History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 79

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
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In 1831, Mr. Findlay was elected to the Legisla- ture. He was re-elected in 1882 and 1888. In De- cember, 1833, Samuel McLean, who was Secretary of the Commonwealth, was elected to the Senate of the United States. Such was the reputation of James Findlay that Governor Wolf at once tendered him the vacant office. He resigned his seat in the Lower House, of which he was then Speaker, and accepted the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth.

The old citizens of Westmoreland will remember that in the winter of 1834 there was a special election for a member of the Lower House to supply the vacancy caused by the appointment of Mr. Findlay. It was currently reported and believed that Governor Wolf had expressed a personal wish that Westmoreland would honor herself and the State by sending to the Legislature a man qualified in talent and reputation to succeed James Findlay.

"Suppose," said the leading citizens, " that West- moreland surprises and pleases the Governor by send- ing a better man ?"

The notion tickled the political gossips, and so, amid much firing of cannon, wild roaring of the rab- blement, and great guzzling of powerful potations, Maj. John B. Alexander was unanimously returned to the Legislature.

Historians inform us Caligula, Emperor of Rome, gave. his horse a place in the Senate, and had him proclaimed First Consul. As Maj. Alexander held the opinion that our legislators belong to the equine genus as clearly as donkeys, he astonished the Gov- ernor and natives by riding his splendid horse, Som- erset, to Harrisburg, and by doing nothing appa- rently while there but instructing the animal in the mysteries of legislation. It is said that after staying a few days in Harrisburg, and looking at and ming- ling with the members of the House, he mounted his splendid steed and came away, stating in language considerably more emphatic than elegant that they were a set of ignoramuses, and he would have nothing to do with them.

James Findlay remained at Harrisburg, discharging the duties of the office of Secretary of State, until the inauguration of Governor Ritner. In the early part

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of 1886 he removed to Pittsburgh and recommenced the practice of his profession. In politics there were many things unsuited to the mind and manners of Mr. Findlay. Their intrigues, violence, selfishness, and rancor must have often disgusted his candor, dis- turbed his equanimity, and shocked his refinement. His pecuniary affairs demanded some attention, and so instead of returning to Westmoreland he located himself in Pittsburgh and devoted himself to the duties of his profession. In a short time.he rose to prominence, gained the deep respect of his fellow- members of the bar and the confidence of clients.

Francis R. Shunk, & gentleman of an old and re- spectable family in Eastern Pennsylvania, had mar- ried Miss Findlay, opened a law-office in Harrisburg, and filled several public offices. In January, 1839, he was appointed Secretary of State to Governor Por- ter. He held this office until 1842, when he removed to Pittsburgh, and entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, James Findlay. The partners ad- mirably suited each other. The superb penmanship, habits of order and industry, knowledge of forms, and strong constitution well fitted Shunk for the manual labor of the profession, while Findlay could readily and amply supply the logic, rhetoric, and legal erudition necessary for success before court and jury. Of the pair it might be safely said, without an iota of irony, par nobile fratrum. The firm was on the high road to pre-eminent professional success, when, unfortunately, James Findlay took sick and died in 1843, in the forty-second year of his age, about a twelvemonth before Francis R. Shunk was elected Governor of Pennsylvania.

It is somewhat singular that Mr. Findlay never married. He was so amiable in disposition, so reg- ular in habits and domestic in manners that he was well adapted to receive and confer happiness upon a proper partner.

The personal appearance of Mr. Findlay was very agreeable. He was rather over than under middle height, straight, and well proportioned. His com- plexion was fair, his hair light brown, his forehead broad and high, and his features very pleasant, be- cause constantly expressive of kindness and good humor. His mouth was rather too large, but it was filled with regular and beautiful teeth as white as ivory. He dressed plainly, but with good taste, and, as he was very near-sighted, he always wore silver spectacles. His manners were courteous, and about all that he did there was an air of refinement. In this country, where there is no aristocracy, no gentry, no arbitrary distinctions, so that a proper classifica- tion of society becomes difficult, if not impossible, and yet there was about James Findlay that nescio quid, that peculiar je ne sais quoi, which makes even a total stranger feel that this is a gentleman.

