History of Northumberland Co., PA - Chapter 5



CHAPTER 5 - Pages 201-260
THE BENCH AND BAR
FIRST COURTS AND CASES THE QUARTER SESSION - EARLY ADMINISTRATION OF
PENAL JUSTICE - THE ORPHANS' COURT - THE COMMON PLEAS - RULES OF COURT -
THE BENCH - ROSTER OF JUSTICES - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PRESENT JUDGES -
ASSOCIATE JUDGES THE BAR OF THE PAST AND PRESENT - THE SUPREME COURT.

   THE provincial judiciary act of March 22, 1722, the general provisions
of which were in force at the time Northumberland county was organized,
established in each county a court Styled the general quarter sessions of
the peace and gaol delivery and a county court of common pleas, for each
of which the Governor was authorized to commission a competent number of
justices, three of whom should constitute a quorum. The orphans' court, as
constituted in 1772, was established in 1713. The constitution of 1776
provided for courts of sessions, common pleas, and orphans' courts, the
organization and functions of which remained substantially as under the
provincial regime. By the constitution of 1790 the judicial power of the
Commonwealth was vested in a Supreme court, in a court of oyer and
terminer and general jail delivery, common pleas, quarter sessions,
orphans' court, and register's court for each county, and in justices of
the peace. The judges of the Supreme court were, ex officio, justices of
oyer and terminer and general jail delivery in the several counties.
Provision was made for the division of the State into judicial circuits;
the Governor was authorized to appoint a president of the courts for each
circuit and not less than three nor more than four judges for each county,
for whom a life tenure was established subject to the good behavior of the
incumbent, who was removable by the Governor upon the address of two
thirds of each branch of the legislature. The president and judges, any
two of whom should constitute a quorum, were to compose the court of
common pleas. They were also justices of oyer and terminer and general
jail delivery, any two of their number, the president being one, to
constitute a quorum; but no session of this court was to be held in any
county when the Supreme court should be sitting therein. The court of
quarter sessions and the orphans' court were also to be composed of the
judges of the common pleas, who, with the register of wills, were to
constitute the register's court. The latter was abolished by the
constitution of 1873.

FIRST COURTS AND CASES

   The act erecting Northumberland county passed the Assembly on the
21st of March, 1772; this action of the legislative body was certified
to Council three days later, when it received favorable consideration,
and justices for the new county were forthwith appointed. The seat of
government for the Province was at Philadelphia, and communication with
the frontier was attended with difficulty and delay; it is not probable,
therefore, that much time elapsed after the commissions of the justices
reached Fort Augusta before the judicial machinery was placed in motion.
The first court, a private sessions of the peace, was held on the 9th of
April, 1772. The following is a transcript of the minutes:-

   At a court of private sessions of the peace held at Fort Augusta
for the county of Northumberland on the 9th day of April in the twelfth
year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the grace
of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the
Faith, etc., and in the year of our Lord God 1772, before William
Plunket, Esquire, and his associates, justices assigned, etc., etc.,
within the said county of Northumberland, viz.:-

   An act of [the] General Assembly of Pennsylvania entitled "An act
for erecting a part of the counties of Lancaster, Cumberland, Berks,
Northampton, and Bedford into a separate county," was published in
court.
   A commission from his Honor the Governor, bearing date the 24th day
of March, anno Domini 1772, appointing William Plunket, Turbutt Francis,
Samuel Hunter, James Potter, William Maclay, Caleb Graydon, Benjamin
Allison, Robert Moodie, John Lowdon, Thomas Lemon, Ellis Hughes, and
Benjamin Weiser, Esquires, justices of the court of general quarter
sessions of the peace and gaol delivery for the said county of
Northumberland, was published in court.
   On motion made, the said county of Northumberland, or as much of
the extent of the same as is now purchased from the Indians, is divided
into the following townships, to be hereafter called and known by the
names of Penn's township, Augusta township, Turbut township, Buffalo
township, Bald Eagle township, Muncy township, and Wyoming township.
   Then follows a description of the boundaries of each township, as
given in the preceding chapter. Officers were also appointed for the
respective townships at this session.
   The first court of general quarter sessions of the peace for
Northumberland county was held at Fort Augusta on Tuesday, the 26th of
May, 1772, before William Plunket and his associates. As at the
previous session, an exemplified copy of the act erecting the county
"certified under the hand of William Parr, Esquire, master of the rolls
for the Province," was "published in open court." The commissions of the
justices were again read, and also "a deputation from Andrew Allen,
Esquire, attorney general for the Province of Pennsylvania, to Edward
Burd, for the prosecution of the pleas of the crown within the said
county of Northumberland." As the first recorded proceedings it is
stated that,-

   Upon petitions to the court, George Wolf, Martin Traester, William
Wilson, Richard Malone, Peter Hosterman, Henry Dougherty, Robert Martin,
Casper Reed, and Francis Yarnall are recommended to his Honor the Governor
by his license to sell spirituous liquors by small measure, and keep
houses of public entertainment in the townships and places where they now
respectively dwell in this county, for the ensuing year.
   Wolf, Traester, Hosterman, and Reed resided in Penn's township; Malone,
Dougherty, and Martin, in Turbut; Wilson and Yarnall, in Augusta. Marcus
Hulings and John Alexander, of Turbut; Adam Haverling, of Sunbury; Martin
Kost, of Buffalo, and James Weiser, of Augusta, were added to this number
before the close of the year.
   The first road petition considered was that of "sundry the inhabitants
of the West Branch of Susquehanna and places adjacent," setting forth the
great inconvenience they labor under for want of public highways, etc.,
and praying that proper persons should be appointed "to view and lay out a
road from the end of the road lately opened from the head of Schuylkill to
Fort Augusta, across the North Branch of the river Susquehanna to the main
point opposite Fort Augusta, thence up the easterly side of the West
Branch of said river to the line of the late Indian purchase at Lycoming."
Richard Malone, Marcus Hulings, Jr., John Robb, Alexander Stephens, Daniel
Layton, and Amariah Sutton were appointed to lay out the proposed road
agreeably to the terms of the petition if their judgment should so
determine.
   "Sundry inhabitants of the North Branch of Susquehanna and of the
waters of Mahoning creek" also presented a petition "setting forth the
great conveniency of a public highway from Fort Augusta to the narrows
of Mahoning," and praying for the appointment of "suitable persons to
view the ground.... in order to discover the nighest and best road;" to
this service Thomas Hewitt, Robert McCulley, John Black, Hugh
McWilliams, Robert McBride, and John Clark, Jr., were appointed.
   Hitherto the entire attention of the court had been directed to the
exercise of its administrative functions. Actions begun in the county
prior to its erection, criminal as well as civil, had been continued in
the courts at Reading, Lancaster, or Carlisle, respectively, and,
although the deputy attorney general's commission was read at May
sessions, 1772, no case requiring the attention of that officer was
tried until the following term. Until the first election of county
officers should occur the sheriff of Berks county was authorized to
perform the duties pertaining to that office; and on the fourth Tuesday
in August, 1772, the first grand jury was impaneled, as shown by the
following minute:-

   George Nagel, Esquire, high sheriff for the county aforesaid,
returned the writ of venire to him directed, with the panel annexed,
which being called over after proclamation made, the following persons
appeared, who were accordingly sworn on the grand inquest for our
Sovereign Lord the King for the body of the county: John Brady, foreman,
George Overmeier, John Rhorrick, Leonard Peter, Garret Freeland, John
Yost, William Gray, Ludwig Derr, George Ban, Andreas Heffer, Hawkins
Boone, George Wolf, William Cooke, John Kelly, James Poke, John Walker.

The record of the first case is as follows :-

	 The King         Sur indictment, felony; true bill.
No. 1.   Vs.           The defendant being arraigned,
                       plead non cul. et de hoc ponit
	John Willaims     se etc., etc.; pro Rege,
 alias Thomas Adams.   Similiter etc., etc. And now, a jury
 Testes pro Rege;      being called, come, to wit: William Piper,
 William Scull,        Isaac Miller, Robert Fruit, James Morrow,
 Samuel Hunter,        Thomas Hewitt, Richard Irvine, Robert Clark,
 Thomas Lemon          Benjamin Fulton, Andrew Gibson, John Morrow,
                       Francis Irvine, and Henry Dougherty, who on
                       their oaths respectively do say, that  the
                       defendant is guilty in manner and form as is
                       in the said indictment set forth.
   Whereupon it is adjudged by the court that the said John Williams
alias Thomas Adams do make restitution of the goods stolen; and pay a
fine of five pounds to his Honor the Governor for support of government;
and receive on his bare back at the common whipping post on the 2d of
October next twenty-one lashes, and stand committed until this sentence
is executed.
   At the same term of court Williams alias Adams was also convicted
upon a second and third indictment for felony. Upon the second
indictment he was fined five pounds, seven shillings, six pence, and
sentenced to receive twenty-one lashes on the 30th of September; upon
the third the line was three pounds, five shillings, and he was
sentenced to receive twenty-one lashes on the 1st of October. These
three indictments were the only cases tried at this term of court, and
constitute the first recorded proceedings in the criminal annals of the
county. In each instance conviction followed arraignment, and the amount
of the cumulative sentence - a fine aggregating more than thirteen
pounds, a relatively large sum of money at that period, and the
infliction of twenty-one lashes upon three consecutive days, was
certainly equal to the requirements of justice.
   In the punishment of penal offenses the whipping-post, stocks, and
pillory were frequently brought into requisition. The whipping-post,
which stood in the public square in front of the old jail building at
the corner of Market street and Center alley, was a stout piece of
timber firmly planted in the ground, with a horizontal crosspiece above
the head; to this the hands of the culprit were tied, while the sheriff
administered the flagellation on his bare back The pillory was erected
under a walnut tree on the river bank in front of the Maclay house,
where a slight depression in the ground still marks the site; this
consisted of an upright frame with openings through which the head and
hands of the offender protruded, and a low platform upon which he stood,
Custom, and also the common law, permitted every passer-by to throw one
stone at the culprit's head. In the stocks the offender sat upon a
platform with his hands and feet projecting through a framework in
front. No regular facilities of this nature having been provided, the
stocks were improvised by thrusting the legs of the culprit between the
rails of a fence above the Maclay house. This seems to have served the
purpose under Plunket's administration.
   The first instance in which these instrumentalities were resorted
to in the administration of penal justice occurred at August sessions
1772, in the case of Williams alias Adams. At May sessions, 1776, Daniel
Pettit was convicted of altering a five-dollar bill and sentenced to
"stand in the public pillory in the town of Sunbury on the 31st of May
instant from eight until nine o'clock in the forenoon, and be imprisoned
for one month, and stand committed until this judgment be complied with."
In November, 1778, Esar Curtis was convicted of larceny; his sentence was,
to "pay a fine of forty pounds to his Excellency the Governor for the
support of government, forty pounds by way of restitution for the horse
stolen, and receive seventeen lashes well laid on, and stand committed
until fine, fees, etc., are paid." This seems to have been the first
conviction for horse-stealing. Alexander Craig was also convicted of
larceny at the same term of court; he was amerced in the sum of eighty
pounds, and sentenced to receive "twenty-seven lashes on his bare back
well laid on." In February, 1779, Elijah Higgins was arraigned upon an
indictment for larceny, and found guilty; it was adjudged that he
"return the hog or the value of the same, pay a fine of three pounds,
and be whipped next Saturday with twenty lashes." The lash seems to have
been used without regard to color or sex. In February, 1781, negro Ann,
convicted of larceny, was sentenced to "be publicly whipped at the
public whipping post at Sunbury on Saturday, the 10th day of March, with
twenty lashes on her bare back well laid on, at ten o'clock of that day;
restore the goods or the value thereof to the owner, Eleanor Green, and
pay a fine equal to the value of the things stolen; pay the costs of
prosecution, and stand committed till the above sentence be complied
with." The goods purloined amounted in value to three pounds, three
shillings, State currency. In February, 1785, Patrick Quinn was found
guilty of stealing a "tow linen shirt to the value of ten shillings;" it
was directed that he should restore the same or an equivalent in money,
pay a fine equal to the value thereof, and "receive on his bare back at
the common whipping post on Friday, the 25th day of February instant, at
nine o'clock in the morning, twenty-one lashes." For the theft of
eighty-three shillings, four pence, John Miller was found guilty of
felony in November, 1785; it was ordered that he should make
restitution, pay a fine equal to the amount Stolen, "and on Friday, the
25th instant, receive on his bare back twenty-one lashes well laid on."
   The maximum of physical punishment inflicted by judicial process in
the early history of the county was probably the sentence imposed upon
Joseph Disberry at August sessions, 1784, upon conviction of felony. It
reads as follows:-

   Judgment: that the said Joseph Disberry receive thirty-nine lashes
between the hours of eight and nine o'clock tomorrow; stand in the
pillory one hour; have his ears cut off and nailed to the post; return
the property stolen, or the value thereof; remain in prison three
months; pay a fine of thirty pounds to the Honorable the President of
this State for the support of government, and stand committed until
fines, fees, etc., are paid.

   But Disberry's moral delinquencies were not rendered less frequent
in occurrence or reprehensible in character by the radical measures just
described, and he continued to the end of his career a troublesome
member of society. Even at this late date the number and variety of his
exploits, his versatile and ingenious manner of evading arrest, and the
air of perfect nonchalance with which he asserted his innocence when
confronted with the most incontrovertible evidence of guilt, retain a
place in the traditions of this part of the State. In August, 1798, he
was arraigned on three indictments for burglary, to each of which, with
characteristic sang froid, he plead not guilty. A longer period of
immunity than usual had made him more than ordinarily bold; he had
entered the houses of Philip Bower, Peter Jones, and Isaiah Willits,
taking scarcely any precautions whatever to avoid detection, and the
result of the trial was conviction on the three indictments. It was the
sentence of the court "that the defendant forfeit all and singular his
goods and chattels, lands and tenements, to and for the use of the
Commonwealth; and be conveyed to the gaol and penitentiary house of the
city of Philadelphia, there to undergo the servitude aforesaid for the
term of twenty-one years," of which term two years were to be spent in
solitary confinement. Tradition asserts that he survived this long
incarceration, and died a violent death.
   The first case of fornication and bastardy as shown by existing
records was tried at November sessions, 1774. The defendant was Peter
Weiser, and it was adjudged that he should pay "a fine of ten pounds to
the Governor, and pay to Margaret Kessler the sum of seven pounds, ten
shillings, for her lying-in expenses and maintaining the child to this
time, and give bond with sufficient security for the maintaining of the
child and securing or indemnifying Penn's township against any charges
by reason or means of the said child." Cases of this nature are of
frequent occurrence in the early records. It is worthy of remark,
however, that they were principally brought against indentured servants.
The man was usually required to contribute to the support of the child,
while the woman was obliged to serve a year or longer beyond the time
when her term of service would regularly have expired.
   The first cases of assault and battery were tried at May sessions,
1773, resulting in conviction in each instance. The fine imposed was two
shillings, six pence, and the offender was required to give his
recognizance for future good behavior. Cases of this nature contributed
largely to the business of the quarter sessions.
   There is reason to think that ignorance of the law, if not an
excuse for its infraction, was at least a palliation in the eyes of the
early justices. A case in point occurred at November sessions, 1778.
Joseph Sprague plead guilty to an indictment for keeping a tippling
house; he was sentenced to pay the costs, but the fine was remitted,
"the crime appearing to be the effects of ignorance."
  
   It was the duty of the constables to attend the sessions of the
court, where their presence assisted in sustaining the majesty of the
law and the dignity of the bench. The attendance of all the constables
of the county was required until August sessions, 1789, when the
following regulation was established:-

   It is agreed by the court that after the constables appear at each
term and make their returns that they will be all dismissed but those
who are reserved to attend the business of the court agreeable to the
following distribution; and those of them who make default may rely on
it that the court will strictly exact the fine.

