History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 161

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438

USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 161
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 161
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 161

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1856. M. H. Dreher. Stogdell Stokes. Jeremy Mackey. 1861. A. Levering.1

1866. John De Young.

1870. Theodore Schoch (ap. by the Gov'r).

SHERIFFS.

1836. Joseph S. Teel.

1860. H. C. Wolf (app'd).

1862. Linford Marsh.

1842. Olis B. Gordan. 1865. Chas. Henry.

1845. Andrew Storm.

1868. Peter Merwine.

1848. Peter Kemerer.

1871. Chas. Henry.

1851. James N. Durling. 1874. Jacob K. Shaffer.

1854. Henry D. Shaffer.

1877. William T. Baker.

1857. Melchoir Bossard.

1880. George Miller.

1860. James N. Durling.

1883. James S. Fisher.

REGISTERS OF WILLS AND RECORDERS OF DEEDS.

1836. Simon Snyder.

1860. Joseph Barry.

1842. M. H. Dreher.

1863. John S. Fisher.

1845. Samuel Rees.

1872. John Appenzeller.

1854. William S. Rees.

1 Schoch in place of Levering.

2 Throop was appointed in place of Melchoir Bossard.

3 Stauffer appointed in place of De Young.

COUNTY TREASURERS.

1836. Joseph Trach. 1861. H. Eilenberger.

1839. Jacob Bush. 1863. George Fabel.

1841. Fred. Kisler. 1865. Simon Meyers.

1843. Jacob Shoemaker.

1867. Reuben Gregory.

1845. Edward Postens.

1847. Abraham Levering.

1849. Chas. Fcatherman.

1851. John Edinger.

1875. Linford Marsh.

1853. Levi Slutter.

1878. Timothy Kresge.

1855. Charlton Burnett.

1881. Samuel Kintz.

1857. Jacob Kresge.

1885. Rogers L. Burnett.

1859. William Smith.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

1836. Joseph Trach. 1862. James Smiley.

Jacob Shoemaker. 1863. John T. Williams.

Henry Fenner. 1864. N. Hefflefinger.

John C. Bush. 1865. Henry Heller.

1839. J. Kemmerer, Sr. 1840. John Smith. 1867. John Hanna. 1868. Jacob Stackhouse.

1841. Elihu Posten.

1842 Adam Overfield. 1869. H. B. Biesicker.

1843. Peter Neyhart.

1870. John C. Strunk.

1871. Samuel Posten.

1845. Melchoir Dreher.

1847. John Miller. 1848. Abram Fenner.

1849. Joseph Frable.

1850. Michael Super. 1851. Melchoir Dreher. 1852. John C. Strunk. 1853. Jacob Altemose. 1854. Joseph Heckman. 1855. John C. Strunk.

1856. Peter S. Hawk.

1857. Robert Brown.

1858. John D. Fraley.

1859. Peter Kunkle.

1860. Charles Price.

1861. Reuben Kresge.

1884. Townsend Price. Benjamin S. Jacob. Frank H. Smith.

COMMISSIONERS' CLERKS .- County erected April 1, 1836 ; commissioners of Northampton County held the appeals in 1836, --

1837. Harris Colt, of Luzerne, settled here.

1838-40. Peter Wyckoff, of Northampton, settled here; attorney-at-law.

1841-42. James H. Walton, attorney-at-law ; native of Stroudsburg.

1843-50. John D. Morris, attorney-at-law, from Bucks County, Pa.

1851-54. James H. Walton.

1855-56. Michael H. Dreher, an old resident of Monroe.

1857-62. Edward B. Dreher, son of M. H. Dreher.

4 Appointed in place of father, deceased.

1871. S. G. Throop 2 (ap- pointed by the Governor). 1872. Peter Gruver.

1875. Jacob Stauffer3 (ap- pointed by the Governor). Chas. W. Decker.

1877. Peter Gruver.

1880-85. Chas. D. Brod- head.

