USA > Pennsylvania > Washington County > History of Washington County, Pennsylvania : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 65
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THE CIVIL AND LEGAL HISTORY .- ( Continued.)
XI.
The Court List-President Judges-Associate Judges-Deputy Attorneys- General and District Attorneys-Roll of Attorneys.
To close the history of the courts of Washington County, there is now subjoined a list of all the early justices, president judges, associate judges, deputy attorneys-general and district attorneys who have been connected with our courts from the beginning. This list has been carefully compiled from original sources,-the Pennsylvania Archives and Colonial Records, the records of the several courts, and, in many cases, from the original commissions themselves. Following there will be the roll of attorneys. In these lists the officers at present serving and the attor- neys at present practicing will be designated by a *.
PRESIDENT JUDGES.
Appointed under the Constitution of 1776.
Hon. Henry Taylor, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781.
Hon. Dorsey Pentecost, commissioned Oct. 31, 1783. Hon. Henry Taylor, commissioned Sept. 30, 1788.
Appointed under the Constitution of 1790.
Hon. Alexander Addison, commissioned Aug. 22, 1791. Hon. Samuel Roberts, commissioned June 2, 1803.
Hon. Thomas HI. Baird, commissioned Oct. 19, 1818. Hon. Nathaniel Ewing, commissioned Feb. 15, 1838.
Appointed under the Constitution of 183%.
Hon. Samuel A. Gilmore, commissioned Feb. 28, 1848.
Elected under the Amendment of 1850.
Hon. Samuel A. Gilmore, commissioned Nov. 6, 1851. Hon, James Lindsey, commissioned Nov. 20, 1861. Hon. James Wat-on, commissioned (declined) Nov. 9, 1864. Hon. J. Kennedy Ewing, commissioned Nov. 18, 1864. Hon. B. B. Chamberlin, commissioned Feb. 3, 1866.
Hon. Alexander W. Acheson, commissioned Nov. 15, 1866.
Elected under the Constitution of 1974.
Hon. George S. Hart,* commissioned Dec. 11, 1876.
ASSOCIATE JUDGES. Appointed under the Constitution of 1776.
Hon. William Scott, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. John Craig, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. John White, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. Daniel Leet, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. John Marshall, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. John Douglass, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781.
Hon. Benjamin Parkinson, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. John Reed, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. Ahner Howell, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. Matthew McConnell, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. Samuel Jobnston, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781.
Hon. Samuel Mason, commissioned Aug. 24, 1781. Hon. Matthew Ritchie, commissioned Oct. 6, 1784. Hon. John Canon, commissioned Oct. 6, 1784. Hon. Henry Vanmetre, commissioned Feb. 11, 1785. Hon. William Johnston, commissioned Feb. 9, 1786. Hon. John Huge, commissioned Nov. 21, 1786. Hon. Thomas Scott, commissioned Nov. 21, 1786. Hon. Jobn Worth, commissioned Nov. 21, 1786. Hon. Joseph Scott, commissioned Sept. 25, 1787. Hon. Samuel Glasgow, commissioned May 7, 1788. Hon. Wilham Wallace, commissioned June 30, 1788. Hon. James Edgar, commissioned Sept. 30, 1788.
Hon. William McFarland, commissioned Sept. 30, 1988. Hon. John Reed, commissioned Nov. 8, 1788.
- Hon. Hugh Scott, commissioned Nov. 8, 1788. - Hon. William Sidley, commissioned Nov. 11, 1788. Hon. Eleazer Jenkins, commissioned March 3, 1789. Hon. Absalom Baird, commissioned March 3, 1789. Hun. John Douglass, commissioned March 3, 1789. Hon. Thomas Ryerson, commissioned April 8, 1789. Hon. John Minor, commissioned Nov. 30, 1789. Hon. William Smith, commissioned Dec. 21, 1789. Hon. James Bell, commissioned Jan. 11, 1790. Hon. James Archer, commissioned April 16, 1790. Hon. Zepbania Beal, commissioned July 28, 1790. Hon. James Mitchell, commissioned Aug. 24, 1790. Hon. John Canon, commissioned Aug. 24, 1790. Hun. Henry Grabam, commissioned Aug. 24, 1790.1
Appointed under the Constitution of 1790.