   Division of the constables to serve in rotation, viz.:

   First Class.- The constables of Augusta, Bald Eagle, Beaver Dam,
Buffalo, Catawissa, to serve at November sessions.
   Second Class.- The constables of Nippenose, Penn's, Pine Creek,
Point, Potter's, Turbut, at February sessions.
   Third Class.- The constables of Derry, Loyalsock, Lycoming;
Mahoning, Mahanoy, Muncy, at May sessions.
   Fourth Class.- The constables of Chillisquaque, Washington, White
Deer, Fishing Creek, Shamokin, at August sessions.
   The Orphans' Court was organized on the 9th of April, 1772. The
minutes of the first session are as follows:-
   At an orphans' court held at Fort Augusta the 9th day of April, in
the twelfth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by
the grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of
the Faith, etc., and in the year of our Lord God 1772, before William
Plunket, Samuel Hunter, Caleb Graydon, Robert Moodie, and Thomas Lemon,
Esquires, justices of the same court, etc., for the county of
Northumberland;
   Came into court William Maclay, Esquire, and produced a commission
from his Honor the Governor, bearing date the 24th day of March last
past, appointing him, the said William Maclay, clerk or register of this
court; and likewise a deputation from Benjamin Chew, Esquire, register
general for the probates of wills and granting letters of administration
for the Province of Pennsylvania, constituting and appointing him, the
said William Maclay, deputy register for the probate of wills and
granting letters of administration for the county of Northumberland,
both which were read and published in court, and the said William Maclay
took the oath for the faithful discharge of the said offices,
respectively.
   The first proceedings are recorded under date of August 13, 1773,
Justices William Maclay, Samuel Hunter, and Michael Troy, presiding.
Alexander McKee, administrator of the estate of Thomas McKee, deceased,
of Augusta township, presented a statement of the indebtedness, etc. of
said decedent, and was authorized to sell a tract of land called "New
Providence," situated in Augusta township, formerly Upper Paxtang
township, Lancaster county. The proceedings in this case were begun at
Lancaster.
   Among the cases that appeared for consideration at January term, 1779,
was one that affords a melancholy illustration of the hardships of those
troublous times. In the preceding summer a number of refugees from Muncy,
driven from that locality by the Indians, had been cared for by the people
of Augusta township. Albert and Catharine Polhemus were among these
unfortunates; both died and were buried at the public expense, leaving
seven children, whose support was temporarily assumed by the overseers of
the poor. It became necessary to levy an extra tax for their maintenance,
and at January sessions, 1779, the overseers were authorized to indenture
them, the conditions prescribed being similar to the following:-
   To Elias Youngman, Magdalena Polhemus, until she be eighteen years
of age, he accommodating her according to the custom of the country
during her servitude; to teach or cause her to be taught to read and
write English; bring her up in the Presbyterian religion; and at the
expiration of her servitude give her decent freedoms, with twenty pounds
lawful money of Pennsylvania.
   The sequel would seem to show that those to whom unfortunate and
destitute children were indentured were not always faithful to the
obligations thus assumed. At November sessions, 1786, of the court of
quarter sessions, Magdalena Polhemus presented a petition to the court
setting forth that she had "faithfully and honestly" served Elias
Youngman the full term of seven years for which she had been indentured;
but that he had not "performed the covenants in the said indenture
mentioned by furnishing her with her freedom dues at the expiration of
her servitude." At the following term of court it was adjudged that she
should be paid eight pounds, in default of which an attachment should
issue to compel payment. In this summary manner did the court enforce
just treatment for its wards.
   At August sessions, 1779, "a certain Sarah Silverthorn, aged seven
years," was indentured to William Huburn; as part of the obligation
assumed he agreed "to teach or cause her to be taught to read and write
English, bring her up in the Presbyterian religion, and at the
expiration of her servitude give her the usual freedoms, with a good
spinning wheel." The question may arise whether Presbyterianism
sustained to the county administration the relation of an established
church. It is probable, however, that the only object of the court was
to insure for its wards proper religious training, and that in
designating a particular church the religious preferences of the child's
parents were considered.
   Orphans' courts were held very irregularly for some years after the
organization of the county. That this might be remedied the following
action was taken by the justices at May term, 1783:

   WHEREAS, Hitherto there has been no stated or fixed time for
holding orphans' Courts in said county;
   It is therefore unanimously agreed and determined by the said
justices, [Frederick Antes and his associates] at this present sessions
that from and after this present sessions that Orphans' courts in or for
this county shall be held at Sunbury the fourth Tuesday in June, the
fourth Tuesday in September, the fourth Tuesday In December, and the
fourth Tuesday in March, statedly and forever thereafter.
   The first will recorded is that of Joseph Rotten, of Buffalo township,
which was certified to the deputy register, August 24, 177_ It was drawn
16th of May previously, in the presence of William Moore, James McCoy, and
Samuel Mather. The testator bequeathed "to Mary, my dearly beloved wife,
my best bed and furniture, also a black cow, as also one tall third part
of all my personal estate, either in cash, goods, or chattels;" the
remainder was devised in equal portions to his three children, Thomas,
Roger, and Elizabeth.
   In June, 1779, James Jenkins and Morgan Jenkins, executors of the
nuncupative will of Thomond Ball, transacted certain business with the
court under its provisions. Among the personality mentioned is a gold
watch, which the court directed should be "sold by public vendue in the
city of Philadelphia or town of Lancaster." Ball had been a justice of
the court and served for a time as its deputy clerk. This is the first
nuncupative will mentioned in the records of the court, and one of the
very few instruments of that character that have received the
consideration of the judiciary in this county. It is presumed that the
decedent was too much occupied with business relating to other people's
wills to find time to write his own.
   The Court of Common Pleas, - The first session of this court began
on the fourth Tuesday in May, 1772. The proceedings are thus set forth
in the minutes:-

   Northumberland County, ss.

   At a county court of common pleas held at Fort Augusta for
Northumberland county the fourth Tuesday in May in the twelfth year of
the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Third, by the grace of God
King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc.,
annoque Domini MDCCLXXII, and continued by adjournments;
   Present - William Plunket, Samuel Hunter, Caleb Graydon, Thomas
Lemon, Robert Moodie, and Benjamin Weiser, Esquires, justices of the
county court of common pleas for the said county of Northumberland,
viz.:-
   An exemplified copy of the act of General Assembly of the Province
of Pennsylvania, entitled "An act for erecting a part of the counties of
Lancaster, Cumberland, Berks, Northampton, and Bedford into a separate
county," certified under the hand of William Parr, Esquire, master of
the rolls for the said Province, and seal of his office, was read and
published in open court.
   A commission from his Honor the Governor, dated the 24th day of
March, 1772, was read and published in open court, appointing William
Plunket, Turbutt Francis, Samuel Hunter, James Potter, William Maclay,
Caleb Graydon, Benjamin Wilson, Robert Moodie, John Lowdon, Thomas
Lemon, Ellis Hughes, and Benjamin Weiser justices of the county court of
common pleas for Northumberland county. A commission from his Honor the
Governor, dated the 24th day of March, 1772, appointing William Maclay,
Esquire, prothonotary of the county court of common pleas for
Northumberland county, was read and published in open court, whereupon
he took an oath for the faithful discharge of his office:
   On motion made, the following gentlemen were admitted and sworn
attorneys of this court, viz.: James Wilson, Robert Magaw, Edward Burd,
George North, and Christian Huck.
   On motion, Mr. James Potts, after examination, was admitted and
sworn an attorney of this court.
   On motion, Mr. Andrew Robison was admitted and sworn an attorney of
this court, after having been duly examined.
   On motion, Mr. James Potts, after examination, was admitted and
sworn an attorney of this court.
   On motion, Mr. Andrew Robison was admitted and sworn an attorney of
this court, after having been duly examined.
   On motion, Mr. Charles Stedman, after being examined, was admitted
and sworn an attorney of this court.
The record of the first cases is as follows:-

   John Simpson   Debt sans breve. Defendant in this action
  1.  vs.     confesses judgement to the plaintiff for
 Burd. Hawkins Boone. the sum of sixteen pounds, sixteen shillings.
      Debt and interest   £7 12s. 8d.
Acknowledged the   Att'y and clerk fees  2 11  6
26th day of May,          ________
before me Wm. Maclay       £10 4 0
       August 23d, rece'd by
            Wm. Maclay.
Rece'd principal and interest of the debt £7 12s. 6d.
in this action       And my fee   1 10  0
            __________
           £9 2  6
           Edward Burd.

   Robert Sample    Debt sans breve. Defendant in this action
  2.    vs.     confesses judgement to the plaintiff for
Wils[on] William McCall. the sum of twenty-five pounds and three
Acknowledged the 27th  shillings.
day of May, 1772, before me,
     Wm. Maclay.

   Jasper Scull     Debt sans breve. The defendant in this
  3.   Vs.      action, (by Edward Burd, his att'y,)
 Burd. Daniel Reese.  confesses judgment to the plaintiff
Acknowledged this 12th  for the sum of forty-three pounds,
Day of July, anno Dom.  fourteen shillings.
1772, before     Wm. Maclay.

   The second term opened on the fourth Tuesday in August, Justices,
Plunket, Hunter, Lemon, Moodie, and Potter, presiding. The first entry
on the docket is the case of James Patton vs. James Gaily, Magaw for
plaintiff, Wilson and North for defendant. The second case is an action
for ejectment brought by the lessee of Samuel McCroskey against Robert
King, Wilson for plaintiff and Burd for defendant. The first application
of the arbitration system occurs in the case of Michael Rega vs. William
Blyth, Buck for plaintiff and Wilson for defendant, in which all matters
at variance were referred to John Brady, Samuel Maclay, and George Wolf,
who found for the plaintiff a balance of five pounds, seven shillings,
eleven pence halfpenny. The causes entered upon the docket at this term
are numbered to thirty-three, but it does not appear that many of them
came to trial. In several instances no proceedings whatever are
recorded, and a majority of the causes were continued to the following
term. The names of Magaw, Wilson, Burd, Buck, North, Hartley, Weitzel,
Robison, and Stedman appear as attorneys in connection with the causes
entered at this term. Thomas Hartley, Casper Weitzel, Andrew Ross, and
James Whitehead were admitted to the bar. The minutes are entered in a
book; those of the preceding term were recorded on detached sheets of
paper, and never transcribed to a more permanent receptacle. The minutes
appear to have been somewhat neglected during the following years, but the
appearance and continuance dockets are practically complete from the
organization of the county.
   But meager information is afforded regarding the early procedure of
the common pleas court. Although the judges were not learned in the law,
they were doubtless familiar with the practice in England and in the
older counties, while the presence of a respectable number of attorneys
supplied whatever deficiency of legal erudition may have been apparent
in the bench. The prothonotary was evidently well qualified for the
duties of his position, to which a relatively greater degree of
importance attached at that early date than at a later period. It is not
probable that the business of the court required any special rules for
some years after the organization of the county; if any such were
formulated it is not mentioned in the records.
   At May term 1789, in order to remedy the "manifest delays" and
"great injustice done to suitors...... by reason of the uncertainty of
levies made upon writs of fieri fadas," it was made a standing rule that
in making return of an execution the sheriff should annex thereto a
schedule of the property levied upon. At August term, 1789," for the
better regulating the practice of the court of common pleas in the
county of Northumberland," the following rules were adopted:
   It Is ordered by the court that for the future upon all judgments
entered up, when the defendant shall not come forward at the return day
of the writ of execution to complain of any irregularity in the judgment
and execution, or to suggest any defense he may have, such judgment
shall remain, and not be thereafter stirred.
   And in all cases where there has been an appearance, and judgment
has been entered by consent of defendant's attorney, or in cases of
judgment by default, and such judgments have remained four terms, no
motion shall be received in order to open such judgment.
   And in order that the defendants may not be surprised, the sheriff,
in all cases of a levy by virtue of any writ of fieri facias shall give
notice to the defendant, or if absent leave notice at the last usual
place of his residence, with a schedule of the property levied under
penalty of an attachment
   The court further order and direct that an issue list be formed of
the causes intended to be tried of a precedent term to the trial, and
that the causes so put down for trial shall have a preference of all
other causes, and shall not be put off but for some legal reason; and
that the issue list so made shall be affixed in some public place in the
prothonotary's office for the inspection of the parties concerned, in
order to prevent a surprise; and that the causes so marked for trial in
the issue list shall be considered in the same point of view as a cause
ordered up by distringas at nisi prias, and be subject to the same rules
and regulations, except as to serving written notice on the attorney;
and in order to prevent any unnecessary expense in attending suits, the
party, plaintiff or defendant, who so puts down his cause for trial,
shall, if he does not bring on his cause for trial, pay all costs of the
term.
   Provision for an argument court was first made at November term,
1799, when the prothonotary was directed to prepare an argument list as
well as a trial list, and Saturday of each court week was set apart "for
hearing and determining arguments."
  
   The earliest printed code of rules applying to the courts of this
county that has come to the knowledge of the writer was published at
Philadelphia in 1801 by William Young. The rules of the Supreme court,
circuit courts, and courts of common pleas are published in the same
volume; the "rules and orders for regulating the practice of the courts
of common pleas" were established by the presidents of the several
districts, but by what means this concert of action was secured is not
stated. The various subdivisions relate to attorneys, security for
costs, bail, certiorari, jury, judgment, declaration - plea, trial,
witnesses, and arguments. Judge Rush was then president of the Third
district, in which this county was embraced, and this code was probably
in force throughout his administration and that of his successor, Judge
Cooper. Judge Chapman instituted several changes immediately after his
accession. Perhaps the most important was that relating to the
preparation of the trial list. The following minute occurs under date of
August 31, 1811:-

   On consultation with the bar, the following regulations are
established respecting the trial of causes, viz.:-
   First.- That the remnants of the trial list, together with the
additional causes ordered for trial, be placed upon the list hereafter
according to their seniority, subject, however, to the second
regulation;
   Second.- That fifteen causes be selected by the gentlemen of the
bar, which fifteen are to be ready for trial on the Thursday of the
first week.
   A new code of rules, the first relating specially to the Eighth
district, was compiled under Judge Chapman's supervision and printed by
Andrew Kennedy & Son at Northumberland prior to April, 1814. This is a
small pamphlet of twenty-six pages, and elaborates somewhat upon its
predecessor of 1801. A considerable period elapsed before the rules of
court were again compiled and published. On the 16th of April, 1836,
upon petition from the bar of Northumberland county, Messrs. Bellas,
Jordan, and McDonald were appointed a committee to revise and collate
the rules of court for the Eighth district. Whether they acted in
conjunction with similar committees from the other counties of the
district or performed the work independently can not be satisfactorily
ascertained, but in the following year a new edition of the rules was
published at Williamsport by Eck & Eldred. This was done under Judge
Lewis's auspices, and, with subsequent emendations and additions, this
compilation was the authoritative manual of practice during his
incumbency and that of his successors, Judges Donnel, Anthony, and
Pollock. A new code was formulated upon the accession of Judge Jordan;
it was published in 1852. A revised edition, embodying the modifications
and additions of the intervening period, was printed in 1867. The
present "Rules of practice in the several courts of Northumberland
county," compiled by Charles M. Clement under the direction of the
court, were adopted, January 21, 1878, six years after Judge
Rockefeller's elevation to the bench.
  
THE BENCH

   Justices from 1772 to 1790.- The following justices were Commissioned
for Northumberland county under the provincial regime.-

William Plunket, March 24, 1772.    Benjamin Weiser, March 24, 1772.
Turbutt Francis, March 24, 1772.    William Patterson, 1773.
Samuel Hunter, March 24, 1772.      Michael Troy, 1773.
James Potter, March 24, 1772.       John Fleming, 1773.
William Maclay, March 24, 1772.     Samuel Maclay, July 29, 1775.
Caleb Graydon, March 24, 1772.      John Simpson, July 29, 1775.
Benjamin Allison, March 24, 1772.   Robert Robb, July 29, 1775.
Robert Moodie, March 24, 1772.      Evan Owen, July 29, 1775.
John Lowdon, March 24, 1772.        John Weitzel, July 29, 1775.
Thomas Lemon, March 24, 1772.       Henry Antes, July 29, 1775.
Ellis Hughes, March 24, 1772.

   The following justices were appointed by the Provincial Convention
of 1776, which exercised the function of a provisional State government;
(as there is a hiatus in the minutes of the court from May, 1776, to
November, 1777,(1) it can not be positively stated that they transacted
any legal business):-

Samuel Hunter, September 3, 1776.    Benjamin Weiser, September 3, 1776.
James Potter, September 3, 1776.     John Fleming, September 3, 1776.
William Maclay, September 3, 1776.   Henry Antes, September 3,1776.
Robert Moodie, September 3, 1776.    John Simpson, September 3, 1776.
John Lowdon, September 3, 1776.

   Under the constitution of 1776 the following justices were commissioned
for the term of seven years:-

Thomas Hewitt (President),       John Livingston, June 9, 1777.
June 9, 1777                     William Maclay, June 11, 1777.
Samuel Hunter, June 9, 1777.     David Harris, September 14, 1777.
Robert Crawford, June 9, 1777.   Frederick Antes (President),
John Weitzel, June 9, 1777.      November 18, 1780.
Robert Martin, June 9, 1777.     Laurence Keene, January 19, 1784.
Michael Troy, June 9, 1777.      Alexander Patterson, May 24, 1784.
Samuel Allen, June 9, 1777.      William Maclay, January 24, 1785.
John Aurand, June 9, 1777.       William Shaw, January 24, 1785.
William Shaw, June 9, 1777.      William Irwin, January 27, 1785.
Simon Snyder, January 27, 1785.  John Simpson, March 10, 1787.
Samuel Wallis, March 1, 1785.    Samuel Weiser, October 30, 1787.
Robert Fleming, March 1, 1785.   Christian Gettig, November 2, 1787.
William Montgomery (President),  Joseph Jacob Wallis, November 2, 1787
April 7, 1785.
John Kelly, August 2, 1785.      George Hughes, February 26, 1788.
Abraham Piatt, January 21, 1786. John Weitzel, June 19, 1789.
Xli Mead, July 14, 1786.         William Hepburn, July 2, 1789.
William Cooke, October 3, 1786.  Jasper Ewing, July 29, 1789.

