CHAPTER XL
THE BENCH AND BAR
The First Court – Judge Alexander McCalmont – The First Attorneys – Later Ones – Judges Buffington, Knox, and J.S. McCalmont – The Logue Trial – Murder Cases – Judges Scofield and Campbell – Additional Sketches – Judge Jenks – The Standard Proceedings – Hons. Corbett and Wilson – History of the District – List of Attorneys – First Records – County Officers.
CLARION county’s judicial organization began the first of September, 1840, from which date, says the constituent act, “the inhabitants of the said county of Clarion, be entitled to and shall have all and singular the courts, jurisdiction, officers, rights and privileges to which the inhabitants of other counties of this State are entitled by the constitution and laws of this Commonwealth.” The county was attached to the sixth district, then consisting of the counties of Erie, Venango, and Crawford; but by a repealing act, passed before any court was held (May 21, 1840), it was added to the eighteenth judicial district, composed of Potter, McKean, and Jefferson counties; of which Hon. Alexander McCalmont was presiding judge; Christian Myers and Charles Evans were commissioned associates.
Judge Alexander McCalmont was a man a little past middle life when he began to preside over the courts of Clarion county. He was a native of Nittany Valley, Centre county; born October 22, 1785, died at Franklin, August 10, 1857. His parents moved to Franklin in 1803, and Judge McCalmont continued to reside there almost uninterruptedly till his decease. He received a very limited education, but by self- application, became proficient enough to teach school at Franklin in 1809 and ‘10. He held nearly all the offices within the gift of his county, being successively commissioner, treasurer, recorder, sheriff; and justice of the peace. About 1828 he was admitted to practice, having studied with David Irvine, Esq., one of Venango county’s first lawyers. Mr. McCalmont was also engaged in the iron business, having constructed a furnace and forge; but he relinquished this in 1833, to devote himself entirely to the law, wherein he enjoyed a successful and lucrative practice, till he was appointed president judge by Governor Porter.
While he possessed some eccentricities, his magisterial learning and ability commanded respect. Judge McCalmont spent several summers in Clarion, bringing his family and library with him.
Christian Myers was a prominent character of the early days, and an extensive iron manufacturer. Charles Evans had represented Armstrong county in the assembly, and was very active in securing the erection of the new county.
The first court was held November 4, 1840, the first Monday of the month, in the house now occupied by A.H. Alexander. It was a mere preliminary session, to initiate the, new judges and officers, and qualify the attorneys. The following description by an eye- witness will convey a more vivid picture of the proceedings than the writer could otherwise furnish:
“The house and store being built by Alexander Reynolds was up and roofed, and partly weather- boarded, but the front was still open, and a large carpenter’s bench was standing in what is now Captain Alexander’s parlor. That apartment was secured in which to hold court, and the carpenter’s bench turned against the east wall. Three or four trestles were arranged in front of the bench, and boards laid across for seats for the bar; three large chairs were mounted on the stand for the judges.
“The judges elect had to be sworn in, but there were no officers sworn in to qualify the court; that was the starting point, and till the court was in running order, the entire machinery of the county was at a stand- still, and could not start. But this difficulty had been foreseen, and Governor Porter had sent out to Jacques W. Johnson a ‘dedimus potestatem’ to swear in the judges and start the machinery in motion. Jacques was no little elevated at the idea of being made the receptacle of this amount of royal prerogative in the hands of a subject, and talked a great deal about the importance of this sacred trust.
“The people had elected Dr. Goe, prothonotary, and James Hasson, sheriff. Uncle Jacob Zeigler, then prothonotary of Butler county, was brought over to teach the new officers how to put on their official robes, and to see the court inaugurated with becoming dignity. The old court- crier of Venango county, Mr. Morrison, came down to help on the show, and pick up the initiation fees of the lawyers.
“Early on Monday morning the town began to fill up; the Franklin, Butler, and Armstrong county lawyers had generally come on the Sunday evening before. It was a pleasant, sunshiny November day, which was fortunate, as we had no means of heating the room. I believe more people came in to see the court, than come now; although there was not a case on the list, either civil or criminal. The judges got Johnson into a room at the Western, and were sworn in before going to court. By ten o’clock the judges got upon the bench; and at the intimation of Judge McCalmont, old Mr. Morrison opened the court. The seats in front of the judges by that time were pretty well filled with applicants for admission. Zeigler was a good officer, with a fine, manly voice, and after reading the commissions of the judges, commenced swearing in first the prothonotary and sheriff whose bonds had been approved, then the constables and justices of the peace. Then the certificates of the younger lawyers were examined by the court, and the whole batch were told to stand up and be sworn; and all were on their feet and sworn in. By dinner time nearly all the preliminary work was done. Though the court met in the afternoon there was little to do. Most of the old lawyers failed to put in an appearance, but were seen walking around, or sitting at the hotels telling stories. Several were up stairs playing euchre, or other games.”