1844. John Kern.

1872. Peter S. Edinger. 1873. Jacob Frable. 1874. Samuel Posten.

1875. Peter S. Edinger. Cornelius Starner. Jacob B. Transue.

1878. J. Kemmerer, Jr. Cornelius Starner. J. E. Hoodmacher. Clas. Kemmerer.4

1881. J. E. Hoodmacher. William H. Garris. Evan T. Crosdale.

1839. Samuel Gunsaules.

1869. Peter Gruver. 1871. S. Featherman. 1873. Jonas Altemose.

1866. William Adams.

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MONROE COUNTY.

1863-65. John B. Storm ; raised in Hamilton town- ship, Monroe County.

1866-84. Michael H. Dreher.

1885. George H. Dreher, son of M. H. Dreher.

1886. William Stroud Rees, of Stroudsburg, and the oldest citizen of the borough who was born in it.

CHAPTER II.

THE BENCH AND BAR-THE OLD AND NEW BAR .- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 1

MONROE COUNTY was erected out of parts of Northampton and Pike Counties by an act of the Legislature approved April 1st, A. D. 1836. 2

The act provided for the transfer of all suits pending and undetermined in the several courts of Northampton County and Pike County, on the 1st day of September then next, where both parties to such suit were resident in the county of Monroe.

Section II. of said act provided that the county of Monroe should be annexed to, and compose part of, the Eleventh Judicial District of the Commonwealth, and that the courts in said county should be held on the third Mon- days of February, May, September and Decem- ber in each year, the first court to be held on the third Monday of December then next.

In pursuance of this act, the first court ever held in Monroe County was convened on the 19th day of December, A. D. 1836, at Strouds- burg.

We give the following extract from the court minutes of this session :

" December 19, 1836. This being the day appoint- ed by law for holding the first court within the county of Monroe, there attended at the court- house in Stroudsburg, the Honorable David Scott, president of the Eleventh Judicial District of Penn- sylvania ; Jacob Brown and John T. Bell, associate judges of the same Court. The several courts were duly opened by John W. Burnett, the cryer appoint- ed by the court.

"The commissions of the following officers were read : Jacob Brown, associate judge; John T. Bell, associate judge; Joseph S. Teel as sheriff of said county, with writ of assistance; Gideon Burrett as

prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas, clerk of the Court of Oyer and Terminer, and clerk of Court of Quarter Sessions ; Samuel Snyder as register and recorder and clerk of the Orphans' Court.

"On motion of James M. Porter, Esq., James M. Porter, Peter Ihrie, Hopewell Hepburn, Andrew H. Reeder, Horacc E. Wolf, Richard Brodhead, Jr., Newton D. Strong, William Davis and Peter Wyckoff, Esquires, were duly sworn and affirmed as attorneys of the several courts of this county. On motion of Richard Brodhead, Jr., Esq., M. M. Dimmick, was admitted and sworn as attorney of the several courts of this county.

" On motion Alexander E. Brown was admitted and sworn as attorney of the several courts of this county. It is ordered by the court that the prothonotary, within ten days after the end of this term, place upon a list all causes at issue in-this court, for trial at the next term, and that such list, kept in his office for the inspection of all concerned, without fee or reward, shall be deemed sufficient notice of trial to the parties in interest."

The list of admissions above given contains, as the reader will observe, many names after- wards illustrious in law, politics and official station. For many years after the organization of the county the humble little court-house at Stroudsburg, was regularly graced each term of court by some of the best talent of the Eastern bar, and inany were the forensic encounters between the Northampton Titans, to which the local populace listened with open-mouthed wonder and admiration.

Gradually, however, with the lapse of years, these legal luminaries, one by one, disappeared from the horizon. New names appeared upon the roll of practicing attorneys of the county and new faces and forms supplanted the old in the arena, but the old portion of the people still delight in recounting the exploits of a race of great lawyers who have passed away ; and they never tire of rehearsing the pungent sayings of the old time bench and bar.

