USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > History of Venango County, Pennsylvania : its past and present, including > Part 17
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As a religious man Judge Trunkey was eminently careful and conscien- tious. Religion was an active principle in his life and all he said or did was influenced by it. After his removal to Franklin he was elected a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church and at once entered upon the active duties of that office. He also was a director of Princeton Theological Seminary several years. He delighted in visiting the poor and afflicted, and was gen- erous almost to a fault in alleviating the wants of the destitute. In person Judge Trunkey was about six feet tall, slender, erect in his carriage, and de- liberate yet quick in his movements. In manner he was always courteous and approachable. Fond of innocent amusements and a capital story teller, he entered into such pleasures with youthful vivacity, and was always a wel- come guest at the social gatherings of his neighbors. No words of bitter- ness or quick censure ever escaped his lips, but on the contrary he always had an apology for the evil words and deeds of those around him. There is this crowning fact in his career. From his boyhood until he laid him down to die in a strange land, he led a singularly honorable and pure life. With all the high positions to which he had attained and adorned, there were, in the judgment of his friends, still greater possibilities in store for him, but these were not to be realized in this life. The memory of Judge Trunkey is deeply revered by the people of Venango county, for there has never been a name associated with her history that will go down to posterity with a brighter or purer record.
Charles E. Taylor has been president judge of the twenty-eighth judicial
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district since the resignation of Judge Trunkey, in December, 1877. He was born in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, September 4, 1826, son of Edmund and Theodosia (Clark) Taylor, the former a Revolutionary soldier from that state. In childhood he removed with his parents to Cleveland, Ohio, where he lived until his father's death, when his mother located in Mercer county, Pennsylvania. Our subject learned the painter's trade, and followed that vocation for many years. In 1846 he married Miss Jane, daughter of John McWilliams, a pioneer family of Harbor Creek township, Erie county, Pennsylvania. She survived her marriage only about a year, and at her death left one son, John. In 1850 Mr. Taylor came to Frank- lin, where he continued to work at his trade, and subsequently worked at Clarion, Pennsylvania. Returning to Franklin he married Miss Susan, J., daughter of Charles W. Mackey, an early resident of that place.
In 1856 he commenced reading law under McCormick & Kerr, of Frank- lin. His evenings were spent in the acquirement of legal knowledge, while supporting his family by working at his trade during the daytime. Thus under discouraging difficulties he obtained his first knowledge of the law: His early education consisted of only a few years during his boyhood in the common schools, and this was a great drawback to him while pursuing his legal studies. Yet with dogged tenacity he remained firm in his resolve to become a lawyer, and on the 27th of April, 1858, he was admitted to the bar. He immediately hung out his shingle, and in due time grew into a fair practice. In the fall of 1859 he was elected on the Democratic ticket as district attorney, and was still filling that position when the civil war began.
In the summer of 1861 he commenced raising a company for the Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was mustered into that regiment as captain of Company I the following October. He participated in the Seven Days' campaign before Richmond, and while on a reconnaissance from Harrison's Landing was wounded. After the evacuation of that base of operations, Captain Taylor was sent to the hospital at Point Lookout, Maryland, where he was honorably discharged from the service, October 4, 1862, because of disability to perform further military duty. This fact was attested by the attending surgeon and every officer of his regiment.
On his return to Franklin he formed a partnership with Calvin W. Gil- fillan, which continued about five years. During this period the firm of Taylor & Gilfillan did a very extensive legal business, and was recognized as one of the prominent firms at this bar. In the meantime Captain Taylor's brother-in-law, Charles W. Mackey, had been admitted as a member of the firm, and when Mr. Gilfillan retired Taylor & Mackey continued the large practice that had been built up through the passing years.
When the civil war broke out Judge Taylor was an ardent unionist, and was one of the thirty-four Democratic delegates of Pennsylvania who at-
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tended the peace congress at Washington during that exciting period in our national history. The efforts of this congress to prevent war proved a failure, and he subsequently cast his political fortunes with the Republican party, and has ever since been an unswerving supporter of its candidates, its measures, and its principles.