The foregoing list is based principally upon that given in Volume IIId
of the Pennsylvania Archives, Second Series. It is not entirely
complete, however, as the local records show that David McKinney and
Matthew Smith officiated as justices in 1780 and John Buyers in 1783-86;
the latter frequently presided in the quarter sessions.
   President Judges. -During the colonial period the presiding justice
was chosen by his colleagues, and does not appear to have enjoyed any
particular distinguishing title. Section VIth of a law passed on the
28th of January, 1777, for the organization of the courts under the
constitution of 1776, provided "That the president and Council shall
appoint one of the justices in each respective county to preside in the
respective courts, and in his absence the justices who shall attend the
court shall choose one of themselves president for the time being."
   The title of "president of the courts" appears in the constitution
of 1790; it was superseded in popular usage by that of "president judge"
within a comparatively brief period, and the latter occurs in the
constitution of 1873. Under these various titles the succession in
Northumberland county has been as follows:-

William Plunket, 1772-76.     Ellis Lewis, 1833-43.
Thomas Hewitt, 1777-80.       Charles G. Donnel, 1843-44.
Frederick Antes, 1780-85.     Joseph B. Anthony, 1844-51.
William Montgomery, 1785-91.  James Pollock, 1851.
Jacob Rush, 1791-1806.        Alexander Jordan, 1851-71.
Thomas Cooper, 1806-11.       William M. Rockefeller, 1871,
Seth Chapman, 1811-33.        present incumbent

   Though not required to be learned in the law, the presiding justice
during the colonial period and under the constitution of 1776 was
usually a man of larger intelligence than his colleagues, and was
expected to be present at every session of the court, while attendance
on their part was largely optional. In the transactions of the early
courts of this county there was little opportunity for the exercise of
legal acumen or the application of forensic erudition, and a bench of
this kind, composed entirely of laymen, was well adapted to the people
and the times. Deliberative judgment, fairness of purpose, and integrity
of action were sufficient qualifications in the members of the court
at the period when local litigation did not yet embrace the perplexing
questions relating to land tenure, corporations, and kindred matters
that engage the attention of the courts so largely at the present day.
   William Plunket presided over the county courts under the colonial
regime. He was a physician by education and profession, and a
biographical sketch occurs in the chapter on the Medical Profession in
this work. Of the twelve justices commissioned on the 24th of March,
1772, he was probably the only one who had personal knowledge of the
methods of procedure in the English courts, and on that account was
probably chosen to preside. In administering the criminal law, his
sentences were characterized by great severity. He presided over the
courts for the last time at May sessions, 1776.
   Thomas Hewitt, the first president of the courts under the
constitution of 1776, resided in Chillisquaque township, where a tract
of three hundred eight acres was surveyed to him in pursuance of warrant
dated June 12, 1773. It is probable that he continued to reside there
for some years; in 1789 he was assessed with three hundred acres of land
and a grist and saw mill, and was, with a single exception, the largest
tax-payer in the township. In 1772 he was one of the first county
commissioners, and held that office several years; in 1776 he was
elected to the Assembly; on the 8th of July in that year he was one of
the judges at an election held at George McCandlish's for members of the
Constitutional Convention; he was a member of the Committee of Safety in
1776-77; and on the 9th of June, 1777, he was appointed a justice of the
courts, over which he presided from November in that year until 1780.
   Frederick Antes was from Philadelphia county, which he represented
in the Provincial Conferences of June, 1775 and June, 1776. The date and
circumstances of his settlement in Northumberland county are not known,
but on the 18th of November, 1780, he was commissioned as president of
the Courts, and it is fair to presume that he had resided in the county
for some time prior to that date. In the same year he was appointed
commissioner to receive forage and supplies at Sunbury and Wyoming. In
February, 1782, he became treasurer of the county, which office he
filled almost continuously until 1801. He was elected to the Assembly in
1784, 1785, and 1786. His residence was at Northumberland; Priestley
mentions him in his "Memoirs," referring especially to his mechanical
ingenuity in assisting him to devise apparatus for his chemical
experiments. He died at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, September 20, 1801.(2)

   William Montgomery was one of the most prominent citizens of old
Northumberland county, whether his military, political, or business
career be considered. Born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, August 3,
1736, he entered public life as a delegate to the Provincial Conventions
of January and June, 1775, serving also in the Conference of June, 1776.
He was colonel of the Fourth battalion of Chester county militia, which
he commanded at the battle of Long Island in 1776 and during the march
across New Jersey, after which it became part of the "flying camp." In
1774 he purchased a tract of land at the mouth of Mahoning creek,
embracing the site of Danville, Montour county, Pennsylvania, and
removed thereto in 1777. He was elected to the Assembly in 1779, 1780,
1781, and 1782, and became a member of the Council of Censors in 1783.
In 1784 the Assembly elected him to Congress, but he resigned in the
following year, and on the 7th of April, 1785, was commissioned as
president of the courts of Northumberland county, retiring from this
office in 1791. September 27, 1785, he was appointed one of two
commissioners to lay off part of the purchase of 1784 into districts;
June 24, 1785, member of a commission for the improvement of the
Susquehanna; April 18, 1785, deputy surveyor; July 28, 1787, member of a
commission for adjusting the claims of Connecticut settlers in
Pennsylvania, and, July 18, 1801, associate judge of Northumberland
county, serving until the erection of Columbia in 1818. In 1790 he was
elected to the first Senate of Pennsylvania. He was a pioneer in the
establishment of mills and factories and the opening of roads, and was
identified with nearly every project of his day for the development of
central Pennsylvania. He died at Danville, May 1, 1816, and is buried in
the cemetery at that place.
   Jacob Rush was the first judge for Northumberland county, "learned
in the law." He was born in Byberry township, Philadelphia county,
Pennsylvania, in 1746, and was a descendant of John Rush, a captain in
Cromwell's army, who immigrated to America in 1683. The death of his
father in 1753 left him an orphan at the age of seven years, but a
moderate inheritance enabled him to obtain a liberal education; in 1765
he graduated at Princeton, where he was a classmate of the Rev. James
Waddell, the blind clergyman to whose eloquence Attorney General Wirt
renders such a flattering tribute in his "British Spy." He was in active
service in several campaigns of the Revolutionary war. In September,
1777, he was admitted to the bar at Philadelphia, where he rose rapidly
in his profession and early reached the favorable notice of leading men
of the day through the influence of his brother, Dr. Benjamin Rush, a
signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the
Provincial Convention held at Philadelphia in January, 1775, and
represented Philadelphia county in the Assembly in 1779-80. On the 26th
of February, 1784, he was commissioned a justice of the Supreme court of
Pennsylvania; he also served as a member of the high court of errors and
appeals prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1790. In 1791 he was
appointed president of the courts of the Third judicial district (composed
of the counties of Northumberland, Northampton, Berks, and Luzerne as
erected by the act of April 13, 1791), and presided over the quarter
sessions at Sunbury for the first time, November 21, 1791. To this
position he brought a judicial experience probably unequaled by that of
any of his successors upon their accession to the bench. He continued to
perform the duties of his extensive district (which, in 1801, embraced
Lycoming and Wayne counties in addition to those mentioned) until January
1, 1806, when he was commissioned president judge of the court of common
pleas for Philadelphia county. In this position he remained until his
death, January 5, 1820.
   David Paul Brown, a practicing attorney of Philadelphia county
forty years and author of "The Forum," gives his estimate of Judge Rush
in the following language:-

   He was a man of great ability, and great firmness and decision of
character. He was also an eloquent man. Perhaps there are few specimens
of judicial eloquence more impressive than those which he delivered
during his occupation of the bench. An accurate idea of his style may
readily be formed from an extract from his charge to the grand jury in
1808, and his sentence pronounced upon Richard Smith for the murder of
Corson in 1816. We refer as much to the high moral tone of his
productions as to their literary and intellectual power .........Some of
his early literary essays were ascribed to Franklin, and for their
terseness and clearness were worthy of him. .........Judge Rush's
charges to the jury generally and his legal decisions were marked by
soundness of principle and closeness of reason. Having been a judge of
the Supreme court and of the high court of errors and appeals, he never
appeared to be satisfied with his position in the common pleas; yet, his
uprightness of conduct and unquestionable abilities always secured to
him the respect and confidence, if not the attachment, of his
associates, the members of the bar, and the entire community. He was one
of the gentlemen of the old school, plain in his attire, unobtrusive in
his deportment, but, while observant of his duties toward others, never
forgetful of the respect to which he himself was justly entitled.
   As an author his works include: "Resolves in Committee Chamber,
December 6, 1774" (Philadelphia, 1774); "Charges on Moral and Religious
Subjects"(1803);" Character of Christ" (1806); and "Christian Baptism"
(1819). In Reed and Dickinson's controversy regarding the character of
Benedict Arnold, he espoused the cause of the latter. A novel, "Kelroy,"
was written by his daughter, Rebecca (Philadelphia, 1812). His name is
perpetuated in local geographical nomenclature as the designation of one
of the most important townships of Northumberland county.
   Thomas Cooper was commissioned president judge of the Eighth
district (to which Northumberland, Luzerne, and Lycoming counties were
assigned by the act of February 24, 1806), March 1, 1806. He was a
native of England, born at London in 1759 and educated at the University
of Oxford. He also studied medicine and law, and, as evidenced by his
after pursuits, made chemistry a subject of special attention. In this
his investigations doubtless derived inspiration from his acquaintance
with Doctor Priestley. Cooper was a resident of Manchester, England, in
1789, when, according to Binns's "Recollections," he went to Paris as the
colleague of Watts, the inventor of the steam engine, to represent the
Manchester Philosophical Society in the French Convention. His reply to
Burke's "Reflections on the French Revolution" brought him into collision
with the authorities; considerations of personal safety led him to seek a
residence in America, and, with others similarly circumstances, among whom
was the son of Doctor Priestley, he planned "a large settlement for the
friends of liberty in general near the head of the Susquehanna in
Pennsylvania."(3) In 1793 he removed to the United States;(4) although the
proposed settlement was abandoned, the project brought him to
Northumberland, and there he resided during his subsequent connection
with affairs in this county. At November sessions, 1795, on motion of
Daniel Smith, he was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county.
Stewart Pearce says that he was a man of learning, and "in advance of
the age in his knowledge of minerals and geology. He carried with him a
hammer and acids, breaking rocks and testing their mineral qualities,
and was supposed by some ignorant persons to be, on that account,
impaired in intellect. He was the firm friend of freedom, and his bold
pen caused his imprisonment under the Alien and Sedition laws. After his
liberation Governor McKean appointed him one of the commissioners to
carry into effect the Compromising law of 1799 and its supplements. To
his energetic action were due the quiet and harmony that speedily ensued
in this long troubled and unhappy country."(5) His personal appearance
and professional characteristics were thus described by Charles Miner in
1800 "Short, rotund figure, stooping forward; has a florid, high,
English countenance and complexion. His forte is, to seize two or three
strong points and present them forcibly to the court and jury. He never
wearies by long speeches; never uses a word, or an illustration; or an
argument that is not to the purpose; a man of extraordinary endowments
and of most distinguished genius."(6)
   On the 16th of July, 1803, he was commissioned deputy attorney
general for Northumberland county, and took the oath of office on the
following 22d of August. Less than three years later, a change in the
boundaries of the district having resulted in the transfer of Judge Rush
to Philadelphia, he was elevated to the bench, and presided at Sunbury
for the first time at April sessions, 1806. Although ultra-democratic in
his views and thoroughly in sympathy with the institutions of this
country, he had been accustomed to the severe formality of the English
courts, and, unfortunately for himself, attempted to introduce and enforce
regulations of which the public sentiment of that day did not approve.
Doubtless there were ample grounds for a movement in the direction of
better order in the court room. Judge Rush is represented as a man of mild
disposition, naturally disposed to regard disorderly conduct as the result
of ignorance rather than the expression of willful contumacy; moreover he
suffered from an affection which, on one occasion, prevented him from
occupying the bench for some months, and afterward affected his hearing,
so that he was not cognizant of much of the disorder that may have
occurred in the court room. Judge Cooper inaugurated his administration by
requiring a better observance of order during the sessions of the court,
and a more prompt performance of duty on the part of its servants. In this
he encountered opposition which it was not the part of a man of his
temperament to allay; the feeling thus engendered found expression in a
number of memorials to the legislature, charging him with official
misconduct and praying for an investigation. Ten memorials of this
character were presented in the House of Representatives on the 21st of
February, 1811, by Samuel Satterlee, the member from Lycoming, and a score
or more by the members from Northumberland and Luzerne within the
following month. They were referred to a committee of nine members, among
whom were Messrs. Satterlee, of Lycoming; Irwin, of Northumberland, and
Gibson, of Cumberland, afterward chief justice of the State. E. Greenough,
of Sunbury, appeared as counsel for the petitioners, and Thomas Duncan, of
Carlisle, afterward a justice of the Supreme court, represented Judge
Cooper. Thirteen days were required in taking testimony; a large number
of witnesses were examined, among whom were many leading citizens and
prominent attorneys for the Commonwealth; Judge Cooper's three associates
in Northumberland county - Montgomery, Macpherson, and Wilson - appeared
in his behalf, and uniformly testified to his efficiency and impartiality.
The committee submitted the following report on the 23d of March, 1811:-

   Fully impressed with the importance of the duty assigned them, they
have diligently attended to the evidence adduced in support of the
accusations and in vindication of the accused, keeping at once in view
the propriety of affording no countenance to unfounded suggestions and
the solemn obligation of the legislature as the constitutional guardian
of the rights and liberties of the people to repel every invasion of
those rights; keeping in view the necessity of protecting those who
faithfully discharge the trust confided to them in the exercise of just
and legal authority, and of defending the citizens from those approaches
toward arbitrary power which the official situation of president judge
of a court of justice affords such facility in making, your committee
have deduced from the evidence the following conclusions, to wit:-
   First.- That he fined and imprisoned John Hannah for wearing his
hat in the court house of Northumberland county - the said Hannah then
standing outside of the bar and jury box and making no disturbance - and
this without any inquiry into Hannah's conscientious objections.
   Second.- That he fined and imprisoned three respectable citizens, viz.:
William Hartman, Matthias Heller, and John Brown, hastily, arbitrarily,
without any inquiry, and without sufficient cause.
   Third- That he fined John Dreisbach unjustly and arbitrarily.
   Fourth.- That he fined Nehemiah Hutton, hastily, without sufficient
cause or hearing.
   Fifth.- That he arbitrarily and precipitately fined and imprisoned
Stephen Hollister for a mere whisper, and in an insulting and
overbearing manner refused to hear his defense.
   Sixth.- That he improperly exercised the powers of a justice of the
peace under the law respecting roads and bridges, and fined Anderson
Dana, a supervisor of the highways, fifteen dollars in an arbitrary and
passionate manner, after which he ordered the fine to be deposited in
the hands of a third person, with orders to restore the same on certain
conditions.
   Seventh.- That he sentenced a boy between fourteen and seventeen
years of age to one year's imprisonment for horse stealing, and
afterward added two years to the term of his imprisonment without any
evidence, on the suggestion and pretense of teaching the boy a trade.
   Eighth.- Your committee also report, that it appears that prior to
the 17th of November, 1807, he entered into an agreement with the then
prothonotary and other officers of the court of common pleas of
Northumberland county and with George Langs to purchase at sheriff's
sale a tract of land called Limestone Lick, the property of Josiah
Galbraith, levied upon by an execution issued out of the said court; and
that the said tract was accordingly purchased on the day last mentioned
by the said George Langs for their joint benefit, part of which tract is
now held by the said Thomas Cooper under that sale. This conduct your
committee do not assert to be a violation of any positive statute; but
they do consider, that if the president of a court be suffered to make
himself interested in a matter depending before him, he must either
deprive the public of those services which he is bound to render, or
adjudicate in his own cause, and the danger to the pure and impartial
administration of justice is immediate and alarming.
   Your committee from the premises are of opinion, that the official
conduct of the said president judge has been arbitrary, unjust, and
precipitate, contrary to sound polity, and dangerous to the pure
administration of justice. They therefore submit the following
resolution:-
   Resolved, That a committee be appointed to draft an address to the
Governor for the removal of Thomas Cooper, Esquire, from the office of
president judge of the courts in the Eighth judicial district of
Pennsylvania.

