History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 88

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372

USA > Pennsylvania > York County > History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I > Part 88

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).

cation he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He began the practice of his pro- fession in Philadelphia, where his intellec- tual acquirements and legal ability soon won for him prominence at the bar of his native city. In those early days, it was the custom for lawyers to travel from one county to another to attend the courts con- ducted by the Supreme Court judges. On August 13, 1758, William Augustus Atlee was admitted to the bar of Lancaster County. He first appeared before the courts of York County, July 29, 1759, when he was engaged in the trial of an important case involving the title to large landed estates west of the Susquehanna. His entire career as a lawyer was in practicing before the provincial courts of Pennsyl- vania. The first state constitution was adopted in 1776. Under the provisions of this constitution, Atlee was appointed one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the state, August 16, 1777. He filled the office with acceptability during the whole period of the Revolution, and August 9, 1784, was re-appointed to the same position by authority of the president of the state and the Supreme Executive Council. When the second state constitution went into force, in 1791, on account of his success as a jurist, he was appointed, August 17, 1791, presi- dent judge of the Second Judicial District of Pennsylvania, embracing the counties of Chester, Lancaster, York and Dauphin. He conducted the first court at York as presi- dent judge, October 24, 1791. Under this constitution the court justices sat on the bench with the president judge. The local judges then were Colonel Henry Schlegel and Jacob Rudisill, of Hanover; Captain William Scott and Samuel Edie, of York.

Judge Atlee presided over the courts of the Second District for a period of two years. During the summer of 1793, when the yellow fever was an epidemic in Phila- delphia and other parts of the country, he retired to his country seat, near Wright's Ferry on the Susquehanna River. Here he died, September 9, 1793, at the age of 55 years. The malady which caused his death had all the indications of yellow fever, which had spread through the interior part of the state. As a lawyer and jurist he ranked high in his profession.

1 1 1

1 1

WILLIAM AUGUSTUS ATLEE

JOHN JOSEPH HENRY

WALTER FRANKLIN

DANIEL DURKEE

487

THE BENCH AND THE BAR

JOHN JOSEPH HENRY, president judge of the Second Judicial District of Pennsylvania, was born at Lancaster, No- vember 4, 1758. His father, William Henry, was a man of prominence in Lan- caster and the inventor of the screw auger. When the son attained the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to his uncle, a gunsmith, and accompanied the latter to Detroit. Their business did not prosper in that new settlement. After a brief stay in what was then the far west, they wended their way from Detroit to Lancaster on foot, enduring all the hardships of pioneer travel in colonial days. In the summer of 1775, shortly after the Battle of Bunker Hill, John Joseph Henry enlisted in a company of Lancaster County troops who marched to Boston to join the provincial soldiers in laying siege to that city, then in the hands of the British. When an invasion of Canada was planned, he was one of the volunteer soldiers who joined the expedi- tion, under Benedict Arnold, which marched through the forests of Maine. This heroic band of soldiers joined the expedition, led by General Montgomery. In the com- bined attack upon Quebec, December 31, 1775, John Joseph Henry was captured and held by the British for a period of nine months. During his imprisonment, he contracted a disease from which he never fully recovered. After his release, although only seventeen years of age, he was offered a captaincy in Morgan's Riflemen, a noted Virginia regiment, and was also tendered the position of a lieutenant in a Pennsyl- vania regiment. Owing to the condition of his health he was obliged to decline both these positions. During the next four years, he was a clerk in the office of the prothonotary of Lancaster and spent all his time in diligent study. He read law under Stephen Chambers and was admitted to the Lancaster Bar in 1785. The following year he was admitted to practice before the York County courts, retaining his residence in his native town. He continued to prac- tice law in Lancaster, York and adjoining counties for nine years, and on December 16, 1793, three months after the death of Judge Atlee, he was appointed his succes- sor as president judge of the Second Ju- dicial District, including the counties of

Chester, Lancaster, York and Dauphin. In 1806, Chester County was separated from this district. Judge Henry, who received his appointment from General Thomas Mifflin, the first governor of Pennsylvania, served with distinction on the bench for a period of seventeen years. Owing to en- feebled health he resigned, December, 1810. He died at his home in Lancaster, April 22, 18II, at the age of 53. Shortly after his resignation, the state of Pennsylvania voted him $1,600 "for his services and sufferings during the Revolution."