Jacob K. Boyd was the first resident lawyer in the county. He came to the county seat in the spring of 1840. He was soon after followed by D.B. Hays, John B. Butler, Jacques W. Johnson, Alfred Gilmore, and James Campbell; all these were admitted at the first session of court. In February, 1841, D.W. Foster, John L. Thompson, Thomas Sutton, and George W. Lathy were admitted. Thomas M. Jolly came in the spring of 1841.
It is fitting here to give a brief sketch of these pioneers in the legal field of Clarion. The great majority of them have passed away. Their names are yet familiar, and their traits yet fresh in the memories of a very few; to others they are dim figures in the long retrospect, and with the end of the present generation they would be entirely forgotten did not the kindly pen of the historian rescue their fame from this threatened oblivion.
Jacob K. Boyd was from Butler county, and brought his family with him to a new house he had erected. He was an illiterate man and failed to gain any standing at the bar. He remained only three or four years, and returned to Butler county. Of his subsequent career nothing is known.
Jacques W. Johnson was the second of the series. He was a young lawyer, born in Dauphin county, who had removed to Clarion from Carlisle. Of a. mercurial temperament, and a flippant tongue, he lacked solidity, and therefore attained no substantial success. Shortly after coming he entered into partnership with George W. Lathy, and they opened the first office in Clarion, where Dr. Ross’s office now stands; with the legend “Johnson & Lathy, attorneys at law,” in bright, gilt, letters on the door. Johnson married an eastern lady, and about 1845 left Clarion county.
David B. Hays was the son of Sheriff Hays, of Venango county, and one of Clarion’s earliest lawyers. He had his office with James Campbell, in a building on the site occupied by Brown’s barber shop. “Davy” Hays was talented, witty, and of a lively and amiable disposition; a universal favorite. His career here was a short one; he departed for Mercer in the spring of 1842, and died there. His death was hastened by his convivial habits, which over-mastered him after he left Clarion.
John B. Butler hailed from Butler county, where he had been engaged in journalism. His talents seemed better fitted for the sanctum than the bar. A nervous, impetuous habit, which often overreached itself and marred work which required circumspection, was a great hindrance in his forensic career. After some years he went to Pittsburgh, where he edited a Know Nothing paper, and after, by a marvelous transformation, became a Catholic. He had served as a major during the rebellion, and is now living at the Fortress Monroe Soldiers’ Home.
Mr. Butler, while here, resided in a hewed log house, now the residence of William Cramer. Lawyers were well content with log houses then.
Alfred Gilmore was a brother of Samuel A. Gilmore, of Butler, an attorney of high merit. Alfred was appointed first district attorney here, and while considerably lower than his brother on the legal scale, was a lawyer of fair ability and pretty good practice. His manner was rather pompous and pedantic. After remaining here five or six years, he returned to Butler, and finally settled in Philadelphia, where, at last accounts, he was still living. He was a member of the firm of Gilmore & Thompson, who displayed their shingle at the present office of Squire Sweny, then new, freshly painted with white, and presenting a very neat appearance.
David W. Foster was also a citizen of Kittanning, and on his arrival here was already past the meridian of life. He was originally a cabinet- maker, and having been prothonotary’s clerk at Kittanning, came here to act in the same capacity, and to open the records of the county. He had improved his spare time by the study of law, and was admitted here in February, 1841, but continued to assist the clerk of courts, pursuing his profession in that office. Although a mediocre lawyer, he acquired a respectable practice, especially as a collector. Mr. Foster remained in Clarion till his death in 1849.
Jesse G. Clark, the son of William Clark, of the Forest (now the Loomis) House, entered the bar here, but remained but a short time, before returning with his father to Brookville.
John L. Thompson was a young attorney from Lancaster, “a thin, spare man, with light hair,” and a fluent talker. He did not abide in Clarion county long enough to warrant a further estimate, leaving in the spring of ‘42.