Hon. Henry Taylor, commissioned Aug. 17, 1791. Hon. James Edgar, commissioned Aug. 17, 1791.
1 The writer had most of the original commissions before him, and corrected erroneous dates given in III. Penn. Archives, Sec. S., 778.
250
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Hon. James Allison, commissioned Aug. 17, 1791. Hon. Matthew Ritchie, commissioned Aug. 17, 1791. Hon. William Hoge, commissioned April 6, 1798. Hon. John McDowell, commissioned April 7, 1802. Hon. Boyd Mercer, commissioned Jan. 1, 1806. Hon. John Hamilton, commissioned Jan. 15, 1820. Hon. Thomas Mckeever, commissioned Oct. 11, 1837.
Appointed under the Constitution of 1838.
Hon. Samuel Hill, commissioned March 26, 1840. Hon. John Grayson, Sr., commissioned March 18, 1843. Hon. James Gordon, commissioned March 8, 1845. Hon. Isaac Hodgens, commissioned March 18, 1848. Hon. William Vankirk, commissioned Nov. 12, 1850.
Elected under the Amendment of 1850.
Hon. Abraham Wotring, commissioned Nov. 10, 1851. Hon. John Freeman, commissioned Nov. 10, 1851. Hon. James G. Hart, commissioned Nov. 12, 1856. Hon. Jacob Slagle, commissioned Nov. 12, 1856. Hon. James G. Hart, commissioned Nov. 23, 1861. Hon. William Vankirk, elected Oct. 8, 1861.1 Hon. Thomas McCarrell, commissioned June 3, 1862. Hon. James C. Chambers, commissioned Nov. 9, 1866. Hon. John Farrer, commissioned Nov. 9, 1866. Hon. Thomas W. Bradley, commissioned Nov. 17, 1871. Hon. John Scott, commissioned Nov. 17, 1871.
DEPUTY ATTORNEYS-GENERAL.2
Hon. David Sample, appointed Oct. 2, 1781. Hon. David Bradford, appointed December, 1783. Hon. Henry Purviance, served from March, 1795. Hon. Parker Campbell, served from April, 1796. Hon. James Ashbrook, qualified May, 1801. Hon. Thomas Baird, served from March, 1809.8 Hon. William Baird, served from March, 1814. Hon. Walter Forward, served from June, 1814. Hon. Thomas M. T. McKennan, served from June, 1815. Hon. William Baird, appointed Dec. 27, 1816.4 Hon. William Baird, reappointed March 26, 1821. Hon. William Waugh, served from June 28, 1824. Hon. Isaac Leet, served from March, 1830.
1 But his election being contested, the seat was awarded to Judge McCarrell.
" Great difficulty has been encountered in the endeavor to make this list complete. The records often fail to disclose the date of appointment or of qualification ; sometimes only the fact of service between certain dates appears. The list, it is thought, contains the names of all who ever served, and by the words "served from," used when other informa- tion has not been obtained, is intended to cover a period thence to the next entry. Thus, Henry Purviance served as deputy attorney-general from March sessions, 1795, to April sessions, 1796, though the date of his appointment has not been obtained. A few biographical sketches may be found as foot-notes to the Roll of Attorneys.
3 So written then by himself, without the "H."
4 The following is found on record to No. 15, March ss., 1817:
" To all to whom these presents shall come, I, Amos Ellmaker, attor- ney-general of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, send greeting :
"Know ye that I hereby constitute and appoint William Baird, Esquire, of Washington, Attorney and counsellor at law, my Deputy, to implead and prosecute for, in the name and on behalf of the Common- wealth aforesaid, all criminals whatsoever for any offence done or perpe- trated, or which may be done or perpetrated, within the County of Washington, and to sign all Indictments in and with my name, and to take all fees and perquisites to the same office belonging or appertain- ing, during the continuance of this deputation. In testimony whereof I have hereto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixteen.