In 1866 he was the nominee of the Venango Republicans for the judge- ship. But the Republicans of Mercer county also had a candidate in the field that year, and both were beaten by John Trunkey, the Democratic nominee. In 1876 he and Judge Trunkey were the respective candidates of their parties for the judgeship, and he was again defeated. In December, 1877, he was appointed to fill the vacancy on the bench caused by the resignation of Judge Trunkey, and November 5, 1878, he was elected to the same position, and was re-elected as his own successor, November 6, 1888, by the largest majority ever given in Venango county.
Before his appointment to the bench Judge Taylor was recognized as a bright, able lawyer, particularly so in the celerity which he exhibited in discovering the leading features involved, and the clearness and determined persistence with which he presented and prosecuted his plea. He lays no claim to being a dignified, great, or brilliant jurist, but he possesses a naturally quick intuition that seldom fails to grasp the most intricate points of the case at issue, and, being a hard student, he is always able to support his views and decisions with recognized precedents and authorities. A man of positive views and convictions, and never afraid to express them, it would indeed be strange if he had no enemies; but the large majorities by which he has been placed upon the bench in two successive elections are incontrovertible evidence of his popularity among the people of Venango county. Judge Taylor is a charter member of Mays Post, G. A. R., and one of the oldest living members of the Masonic lodge of Franklin.
Special District Court .- The courts of common pleas in this district were held by the president judge, aided by two associates, until May, 1839, when a special district court was created for the purpose of disposing of the accu- mulated business in Venango, Crawford, Erie, and Mercer counties. James Thompson, of Franklin, was appointed to the district judgeship, and filled the position until May, 1845. The term originally was for five years, but it was extended one year by request of the bar. Judge Thompson was one of the most distinguished jurists of Pennsylvania, and a man of more than state reputation. He was born in Butler county, this state, in 1805, and in early life learned the printer's trade and later prepared himself for the legal profession, and was admitted to the bar at Franklin, February 23, 1829. In 1832 he was elected to the state legislature, and twice re-elected, and in 1834 was chosen speaker of the house. He subsequently served in the congress of the United States, and in 1857 was elected judge of the supreme court, in which capacity he served fifteen years, the last five of which he
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was chief justice of the state. Judge Thompson moved from Franklin to Erie in 1842, and shortly after his election to the supreme bench removed to Philadelphia. He married a daughter of Reverend N. R. Snowden, of Franklin, and had a family of six children, five living: J. Ross, attorney, of Erie; Mrs. Sarah Robb; Clara; Samuel G., attorney, of Philadelphia, and William E. Judge Thompson was one of the prominent Democrats of the state. He was a man of great brain power, and as an orator ranked among the most eloquent men of the country. As a lawyer he was thorough, prac- tical and brilliant, and in his official capacity both on the district and supreme bench his name will always be mentioned among the most learned and eminent jurists of the state.
Associate Judges .- Two associate judges assisted the president judge, from the organization of the county until the office was abolished by the con- stitution of 1873 in all counties constituting a separate district, though the judges then in office served out their full terms. The associate judges were always fixtures of the counties where they served. They were not neces- sarily lawyers, but were supposed to have a better knowledge of the county than the president judge, if he were a non-resident, and had a better under- standing of the roads, bridges and needs of the people in regard to license to sell intoxicants.
The first associate judges of Venango county were John Irwin and Thomas McKee, whose names appear upon the records of the first court ever held in Franklin in 1805. John Irwin was from Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and came to Venango in 1800. He was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1767, and died in December, 1838, hold- ing the office of judge for thirty-three years. He was an uncle to Richard Irwin, and a surveyor, making his home in the upper end of the county. Thomas McKee was one of the early settlers of Clinton township, where his family and descendants remain to this day.
