USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 15
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Irwin. - Constable, Stephen W. Beach; auditors: Alexander Porter, Philip Surrenna, A. Dinsmore, Robert Mitchell; supervisors: John Walter, Thomas Dupuy; overseers: J. Henderson, A. Huey; appraisers: Jonathan Mows, Samuel Grimes.
Plum. - Constable, Samuel Seely; supervisors: William Cooper, John Lamberton.
Richland. - Constable, William McGinnis; supervisors: Joseph Porter, Christian Hummel; overseers: Henry Neely, James McGinnis; auditors: William McGinnis, John Mays, Samuel Stewart, Benjamin Gardner.
Rockland. - Constable, John McDonald; auditors: Joseph Campbell, Charles Ridgeway, James Hall, James Crawford; supervisors: John Porter- field, John Shannon; overseers: Joseph Ross, John Forker; appraisers: Thomas Platt, Peter Downing.
Scrubgrass. - Constable, Daniel Wasson; auditors: John Witherup, W. Crawford, David Phipps, J. McIntire; supervisors: John McDonald, Robert
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.
Calvert; overseers: John McDonald, Robert Calvert; appraisers: James Scott, John Phipps.
Sugar Creek. - Constable, William Hays; supervisors: John Foster, Robert McCalmont; overseers: Samuel Rhoads, Thomas Wilson.
1823.
Allegheny. - Constable, John Lytle; clerk, John Lytle; auditors: Samuel Fleming, H. McCalmont, Robert Elliott, James Miller; supervisors: Isaac Connely, Abraham Lovell; overseers: William Broadfoot, Daniel Richey; appraisers: William Neill, Patrick McCrea.
Cherry Tree .- Constable, William McGinnis; supervisors: Edward Fleming, James Alcorn.
French Creek. - Constable, Thomas Seaton; auditors: A. McCalmont, James Adams, Hugh McClelland, William Gibson; supervisors: Aaron Mc- Kissick, Jacob Runninger; overseers: A. McCalmont, John Broadfoot; ap- praisers: James Cannon, Robert Kinnear.
Irwin .- Constable, John Bonner; auditors: William Davidson, John McClaran, Joseph Allen, Reuben Sutton; supervisors: Samuel Grimes, Rob- ert Sutton; overseers: Samuel Barnes, John Hoffman; appraisers: S. W. Beach, Patrick Davidson.
Plum .- Constable, Benjamin August; auditors: Alexander Gordon, Sam- uel Seely, Samuel Small, John Carter; supervisors: Joseph Proper, John Fetterman.
Richland .- Constable, Thomas Platt; auditors: Samuel Stewart, James Platt, William McGinnis; supervisors: James McGinnis, James Ritchey: overseers: Henry Neely, Samuel Stewart.
Rockland. - Constable, William Dawson; auditors: Joseph Campbell, John Smith, Joseph Kennedy, Joseph Ross; supervisor, James Battin; overseer, David Smith; appraiser, James Hall.
Scrubgrass .- Constable, William Dickson; auditors: Samuel Eakin, Robert Riddle, J. McIntire, Thomas Kerr; supervisors: Samuel Eakin, John Sloan; appraisers: John Riddle, Joseph Parks.
Sugar Creek. - Constable, Isaac Walls; auditors: John McFadden, Fran- cis Carter, William Parker, M. Stockbarger; supervisors: John Foster, George Farr; overseers: Thomas Carter, David Bowman; appraisers: Samuel Rhoads, Jacob Lupher.
1824.
Allegheny .- Constable, O. Copeland; supervisors: G. Siggins, William Manross.
Cherry Tree. - Constable, Samuel Irwin; auditors: James Dawson, A. Holeman, W. Broadfoot, Samuel Fleming; supervisors: B. Griffin, Isaac Archer; overseers: James Miller, Andrew Fleming.
French Creek .- Constable, Robert Henry; clerk, F. G. Crary; auditors:
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ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.
James Kinnear, Hugh McClelland, A. Duffield, J. Gilliland; supervisors: Aaron McKissick, William Duffield; overseers: J. Gilliland, John Martin; appraisers: A. Dewoody, James Bennett.
Irwin .- Constable, William Davidson; clerk, John McClaran; auditors: R. Mitchell, J. Matthews, John McClaran, Craft Ghost; supervisors: Adam Huey, James McClaran; appraisers; Joseph Osborn, J. Porter.