   The Judge and his counsel appeared before the House during the
consideration of the report, March 26, 1811; on the following day the
question was put to a vote, when the resolution accompanying the report
was carried by a majority of fifty-three in a total vote of ninety-
three. The four members from Northumberland: John Murray, Jared Irwin,
Frederick Evans, and Leonard Rupert, with John Forster and Samuel
Satterlee of Lycoming, voted in the affirmative; Thomas Graham and
Benjamin Dorrance, from Luzerne, the remaining county in the district
voted in the negative. An address to the Governor was reported on the
same day (March 27, 1811); it states that the Judge had "in several
instances arbitrarily, precipitately, and unjustly fined and imprisoned
individuals for causes trivial and insufficient, without affording them
an opportunity of being heard, and has committed many other acts of
official misconduct and abuse of authority." The following significant
utterance reflects the judgment of the legislature upon the whole matter:
"Although charity forbids us to declare that the acts aforesaid have been
committed from motives or intention willfully corrupt and criminal, yet,
such has been his official conduct as to destroy public confidence in his
decisions, and by which his usefulness is (if not totally) very much
diminished in the district in which he presides, and affords sufficient
cause of his removal."
   On the 28th of March, 1811, the address to the Governor was
transmitted to the Senate for concurrence. Cooper wrote a letter to the
Speaker, strongly protesting against its consideration. He took the
ground that the offenses charged were either "capable of being explained
or justified, where the facts are admitted, or of being contradicted by
testimony where the facts are deemed." Such charges might, he averred,
furnish ground for impeachment under the constitution, but not for
removal by address, being of a class "perfectly distinguishable from
those reasonable causes of removal contemplated by the constitution
which are not impeachable because they imply no misconduct." It does
not appear that any action whatever was taken on this letter, and on the
30th of March, 1811, the Speaker signed the address. It was at once
presented to the Governor, who, on the 2d of April, 1811, informed the
Senate that he had issued a supersedeas deposing the Judge from his
office. He subsequently wrote a pamphlet in vindication of his cause,
but no copy has come to the knowledge of the writer; the defense made
before the legislative committee is given in Linn's Annals of Buffalo
Valley, pp. 393-396.
   It does not appear that Mr. Cooper continued to reside in
Northumberland county any length of time after this. Within a brief
period he accepted the professorship of chemistry in Dickinson College,
Carlisle, Pennsylvania; in 1816 was elected to a similar position in the
University of Pennsylvania and took up his residence at Philadelphia, of
which Binns speaks at some length in his "Recollections." His next
position was that of professor of chemistry in the College of South
Carolina, at Columbia, of which institution he became president. After
his retirement he collated and revised the statute laws of the State
under the auspices of the legislature; he was also the author of a
translation of Justinian's "Institutes." His talents and the important
position he occupied commanded considerable influence at the South, and
he is generally credited with having originated and encouraged some of
the political dogmas which entered into the doctrine of secession. His
death occurred in May, 1840.
   Seth Chapman, the next president judge of the courts of Northumberland
county, filled that position longer than any other of its incumbents. He
was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, January 23, 1771, a descendant of
John Chapman, who emigrated from Yorkshire, England, in 1684, and built
the first house in Wrightstown township, then the northern limit of the
lands purchased by Markham from the Indians. Nothing is known of his
education or legal preparation He was admitted to the bar of Bucks county
in 1791, and was therefore a lawyer of twenty years' experience at the
time of his elevation to the bench. On the 11th of July, 1811, he was
commissioned president judge of the Eighth judicial district, then
composed of the counties of Northumberland, Luzerne, and Lycoming, and
on the 25th of the same month took the affirmation necessary to a due
performance of his duties. As the law required a judge to reside within
the limits of his district, he removed to Northumberland and made that
place his residence the remainder of his life. The house he occupied was
originally erected by Dr. Joseph Priestley and still stands on North
Way, one of the most interesting landmarks of the county.
   In temperament Judge Chapman was the antipodes of his predecessor; and,
if the authoritative manner of the latter was the source of his
unpopularity, the individual who succeeded him ought to have been one of
the most popular jurists in Pennsylvania. For a time there is reason to
believe that he was popular. Cautious and deliberate in speech and action,
deferential and courteous in intercourse with his lay associates, and
evidently desirous of obtaining the good will of his constituents, he gave
attorneys and litigants the widest latitude in the presentation of causes,
a policy which coincided well with his disposition and seems to have
commanded general approbation at first. Although his abilities were not of
the highest order,(7) his legal qualifications were sufficient for the
requirements of the position at that period, and had he adopted a more
energetic policy in the discharge of his duties his retirement from the
bench might have occurred under circumstances more creditable to his
reputation than the event ultimately proved. A large number of cases
awaiting trial accumulated on the dockets of the several counties and
increase in population resulted in a corresponding addition to the volume
of legal business, notwithstanding which, the Judge became even more
dilatory with advancing years, and at length popular discontent culminated
in his impeachment by the House of Representatives at the session of 1826.
   The charges specified in the articles of impeachment were, that he
had directed Jacob Farrow to be arrested and imprisoned without any
complaint against him and without lawful cause, at Sunbury, in August,
1824; that, contrary to the express provisions of the law, he had
reversed a judgment of Christian Miller, a justice of the peace, and set
aside an execution issued thereon although the required period, twenty
days, had expired; that, in a case tried in Northumberland county at
June term, 1813, he had filed in writing his opinion and charge to the
jury, which differed from that orally delivered; and that he had
manifested an undue partiality and favoritism to suitors. In answer to
these allegations the respondent replied, that Farrow had made an assault
upon the prothonotary, which was both breach of the peace and contempt of
court, and was accordingly committed; that in the reversal of Justice
Miller's decision the defendant was a minor, and hence the judgment was
not valid in the first instance; that the written charge and opinion in
the case specified harmonized with the notes of his verbal charge; while
the charge of impartiality was met with a general denial, and a voluminous
explanation of the instances cited. The trial before the Senate began on
the 7th of February, 1826, the Judge being represented by Samuel Douglas
and George Fisher as counsel. Many witnesses were examined, and after
eleven days' proceedings the respondent was acquitted, February 18, 1826,
on all the articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of
Representatives.
   He continued upon the bench seven years after this. Unfortunately,
his administration was still distinguished by vacillation and delay, and
in 1833 petitions from various parts of the district were presented to
the Senate, praying for his removal or the appointment of an additional
law judge. These were referred to a committee composed of Messrs.
Hopkins, of Columbia; Packer, of Northumberland; Petrikin, of Lycoming;
Livingston, and Miller. An investigation was instituted, the Judge being
represented by James Merrill and Alexander Jordan and the Commonwealth
by E. Greenough and James Armstrong. The complaints, in the language of
the committee, "may be comprehended in a general allegation of want of
sufficient energy and capacity to discharge his duties with reasonable
dispatch, promptitude, and accuracy." Regarding the character of the
Judge, the report states that "no evidence was given in any manner to
impeach his character for integrity, either as a man or judge; but, on
the contrary, many witnesses concurred in expressing their opinions that
he is an honest man. His character, therefore, in this point of view,
appears unexceptionable." Their conclusion, however, was, that "for some
years past age and bodily infirmities, and as a natural consequence the
failure in some degree of his mental powers, have rendered him unable to
discharge his official duties with reasonable facility, accuracy, and
promptitude." At this stage in the investigation the committee deemed
proper to intimate their conclusions to the Judge, which elicited the
following communication:
            Harrisburg, March 11, 1883.
   GENTLEMEN: I have for some time past had an intention to resign my
office as soon as I could make such pecuniary arrangements as would be
necessary to enable me to do justice to my family; these arrangements
can not conveniently be made before October next. I now inform the
committee that I have fulfilled that intention, and have deposited my
resignation with the Governor, to take effect from the 10th day of
October next. This course might have been taken sooner; but it could not
be thought of while it was believed any charge of want of integrity
could be brought against me.       SETH CHAPMAN.
   To The Honorable
   The Committee of the Senate. 
  
   The investigation was forthwith suspended, and the Judge retired to
private life. He continued to reside at Northumberland until his death,
December 4, 1835, and is buried in the cemetery at that place.
   Ellis Lewis was commissioned president judge of the counties of
Northumberland, Lycoming, Union, and Columbia, which then composed the
Eighth judicial district, October 14, 1833, and took the oath of office
on the following 4th of November. He was born at Lewisberry, a borough
of Newberry township, York county, Pennsylvania, situated near the
center of Redland valley and about ten miles south of Harrisburg. This
locality was early settled by Welsh Friends from Chester county, among
whom were the Lewis family, a descendant of which, Major Eli Lewis,
founded the borough that bears his name in 1798. He was a man of
enterprise and consequence; in 1783 he owned nearly a thousand acres in
Redland valley, and in 1791 he established the first newspaper at the
present State capitol, the Harrisburg Advertiser. Ellis Lewis was his
son, and was born, May 16, 1798. His father died in 1807, and the son
seems to have been left with but limited means. He was apprenticed to
John Wyeth, publisher of the Oracle of Dauphin and Harrisburg Advertiser
(successor to the paper founded by his father), but found his position
so unpleasant that he ran away and was advertised by Wyeth, in the usual
manner. His further acquisition of the printing trade was pursued at New
York and Baltimore; and, having completed his apprenticeship, he
published the Lycoming Gazette at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1819-20
in partnership with I. K. Torbert. There he read law with Espy Vanhorn,
and in September, 1822, was admitted to the bar. Two years later he was
admitted at Harrisburg, but the extent of his professional work at that
place can not be accurately stated. About this time he held the office
of district attorney in Tioga county, residing at Wellsboro. Thence he
removed to Towanda, Bradford county, from which he was elected to the
legislature in 1832. In this position his ability and talents attracted
the attention of Governor Wolf, by whom he was commissioned attorney
general of the State, January 29,1833. In the autumn of the same year he
succeeded Judge Chapman as president of the Eighth judicial district,
continuing in this office until 1843, when he was appointed to a similar
position in the Second district (Lancaster county). In October, 1851, he
was elected judge of the Supreme court of Pennsylvania, and in November,
1854, became chief justice. In 1857 he declined the unanimous nomination
of the Democratic party for re-election to the Supreme bench, and
retired to private life. He was appointed a member of the commission for
the revision of the criminal code of Pennsylvania in the following year.
In the interim of his employment as a printer at New York and Baltimore
he had studied medicine at Lewisberry, and the knowledge of medical
jurisprudence thus derived secured for him the honorary degree of LL. D.
from the Philadelphia College of Medicine. He also received the degree
of LL. D. from Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, and Jefferson
College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania. He was the author of an "Abridgment of
the Criminal Law of the United States," and a frequent contributor to the
periodical literature of the day. His death occurred at Philadelphia,
March 19, 1871.
   Judge Lewis's long judicial career of twenty-four years was begun
in the courts of the Eighth district. He came to the bench at an earlier
age than any other president judge of Northumberland county; and, while
this placed him in sympathy with the younger members of the bar, his
character and bearing as a lawyer were such as to command the respect of
all. A close student and a profound logician, he was not influenced much
by mere oratory; he was quick to detect the introduction of irrelevant
testimony, and equally resolute in requiring promptness and brevity on
the part of witnesses and attorneys. As a judge his manner was firm,
decisive, courteous, and dignified. His temperament was ambitious and
aspiring, and this led him to seek the highest measure of success in
everything he undertook; but his ability was equal to his ambition, and
in every position to which he attained his services were alike honorable
to himself and valuable to the public.
   Charles G. Donnel was commissioned president judge of the Eighth
district (then composed of the counties of Northumberland, Lycoming, and
Columbia), January 14, 1843, and took the oath of office two days later.
He was born, March 14, 1801, at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, son of Henry
and Margaret (Gobin) Donnel; his education was obtained at the
Northumberland Academy, then under the principalship of Robert Cooper
Grier, subsequently a justice of the United States Supreme court, after
which he read law with Ebenezer Greenough, and was admitted to the bar
of Northumberland county at April sessions, 1822. He became deputy
attorney general in 1829, serving four years, and in this position, as
well as in his general practice as an attorney, gave evidence of legal
knowledge and abilities of a high order. His judicial incumbency was
terminated but little more than a year after his appointment by his
death, March 16, 1844. He resided at Sunbury, and his widow is now
living in that borough at an advanced age.
   Joseph B. Anthony was born at Philadelphia, June 19, 1795, and
educated at Princeton, New Jersey. While engaged in teaching in the
academy at Milton, he read law with Samuel Hepburn and was admitted to
the bar of Northumberland county, November 26, l817. After spending a
year in Ohio he located at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he was
admitted to practice in 1818 and resided until his death. He was elected
to the State Senate in 1830, and four years later to Congress, to which
he was re-elected in 1836 by a large majority. In 1843 he was appointed
one of the judges of the court for the adjustment of the Nicholson land
claims in Pennsylvania, and in the following year succeeded Judge Donnel
as president judge of the Eighth district, performing the judicial
functions with general acceptability until his death, January 10, 1851.
He was a man of fine mental endowments, not the least of which was a
remarkable mathematical faculty. His perceptive faculties, no less than
his reasoning powers, were also of a high order, and enabled him to grasp
the difficulties of a complicated question and present it lucidly and
succinctly. In social intercourse his conversation was enlivened by
brilliant flashes of wit and a profusion of humorous anecdotes and
observations, which made him a general favorite among those with whom he
came in contact. These qualities also entered into his professional work
as an attorney, and after he became judge a witty or humorous remark from
the bench frequently relieved the tedium of the session. His judicial
opinions and decisions were generally regarded as sound and impartial.
   James Pollock, who probably reached higher political position than
any other native of Northumberland county, was the last judge to preside
ever her courts by appointment of the Governor. He was born at Milton,
September 11, 1810, son of William and Sarah (Wilson) Pollock, natives
of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and of Irish extraction. His education
was begun at the common schools of Milton with Joseph B. Anthony as his
first teacher, and continued at the academy of the Rev. David
Kirkpatrick, where he prepared for the Junior year at Princeton, from
which he graduated in 1831 with the highest honors of his class. He then
began the study of law under Samuel Hepburn, of Milton, and was admitted
to the bar of Northumberland county on the 5th of November, 1833. He
opened an office at Milton in April, 1834; two years later he was
appointed deputy attorney general for the county, serving in this
position until 1839. In 1844 he was elected to Congress from the
Thirteenth Pennsylvania district as the Whig candidate; he was twice re-
elected, serving in the XXVIIIth Congress on the committee on claims, in
the XXIXth on the committee on territories, and in the XXXth as a member
of the ways and means committee. On the 23d of June, 1848, he introduced
a resolution for the appointment of a committee to report upon the
advisability and feasibility of building a transcontinental railway,
and, as chairman of the committee so appointed, made the first favorable
official report on this subject. On the 16th of January, 1851, within a
brief period after the conclusion of his third congressional term he was
commissioned as president judge of the Eighth judicial district (then
composed of the counties of Northumberland, Lycoming, Columbia,
Sullivan, and Montour), his judicial incumbency expiring, by the terms
of his commission on the 1st of December, 1851, after which he resumed
the practice of law. In 1854 he was the candidate of the Whig and "Know-
Nothing" parties for Governor, and was elected by a majority of thirty-
seven thousand over his principal competitor, William Bigler, the
Democratic candidate. He was inducted into office in January, 1855, and
served the term of three years; among the measures of importance during
his administration were the inauguration of a policy of retrenchment in
the fiscal affairs of the Commonwealth, the sale of the main line of the
public works, the passage of laws designed to promote the efficiency of
the public school system, and the adoption of measures by which the
suspension of specie payments by banks chartered in the State was
legalized during the crisis of 1857. In 1861 he was a member of the Peace
Conference which assembled at Washington and presented the Crittenden
compromise measures to the consideration of Congress; and in May of that
year he was appointed by President Lincoln director of the United States
mint at Philadelphia. He retired from this office in 1866, but was
reinstated by President Grant in 1869, and in 1873 became superintendent
of that institution. The legend, "In God we trust," was originally
suggested by him for the national currency. In 1879 he was appointed naval
officer at Philadelphia, and held that office four years; his last
official position was that of Federal chief supervisor of elections, to
which he was appointed in 1886. He died at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, April
19, 1890, and his remains were interred in the Milton cemetery.
   In personal appearance Governor Pollock was of commanding figure
and somewhat above the average height, with dark eyes and hair, smooth-
shaven face, and a countenance expressive of intelligence and benignity.
In religious affiliation he was a Presbyterian, and was for some years
president of the board of trustees of the College of New Jersey at
Princeton, by which the honorary degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him
in 1855. As an attorney he was a better advocate than counselor; he was
in regular practice in the courts of Northumberland county from 1833
until 1844, and at intervals in his official career after that date.
While his judicial incumbency was the shortest in the history of the
county, it was long enough to secure for his abilities in this position
an ample recognition. He was an eloquent speaker, graceful, persuasive,
and convincing, and possessed remarkable tact in gaining the sympathy
and approval of his hearers. Strong conscientiousness was a prominent
element in his character, and, while his official acts were at times
subjected to violent criticism, the honesty of his intentions was
conceded even by his most determined opponents.
   Alexander Jordan was elected in October, 1851, as president judge
in the counties of Northumberland, Lycoming, Centre, and Clinton, then
composing the Eighth judicial district Judge Jordan was born at
Jaysburg, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania (now a part of the city of
Williamsport), May 19, 1798, son of Samuel and Rosanna (McClester)
Jordan. His father was a boatman and pilot by occupation, and is
mentioned by Tunison Coryell as one of the first to introduce sails in
the navigation of the Susquehanna. About the year 1802 the family
removed to Milton, where the future judge was brought up and enjoyed
such educational advantages as the local schools afforded. During the
war of 1812 he accompanied the militia in their march across the State
to Meadville, Crawford county, as deputy commissary, and was absent
several weeks. After a clerkship of several years in a store at Milton,
he entered the employ of Hugh Bellas, prothonotary of the county, as
deputy clerk. During this connection he began the study of law under Mr.
Bellas, but, having a natural inclination for mechanical pursuits and but
limited time to devote to his studies, they were continued rather
irregularly for some time. He served as deputy prothonotary under George
W. Brown and Andrew Albright, Mr. Bellas's successors, and was at length
admitted to the bar, April 19, 1820, after an examination by Messrs.
Hepburn, Hall, and Bradford. He immediately opened an office at Sunbury,
and rose rapidly in his profession, for which his preparation had been
exceptionally thorough. He was a diligent student, and much of his success
was due to the careful manner in which his cases were invariably prepared.
When addressing the court or jury his language was concise and to the
point, and, while not ornate in style, his arguments were often eloquent.
In 1826 he was commissioned prothonotary of the Supreme court for the
Middle district, a position which brought him into contact with the
leading jurists of the State and doubtless had a strong influence in
determining his future career. When the judiciary became elective in
Pennsylvania and the choice of judges was transferred from the executive
to the people, his high professional standing and recognized
qualifications for the bench, no less than the fact that he was nominated
by the dominant political party (the Democratic) in the district secured
his election by a large popular majority. He took the oath of office on
the 28th of November, 1851; at the expiration of his first term he was re-
elected,(8) and served until 1871, a period of twenty years.
   Many complicated questions affecting large personal and property
interests, and involving principles not theretofore considered, arose
during Judge Jordan's incumbency; in these important cases his decisions
have stood the severest scrutiny and will be an enduring evidence of his
ability as a jurist. He was endowed in a remarkable degree with the
logical faculty, while his analytical powers - keen, incisive and
accurate - grasped at once the essential points in an argument,
dismembered of all irrelevant matter. To him the law was an intricate
science, and its study was quite as much a source of intellectual
gratification as a professional duty. His intercourse with members of
the bar was characterized by uniform courtesy, and his rulings were so
given as to leave no unpleasant feelings; to the younger members his
manner and words were kind, considerate, and encouraging.
   "A professor of the Christian religion, seeking to regulate his
public and private conduct in strict conformity with the Christian
faith, and to exemplify, by justice and diligence, the harmony of
religious principles and professions with the diversified, important,
and dignified duties of a citizen, a lawyer, and a judge," he was for
many years an elder in the Presbyterian church of Sunbury and
superintendent of its Sunday school. Judge Jordan was twice married, in
1820 to Mary, daughter of Daniel Harley, and after her death to Hannah
Rittenhouse, formerly of Philadelphia, now residing in Sunbury at an
advanced age. He died on the 5th of October, 1878, and is buried in
the Sunbury cemetery.
   William M. Rockefeller, who succeeded Judge Jordan in 1871, was
born at Sunbury, August 18, 1830. His great-grandfather, Godfrey
Rockefeller, emigrated from New Jersey to the site of Snydertown in this
county in 1789; his father, David Rockefeller, a native of Rush township
and a surveyor by profession, was engaged in the active duties of that
occupation throughout Northumberland and adjoining counties for a period
of nearly half a century. The Judge was brought up in his native county,
attended the public schools and the academy at Sunbury, and before
attaining his majority was successively employed at school teaching,
surveying, and clerking. His professional preparation was begun in the
office of John B. Packer and continued under Alexander Jordan when Mr.
Packer's election to the legislature rendered his transfer to another
preceptor necessary. On the 6th of August, 1850, twelve days in advance
of his twentieth birthday, he was admitted to the bar of Northumberland
county; he began the practice of his profession at Minersville,
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, whence he returned to Sunbury within a
brief period, and has since resided at that borough. On the 9th of
September, 1871, he was nominated for the judgeship by conferrees from
the two counties composing the Eighth judicial district, John B. Packer
and William C. Lawson representing Northumberland and Joshua W. Comly
and Isaac X. Grier, Montour. He was elected in the following October by
a decisive popular majority, and took the oath of office on the 4th of
December, 1871. In 1881 he was re-elected from the Eighth district
(composed of the county of Northumberland individually), and his second
term is now (1891) approaching its termination.
   As a lawyer, Judge Rockefeller was painstaking and laborious; in
the presentation of a case to the court or jury his style was closely
logical and argumentative, evidencing thorough research and earnest
investigation. The judgeship was, therefore, a position for which he was
abundantly qualified by natural endowments and unremitting application
to the duties of his profession. For a score of years he had been
actively engaged in the practice of law, and was thoroughly familiar
with the class of litigation peculiar to the courts of Northumberland
county, particularly the trial of actions of ejectment brought for the
settlement and location of the disputed boundaries of conflicting
surveys, and in a large number of the cases of this kind adjudicated in
the county he had been professionally concerned. Thoroughly familiar
with the fundamental principles of jurisprudence, his legal learning and
personal integrity commanded the confidence no less than the respect of
his colleagues at the bar and his constituents throughout the district,
and he came to the bench with the disposition as well as the ability to
"hold the scales of justice with an even hand." Of the manner in which
the people of the county have regarded his administration, his re-
election is sufficient indication.
  
