle, Pottsville. 1873 Samuel T. Allen 1873
William H. M. Oram
1873
John C. Redheffer
1873
Frederick M. Ott,
Harris-
burg
1873
Chas. Wesley McAlarney
1873
Henry L. Lark
1873
John Dalzel
1873
Louis Pfeiffer
1874
Frank
E. Beltzhoover,
Car-
lisle
1874
J. S. Arnold
1874
J. Meyer Light 1874
A. N. Brice
1874
Thos. S. Hargest 1874
John Trainor King,
Philadel-
phia
1874
S. M. Woodcock
1874
John L. McKeehan
1874
Geo. W. Heck, Harrisburg.
.1874
Michael Williams Jacobs,
Adams Co.
1875
James I. Chamberlain 1875 Jo. S. Esminger, Carlisle. 1875
Chas. B. Brockway 1875
Ehrman B. Mitchell, Harris-
burg
. 1875
Samuel Linn 1875
Benj. S. Bentley 1875
Louis C. McKey 1875
Geo. W. G. Waddell, Waynes- burg 1875
L. Arnett Grunder
1875
John Howard Gendall 1875 Geo. R. Kaercher, Pottsville. . 1875 Chas. Penrose Biddel, Carlisle. 1875 Nicholas P. Mervine 1876
James Nolan
1876
Wm. H. Jessup, Montrose
1876
Wm. Pearson
1876
John Armstrong Herman 1877
J. P. Vincent
1877
Henry Butterfield
1877
Hastings Grier
1877
347
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
Alex. F. Thompson, Harris-
burg
1877
Eldridge McConkey
1877
James S. Williams 1877
Chas. Mowry Fleming,
Har-
risburg
1877
J. L. Shelly
1877
Franklin J. Shaffner 1877
Wm. Champlin Detwiler, Har-
risburg
1878
John H. Shoop, Pittsburg.
1878
S. H. Geyer, Pittsburg
1878
A. M. Brown, Philadelphia
1878
Morton P. Henry,
Philadel-
phia
1878
David Frank Eyster
1878
Geo. Kunkle
1878
John Porter
1878
Henry M. Zug
1878
H. M. Hanna, Scranton
1878
Theodore
K.
Long,
New
Bloomfield
1878
Wm. B. Lamberton, Harris-
burg
1878
Marlin E. Olmsted .
1878
Casper Dull, Harrisburg
1879
John Simon Alleman
1879
Dan. Coyle Herr, Harrisburg .. 1880
James Stewart, Chambersburg. 1880
Chas. Spyker Wolfe, Lewis-
burg
1880
Dan. Pastorious Bruner
1880
James M. Lamberton, Harris-
burg
1880
Casper S. Bigler, Harrisburg.
. 1881
Henry Martin Hoyt, Jr.
1881
Leroy J. Wolfe
188 1
Paul Charlton, Harrisburg.
1882
Lewis M. Neiffer
1882
Herman L. Nissley
1882
Chas. H. Bergner
1883
Benj. F. Junkin, New Bloom- field 1883
Nicholas Heblick 1883
Sherman R. Case, Harrisburg. . 1884
Wm. F. Darby, Steelton 1884
Marshall J. Funck, Lebanon 1884 Wm. J. Rush 1884
Lewis Roenwig
1884
Ed. B. Watts
1884
A. H. Coffroth
1885
James J. Gordon
1885
Ed. M. Haldeman,
Harris-
burg
.1885
Geo. A. Jenks,
1885
F. L. Stetson
1885
E. J. Smith, Harrisburg
1885
J. E. Alman, Harrisburg
1885
G. W. Van Fosser
1885
Meade D. Detweiler, Harris-
burg
1886
Geo. R. Fleming, Harrisburg . 1886
Henry B. Hauch, Lebanon.
1886
Thomas Hart
1886
E. W. Jackson, Harrisburg.
1886
C. H. Rouch
1886
John W.
Sharpe, Chambers-
burg
1886
Benj. S. Bentley
1887
Samuel A. Boyle
1887
A. E. Brandt, Harrisburg
1887
Clinton Lloyd
1887
Robt. A. Orberson, Beaver Co .. 1887
A. D. B. Smead, Carlisle
1887
N. A. Bannard
1888
Oscar K. Brighbell, Harris-
burg
1888
Chas. L. J. Bailey, Harrisburg .. 1888
James Ellis
1888
John E. Fox
1888
Ed. J. Fox
1888
F. B. Wickersham, Steelton. .1888 C. H. Beckenstoe, Harrisburg. 1889 Lincoln C. Carl, Williamstown. 1889 Howard L. Calder, Harrisburg. 1889 Horace G. Durbin, Harrisburg. 1889 Fred. W. Fleitz, Scranton .. .. 1889 Henry S. Reed, Philadelphia,
Pa.