Plum .- Constable, John Daugherty; clerk, J. G. Bradley; auditors: E. McFadden, Francis Carter, John McCurdy, J. Whitman.
Richland .- Constable, James Platt; auditors: Samuel Stewart, James Watson, John L. Porter, John Cochran; supervisors: James Ritchey, James McGinnis: overseers: A. Porter, Samuel Stewart; appraisers: I. Downey, John Russell.
Rockland. - Constable, Joseph Campbell; supervisors: Daniel Smith, John Prior; overseers: John Sloan, Joseph Ross.
Scrubgrass. - Constable, Marvin Perry; clerk, Thomas P. Kerr; auditors: John Witherup, James Scott, John D. Wood, Thomas Kerr; supervisors: Samuel Eakin, Reuben Irwin; overseers: L. Sloan, William Eakin; ap- praisers: John Phipps, Jonathan Kerr.
Sugar Creek .- Constable, Alexander Bowman; clerk, William Cousins; auditors: E. McFadden, Francis Carter, John McCurdy, J. Whitman; supervisors: William Whitman, William Hays; overseers: I. McCalmont, A. Selders; appraisers: M. Sutley, John McFadden.
1825.
Allegheny .- Constable, John Siggins; clerk, A. Fleming; supervisors: James Allender, Samuel Fleming; overseers: A. Fleming, James Miller.
Cherry Tree .- Constable, William Wilson; clerk, N. Irwin; auditors: J. Ross, N. Irwin, James Hamilton, James Hamilton, Jr .; supervisors: John Tarr, A. L. Hancock; overseers: A. Davidson, William Reynolds; fence viewers: J. Alcorn, J. Morrison.
French Creek .- Constable, Robert Huey; clerk, G. W. Connely; audi- tors: J. Gilliland, A. Duffield, A. McCalmont, G. McClelland; super- visors: Aaron McKissick, William Duffield; overseers: James Kinnear, A. Robison.
Irwin. - Constable, John Phipps; auditors: Craft Ghost, William David- son, William McManigal, John McClaran; supervisors: C. Hamilton, Peter Walter; overseers: Alexander Porter, Thomas Baird; fence viewer, A. Huey.
Pinegrove .- Constable, John Sigworth; clerk, D. Renyon; overseers: J. Johnston, L. Zink; fence viewers: H. Schwabb, Adam Yale.
Plum .- Constable, Lewis Herring; clerk, Samuel Small; auditors: J. Fetterman, James Gordon, J. Foster, John Grove; supervisors: R. Bradley, D. Proper; fence viewers: J. Lamberton, James Bradley.
Richland .- Constable, James Watson; auditors: J. Cochran, J. Platt, H. Neely, J. Ashbaugh.
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
Rockland .- Constable, James Hall; auditors: John Shannon, John Ken- nedy, Alexander Lemon, Jacob Young; supervisors: D. Smith, David Jolly; overseers, J. Campbell, William Craig; fence viewers: John Miller, J. Stroup.
Scrubgrass. - Constable, John Phillips; clerk, John Anderson; auditors: J. D. Wood, William Dickson, James Scott, Thomas Kerr; supervisors: Samuel Eakin, R. Irwin; overseers, William Jones, John Sloan; fence viewers: James Scott, David Say.
Sugar Creek .- Constable, J. Rodgers; clerk, Stephen McFadden; aud- itors: James Foster, John McCurdy, Elijah McFadden, R. Mason; super- visors: William Hays, Alexander Bowman; overseers: James Mason, J. McCurdy; fence viewers: Samuel Rhoads, Thomas Watson.
1826.
Allegheny .- Constable, James Ricketts; clerk, A. West; auditors: Thomas Anderson, A. Benedict, J. Walliston, James Dawson; supervisors: John Griffin, William Haworth; overseers: A. Fleming, William Neill.
Cherry Tree .- Constable, Elijah Stewart; clerk, J. Hamilton; auditors: T. Hamilton, James Morrison, J. Breed, James Irwin; supervisors: Reuben Irwin, William Perry; overseers: J. Strawbridge, Hugh Hamilton; fence viewers: James Alcorn, Thomas Neill.