For the first few terms of court the calender of the new county was not very heavy. The act requiring the transfer of all suits pending and undetermined in the several courts of Northampton and Pike Counties, September 1, 1836, where both parties to such suit were resident in the county of Monroe, was com- plied with, and resulted in the entry upon the court records of the county of one suit for

1 By Stephen Holmes, Esq.

2 See preceding chapter.

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

August Term, 1834, the first appearance docket entry being as follows:

" August Term, 1834.

Summons Case

Issued 2d Aug. 1834. Narr filed

Hepburn John Murphy.

for Pl'ff.

t'8.

Aug. 15, 1835. Rule to plead filed Aug. 21,

H. E. Wolfe Jacob Goer, the

1835. Aug. 24, 1835, Def't.

for Def't.

elder.

pleads not guil-

ty and Issue."

The case was afterwards settled. The records of November Term, 1834, show one case. For April Term, 1835, business was brisk, the records showing four cases, two of them being actions of scire facias on Orphans' Court recogni- zances, brought by heirs of Conrad Kresge, deceased.

ANECDOTES OF MONROE COUNTY BENCH AND BAR .- In the early settlement of the country, when men lived in isolated communi- ties, with little intercourse with each other, and still less with the world at large, a stronger in- dividuality of character was developed than in the present age of steam and electricity, when the world's news is spread upon the breakfast tables of remotest hamlets, and when men, by their constant and widely-extended intercourse become so fused together that in mental charac- teristics, habits, mode of life and thought, dress, and even form and physiognomy, one may be said to be more or less a sample of the lot.

Monroe County, in its early history, was no exception to this universal rule, but abounded in odd and grotesque characters, concerning whom many amusing stories are still remein- bered by the older portion of the inhabitants.

One of these has long gone the rounds and furnished entertainment for many a reminiscent group ; but as a specimen of genuine Quaker wit, as well as of terse and vigorous argumen- tation, it is well deserving of being preserved in more durable form.

He drove his own cou .- Evan Foulke, a Quaker, lived over in Cherry Valley, a few miles from Stroudsburg. He was by trade a shoemaker, and one of his eccentricities was that he always wore his leather apron,

even when he came to town. He also owned a small farm and had a number of cows. William Drake was a somewhat litigious char- acter living in Stroudsburg. One day Drake, concluding that the possession of a cow was essential to his domestic happiness, took his brother-in-law, William, otherwise known as Captain Hallet (who, by the way, was another odd character in his day), and proceeded over to Foulke's to buy a cow. Arrived there, after some haggling a cow was selected, the price agreed upon at twenty dollars, the money paid and Drake and Hallet drove the cow to Strouds- burg. The next day, however, Drake, for some reason or other, became dissatisfied with his purchase, and so, again accompanied by Hallet, he drove the cow back to Foulke's and demanded his money. If his object was to lay ground for a lawsuit, he appeared doomed to disappointment, for the meek old Quaker received back the cow and paid back the money without a murmur, and Drake and Hallet again returned home.

After pondering over the situation for some days, Drake wrought himself up to the convic- tion that he was not yet square with Foulke, but that he ought to have compensation from the latter for his trouble in driving the cow home and back again.

So, bound to have a lawsuit anyway, Drake posts off to a neighboring justice of the peace, Peter Hollinshead, Esq., and lias a summons issued against Foulkc.

On the return day the parties appeared in proprio personce, and managed their own cause. As parties could not then be witnesses, the only evidence was that of Hallet, who was called by the plaintiff. As Hallet came to the stand a discussion arose as to whether it was best to affirm him (Hallet being also of Quaker descent). It was finally concluded that if he couldn't be believed without affirination, he couldn't with it, and so an affirmation was use- less. So Hallet went on and told his story about the purchase of the cow, etc., substan tially as above, but, as Foulke thoughit, with a few unwarranted embellishments. Having concluded, Hallet exclaimed : " There ! I could not have said anything more if I had been under oath."