. 1889
O. E. Woods
1889
D. B. Case, Marietta
1890
Geo. J. C. Durr, Steelton
1890
Tryon H. Edwards, Harris-
burg
1890
Geo. Fisher
890
Wm. M. Hain, Harrisburg.
1890
C. W. Lynch, Harrisburg. .
.. 1890
Herbert Elder, Harrisburg . . . 1891
Duncan M. Graham, Carlisle. 1891
Wm. M. Hargest, Harrisburg. . 1891
John W. Hoffman
1891
J. A. Strauhan, Harrisburg.
. 1891
348
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
Simon B. Bowman, Harris-
burg
1892
John W. Swartz, Harrisburg. . 1892 H. C. Darman. 1892
Daniel Ermentrout
1892
David S. Seitz, Harrisburg . 1892 Carson A. Stamm, Harrisburg. 1893
Geo. R. Barnett, New Bloom- field 1893
Thos. H. Capp, Lebanon. 1893
A. W. Ehrgood, Lebanon. . 1893
W. C. Farnsworth, Harrisburg. 1893 Jo. G. Gilbert, Harrisburg. . .. 1893 Frank P. Snodgrass, Harris- burg 1893
Wilson G. Swartz, Carlisle . . . 1893
Homer Shoemaker, Harrisburg. 1893 Howard C. Shirk, Lebanon 1893
Geo. B. Schock 1893
Robt. B. Wallace, Harrisburg . 1893
Justin W. Carter, Harrisburg. . 1894 Elijah Swartz, Middletown. .. . 1894 John P. Elkins, Harrisburg. . .. 1895 Donald C. Haldeman, Harris- burg 1895
Ed. R. Sponsler, Harrisburg. . . 1895 T. K. Van Dyke, Harrisburg. 1895 Frank E. Zeigler, Harrisburg. . 1895 S. H. Zimmerman, Harrisburg. 1895 John T. Brady, Harrisburg. . . 1896 W. P. Hillbish, Sunbury . . . . . 1896 Jacob H. Reiff, New Cumber- land 1896
Hiram B. Schrock 1896
Guy H. Davis, Harrisburg 1897
James E. Young 1897
Ed. E. Beidleman, Harrisburg. 1898
Harry M. Bretz, Harrisburg . . 1898 John Jordan Conklin, Harris-
burg 1898
Frank A. Eastman, Harrisburg. 1898 Michael Stroup, Elizabethtown. 1898 Chas. C. Stroh, Harrisburg. . .. 1898 Benj. F. Umberger, Harrisburg. 1898 John F. Weiss, Harrisburg. . .. 1898 O. G. Wickersham, Steelton. . . 1898 Ed. H. Wert, Harrisburg ... .1898 James M. Barnett, New Bloom-
field
1899
Chas. H. Hollinger, Harrisburg. 1900
John B. Patrick . 1900
Robert Stucker 1900
Wm. H. Earnest, Hummels-
town
1901
Herber F. Harris 1901
S. S. Roop, Cumberland Co .. . 1901 Wm. S. Snyder, Harrisburg. . . 1901 Milton N. Lemer, Harrisburg . 1902 Frank J. Roth, Harrisburg. . . . 1902 L. J. Durbin, Harrisburg. . . .. 1903 Frank M. Gray, Harrisburg. . . 1903 John R. Guyer, Middletown. . 1903 Sam. H. Orwig 1903
E. M. Hershey, Derry Church . 1904 Wm. B. Boyd . 1904
William B. Boyd 1905
Henry L. Dress . 1905
A. J. Feight 1905
Harry C. Fox 1905
Scott S. Leiby 1905
H. A. Segelbaum . 1 905
Ralph E. Stevens 1905
H. L. Carson 1906
Jesse E. B. Cunningham 1 907
While no attempt will here be made to go into detail concern- ing a large number of the members of the early bar, yet, to show the character and manners of lawyers in the long ago, a few snatches from sketches will be given in this connection. They have been written at various times, mostly by members of the bar, long since passed from the scenes of earth.
