History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 33

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288

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To this minute we add assurances of warm sympathy for Judge Trunkey's family in this affliction, and do resolve, as a mark of our sorrow and respect, to attend the funeral in a body.

The secretary is instructed to furnish a copy of this minute to the family of Judge Trunkey, and to the press for publication.

S. S. MEHARD, W. MAXWELL, JOHNSON PEARSON, S. GRIFFITH, THOMAS TANNER, -

Committee.

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

Col. William Maxwell, of Greenville, succeeded Judge Trunkey as presi- dent judge of Mercer County. He was appointed in May, 1874, to fill the vacancy caused by the erection of Mercer into a separate judicial district. Judge Maxwell brought to the bench a ripe legal experience, gained through more than forty years' practice. He came to Mercer in February, 1832, and is yet one of the active practitioners of the Mercer bar, being to-day its oldest member, and one of the oldest lawyers in Western Pennsylvania. Judge Maxwell served on the bench until January, 1875, and during his brief term of service was recognized as an able, indefatigable, impartial and dignified judge. Thoroughly versed in the groundwork of legal science, his rulings exhibited careful study and a logical mind.

Judge Maxwell's successor was Arcus McDermitt. He was born in Find- ley Township, and was a son of Joseph McDermitt, a native of Ireland. His early education was secured at the district school, but he subsequently attended Mercer Academy, where he acquired the rudiments of the Latin and Greek languages. Of this he was somewhat proud, for in his teaching in the South he was required to be able to inform the people that he had studied the classics. He read law in Butler, Penn., under the skillful direction of Charles Sullivan, a prominent attorney of that place, and was admitted to the bar there. He subsequently removed to Mercer, where he was admitted to prac- tice September 1, 1851. He served as treasurer of Mercer County one term. He was the first judge elected under the new constitution, which constituted Mercer County a separate judicial district. He was chosen at the general election of November 6, 1874, and held his position until the date of his death, which occurred in December, 1883, about a year prior to the expira- tion of his term of office. He was a man of marked ability, and had aspirations to be placed, like his predecessor, upon the supreme bench of the State. The bar of the county passed complimentary resolutions as to his worth and ability.

Judge McDermitt was succeeded on the bench by Samuel S. Mehard, the present incumbent. He was a student under Judge Trunkey, with whom he began, and under whose instructions he was admitted to the bar at Mercer September 18, 1872. Though a comparatively young man, he was appointed by Gov. Pattison as the successor of Judge McDermitt on the 10th of De- cember, 1883, and at the regular election, November 4, 1884, was chosen to preside over the judicial proceedings of the county for a period of ten years. Though his party was in the minority in the county, he was chosen by a com- bination of Democrats, Prohibitionists and Republicans over Hon. Samuel H. Miller, the regular Republican candidate. Judge Mehard's decisions on the license problem in the county have given him a notoriety beyond the limits of the territory over which he presides. He is recognized as a fair, impartial jurist, and thoroughly in earnest in fulfilling the duties of his high office.

Other judges than those mentioned in the preceding list officiated at times, but only for brief intervals. Among these may be mentioned Isaac G. Gor- don, now chief justice of the State, since July 14, 1887. He was a supply at Mercer during the war. After the burning of the court-house, in the spring of 1866, Judge Gordon held sessions in the Union school building. His ser- vices, however, did not continue very long.

Glenni W. Schofield, of Warren, Penn., subsequently a distinguished mem- ber of Congress, and a prominent official in the treasury department at Wash- ington, also performed supply service at Mercer, in consequence of the divis- ion of the district. This occurred prior to 1874, under the old constitution.

It will be seen that the Mercer bench has contributed its share of distin- guished men to the State and nation, three of its judges subsequently occu-

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pying positions upon the supreme bench of the State, and two of these the chief place.

Associate Judges. - Prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1874 Mer- cer County had its band of assistants on the bench, taken largely from the ranks of ordinary unofficial life, and known as associate judges. These were well known and reputable men from all parts of the county, the names of whom indicate that they were selected from the substantial families. The following is the list: Alexander Brown, Alexander Wright, William Amberson, James R. Wick, John Mitcheltree, John Findley, Thomas Wilson, John New- ell, Thomas S. Cunningham, William Leech, William Waugh, Samuel Kerr, William McKean, Thomas J. Brown, David T. Porter, Joseph Kerr, Robert Patterson, David W. Findley, John Lightner, Milton A. Leech and Richard Carr. Their respective dates of service will be found in Chapter IV, under the head of "Public Officials."

