USA > Pennsylvania > Warren County > History of Warren County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 37
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Other railroads were completed during the years mentioned as follows: The Warren and Franklin from Irvineton to Oil City in 1866, carrying 65,000 passengers during the first five months after its completion. The Dunkirk and Warren railroad, commenced in the fall of 1867, was finished in 1871, and in 1872 the Warren and Venango road, from Warren to Titusville, was opened for business. In 1883 was completed another railroad, running up the Alle- gheny River through Kinzua and Corydon to Salamanca and Olean, now called the Buffalo, New York and Philadelphia Railroad, making Warren a center, to and from which trains run in five different directions every day in the week, Sundays excepted.
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311
THE BENCH AND BAR.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
Interesting Memoirs of the President Judges now Deceased-Full Mention of Those Who Survive-The Bar-A Complete Roll of Attorneys Admitted Since the Organization of the County-Remarks Concerning Some of the Earliest Resident Attorneys-Notes Relating to Present Attorneys in Active Practice.
THE BENCH.
N his address delivered at the dedication of the new court-house, December I 3, 1877, Hon. Samuel P. Johnson referred to the president judges who have presided over the courts of Warren county, particularly those deceased, in the following words. And we will add that none living were more compe- tent to speak of the dead worthies than he, since he had been personally acquainted with all of them.
"During the fifty-eight years of its existence, twelve president or law judges have presided over the destinies of the people of Warren county in the administration of the laws, seven of whom have closed their records upon earth and been committed without bail or mainprize to the prison of the tomb, while five still remain to claim the benefit of the extension law.
"This county has been fortunate in the character of those intrusted with the great responsibilities of presiding judge during its early history. I speak but of the dead. Let posterity write the history of the living.
" The Hon. Jesse Moore was the first in the order of time, from 1819 to 1824. He was a gentleman of the old school, dignified but courteous, learned but not brilliant, characterized by stern integrity and freedom from all preju- dice. He was a short, thick-set man, and some still remember his benignant countenance, partially bald head, well-powdered hair, and broad-brimmed, drab-colored hat. He died suddenly, when still in the prime of life and ma- turity of intellect, honored and lamented by all.
" Henry Shippen succeeded him from 1825 to 1835. His characteristics were common sense and sound judgment. Many here will remember his inflexible honesty, his fidelity to truth, and his contempt for trickery and fraud. A single instance will suffice to illustrate : In 1834 a notorious person- age of a neighboring county by fraud and false interpretation had procured a judgment note from the venerable old Cornplanter for three thousand dollars, entered judgment, and issued execution on it. Application was made by counsel, in behalf of the old chief, to open the judgment and let him into a defense. As the evidence of the villainy was disclosed, the judge became very nervous. Anger flashed from his eye, and before the counsel got through his
312
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
evidence the judge told him to stop, and, leaning over the bench, in a voice hoarse with indignation, said: 'Mr. Clerk, set aside that writ and strike that judgment from the records of this court !'
"Next came, in 1835, Judge Nathaniel B. Eldred, the accomplished gen- tleman, brimful of honor, honesty, and sympathy. His quick perception, sound judgment, and stern impartiality guided him to the justice of a case, without the aid of much legal learning, so that his decisions were seldom appealed from and were seldom reversed. With but a year of interruption he remained with us until 1843, when he was removed by appointment to the Harrisburg district. His social qualities and public spirit, as well as official conduct, had greatly endeared him to the hearts of the people of this and other counties, who parted with him with much reluctance and regret.
" In 1839, after the death of Judge Shippen, Judge Eldred was appointed his successor in the sixth district, out of which this county had been taken in 1835 to form part of the eighteenth, and without our solicitation or knowledge Alexander McCalmont was appointed to fill his place in the eighteenth district, including Warren county. His administration was so short and unsatisfactory that I will be excused for passing it over in silence. The next year, by legis- lative act, this county was restored to the sixth district, and thus again came under the jurisdiction of Judge Eldred. He was the only judge of the first seven that ever resided in Warren.
" After Eldred came Judge Gaylord Church, in 1843, young, ardent, am- bitious, industrious, painstaking and prompt. With much ability and no sym- pathy, he exacted a rigid enforcement of the criminal law, and a technical application of both law and practice in civil cases. He was a terror to evil- doers. Withal, his head was a little dizzy by the elevation so suddenly thrust upon him, and he seemed jealous lest it should be supposed there was anything he did not know.