His morals were as pure as a virgin snow-drift. Coarse profanity and witty obscenity were common and, with some, commendable in his profession. Al-

though not disposed to be rigidly righteous, Mr. Find- lay held both swearing and blackguarding to be contra bonos mores,-against good morals and good manners. He was not a member of any church, but his amiable disposition and enlightened conscience produced all the effects of true and heartfelt religion, namely, de- cency, integrity, and charity. "If cleanliness be godliness," then Mr. Findlay was a model Christian, for he was never guilty of a dirty skin, dirty garment, dirty trick, or dirty expression.

The status of Mr. Findlay in his profession was highly respectable for one of his age. His mind was logical and discriminating, and his memory so good that he retained whatever he read. Wherever he practiced, he was employed against the best men of his professional cotemporaries. A legal friend, who knew him long and intimately, thus speaks of him :

" I think I may say that no one ever enjoyed in a greater degree the respect and affection of his profes- sional brethren. This was strikingly manifested at the time of his death. The gentlemen of the Pitta- burgh bar paid him the unusual, it may be the un- precedented, mark of respect of closing their offices during his funeral." 1

RICHARD COULTER, JUSTICE S. C.

Richard Coulter was born in Allegheny County, Pa., in what is now.Versailles township,' in March, 1788. He was early sent to Jefferson College, but he did not remain there for graduation. He read law with John Lyon, Esq., at Uniontown, Fayette Co., and on the 19th of. November, 1810, was admitted to practice in the courts of that county." On Feb. 18, 1811, on motion of John B. Alexander, Esq., he was admitted an attorney of the courts of Westmoreland. In 1816 and 1817 he was elected to the Assembly on the ticket in opposition to the then Republican

1 William Findlay, the father of James, was an active and leading politician, whose services were intimately connected with the history of the State of Pennsylvania. In 1790 he was a member of the Convention which framed the constitution of the State and continued to be the fundamental law until 1838. In 1807 he was chosen to be treasurer of the State. In 1817 he was elected Governor of Pennsylvania, beating Joseph Hiester, the Federalist candidate, by a majority of several thou- sande. In 1820 he was again a candidate for Governor against the same man, and at this election be was defeated. In 1821, William Findlay was elected United States senator, and was a member of that body until the end of his senatorial term in 1827.

The gentleman from whose reminiscences of Findlay we have to largely drawn thus wanders into the clouds:

"James Buchanan and James Findlay were both of Scotch-Irish de- cent, and were born at the same locality of Conococheague, near Mercers- burg. Both had been born and bred Presbyterians, and were both bap- tized by the same pastor, Dr. John King. They were both Democrats, one by conversion and the other by inheritance. They were both liber- ally educated, and both lawyers by profession. They were both bach- elors. They were both moral men. They were both gentlemen in dress and manners. Had Buchanan died at the age of forty-two, he might have been esteemed to be a kind-hearted and generous gentleman, a'good lawyer and patriotic citizen. Had Findlay lived until threescore and ten, he might have been President of the United States and been as much denounced as James Buchanan."

" There is now a coal town located near this spot called Coultersville. " His examining committee were James Ross, of Pittsburgh; Parker Campbell, of Washington; and Thomas Messon, of Uniontown.

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party. In 1818 he was on what was called by the op- position the Federal ticket, and was elected to the same office, and was the only one elected on that ticket. So, also, in 1819. .. In 1820 he was a candidate on what was called the Independent Republican ticket for the same office, and was the only one elected on that ticket, the Democratic ticket going through for the rest. In 1821 he was defeated by ninety-three votes. In 1826 he was nominated as an independent candi- date for Congress, James Clarke being the regular Democratic nominee, and was elected. In 1828 he was elected without opposition. He was also elected in 1830 and 1832, then as the regular Democratic nomi- nee, but in 1834 was defeated by Mr. John Klingen- smith.

In the mean time he had practiced law until Sept. 16, 1846, when he was appointed a justice of the Su- preme Court by Governor Shunk, and again, after the approval of the Senate, Feb. 17, 1847, from which time his commission ran for fifteen years. Under the then new constitution, Oct. 2, 1851, he was elected and commissioneu associate justice for fifteen years, he having drawn the long term. He died Tuesday, April 20, 1852, at Greensburg, Pa.