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MONROE COUNTY.

"Indeed ! friend William," retorted Foulke, "I should have been very sorry if thee had said near as much." The squire then asked Foulke if he had any evidence ; and being in- formed that he had not, asked him what he had to say in his own behalf.

" Well, Peter," says Foulke to the justice, " what little I have to say, I will say to Wil- liam,"-referring to William Drake, the plain- tiff. Then, turning to Drake, he proceeded : " William, when thee came to my house, the cow was mine and the money was thine ?"

" Ycs," says Drake, " That's so."

" Well, then thee gave me the money and I gave thee the cow, and then the cow was thine and the money mine."

" Well !" says Drake, assenting.

" Then thee drove the cow home, kept her over-night, and the next day thee drove her back to my house again. Thee gave me back the cow and I gave thee back the money, and then the cow was mine and the money thine."

" Well !" says Drake again, scratching his head and mentally casting about for a loop-hole in the argument.

" Well, then, friend William," concluded the Quaker, as he drove the nail home and clinched it. " Don't thee see thee has been driving thy own cow all the time ! "

The following story, although not strictly pertaining to either the bench or bar, relates to an institution that may be said, with all due respect, to be an accessory of both, -¿. e., the jail.

It illustrates the fact that in the early days of the county our prisoners had oftentimes small occasion to complain of a too rigid admin- istration of penitentiary discipline.

He wouldn't let them in .- Ed. Scott was the kceper of the jail, and had, as tolerably regular · boarders, two petty offenders, who were nearly always in his custody for one trivial offense or another. From long association together the jail-keeper and his two prisoners became fast friends and cronies, and occasionally lost sight of the real relation existing between them, which fact oftentimes led to rather ludicrous incidents. The trio were great euchre-players, and usually whiled away the winter evenings by indulgence in their favorite game, which, be it confessed,

was not always played within the walls of the jail ; for occasionally this model jailer took his prisoners out for an evening's social enjoy- ment with some of their cronies about the vil- lage, and occasionally, too, when it was not convenient for the jailer to go along (was there ever a more obliging official ?), he suffered his prisoners to go out and seek recreation by themselves.

One very cold night in January, Scott not feeling well, declined to accompany his-guests, we will call them, and the two latter went out to have a game of cuchre with a friend, and soon after, Scott, forgetting their absence, fas- tened up the jail and went to bed. Some time after midnight he was aroused by a tremendous knocking at the door, and with visions of a new arrival of prisoners and of consequent fees dancing in his mind, Scott hastened down-stairs in scant habiliment, expecting to meet some constable with his charge. What was his dis- appointment and disgust, on opening the door, at being confronted by the well-known figures of his regular boarders, the par nobile fratum, who were humbly seeking shelter under his hospitable roof. Giving his prisoners a spiteful fling into the hall and slamming the door be- hind them, this worthy custodian of evil-doers thus delivered himself :

" I'll tell you what, boys, if you don't get in in better season than this the next time, I'll stay abed and you won't get in at all."

He had a good right there .-- Analogous to the foregoing is a story told at the expense of Captain Halleck, who succeeded Scott as keeper of the jail.

A little Dutchman by the name of Price-not much of a Dutch name, by the way-got on a spree one day, entered a house over on Fox Hill and stole the owner's title deeds, for what purpose it is hard to imagine, unless it was the drunken notion that by stealing the man's deeds he was stealing his house and lot. However that may be, the culprit was arrested and com- mitted to jail, and in duc form of law was pre- sented at the door of the captain's castle as a candidate for admission therein. Soon after his admission to the jail Price became very boisterous and unruly and the captain under-

992

WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

took to administer discipline. The two men grappled each other, and after a brief struggle the captain succeeded in throwing his antago- nist upon the floor. Having received some contasions in the scrimmage, the captain did not feel particularly amiable, and he ejaculated, as he held his prisoner down with one hand and wiped the blood from his nose with the other : " You blamed rascal ! if you don't be- have yourself I'll throw you out o' here !" To which Price rejoined, between his drunken hiccups, and panting for breath : " Hic-hic- I'll let you know-hic-I've got as much right here as-as you have !"