James G. Heron was the third associate judge. He was not a lawyer by education or profession, but simply bore the office of associate judge. He seems to have come to Franklin at a very early day in its history. His name is not connected with the military here, although he was an officer in the Revolutionary army, and must have arrived very soon after the town was laid out, as his name appears in the books of George Power in 1795. He is represented as having been a man of sterling worth, a useful member of society, a safe and judicious counsellor. It is probable that his judicial duties were not burdensome nor his responsibilities great, yet he stood his lot and aided in moulding public opinion when in a formative state. His death occurred on the 30th day of December, 1809.
Richard Irwin was chosen associate judge in 1838, and is remembered as one of the early settlers and leading politicians of Venango county. He was for many years county surveyor, and was a man of intelligence and
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sound judgment. His son, H. May Irwin, is editor of the Evening News, of Franklin.
Robert Mitchell, one of the pioneers of French Creek township, became associate judge in 1840. He was a farmer by occupation, a substantial citizen of the community in which he resided, and at one time represented Venango county in the state legislature.
Benjamin A. Plumer, whose official term began in 1843, was a brother of Arnold Plumer, and a leading merchant of Franklin. He was a man of good intellect and sound judgment, and made an honorable record as asso- ciate justice.
James Kinnear, one of the best known citizens of Franklin, was elected to the judgeship in 1845. He is well remembered as the proprietor of the leading tavern in the county seat for many years, and was a gentleman of some local prominence.
The successors of the foregoing were Alexander Holeman, Robert Cross, John H. Smiley, Samuel Hays, David Phipps, W. W. Davison, Joshua Davis, William Connely, Robert Lamberton, R. S. McCormick, and James L. Connely, all of whom have filled an honorable place in the history of Venango county.
THE BAR.
One of the first attorneys admitted to practice at the Venango county bar and the first resident lawyer of Franklin was David Irvine, who locat- ed at the seat of justice in 1806, and was then a young man of considerable talent and well read in his profession. He soon succeeded in building up a lucrative practice, and is remembered as having been connected with many of the cases in the early litigation of Venango and neighboring counties. As a lawyer he appears to have been painstaking and methodical, honest in his intercourse with litigants, and popular with the public generally. In due time he married Mary Ann Heron, daughter of Judge James G. Heron, reared a family of several children, and died at Franklin about the year 1827. His widow survived him a number of years, living to a good old age, and died at Erie, Pennsylvania, whither she removed many years ago.
David La Fever came to the county a few years later than the foregoing, and from reasonably well founded supposition appears to have been the sec- ond resident lawyer of Franklin. Of his personal and professional history but little is remembered, save that he resided in the county for a limited period and followed the usual practice of itinerating or riding the circuit of the different county seats. He left Franklin many years ago-going no one knows whither.
Prominent among the well known and successful lawyers of the Ven- ango bar in an early day was John Galbraith, who moved from Butler, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the practice of his profession at Frank- lin, February 23, 1819. He was descended from an old and well known
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Irish family of the same name, prominent in the early history of the com- monwealth, and was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, August 2, 1794, the son of John Galbraith, who served with distinction in the war of American independence. His father moved to Butler county about the be- ginning of the present century where the son grew to early manhood on a farm. Long before he was of age he was in charge of a school and in due time served an apprenticeship to the printing business in the same office in Butler where James Thompson, afterward chief justice, was employed. Tiring of the printing business he turned his attention to the law, and after a course of study in the office of General William Ayres, of Butler, was ad- mitted to the bar when about twenty-four years of age. Soon afterward he married Miss Amy Ayres, daughter of Reverend Robert Ayres, an Epis- copal minister and brother of General Ayres. Early in 1819 he became a resident of Franklin, where his fine legal attainments soon won him a con- spicuous place among the leading attorneys of the Venango bar. Possessing the elements of the successful politician he rose rapidly in popular esteem, and in 1828 was elected a member of the state legislature and re-elected three times in succession. In 1832 he was elected on the Democratic ticket to the congress of the United States and re-elected in 1834, in the delib- erations of which body he took an active part both as member of important committees and on the floor as a speaker. In 1837 he moved to Erie, and the following year was again elected to congress from this district. In No- vember, 1851, he was elected president judge of the district embracing Erie, Crawford, and Mercer counties, running as a Democratic candidate in a dis- trict which usually gave about one thousand one hundred Whig majority. His death occurred on the 15th day of June, 1860, before the expiration of his term.