" He retired in 1851 under the operation of the amended constitution, and was succeeded by the Hon. John Galbraith, who was elected in the fall of that year. He brought with him age, learning, and experience. His prominent characteristics were honesty, frankness, charity for all, and an abounding sym- pathy for the erring and unfortunate. Mercy tempered all his judgments, and sometimes down to great dilution. He died in June, 1860, a year and a half before the expiration of his term.
" Last but not least of the dead worthies whose virtues linger in our mem- ories is the Hon. James Thompson. The exigencies of the business in the sixth judicial district in 1839 required the creation of a special court of civil jurisdiction, and Judge Thompson was appointed its sole presiding officer for a term of five years. He brought to the discharge of its duties integrity, learning, and a large ability, flavored with a geniality of disposition, an urban- ity of manner, and a judicial courtesy that made him a favorite with all, and
R. Brown
313
THE BENCH AND BAR.
especially with the members of the bar. In after years, these same qualities of mind and manners adorned his administration for a full term upon the bench of the Supreme Court of the State. He died at the age of three score and ten, honored and beloved, having spent the half of his adult life in the political and judicial service of his country.
" I said this county had been fortunate in the character of its early judges. During the entire time embraced in the official history of those I have named, covering a period of over forty years, no charge of corruption, dishonesty, or malfeasance was ever made with truth against any of the incumbents. The purity of the judicial ermine suffered no tarnish while worn by them."
Of Judge Galbraith's successors on the bench as president judges-Hon. Rasselas Brown, appointed in 1860; Hon. Samuel P. Johnson, elected in 1860; Hon. Lansing D. Wetmore, elected in 1870, and Hon. William D. Brown, elected in 1880-all are yet living in the town of Warren, esteemed and hon- ored, and in the enjoyment of ample means justly earned. In other pages of this work memoirs relating to Judges R. Brown, Johnson, and Wetmore will be found.
Hon. William D. Brown was born at Sugar Grove, Warren county, Pa., September 6, 1823. After availing himself of such educational advantages as the public and private schools of Sugar Grove and the Warren Academy afforded, he studied law in the office of Johnson & Brown, and was admitted to practice December 8, 1847. In 1849 he was elected justice of the peace for the borough of Warren, but after a short time resigned. In the fall of 1850 he was elected district attorney for the county, and held the office for three years. In 1862 he served as commissioner for Warren county, to superintend the drafting of men for military service. He represented this county in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives during the years 1863-64-65, and in the fall of 1880 was elected president judge of the thirty-seventh judicial dis- trict (composed of Warren and Forest counties), for the term expiring January I, 1891. Judge Brown has been a life-long resident of this his native county, his youthful days having been passed in Sugar Grove, and the remainder, since his admission to the bar, in the town of Warren. From 1851 to the time of his election as president judge he was actively and quite successfully engaged in the practice of his profession, and gained an enviable reputation as a jurist. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry-a son of Hon. David Brown, who was the first to represent Warren county in the legislative halls of the State, after the organ- ization of the county in 1819.
THE BAR.
Since the organization of the county more than three hundred attorneys at law, a large majority of them non-residents of the county, have been admitted to practice in its various courts. Their names are found scattered through a
314
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
dozen volumes or more of dusty records, some of them not indexed, and the work of compiling a list of admissions has required the expenditure of much time and patience-the scanning, in fact, of each volume, page by page. The following roll is the result of such researches. It is believed to be nearly per- fect, and cannot be otherwise than valuable for reference, showing, as it does, the names, places of residence (so far as learned), and date of admission of the more than three hundred men referred to. Present resident attorneys in active practice are designated by italics.