James Smith was admitted to the bar in August, 1786. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of several important State conventions, held a high rank at the bar, and was a man of great wit and humor. He came from Ireland very young, and died in York, Pennsylvania, July,
.
349
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
1806, aged ninety-three years. The above is from Day's Recollec- tions. In a note of "Graydon's Memoirs" it is said he was educated at the College of Philadelphia, and after being admitted to the bar there, removed to the village of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and there established himself as a lawyer and surveyor of land. Gray- don further remarks, "James Smith, the lawyer of York, had con- siderable practice ; he possessed an original spark of drollery. This, as may be said of all persons in this way, consisted more in the man- ner than the matter, for which reason it is scarcely possible to con- vey a just notion of it to the reader. In him it much depended on the uncouthness of gesture, a certain ludicrous cast of counte- nance, and a drawling mode of utterance, which, taken in conjunction with his eccentric ideas, produced a comical effect, though on an ana- lysis it would be difficult to decide whether the man or the saying most constituted the jest. The most trivial incident from his mouth was stamped with originality, and in relating one evening how he had been disturbed in his office by a cow, he gave inconceivable zest to his narrative by telling how she thrust her nose into his window and then roared like a Numidian lion !
John Andre Adams, a native of New Jersey, settled in Harris- burg about the date the county was organized. It is said of him : "He was then about thirty-six years of age. He was a brother-in- law of Robert Harris, and one of the executors of the will of John Harris, the founder of Harrisburg."
Colonel Thomas Hartley was a native of Berks county, born I.748. He studied law and practiced in York, Pennsylvania. At the opening of the Revolution he entered the army, and soon became distinguished. He commanded a corps in the Wyoming and Sus- quehanna valleys after the descent of Butler and the Indians. He was a member of congress in 1788, serving twelve years. He died in December, 1800, aged fifty-two.
Galbraith Patterson resided in Harrisburg. He was the son of Colonel William Patterson, of Lancaster, a gallant officer of the Revolution and preceding Indian wars. He was well schooled in law. About 1800 he removed to a point near Williamsport, where he possessed a large tract of land. He died soon after. He was the father of the wife of Judge Hayes, of Lancaster, and of the late Dr. Edmund B. Patterson, of Lewistown, a popular physician. Galbraith Patterson contributed to the improvement of Harrisburg by the erection of the brick house originally on Market Square, the second house below the "Jones House."
William Graydon, of Harrisburg, was another early member of the bar. He was a compiler of the "Book of Legal Forms,"
350
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
once extensively in use. He was a man of medium height, of very gentlemanly manner, with dark, lively eyes, neat, if not precise, in dress, and of an intelligent countenance. He was for many years a justice of the peace. He was an honest Christian man, and was long an elder in the Presbyterian church. He wore a cue tied with a ribbon, and powdered his hair. He died in October, 1840, aged about ninety-two years. He was a brother of Alexander Graydon.
Alexander Graydon was the first prothonotary of this county, he having been appointed to the office in the year 1785, by the supreme executive council of the state, of which John Dickinson was then the president. Mr. Graydon was the author of Graydon's "Memoirs," which is quite an interesting book. On pages 334-35 of the edition by Littell, is an account of his election. Mr. Graydon was a gentleman of very respectable appearance, of sprightly agree- able manners, very polite, and, as his book shows, a ready and intelli- gent writer.
Mr. Harris, one of the early day lawyers of Harrisburg, relates the following :
"When I was a boy going to school Mr. Laird, Mr. Fisher and Mr. Elder were the prominent members of the bar residing in Harrisburg. Mr. David Watts and Mr. Thomas Duncan, of Carlisle, the latter afterward on the bench of the supreme court, occasionally attended here.
"Mr. Watts was of rough exterior, careless of his dress, and by no means choice in his language. He seemed generally to be not at all reluctant to say what he thought, without regard to the feelings of the object of his remarks. Mr. Duncan, on the con- trary, was a man of polished manner, neat and careful in dress, and never rude or wantonly disrespectful to others. They were the rival practitioners at Carlisle. I have heard of an anecdote which some- what illustrates their respective characters. On one occasion in court, when Mr. Watts was annoyed by a remark of Mr. Duncan, he said, "You little (using some offensive expression), 'I could put you in my pocket.' 'Then,' said Mr. Duncan, 'you would have more law in your pocket than ever you had in your head.'