   In the criminal calendar the most important cases tried by Judge
Rockefeller have been the homicides committed during the Mollie Maguire
conspiracy. In the civil list ejectment cases resulting from disputed
land titles have been the most important. As a member of the commission
by which the Metzger-Bentley contest for the judgeship in Lycoming
county was recently decided, the Judge has also been concerned in the
solution of intricate legal questions outside the ordinary field of
judicial cognizance.
   Associate Judges - Article Vth of the constitution of 1790 provided
for the appointment by the Governor of "not fewer than three nor more
than four judges" in each county, who, during their continuance in
office, should reside therein. An act was passed by the legislature,
April 13, 1791, to carry this article into effect and organize the
judiciary under its requirements; by the terms of this act, the new
system went into operation on the 31st of August, 1791. The first
legislation affecting the number of associate judges was the act of
April 1, 1803, which provided that in any county thereafter organized
and in case of vacancy in any existing county, "the number of the judges
in the said county where such vacancy shall happen shall be reduced, and
there shall be no more than three associate judges in the said county,
and the office so become vacant shall hereafter be abolished." The
number was still further reduced by the act of February 24, 1806,
providing that "if any vacancy should hereafter happen in any county at
present organized, ....... the Governor shall not supply the same,
unless the number of associates be thereby reduced to less than two."
There were four associate judges in Northumberland county from 1792 to
1804, three from 1804 to 1813, and two after the latter date. They were
appointed for life under the constitution of 1790; the amendments of
1838 reduced the term of office to five years, and made the concurrence
of the Senate necessary to the nomination of the Governor; in 1850
amendments were adopted by which the judiciary became elective; and the
constitution of 1873 declares that, "the office of associate judge, not
learned in the law, is abolished in counties forming separate districts;
but the several associate judges in office when this constitution shall
be adopted shall serve for their unexpired terms."
   The following is a list of associate judges:-(9)

John Macpherson, 1791-1813.   Andrew Albright, 1813-18.
Thomas Strawbridge, 1791-98.  Jacob Gearhart, 1814-39.
William Wilson, 1792-1813.    Henry Shaffer, 1818-33.
Samuel Maclay, 1792-95.       Peter Martz, 1833-34.
William Cooke, 1796-1804.     George Weiser, 1834-42.
James Strawbridge, 1799.      John Montgomery, 1839-50.
William Montgomery, 1801-13.  George C. Welker, 1842-51.
John F. Dentler, 1851-56      Abraham Shipman, l861-71.
George Weiser, 1851-56.       Isaac Beidelspach, 1866-69.
William Turner, 1856-66.      George C. Welker, 1871-74.
Casper Scholl, 1856-61.       Joseph Nicely, 1869-75.

   John Macpherson resided in that part of the original territory of
Northumberland county now embraced in Union township, Union county.
Nothing is known concerning his early life and education. He served in
the American navy during the early years of the Revolution as a
midshipman on the frigate Randolph, commanded by Captain Nicholas
Biddle, and was wounded in action with the True Briton, a twenty-gun
ship, which was captured and taken into Charleston harbor. On the 10th
of September, 1777, Captain Biddle granted him a permit to leave the
Randolph, on account of incapacity for further service, and he joined
the Northampton Privateer, ultimately returning to Northumberland
county, where he purchased property at Winfield, Union county. In
consideration of his services he was granted a monthly pension of
seventeen shillings, six pence, from the date of his discharge, by the
orphans' court at June sessions, 1786. In 1785 he filled the position of
clerk to the county commissioners. He was commissioned as associate
judge, August 17, 1791, and served in that capacity until the erection
of Union county in 1813 placed him beyond the limits of Northumberland.
The records show that he attended the sessions of the court with almost
undeviating regularity, and, with other associates, frequently conducted
the sessions in the absence of the president judge. His death occurred
on the 2d of August, 1827.
   Thomas Strawbridge was a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania,
where he was reared and learned the trade of tanner. He entered public
life in 1776 as a delegate from Chester county to the convention which
framed the first constitution of the State. His military career began in
May of that year, when the Committee of Safety for his native county
appointed him captain. He received a commission as sub-lieutenant,
October 16, 1777, subsequently rising to the rank of colonel, and was
detailed to superintend the manufacture of arms during the closing years
of the war. He married Margaret Montgomery, a sister of General William
Montgomery, and, doubtless through the influence of the latter, removed
to that part of the original area of Chillisquaque township,
Northumberland county, now embraced in Liberty township, Montour county,
about the year 1784. There he established a tannery, one of the first
north of Harrisburg, and engaged extensively in farming; for some years
he was the largest tax-payer in Chillisquaque township. On the 17th of
August, 1791, he was commissioned as associate judge for Northumberland
county, serving continuously until his retirement in 1798. He died at
the age of eighty-two, September 13, 1813. The name of James Strawbridge
appears as an associate judge at several terms in the year 1799, but
nothing definite concerning his appointment or personal history has been
learned.
  
   William Wilson was a native of the North of Ireland and immigrated
to Northumberland county at an early period in her history. When the
Revolutionary struggle became imminent, it was resolved by Congress to
enlist six companies of riflemen in Pennsylvania for one year's service;
in one of these companies, Captain John Lowdon's, which formed part of
Colonel William Thompson's Rifle Battalion, William Wilson enlisted as
third lieutenant, and was promoted to second lieutenant, January 4,
1776. He re-enlisted in Captain James Parr's company of the First
regiment (commanded by Colonel Edward Hand); of this company he was
second lieutenant until September 25, 1776, when he became first
lieutenant; on the 2d of March, 1777, he was promoted to captain, and
was in active service with his command until 1783. At the battle of
Monmouth, June 28, 1778, he captured the colors of the Royal Grenadiers
and the sword of Colonel Monckbon; the former was frequently brought
into requisition in patriotic demonstrations in Northumberland county in
subsequent years; the sword was presented by Captain Wilson to General
Wayne and by the latter to the Marquis Lafayette, by whom it was borne
through the French Revolution and his imprisonment at Olmutz, and, on
the occasion of his visit to the United States in 1824, returned to a
son of Judge Wilson through Captain Hunter.(10) At the close of the war he
engaged in business at Northumberland in partnership with Captain John
Boyd; they also erected Chillisquaque mills, to which reference is made
in the history of the township of that name. On the 20th of May, 1784,
he was commissioned as county lieutenant; in 1787 he was chosen as a
delegate from Northumberland county in the convention by which
Pennsylvania ratified the Federal constitution; in 1789 he represented
the county in the Supreme Executive Council of the State; and on the
13th of January, 1792, he was commissioned as associate judge, serving
in that capacity until his death in 1818. A Federalist in politics and
an ardent supporter of the national administration during the Whiskey
insurrection, he did not, perhaps, enjoy the popularity to which his
public services justly entitled him, but posterity will honor him none
the less because his convictions did not harmonize with the general
trend of public sentiment in this locality at that time.
   Samuel Maclay was born in Lurgan township, Franklin county,
Pennsylvania, June 17, 1741, son of Charles Maclay, a native of County
Antrim, Ireland, and descendant of Charles Maclay, Baron Fingal. His
first active work in life was performed in 1767-68 as assistant deputy
surveyor to his brother, William Maclay, whom he also assisted in 1769
in surveying the lands in Buffalo valley appropriated to the officers in
the French and Indian war. He also did considerable surveying in Mifflin
county. As a result of his experience on the frontier he became an
expert marksman, and on one occasion demonstrated his superior skill in
rifle practice in a contest with Logan, the Mingo. He made his residence
in Buffalo valley as early as 1775, when his name appears upon the
assessment list as the owner of twenty-five acres of land, two horses, two
cows, one slave, and one servant, and in that year he was commissioned a
justice of the peace for Northumberland county. As lieutenant colonel of a
battalion of associators he attended the Lancaster convention, July 4,
1776, and participated in the organization of the State militia. He was
commissioned as associate judge, February 23, 1792, and served until his
resignation, December 17, 1795. His legislative services began in 1787,
when he was elected member of Assembly from Northumberland county; he
was re-elected in 1788 and 1789, and also returned to the House of
Representatives in 1790, 1791, and 1797. In 1798 he was elected to the
State Senate, and re-elected in 1802 upon the expiration of his term; he
was Speaker of that body from December 2, 1801, to March 16, 1803, and
resigned his seat on the 2d of September, 1803, having been elected
United States Senator from Pennsylvania, December 14,1802. He continued
in the latter position until January 4, 1809, when he resigned. In 1795-
96 he was a member of the national House of Representatives. A man of
large intelligence, sound judgment, and fine social qualities, he
enjoyed unbounded personal popularity, and received the almost unanimous
endorsement of his fellow citizens whenever he appeared as a candidate
for office. He filled important public positions continuously during a
period of nearly a quarter of a century, and is justly regarded as one
of the most important characters in the political history of the county.
He died on the 5th of October, 1811, and is buried in Buffalo valley.
   William Cooke was born in Donegal township, Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania. He was among the pioneers of Northumberland county, of
which he was the first elected sheriff, serving in that office from 1772
to 1775. He represented Mahoning township in the Committee of Safety
which organized at the house of Richard Malone on the 8th of February,
1776. On the preceding day, at a meeting of the officers and
committeemen of the lower division of the county, he had been elected
lieutenant colonel of the battalion, and thus early in the Revolutionary
struggle was called upon to assume the responsibilities of military
leadership. He was a delegate to the Provincial Conferences of June,
1775, and June, 1776, and to the Constitutional Convention of 1776. On
the 2d of October, 1776, he was commissioned colonel of the Twelfth
Pennsylvania regiment of the Continental Line, which was so reduced in
numbers at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown that its officers
and men were assigned to other commands or mustered out of the service.
In 1781, 1782, and 1783 Colonel Cooke was elected to the Assembly; on
the 3d of October, 1786, he was commissioned a justice of the courts of
Northumberland county, and on the 19th of January, 1796, he became
associate judge, serving in that office until his death in April, 1804.
Howell's map of 1792 locates his residence in Point township near the
North Branch above Northumberland.
   Andrew Albright was born on the 28th of February, 1770; in 1798 he
engaged in hotel keeping at Lewisburg, Union county, Pennsylvania (then
Northumberland), where he at once became popular and entered into
politics. He was sheriff of the county, 1803-06; member of the House of
Representatives, 1809-10; county treasurer, 1812-13; associate judge
(commissioned, September 7, 1813; qualified, October 12, 1813), 1813-18;
prothonotary, 1819-21; he was elected to the State Senate from the
district composed of Northumberland and Union counties in 1822, and died
on the 26th of November in that year. After his election as sheriff he
resided at Sunbury the remainder of his life.
   Jacob Gearhart was of German origin, a son of Jacob Gearhart, who
emigrated from New Jersey in 1790 and purchased large tracts of land in
Rush township, Northumberland county; part of this land is now the
residence of Mrs. I. H. Torrence, granddaughter of Judge Gearhart. The
Judge was a farmer by occupation, but possessed intelligence and
education far above the average in that calling. In politics he was a
Jacksonian Democrat; a meeting was once held at his house by Simon
Cameron, whom Jackson had requested to secure the Pennsylvania influence
in favor of the nomination of Martin Van Buren. He was a pioneer
Methodist, and frequently entertained Rev. Francis Asbury, the first
bishop of that church in the United States. He was commissioned as
associate judge, January 10, 1814, as successor to Judge Montgomery, and
served until 1839, when he resigned, his official incumbency having
continued longer than that of any other associate judge in this county.
He died, August 2, 1841, and is buried in Mount Vernon cemetery.
Gearhart township is so named in honor of this family.
   Henry Shaffer succeeded Andrew Albright; he was commissioned, March
25, 1818, qualified, April 3, 1818, and served until his death, March 1,
1833. He was for many years proprietor of a hotel that occupied the site
of the Neff House in Sunbury. His son, Solomon Shaffer, was register and
recorder of the county, 1830-36.
   Peter Martz succeeded Judge Shaffer. He was commissioned, April 12,
1833, qualified on the following day, and served a little more than a
year.
   George Weiser was born at Tulpehocken, Berks county, Pennsylvania;
he was reared in Union county, whither his parents removed in his
childhood, and learned the trade of tanner, which he pursued for many
years at Sunbury. He was county treasurer several terms; July 8, 1834,
he was commissioned as associate judge, succeeding Peter Martz, and
served until 1842; he died on the 2d of July, 1857.
   John Montgomery succeeded Judge Gearhart. He was first commissioned,
July 19, 1839, and took the oath of office, August 5, 1839; on the 20th of
March, 1840, he was re-commissioned, and served until the office became
elective under the amendment of 1850. He was a member of the well known
Montgomery family of Paradise, born on the 26th of July, 1792, and died,
March 17, 1866.
   George C. Welker was twice associate judge; he was first commissioned,
March 5, 1842, and again in 1847, serving until 1851; in 1871 he was
elected, succeeding Judge Shipman, and served until his death, March 18,
1874. Judge Welker was a merchant tailor at Sunbury for many years, and in
the latter part of his life general agent for the Lycoming Insurance
Company. He was the only one of the later associate judges who presided in
the absence of the president judge.
   John F. Dentler was elected in 1851 as successor to Judge Montgomery,
and served one term (five years). He was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
came to the northern part of Northumberland county when a young man, and
engaged in farming, but later in life entered mercantile pursuits at
McEwensville, where he died, January 5, 1859, at the age of fifty-four.
   George Weiser was born at Fisher's Ferry, Lower Augusta township,
Northumberland county, in 1792, great-grandson of Conrad Weiser, a
prominent character in the early history of this county. He was elected
in 1851, succeeding Judge Welker, and served five years. He also held
the office of county treasurer and was justice of the peace at Sunbury
many years. During the war of 1812 he was a private in Captain Snyder's
company, and later in life became colonel of militia. He died in 1877.
   William Turner was elected in 1856, re-elected in 1861, and served
ten years. He was a farmer of Lewis township in the extreme northeastern
part of the county.
   Casper Scholl was a resident of Shamokin, where he died, November
8, 1874, at the age of sixty-five. He was elected in 1856 and served one
term.
   Abraham Shipman was born in Lower Augusta township, March 6, 1810,
and was successively employed as lumberman, surveyor, farmer, and
miller. He also held the positions of justice of the peace, county
auditor, county surveyor, and associate judge; to the last named he was
elected in 1861, re-elected in 1866, and served ten years. He died on
the 8th of August, 1878.
   Isaac Beidelspach was born at Mohringen, Wurtemberg, Germany,
October 21, 1822, and came to America in 1832. He was a farmer, and
resided in Point township. In 1866 he was elected associate judge,
serving until his death, July 15, 1869.
   Joseph Nicely, the last associate judge of Northumberland county,
was commissioned, August 4, 1869, to the vacancy occasioned by the death
of Judge Beidelspach, and appeared upon the bench for the first time on
the 9th of the same month. He was re-commissioned, December 15, 1869, to
serve until the first Monday in December, 1870; having been elected he
was again commissioned, November 9, 1870, and continued in office until
the 30th of November, 1875. He was a farmer, residing in Delaware
township, where he died, December 11, 1877, at the age of seventy.
  