Ralph Marlin, Meadville, Pa., Nov. 29, 1819
Thomas H. Sill, Erie, Pa., .4
John Galbraith, Franklin, Pa., =
Patrick Farrelly, Meadville, Pa.,
Abner Hazeltine, Warren, Pa., March 6, 1820 Robert Bostwick,
John B. Wallace, Meadville, Pa., Mch. 8, 1820
Anslem Potter, May 30, 1820
Samuel B. Foster, Mercer, Pa., Sept. 4, 1820 Frank Bergher, Dec. 4, 1820
George Selden, Meadville, Pa., June 4, 1821 Harmer Denny, Pittsburgh, Pa., June 5, 1821 Robert L. Potter, Sept. 4, 1821
Richard Bear,
Horatio N. Waigley, Sept. 2, 1822
Sanmel Ladd,
Thomas R. Peters, Sept. 4, 1822
John J. Pearson, Franklin, Pa., Dec. 3, 1822
Josiah Hall, Warren, Pa., Sept. 3, 1823 David Derrickson, Meadville, Pa., Mch. 3, 1824 Samuel Miles Green,
Stephen Barlow, Meadville. Pa.,
Henry Baldwin, Meadville, Pa .. June 1. 1824
William Ayres, Butler, Pa., 66
John Banks, Mercer, Pa ..
George J. Elliott, Erie, Pa.,
Andrew W. Morrison, Warren, Pa.,
Sept. 2. 1824
William Mckean, May 30, 1825
Moses McClane, jr .. 6
Don Carlos Barrett, Erie. Pa .. Sept. 4. 1826
Elijah Babbitt, Erie, Pa,
Gilman Merrill, Warren, Pa .. March 5, 1827 John S. Riddle, Meadville. Pa., April 3, 1827 Sylvester Dunham, Brookville, Pa., “
James 1 .. C'rary. May 5, 1828
John W. Farrelly, Meadville, Pa ..
Abram D. Ditmars, Warren, Pa., May 8, 1828 Samuel A. Purviance, Warren, Pa., Sept. I. 1828
Thomas Struthers, Warren, Pa., Sept. 8, 1828 Michael Gallagher, Warren, Pa., Dec. 1, 1828 John W. Howe, Smethport, Pa., May 4, 1829 Jehn Wilson.
lames Thompson. Frankhn, Pa., Mch. 3, 1×30 Lansing Wetmore, Warren, Pa., Dec. 2, 1830 Orlo J. Hamhn, Smethport, Pa., Sept. 3, 1832 James Ross Snowden, Franklin, Pa,, “ = A. C. Ramsay, June 3, 1833 Carlton B. Curtis, Warren, Pa., March 3, 1834 Alexander , MeCalmont, Franklin, Pa .. June 2, 1834
Alfred Huidekoper, Meadville, Pa., June 2, 1834 Samuel P. Johnson, Warren, Pa.,
Benjamin Bartholomew, Warren, Pa .. April 15, 1835
William H. Dimmick, March 7, 1837
James Mullett, Mayville, N. Y.,
Abuer Lewis, Jamestown, N. Y., ..
Gaylord Church, Meadville, Pa., June 5, 1837 John W. Maynard, Wellsboro, Pa., Dee. 4, 1837 Iliram Payne, Smethport, Pa.,
Rasselas Brown, Warren, Pa., June 4, 1839
Almon Virgil, Warren, Pa., July 29, 1839 ..
Joseph Y. James, Warren, Pa., ..
Quincy A. Johnson, Warren, Pa., Sept. 2, 1839 Joshua Sweet, Oct. 23, 1839
Richard P. Marvin, Jamestown, N. Y., Oct. 23, 1839
Arthur Cullum, Meadville, Pa., June 3, 1840 Norris W. Goodrich, Warren, Pa.,
Oct. 20,1840
Thomas S. Espy. Franklin, Pa., Dee. 29. 1840
Darius Titus, Warren, Pa., March 2, 1841 Montgomery P. Young, March 3, 1841 William H. Lamberton, Franklin, Pa.,
Dre. 8, 1841
S. J. Goodrich, Warren, Pa., March 7, 1842
John P. Vincent, Erie, P'a., March II. 1842
Edwin C. Stacy, Columbus, Pa., Sept. 9. 1842 Lothrop T. Parmlee, Warren, Pa .. Dec. 1, 1842 Glenni W. Scofield, Warren, Pa., Jan. 5, 1843 Josiah Hall, Warren. Pa., re-admitted
Jan. 5, 1843
William II. Davis, Meadville, Pa,, Dec. 5, 1843 C. IJ. S. Williams. Mayville, N. Y ..