"I was present at the trial in this place of an indictment in which Mr. Watts was counsel for the defendant. It was an indict- ment for perjury in qualifying to the return of property by a debtor on his application for the benefit of the insolvent laws. The act of Assembly required the applicant to make return of his property. He submitted a schedule, to which he had been qualified, which he declared was a schedule of his property. It was alleged, on the part of the commonwealth, that there were fraudulent omissions, and that the deponent had thus sworn falsely. But Mr. Watts made
351
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
the point that the applicant in swearing that the exhibit was a state- ment of his property was not to be understood as declaring that it was a schedule of all of his property, and therefore that he was not guilty of perjury. The court, Judge Franks being on the bench, instructed the jury to that effect, and the defendant was acquitted. It may be said this instruction was more in accordance with the dictates of humanity than of law. In other words, that it was not common sense, and common law is said to be the perfection of reason or of common sense. There is a caricature of law in an old English play which represented an entertainment of servants in the absence of the master of the house. The conversation turned on law. One of the party said that a position spoken of as law was not law, that it was mere nonsense. 'Oh,' said the other, 'it may be non- sense, but still it may be very good law for all that.'
"Mr. Watts once, at the Carlisle bar, quoted from 'Teague O'Regan.' Judge Hamilton asked, 'What book is that you read from?' 'Modern Chivalry," your honor.' 'It is not a proper book to read from in court,' said the judge. 'I wish,' said Mr. Watts, 'that your honor could write such a book ;' and he proceeded with the argument.
"There was a case which was, at the time, the occasion of much merriment at the expense of Mr. Watt. A man and woman were in his office in relation to some legal matter in which their marriage was material. They had been cohabiting together, and Mr. Watts inquired whether they had been married. Not being assured of it, he directed them to stand up. He asked the man whether he took the woman to be his lawful wife. To which he answered in the affirmative. To the question to the woman whether she took the man as her lawful husband, or in words to that effect, she replied, 'To be sure, he is my husband good enough.' The reporter of the case states that Mr. Watts advised them to go before a magistrate and repeat the ceremony, but this was not done. The Supreme Court decided that though marriage is a civil contract, requiring no religious ceremonial, yet that it must be entered into in words implying a present agreement to contract it; that in this case the woman referred only to a past cohabitation, and this was insuffi- cient for the purpose. The case is that of Hantz vs. Sealey, and reported in 6th Binney Reports.
"Mr. Watts was an impassioned, forcible and fluent speaker, and was conceded to be an able lawyer. There was a striking con- trast in the appearance of Mr. Watts and Mr. Duncan. Mr. Watts was apparently a strong, powerful man, Mr. Duncan was a small man. Their voices were very dissimilar, that of Mr. Watts was strong and rather rough, that of Mr. Duncan was weak, and sometimes quite shrill when excited in pleading.
"Mr. Duncan was appointed a justice of the supreme court by Governor Snyder in 1817, in the place of Judge Yeates, deceased.
352
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
Judge Tilghman, a man of very gentlemanly manners and a model judge, was then the chief justice, and Judge Gibson was the other associate. Judge Duncan eventually removed to Philadelphia, and resided there till his death, in November, 1827."
Attorney Harris continues :
"Two gentlemen read law under the direction of Mr. Laird toward the close of his life-I mean Mr. John M. Forster and Mr. Jacob B. Weidman. Each of them was a member of the bar for twenty or thirty years, Mr. Forster settling at Harrisburg, and Mr. Weidman at Lebanon, from which county he had come.
"Mr. Forster never had an extensive practice, but was' for a number of years the counsel of the Branch Bank of Pennsylvania at this place, of which Mr. Lesley was cashier. He conducted with ability the prosecution of McElhenny, who was tried in April, 1827, for the murder of Sophia German. He was not a ready lawyer or speaker, but was possessed of good legal judgment when he had time for preparation. His ability lay in another direction. He had a taste for the military profession, and in that line of life might have been distinguished. He was of medium size and was well formed. He was an excellent penman, an accomplishment in which many of the bar are deficient.