Thomas Sutton, originally of Indiana, Pa., was one of the few among Clarion’s early legal lights, who achieved a pronounced success; a success due to his high personal character and real professional merit. In argument he was fair, but as a business attorney he excelled. Mr. Sutton practiced alone. He died, aged about forty, in 1853, leaving a wife and two children.
George W. Lathy was an advocate of some experience when he cast his lines in Clarion. He came from Northumberland, Pa. Lathy was an effective jury lawyer, but his indolent disposition led him to rely too much on his forensic powers, to the neglect of the minutiae of preparation. In March, 1871, he removed to Erie, as a field where his talents would have wider scope – a step which proved an unfortunate one. He is now living in Philadelphia, though not engaged in practice. Mr. Lathy, while in Clarion, married a daughter of Edward Derby, the builder of the first court- house. A large family was the result of this union. In the latter part of his career here, he took his eldest son, William E., in partnership with him.
Thomas M. Jolly was attracted to the new seat of justice from Norristown, Montgomery county, and at his arrival here was pretty well advanced in life. He had served in the War of 1812 when a mere boy, and was present at the siege of Fort McHenry. He always bore the title of “General” Jolly. Jolly was a man of ordinary attainments in the profession, and laid great stress on technicalities. He was addicted to the convivial glass – a fault common to several of the early sprigs of the law. General Jolly removed back to his native county in 1845. He had a family of three children.
George W. Carskadden, formerly of Clinton county, came in 1843, with a host of recommendations, which the event did not bear out. He is to be classed with the many other ephemera, remaining scarcely a year.
The bar of the new county seat, was composed – as we have seen – of young men, freshly embarked in life, who sought the newly- erected county as a vantage ground, a comparatively free field, where they would not have to contend against the overshadowing prestige of older and more experienced heads. In this they were doomed to disappointment. Although by the spring of 1841 the resident lawyers numbered thirteen, nearly all the business was in the hands of practitioners of adjoining counties, who had already achieved reputations; such men as Buffington, of Kittanning; Howe and Snowden, of Franklin; the Purviances, and Ayres, of Butler. Many became discouraged, contending against such odds and did not long hold their ground. Those who stayed owed their success to industry, genuine worth, and the courage which tided them over their dark and unproductive days.
The winter of 1840 – 41 was a particularly dark and gloomy period for these first legal luminaries. Their surroundings were not such as tended to cheer their minds. The place was isolated in the midst of a forest; everything was in an inchoate state. The unfinished and unpainted houses, the muddy streets, and the background of gloomy pines with their snow- laden branches, formed a combination which had a depressing effect on the “briefless barristers,” as they sat around in their barely- furnished offices, vainly waiting for a client to lift the latch. It was necessary to kill time, however, in some manner. The industriously inclined conned the volumes of their scantily supplied libraries, and then joined their idle comrades at the Great Western, where the evening was spent in games of euchre or “rounce,” and trolling songs and catches. The moistening liquid was conveniently on hand in the tap- room. A happy diversion was the occasional dance. What odds though the company might happen to be a trifle democratic in ton; none relished the fun more keenly than the legal fraternity.
Boyd, Butler, and Foster were benedicts; Sutton, Hays, Johnson, and the others were yet untrammeled by matrimonial ties. Their circumstances necessarily threw these young men together, and this social intercourse was one of the agreeable amenities of those days. They were inclined to make the best of things, and withal formed a gay coterie. In summer they rambled over the hills together, pitched quoits, and tossed the bar.
A propos of the impecuniosity prevalent then among the resident lawyers, one of their number relates: “As the summer (1841) advanced and harvest time came, times grew very dull indeed. Hays and I had paid put our last dollar, and were both completely strapped. One day we happened to ask Sutton what was the state of his finances, and he pulled out ten cents and said that was every cent of money he had in the world. We took a hearty laugh over it, and told him it was not fair for him to have such an advantage over us who had not a cent, and that he should hand the ten cents over to Hays, which he did, and we handed that ten cent piece back and forward, I should say at least two months.
“I recollect one day Sutton and I had been up town: As we came down we saw Hays coming toward us, laughing and showing something over his head. He came up to us, saying, ‘Look here, you poor rascals!’ and showed us a two- dollar shinplaster he had just taken in as a fee, and we all started over to Hysung’s, who sold jumbles and small beer, and spent the most of Hays’s money. Hays’s client wanted to bring a suit against a man who had shot his dog. In passing along the road, the dog had run out and tried to bite him, and having a gun on his shoulder, he took it down and cracked away and shot the dog. The owner was indignant, and so paid Hays two dollars for telling him that the dog had no business to attack a man on the public road, and that the man had a right to defend himself against man or beast, even if it resulted in the death of the canine.”