Dec. 5, 1843
Joseph D. James, Warren, Pa., March 5, 1844 William A. Galbraith, Erie, Pa., June 3, 1844 Lansing D. Il'etmore, Warren, Pa., June 4, 1844 Charles Knapp. Warren, Pa.,
Theophilus T. Wilson, Warren, l'a., “ .. John N. Miles, Warren, Pa., 6.
Isaac Benson, Warren, Pa., June 21. 1844
E. P. Seely, Dec. 2, 1844 Edwin C. Wilson, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 3, 1845 William D. Brown, Warren, Pa., Dec. 8. 1847 George B. Delamater, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 4, 1849
Jerome W. Wetmore, Warren, Pa., Dec. 6, 1849 Madison Burnell, Jamestown, N. Y., March 6, 1850 Charles B. Curtis, Warren, Pa., Dee. 4, 1851
315
THE BENCH AND BAR.
Henry Souther, Ridgway, Pa., Jan. 19, 1852 George D. Woodin, Warren, Pa., June 9, 1852 James Karr, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 8, 1852
James Sill, Erie, Pa., Dec. 6, 1852
Theodore D. Edwards, Warren, Pa.,
June 7, 1853 =
T. C. Spencer, Warren, Pa., 66
S. W. Dana, Warren, Pa.,
Isaac S. Alden, Warren, Pa., June 8, 1854
Barnett W. Lacy, Warren, Pa., Oet. 11, 1855 Oliver A. Dalrymple, Warren, Pa., Dec. 5, 1855
O. N. Payne, March 3, 1856
Byron D. Hamlin, Smethport, Pa.,
Feb. 4, 1857 June 3, 1857
E. B. Eldred, Smethport, Pa.,
Samuel N. Dickinson, Warren, Pa,
Aug. 17, 1857
J. A. Chapin, Ridgeway, Pa., Sept. 8, 1857
Junius R. Clark, Warren, Pa.,
Aug. 17, 1858
D. J. Hodges, Warren, Pa., F. B. Guthrie, Warren, Pa., March 8, 1859 William R. Scott, Aug. 17, 1859
Charles Dinsmoor, Warren, Pa., Sept. 6, 1859 T. R. Kennedy, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 7, 1859
J. B. Johnson, Erie, Pa., Sept. G, 1860
William S. Lane, Erie, Pa., Dec. 4, 1860
William IV. Wilbur, Warren, Pa.,
April 23, 1861
H. A. Jamieson, Warren, Pa., Aug. 19, 1861
N. P. Fetterman, Pittsburgh, Pa., =
George W. De Camp, Erie Co., Pa.,
Aug. 22, 1861
Charles Taylor, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 3, 1861
J. A. Neill, Warren, Pa., Oct. 23, 18G1 James L. Lott, Warren Co., Pa., Dec. 4, 1861 David McKelvy, Warren, Pa., Feb. 10, 1862
Thomas M. Biddle, Phila., Pa. Charles E. Baldwin, June 6, 1862 June 1, 1863
A. D. Wood, Warren, Pa.,
S. E. Woodruff, Erie, Pa., June 2, 1863 Jacob Baker, Titusville, Pa., 44 Samuel T. Allen, Warren, Pa., Feb. 9, 1864 . 6
Orrin C. Allen, Warren, Pa.,
Henry Crawford, New Albany, Ind., March 8, 1864 66 66
Joel F. Asper, Erie, Pa.,
Charles E. Baldwin, name stricken from rolls March 8, 1864
O. O. Trantum Warren, Pa., Sept. 4, 1865
66
Clark Ewing, Titusville, Pa., Thomas McConnell, Pittsburgh, Pa.,
Sept. 6, 1865
William M. Biddle, Erie, Pa., Dec. 4, 1865 Joel Campbell, Corry, Pa., Dec. 6, 1865 44 16
C. O. Bowman, Corry, Pa., S. M. Davis, Meadville, Pa., March 5, 1866
Alfred B. McCalmont, Franklin, Pa., March 6, 1865 Abner Hazeltine, jr., Jamestown, N. Y., June 7, 1866 H. T. Beardsley. Lock Haven, Pa., Nov. 17, 1866