THE BAR

   The judiciary act of 1722 provided that "a competent number of persons
of an honest disposition and learned in the law" should be admitted by the
justices of the respective counties to practice as attorneys. It does not
appear that any special regulations were formulated in Northumberland
county until May sessions, 1783, when the following "Rules for the
Admission of Attorneys in this Court" were adopted:-

   That no person be hereafter admitted to practice as an attorney or
counselor in this court unless he shall have served a regular clerkship
to some practicing attorney or counselor of known abilities for the term
of three years, and be of full age at the time of his admission; nor
even then, unless he be certified by two gentlemen of the bar, to be
appointed by the court for that purpose, that on a full and impartial
examination such person appears to be well grounded in the principles of
the law and acquainted with the practice; and if he has regularly
studied as aforesaid in any other county in this State, he shall not be
admitted to practice in this court as an attorney or counselor unless he
be first admitted in such county where he so studied, [and] produces to
the court a certificate under the seal of the said court of his admission,
or certified by some attorney who was present at his admission. Provided
always, that in case of a person applying to be admitted who shall not
have engaged in the study of the law till after his coming to the age of
twenty-one years, if it shall appear that such person has applied himself
closely to his studies under the direction of some gentleman of the bar
for the term of two years, and is a person of fair character, and
certified to be well qualified as aforesaid, he may be admitted.
   It is further ruled that no person now residing and inhabiting
within the United States of America shall be admitted an attorney of
this court who has not taken the oath or affirmation of allegiance and
fidelity to some one of the said States within the time and in the
manner prescribed by the laws of the said States respectively, and that
no person coming into this State from and after the first day of March
next (except attorneys originally admitted and sworn in one of the
United States of America, having resided there for two years after such
admission and examination here) shall be admitted to practice as an
attorney or counselor within this court until he shall have taken the
oath or affirmation of allegiance and fidelity to this Commonwealth, and
produced an authentic certificate of his having been admitted as such in
the country from whence he came, and undergone a regular examination
here as aforesaid, and also resided two years within this State next
before his application for admission.

   The requirements for admission have changed materially from those
prescribed in 1783; the applicant is now subjected to a preliminary and
a final examination under a regularly constituted board of examiners,
and admission here usually insures the successful candidate creditable
standing in any other county of the State.
   The practice of the law was attended with many disadvantages in the
interior counties of Pennsylvania for some years after the organization
of Northumberland county. The country was sparsely settled, the people
were poor, and fees correspondingly small, so that lawyers were almost
compelled to practice in a number of counties in order to derive a
livelihood from the profession. A number of attorneys usually rode
together from one county seat to another, carrying their legal papers
and a few necessary law books in a sack across the saddle. George A.
Snyder thus describes this itinerancy and the nature of the early
litigation:

   Each lawyer kept his saddle horse. The Lancaster, York, and
Carlisle lawyers met at Harrisburg; when that court terminated, they
came to Sunbury; then to Williamsport and Wilkesbarre. As their numbers
were recruited at each county town, they formed a considerable troop of
cavalry on entering the two last places.
   The nature and character of the law business were then different
from what they are at present. Almost all the important actions were
ejectments upon disputed original titles. The number of witnesses was
very great, the means of traveling scanty, the district large, so that
much allowance had to be made for failure of attendance. The causes
were, therefore, frequently continued, so that they usually stood upon
the trial list several years before they could be acted upon; this,
added to the dilatory habits always prevalent in frontier settlements,
produced that leisurely, time-wasting habit of doing business, which,
until lately, characterized our county courts.(11)
   The following attorneys were admitted to the bar of Northumberland
county from its organization in 1772 to the year 1800: James Wilson,
May, 1772; Robert Magaw, May, 1772; Edward Burd, May, 1772; George
North, May, 1772; Christian Huck, May, 1772; James Potts, May, 1772;
Andrew Robison, May, 1772; Charles Stedman, May, 1772; Thomas Hartley,
August, 1772; Casper Weitzel, August, 1772; Andrew Ross, August, 1772;
James Whitehead, August, 1772; James A. Wilson, November, 1773; Francis
Johnson, May, 1774; David Grier, May, 1774; William Prince Gibbs, May,
1776; William Lawrence Blair, 1776; Stephen Chambers, August, 1778;
Collinson Read, November, 1778; John Vannost, November, 1778; John
Hubley, November, 1780; James Hamilton, May, 1781; Thomas Duncan, May,
1783; Jasper Yeates, August, 1784; John Clark, 1785; John W. Kittera,
1785; John Reily, 1785; John Andre Hanna, February, 786; Charles Smith,
February, 1786; John Joseph Henry, May, 1786; Jacob Hubley, May, 1786;
William Richardson Atlee, November, 1786; George Eckert, February, 1787:
William Graydon, May, 1787; James Scull, May, 1787; Galbreath Patterson,
August, 1787; David M. Keechan, November, 1789; Marks John Biddle,
November, 1789; Jonathan Walker, May, 1790; David Watts, November, 1790;
Samuel Young, Jr., February, 1791; Robert Duncan, May, 1791; Daniel
Levy, May, 1791; Charles Hall, May, 1791; John Kidd, August, 1791;
Thomas B. Dick, August, 1795; Putnam Catlin, August, 1795; Robert
Whitehill, August, 1795; John Price, August, 1795; Thomas Cooper,
November, 1795; Jesse Moore, August, 1796; Charles Hartley, November,
1796; James Gilchrist, January, 1797; John W. Hunter, January, 1798; E.
W. Hale, April, 1798; Robert Irwin, August, 1798; Enoch Smith, August,
1798; John Wallis, August, 1798; Frederick Smith, November, 1798;
William Wilson Laird, August, 1799.
   Of the itinerant lawyers who practiced at Sunbury during the early
years of the county's history the most distinguished was James Wilson,
whose name appears first among the attorneys admitted at May term, 1772.
He was a member of the Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, one of the first justices of the United States Supreme
court, and the incumbent of various other positions of honor and
responsibility. Robert Magaw, whose name appears second, was colonel of
the Sixth Pennsylvania regiment during the Revolution. Edward Burd
appeared as deputy attorney general, and probably acted in that capacity
until the close of the colonial period. He was subsequently prothonotary
to the Supreme court. Of George North no personal data have been
obtained. Christian Huck was the Tory Captain Huck mentioned in the
memoirs of Alexander Graydon and Richard Henry Lee. The three other
attorneys present at the first court of common pleas - James Potts,
Andrew Robinson, and Charles Stedman - were admitted after examination.
   Casper Weitzel was the first resident practicing attorney of
Northumberland county. Born at Lancaster in 1748, he was admitted to the
bar of that county in 1769, and in August, 1772, at Sunbury, where the
early records show that he received a large share of the legal business.
His talents and patriotism were early recognized: he was a member of the
Provincial Convention of January, 1775, from Northumberland county; on
the 7th of February, 1776, he was elected first major of the battalion
of the lower division of the county; on the 9th of March, 1776, he was
appointed captain of a company recruited by himself at Sunbury, which
was attached to Colonel Samuel Miles's regiment and suffered serious
loss at the battle of Long Island in August, 1776. He died at Sunbury in
1782.
   Stephen Chambers is mentioned by Fithian in his journal of July 20,
1775, as "a lawyer - serious, civil, and sociable." His name appears on
the continuance docket of the common pleas as early as February, 1774,
but no record of his formal admission at that date has been discovered.
He was admitted at August sessions, 1778, but this was not necessarily
the first time, as attorneys who had been admitted under the colonial
dispensation were usually required to take the oath necessary to the
performance of professional duties under the State government. Chambers
was born in the North of Ireland and came to Pennsylvania at an early
age. As he was admitted to the bar in Lancaster, Philadelphia, York, and
Carlisle later than at Sunbury, it is reasonable to presume that his
professional career was begun at the latter place and that it was also
his residence. If this inference is correct, he was one of the first
resident attorneys in the county. He was the first Worshipful Master of
Lodge No. 22, F. & A.M., of Sunbury, at its institution in 1779. It is
probable that he removed to Lancaster shortly after this, as he was
elected a member of the Council of Censors from that county in 1783. He
was also a delegate to the Pennsylvania convention by which the Federal
constitution was ratified. He died at Lancaster on the 16th of May,
1789, from wounds received in a duel with Dr. Jacob Rieger on Monday,
the 11th of that month. In the early years of the Revolution he was
captain in the Twelfth Pennsylvania regiment of the Continental Line,
promoted from first lieutenant in 1777.
   Charles Smith, well known to the legal fraternity of Pennsylvania as
the compiler of "Smith's Laws," was born at Philadelphia, March 4, 1765,
son of the Rev. William Smith, D. D., founder and provost of Washington
College, Charleston, Maryland, from which the son received the degree of
A. B. at its first commencement, March 14, 1783. He studied law with his
brother, William M. Smith, at Easton, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to
the bar of Northumberland county at February sessions, 1786, on motion of
Thomas Duncan and after examination by him and Stephen Chambers. He
forthwith opened an office at Sunbury, where his industry and talents at
once gained him a place in the confidence of the public. As the colleague
of Simon Snyder he represented Northumberland county in the convention by
which the constitution of 1790 was prepared. As was customary in those
days, he accompanied the president judges of central and western
Pennsylvania on their circuits, and, as cases involving the principles of
land tenure constituted the most important class of litigation at that
time, his opportunities for the study of this important subject were
exceptional. That his knowledge was comprehensive and accurate is evident
from the note which comprises several hundred pages of one of the volumes
of his "Laws " virtually a treatise on the land laws of the State, while
similarly exhaustive annotations on the subject of criminal law, etc. show
that his proficiency was not confined to any particular department of
legal knowledge. He married a daughter of Jasper Yeates, associate justice
of the Supreme court of Pennsylvania; shortly after this event he removed
from Sunbury to Lancaster, and was elected to both branches of the
legislature from that county. In 1819 he was appointed president judge
of the Cumberland - Franklin - Adams district, from which he resigned in
the following year to accept the president judgeship in the Lancaster
district court. In 1824 he removed to Philadelphia, where he died in
1840.
   Thomas Duncan and David Watts - the former admitted at Sunbury at
May sessions, 1783, the latter at November sessions, 1790 - were from
Carlisle. "Mr. Watts was of rough exterior, careless of his dress, and
by no means choice in his language. He seemed generally to be not at all
reluctant to say what he thought, without regard to the feelings of the
objects of his remarks. Mr. Duncan, on the contrary, was a man of
polished manner, neat and careful in dress, and never rude or wantonly
disrespectful to others. They were the rival practitioners at Carlisle.
I have heard of an anecdote which somewhat illustrates their respective
characters. On one occasion in court, when Mr. Watts was annoyed by a
remark of Mr. Duncan, he said: 'You little (using some offensive
expression), I could put you in my pocket' 'Then,' said Mr. Duncan,
'you would have more law in your pocket than ever you had in your
head'"(12) Justice Hugh Henry Brackenridge says of Watts that he "was
possessed of a powerful mind, and was the most vehement speaker I ever
heard. He seized his subject with an Herculean grasp, at the same time
throwing his Herculean body and limbs into attitudes which would have
delighted a painter or sculptor. He was a singular instance of the union
of great strength of mind with bodily powers equally wonderful." He
describes Duncan as "a very small man, with a large but well formed head,"
who "perused Coke upon Littleton as a recreation, and read more books of
reports than a young lady reads new novels." "Mr. Duncan reasoned with
admirable clearness and method on all legal subjects, and at the same time
displayed great knowledge of human nature in examination of witnesses and
in his addresses to the jury. Mr. Watts selected merely the strong points
of his case, and labored them with an earnestness and zeal approaching to
fury; and perhaps his forcible manner sometimes produced a more certain
effect than that of the subtle and wily advocate opposed to him." There
was scarcely a case of importance at Sunbury during the period that these
gentlemen "rode the circuit" upon which they were not retained upon
opposite sides, either independently or in connection with members of the
local bar, and the collision of such antithetical characters produced a
mass of curious incidents, some of which are still preserved, and
circulate at the bar in the hours of forensic leisure. Mr. Duncan was
appointed a justice of the Supreme court in 1817; Mr. Watts was the father
of Frederick Watts, president judge in Cumberland county from 1848 to
1851.
   Jonathan Hoge Walker, probably the earliest resident attorney of
Northumberland, was born in East Pennsboro township, Cumberland county,
Pennsylvania, in 1756. He was of English descent; William Walker, his
grandfather, was a captain under the Duke of Marlborough in the wars of
Queen Anne, and John Hoge, his mother's father, was the founder of
Hogestown, Cumberland county. Graduating at Dickinson College, Carlisle,
in the class of 1787 (which also numbered David Watts and the Rev. John
Bryson among its members), he studied law under Stephen Duncan, and at
May sessions, 1790, was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county.
Here he was one of the few resident attorneys, and within a few years
secured a fairly lucrative practice. He was appointed president judge of
the Fourth judicial district in April, 1806, and removed to Bellefonte,
Centre county; his judicial administration was such as to command the
confidence and approval of the public generally, and when, in 1806,
Governor Snyder suggested his transfer to the Eighth district, the
people protested en masse and induced him to remain. In 1818 he was
appointed by President Monroe as judge of the United States court for
the Western district of Pennsylvania, created by act of Congress in May
of that year, and occupied this position until his death in 1824. His
distinguished son, Robert J. Walker, United States Senator from
Mississippi, elected in 1835, and Secretary of the Treasury under
President Polk, was born at Northumberland in 1801, and probably rose to
as high political position as any other native of Northumberland county.
   Daniel Levy was admitted at May term, 1791. He was a son of Aaron
Levy, founder of Aaronsburg, Centre county, Pennsylvania, and a great
land speculator. It is probable that the care of his father's estate
received a large share of his professional attention. George A. Snyder
says that he "outlived all the old lawyers, as they were popularly
called, except Mr. Bellas. He was a conceited man, active as a cat, an
insatiable dancer, and a hard fighter. he had considerable science as a
boxer, and, although not large or strong, his skill, joined to his
prodigious activity, made him quite formidable. His vanity and fondness
for dress made him a capital butt and subject of jokes for his fellow
members of the bar."(13) He was prothonotary of Northumberland county from
1800 to 1809. After a residence of more than half a century at Sunbury
and a connection with the bar of the county extending over a similar
period, he died on the 12th of May, 1844.
   Charles Hall was born in 1767 and read law with Thomas Hartley at
York, Pennsylvania; he was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county
at May sessions, 1791. "He was rather above the common height, stout in
person, of ruddy complexion, smooth, handsome face, of gentlemanly
appearance and manners, of a highly reputable character, and of
considerable ability in his profession.(14) He married Elizabeth Coleman,
daughter of the wealthy iron manufacturer of Cornwall, Lebanon county,
Pennsylvania, who presented her with extensive and valuable lands at
Muncy, Lycoming county, still known as "Hall's Farms." Mr. Hall erected
the large and substantial brick building at the northeast corner of
Market and Front streets, Sunbury, the most imposing private residence
of that borough at the time it was built. He died at Philadelphia in
January, 1821, at the age of fifty-three.
   Evan Rice Evans was a practicing attorney at Sunbury prior to 1800,
but the date of his admission has not been ascertained. Charles Miner
describes him as "a heavy, stout gentleman, with a large head and florid
complexion. His delivery, rapid; his words crowd upon each other as
sometimes to choke utterance. He talks good sense, why should he not?
His head has more law in it than half a modern library. He is a powerful
advocate. with a good fee and an intricate case."(15) His death occurred
in 1811.
   Jesse Moore was admitted at August sessions, 1796. He was a native
of Montgomery county; while practicing law at Sunbury he was appointed
president judge of the Sixth judicial district, composed of a group of
counties in the northwestern part of the State, and performed the duties
of that position until his death, December 21, 1824, in the fifty-ninth
year of his age. He is described as a well educated man, a diligent
student, and a good lawyer, discreet, upright, and impartial in his
judicial opinions and decisions.
He was elected to the legislature from Northumberland county in 1801 and
re-elected in the following year.
   Daniel Smith, a native of New Jersey and a graduate of Princeton in
the class of 1787, studied law in that State and began the practice of
his profession in Northumberland county about the year 1795. He resided
upon a fine farm on the southern limits of Milton, and may properly be
regarded as the pioneer lawyer of that borough. It is the uniform
testimony of those who have written about him that he was an eloquent
speaker. George A. Snyder pronounced him "the only lawyer of the
district who could he called eloquent in a high sense."(16) Charles Miner
describes him as "a tall, delicate looking gentleman, always elegantly
dressed. He turns pale and actually trembles as he rises to speak. You
are interested by such exceeding modesty, and half fear he will not he
able to go on. His voice breaks sweetly on the ear, and words of
persuasive wisdom begin to flow, and now pour along in a rapid
torrent."(17) Tunison Coryell says that "he was eminent as a lawyer, was
considered one of the most eloquent speakers at the bar, and was engaged
in all important cases then in the counties of Northumberland, Lycoming,
and Luzerne."(18) Coryell states that Smith delivered the address in the
old German church at Sunbury in 1799 on the occasion of the memorial
exercises in honor of President Washington, when the entire audience was
moved to tears by the power of his eloquence. His death occurred at
Milton on the 6th of April, 1810; he was then in the forty-fifth year of
his age and the full vigor of his powers.
   Enoch Smith was a brother to Daniel, though not his equal in
professional ability. He was admitted to the bar at August sessions,
1798, and practiced at Sunbury until his death, February 9, 1817.
   Samuel Roberts, who qualified as deputy attorney general for
Northumberland county, July 16, l800, resided at Sunbury, and practiced
in the courts to some extent prior to that date, was born in
Philadelphia, September 8, 1763, and admitted to the bar of that city in
1793. On the 30th of April, 1803, he was commissioned president judge of
the Fifth district, composed of the counties of Allegheny, Westmoreland,
Fayette, and Washington, and held the office until his death in 1820.
   Samuel Hepburn was a son of James Hepburn, an early and prominent
merchant of Northumberland. After obtaining a classical education at
Princeton College and graduating from that institution he studied law
under Jonathan Hoge Walker at Northumberland, and was admitted to the
bar about 1800. He then located at Milton, where he was the second
resident lawyer; in 1856 he removed to Lock Haven, where he died at the
advanced age of eighty-four, October 16, 1865. He was a man of small
stature and spare physique, pleasant and genial in society, and highly
esteemed where-ever known. He was a close student, and prepared his cases
thoroughly. As a public speaker his manner was agreeable, and in
addressing the court or jury he could state a case with such clearness as
to carry conviction without the aid of rhetorical embellishment.
   Hugh Bellas was born near Belfast, Ireland, April 26, 1780, and came to
America at the age of nine years with his father, George Bellas, who
settled in Fishing Creek township, Northumberland county, Pennsylvania.
There he grew to manhood, and, as the family was in straitened
circumstances, enjoyed but meager educational advantages. At the age of
sixteen, having evinced a disposition to engage in other pursuits than
farming, he entered the store of his uncle at Philadelphia. On the 12th of
September, 1796, he was indentured to Robert Irwin, merchant, of
Northumberland, with whom he was employed until he attained his majority.
During this period he formed the acquaintance of the Rev. Joseph
Priestley, whose writings he transcribed for the press, receiving in
return for his services the loan of books for a prescribed course of
reading. As a clerk he so far enjoyed the confidence of his employer as to
be placed in charge of a branch store at Danville; and at the close of his
apprenticeship he engaged in merchandising at Northumberland several
years. His legal studies were begun under Jonathan Walker, and continued
in the intervals of his employment as clerk and merchant. About the year
1803 he applied at Bellefonte for admission to the bar, but encountered
the most determined opposition from the lawyers of the district, who were
almost unanimously Federalists while the young applicant was an active
Democrat. They based their objection upon the fact that he had not
actually studied in the office of Mr. Walker, but in a store; by the
advice of his preceptor, Mr. Bellas renewed his application at Sunbury,
retaining Daniel Smith in his interest. The examination was of the most
rigid character, but he passed the ordeal successfully and was duly
admitted. Simon Snyder was present on this occasion, and the bearing of
the young lawyer, as well as his evident ability, impressed him most
favorably.(19)
   Thus embarked upon his professional career, he brought to his work
the same unflagging energy and indomitable spirit that characterized his
early struggles. He was appointed prothonotary of Northumberland county
in 1809, and served until 1818. In the course of his long career at the
bar he was connected with some of the most protracted litigation in this
part of the State. Governor Snyder retained him in the famous Isle of
Que cases, begun at Sunbury in 1804 and ended at New Berlin in 1824; the
case of Mann vs. Wilson, in which proceedings were first instituted at
May term, 1814, and which was not finally adjudicated by the Supreme
Court until 1850, was also continued during this long period by his
persistence and tact. Although the active participant in many an
acrimonious legal and political contest he enjoyed in his old age the
universal esteem and respect of his colleagues at the bar, and died at
Sunbury, October 26, 1863, one of the last survivors of the bar of
Northumberland county in the first decade of the present century.
   E. G. Bradford, "from all accounts, a lawyer of very considerable
ability," was "a tall, heavy, portly man of a commanding appearance," as
described by John F. Wolfinger.(20) He was prosecuting attorney for
Northumberland county from April, 1809, to January, 1821, from January
to April, 1824, and probably also from 1806 to 1809, from which it is
evident that his professional career in this county began early in the
present century. He resided at Sunbury in the substantial brick building
on Market Street that is now the residence of Samuel J. Packer, 2d.
After leaving this county he removed to York, Pennsylvania, and died of
apoplexy at Pottsville, May 17, 1836, in the sixty-second year of his
age.
   Ebenezer Greenough was born in Massachusetts, December 11, 1788. He
graduated from Harvard University in 1804, and came to Pennsylvania
within a short time thereafter; immediately upon his arrival at
Wilkesbarre he accepted the principalship of the academy at that place,
and during his connection with this institution began the study of law
with Ebenezer Bowmman. In the latter part of 1806 he came to Sunbury,
completed his professional preparation under Charles Hall, and was
admitted to the bar of Northumberland county, January 19, 1808. Endowed
with intellectual qualities of a high order, his educational advantages
had been superior to those of the generality of lawyers at that day, and
his ability in the profession placed him within a few years at the head
of the local bar, a position which was successfully maintained until his
death, December 25,1847. Thoroughly familiar with the land laws of
Pennsylvania, he particularly excelled in the trial of ejectment cases
for the determination of titles under conflicting surveys; and, while he
was concerned in nearly every important case of this nature in
Northumberland and the adjoining counties of Pennsylvania during the
period of his professional career, he did not confine himself to this
particular class of litigation, but was as frequently employed and
equally successful in civil and criminal cases of a general character.
In argument he was clear, logical, and forcible, and in the later years
of his life frequently assisted attorneys from other counties in the
Northern district in the presentation of their cases before the Supreme
court. His self-possession was remarkable; in the most exciting
controversy he remained calm and collected, and never permitted his
attention to be distracted from what he regarded as the essential
principles involved in a cause. He possessed great skill in cross
examination, and seldom failed to elicit the testimony desired from the
most obstinate and recalcitrant witnesses. In addressing a jury he
invariably appealed to the judgment rather then the feelings, and so
simple, plane, and methodical was his manner of presenting a ease that
his position could scarcely be misapprehended. He was a Whig in
politics, and was elected to the legislature in 1831; with this exception
he never occupied official position, but devoted his entire attention to
the duties of his profession, in which he attained conspicuous and
deserved success.
   Daniel Scudder was a native of New Jersey; in 1815 he came to Milton,
read law with Samuel Hepburn at the same time as Joseph B. Anthony, and
was admitted to the bar at Sunbury on the 26th of November, 1817. He
married the daughter of Daniel Smith, who inherited the fine farm of her
father just below Milton, and there they resided some years. In 1821 he
was elected to the legislature; in 1824-27 inclusive he was again
returned, and was active in advocating the construction of canals
in central Pennsylvania. He assumed office as deputy attorney general
for Northumberland county at August sessions, 1828, and filled that
position until his death in January of the following year.
   James Hepburn was a son of one of the early merchants of Northumberland
and brother to Samuel Hepburn, of Milton. He was admitted to the bar at
Sunbury on the 19th of August, 1819, and began the practice of law at
Northumberland, where he was president of the bank and bridge company and
otherwise prominent in business affairs. Thence he removed successively to
Baltimore and Philadelphia; at the former city he was president of the
Tidewater Canal Company, and during his residence at the latter he seems
to have given more attention to his profession than at any time during his
previous career. Governor Pollock appointed him State reporter, and the
first one hundred eighty-two pages of I Casey (Pennsylvania State Reports,
Volume XXV) were compiled by him, with the exception of three cases. Not
long after his appointment to this position he died at Philadelphia,
December 25, 1855.
   Samuel J. Packer was born in Howard township, Centre county,
Pennsylvania, March 23, 1799. He received his education at a local
school of the Society of Friends, under the superintendence of his
father, and learned the trade of printer at Bellefonte. Subsequently he
was engaged in a journalistic capacity at Harrisburg, where he reported
the proceedings of the legislature and formed the acquaintance of Simon
Cameron, between whom and himself a warm friendship always thereafter
existed. In 1820 he came to Sunbury and established the Publick
Inquirer, which advocated the re-election of Governor Findlay and was
continued several years. During this period he engaged in the study of
the law under Hugh Bellas, and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland
county on the 23d of August, 1823. He at once entered upon the practice
of his profession at Sunbury, and by assiduous attention to its duties
early attained a leading position among the members of the bar.
Thoroughness and care in the preparation of his causes and a closely
argumentative style uniformly characterized his work. As a public
speaker, particularly upon political occasions, he attained considerable
distinction, and possessed in large measure the faculty of converting
others to his views.
   From the time he came to Northumberland county until his death, Mr.
Packer was a prominent figure in her political history. On the 27th of
January, 1824, he was commissioned as prothonotary, holding that office
until 1829, and on the 20th of April in the latter year he was inducted
into office as deputy attorney general, serving until the following
November. In 1830 he was elected to the State Senate for the term of
four years, and, although one of the youngest members of that body, he
took a leading part in the discussion of many of the public measures
which received its consideration. His legislative incumbency was marked
by great activity, especially in supporting enterprises designed to
promote the development of the material resources of the State, of which
the Danville and Pottsville railroad was the most important in the
district he represented. Its construction from Sunbury to the Shamokin
coal field was the direct result of measures introduced by him in the
Senate and passed by the legislature through his influence. As chairman
of a special committee on the coal fields of Pennsylvania, he prepared
the first legislative report ever promulgated upon that subject. This
report is able and exhaustive, and relates to both the anthracite and
bituminous regions. It treats of the origin and development of the
mining industry and its vital relation to manufacturing and commercial
interests in general, the location and extent of the different coal
fields, the facilities of transportation enjoyed by each, and the
limitations and restrictions which the legislature might with propriety
impose upon the corporate powers and privileges of railroad, mining, and
navigation companies. The report possesses great value, not only as a
compilation of facts relating to the history and condition of the coal
trade and of the inexhaustible mineral resources of the State, but also
as an expression of conclusions and convictions derived from a thorough
study of the great legal and economic questions involved.
   In 1834 Mr. Packer was the Whig candidate for Congress from the
district embracing Northumberland county, but died on the 20th of
October in that year at the early age of thirty-five.
   Joshua Wright Comly, who was admitted to the bar of Northumberland
county on the 17th of November, 1830, and has survived all the officers
of the court and attorneys of this bar at that date, was born at
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 16, 1810, son of Charles and Sarah
(Wright) Comly, and a descendant of Henry Comly, an English Friend, who
immigrated to Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1682. He was reared in the
Quaker faith, attended the local schools and the College of New Jersey
at Princeton, and in 1827 began the study of law at Milton under Samuel
Hepburn. After his admission to the bar he located at Orwigsburg,
Schuylkill county, but subsequently removed to Danville, where he has
since resided, although his practice for some years embraced many of the
most important cases in Northumberland county. In 1851 he was the Whig
candidate for judge of the Supreme court.
   James Pleasants, born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 11,
1809, received his education principally under the Rev. David Kirkpatrick
at Milton, read law with Hugh Bellas, and was admitted to the bar of
Northumberland county, April 21, 1831. He located at Catawissa, Columbia
county, Pennsylvania, within a short time thereafter, but was frequently
concerned in important cases in Northumberland county, either individually
or as assistant to his brother, Charles Pleasants; about the year 1850 he
located at Sunbury, but removed to Radnor, Delaware county, Pennsylvania,
some six years later, and there he died, September 5, 1874. In Mr.
Wolfinger's "Reminiscences," he is described as "a tall, slim man, of a
very pleasant countenance and social disposition," who "spoke and argued
his cases before the court and jury with considerable ability.(21)
Defective hearing interfered greatly with the discharge of his
professional duties.
   Charles Pleasants, brother to James, was born at Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, March 31, 1807; he also attended Kirkpatrick's academy at
Milton, but read law under James Hepburn, of Northumberland, and was
admitted to the bar at Sunbury on the 16th of April, 1832. He married a
daughter of Hugh Bellas, with whom he was frequently associated in
professional work. On the 2d of February, 1836, he was commissioned as
prothonotary of the Supreme court for the Northern district, then
composed of the counties of Northumberland, Luzerne, Lycoming, Bradford,
McKean, Potter, Tioga, Susquehanna, Columbia, and Union, and held that
position until his resignation twenty-nine years later. He died at
Radnor, Delaware county, Pennsylvania, May 24, 1865.
   John F. Wolfinger was born at Frosty Valley, Montour county,
Pennsylvania, and educated under the Rev. David Kirkpatrick at Milton.
He studied law at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, with Joseph B. Anthony as
his preceptor, and was admitted to the bar of Lycoming county, August
31, 1830. In April 1832, he opened an office at Milton, and on the 20th
of August in that year was admitted to practice in the several courts of
Northumberland county, on motion of Samuel Hepburn. In 1833 he was
appointed prosecuting attorney for this county by George M. Dallas,
attorney general of the State, and at the expiration of his term the
court continued him in that office until his successor was regularly
appointed. With the exception of the criminal cases in which he was
concerned as deputy attorney general, Mr. Wolfinger confined his
attention exclusively to civil actions, collections, and orphans' court
business, in which he enjoyed a fairly lucrative practice until the
outbreak of the civil war; at that time he virtually retired from the
active duties of the profession, devoting his time to local historical
research and literary pursuits. His contributions to the Miltonian on
various subjects connected with local history, and his "Recollections of
the Bar of the Counties of Northumberland, Lycoming, Union, and Columbia,"
published in the Northumberland County Legal News, are among the more
important of his productions. He died at Milton, January 13, 1891.
   Henry B. Masser was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county,
November 5, 1833, and is the oldest resident lawyer of Sunbury. He was
born at that place, August 17, 1809, educated at the local schools, and
studied law with Alexander Jordan. In 1839 he was appointed deputy
attorney general for the county, and served in that office six years
with credit and ability. In September, 1840, he established the Sunbury
American, and as editor and publisher of this paper he was prominently
identified with the public affairs of the county during a period of
twenty-nine years. Mr. Masser has also been interested in various
business enterprises; he now lives in retirement at Sunbury at an
advanced age.
   Charles W. Hegins was born at Sunbury, August 15, 1812. He received
his education at the Northumberland Academy, studied law under Charles
G. Donnel, and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county,
November 5, 1833. At that date and for some time previously he had been
employed in the office of the prothonotary at Sunbury; there he opened
an office and continued in successful practice until 1851, when he was
elected president judge of Schuylkill county. He was re-elected at the
expiration of his first term, and served until his death, July 2,1862. A
man of fine discriminating mind and judicial temperament, he was an
excellent lawyer and an able judge. In 1838 he was elected to the
legislature from Northumberland county and re-elected in the following
year.
   William I. Greenough was born at Sunbury, May 27,1821, son of
Ebenezer Greenough. After attending the academy of his native town and
similar institutions at Danville and Wilkesbarre he entered Princeton
College, graduating in 1839; his father was his law preceptor, and on
the 2d of August, 1842, he was admitted to the bar of Northumberland
county. Mr. Greenough has been concerned in the trial of many of the
most important cases at this bar. In presenting a cause to the court he
follows closely in the footsteps of his father; his arguments are terse
and logical, confined entirely to the matter at issue, and calculated to
convince rather than persuade. He is, however, a better counselor than
advocate; for some years past he has been selected as master in chancery
in many of the leading cases of this county, a recognition of his
judicial qualifications no less than a compliment to his sound
deliberative judgment.
   Charles J. Bruner was educated at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, studied
law under Alexander Jordan, and was admitted to the bar of
Northumberland county, January 3, 1843. He at once opened an office at
Sunbury, where he was associated with William L. Dewart for a time. As
captain of Company F, Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers, he led the first
detachment of troops from Northumberland county at the outbreak of the
civil war. Subsequently he was appointed internal revenue collector for
the Fourteenth Pennsylvania district by President Grant, and retained that
office fourteen years. Captain Bruner was born at Sunbury, November 17,
1820, and died on the 15th of March, 1885.
   William L. Dewart was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county,
January 3, 1843; his law preceptor was Charles G. Donnel. He was born at
Sunbury, June 21, 1820, educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle,
Pennsylvania, and the College of New Jersey at Princeton, graduating
from the latter in 1839. He was a prominent figure in political affairs,
and was several times a member of Democratic national conventions; in
1856 he was elected to Congress. His death occurred on the 19th of
April, 1888.
   Charles W. Tharp was born at Milton, December 25, 1818, son of
James and Phebe (Vincent) Tharp. He was educated at the schools of his
native town and at Lewisburg, read law at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, with
Curtin & Blanchard, and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland
county, November 7, 1843. He resides at Milton. He was the last deputy
attorney general appointed for Northumberland county, serving in that
office from 1848 to 1850; in 1853 he was elected district attorney and
served until 1856. He was elected to the legislature in 1865 and 1866.
   David Taggart read law with Ebenezer Greenough and was admitted to
the bar of Northumberland county, November 7, 1843. In 1854 he was
elected to the State Senate, and served as Speaker of that body; he was
also president of the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society at one
time. During the civil war he entered the service of the war department
of the national government as paymaster, and was stationed in this
capacity at different points throughout the country for some years
thereafter. He possessed rare gifts as a public speaker, and was
frequently called upon to deliver addresses on the occasion of patriotic
or anniversary celebrations. He was born, May 28, 1822, and died on the
30th of June, 1888.
   William C. Lawson was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, December
3, 1817. He was educated under the Rev. David Kirkpatrick at Milton and
at Delaware College, Newark, Delaware, graduating from the latter
institution in 1838, after which he began the study of law under J. F.
Linn at Lewisburg, Union county, completing his professional preparation
with Judge John Reed, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he was admitted
to the bar in 1840. He began the practice of his profession in
Greenville, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, but removed to Milton in 1843
and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county, April 1, 1844. He
has since resided at Milton, and was in active practice until 1880. Mr.
Lawson has been president of the Milton National Bank and of the
institution from which it evolved since July 1860.
   John B. Packer was born at Sunbury, March 21, 1824, a son of Samuel
J. Packer. His education was obtained principally at the Sunbury
Academy, then recently established and under the charge of Cale Pelton
and Frederick Lebrun, both classical scholars of thorough culture and
great ability as teachers. From 1839 to 1842 he was a member of a corps of
engineers employed by the State in the survey and construction of her
public improvements. In 1842 he entered upon the study of the law with
Ebenezer Greenough, and was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county
on the 6th of August, 1844. In the following year he was appointed deputy
attorney general, serving in that office three years, and from the
commencement of his professional career he has occupied a prominent
position at the bar, not only of his native county, but elsewhere
throughout the State and before the Supreme court. In addressing the
court or jury his style is lucid, logical, and argumentative, and as a
public speaker he is forcible and eloquent. In the litigation resulting
from contested land titles and in railroad and other causes there has
scarcely been a case of any importance in this county with which he has
not been professionally connected. In 1851 he was one of the organizers
of the Susquehanna Railroad Company (since merged into the Northern
Central), and has ever since been counsel for that corporation; for some
years past he has acted in a similar capacity for the Philadelphia and
Erie, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna and Bloomsburg, and other railroad
companies, and has also been concerned as counsel in the sale and
reorganization of the Zerbe Valley, Shamokin Valley and Pottsville, and
other railroad properties.
   Mr. Packer was elected to the legislature in 1849, re-elected in
1850, and served upon important committees in both sessions. He was a
tariff Democrat at that time, but has been actively identified with the
Republican party since 1856. In 1868 he was elected to Congress from the
Fourteenth Pennsylvania district (in which Northumberland county was
embraced), and served by re-election from 1869 to 1877, having been
returned on each occasion by a majority largely in excess of his party
vote in the several counties composing the district. In the XLIst
Congress he was a member of the committee on banking and currency; in
the XLIId, chairman of the committee on railways and canals; in the
XLIIId, chairman of the committee on post-offices and post-roads, and in
the XLIVth, member of the committee on foreign affairs.
   As president of the Bank of Northumberland from 1857 until it was
merged into the First National Bank of Sunbury, and of the latter
institution since its organization, Mr. Packer has sustained an
important relation to local financial affairs; this connection has not,
however, been permitted to withdraw his attention from the practice of
his profession, and it is upon his services in public life, his eminent
legal attainments, and marked success as a lawyer that his reputation is
principally founded.
   George Hill was admitted to the bar of Northumberland county, January
1, 1849, and has been a resident practicing attorney of Sunbury since
1858. He was born in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1821, and
received an academic education at a classical academy taught by the Rev.
Samuel S. Shedden. His professional preparation was begun at Milton
under James Pollock and completed in Union county, Pennsylvania, under
Absalom Swineford. He was admitted to the bar at New Berlin, then the
county seat of Union county, in August, 1848, and was in active practice
at Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, from 1849 to 1858, when he removed to
Sunbury. Mr. Hill has enjoyed an extensive and lucrative practice.
   Andrew J. Guffy was born near Turbutville in this county, May 31, 1823,
son of Andrew and Eleanor (Armstrong) Gully, and grandson of Alexander
Guffy, who settled upon the site of McEwensville at an early date in the
history of this county and died, July 15, 1816, the father of seven
children; of whom Andrew was born on the 13th of August, 1792, and died on
the 28th of June, 1879. Mr. Guffy studied law with James Pollock of Milton
and attended the law school of Washington McCartney at Easton,
Pennsylvania, where he was the classmate of Henry Green, a justice of the
Supreme court of Pennsylvania. He was admitted to the bar of
Northumberland county, August 6, 1849, and has since resided at
McEwensville and Watsontown. He is a proficient surveyor and is probably
better known as such than as a lawyer.
   The foregoing biographical sketches relate to members of the bar of
Northumberland county who were admitted prior to 1850. The following is
a list of resident attorneys in that year, with residences and dates of
admission in this county: Samuel Hepburn, Milton; Hugh Bellas, Sunbury,
1803; James Pleasants, Sunbury, April 21, 1831; Charles Pleasants,
Sunbury, April 16, 1832; John F. Wolfinger, Milton, August 20, 1832;
James Pollock, Milton, November 5, 1833; Henry B. Masser, Sunbury,
November 5, 1833; John Porter, Milton, April 9, 1840; William I.
Greenough, Sunbury, August 2, 1842; Charles J. Bruner, Sunbury, January
3, 1843; William L. Dewart, Sunbury, January 3, 1843; Charles W. Tharp,
Milton, November 7, 1843; David Taggart, Northumberland, November 7,
1843; William C. Lawson, Milton, April 1, 1844; John B. Packer, Sunbury,
August 6, 1844; Henry Donnel, Sunbury, January 4, 1848; Andrew J. Gully,
McEwensville, August 6, 1849; Charles Augustus Kutz, Milton; William M.
Rockefeller, Sunbury, August 6, 1850; M. L. Shindel, Sunbury, August 6,
1850.
   The present number of resident attorneys is seventy-three. In the
following list the date given is that of admission to the local bar:-