THE BAR.

One of the eminent attorneys admitted to the first court in Mercer, Feb- ruary 16, 1804, was Samuel B. Foster, a younger brother of Alexander W. Foster, under whom he read law. He was a native of West Chester, Penn., where he was born in 1774. He graduated from Princeton Col- lege, New Jersey. By a competent member of the Meadville bar he is said to have been a man "possessed of a fine classical education, high legal at- tainments, and great reasoning power, clear and forcible in argument, and often very eloquent before a jury." He came from West Chester to Mead- ville as the agent of the Holland Land Company, and subsequently removed to Mercer, where he practiced until the day of his death, March 4, 1831, in his fifty-eighth year. He married Miss Elizabeth Donnell, of Meadville, who became the mother of the following children: William A., married to Maria Hurst, of Meadville, became a merchant at Catlettsburg, Ky .; Imilda, daugh- ter, died at the age of seven; Henry D., a prominent attorney at Greensburg, and member of Congress from the Westmoreland District; Margaret H., mar- ried in 1835 to James P. Rogers, of Gallia County, Ohio, who died in 1883. She was born December 10, 1809, and is still living in Mercer, with her son- in-law, Hon. S. H. Miller; Hannah B., married to William M. Stephenson, a prominent attorney of Mercer; Samuel B. died young; Jane Eliza, deceased at the age of twenty three; Caroline, married to Hon. Samuel Griffith, of Mercer, both of whom are still living, and James A., who died at Salt Lake, at the age of twenty-seven, while serving as quartermaster in the army of the United States. Samuel B. Foster was the first regular attorney that located in Mercer County.

John W. Hunter is the first attorney in the list of those who were admitted at the first court of Mercer, February 16, 1804. He was a resident of Mead- ville, and a brother-in-law of Samuel B. Foster, the latter having married a sister of Mrs. Hunter. He finally removed to Pittsburgh, where he lived and practiced, but ultimately received an appointment at Washington, where his death occurred. He practiced very little at the Mercer courts.

Joseph Shannon was another of the attorneys admitted at the first court. He lived about three or four miles south of Mercer, on the New Castle road. His wife was Susan Warner, a sister of Mrs. Bevan Pearson. He never had much of a practice, but was treasurer of Mercer County in early days. He died April 16, 1839, aged sixty-nine years. His remains lie in the old graveyard back of the First Presbyterian Church of Mercer.

Alexander W. Foster, an elder brother of Samuel B. Foster, was admitted to practice at the Meadville courts on the 6th of October, 1800. He was a

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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.

prominent and able lawyer. He was considered a very successful attorney in matters pertaining to real estate. In 1804 he and Roger Alden were prin- cipals in the only duel that ever occurred in Crawford County. The hostile meeting took place on the banks of French Creek, about a mile and a half from Meadville. Alden was wounded. Subsequently he removed to Pittsburgh, where he occupied a prominent position at the bar, and where he died in March, 1843. The bar of the city passed resolutions in which they referred to his "long career at the bar as distinguished by profound and varied learning, and en- deared by the many virtues of his private life." He had four children, viz. : Alexander W. Jr., an attorney; J. Herron, the projector of the Pittsburgh Dispatch; Francis, subsequently the wife of John Pearson; Garrett, of Mercer, and Hannah, the wife of Gen. Crosman, who became prominent in the regular army.

Cunningham S. Semple was another of the first attorneys. He was a fleshy man, who took the world easy, giving very little attention to legal matters. He was the first postmaster of Mercer, holding the position from 1st of July, 1805, to 1st of July, 1810. He lived on the east side of the diamond, and owned all the land from A. J. McKean's corner north to the alley. He had two children, Henry Harrison, who removed to Tennessee, and a daughter, who became the wife of Samuel Calvin Tait, Esq., the son of Rev. Samuel Tait. Mr. Semple died in Mercer.

Col. Ralph Marlin came from Central Pennsylvania in the spring of 1801 and settled at Meadville. He had been admitted to practice prior to his coming west. He went out as a major in the regular army in War of 1812, and was at Erie during the building of Perry's fleet in 1813. He served in the Legislature from 1815 to 1818, but finally became somewhat dissipated, and about the year 1826 returned to one of the eastern counties. His practice at Mercer was not extensive.

Edward Work was a practitioner at Meadville, and the second postmaster of the village. He ultimately removed to Jamestown, N. Y., where he lived until his death.