What follows may convey something of an impres- sion, although an inadequate one, of the political, legal, and literary character, as they are evidenced in the public career of this distinguished citizen.

When, in 1832, Mr. Coulter was sent to Congress, he was sent as the leader of the Democratic party in the county. He was the best speaker and writer in his party here, and he had made such a reputation in Congress that the Democrats at home were proud of their representative. But most unfortunately Mr. Coulter disagreed with his constituents and with the Jackson administration on the subject of the United States Bank and the custody of the public money. As he was a strong advocate of the recharter of a national bank, the Democrats of his district refused to renominate him, when he offered himself to the people as s volunteer candidate. The congressional district was then composed of Westmoreland and In- diana, and it was thought that he, by his eloquence and personal popularity, would overcome the usual Democratic majority in Westmoreland. The Demo- crats put in nomination against him John Klingen- smith, a plain man of German descent, but an active and insinuating party man of some influence among his own class. He was chosen as the strongest man in the county. There was at that time in those dis- tricts wherein this German element predominated a marked clannish or national feeling. A man of Ger- man descent, who spoke the German language, would always receive more than his party vote. It was held that Klingensmith would receive the votes of all his freundschaft, and of persons who, although not Demo- crats, were of Teutonic descent. Indiana was an anti-Masonic county. Coulter was a well-known Mason, who in the violent disputes with the anti-

Masons had been put forward as a champion of the " brethren of the mystic tie." To obtain the vote of Indiana County he openly renounced Masonry. His letter of renunciation will be found in the old files of the Greensburg papers. The election was hot ; his political opponents used every argument and every incentive to defeat him when it was possible to do so by dissension in his own party ; and notwithstanding his own high character and the great exertions of his friends he was defeated. He was a man of courage and of unquestioned talent, but he could not stem the strong current of Jackson Democracy.

After his defeat Mr. Coulter withdrew from politics, and gave his whole time and attention to his profes- sion. His defeat in all probability was beneficial to him in more than one point. His engagement in active political life had caused him to neglect his business pursuits. His habits henceforth became more even, and his attention ceasing to be distracted by the fascination of political life, he shortly obtained one of the most, if not altogether the most, lucrative practices at the bar. His defeat helped to make him a wealthy man, and in all probability prolonged his life. For the habits of a public life, such as it then was at the seat of government, were entirely different from those which prevailed about a county-seat of justice, and necessitated a continuous and tireless mental activity, and one scarcely ever in harmony with a judicial cast of mind.

But although he had withdrawn from politics, it was generally known that he sympathized with the anti-Democratic party, which had then assumed the name of Whig. He voted in 1840 for Gen. Harrison, and in 1844 he was chosen chairman of the Clay and Markle County Committee. In this position he wrote and published a handsome, nervous address to the voters, which will be found in the files of the Greens- burg Intelligencer. To the astonishment of the pub- lic, shortly before the election he changed sides and openly voted for Shunk and Polk.

The power of appointment of judges was then vested in the Governor. Some time in 1846 a vacancy occurred in the Supreme Court. Governor Shunk was petitioned to appoint Coulter to the vacancy. Among these petitioners the most active were the members of the Westmoreland bar without respect of party. They had some outside influence and co-oper- ation in their efforts. The Rev. James Brownson, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church to which Coulter and his family were attached, was a nephew of Gov- ernor Shunk by marriage, his mother being a full sister of Mrs. Shunk. As Westmoreland had given the Governor some two thousand majority, he could not well refuse the solicitation of the party leaders here. Coulter was therefore appointed by Governor Shunk associate justice of the Supreme Court in the stead of Justice Kennedy, deceased Jan. 8, 1847.

In 1850 the constitution was amended so as to give the election of judges to the people. Among the

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vacancies to be filled at the election of 1851 was that of chief justice and an associate justice of the Su- preme Court. John Bannister Gibson and James Campbell were nominated for these offices by the Democrats, and William L. Meredith and Richard Coulter by the Whigs. All the Whig candidates- Governor and judges-were defeated except Richard Coulter, who was elected by a majority of some thou- sands over James Campbell. Mr. Campbell was a lawyer of Philadelphia, and was subsequently Post- master-General under President Pierce.