Judge Henry wrote a graphic account of the expedition to Canada. It was in manu- script form at the time of his death but was published in an interesting volume of 225 pages, at Lancaster, in 1812, under the direction of his daughter. A letter from Michael Simpson, who served as a captain in the Canadian expedition with Judge Henry, appears in the introduction of this valuable work, one of the rarest publica- tions relating to the Revolution now in existence. At this time Simpson resided on his farm and ferry property in Fairview Township, below the village of New Market. He was then brigadier general in the state militia. Owing to the historic value of Judge Henry's book it was re- published in one of the later series of the Pennsylvania Archives. Judge Henry's wife was a sister of Stephen Chambers, with whom he studied law at Lancaster.

WALTER FRANKLIN, president judge of the Second District, was born in the city of New York, in 1773. He was a son of Thomas and Mary (Rhoads) Franklin; grandson of Thomas and Mary (Pearsall) Franklin; and great-grandson of Henry Franklin, who came to Long Island from England in the latter part of the seven- teenth century and was a member of the Society of Friends. Walter Franklin was admitted to the Philadelphia Bar in 1792, and rapidly rose to the front rank of his profession. He was appointed attorney- general of Pennsylvania, January 9, 1809, under the administration of Governor Simon Snyder. During his incumbency of that office, for which he was especially adapted, he was appointed, January 26, ISII, president judge of the Second Judicial District of the state, embracing Lancaster, York and Dauphin counties. During his

488

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

judicial career he relates in his diary that before he opened the courts at Dauphin and later in York County, he had the special honor of officially notifying the people of these counties in open court, that the second war with England had ended in favor of the American cause and the treaty of peace had been signed by commissioners from the two countries. Judge Franklin presided over the courts of the Second District with ability and success for the long period of twenty-five years. He possessed an in- teresting personality, and was widely

known for his varied accomplishments, his genial nature and affable manners. He usually spent his vacation at York Springs, a noted summer resort, where he was prominent in the social circles of guests from Pennsylvania, as well as Baltimore and Washington. He was one of the noted pedestrians of his day, and according to the testimony of Dr. John L. Atlee, of Lan- caster, who married his daughter, Judge Franklin frequently walked from his home at Lancaster to York to open the sessions of court.

DANIEL DURKEE, president judge of the courts of York County, was born Au- gust 27, 1791, at Royalton, Vermont, of English ancestry. His father died in his boyhood and his early years were spent in working on the farm owned by his mother. After leaving school, he studied law under the direction of Hon. Jacob Collamer, a distinguished lawyer, who represented Ver- mont in the United States Senate. Durkee was admitted to the bar June 12, 1818, in the town of Chelsea in his native state, and began the practice of law at Williamstown. A few months later, he removed to Leba- non, Pennsylvania, taking the office just vacated by his brother-in-law, John Wright, who had removed to York. In 1820, Daniel Durkee removed to York, where he spent the remainder of his professional career. Although he was not familiar with the German language, he soon acquired a large clientage among the German people of York County and became very popular with all classes. In 1832, he was elected to the legislature. In 1833, he was appointed by Governor Wolf, judge of the district court. In 1835, the district court having been abolished, he was appointed president judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District, com- posed of the counties of York and Adams. He held the office for ten years, when, at the expiration of his term, he was succeeded by Judge Irwin. Upon the resignation of the latter, in 1849, Judge Durkee was again appointed to the president judgeship by Governor Johnston, and held the office until 1851, when, the judgeship having been by a constitutional amendment made elective, Judge Fisher was chosen to succeed him.