   Sunbury.- Henry B. Masser, November 5, 1833; William L Greenough,
August 2, 1842; John B. Packer, August 6, 1844; George Hill, January 1,
1849; Solomon B. Boyer, August 5, 1858; Samuel J. Packer, 2d, April 4,
1860; Simon P. Wolverton, April 8, 1862; Lloyd T. Rohrbach, March 10,
1863; George W. Zeigler, January 5, 1864; J. W. Cake, January 3, 1866;
Truman R. Purdy, 1866; William A. Sober, August, 1867; Andrew N. Brice,
January, 1870; J. A. Cake, 1870; James H. McDevitt, August 5,1873; Lewis
Dewart, August 11, 1874; John J. Reimensnyder, March 14, 1876; Clinton
R. Savidge, January 15, 1877; George B. Reimensnyder, August 6, 1877; E.
W. Greenough, March 11,1878; Charles M. Clement, March 11, 1878; J.
Nevin Hill, March 11, 1878; Martin L. Snyder, September 17, 1880; Harold
M. McClure, June 28, 1881; George R. Neff, June 28, 1881; Charles W.
Rockefeller, May 15, 1884; William P. Hilbush, October 6, 1884; Walter
Shipman, December 4, 1884; Charles B. Witmer, February 19, 1887; J.
Howard Rockefeller, June 27, 1887; James C. Packer, September 5, 1887;
William C. Farnsworth, September 5, 1887; Charles D. Gibson, September
2, 1889; J. B. Kauffman, Jr., September 2, 1889; William J. Sanders,
September 3, 1890.
   Milton.- Charles W. Tharp, November 7, 1843; William C. Lawson,
April 1, 1844; Frank Bound, 1853; P. L. Hackenberg, 1861; John McCleery,
January 5, 1864; Edmund Davis; Thomas Swank, Jr., March 14, 1876;
William C. Miller, March 14, 1876; O. B. Nagle, March 13, 1877; Clarence
G. Voris, October 3, 1877; Frank Chamberlin, December 15, 1880; W. H.
Hackenberg, February 9, 1881; A. S. Hottenstein, June 28, 1881; Samuel
T. Swartz, September 6, 1881.
   Shamokin.- U. F. John, August 4, 1863; W. H. M. Oram, August 7,
1865; Addison G. Marr, August, 1867; George W. Ryon, March 26, 1869;
Samuel Heckert, March 11,1874; Peter A. Mahon, August 10, 1874; William
W. Ryon, March 11, 1878; John P. Helfenstein, July 14, 1883; J. W.
Gillespie, July 12, 1886; J. Q. Adams, November 27, 1886; W. E.
Zimmerman, November 27, 1886; Clarence F. Huth, November 27,1886; D. W.
Shipman April 14, 1890; W. H. Unger, September 2, 1890.
   Watsontown.- Andrew J. Gully, August 6, 1849; W. Field Shay, August 3,
1875; Lorenzo Everett.
   Mt. Carmel.- W. B. Faust, June 8, 1877; Voris Auten, September 6, 1881;
L. S. Walter, September 2, 1889.
   Turbutville.- George W. Hower.
   Montandon.- Robert M. Cummings, August 3, 1859.
   Riverside.- H. M. Hinckley, August 4, 1875.
   Northumberland.- J. H. Vincent.
   Biographies of many of the present president attorneys of the county
are given in the biographical department of this work.
   In addition to those mentioned, the following attorneys have also
resided in Northumberland county prior to their death or removal
therefrom: John Barker, mentioned in Fithian's journal as a resident of
Northumberland in 1775; John W. Hunter, Sunbury, admitted, January,
1798; Charles Maus, Sunbury, April, 1800; Owen Foulk, Sunbury; William
G. Forrest, Sunbury, November 25, 1801; Alem Marr, Milton, November 23,
1809; William Irwin, Sunbury, November 29, 1810; John S. Haines,
Northumberland, August 29, 1815; Robert O. Hall; Sunbury, August 25,
1820; Charles A. Bradford, Sunbury, June 15, 1824; John B. Boyd,
Northumberland, April 20, 1825; George W. Lathey, Northumberland, August
17,1831; Robert McGuigan, Milton, November 10,1837; Hopewell Cox,
Northumberland, August 7,1838; William J. Martin, Sunbury, August 3, 1841;
George A. Frick, Northumberland, January 2, 1844; J. Woods Brown, Milton,
April 7, 1851; James Cameron, Milton, August 4, 1851; James W. Naille,
Sunbury, August 4, 1851; John Youngman, Sunbury, August 6, 1851; Horatio
J. Wolverton, Sunbury, January 6, 1852; Spencer M. Kase, Shamokin, January
2, 1854; William L. Scott, Shamokin; John Kay Clement, Sunbury; Paul
Cornyn, Sunbury; A. Jordan Rockefeller, Sunbury, November 3, 1857; S. P.
Malick, Sunbury, February 23, 1858; Harris Painter, Sunbury, April 4,
1860; Leffert H. Kase, Sunbury, March 7, 1865; Cornelius A. Reimensnyder,
Sunbury, March 19, 1867; James K. Davis, Jr., Sunbury, August 6, 1867;
Thomas H. B. Kase, Sunbury, June 12, 1871; William C. Packer, Sunbury,
November 5, 1872; Jefferson M. John, Mt. Carmel, January 6, 1874;
William P. Withington, Shamokin, August 4, 1874; Marks B. Priestley,
Northumberland, January 2, 1877; E. H. Painter, Turbutville, December 4,
1882; E. Sherman Follmer, Watsontown, September 6, 1886.

THE SUPREME COURT

   In 1806, "for the more convenient establishment of the Supreme
court," the State was divided into two districts, the Eastern and the
Western, Northumberland county being included in the former. The Middle
district, composed of the counties of York, Adams, Dauphin, Cumberland,
Franklin, Huntingdon, Mifflin, Northumberland, Luzerne, Lycoming,
Centre, Clearfield, McKean, Potter, and Tioga as originally constituted,
was erected by the act of April 10, 1807. By the terms of this act, the
justices were required to hold one term annually at Sunbury for the
Middle district, commencing on the first Monday in July and continuing
two weeks if necessary; and it was made the duty of the prothonotaries
of the Eastern and Western districts to make out a docket of causes
entered from the territory embraced in the new district, such causes
pending and undetermined after the 1st of May, 1808, to be removed
thereto and continued in the same manner as if they had originated
therein. The first session of the Supreme court for the Middle district
of Pennsylvania was accordingly held at the court house on the public
square in Sunbury on the first Monday in July, 1808, Chief Justice
Tilghman presiding.
   The Northern district, to which the counties of Northumberland,
Luzerne, Lycoming, Bradford, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Susquehanna,
Columbia, and Union were originally assigned, was erected by the act of
April 14, 1834. Sunbury continued to be the place at which the sessions
of the court were held, but the composition of the district frequently
changed, at first by the addition of new territory but latterly by the
transfer of one county after another to other districts, until only
Northumberland, Montour, and Columbia remained in the Northern. The
justices were strongly in favor of holding the sessions of the court at
Philadelphia for the whole State, but measures with that object in view,
although frequently introduced in the legislature, were invariably
defeated by the combined opposition of the western and middle counties.
The influence of the justices was not entirely unavailing, however, as is
shown by the gradual dismemberment of the Northern district and the
acquiescence with which attorneys and litigants usually permitted an
adjournment of their causes to Philadelphia or Harrisburg at the
suggestion of the court. Finally, at the term for 1863, all the causes
were adjourned to other points, with the concurrence of counsel; and,
while it is not probable that this was deliberately planned by the
justices as a final adjournment of the court for the Northern district,
such it ultimately proved. This action of the court received legislative
confirmation in the act of May 5, 1871, providing that "causes from said
Northern district shall be heard at such time and place as the judges of
the Supreme court may assign." Under this arrangement the district
continued to sustain a nominal existence for some years. By a subsequent
extension of its discretionary powers, the court was authorized to
designate the district from which writs should issue for the different
counties, and by virtue of this power the counties of the Northern
district were transferred to the Eastern, thus abolishing the former in
every essential respect.
   The chief justices who presided over the sessions of the Supreme
Court at Sunbury were William Tilghman, John Bannister Gibson, Jeremiah
S. Black, Ellis Lewis, and Walter H. Lowrie. Among the prothonotaries
were George A. Frick, commissioned, October 6, 1812; John L. Finney,
commissioned, January 11, 1813; Alexander Jordan, commissioned, December
22, 1826, January 25, 1830, and January 21, 1833; Charles Pleasants, who
was commissioned on the 2d of February, 1836, and held the office many
years, and J. A. J. Cummings, the last incumbent, who was appointed in
1865. Many cases involving important legal principles were here tried
and determined; distinguished lawyers from all parts of the State
attended the sessions, which thus became occasions of far more than
local interest and importance.

(1) On the 25th of August, 1775, the justices addressed a memorial to
the Supreme Executive Council, representing "That this being the Second
court at which no State's attorney appeared, many persons have been
admitted to halt who ought to have been tried ......... that the long
suspension of Justice In this county from February, 1776, to November,
1777, had rendered the people licentious enough, and a further delay of
executing the taws must lead them to lengths perhaps too difficult to he
recalled; that even tipping houses, the notorious promoters of vice and
Immorality and audacious opponents to law and order, remain unpunished."
etc.- Pennsylvania Archives, Vol. VII pp. 72-73.
  
(2) The following obituary appeared in Kennedy's Gazette: "Died at
Lancaster on Sunday, the 20th of September, in the seventy-third year of
his age, Frederick Antes, treasurer of this county: and on Monday his
remains were interred in the Presbyterian burial ground of that place.
In him his wife has lost a good husband, his children an indulgent
parent, and the public a very useful member of society. Previous to his
decease he was one of the two persons who had undertaken to clear the
river Susquehanna."
   On the 11th of June, 1796, as ascertained from the same paper, Miss
Catherine, daughter of Colonel Frederick Antes, married Simon Snyder, of
Selinsgrove, who was Governor of Pennsylvania from 1808 to 1817.

(3) Vide Priestley's "Memoirs," quoted in the history of Northumberland in
this work.

(4) Thomas Cooper was naturalized as an American citizen before Judge
Bush at Sunbury in November, 1795, when he stated under oath that he had
resided in the United States two years and in the State of Pennsylvania
one year. Vide Appearance docket of Northumberland county, No. 84
November sessions, 1795, and No. 1 July session's, 1818.

(5) Annals of Luzerne county, p.248.

(6) Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley, p.324.
  
(7) Stewart Pearce (Annals of Luzerne county, p.249) says of him: "He
could not be reckoned a talented man, and was a judge of inferior
abilities." By a change in the composition of the districts, Chapman was
succeeded on the bench of Luzerne County by John Bannister Gibson in
1813. Possibly his abilities were underestimated by comparison with
those of his distinguished successor.
  
(8) The counties of Northumberland, Montour, and Lycoming constituted
the district in 1861.
  
(9) William Montgomery and Joseph Wallis were commissioned as associate
Judges, August 17, 1791; but as both resigned without entering upon the
duties of the office (so far as shown by the court minutes), it has not
been deemed proper to include their names in this list.
  
(10) Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley, pp. 161-162.
  
(11) Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley, pp. 363-364.
  
(12) George W. Harris's Reminiscences of the Dauphin County Bar.
  
(13) Linn'S Annals of Buffalo Valley, p. 385.

(14) George W. Harris's Reminiscences of the Dauphin County Bar.

(15) Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley, pp. 323-324.
  
(16) Linn's Annals of Buffalo Valley, p.365.

(17) Ibid. p, 323.

(18) Reminiscences of Early Times and Events, pp. 32-33.
  
(19) Linn's Annals of Buffalo valley, pp. 365-367.
  
(20) Northumberland County Legal News, Volume I. No. 3.
  
(21) Northumberland County Legal News vol. I. No. 6.