By 1845 the resident lawyers of standing had succeeded in getting the bulk of the local business in their own hands, and a few, such as Sutton and Campbell, had reputations extending beyond the limits of their own bailiwick. Judge Campbell was probably the best balanced, and the most generally proficient of the early bar, and therefore entitled to be called its leader. Three- fourths of the lucrative practice of those days was land litigation, ejectments, disputes over lines, etc. Of this kind, the Junkin vs. McGinnis was the most noted case. It was a series of controversies, involving titles and possession to a portion of a warrant in southwestern Salem township. This civil feud reappeared with regularity in some form or other at every term for a number of years. Like Banquo’s spectre, it would not “down.” The interminable litigation in which J.W. Guthrie was a party, generally plaintiff, began early and remained a fixture in Clarion county practice.
At the February session, 1841, all the Commonwealth cases were continued, and only civil business transacted. The first civil cause and the first jury trial in Clarion county was Samuel Adams vs. William Chambers; trespass; an appeal from the docket of Thomas B. Meager, Esq., of Shippenville. It appears that the parties got into an altercation about the rent of a carding- mill, and Chambers struck Adams, who thereupon brought suit for damages and recovered before the justice. Campbell appeared for Adams; Johnson & Lathy for the defendant. The jury were Jacob McClain, Samuel Zink, James Huey, Philip Corbett, Sr., John F. Conver, Alex. Blair, Jr., John Smith, John Benn, Eli H. Clapp, James Reed, William Elliot, Jno. Alt. They rendered a verdict of ninety- five dollars damages. The defendant appealed to the Supreme Court, but failed to reverse the judgment.
At this court the following tavern licenses were granted: William Clark, James W. Coulter, George McWilliams, David Walters, Philip Corbett. Then the law required license petitions and certificates to be published in the papers for several weeks previous.
In the following May court the criminal suits were taken up: The first one disposed of, May 3, 1841, was Commonwealth against Thomas McCamant, indicted for keeping a tippling house, i.e., selling without license. McCamant plead guilty, and was sentenced to pay one dollar to the Commonwealth, and the costs of prosecution. The next day, May 4th, the first criminal trial took place. Jacob Wilks had been charged by John Wilks with malicious mischief, or in the wording of’ the bill did, “unlawfully, wilfully, and maliciously, .and mischievously, burn, set fire to, waste and destroy shingling nails, a tin spoon, a cup and plate, two calico frocks, of the value of fifteen dollars.” The panel were as follows: Peter Armagost, James Laughlin, Joseph Guthrie, Fred. Mohney, Isaac Courson, Jno. Armstrong, Jacob Alsbach, Barnhart Martin, William Clugh, Lewis Switzer, Levi Stone, Henry Schotts.
Wilks was acquitted because “he was insane at the time of the offence committed.” The Court adjudged that he be kept in close custody in the county jail during the continuance of his insanity, and till he was legally discharged. The first ordinary trial was the next, taken up on the same day, Commonwealth vs. Maxwell, for assault; Penninah Gibson, prosecutrix. This was a weighty case, and occupied several days. Both Gilmore for the Commonwealth, and Jolly for the prisoner, were assisted by strong foreign counsel. The jury found a verdict of conviction. A new trial was granted, and when the case came up again, a nolle prose qui entered.
The second court, February, 1841, was held in the upper story of the jail, which had been hastened for that purpose. Here the sessions continued to beheld till the completion of the court- house in the winter of 1842. The clerk of courts occupied a humble frame building on the public square, immediately opposite the court- house. The commissioners managed affairs of state in a temporary shanty standing on its southeast corner.
“As soon as the lower story of the jail was finished, Sheriff Hasson got an old man named Speer to move into the front part of it to act as deputy sheriff and jailor. He was something of a character in his way, very clever and social, but not very smart as a county officer. In those days, when everybody was poor and money scarce, it was not unusual when the sheriff got a fieri- facias to levy on personal property, and take a bond with security for the production of the property at the court- house on the return day of the writ. The object of this was to procure time, and generally the defendant did not expect to either pay the, money or deliver the goods; and at the next term a judgment would be entered on the bond and a new writ issued; or, if the plaintiff preferred to look to the sheriff for the money, he had the bond for his protection. Sheriff’ Speer, as he was called, generally sympathized with the defendant, and as it made more costs, was very liberal in taking bonds. One time he got a writ on a man across the Clarion, and as he had no personal property, levied on a hundred acres of land, and took his bond for the delivery of it at the court- house on the first day of the next term. This was a standing joke on Sheriff Speer, and it was a long time before he heard the last of it.”