Judge Franklin was married July 13, 1802, to Anne, daughter of James and Phoebe (Pierce) Emlen. Sarah, their oldest daughter, became the wife of the famous surgeon, Dr. John L. Atlee, of Lancaster. Rev. Walter Franklin, one of their sons, was for several years rector of St. John's Episco- pal Church at York. Thomas E. Franklin, another son, was attorney-general of Penn- sylvania, during the administration of Gov- ernor William F. Johnson, 1851-53, and again during the administration of Gover- nor James Pollock, 1857-59. Mrs. Serena Mayer North, wife of Hugh M. North, Judge Durkee then resumed the practice noted lawyer of the Lancaster County Bar, of his profession, which he continued to the is a daughter of Thomas E. Franklin, and time of his death. He died November 23, 1854, aged sixty-three years. Thus, for nearly half the entire period of his resi- dence in Pennsylvania, Daniel Durkee held the office of president judge. On the bench he was careful and painstaking and showed great discrimination in separating from the mass of less important matters, the real points involved in the cases brought before him. In his charges he was remarkably successful in presenting cases to juries, in enabling them to perform their duties intel- ligently, and in preventing them from falling into errors. Of remarkable sagacity, Walter M. Franklin, of the Lancaster Bar, is a son, and is married to Sarah Latimer Small, daughter of Samuel Small, of York. Judge Franklin died at his home in Lan- caster in 1836. His nephew, Walter S. Franklin, was a resident of York, and was the father of General William B. Franklin, Admiral Samuel R. Franklin, Engineer Thomas Franklin and Colonel Walter S. Franklin, the "big four," all exceeding six feet in height, the last named of whom is married to Mary Campbell Small, daughter of the late Philip A. Small.

--- ------------------------ 1

Robert J. Filling

489

THE BENCH AND THE BAR

clear perceptions and sound conclusions, he Market Street, near Duke. He soon re- enjoyed, during his official career, the con- covered from his sickness and he decided fidence and respect of the bar, and in a then to take up his residence in York. great degree that of the appellate court, which reviewed his judgments.

Judge Durkee was married April 8, 1813, to Mary, daughter of Captain John Wright, of Norwich, Vermont.

ROBERT J. FISHER, president judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District from 1851 to 1881, was born at Harrisburg, May 6, 1806. He was the son of George Fisher and Ann Shippen, daughter of Robert Strettel Jones, of Burlington, New Jersey. Robert Strettel was a member of the Provincial Council from 1741 for twenty years. Robert Strettel Jones, his grand- father, was a member of the New Jersey Legislature and secretary of the Committee of Safety in 1776. His great-grandfather, Isaac Jones, was twice mayor of Philadel- phia, in 1767 and 1768, and a member of the common council in 1764. John Fisher, his great great-grandfather, member of the Society of Friends, came to Philadelphia in 1682 with the earliest Quaker immigration under William Penn. His grandfather, George Fisher, purchased a large tract of land near the mouth of Swatara Creek from the sons of William Penn, then proprietors of Pennsylvania. He erected a large resi- dence on the banks of the creek and called it Pine Wood. In 1755, he laid out the borough of Middletown upon part of this tract. His son, George Fisher, born at Pine Wood, became one of the leaders of the Dauphin County Bar. He succeeded his father in the ownership of the paternal home and later in life erected a large private residence on the present site of the First Presbyterian Church, Centre Square, Har- risburg. Robert J. Fisher was born at this home. He obtained his preliminary edu- cation in his native city. After spending two years at Yale Law School, he returned to Harrisburg and entered the office of his father, where he continued his studies and familiarized himself with the application of legal principles and rules of practice. He

Having presided over the courts of York County for the long period of thirty years, Judge Fisher became a familiar figure to most of the citizens of York County. Upon was admitted to the Dauphin County Bar in his retirement from the bench, there seemed the early part of 1828. Being seized with a severe attack of malarial fever, Robert J. Fisher came to York, intending to remain temporarily at the Washington House, then one of the leading hotels, situated on East

On November 4, 1828, he was admitted to practice before the courts of York County. His ability as a lawyer was soon recognized. During all the years of his practice, he continued to be a diligent and faithful student of the literature of the law. He succeeded early in his career in the trial of causes before the courts, taking part in many of the most important land litigations. His clearness of conception and his forceful manner of presenting his arguments in a few years won him success and a large clientage. In 1851, he was elected to the bench of the Nineteenth Judicial District, composed of the counties of York and Adams. Being twice re-elected, in 1861 and 1871, he was, until 1875, the only law judge of the two counties. By act of as- sembly passed in 1875, York County became a separate judicial district, with Robert J. Fisher as president judge and Pere L. Wickes additional law judge. The long career of Robert J. Fisher on the local bench won for him a high rank as a jurist in the state of Pennsylvania. He weighed the subject before him with a judicial mind rarely equalled or excelled on the bench of the county courts. His decisions written in clear and terse English were recognized by the higher courts as coming from a mind thoroughly trained in the fundamental principles of the law. During the period of twenty-four years, when he held all the courts at York and Gettysburg, he trans- acted a large amount of business with such promptness and ability as to command the highest respect of the members of the bar and the citizens of the two counties. His decisions were almost universally upheld by the Supreme Court and his opinions have frequently been quoted in the trial of cases throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

to be a void in the court room when any other person than Judge Fisher conducted the legal business of the county. In per- sonal appearance, he was large of frame, erect in his carriage and courteous in his

490

HISTORY OF YORK COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

bearing to all people. He was genial and came the attorney for the Northern Central affable in his manner, and enjoyed a uni- and Pennsylvania Railroad Companies at versal popularity.

* this point, and was in the enjoyment of a Judge Fisher was first married to Cath- erine, daughter of Horatio Gates Jameson, and granddaughter of David Jameson, an officer in the French and Indian war and the Revolution, and the leading physician of York during the colonial period. Helen, one of his daughters, was married to James W. Latimer, judge of the courts of York County from 1886 to 1896. Emily, another daughter, was married to Levi B. Alricks, member of the Dauphin County Bar. Robert J. Fisher, his youngest son, for many years has been a practicing lawyer and a prominent citizen at Washington, D. C. Judge Fisher's first wife died in 1850. In 1853, he married Mary Sophia, daughter of Ebenezer Cadwell, of Northbridge, Massa- chusetts. During most of the time that Judge Fisher presided over the courts of York County, he resided in a large home on the south side of East Market Street, between Duke and Queen Streets, the resi- dence built by Thomas C. Hambly. He was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, which he served as a vestryman, and was the first chancellor of the diocese of Central lucrative practice, when he was, in. the fall of 1875, elected additional law judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District. In January, 1882, at the close of the term of office of Robert J. Fisher, Judge Wickes was com- missioned president judge of the district. His term of office expired in January, 1886, and he refused to be a candidate for re- election. On the bench Judge Wickes dis- played abilities of the highest order. He combined with a quick, active, compre- hensive intellect and unimpeachable in- tegrity, great administrative abilities. His courts were characterized by a speedy dis- patch of business, perfect decorum and an economical administration of the law. He suffered few reversals by the Supreme Court of the state, which is evidence not only of his success on the bench, but also of his fairness as a judge. Upon his retire- ment from the bench of York County, Judge Wickes removed to Baltimore, where he be- came one of the leading members of the bar of that city. After practicing a few years he was again elevated to the bench and has since been president judge of one of the Pennsylvania. He died at his residence on Common Pleas Courts of Baltimore. On East Market Street, April 25, 1888. His February 27, 1862, Judge Wickes married widow and their only daughter, Mary L. Fisher, reside at the southwest corner of late Henry Welsh, of the borough of York, South George and Jackson Streets. Henrietta Catherine Welsh, daughter of the who was for many years prominent and influential in the politics of Pennsylvania.

PERE L. WICKES, president judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District, was born August 14, 1837, in Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland. He is the youngest son of Colonel Joseph Wickes, who was a law- yer of distinction in Maryland, and a nephew of the late Judge Chambers, who was for many years the chief justice of that state. Judge Wickes was educated at Princeton College, New Jersey, and re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in June, 1856. Subsequently the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by the same institution. He studied law with his brother, Judge Joseph A. Wickes, of Maryland, and afterward with Hon. S. Teakle Wallis, of Baltimore, and was ad- mitted to the bar of Kent County, Mary- land, April 18, 1859. He continued to prac- tice his profession in Chestertown until 1866, when he removed to York. He be-

JOHN GIBSON, president judge of the courts of York County, was born in Balti- more, April 17, 1829. His great-grand- father on the mother's side was David Jameson, M. D., colonel in the Provincial and Revolutionary forces of Pennsylvania, who was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a graduate of the medical department of its university. He came to America about the year 1740, and settled first in South Carolina. He afterward moved to York, and was possessed of a homestead and plantation in York Township, within two miles of the town. He was married to Elizabeth Davis and his sons, Thomas, James and Horatio Gates, became eminent physicians in this neighborhood. The last named. the grandfather of Judge Gibson, married Emily Shevelle, of Somerset, and moved to Baltimore, where he founded the