Harrison Allen, Warren, Pa., Nov. 17, 1866 Alvin W. Barry, Tidioute, Pa., $6
L. W. Wilcox, Titusville, Pa., Sept. 3, 18G6 C. W. Stone, Warren, Pa.,
66 James Buchanan, Tidioute, Pa., Sept. 4, 1866 C. D. Longfellow, Titusville, Pa.,
G. W. Allen, Warren, Pa., Dec. 3, 1866 James D. Mahon, Irvine, Pa., March 5, 1867 Robert C. Beach, Tidioute, Pa., March 7, 1867 W. C. Lathey, Forest Co., Pa., June 4, 1867 F. D. Reeves, Warren, Pa., June 5, 1867 ITugh C. Graham, Oil City, Pa., June 10, 1867 Selden Marvin, Erie, Pa., July 1, 1867 Pearson Church, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 9, 1867 C. W. Gilfillian, Franklin, Pa.,
Samuel A. Davenport, Erie, Pa., Feb. 21, 1868 Samuel T. Veill, Warren, Pa., June 2, 1868 Isaac Myer, jr., Franklin, Pa., June 4, 1868
J. M. Bonham, Sept. 8, 1868 Joshua Douglass, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 15, 1868 J. B. Brawley, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 16, 1868 Robert Dennison, Warren, Pa., Oct. 6, 1868 A. B. Richmond, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 7, 1868 J. II. Lewis, Meadville, Pa., Dec. 9, 1868 M. C. Beebe, Crawford Co., Pa., March 8, 1869 Warren Cowles. Corry, Pa., June 7, 1869 C. F. Eldred, Corry, Pa.,
Miles W. Tate, Forest Co., Pa., June 17, 1869. Joshua Byles, Pleasantville, Pa., Sept. 10, 1869 James M. Breden, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 11, 1869. M. Crosby, Corry, Pa., Oct. 26, 1869 William Schnur, Warren, Pa., Nov. 23, 1869 Rufus B. Smith, Warren, Pa., 46
Wallace W. Brown, MeKean Co., Pa., Dec. 7, 1869
R. Mackwood, Tidioute, Pa., March 7, 1870 S. D. Irwin, Franklin, Pa.,
Caleb C. Thompson, Warren, Pa., May 3, 1870 L. S. Norton, Erie Co., Pa., June 6, 1870 Daniel D. Fassett, Tidioute, Pa., Sept. 6, 1870 Charles R. Saunders, Erie Co., Pa., March 6, 1871
W. P. Mercelliot, Forest Co., Pa., March 7, 187! 66
M. G. Cushing, Tidioute, Pa.,
II. C. Johns, Titusville, Pa., March 17, 1871 James O. Parmlee, Warren, Pa., Sept, 23, 1871 Henry E. Brown, Warren, Pa., Dec. 4, 1871
(". H. Noyes, Warren, Pa., Dec. 12, 1871
W. MI. Lindsey, Warren, Pa., March 4, 1872
Alfred S. Moore, Warren, Pa., May 7, 1872 June 3, 1872 Isaac Ash, Oil City, Pa.,
C. L. Baker, Tidioute, Pa., Fred. A. Hooker, Warren, Pa., Ang. 10, 1872 Anthony Wiedman, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 10, 1872
James H. Donly, Venango Co., Pa., Oet. 7, 1872 Samuel S. Smith, Titusville, Pa., Jan. 8, 1873 S. E. Woodruff, Erie Co., Pa., March 6, 1873 Mason, Tionesta, Pa., March 14, 1873
A. W. Coville, Tidioute, Pa., April 28, 1873
C. L. Coville, Corry, Pa.,
D. C. McCoy, Meadville, Pa., June 9, 1873 Roger Sherman, Titusville, Pa., July 23, 1873 George T. Chester, Titusville, Pa., Sept. 1, 1873
21
316
HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
B. J. Reed, Clarion, Pa., Sept. 6. 1873 March 3, 1874
Rufus Lueore, Elk Co., P'a.,
R. W. Mackey, Venango Co., Pa.,