Patrick Farrelly was an Irish Catholic who came from Ireland to the United States in 1798, studied law at Lancaster, and coming to Meadville in 1802, was there admitted July 11, 1803, and at Mercer February 16, 1804. He represented his district in the State Legislature and in Congress. He died in Pittsburgh, February 12, 1826, while on his way to Congress, aged fifty-six years. Mr. Farrelly was one of the most prominent, brilliant and successful attorneys of the pioneer bar, and built up a very large practice.

George Selden read law with Hon. Horace Binney, of Philadelphia, and was admitted to the bar in 1817. Two years later he removed to Meadville. He was skilled in legal practice, but allowed his mind to become diverted by a multiplicity of business interests to the injury of his professional practice. He spent about five years in Pittsburgh, but returned to Meadville in 1835, and died shortly afterward. He practiced somewhat in the Mercer courts.

John B. Wallace was a Meadville attorney who did considerable business in Mercer. He was a native of New Jersey. He was a large, well-formed man of majestic mould, a vigorous thinker and an eloquent speaker. He lived in Meadville from 1821 to 1835, during which time he paid his visits to Mercer.

Alexander Addison, a learned and highly accomplished Scotchman, was admitted to practice in the Mercer courts on the 18th of March, 1807. He was a resident of Washington, Penn. Prepared for the ministry, in which he labored for a time at Washington, Penn., he was thoroughly trained in the principles of justice and equity. Having studied law, he was admitted to the bar in 1787. Learned, patriotic, philanthropic, judicial, he labored constantly

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for the highest good of society, as will be seen by reading his letters, essays, public lectures, addresses and charges to juries. There was in his composi- tion none of the elements of demagogy. Fearless and impartial, he did his duty as he understood it. His bold and conscientious course in supporting the General Government during the whisky insurrection of 1794 secured for him many personal enemies, who were bent on his ruin. Of course no judicial body would or could convict him. Failing in the courts, his persecutors sought the aid of a partisan Legislature. The House ordered his impeach- ment, and the Senate convicted him, the sentence being his removal as president judge of the Fifth Judicial District, and perpetual disqualification for holding a judicial office in the State.

Says Judge J. W. F. White: "No person can read the report of the trial without feeling that it was a legal farce; that gross injustice was done Judge Addison from the beginning to the end, and that the whole proceeding was a disgrace to the State. The trial took place at Lancaster, where the Legislature sat. The House and Senate refused to give him copies of certain papers, or give assistance in procuring witnesses from Pitts- burgh for his defense. The speeches of counsel against him, and the rulings of the Senate on questions raised in the progress of the trial, were characterized by intense partisan feeling. It was not a judicial trial, but a partisan scheme to turn out a political opponent. It resulted in deposing one of the purest, best and ablest judges that ever sat on the bench in Pennsylvania." This trial, which occurred in 1802, crushed the spirits of this good man. He continued, however, to practice in various courts until the time of his death, which occurred in Pittsburgh on the 27th of November, 1807.

Thomas Collins was an attorney at the time, of Pittsburgh, and was admit- ted at Mercer, May 17, 1804. He subsequently removed to Butler County, where he died. His wife, Sarah Collins, was a daughter of a gentlemen in the East, who owned large landed possessions in Butler County. Two of his daughters married Judges McClure and McCandless, respectively. Collins was a good scholar and a man of marked ability.

Steel Semple was a noted attorney and a man of eminent ability-a fine classical scholar. He lived at Pittsburgh, but was admitted to the Mercer bar February 16, 1804. He was addicted to the use of intoxicating drinks, which impaired, somewhat, his great usefulness and power.

John Armstrong was a member of the Pittsburgh bar, admitted at Mercer May 17, 1804, and, like others of his day, rode the circuit of Western Penn- sylvania.

James Allison, admitted at Mercer May 17, 1804, was a resident of Beaver for more than half a century, and identified with all the early struggles and improvements of the town and county. He was highly educated, and known throughout his long career as a man of the highest integrity. He was a man of ability, and was from the organization of the county until his retirement from practice one of the acknowledged leaders of the bar. Chief Justice Gibson said he was "the best case lawyer in Pennsylvania." He served in

Congress from 1823 to 1825, and was re-elected, but declined to serve, pre- ferring the happiness of domestic life to the strifes of politics. He was the father of the late John Allison, of Greenville, who served both in the State Legislature and in Congress, and who became widely known by the signature he attached to United States bank bills as register of the treasury. .