" AMOS ELLMAKER."
Hon. Isaac Leet, reappointed Feb. 5, 1833.
Hon. Alexander W. Acheson, qualified Jan. 26, 1835.
Hon. Richard H. Lee, qualified March, 1836. Hon. William McKennan, qualified Aug. 23, 1837. Hon. Alexander W. Acheson, served from March, 1839. Hon. William Montgomery, qualified Feb. 17, 1845. Hon. Alexander W. Acheson, served from February, 1846. Hon. George S. Hart, served from August, 1846. Hon. Robert H. Koontz, qualified February, 1848.
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
Hon. George S. Hart, elected Oct. 8, 1850.5 Hon. William Linn, elected Oct. 11, 1853. Hon. Alexander Wilson, elected Oct. 14, 1856. Hon. Alexander Wilson, re-elected Oct. 11, 1859. Hon. James R. Ruth, elected Oct. 14, 1862. Hon. Boyd Crumrine, elected Oct. 10, 1865. Hon. Ianthus Bently, elected Oct. 13, 1868. Hon. Thomas H. Baird, Jr., elected Oct. 10, 1871 Hon. John A. MeIlvaine, elected Nov. 3, 1874. Hon. John A. McIlvaine, re-elected Nov. 6, 1877. Hon. Ralph C. McConnell," elected Nov. 2, 1880.
ROLL OF ATTORNEYS.
[For the names and dates in the following list of the gentle- men who have been admitted to practice in the several courts of Washington County credit is due to the industry of some of the junior members of the bar, each taking a part of the work : Joseph F. McFarland, from 1781; William S. Parker, from 1830; Robert W. Irwin, 1840; John S. Marquis, from 1850; Ralph C. McConnell, from 1860; J. F. Taylor, from 1870 to 1882.]
1781.
Hugh M.6 Brackenridge, Oct. Samuel Irwin, October. David Sample, October.
1782.
Thomas Smith, January. George Thompson, December.
David Espy, January. Thomas Duncan, December.
David Bradford, April.7 David Redick, December.8
Robert Galbraith, April. Michael Huffnagle, December. 1783.
John Woods, December.
5 Under the act of May 3, 1850; P. L. 654.
6 The " M" soon afterward was changed to " H ;" why is unknown.
7 David Bradford was a native of Maryland, and had not been long in the county when admitted. In 1783 he was appointed deputy attorney- general for the county, and held that office for a long time. He is chiefly noted for the prominent part he took in the Whiskey Insurrec- tion, having been the head and front of that offending. The amnesty proclamation issued by the government included all the insurrectionists save him; he then fled to Bayou Sara, in Louisiana Territory, where he died. He built the house now occupied by Mrs. Harding, on the west side of Main Street, a few doors north of Maiden, said to have been the first stone house built in Washington.
8 David Redick was a native of Ireland. His wife was a daughter of Jonathan Hoge, the brother of David Hoge, the proprietor of Washing- ton. He was elected a member of the Supreme Executive Council in 1786; represented the county in the Constitutional Convention of 1790; was chosen vice-president of Pennsylvania in 1788; and in 1791 was ap- pointed prothonotary of Washington County. In the Whiskey Insur- rection he also took a prominent part, but on the side of law and order, being one of the commissioners, Mr. Findley the other, to wait upon President Washington when on his way out with the army, and to ex- plain the condition of affairs in the western counties. He died at Wash- ington, Sept. 28, 1805. A daughter was the first wife of Dr. James Stevens, deceased.
CIVIL AND LEGAL-ROLL OF ATTORNEYS.