March 3, 1874 F. S. Seely, Crawford Co., Pa., March 4, 1874 W. B. Chapman, Bradford, Pa., F. D. Kinnear, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 15, 1874 Charles B. Guthrie, Titusville, Pa.,
S. C. T. Dodd, Franklin, Pa.,
Otis F. Hoffman, Warren, Pa.,
Melancthon Miles, Warren Co., Pa.,
David I. Ball, Warren, Pa.,
Jolın L. Butler,
Byron Sutherland, Warren, Pa., Nov. 12, 1875 Thomas A. Morrison, Dec. 10, 1875
James C'able, Warren, Pa .. Jan. 20, 1876
F. M. Knapp. Warren, Pa., April 13, 1876 William Swanson, Warren. Pa., July 10, 1877 E L. Davis, Tionesta, Forest Co., Pa.,
J. V. Brown,
George H. Cutter, Girard, Erie Co., l'a.,
March 4, 1878
C. G. Olmstead, Corry, Pa., April 1, 1878
James G. Marsh, Warren. Pa.,
Perry D. Clark, Warren, Pa.,
Samuel Minor, Titusville, Pa.,
Jan. 7, 1880 66 66
S. F. Hallock, Meadville, Pa., Jan. 9, 1880
R. C. Schnur, Warren, Pa., April 5, 1880
A. C. Bowers, Warren Co., Pa., July 6, 1880
George HI. Higgins, Warren, Pa., "
C. H. McCauley, Elk Co., Pa., Sept. 7, 1880
J. W. Lee, Franklin, l'a., Dee. 9, 1880 William MI. Boggs, Clarion, Pa., Dec. 10, 1880 Samuel L. McGee, Jan. 6, 1881
H. W. Wier, Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 11, 1881
William D. Christy, Oil City, l'a.,
April 5, 1881
James D. Hancock, Franklin, Pa., .6
R. F. Glenn, Jan. 20, 1882
Frank Mcclintock, Feb. 6. 1882
F. H. Davis, Meadville, Pa., March 9, 1882
T. F. Ritchey, Tionesta, Pa., March II, 1882 John W. Dunkle, Clarendon, Pa., May 1, 1882 Ilenry W. Blakeslee, Mckean Co., Pa.,
May 4, 1882
N. M. Orr, June 5, 1882 .6 6 Eugene Mullen,
H. J. Muse, Warren, Pa.,
June 6, 1882
John A. Wilson, Venango Co., Pa., June 8, 1882
Charles Westcott, June 9, 1882
N. B. Smiley, MeKean Co., Pa., 16
Watson D. Hinckley, Warren, Pa., July 12, 1882 A. F. Bole, I'nion City, Pa.,
William C. Brown, July 12, 1882 66
L. R. Freeman, Warren, Pa., Foster L. Snodgrass, Meadville, Pa., July 31, 1882
F. D. Kinnear, Tidioute, Pa., Aug. 11, 1882 W. R. Bole, Meadville, Pa., Sept. 4. 1882 II. L. Richmond, jr., Meadville, Pa., Sept. 4, 1882
F. R. Blackmarr, Meadville, Pa.,
Thomas Roddy, Meadville, Pa., J. H. Osmar, Franklin, Pa., Sept. 5. 1882
Harvey N. Snyder, Sept. 6, 1882 William G. Trunkey, Warren, Pa., Sept. 7, 1882
S. MI. Brainard, Erie, Pa., Oct. 3, 1882
John McKissick, Oct. 4, 1882
J. M. McClure, Nov. 13, 1882 Dee. 4, 1882
Lewis F. Barger,
H. D. Hancock, Dec. 5, 1882
Samuel Grumbine,
Jan. 19, 1883
H. IF. Goucl er, Warren, Pa., W. P. Weston, March 5, 1883
Cornelius Vanhorn,
Samuel I'. Bingham, March 7, 1883 George A. Allen, Erie, Pa., April 28, 1883 John M. Thompson, June 7. 1883
Lewis Rozenweig, Erie, Pa., July 10, 1883 George N. Frazine, Warren, Pa., Sept, 3, 1883 A. B. Force, Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 29, 1×84 James W'. Wiggins, Warren, Pa., March 3, 1884 John C. Sturgeon, Erie, Pa., May 5, 1884 June 2, 1884