Robert Moore, admitted to the Mercer bar May 17, 1804, was another distinguished member of this group, and a resident of Beaver from 1803 to the time of his death, which occurred January 14, 1831, aged fifty-four years. He was a member of the State Legislature in 1829, and was an exemplary

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citizen, filling several important trusts with honor to himself and credit to the public. At the time of his death the Beaver Argus contained the following flattering encomium upon him: "As a public servant, he was vigilant, able and successful. As an attorney, he was learned, faithful and honest. As a citizen, he was upright, sociable and esteemed. As a neighbor, he was obliging, attentive and much beloved."

He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the father-in-law of Hon. Daniel Agnew, late chief justice of Pennsylvania, and still an honored resident of Beaver.

Henry Baldwin was, next to Gibson, probably the most powerful and dis- tinguished member of the Mercer court of February, 1804. He was a native of New Haven, Conn., and graduated from Yale College in 1797. He studied law in Philadelphia with Alexander J. Dallas, and was admitted to the bar in that city. Early in the year 1800 he moved from the city of Brotherly Love to Meadville, where he assisted in organizing the first court of the county. About 1804 he removed to Pittsburgh. In 1816 he was elected to Congress, where he served without interruption until 1828. During his Con- gressional career he was prominent as the champion of domestic manufactures, and participated freely and effectively in the public discussions upon those subjects. He was deeply interested in the iron business, but owing to the financial depression resulting from the War of 1812 failed, as many others did. During the campaign of 1828 he took a deep interest in the election of Jack- son to the Presidency. He was an applicant for the position of Secretary of the Treasury, but failing in that he was appointed a member of the supreme bench of the United States.

In 1842 he returned to Meadville, where he continued to reside until the time of his death, which occurred April 21, 1844, while attending court in Philadelphia. While on the bench he published a volume of reports, contain- ing his own decisions in the circuit of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He was a jovial, generous and high-toned gentleman, an eminent lawyer, a strong, vigorous speaker and an incorruptible judge. He was justly regarded one of the intellectual and legal giants of his day.

William Ayres was a man of great ability and prominence at the bar, and was admitted at Mercer May 17, 1804. He was a resident of Butler, to which place he came from the southeastern part of the State. He was a large, fine- looking man, a bachelor, and noted for his wit. He took an active part in the ejectment suits which were brought in his county, and became quite wealthy. He was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1837, and shared in its deliberations both in Harrisburg and Philadelphia. An incident is related concerning Ayres and Baldwin that illustrates the freedom with which the old-time attorneys perpetrated practical jokes upon each other. Baldwin and some other attorney had informed an innkeeper not to allow Gen. Ayres to have any more whisky, inasmuch as he was unable to control him- self. It happened on one occasion that Ayres asked these two gentlemen to drink. The barkeeper set up two glasses, which were taken by Baldwin and his friend, and gave Ayres none, as he had been instructed to do. Ayres saw the trick and accepted the situation gracefully, secretly determining to be even at an early opportunity. In the town was a woman of not most reputable character. Ayres gave her $10 as a gift to go into the court-room that day with a counterfeit bill, and while Baldwin was making a speech to the jury to pass up the aisle, and, handing out the spurious bill, say to him: "The money you gave me is a counterfeit." She did according to contract. Baldwin saw at once that he was caught by his wily attorney friend, and reaching into his pocket drew out a genuine bill and handed it to her.

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Judge Maxwell, of Greenville, relates the following incident with much satisfaction: "When I first appeared at the Mercer bar, in March, 1832, I boarded at the Hackney (now Whistler) House, which was then the stopping place for all the attorneys who attended the bar. I was introduced to all the legal gentlemen. Gen. Ayres seemed to take special interest in my case. Said he: 'I had the pleasure of an acquaintance with your father in the East, and esteemed him highly. Now it is important that you start out aright in your practice in this new county. If you will permit it, I shall be most happy to aid you in any way I can.' He then examined my papers, and advised me how to present the cases. He also attached his name in the form of a tem- porary partnership-Ayres & Maxwell. My cases, some four in number, were won, and I ever afterward had his warmest friendship -a favor I greatly ap- preciated. The influence of an able and venerable attorney like him was no ordinary affair."