Johnliksom

491

THE BENCH AND THE BAR

Washington Medical College, and spent the of the county of York, and was accepted by greater part of his life in practice there, the Republican convention, and was elected without opposition, succeeding Robert J.

moving to York a few years before his death, which occurred in 1855. His daugh- Fisher, who held the position of president ters were Cassandra, married to Rev. Wil- Judge for a period of thirty years, and who was not a candidate for re-election. In 1875, an additional law judge was provided for the district, to which Pere L. Wickes was elected. Owing to the provisions of the new constitution, Judge Wickes became president judge by seniority of commission. Judge Gibson was commissioned additional law judge. By the expiration of the term of Judge Wickes, January 1, 1886, Judge Gibson became president judge. liam J. Gibson, D. D., Duncanville, Mary- land; Catherine, married to Hon. Robert J. Fisher, president judge of the York Judicial District, and Elizabeth, married to Rev. John Gibson, who died at Duncansville, in 1869. His great-grandfather on his father's side was Robert Gibson, born in the county of Down. Province of Ulster, Ireland, whose son, William Gibson, was a celebrated preacher of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, otherwise called Covenanters ; came to America in 1797, and settled in Rye- gate, Vermont. He afterward went to Philadelphia and was pastor of the Re- formed Church there. He died in 1838. His sons, Robert, John and William, were all distinguished divines in the Presbyterian Church.

John Gibson was the third son of John and Elizabeth (Jameson) Gibson. He came to York early in life, and received his edu- cation at the hands of such teachers as C. D. Joint, Daniel M. Ettinger, Rev. Stephen Boyer, and Daniel Kirkwood, the eminent astronomer, at the York County Academy, which was his alma mater. He studied law under his uncle, Robert J. Fisher, and was admitted to the bar, September 30, 1851, and practiced law at the York Bar until his election to the bench in 1881. On June 25. 1865, he married Helen Packard, youngest daughter of Benjamin D. Packard, of Al- bany, New York, a distinguished journalist and publisher, who founded the Albany Evening Journal. Judge Gibson held no political office. He was chosen a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868, held in New York City, and which nominated Horatio Seymour for president. In 1872, he was unanimously chosen a dele- gate from York County to the constitutional convention of Pennsylvania, together with Thomas E. Cochran, from York, William McClean, from Adams, the three being rep- resentatives from the Nineteenth Senatorial District. Jeremiah S. Black, from York, was a delegate at large to the same con- vention. In 1881, he was nominated by the Democratic county convention for judge of the Nineteenth Judicial District, composed

Judge Gibson was an extensive reader and a man of many accomplishments. His history of York County, published in 1886, is an enduring work, and his speeches in the constitutional convention evidenced the thoroughly equipped lawyer and a recog- nition of the needs of the hour. When in law practice he was invaluable to the young members of the bar who almost invariably sought his advice, to whom he was uni- formly affable and courteous, and to whom he was always ready to impart his legal knowledge and experience. His arguments to the courts and his speeches to the jury show the lawyer of tact, sagacity and cir- cumspection, and in clearness and lucid power of generalization he was surpassed by few. His style of speaking was impres- sive, impassioned and admirable. In his charges he displayed his capacity for rapid absorption of a case, arrangement of facts in their proper relation; and in the applica- tion of principles of law to the facts, he was seldom excelled. His written opinions were concise and learned and were charac- terized by carefulness of consideration and impartiality. His intuitive and compre- hensive mind seized infallibly the essential points of the dispute, and he possessed in an eminent degree the peculiar qualities which are most needed in a judge. His personal qualities won for him many warm and devoted friends, and his private life was without reproach. He was genial and affable to all. He died at Atlantic City, July 6, 1890. His funeral services were held in St. John's Episcopal Church of York, of which he was a communicant and on whose vestry he had served for a quarter of a century. He was survived by his wife,

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of York County Pennsylvania, Volume I, Part 88

Author: Prowell, George R. Publication date: 1907 Publisher: J. H. Beers Number of Pages: 1372

Author: Prowell, George R.
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: J. H. Beers
Number of Pages: 1372