French Creek .- Constable, James Hanna; clerk, William Crary; audi- tors: James Gilliland, John Little, Thomas McDowell, Levi Dodd; super- visors: Isaac Smith, William Duffield; overseers: William Connely, Samuel Hays; fence viewers: A. Dewoody, James Bennett.
Irwin. - Constable, Philip Surrenna.
Pinegrove. - Constable, Samuel Powell; supervisors: D. Reyner, George Kapp.
Plum .- Constable, Lewis Herring; clerk, James Foster; auditors: John Cooper, E, Sweeny, John Fetterman, James Gordon; supervisors: John Lamberton, Lewis Herring; fence viewers: John Lamberton, Lewis Herring.
Richland. - Constable, D. Rumberger; clerk, W. A. Stroble; auditors: L. Houston, James Houston, J. Ashbaugh, James Platt; supervisors: John Bell, Jacob Ashbaugh; overseers: H. Neely, James McGinnis; fence viewers: J. Shaffer, J. Ashbaugh.
Rockland .- Constable, David Smith; clerk, J. Smith; auditors: Jacob Young, Andrew Maitland, William Craig, John Jolly; supervisors: John Ford, William Ross; overseers: John Stroup, Jacob Miller.
Scrubgrass. - Constable, Thomas Kerr; clerk, John Anderson; auditors: James Scott, M. Perry, James Anderson, John Anderson; supervisors: R. Irwin, William Perry; overseers: J. D. Wood, John Coulter; fence viewers: John Witherup, William Crawford.
Sugar Creek .- Constable, Jacob Lupher; clerk, James Linn; auditors:
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ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.
John McCalmont, L. McFadden, Francis Carter, William Carter; super- visors: Alexander Bowman, Joel Sage; overseers: James Haslet, James. McCune; fence viewers: R. McCalmont, T. Wilson.
1827.
Allegheny .- Constable, William Haworth; supervisors: A. Benedict, J. Walliston.
Cherry Tree .- Constable, B. Griffin; clerk, J. Hamilton; auditors: J. Hamilton, E. Fleming, T. Hamilton, R. Irwin; supervisors: J. Breed, L. Pringle; overseers: James Alcorn, James Ross; fence viewers: Alex- ander Davidson, Isaac Meason.
French Creek .- Constable, John Morrison; clerk, S. Sutton; auditors: T. S. McDowell, Levi Poor, J. Gilliland, J. R. Sage; supervisors: Isaac Smith, James Major; overseers: J. Evans, Aaron McKissick; fence viewers: Andrew Dewoody, George McClelland.
Irwin. - Constable, P. Surrenna; clerk, J. Hamilton; auditors: R. Sut- ton, A. Porter, J. Mckinley, William Hovis; supervisors: Thomas Baird, M. Griffin; overseers: T. Boylan, J. McMurdy; fence viewers: J. Hardman, J. Osborn.
Pinegrove .- Constable, C. Henlen; clerk, H. Schwabb; auditors: G. Mot- ter, J. McNeaghton, A. Yale, John Moore; supervisors: D. Reiner, L. Zink.
Plum. - Constable, G. W. Smith; supervisors: John Grove, William Cooper.
Richland .- Constable, R. McGinnis; clerk, William Platt; auditors: J. Agnew, H. Neely, B. Junkin, James Houston; supervisors: J. Snyder, James Platt; overseers: J. Donaldson, John Shaffer; fence viewers: J. Platt, H. Neely.
Rockland. - Constable, John Shannon; clerk, J. Smith; auditors: J. Young, H. Reed, David Smith, Enoch Battin; supervisors: Adam Kerns, David Smith; overseers: Peter Stroup, Samuel Borland; fence viewers :: Robert Neill, John Gray.
Scrubgrass .- Constable, John Phipps; clerk, John Anderson; auditors: James Scott, James Craig, Thomas Milford, William Dickson; supervisors :. Samuel Eakin, Reuben Irwin; overseers: J. Crawford, James Eakin.
Sugar Creek. - Clerk, J. McFadden; auditors: L. McFadden, John Mea- son, William Parker, James Thompson; supervisors: J. Roberts, Joel Sage; overseers: T. Wilson, Alexander Bowman; fence viewers: J. Lupher, James Foster.
1828.
Allegheny .- Constable, T. Morrison; supervisors: William Neill, H .. Morrison.
Cherry Tree .- Constable, Jacob Grove; clerk, John Hamilton; auditors :: E. Fleming, J. Archer, T. Hamilton, J. Irwin; supervisors: A. Robison,
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
William Reynolds; overseers: M. McFadden, J. Archer; fence viewers: E. Stewart, A. S. Hancock.
French Creek .- Constable, James Adams; clerk, R. N. Ayres; auditors: James Adams, A. Duffield, D. Brown, William Black; supervisors: James Adams, William Connely; overseers: Aaron McKissick, J. Evans; fence viewers: William Raymond, Andrew Dewoody.
Irwin. - Constable, Peter Walter; clerk, R. Mitchell; auditors: John Boner, J. Walter, P. Surrenna, R. Mitchell; supervisors: Thomas Baird, J. McMurdy; overseers: J. McMurdy, H. Stephenson; fence viewers: H. Cochran, J. Vaughan.
Pinegrove .- Constable, D. Walter; supervisors: D. Reyner, Samuel Zink.
Plum. -- Constable, Adam Zener; auditors: Benjamin August, J. G. Bradley, M. Jennings, Samuel Small; supervisors: J. G. Bradley, T. Fet- terman.
Richland .- Constable, John Donaldson; supervisors: William Kerns, H. Neely; overseers: D. O'Neill, A. Ritchey.
Rockland .- Constable, J. C. Evans; auditors: J. Shannon, J. Jolly, H. Reed, Enoch Battin; supervisors: Peter Lovell, John Stroup; overseers: D. Smith, J. Smith; fence viewers: Daniel Smith, J. Moorhead.
Scrubgrass .- Constable, J. Phipps; clerk, J. Craig; auditors: J. Craig, M. Perry, William Dickson, T. Kerr; supervisors: S. Eakin, R. Sutton; overseers: D. Wasson, James Leslie; fence viewers: David Say, John An- derson.
Sugar Creek .- Constable, John Linn; auditors: John Mason, James Thompson, J. Whitman, Elijah McFadden; supervisors: James Linn, James Haslet; overseers: W. Brown, J. Foster; fence viewers: S. Rhoads, J. Lamberton.
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
FIRST COURTS-COURT WEEK DURING PIONEER DAYS-JOHN MORRISON, THE OLD CRIER-RECORD OF THE FIRST SESSIONS-FIRST JURIES AND CASES TRIED-PROMINENT EARLY LAWYERS-THE BENCH-BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF THE SUCCESSIVE PRESIDENT JUDGES- SPECIAL DISTRICT COURT-ASSOCIATE JUDGES- THE BAR OF THE PAST AND PRESENT.
YTHE act of March 12, 1800, dividing western Pennsylvania into coun- - ties, provided that the counties of Venango, Mercer, Erie, and Warren should be temporarily attached to Crawford, with the seat of justice at Meadville. The courts of common pleas for these counties were, therefore, held at that town until their separate and distinct organization. The act organizing Erie and Mercer was passed April 2, 1803, and for Venango, April 1, 1805. It will thus be seen that the judicial affairs of this county were transacted at Meadville during the five years intervening between its erection and organization.
On the 16th of December, 1805, a general court of quarter sessions was held in Franklin, Jesse Moore presiding, assisted by John Irwin and Thomas McKee, associate judges. This court convened in a log house on Liberty street, on the lot above what is now the United States hotel, long occupied as a dwelling and drug store. It was torn down in 1863, and its successor is now occupied by a grocery store. The late Doctor Eaton gives the fol- 'lowing graphic description of court week during pioneer days:
Court week was a grand occasion to the ancient burghers of Franklin and the entire county. All other business seemed to be suspended, and all interest centered in the matter of the court and its proceedings. The people came in from the country, not only those who might have business in court, but others from curiosity and a laud- able desire to know how justice was administered. Hotels and boarding houses were crowded, and the streets thronged. Especially was this the case during the first two .or three days after court opened. Then the interest seemed to moderate, and the peo- ple dropped off one after another until the town resumed, by Saturday, its quiet and dignified manner.