John Bannister Gibson was probably the ablest of the entire number ad- mitted at Mercer in 1804. He was born on the 8th of November, 1780, in Sher- mans Valley, Cumberland Co., Penn. At the age of eighteen he graduated from Dickinson College, at Carlisle, studied law with Thomas Duncan, and was admitted to the bar of Cumberland County in March, 1803. He first opened a practice at Carlisle, and then removed to Beaver, where he spent several years. His practice at Beaver was not regarded a successful one. He was a man of large dimensions, a regular giant in both physique and intellect. Standing considerably above six feet in height, he was muscular, well-propor- tioned, full of intellect and benevolence, and indicative of strong character. He was called, by way of derision, "Horse-head Gibson," on account of the height of his head. In his early practice he would, in rising to read a paper, shake and quiver, and his voice would tremble. He was exceedingly fond of the violin, and would spend hours in producing music upon it. It is said that afterward, when he had become chief justice, some of his best decisions were studied out while he was engaged in solacing himself by the strains of this in- strument. He was very social at times, and liked his pet associates very much. Among his intimate friends at Beaver was Gen. John Mitchell, formerly of Bridgewater. His practice at Beaver was neither extensive nor lucrative. The people of the county had not yet discovered the mighty genius which subse- quently made him the learned judge of the supreme bench. In the Beaver Court records is found the following memorandum:

Elias Milor vs. James Magaw, issue summons wherefore with force and arm he the said James Magaw on the said Elias Minor an assault did make at the county aforesaid, and him did there beat, wound and evilly treat, and other wrongs to him did, to the great damage of the said Elias and against the peace. [Signed] ELIAS MILOR. To David Jolinston, prothonotary.

The bearer says he has not money enough about him to pay for the writ, but if you don't think to trust him I will be accountable for the price of it. [Signed] JOHN B. GIBSON.

This note of the future chief justice seems to have been satisfactory to the noted prothonotary, and the case was put upon record.

Judge Gibson never looked upon his stay at Beaver with much pride, his practice being made up of petty cases, that annoyed without affording the cor- responding remuneration. Hence we need not be surprised at the statement made by him once at a social party, when the question of ages was up for con- sideration. Like other aged people he was disposed to turn the dial backward a little. Said he: "I am sixty-two." "But," says his friend, "you were twenty-four when you went to Beaver, and you were there five years." " My

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God," says the old chief, "I hope you are not going to charge me with that."

His success was achieved after he returned to Carlisle. In 1827 he became the successor of Chief Justice Tilghman on the supreme bench, and retained that position until 1851, when, by a change in the Constitution, the judiciary became elective. He was the only member of the bench retained, but only as an associate. Even in a subordinate position "his great learning, venerable character and overshadowing reputation still made him," in the language of Judge Black, "the only chief whom the hearts of the people would know." Versed in the ancient classics, familiar with the whole round of English litera- ture, and thoroughly informed in the science of medicine, he was an oracle in all departments of law, and justly entitled to the following eloquent tribute by Judge Jeremiah Black, which is placed upon the tall marble shaft at Car- lisle that marks his final resting place:

In the various knowledge Which forms the perfect SCHOLAR He had no superior. Independent, upright and able, He had all the highest qualities of a great JUDGE. In the difficult science of jurisprudence He mastercd every department, Discussed almost every question, and Touched no subject which he did not adorn. He won in early manhood, And retained to the close of a long life, The AFFECTION of his brethren on the Bench, The RESPECT of the Bar, And the CONFIDENCE of the people.

He died in Philadelphia May 3, 1853, in the seventy-third year of his age. The Hon. John Banks was born in February, 1799, in Juniata County, Penn. His education was received at his father's house, from a private tutor, Rev. Mr. Hutchinson, a Presbyterian minister, who had been a professor in the University of Edinburg, Scotland. Under his tuition he became a profi- cient scholar in the Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages. He read law with Mr. Anderson, the leading attorney at Lewistown, then the county seat of Juniata, commencing in the year 1816. In 1819 he removed to Mercer, where he opened an office, and at once entered into a large and lucrative prac- tice. He was first elected to Congress in 1830, and for two terms subse- quently. The last year of his service he resigned to accept from Gov. Ritner the judgeship of the district embracing Berks, Lehigh and North- ampton Counties. He served upon the bench eleven years. He was then nominated by the Whigs as their candidate for governor, but was defeated. He was elected State treasurer, but refused to serve longer than one year. He was offered by President Taylor a foreign mission, either to France or England, but declined the position. After his retirement from political life, he devoted himself to the legal profession in Reading until the time of his death, April 3, 1864. He was married in 1822 to Katherine Keiser, of Lewistown, Penn. His wife and two children, son and daughter, still survive him at their home in Reading.

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History of Mercer County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, Part 33

Author: Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk Number of Pages: 1288

Author:
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Brown, Runk
Number of Pages: 1288