251
1784. James Ross.1
1786.
James Carson, June.
1787. Alexander Addison, March.2 1788. George Vallandigham, April.
1789.
John Young, June. Daniel St. Clair, September. 1790.
Henry Purviance, March.3 John Ralph, March. 1791.
Thomas Scott, September. Steel Sample, September. 1792.
Hugh Ross, September.
Joseph Pentecost, September.4
David McKeehan, December.
1793.
George Armstrong, June.
1794.
Arthur St. Clair, September. Henry Woods, September. Parker Campbell, December.5
1795.
Thomas Collins, March.
George Henry Keppele, Sept.
James Morrison, September.
1 No minute is found of the admission of Hon. James Ross in our courts, but the records of Fayette County sbow that he was admitted in the courts of that county in December, 1784, which is satisfactory evi- dence that he was admitted here that year. Mr. Ross was born July 12, 1762, the son of Hon. George Ross, of York County. Following Dr. Mc- Millan from the place of the latter's nativity, he taught in McMillan's school in the log cabin for a while, then upon the recommendation of H. H. Brackenridge began the study of the law. In 1790 he was in the Constitutional Convention of that year, and United States senator in 1794-1803. On Aug. 8, 1794, with Jasper Yeates and William Bradford, he was appointed on the commission to "confer with such bodies of in- dividuals as you may approve concerning the commotions" then exist- ing, during the Whiskey Insurrection. He died at Allegheny City, Pa., Nov. 27, 1847, leaving children of deceased daughters, and one son, James Ross, Jr., who was admitted to the bar, but never practiced. He has also died, unmarried. During the Whiskey Insurrection Hon. James Rosa lived in Washington. See Brackenridge's His. Wh. Ins., 70, 174.
2 The first president judge under the Constitution of 1790.
3 Deputy attorney-general, 1795-96.
4 Joseph Pentecost was the oldest son of Col. Dorsey Pentecost, with whom the reader of previous chapters is already familiar. After the death of his father be built the brick house now occupied by John Gam- ble, Esq., on part of the old Dorsey Pentecost estate, in North Strabane. He was a leading lawyer of his day, and a respected citizen, and is now represented in the county by a son, George Pentecost, of West Middle- town. He died March 29, 1823.
5 Parker Campbell is said to have been the most distinguished lawyer of his day, the old records of this and adjoining counties showing that he was extensively engaged in the trial of most of the causes instituted. He was born in Carlisle in 1768, married Elizabeth Calhoun, of Cham- bersburg. Their children were Nancy, who married Samuel Lyon; Elizabeth, who married first William Chambers, then the late John S. Brady, Esq. ; Ellen, married John Ritchie; and three sons, Francis C., John, Parker, born in 1815, and lately died at Richmond, Va. Mr. Campbell died July 30, 1824. In the resolutions of the bar meeting, held immediately after his death, he is described as the " lamented ad- vocate, the chief leader for many years of this bar."
1796.
James Allison, January. Joseph Shannon, July.
John Simonson, January. James Montgomery, October.
Thomas Creigh, July. Thomas Hadden, October.
Samuel Sidney Mahon, October.
1797.
Thomas Nesbit, July.
John Lyon, October.
Thomas Bailey, July. Robert Whitehill, October.
1798.
John Cloyd, August. Thomas Johnston, November.
Thomas Mason, August. Cunningham Semple, Nov.
James Ashbrook, November. William Ayers, November.
1799.
George Heyl, May.
Robert Callender, August.
John Kennedy, August.
1800.
Isaac Kerr, August.
1801.
Robert Moore, August. Obadiah Jennings,6 Nov.
John Gilmore, August.
James Mountain, November."
1802.
Alexander Wm. Foster, Feb.
Sampson Smith King, Feb.
1803.
Isaac Meason, Jr., August. Jonathan Redick, November. 1805.
Elias E. Ellmaker, February. John Purviance, Jr., Feb.