As a lawyer Judge Galbraith possessed fine legal attainments, was thoroughly versed in the principles of jurisprudence, and early took rank among the successful jurists of western Pennsylvania. Careful in the prep- aration of all legal papers, clear headed in the management of cases, in his statements of propositions, and addresses to juries, he was inclined to be somewhat lengthy but always explicit. He was one of the foremost men in promoting the various public enterprises that gave the first strong impulse to Erie county, the pioneer in building a railroad from Erie to the Ohio line, besides being a leading spirit in various other important internal improve- ments in the western part of the state. His son, William Ayres Galbraith, who was born in Franklin, May 9, 1823, is one of the leading lawyers of Erie, and has served as president judge of the Erie district.
Alexander McCalmont comes next in the order of time. He was ad- mitted to the bar about 1820, and practiced his profession until his ap- pointment to the bench in 1839. As"we have previously given a sketch of Judge McCalmont in this chapter, the reader is referred thereto for a brief summary of his career.
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The name of John J. Pearson, late judge of the Dauphin and Lebanon county court, stands conspicuous among the leading lawyers who practiced at the Venango bar in pioneer days. Judge Pearson was a native of Dela- ware county, Pennsylvania, born October 25, 1800, the son of Bevan and Anna (Warner) Pearson. When five years of age he was taken by his par- ents to Mercer county, in the schools of which he received his early educa- tional training. Having early determined to make the legal profession a life work, he began the study of the same in the office of John Banks of Mercer, was admitted to the bar in August, 1822, and the following year located in Franklin, where he soon built up a large and lucrative practice. In the Venango Herald, bearing date June 10, 1823, appears his business card, as follows:
JOHN J. PEARSON, ESQ., Attorney at Law, Has established himself in Franklin, and intends practicing in the different courts of Venango, Mercer, and Warren counties.
" Mr. Pearson," says Doctor Eaton, "was one of our best citizens and ablest attorneys. He married Ellen, a daughter of General Samuel Hays, and after some years removed to Mercer, thence subsequently to Harrisburg, where he died.". In 1849 he was appointed by Governor Johnson to the office of president judge of the twelfth judicial district, composed of the counties of Dauphin and Lebanon, the duties of which he discharged con- tinuously for a period of thirty-three years, having been frequently re-elected. without opposition. During his residence in Mercer he was twice elected to office, first to the congress of the United States, and afterward to the senate. of Pennsylvania for the counties of Mercer and Beaver, three years of which term were spent as chairman of the judiciary committee. Judge Pearson's second marriage was solemnized with Miss Mary H., daughter of Joseph. and Caroline Briggs, of Harrisburg. Politically he was for many years an ardent Whig, and later, in 1856, he joined the ranks of the newly formed Republican party, with which he remained identified until his death in the spring of 1888.
James Thompson was one of the pioneer lawyers of Franklin, where he- was admitted to practice in February, 1829. He soon won a foremost rank among the legal lights of northwestern Pennsylvania, and in 1839 was ap- pointed judge of a special court created for this district to dispose of a large amount of accumulated business. A brief sketch of him will be found in this chapter following the list of president judges who have graced the "woolsack " in the Venango district.
The name of John W. Howe appears on the old records in connection. with much of the early litigation of Venango county. Mr. Howe was born in the state of Maine in the year 1801, became a resident of Smethport,.