The opinions of Judge Coulter while he was on the bench by appointment, and his upright conduct, were regarded by honest and religious men with so much favor that the Whigs tendered him the nomination without any intrigue or personal solicitation from his friends or himself.

He early distinguished himself on the bench in an elaborate opinion in the case of David Hummell et al. versus Dr. Mercer Brown et al., in which he at great length defined and gave judicial status to the legislative power of the State in the creation and con- trol of corporations, particularly those of an eleemosy- nary character. At the time of its rendition, 1847, it was regarded by lawyers as one of the ablest and most eloquent opinions ever delivered from the bench of the Supreme Court.

The character of Mr. Coulter as a judge was highly respectable. As a lawyer he may not have been equal to Gibson, but he was equal to Bell, of Chester, and su- perior to Rogers and Burnside. He was incorruptible, and his course was such as to enlarge the confidence of appellants. While other judges were more or less controlled by the mastery of Gibson, Coulter was sternly independent. For example, on the Sunday law question he disagreed with all the other judges. On this question being brought before them they rested the observance of Sunday on the laws of Penn- sylvania. Judge Coulter regarded it as a Christian Sabbath, and rested its observance on positive com- mand from Almighty God. He assumed, in short, the higher law position. The arguments and opin- ions are found in the reports, and should be read by students.

As a politician, Coulter was charged with incon- sistency and whimsical changes of opinion and party. But perhaps there were good sense and sound judg- ment at the bottom. He had been a Federalist, and became a Democrat under the wing of Jackson. The Jackson Democrats a long time maintained sound Federalist measures,-a protective tariff, a national bank, and a general system of internal improvements. The highest protective tariff bill that any of the old Congresses ever passed was signed by Andrew Jack- son in 1828. But when Jackson adopted the opinions of the States' Rights men, and used the veto power to derange the financial system of the country, Coulter had the courage to resist the administration and maintain a consistent position. His conduct in 1844

appeared very strange, but it was afterwards seen to be politic. It was understood by intelligent poli- ticians that if Binney and Le Moyne, the anti-slavery candidates for President and Governor, remained in the field Clay and Markle would be defeated. The election was to be decided by combinations and ar- rangement. Of this Coulter was fully aware, and no doubt knew that in maintaining a consistent position he was doing no good to Clay and Markle, and was only condemning himself. to obscurity and the mo- notonous life of a dull country town. His influence with the leading Democratic leaders in the county was still strong; the past . was forgotten, and they came to his aid when he called upon them.

Mr. Coulter was fiercely and coarsely assailed for his renunciation of what Voltaire calls the "tom- foolery of Freemasonry" when he was a candidate for re-election to Congress. But he could not have obtained a majority in Indiana County unless he had renounced Masonry, and his connection with the Masons was broken off for the patriotic purpose, as was said, of serving the substantial interests of the whole country. It must be remembered that as a representative in Congress he occupied a front posi- tiop. The election in this district was regarded with anxiety throughout the State, and his defeat was de- plored by the opponents of the administration. A leading opposition paper lamented his defeat in the following language: "Poor Pennsylvania! she is the Bootia of the Union ! Where else could such a man as Richard Coulter have been defeated by such an unknown and illiterate person as his antagonist ?"

Judge Coulter was well read in politics, theology, law, and literature. His private library, both law and literary, was excellent. The evidences of his scholarship will be found in his political controversy with Dr. Postlethwaite, his miscellaneous writings,- such as "The Burning of Hannastown," " Address" to the Whigs in 1844,-and in his reported opinions when on the Supreme Bench. The controversy with Dr. Postlethwaite may be found in the old files of the county newspapers. While in Congress he made a very long speech for the recharter of the Bank of the United States, a copy of which in manuscript has been retained in his family.1 His letter of re- nunciation of Masonry is beautifully written, and worthy of republication by reason of its literary merit. His speeches, addresses, and select miscella- nies would fill a well-sized volume. His style, easy and good, is also flowery, ornate, and oratorical. But he was a bachelor and fond of poetry and novels. Of all the lawyers at the Greensburg bar he was the greatest orator. Traditions of his powers and of his wonderful effect over jurors and even large assemblages are still preserved, and it is likely that no man of or-

1 We have had access to this, and we regard it as a patriotic, scholarly, and profound argument, and an able presentation of that side of the controversy.