There was no bell on the old court house on its first erection. The court was called by a long tin horn, purchased perhaps at the county's expense. Its peals were poured out loud and long by the old court crier when the judge, lawyers, jurymen, witnesses, and people in general filed into the building and took their seats. The judge
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
then called out, "Crier, open court," when old John Morrison, who opened the first courts in Mercer, Crawford, aud Warren counties, arose with all the dignity of a knight of old and commenced that wonderful speech that has come down through so many years to our own day. It commenced "O yez! O yez!" and concluded with a kind of prayer "God save the commonwealth and the honorable court." Colonel Samuel Dale taught this speech to the old crier, and his successors have picked it up as well as they could. Whether it impressed the multitude or not, it is certain that it impressed the crier. A legal gentleman, whose boyhood days were spent here, relates his recollection of court week. "Before the advent of the court house bell it was the duty of the crier to summon the people to the temple of justice by blowing a large tin horn which was kept in a closet under the court house stairs for that purpose. He would take his position at the court house door, and pointing the horn toward Kin- near's tavern, where the judge stopped, would throw his head back, his long hair streaming out behind him, and give out such blasts as showed incontestably that old as he was his lungs were still in good condition."
The record of the first session of court ever held in Venango county reads as follows: "At a court of general quarter sessions of the peace began on Monday, the 16th day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand, eight hundred and five, before the Honorable Jesse Moore, esquire, president, John Irwin and Thomas McKee, associate justices, and held at Franklin for the county of Venango." There were present at the court beside the above named officials John Witherup, sheriff, and William Moore, prothonotary, both of whom assisted in the organization. The first official business transacted by this tribunal was the recommendation to the gov- ernor of George McClelland as a suitable person to keep a public house of entertainment in Irwin township, and the reception of a petition signed by sundry inhabitants, setting forth that "they labored under great inconven- ience from the want of a road or cartway from the town of Franklin to the north side of Robert Anderson's, adjoining the line of Mercer county, to intersect a road opened from the town of Mercer." Viewers were appointed to examine the proposed route and report at a subsequent session, and after the appointment of the following constables, to wit, Samuel Jones, William Simms, and John Stiver, for the townships of Allegheny, Brokenstraw, and Sugar Creek, respectively, the first court of Venango county adjourned.
The second session was held on Monday, the 17th day of March, 1806, at which time, after the transaction of necessary preliminary business, the sheriff "returned the precept to him directed, by which it appears that the following persons were summoned and returned to inquire for the common- wealth and for the body of Venango county. *
* *: John Culbertson, Daniel Wasson, Thomas Milford, Patrick Jack, Caleb Crane, Sr., John Cooper, Thomas Baird, Welden Adams, Robert Johnston, John McClaran, David Nickerson, Jesse Williams, John Hays, Benjamin Williams, Reuben Sutton, Patrick Davidson, Jr., Philip Hoffman, Joseph Riggs, William Da- vidson, Thomas Black, James Davidson, Aaron Austin, Robert Calvert, and Anthony Sharkey. At this session was returned the first indictment against. one Andrew Miller, a justice of the peace, for " misdemeanor in office," to-
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
which charge he plead non cul. et de hoc ponit se super patriam; deputy attorney general, similiter. At June session, 1806, he was tried by a jury of his countrymen, namely: John Martin, Sr., John Wilson, James Les- lie, Matthew Riddle, Daniel Crain, James Fearis, Shadrach Simcox, Hamilton Mcclintock, Patrick Coulter, John Black, William Dewoody, and Seth Jewel, "twelve good men who being duly ballotted for, elected, and sworn, on their oaths respectfully do say they find the defendant guilty in manner and form as he stands indicted."
The second case, "Res publica vs. Hugh Clifford," charged with assault and battery, was tried the same day by the following jury: Patrick Coulter, William Brandon, Peter Walter, Andrew Allison, Shadrach Simcox, Hamil- ton McClintock, Daniel Crain, Seth Jewel, James Leslie, Robert Crawford, John Black, and John Martin, who, after mature deliberation, returned a verdict of not guilty.
For the June session, 1806, the following grand jury of inquest was returned: Joseph Allen, Brice Gilmore, Simeon Van Arsdale, Henry Crull, Jacob Vaughan, James McClaran, James Foster, John Stephens, John Nel- son, Archibald Davidson, James Craig, John McQuiston, John Sloan, John Broadfoot, Robert Beatty, Samuel Plumer, William Cousins, and William Russell. The business of this session was devoted principally to hearing cases appealed from justices' courts, appointing viewers on roadways, and exercising a general supervision over the internal improvements of the county. A number of indictments were found by this and subsequent grand juries for larceny, assault and battery, forgery, riot, etc., which fairly dem- onstrate that the pioneer fathers were not lax in meting out justice to of- fenders.
During the first few years after the organization of the county, the rec- ords show that the majority of cases tried in her courts were those in which physical prowess predominated. This is apt to be the case in any newly settled country, and goes to prove that the strong arm of the law is a very necessary appendage in the progress and evolutionary process of civilization. Man as a rule does not respect the rights of others from an innate desire to be just, but because he knows that unless he stands within the bounds of the law he will be liable to punishment; and therefore it is the fear of the law more than a love of justice that controls the rougher element of every community. It is true that with the progress of centuries the coarser nature in man has been gradually toned down by religious influences, and in every age thousands of men have acted justly and honestly irre- spective of human laws. .
When the settlements were new and isolated, legal science flourished with a vigor unusual in rude societies, and the bench and bar of western Pennsylvania contained many men of eloquence and learning. The collision of such opposite characters, together with the unsettled state of the country,
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HISTORY OF VENANGO COUNTY.
produced a mass of curious incidents, many of which are still preserved, and? circulate at the bar in the hours of forensic leisure. In those days the prac- tice differed materially from what it is now. The country was thinly set- tled, the people poor, and fees were correspondingly small. The lawyers. were obliged to practice in a number of counties in order to make a liveli- hood and some of them were away from their homes and offices the greater- part of the time. They traveled from one county seat to another on horse- back, with their legal papers and a few books in a sack across the saddle. A number of lawyers usually rode the circuit together, and had their ap- pointed stopping places where they were expected. On their arrival, the chickens, dried apples, maple sugar, corn dodgers, and old whiskey suffered,. while the best story tellers regaled the company with their fund of humor and anecdote.
Among the most prominent pioneer lawyers who practiced here during the early years of the county's history, were the following: David Irvine, David La Fever, John Galbraith, Alexander McCalmont, John J. Pearson, James Thompson, John W. Howe, James Ross Snowden, Samuel Porter Johnson, Thomas S. Espy, William Stewart, Jonathan Ayres, and James. S. Myers, of Franklin; John W. Hunter, Alexander W. Foster, John B. Wallace, Edward Work, Ralph Marlin, J. Stuart Riddle, George Selden, Richard Bean, Patrick Farrelly, Henry Baldwin, Gaylord Church, and Da- vid Derickson, of Meadville; Samuel B. Foster and John Banks, of Mercer ;. General William Ayres, Charles Sullivan, George W. Smith, and Judge John Bredin, of Butler, and James Ross and Thomas Collins, of Pittsburgh. Some of the Franklin lawyers changed their residences at a later day, but. in subsequent years were often engaged on important cases at this bar.
THE BENCH.
As already stated Venango county was for five years connected with, Crawford for judicial purposes, with the seat of justice at Meadville, Alex- ander Addison being the first presiding judge of the district. Addison was. a learned and highly accomplished Scotchman, who began the practice of the legal profession at Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1797. Prepared for the- ministry, in which he labored for a time in Washington, he was thoroughly trained in the principles of justice and equity, and early became known throughout the counties of western Pennsylvania as an eminently just and upright lawyer and patriotic aud public spirited citizen. "Judge Addison," says Mr. Hall, of Pittsburgh, "possessed a fine mind and great attain- ments. He was an accomplished scholar, deeply versed in every branch of classical learning. In law and theology he was great; but although he ex- plored the depths of science with unwearied assiduity, he could sport in the sunbeams of literature and cull with nice discrimination the gems of poetry."
Fearless and impartial, he did his duty as he understood it, and his.
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bold and conscientious course in supporting the general government during the whiskey insurrection of 1794 secured for him many personal enemies. He was impeached and removed from the bench in 1802 on account of his absolute refusal to allow one of the associate judges to charge the jury after * his own charge had been delivered. No judicial body would or could have convicted him, and, failing in the courts, his persecutors sought the aid of the legislature. The house ordered his impeachment and the senate convicted him, the sentence being his removal as president judge of the fifth judicial district, and perpetual disqualification to any judicial office in the state. This trial, which took place in 1802, resulted in deposing one of the ablest judges that ever sat on the bench in Pennsylvania and crushed the spirit of an upright and honorable man. He continued, however, to practice in the. different courts until his death, which occurred in Pittsburgh on the 27th of November, 1807.
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