Hill Runyan, February. Joseph Douglass, August. John Porter, August.
1806.
George Paull, May.
James Taylor, September.
1807.
Thomas McGiffin, February.8
6 Obadiah Jennings was born near Baskenridge, N. J., Dec. 13, 1778. Educated at the Canonsburg Academy, he studied law with John Simonsou, who was also from New Jersey. He settled at Steubenville, Ohio, where he practiced until 1811, when he returned to Washington. Turning his attention to theology, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Ohio in 1816. A short time before his death, which was at Nashville, Tenn., on Jan. 12, 1832, the College of New Jersey con- ferred upon him the degree of D.D.
7 James Mountain was a brilliant Pittsburgh lawyer of his day, but practiced much here. In 1796 he was teaching in the Canonsburg Academy, and an advertisement in the Western Telegraphe in June of that year speaks in high terms of his classical attainments.
8 Thomas MeGiffin was the son of Nathaniel McGiffin, a Scotch-Irish- man, who came to America before the Revolution ; a soldier in the Penn- sylvania line, in The battle of Brandywine and at Trenton, and suffered at Valley Forge; settled on Ten-Mile about 1781 or 1782. The'son, Thomas, was born Jan. 1, 1784; educated at Canonsburg Academy; studied law with Parker Campbell, and admitted as above. The same year he went to Vincennes, Ind., where he began practice, and soon after removed to and remained a short time at St. Louis. In 1809, having returned to Washington, he continued it active practice here all his life. The last case he tried was the celebrated Vanatta murder case in Greene County. During his professional life he was at the same time much en- gaged in outside business enterprises, among others, with Parker Camp- bell and Thomas H. Baird, in the building of a large portion of the National road through Washington County. He was also deeply inter- ested in politics; was personally intimate with Henry Clay, William H. Crawford, as well as many others of the leading men of that day ; repre- sented the county in the Legislature of 1886. He died Feb. 5, 1841, in his house on West Maiden Street, now occupied by Mr. John Baird. He left children : Maria, married Thomas Boyd, Fayette County ; Nathaniel,
252
HISTORY OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
John Marshel, October.1
John McDonald, December.
1808.
William Wilkins, March. John Tarr, October.
Thomas Baird, July.2 John Shannon, October.
Charles Wilkins, July. John White, October. Morgan Neville, December.
1810.
Richard Carr Lane, July. Joseph Weigley, October. John H. Chapline, July. David Redick, December. Thomas Irwin, December.
Jesse Edgington, October.
Philip Doddridge, July.8
1811. Andrew Buchanan, July.4 1812.
William Baird, June.5
Joseph B. Beckett, December. Walter Forward, December.
1813.
John C. Wright, March.
Thomas Morgan, March.
David Jennings, June. Thomas Cunningham, June. 1814.
T. MeK. T. McKennan, Oct.6 H. H. Brackenridge, Oct.
Samuel Lyon, October.
Mount Vernon, Knox Co., Ohio; Julia, now deceased, married Rev. Wil- liam Hamilton ; Margaret, married Rev. W. C. McIlvaine, Peoria, Ill. ; Thomas, admitted to the bar of Washington County in February, 1841, never practiced much, now near Fairfield, Iowa; George Wallace, gradu- ated at Washington College in 1841, studied law but never practiced, died in 1858 ; Norton McGiffin, born Jan. 23, 1824, graduated at Washington College in 1841; studied law awhile, but in 1846 went to Mexican war; returned in 1848, and was sheriff 1858-61; in the war of the Rebellion he served as captain of. Company E, Twelfth Pennsylvania Regiment, three months' service, the first company that left the county ; afterwards as lieutenant-colonel Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the three years' service; he represented the county in the House of Representatives from 1880 to 1882, and in the spring of 1882 removed with his family to Ida Grove, Ida Co., Iowa.
1 John Marshel was the son of Col. James Marshel, the county lieuten- ant (as to whom see biographical sketch in preceding pages), and is well remembered as the cashier of the old Franklin Bank of Washington. He never engaged in the practice of the professiou.
3 This was the Hon. Thomas H. Baird, who succeeded Hon. Samuel Roberts as president judge; his name is without the " H" at first.
8 This was the celebrated Wellsburg lawyer, who practiced much in our courts. He was the son of John Doddridge, who settled near Mid- dletown in 1773; a brother of Philip was Dr. Joseph Doddridge, author of " Notes on the Early Settlements, etc.," written in 1824. Philip died, a member of Congress, at Washington, D. C., on Nov. 19, 1832.
4 Andrew Buchanan was the father of Hon. J. A. J. Buchanan, now of the Waynesburg bar.
5 The brother of Hon. Thomas H. Baird.
6 Rev. William McKennan, of Scotch lineage, emigrated from the north of Ireland ; married Miss Wilson, Winchester, Va. ; was long pastor of White Clay Creek congregation, Delaware, and for a large part of the time he was also in charge of the First Presbyterian Church of Wilming- ton, dying in 1809, at the age of ninety-four. His son, William Mc- Kennan, was born in Delaware in 1758; in June, 1776, entered a "Flying Camp" Regiment as second lieutenant; on April 5, 1777, commissioned first lieutenant Delaware regiment of foot, and served during the Revo- lutionary war, participating in the service which compelled the surren- der of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and being mustered out as captain, serv- ing afterwards as colonel of militia. He married Elizabeth Thompson, whose father, John Thompson, married Dorothea, ouly sister of Gover- nor Thomas Mckean. In 1797, Col. McKennan removed to Charlestown, now Wellsburg, W. Va., and upon the election of Thomas Mckean as Governor he removed to Washington County, and on Jan. 11, 1803, was appointed prothonotary and clerk, serving to the end of Governor Mc- Kean's term. He died Jan. 14, 1810, from the effects of a wound received in the battle of Germantown, Oct. 4, 1777. His wife survived him till 1839. Their children were William, John Thompson, Thomas Mckean
1815.
J. Philpot C. Sampson, June.
Henry Baldwin, June.
1816.
Nathaniel Ewing, June. Samuel Stokely, September. 1817.
James L. Bowman, January. Alexander Caldwell, June.
Charles Shaler, March. John M. Goodenow, June.
John S. Brady, June.
1818.
Alexander Brackenridge, Mar. John Hoge Ewing, June.
William Waugh, June. Walter B. Beebe, December.
Henry M. Campbell, June. James S. Craft, December. Harmar Denny, December.
1819.
Hiram Heaton, March. Asa Andrews, June.
William Harvey, March. Ephraim Roote, September.
John Dawson, June. Samuel H. Fitzhugh, Sept. James Shannon, December.
Stephen D. Walker, June.
1820.
Isaiah Winge, September. Alexander Addison, Dec.
John M. Austin, October. John S. Garrett, December.
1821.
Jacob B. Miller, March. James Piper, March.
William G. Hawkins, March. Thomas Gibbs Morgan, June.
1822.
Samuel Evans, March.
Joshua Seney, June.
John H. Waugh, November.
1823.
A. S. Mountain, March. Dorsey B. Pentecost, July.
Jonathan B. Smith, March. John C. Campbell, November.
William H. Brown, June. Roswell Marsh, November.
John H. Hopkins, June. James Ross Pentecost, Nov.
Thomas Ustice White, December.
1824.
James C. Simonson, February. James Todd, June. Richard Biddle, March. George Watson, June.
Thomas L. Rodgers, June. W. W. Fetterman, November. Charles H. Israel, November.
1825.
William W. King, January. James W. McKennan, June. John Louden Gow, January.7 Henry B. Tomlinson, Dec. Richard Bard.