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dinary intellect who heard his celebrated speech on the trial of Tom Morgan will ever forget its effect.

Great as a lawyer as Judge Coulter was, those who are well informed as to his talents and parts are of opinion he might have been still greater and have been able to attain a higher position in his profession had he given all his time and abilities to that pro- fession. He was the best general scholar of all the lawyers at the Greensburg bar, and a better one than any of the judges on the bench of the Supreme Court.

In touching upon the moral character of Judge Coulter it may well be said that he had will-power sufficient to break away from the customs and habits which, although at that time were with professional men not bad, yet common, and such as were not re- garded without a certain degree of favor. But oppo- sitely all his influence was on the side of morality and religion. His professional character was stain- less. He was upright, truth-telling, and honorable, and made money by fair labor in his profession. In all the hot political contests he was never charged with meanness, chicanery, or the exaction of ex- orbitant fees. Although sometimes whimsical and charged with ill temper, he was a person of humanity, and disposed to protect the weak and friendless. Al- together he was an upright, moral man and a patriotic citizen.

JOHN F. BEAVER .- The story of the life and pro- fessional services of John F. Beaver is so well told in the following article, which appeared upon the announcement of his death, and which was written by an able member of this bar and an intimate friend of Mr. Beaver, that we might mar it by adding any- thing to it that we have collected from other sources.

John F. Beaver died at his residence at Newton Falls, Ohio, on the 12th of June, 1877.

Although more than thirty years had gone by since Mr. Beaver left here, his name, fame, and person were still fresh in the recollection of many of our people. In fact, it was not possible for any who once knew him ever to forget him, as his genial char- acter and exuberant flow of animal spirits rendered him conspicuous in every company.

He was born near Stoystown, in Somerset County, his maternal grandfather, Daniel M. Stoy, Esq., having given a name to that village as its original proprietor. His father, Henry Beaver, removed some years after, with his family, to Grapeville, in this county, where the subject of this sketch continued to live till about 1843 or 1844, when he removed to the place where he died. He left a widow and one son to enjoy a large estate, the fruit of his industry and economy. His physical organization was remarkable, and he excelled all his fellows in athletic sports and exercises which required strength and precision of muscular action.

In his prime his weight was about two hundred

, and twenty-five pounds, bone and muscle, and old men still tell of his wonderful feats of skill and strength, which were always accompanied with some humorous freak to attract the crowd. For a wager he would stipulate to pitch a quoit into the hat of his antagonist fourteen times out of fifteen a distance of ; forty yards. Having won at the expense of the bat he would console the owner by buying him & new one. With the rifle he was unerring, anything but the centre being with him an exceptional accident. Hearing, upon one occasion, of a match to shoot for a bear in a remote part of the county, he dropped in, and was solicited to take a stake to make up the match, which he could not decline, for fear of spoiling the fun. The first trouble was to fix the distance from the mark. This he appeased by proposing that each marksman should put down his number of yards, then divide the aggregate by the number of the stakes. He was the clerk and entered last, pat- ting down one yard, wanting, he said, to get as nigh as possible to the target. On footing up and dividing the result was what he expected and brought about, but there was no suspicion. The next difficulty was his want of a gun, and his awkwardness was so ap- parent that none of the company liked to intrust him with one. A boy was, however, discovered on the road at some distance with a ponderous, rusty-looking fire- lock, which after much haggling he agreed to lend for the occasion, provided they would not tell his father. The firing then commenced, and when Beaver's turn came they kindly volunteered to show him how to hold the weapon, how to look through the sights, and so on. He was very unsteady, but somehow or other the nail was driven and the paper fell .. This was rare sport, and the luck of the lawyer was marvelous. The second round was followed by the same result. Then there was not so much langh- ing, and the suspicion increased when some of the by- standers saw a chain hanging out of the boy's pocket. He was equally nervous and equally successful on the last round, when the boy chained the bear to lead him away. He was Beaver's boy, with Beaver's gun and chain.

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History of the County of Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 79

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: George Dallas Albert, editor
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: