USA > Pennsylvania > Crawford County > Our country and its people. A historical and memorial record of Crawford County, Pennsylvania. > Part 21
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The first prothonotary and clerk of court in Crawford County, Dr. Thomas Ruston Kennedy, deserves mention in this connection. In 1794 he was appointed surgeon of Captain Denny's command at Fort Le Bœuf, and located at Meadville the following year, being doubtless the first physi- cian to settle in northwestern Pennsylvania. He was a gentleman of great energy, being identified with all of the leading enterprises of his day in this portion of the State. He died at Meadville in March, 1813. Alexander Stewart, of Meadville, was the first sheriff.
The bar of Crawford County gradually increased in numbers and al- ways contained some members who stood among the eminent lawyers of northwestern Pennsylvania. Alexander W. Foster was a prominent and able lawyer who came to Meadville in the summer of 1800 and was admitted to the bar in October of that year. In 1804 he and Roger Alden were the principals in the only duel ever fought in Crawford County. The meeting took place about a mile and a half below Meadville, on the banks of French Creek, and Major Alden was wounded in the encounter. Mr. Foster after- ward removed to Pittsburg, where he attained a high standing in the legal profession. Col. Ralph Marlin came to Meadville in 1801, having been a practicing attorney before coming here. When the war of 1812 broke ont he received a major's commission in the regular army, and was at Erie during the building of Perry's fleet in 1813. When the war ended he re- signed his commission and returned to Meadville, was a member of the Legislature from 1815 to 1818, but with the passing years became somewhat dissipated and about 1826 removed to one of the eastern counties.
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Hon. Patrick Farrelly was born in Ireland, where he received his edu- cation. In 1798 he came to America and settled at Lancaster, Pa., where he began the study of the law. In 1802 he came to Meadville and was ad- mitted to practice law the next year. In 1805 he was appointed register and recorder of Crawford County and afterward clerk of the Orphan's Court. He was married twice, his first wife being a daughter of General David Mead and the second a daughter of Timothy Alden, the founder and first president of Allegheny College. He was chosen as a member of the Legislature in 1811, served as major of militia during the war of 1812, and was elected to Congress in 1820. He was twice re-elected, and died at Pittsburg Feb. 12, 1826, while on his way to Washington. He was buried in the Catholic cemetery at Pittsburg, of which church he had been a consistent member throughout life. He built up a large law practice in Crawford and the sur- rounding counties, probably the largest in this portion of the Common- wealth. Probably no man in northwestern Pennsylvania at the time of his death wielded a more powerful influence in the political affairs of the State than Patrick Farrelly. Possessing a brilliant mind, a fine classical educa- tion and high legal abilities, and being a clear, graceful, fluent writer and a good, forcible speaker, having always at his tongue's end an abundance of Irish wit. he was regarded during his Congressional career as one of the leading members of the United States House of Representatives.
Hon. Jesse Moore was a practicing attorney at Sunbury, Pa., when, in 1803, he was appointed president judge of the sixth judicial district. He re- moved to Meadville and entered upon the duties of his office, which he filled until his death in 1824. He was a well-educated man, and by the upright- ness and impartiality of his judicial decisions at all times sustained the honor and dignity of his profession. Col. Richard Bean was a leading member of the bar at this time, and died about the same time as Judge Moore. R. L. Potter was a pioneer lawyer and justice of the peace in Meadville and was prominently identified with the early improvements of the town. George Selden came to Meadville in 1819, having been admitted to the practice of the law in Philadelphia two years before. He ranked high as a lawyer, but devoted so much of his attention to other business that his law practice was not extensive. He removed to Pittsburg in 1830, returning to Mead- ville a few weeks before his death in 1835.
John B. Wallace was born in New Jersey and read law with his uncle,
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Hon. John Bradford, at one time attorney-general of the United States. Removing to Philadelphia, where he inarried a sister of Hon. Horace Bin- ney, he practiced law there until 1821, when he came to Meadville. He was a very able lawyer and became eminent in the profession, acting as at- torney for the Holland Land Company for several years. Mr. Wallace served in the Legislature from 1831 to 1834. He took a deep interest in public affairs and greatly beautified the town by planting a row of trees around the Diamond.
Hon. David Derickson, born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, was admitted to the bar in 1823. He was soon afterward appointed deputy attorney general, which office he filled five or six years. In 1824 President Monroe appointed him collector of internal revenue for this district, and he rapidly established a remunerative law practice. He was diligently en- gaged in the successful prosecution of his profession when in 1856 he was elected additional law judge for the district composed of Crawford, Erie and Warren Counties, and served on the bench the full term of ten years. Few members of the bar could boast of a more thorough knowledge of the law than Judge Derickson. He possessed a well-balanced, judicial mind, was a deep student and logical reasoner. He was recognized as an efficient judge whose charges were noted for impartiality. In 1878 he retired from active practice. In 1884 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Allegheny College, where he was graduated in 1821. He died Aug. 13, 1884. at the advanced age of eighty-six. John Stuart Riddle read law in Chambersburg and came to Meadville about 1824. He was a successful lawyer and also accumulated considerable wealth as a land speculator. He died while on a visit in Philadelphia about 1850.
Hon. Henry Shippen was born in Lancaster, Pa., where he read law and was admitted to the bar. He had graduated from Dickinson College in 1808, and was a captain in the war of 1812, James Buchanan, afterward President of the United States, being a private soldier in his company. He built up a successful practice at Lancaster, afterwards removing to Hunting- ton, where he followed his profession until 1825, when he was appointed president judge of the district composed of Crawford, Erie, Venango and Mercer Counties. He presided over the courts of this district until his death in 1839. Judge Shippen was recognized as a man of good mind and strong common sense. While on the bench he displayed those legal qual-
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ities which distinguish the thorough lawyer and able jurist, and his charges and decisions are said to have been remarkable for their justness and integ- rity. Samuel Miles Green read law in Bellefonte, Pa., where he was ad- mitted to practice, removing to Meadville about 1825. He was a fair lawyer and good speaker, but did not make a success in his Meadville practice.
Hon. John W. Farrelly. son of Hon. Patrick Farrelly, was a native of Meadville and a graduate of Allegheny College. He was admitted to the bar in 1828 and soon took a leading position in the profession and obtained a large and lucrative practice. In 1837 he was elected to the Legislature, in 1842 to the State Senate, and in 1846 to. Congress, serving one term in each. In 1849 President Taylor appointed him sixth auditor of the Treas- ury, which office he filled four years. Mr. Farrelly, like his father, was re- garded as one of the eminent lawyers of Pennsylvania, possessed a discrim- inating, technical mind, was clear in his ideas and correct and logical in his conclusions. His brother, David M. Farrelly, was admitted to the practice of the law in 1830, having the year before been elected register and re- corder of Crawford County. He was a member of the constitutional con- vention of 1837-38 and ranked high in his profession.
Hon. Gaylord Church, born in Oswego, N. Y., in 1811, removed with his parents to Mercer County in 1816. He was educated in Mercer, where he studied law, being admitted to practice law in 1834. The same year he came to Meadville, where he opened an office. In 1837 he was appointed deputy attorney-general for the Crawford County district, and in 1840 was elected to the Legislature. He was appointed president judge of the sixth judicial district in 1843 and served until the office was made elective, in 1851. Judge Church returned to the practice of the law, to which he ap- plied himself with diligence, but was in 1858 appointed to fill a vacancy on the Supreme bench of the State, which he occupied only a short time. Judge Church was thoroughly versed in the law, was an excellent lawyer and an efficient judge. His death occurred in 1869.
Hon. Hiram L. Richmond was born in Chautauqua County, New York, and came to Meadville in 1834. He spent two years at Allegheny College, after which he read law and was admitted to practice in 1838. He opened an office in Meadville and gradually gained an extensive and lucrative practice which with the passing years increased with the growth and pros- perity of the county. In 1872 he was elected to Congress. Mr. Richmond
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was known throughout the district as a fluent talker, a hard student and a good lawyer. William H. Davis, a native of Meadville, was admitted to practice law in 1838. He was a man of determined character and great tenacity of purpose, of fine education and a good lawyer. Mr. Davis was of a literary turn of mind, and in 1848 gave a lecture on the history of Crawford County which was replete with information of early events of this locality. On the breaking out of the Rebellion he entered the army, and at the close of his service removed to Illinois.
Hon. Darwin A. Finney was another prominent attorney of the Craw- ford County bar. He was born in Vermont in 1814 and came to Meadville about 1840. He was graduated at Allegheny College, and read law in the office of Hon. H. L. Richmond. He served in the State Senate from 1856 to 1861, and in 1866 was elected to Congress. Before the expiration of his term in Congress he went to Europe to try to recuperate his health, where he died in 1868. He was a very able lawyer and had a fine analytical mind and was regarded by his brother attorneys as an ornament to the pro- fession.
The following is a list of the attorneys of Crawford County now in active practice, with the date of their admission to the bar:
G. W. Hecker, Feb. 13, 1845.
A. B. Richmond, Apr. 5, 1848.
S. Newton Pettis, Nov. 14, 1848.
D. C. McCoy, Aug. 9, 1853.
Wesley B. Best, May 11, 1886.
Joshua Douglass, Apr. 4, 1854. B. B. Pickett, Feb. 14, 1855.
John A. Northam, May 11, 1886.
Charles E. Richmond, May II, 1886.
Sidney R. Miller. Nov. 30, 1886.
C. W. Benedict, Jan. 10. 1887. Isaac Monderau, May 20, 1887. Eugene Mackey, March 19, 1889.
Sion B. Smith, May 16, 1889.
Otto A. Stolz, Nov. 18, 1889.
John E. Reynolds, Nov. 21, 18Co.
B. B. Pickett, Jr., May 20, 1891. Jules A. C. Dubar, Sept. 22, 1891. Willis R. Vance, May 20, 1892.
P. C. Sheehan, Dec. 14. 1892. Philip Willett, Dec. 14, 1892. John L. Emerson, Dec. 14, 1892.
Terrence Henratta, Sept. 10, 1894.
Curtis L. Webb, Sept. IC, 1894.
Myron Park Davis, Nov. 23, 1859. James W. Smith, Apr. 9, 1862. Frank P. Ray, Aug. 11, 1862. D. T. McKay, Sr., Aug. 11, 1862. J. N. McCloskey, Aug. 17, 1866. Geo. W. Haskins, Aug. 22, 1867. John J. Henderson, Aug. 22, 1867. C. M. Boush, June II, 1868. Geo. A. Chase, June 13, 1868. C. W. Tyler, June 23, 1868. Julius Byles, June 14, 1869. Thomas Roddy, July 6, 1870.
James P. Colter, Aug. 14, 1871. H. J. Humes, Nov. 11, 1871. Geo. F. Davenport, Apr. 17, 1872.
Jas. R. Andrews, May 16, 1884.
W. W. Henderson, Sept. 28, 1885.
Otto Kohler, Sept. 28, 1885.
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M. C. Powers, June II, 1872. A. G. Richmond, Aug. 6, 1873. Alfred G. Church, Aug. 16, 1875. John O. McClintock, Sept. 18, 1875. M. J. Heywang, Nov. 17, 1875. Samuel Grumbine, Nov. 17, 1875. James D. Roberts, Aug. 14, 1876. F. H. Davis, Feb. 24, 1881. R. G. Graham, July 14, 1881. L. H. Landerbaugh, Sept. 27, 1881. Arthur L. Bates, Sept. 25, 1882. Gilbert A. Nodine, Nov. 26, 1883. E. W. McArthur, Feb. 25, 1884.
Geo. Frank Brown, Feb. 25, 1895. Manley O. Brown, Feb. 25, 1895. Geo. W. Porter, Oct. 14, 1895. Walter Irving Bates, Nov. 25, 1895. John Schuler, Nov. 25, 1895. Chester L. Kerr, June 2, 1896. A. M. Fenner, June 2. 1896. Thos. A. Prather, June 2, 1896. George Bryan, Sept. 14, 1896. Sidney A. Schwartz, Sept. 28, 1896. Hugh G. McKay, May 26, 1897. Clinton M. Dickey, May 31. 1898.
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CHAPTER XVII.
CRAWFORD COUNTY EDUCATION.
M R. JUSTICE WASHINGTON, one of the judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, in an opinion delivered upon settlers' titles in Crawford County, uses the following language: "It is clearly proved that this country during this period was exposed to the re- peated eruptions of the enemy [Indians], killing and plundering such of the whites as they met with in defenseless situations. We find the settlers sometimes working out in the daytime in the neighborhood of forts and returning at night within their walls for protection; sometimes giving up the pursuit in despair, and returning to the settled parts of the country; then returning to this country, and again abandoning it. We sometimes meet with a few men daring and hardy enough to attempt the cultivation of their lands: associating implements of husbandry with the instruments of war- the character of the husbandman with that of the soldier."
In this picture, drawn by the skillful hand of Judge Washington, from indubitable testimony in the case before him, we perceive the difficulties and hardships and dangers under which the early settlers labored to establish themselves in this then wilderness, and may fairly infer the resolute purpose with which they were inspired. From the summer of 1787, when John and David Mead first visited this section, the very period when the conven- tion met which framed the constitution of the United States, to the spring of 1791, there was comparative quiet among the Indians, the chiefs Cone- daughta and Half Town and their followers being friendly to the whites. In the year 1791 two armies of the United States, the one under Harmer and the second under St. Clair, were in succession defeated by the Indians, and, being whetted in their trade of blood by their success, white settlements were everywhere menaced by their dusky foes. In this and the two following years several cold-blooded murders were perpetrated. It was with the fore-
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Manuscript Letter by Thaddeus Stevens, in 1864.
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hodings of evil that the settler went to the field and along with the ax, the hoe or the scythe was carried the musket and the powder horn, and eager glances were often cast towards the humble cottage, where were the busy feet of the young wife and the cradle of the sweet-lipped babe.
For protection David Mead erected on the site of the present residence of James E. McFarland a double log house, the first building in the limits of Meadville, which was so built as to be capable of defense against small arms. This house was occupied by the company of twenty-four men sent under Ensign Bond, in the spring of 1793, by Gen. Anthony Wayne, who had succeeded to the command of the army sent against the Indians. But Wayne, contemplating active operations, soon ordered this detachment away. Early in the following year, being unable to secure any military force for their protection, the settlers determined to unite for their own safety, and organized themselves into a militia company, choosing Cornelius Van Horne their captain, and built a blockhouse for rendezvous and de- fense just north of the Eagle Hotel. It was two stories in height, the second projecting over the first, was surmounted by a watch tower, was loopholed for musketry and provided with a small cannon. It served as a rallying point in times of danger, and here, as was natural, being the most secure place, was the first school-this the fountain head of instruction in Crawford County. The signal victory of General Wayne over the Indians on the 20th of August, 1794, quieted apprehension and, though two settlers were in- humanly murdered and scalped in June of the following year within six miles of Meadville, yet the hostile natives rapidly disappeared, and hence- forward a feeling of security more and more prevailed, buildings were better and erected with an eye to permanence, and the foresight to make substan- tial provision for the education of the oncoming generation now began to be manifest.
By the wise foresight of some Meadville Solon, by whom the scheme was doubtless framed, when the Legislature passed the act of the 12th of March, 1800, providing for the erection of the counties of Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Warren and Erie out of portions of Westmore- land, Washington and Lycoming, a proviso was attached to that portion of the act defining the limits of Crawford, which fixed the county seat at Mead- ville if the inhabitants would contribute $4,000, either in money or land, to- wards the founding of a seminary of learning in the county, and authority
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was given to locate the county seat within four miles of Meadville if the condition was not complied with. It was doubtless difficult to raise money for institutions of learning then as now, but the man who conceived that proviso understood human nature and plainly foresaw that by bringing a pressure to bear which would come of seeing the county seat liable to be car- ried four miles away he would surely fetch out the needed resources. It was a condition intended to confer lasting benefit and secure that virtue and intelli- gence in the population which should make the town a fit place for the habitation of justice, and its conception evinced a foresight and political wisdom worthy of imitation by the founders of States.
David Mead, Frederick Hamaker and James Gibson were constituted trustees for the county and empowered to receive and hold in trust for the benefit of the contemplated institution property of any description, and to sell and reinvest in such manner as to them should seem judicious. Gen- eral Mead donated to the town for educational purposes the triangular piece of land bounded by Water and Second Streets and Steer's Alley, on which -the blockhouse stood. At a subsequent period, however, this ground was transferred to the female seminary, with power to sell, and it was conveyed to Thomas Wilson. It may be observed. in passing, that this blockhouse stood until 1828, when, with its memories of Indian warfare, of early strug- gles and the initial of school instruction, it vanished before the hand of im- provement and a rickety blacksmith shop took its place.
By an act of the Legislature, passed on the 2d of April, 1802, the num- ber of trustees was increased and more ample powers were conferred for ac- quiring property and establishing a school, and by the act of April 4, 1805, their numbers, powers and duties were still further enlarged, the provision requiring them to give bonds being repealed. In the meantime ground had been acquired at the corner of Chestnut and Liberty Streets, where is now the residence of James Davis, occupied by the Conservatory of Music, and in the fall of that year a one-story brick building, with two rooms, was erected thereon, in which a school was opened, presided over by the Rev. Joseph Stockton, a man of varied accomplishments, who taught the ancient languages and purposed maintaining a school of a high grade. By the act authorizing its establishment it was designated the Meadville Academy. But, in that early day, there was greater demand for primary than for sec- ondary or higher instruction. It soon became overcrowded with pupils of
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all grades, those who had contributed towards the building claiming the right to send their children of every degree of advancement. Some who had thus contributed were unable to gain admission on account of its crowded state, and after the exhibition of some temper withdrew and established a school for themselves in Kerrtown. As population gathered in different sections of the county, contiguous families employed teachers to instruct their children for a few months in the year in such rooms as could be se- cured, and in some sections small schoolhouses were erected. By the act of the 24th of March, 1807, Meadville Academy was formally incorporated, and fifteen trustees were constituted a quorum. A year later, 28th of March, 1808, the number constituting a quorum was reduced to eleven, and the act of incorporation was revived, from which we may infer that it had been suffered to lapse.
During the first thirty-four years of the present century, the means of education throughout the county were such as the enterprise and foresight of the settlers, burdened with ceaseless toil, and beset with poverty, prompted them voluntarily to provide. The forest had to be leveled, the stubborn glebe broken, the rough places made even, and the crooked made straight. The family had to be clothed and fed, and provision made in the years of plenty for the years of famine; and it is a wonder, amid trials so great, that the subject of the education of their children arrested the thought of the settler, and a matter of pride and congratulation that the generation which grew up in this severe school attained to so good a degree of instruction and training as they did. It was the good seed that fell on good ground, which sprang up and in these later years has brought forth some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold.
A general law was enacted in 1809, which provided for the education of the poor gratis, and the assessors in their annual levies were enjoined to enroll the names of all indigent parents, and the tuition of children of such parents in the most convenient schools was provided for out of the county treasury. Under this law the Meadville Academy was rechar- tered by act of March 20, 1811, and $1,000 appropriated on condition that it should instruct five indigent pupils. But there were few families who were willing to have it blazoned upon the records of the county that they were too poor to pay the tuition of their children. The native pride and
14
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self respect inherent in all noble souls revolted at such a declaration, and Thaddeus Stevens in his great speech in the House of Representatives said that such a law as that instead of being called a public school law ought to be entitled: "An act for branding and marking the poor, so that they may be known from the rich and proud."
Mr. Stevens was greatly excited in the delivery of this speech. It was a trying moment for the interests of common school education. The battle cry in the recent election had been opposition to the common school law which had been passed the year before. 1834, and an overwhelming majority had been elected in opposition to it. He left his seat and descended into the open arena in front of the speaker's desk, and in the freedom of action which he there had he poured forth such burning eloquence as was never heard in that chamber before. Mr. Stevens was a Whig, and Governor Wolf was a Democrat, but was in favor of the school law. In the course of his speech Mr. Stevens said, "I have seen the present chief magistrate of this commonwealth violently assailed as the projector and father of this law. I am not the eulogist of that gentleman; he has been guilty of many deep political sins; but he deserves the undying gratitude of the people for the steady, untiring zeal which he has manifested in favor of common schools. I will not say that his exertions in that cause have cov- ered all, but they have atoned for many of his errors. I trust that the people of this State will never be called on to choose between a supporter and an opposer of free schools. But if it should come to that; if that should be the turning point on which we are to cast our suffrages; if the opponent of education were my most intimate personal and political friend, and the free school candidate my most obnoxious enemy, I should deem it my duty as a patriot, at this moment of our intellectual crisis, to forget all other con- siderations, AND I SHOULD PLACE MYSELF UNHESITATINGLY AND CORDIALLY IN THE RANKS OF HIM WHOSE BANNER STREAMS IN LIGHT."
I have been informed by one who was present in the chamber when this impassioned speech was delivered, that when Mr. Stevens, with all the force of eloquence of which he was capable, uttered the words, "I should place myself in the ranks of him whose banner streams in light," the whole vast audience was moved as by an unseen power, and burst into a perfect storm of approval. That speech saved the school law, and that burst of
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