Thompson, David, James Wilson, and Anne. Thos. McK T. McKennan was born in New Castle County, Delaware, March 31, 1794; graduated at Washington College; married Matilda, daughter of Jacob Bowman, of Brownsville, in 1815; was deputy attorney general for Washington County 1815-16; member of the United States House of Representatives from 1831 to 1839, and from May, 1842, to March, 1843; and was for a short time Secretary of the Interior during President Fillmore's admin- istration. He died July 9, 1852. Of his children, two are now resulents of Washington, Pa.,-Hon. William McKennan, born Sept. 27, 1816; graduated at Washington College in 1833; admitted to the bar in 1837; deputy attorney-general for the county 1837 to 1839; a member of the fruitless Peace Congress at Washington, D. C., 1861 ; appointed by Presi- dent Grant United States circuit judge for the Third Circuit in 1869, which position he still holds. The other is Thomas Mckennan, M.D.
7 Mr. Gow was born in the town of Hallowell, Me., Sept. 28, 1797. His father, James, was a Scotchman from Glasgow ; his mother, Lucy Gilm in, of Puritan stock. His education was mostly obtained in the Hallowell Academy, but at an early age he went to Boston, Mass., thence to Fred-
253
CIVIL AND LEGAL-ROLL OF ATTORNEYS.
1826.
Alexander Wilson, June.
Isaac Leet, June.
Charles Coleman, June.
1827.
Edward D. Gazzam, March.
Samuel McFarland, Dec.
1828.
George Selden, June. 1829.
John Glenn, June. Samuel Creigh, December.
Benjamin S. Stewart, June. Ethelbert P. Oliphant, Dec.
1830.
Samuel Gormly, June. Griffith J. Withey, July.
Francis C. Campbell, June. George W. Acheson, Dec.
1831.
William R. McDonald, June. Joshua B. Howell, June. Nathaniel P. Fetterman, June. Thomas L. Shields, October. James Watson, October.
1832.
Alexander W. Acheson," June. Thos. S. Humrickhouse, Oct. Charles W. Kelso, October. Samuel Cleavinger, October. David Walker, December.
1833.
Benjamin Patton, March.
1834.
James Veech, January. Richard H. Lee, January. Thomas B. Beall, October.
Thomas J. Gass, January.
1835.
R. F. McConnauley, Sept. William Allison, September. 1836.
David Blair, June.
1837.
William McKennan, June. Thomas J. Bigham, August.
1838.
Daniel Baldwin, March. T. J. Fox Alden, December.
erickeburg, Va., where he supported himself by teaching while he studied the law and until he was admitted to the Fredericksburg bar. Soon be removed to Washington, D. C., and for several years was an assistant editor of the National Journal, a Whig paper, owned by Peter Force. He came to Washington, Pa., in 1824, and was at once admitted to the bar of this county. Soon afterwards, attention being attracted to his special fitness, he was put in charge of an English department in Washington College, so continuing for several years, when he then de- voted himself exclusively to the law. Full of the New England ideas upon the subject of common-school education, when the present Penn- sylvania system was proposed he became its earnest advocate, and when finally adopted in 1854, he was chosen the first superintendent of com- mon schools for Washington County, and during his whole life his in- fluence was a strong one in the cause of popular education. His prac- tice at the bar continued, however, first in partnership with Mr. King, then with Thomas McGiffin, afterwards with his brother-in-law, Alex- ander Murdock, and when he died he had been in the successful prac- tice of bis profession for over forty years. On June 12, 1827, he married Mary H., daughter of Alexander Murdock, by whom there were twelve children, ten of whom at this writing are living useful lives, widely separate from each other. He died Aug. 17, 1866, and is now represented in the profession by his sons, John L., Jr., Washington, Pa., and George L., Greenfield, Iowa, Two sons are editors, Alexander M., Washington, Pa., and James M., Greenfield, Iowa. A daughter, Minnie, is the wife of M. C. Acheson, Esq., of the Washington bar.
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