THE DOCTRINE OF "CY PRES." - The following good story, embodying a new appli- cation of the legal doctrine of cy pres, is told by that veteran of the bar, Wm .. Davis, Esq., and is inserted with his permission :

At an arbitration at Knecht's Hotel, many years ago, Mr. Davis, representing one side of the case, had the misfortune to have a client somewhat given to over-indulgence when liq- uids were handy, and found considerable diffi- culty in getting intelligent answers from his client whenever, during the progress of the trial, he sought information from hin ..

At length the opposing counsel called to the stand a tall, slab-sided specimen of humanity, whose appearance seemed to produce an inex- plicable effect upon Davis' client, who was now entirely too far gone to make himself intelligi- ble. He, however, became very much excited, and, in his incoherent way, sought to convey the idea that there was something wrong some- where. All that Davis could make out of his whispered ejaculations, however, was, " I-I- won't - have him ! I don't want him !" "Why ?" queried Davis. " What is the matter with him ?" "I-I (hic)-I tell you-I don't want um ! " was the only response. " Oh, shut up !" said the lawyer, finally losing patience ; and, concluding that the trouble was with his bibulous client rather than with the witness, he allowed the latter to be sworn. The witness proceeded to tell a story which, if true, effect- ually settled the case against Davis' client.

what he wanted to tell him. "There ! " said the fellow, as he got out of doors, "there ! didn't I tell-tell-tell (hic)-tell yer. Didn't I tell yer he didn't know anything ?" "Don't know anything !" exclaimed the irate law- yer. "He seems to know entirely too much for you." " Yes, but-but I (hic) didn't want um, yer see," and backing up a tree-box, the litigant braced himself for a final effort. " He don't know what an oath is !" " The he don't ! Why didn't you say so?" ejaculated the now thoroughly exasperated law- yer as he rushed back to the court-room. "See here, Jack," addressing the witness, " do you know the nature of an oath ?"

The witness stood mute. The question was repeated with all the impressive solemnity that no man could employ with greater effect than Mr. Davis. Another long silence. "Oh, put your question so he can understand it," interrupted the opposite counsel. "Well, I'll oblige the gentleman," pursued Davis. " Do you know," addressing the witness, " what you have to do when you are sworn as a witness ?" Another long silence, and then the witness, on further pressure, said, in a hesitating manner, "Have- ter-tell-the-truth,-providing I-know it." " Ah, providing you know it! And what if you don't know it ? "

" Then I -- have ter-come as near it as I can," drawled the witness. The answer ex- ploded the court, and, under the fulminations of counsel who knew so well how to ring the changes upon it, it effectually exploded the testimony of this witness.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

The first president judge to hold court in Monroe County was Hon. David Scott, who was in commission at the time of the erection of the county. He was succeeded by Judge William H. Jessupp, Nathaniel P. Eldred, Thomas A. Bell, James H. Porter, George R. Barrett, and the present incumbent, S. S. Dreher. It is to be regretted that in some instances information applied for at the proper source, which would have enabled the writer to give a brief biographical sketch of some of

Before commencing the cross-examination Davis called his client out and again asked him [ these eminent gentlemen, has not been given,

993

MONROE COUNTY.

and consequently the public is deprived of the interest and advantage accruing from a perusal of such personal history. In other instances all desired data has been freely and cheerfully furnished. This is particularly true of the bench and bar as it at present exists.

The Old Bar and the New.

HON. M. M. DIMMICK .- Milo Melancthon Dimmick, son of Daniel Dimmick, who married Jane, daugliter of Dr. J. J. Aerts, was born at Milford, Pike County, Pa., October 30, 1812. He received a good education, and was admitted to the bar of his native county when about twenty-three years of age, his certificate being signed by Amzi Fuller, Judge Eldred and Hon. George W. Woodward. About the year 1841 the subject of this sketch re- moved to Stroudsburg, the county-seat of Monroe County, where he resided and prac- ticed law very successfully for many years. During his residence here he was twice elected to Congress-once in 1848 and again in 1850. In the year 1854 he removed to Mauch Chunk, where he continued to reside until his death, November 22, 1872, actively engaged in the practice of his profession. He was at one time a candidate for the president judgeship of the district, but was defeated, after a hot contest, by Hon. James M. Porter, of Easton. In the spring of 1871 he was named as a delegate-at large to the Constitutional Convention, and came within one vote of being nominated. He was tendered the county nomination, but his name was withdrawn on account of his ill health. At the time of his death he was a director of the First National Bank of Mauch Chunk ; president of the Cemetery Association, a vestry- man of St. Mark's Parish and also of the Church of the Good Shepherd, at Milford.

As a lawyer it was, perhaps, at Stroudsburg, where the prime of his life was passed, that Mr. Dimmick earned his best title to distinc- tion. He was noted for tireless industry, thorough and systematic reading, and unspar- ing energy in the success of his clients. And over all-over the jar of the forensic encounter, as over the sweet amenities of social life; over the turmoil of political contests, as over the

qniet and unpretentious discharge of his churchly duties, and the exercise of private beneficence-he threw the mantle of a noble and large-hearted charity, which endeared him to all. He was peculiarly a gentleman of the old school, a man, sans peur et sans reproche -an ideal lawyer, citizen and Christian gentle- man combined. Mr. Dimmick was married, February 18, 1840, to Mary Alice, danghter of Hon. John Cooper, of Danville, Pa., and granddaughter of Hon. Thomas Cooper, at one time president judge of the Twelfth Judicial District of Pennsylvania, and subsequently president of the University of South Carolina. She died at Mauch Chunk December 22, 1875. They had three children,-Elizabeth Mott, (in- termarried with Rev. Hurley Baldy), John C. and Milton, all of whom are now deceased.

HON. SAMUEL S. DREHER .- A conspicu- ous figure in the local history of this part of the State is the gentleman whose honored name heads this sketch.

Samuel S. Dreher was born at Stroudsburg, Pa., April 10, 1824, and was the eldest of nine children of Hon. Michael H. Dreher and Eliza- beth, his wife, whose maiden-name was Smith, a daughter of Adam Smithi, of Smithfield town- ship.

The ancestry on both sides came from Ger- many. The paternal grandfather, named George Dreher, was born in Northampton County, Pa., married Lydia Heller, of the Heller family at Wind Gap, and soon after his marriage settled in Hamilton township, which afterwards became a part of Monroe County. In the year 1810 he moved to Stroudsburg, when his son Michael was but ten years of age.

The grandfather here carried on the tailoring business and also kept hotel in the old Stokes building, where the express office now stands.

His son, Michael H., on his arrival at man- hood, became prominent in local circles and filled many offices of trust and profit in the county, being elected for many successive terms as prothonotary, register and recorder, associate judge, commissioners' clerk and to other posi- tions of responsibility, the duties of all of which he performed with great acceptance. He died September 2, 1885, at the advanced age of eigh-

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

ty-five years, and was prompt and regular in the performance of his duties as commissioners' clerk up to a short time before his death.

Samuel S. Dreher, the subject of the present sketch, received his education in the private schools and in the academy at Stroudsburg, his first academic preceptor being the now venera- ble Frederick Knighton, who still survives to enjoy the satisfaction of witnessing the full de- velopment, in life and character, of the buds of early promise afforded by his young pupils. Young Dreher's second teacher at the academy was Ira B. Newman, and his third, Rev. J. B. Hyndshaw.

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History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 161

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 1438

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438