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Pennsylvania, when quite young, and moved from that town to Franklin in 1830. He was then a young man seeking a field for practice, and as legal business was not large he supplemented his profession with the duties of justice of the peace, to which he was commissioned by Governor Wolfe. He soon became well known throughout the county as a fearless and upright magistrate. Subsequently he directed his whole attention to legal practice and formed a partnership with James S. Myers, which continued during his residence in Franklin. For twenty years he was a leading man at the bar, not only in Venango, but in other counties of western Pennsylvania where he practiced quite extensively. He was a man of high character, an able and reliable attorney, and an eminently successful practitioner. His ad- dresses to juries were characterized by vigorous declamation, good humor, and keen sarcasm, and his wonderful self-possession under all circumstances often gave him decided advantage over opposing counsel in difficult cases.
In 1848 he was elected by the Whig party to the congress of the United States, and re-elected two years later, during the excitement of the fugitive slave law. He was among the earliest advocates in this part of the state of the anti-slavery movement, and weakened his standing in the Whig party by his unswerving course as a " Free-Soiler." He subsequently became a Republican, and throughout the civil war his firm patriotism was outspoken in support of the Union.
Mr. Howe was married in Smethport to Miss Sally Bailey ere his com- ing to Franklin. She survived him until April, 1880, and died without issue at the home of her adopted daughter in Franklin. Soon after Mr. Howe located in Franklin he united with the Presbyterian church, under the first pastor, Reverend Thomas Anderson, and up to his death continued an active member thereof. He was a religious man, and an old-time observer of the Sabbath, while his everyday life was characterized by strict conformity to the teachings of his church. In 1852 he removed to Meadville, and after- · ward to Rochester, New York, where he died in 1873. His adopted daugh- ter, widow of Doctor Eaton, is a resident of Franklin.
James Ross Snowden, LL. D., was one of the early attorneys of Ve- nango county. He was descended from one of the oldest families of Penn- sylvania, his great ancestor, John Snowden, being the owner of land within the state as far back as 1678. Branches of the family settled about the · same time in Virginia and Maryland. Mr. Snowden was the youngest son of Reverend Nathaniel R. Snowden, D. D., who was the first Presbyterian preacher at Harrisburg, to which place he removed from Philadelphia when the present state capital was a mere hamlet. His four brothers were lead- ing physicians and his only sister was married to the late James Thompson, chief justice of Pennsylvania. Mr: Snowden was educated at Dickinson College under the tuition of his father, who for many years had charge of that institution. On leaving college he studied law and was admitted to the
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bar at the early age of nineteen, having removed in the meantime to Frank- lin, Venango county, where he was shortly afterward appointed deputy attorney general. He subsequently entered public life and for several years represented the Venango district in the state legislature, and was speaker of the house in the years 1842 and 1844.
In 1845 he came within one vote of being nominated for the United States senate by the Democratic party, although at the time he was under thirty-six years of age. The same year he was elected state treasurer and re-elected the following year. His incorruptible integrity at once com- manded the confidence of all parties, and his wise, temperate, but firm pol- icy earned him the reputation of an able and trusted official. In 1846 President Polk tendered him the position of treasurer of the mint, with the assistant treasurership of the United States at Philadelphia, which position he accepted. In 1850 he returned to the practice of the legal profession and was appointed solicitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which position he subsequently resigned to accept the directorship of the United States mint, tendered him by President Pierce. He filled the position with satisfaction to the government until 1861, when he was appointed prothon- otary of the supreme court of Pennsylvania. In 1873 Mr. Snowden resumed the practice of his profession in Philadelphia.
During his many active public duties he was connected with various sci- entific, literary, and historical societies, and as an elder in the Presbyterian church took an active part in the general assemblies of that denomination. He was also a writer of considerable ability. Among his publications may be mentioned the following: "Medals of Washington and National Med- als;" "Biographies of Directors of the Mint, from 1792 to 1861;" "Coins and Money Terms of the Bible," and "Cornplanter, a Memorial Sketch of the Six Nations." At different times he published pamphlets on currency, the national coinage, history, and other subjects. In 1872 Washington and Jefferson College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. In all the various responsible positions which he filled, he displayed the best qualities of the honest official, and at all times commanded public esteem and confidence. Respected by those who enjoyed his intimate acquaintance, his life was of service as an example and incentive. He died in Philadelphia on the 21st of March, 1878.
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