"Mr. Weidman was a lawyer of great industry, and had for many years an extensive and the leading practice in Lebanon county. He was rather above the common size, stout in body, of florid countenance, of genial and jovial manners, and seemed to enjoy excellent health. He was not a fluent speaker, but was pertinacious ยท in the conduct of his causes, and was slow to compromise, having confidence in his management of them. He understood the German language, which was of great advantage to him in Lebanon county, where that was then the common language, half or more of the witnesses in court then testifying in German. He enjoyed the confidence of the people of that county in his judgment and integrity to a great degree. Mr. Forster was his intimate friend, and fre- quently took part with him in the trial of his causes. I add that even at this time perhaps half of the witnesses at the Lebanon county court testify in the German language, and that religious societies exist in that county in whose charters the use in their meetings of any other language than the German is expressly for- bidden, and schools exist in that county in which the English language is not taught. Judge Pearson has wisely refused to approve of the charter of any religious society with such a prohi- bition, as being against public policy and the best interests of the people themselves.
"There was another member of the Harrisburg bar who was well known in his day. This was William Wallace.
353
HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
"Mr. Wallace was a native of this county. I understand that he studied law under the direction of Mr. Kittera, perhaps either in Lancaster or Philadelphia. He was admitted to the bar of this county in June, 1792. He removed to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he continued to reside till 1811, when he returned to this place; and when the Harrisburg Bank was established under the bank act of 1814 he was elected its president."
Mr. Harris remembered much of the practice and personality of two prominent attorneys here-Messrs. Fisher and Elder. He says :
"Mr. George Fisher was possessed of mild, gentlemanly man- ners, and was very kind in his intercourse with young members of the Dauphin bar. He was a handsome man and quite large in youth, quite strong, and in his latter years quite fleshy. He was noted for the musical character of his voice and distinctness of utterance. When standing at his office door, where now stands the Presby- terian church, he could be heard plainly fully fifty yards. He had also remarkable, strong eyes. I have seen him reading in court, with a candle (we had then no gas) held in one hand and a book or paper in the other, and the candle held so far forward that he seemed to look almost through it.
"He seemed to have been extensively engaged in litigation in ejectment cases depending on original title, which were then a fertile subject of dispute in our courts and in those of the neighboring counties. He occasionally, and perhaps for a number of years, attended the Sunbury court. In my time at the bar he was fre- quently, so far as respected the facts of his case, not ready for trial, though when he got them fully out he would often manage them well. He seemed to be fond of the study of the law, and had a con- siderable law library. When Judge Franks resigned, Calvin Blythe then, I think, secretary of the commonwealth, was spoken of as his successor. Mr. Fisher also desired the appointment, and said that experience at the bar was necessary for that position, and that Calvin Blythe had not had a sufficiency of it. Judge Blythe was, however, appointed. It happened, after a while, that a suit was on trial before him in which Mr. Fisher was the defendant, and it was one of considerable magnitude. Judge Blythe charged in favor of Mr. Fisher. This effected a revolution of opinion concerning the judge in the mind of Mr. Fisher, and he said that he began to think that the fellow would make a pretty good judge. Several years before his death he retired from practice at the bar and resided on his farm below Middletown.
"Mr. Thomas Elder led the bar here in amount of business for perhaps twenty or more years. He was remarkably industrious,
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HISTORY OF DAUPHIN COUNTY
being generally in his office late at night. When in court and not engaged in the trial of a cause, or with business in the Orphans' Court, of which he had a very large share, he usually was engaged, not in conversation like other members of the bar, but in writing. He was nearly always ready for the trial of his cause, and was usually quite familiar with the facts of his case. It was not common for him to ask a continuance of a case when with reasonable vigi- lance he could have been ready ; but Mr. Fisher was frequently in a condition to render a continuance desirable. Mr. Elder was merely a lawyer and man of business. He had little imagination; and his reading, except of law, appeared to have been very limited. He had an extensive acquaintance throughout the county; and when he had important cases on hand looked well to the connection between parties and jurors. He seldom indulged in recreation; his time was pretty much occupied by attention to his profession and to the care of his property, of which he had a large share. He was for many years the president of the Harrisburg Bank, which fact probably contributed to the extension of his business. He had also a large professional business in Lebanon county; but I never knew of his attending court in any other county. He was possessed of strong prejudices, and it is probable that it would have been difficult for him to forgive any one who had offended him in any material matter. But he was not without generous impulses. When he took a fancy to a person he would sometimes be social and liberal, not merely in words, but in a pecuniary way; but when he enter- tained a dislike, he was rather unrelenting. He read law with Gen. Hanna.
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