F. W. Hays, Venango Co., Pa., Waldron MI. Dane, July 28. 1884 Sept. 29, 1884 Oct. 9, 1884
H. R. MeCalmont.
A. E. Sisson, Erie, Pa.,
James W. Sproul, Crawford Co., Pa., Feb. 5, 1885
Eugene P. Gillespie, Crawford Co., Pa., Feb. 5, 1885 William E. Rice. Warren, Pa., April 6, 1885 Edward S. Wetmore. Warren, Pa.,
George A. Jenks, Jefferson Co., Pa.,
April 8, 1885 John G. Hall, Elk Co., Pa.,
Henry McSweeney, 11
James WV. Kinnear, Tidioute, Pa., April 16, 1885
Theodore A. Lamb, Erie Co., Pa., Sept. 8, 1885
G. B. McCalmont,
Isaac Ash, Venango Co., Pa., Oct. 7, 1885
A. C. Richards, Busti, N. Y., Dec. 15, 1885 C. Ileydriek, Venango Co., Pa., June 28, 1886 F. Elliott, Tioga Co., Pa., = 66
II. V. N. Yates, Warren, Pa.,
John J. Henderson, Meadville, Pa.,
Sept. 6, 1886
A. J. Foster, Erie, l'a.,
Oct. 4, 1886
Charles L. Cooper, Warren, Pa.,
Oct. 5, 1886
Of some of the early resident practitioners mentioned in the foregoing list, Judge S. P. Johnson has kindly furnished for this chapter the following remin- iscences:
Sept. 16, 1874 Nov. 10, 1874 Dec. 7, 1874
Jan. 13, 1875 Feb. 10, 1875 Aug. 5, 1875
Sept. 7, 1877 Dec. 6, 1877
Sept. 2. 1878 66
W. E. Marsh, Corry, Pa.,
J. D. Johnson
117
THE BENCH AND BAR.
" Abner Hazeltine, the first located lawyer in the county, came here in 1818, remained until 1825, then moved to Jamestown ; but continued his practice in Warren until the infirmities of age compelled him to withdraw. He was a man of average ability, great industry, unpretentious, but a good lawyer and a man of sterling integrity ; in moral character a model.
" Gilman Merrill came to Warren in 1826, bringing with him a certificate of admission to the bar in Ohio, which secured his admission here in 1827. He never made much pretension as a lawyer. Having been a cabinet-maker in life, he worked some at both trades. He was prosecuting attorney for the county, under the administration of Governor Wolf, in 1853-5, and afterwards one of the associate judges for some years.
" Samuel A. Purviance, who deserves notice as one of the pioneers of the profession in this county, came here in the summer of 1828; continued in act- ive practice until 1832, when, wishing a larger field for the exercise of his abil- ities, he removed to Butler county. He continued there many years, practic- ing in that and adjoining counties with marked success, and finally removed to Pittsburgh, where he spent the remainder of his natural and professional life. Both as a man and a lawyer he occupied a high position in the estimation of the community and the profession, in whatever locality he lived and practiced.
"Carlton B. Curtis came to Warren as a young attorney from Chautauqua county, N. Y., in the spring of 1834. He came without prestige or friends, dependent on his own resources alone for success, and he succeeded. He was not naturally methodical or painstaking. Whatever he did he did well, with- out much regard to the manner of its doing. Naturally indolent, he took the shortest cut to his objective point. His legal documents were usually short, informal, and often slovenly, but clearly to the point. His mind was incisive and analytical. His conclusions were generally logical and correct; but they were the product of his instinct or good common sense, rather than of his ratio- cination. His memory was good and his judgment first-rate; but the want of a thorough collegiate education had left his mind undisciplined in the close process of logical reasoning. Yet as a practitioner he was successful and pop- ular. Personally he possessed many amiable qualities. In his domestic rela- tions he was kind and indulgent even to excess. In his social intercourse he was interesting, agreeable, and facetious even to waggery sometimes. He had no malice in his composition, and never indulged in revenge or retaliation. He represented this county in the Legislature during the sessions of 1837-38, and in Congress in the years 1851-52 and 1873-74. He was an earnest and honest politician, and always took an active part in all political campaigns. He enlisted in the service of his country during the late " unpleasantness," as he termed it, and became colonel of the Fifty-eighth Regiment of the Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, and resigned in the summer of 1863. Within the next year or two he removed from Warren to Erie, where he continued to reside and
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