Associate Hon. C. Myers was reappointed in 1846 and served to 1850, when he was elected to the State Senate, and James B. Lawson took his places. Charles Evans was also reappointed, and died in office in 1849. Robert P. Maclay was appointed to the vacancy. Maclay dying in 1850, James Ros supplied his place till 1851. An amusing incident of Evans’s judgeship will bear narration here: In February, 1847, George Wesner, the proprietor of a restaurant at Clarion, was brought to trial for keeping a tippling house. Judge Evans was called down from the bench to testify for the defendant. Amid irrepressible merriment on the part of the spectators and attorneys, he proceeded to relate, with solemn face and upturned eye, that once he had happened in at the defendant’s house when some of the prominent citizens of the town were holding high carnival and indulging in a dance upstairs. The room being small and cramped for space, they seized one of their number and began using him as a battering-ram to break down the partition. Then, that being the next heaviest person present, be feared that he would be next singled out for this ignominious treatment, and therefore retreated from the fray. Wesner was mulcted fifty dollars and costs.
Hon. Alex. McCalmont’s term having expired, Jos. Buffington was appointed judge of the eighteenth district, by Governor William Johnston. He presided first at the September term, 1849.
Joseph Buffington was born at Westchester, Pa., in 1804, and when ten years of age his family moved to Allegheny county; at eighteen he entered the Western University, was admitted to practice in Butler county in 1826, and went to Kittanning in 1843. In the autumn of that year he was elected to Congress as a Whig. He soon took a place in the front rank as a lawyer and public citizen. During the brief period in which he filled the bench of the eighteenth district he won encomiums as an upright and capable judge. In 1850 a law was passed providing for the election of judges by the people. John C. Knox, the Democratic candidate, was chosen over Buffington, and took office in 1851. After his retirement from this district, the latter was, in 1856, elected president judge of the tenth district, embracing Westmoreland, Indiana, and Armstrong counties. He completed the term and was again elected, but in 1871 his failing health induced him to resign. He died suddenly, February 3, 1872, full of years and honors, and enjoying the deserved esteem of his fellow citizens.
Hon. John Colvin Knox was born November 4, 1820, at Knoxville, Tioga county, Pa. He did not receive a day’s schooling after his fourteenth year, being emphatically a self- educated as well as a self- made man; but the strain on his unaided intellect told sadly on him in later years. At an early age he was left an orphan, and went to live with an uncle. Finally adopting the legal profession, he soon made his mark as an attorney, and in 1849 his high reputation was recognized by his appointment to succeed Hon. Thomas White as president judge of the Westmoreland, Indiana and Armstrong district, in place of Judge Burrell, who had been nominated, and rejected by the Senate. While acting as judge of that district he resided at Kittanning; and in 1851, being chosen president of the 18th judicial district by popular vote, he removed to Franklin.
As president judge of the courts of Clarion county he was excelled by none; his rulings were marked by exceptional acumen and rectitude. In 1853 Judge Knox was promoted to the Supreme bench, which he resigned in 1857 to accept the attorney-generalship, under Governor Packer. The advent of Curtin’s administration in 1860 displaced him from that office, and he went into the practice of law at Philadelphia, as a member of the firm of Knox & Webster. Shortly after softening of the brain set in; his intellect waned, and he never recovered. He died at a hospital at Philadelphia in 1880. In person Judge Knox was portly, handsome, and bore the stamp of a cultured gentleman.
John Swayze McCalmont, the eldest son of Hon. Alexander McCalmont, was appointed to succeed Judge Knox, and was elected in 1853. When fifteen he entered Allegheny College, and after remaining two years was appointed to a cadetship at West Point. He graduated in 1842, and served in Florida till July 1843, when he resigned his lieutenancy to pursue the study of law, previously commenced under the tuition of his father. Mr. McCalmont was admitted to practice at Brookville, November, 1844. He located at Clarion in 1845, as a partner of A. Myers, Esq., was married in 1848, and elected to the Legislature for the session of 1849 – 50, in the latter of which he was Speaker of the House. As an attorney he was successful, possessing in particular a grace and fluency of diction, and while he would sometimes wander in apparently aimless digressions, he seldom failed to come finally and strongly to the point. He was the most youthful magistrate that ever presided over the eighteenth district, being only twenty-nine when he donned the ermine, and having been in practice only seven years. Yet, notwithstanding his fewness of years, his administration of justice was creditable and satisfactory; few reversals could be told against him.
Judge McCalmont was tall, thin, and striking in appearance, with an erect military bearing, which he brought with him from West Point, and always retained. He resided at Clarion with his family during the time he occupied the bench, till 1856, and then removed to Franklin. In 1861 he resigned his seat to take command of the Tenth Pennsylvania Reserves, which he held till May, 1862, and was then honorably discharged. He resumed the practice of his profession at Franklin, and continued it until appointed Commissioner of Customs, and now spends most of his time at Washington, engaged in his official duties.
The associates elected under the new system for five years, were William Curll and D.B. Long; the latter became prothonotary in 1855, and Benjamin Junkin filled his seat the remaining year. To these associates succeeded Peter Clover and Jacob Kahle, who served till 1861.
Between 1844 and 1862 the second generation of lawyers, Amos Myers, J.S. McCalmont, Wm. L. Corbett, William Shaw, James Boggs, Robert Sutton, W.W. Barr, James B. Knox, C.L. Lamberton, B.J. Reid, David Lawson, Theophilus S. Wilson, were launched into legal existence.
Amos Myers, the eldest son of Hon. Christian Myers, was born at Clarion Furnace, graduated at Allegheny College, Meadville, and was admitted to practice in the latter part of 1846, shortly after becoming of age. He studied under the preceptorship of James Campbell. Not long after his admission the firm of McCalmont & Myers was formed. He was elected as a Republican to Congress in 1862, and soon after left the law, and entered the Baptist ministry. He is still living in a suburb of Philadelphia. Mr. Myers was a man of considerable legal talent, of sprightly wit, and a ready speaker.
William Shaw, a young married, man, left his trade of cabinet- making, in Clarion, to study law under D.W. Foster, and was admitted December; 1847, but died soon after. Mr. Shaw was a bright beginner, and gave promise of success.
James Boggs is a native of Plum township, Allegheny county. He took a Greek and Latin course at a select school, studied law under his brother, Judge Boggs, of Armstrong county, and was admitted at Kittanning in 1848. He immediately after took up his residence at Clarion. He was partner with Mr. Lathy from 1852 to 1855, with William L. Corbett from 1860 to 1865, being elected district attorney twice during these years. His present partnership with M.A.K. Weidner, Esq., began in 1874. Mr. Boggs has had a large orphans’ court business.
Robert Sutton was a younger brother of Thomas, and was raised in Indiana. He received his education at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, and was admitted to the courts of Clarion in 1850. He practiced at New Castle, Pa. till the death of his brother, when he removed to Clarion, and took charge of the office. In 1853 he entered into partnership with W.L. Corbett, and in 1857 with B.J. Reid. In 1860 he retired from the legal profession, and became a Presbyterian clergyman. Mr. Sutton now resides in Cincinnati. He married Miss Andrews, of Franklin, a sister of the wife of Amos Myers, Esq. While .an attorney of no mean proficiency, he did not obtain the eminence of his brother in the law. He was possessed of a cultured intellect, and his tastes were of a refined and literary character.*
Charles L. Lamberton settled at Clarion in 1851. He was from the eastern part of the State, and previous to coming to Clarion county, had practiced a short time at Brookville. For some years he was a partner of Hon. James Campbell, confining himself almost entirely to office business. “
“Colonel” Lamberton, as he was called, was a man of quick parts and great activity, but his bent was more to the ferment of politics than the “quips and quiddities” of the law. He was chosen State senator in 1861. After the expiration of his term he removed to Philadelphia without returning to Clarion. He is now practicing in New York City.
Bernard J. Reid was born at Youngstown, Westmoreland county, in 1823; taught school at an early age, and in 1842 came to Clarion for the purpose of opening a select school, which he did, but soon relinquished the school to establish the Iron County Democrat, which, in 1844, was consolidated with the Republican. In the following year Mr. Reid retired. He had practiced surveying occasionally while engaged in journalism, and in 1845 became county surveyor. In 1847 he left for St. Louis, and from thence went to California, as a pioneer of 1849. He returned in 1852, and after completing his studies at the office of Thomas Sutton, was admitted in 1853. He was in partnership with Robert Sutton from 1857 to 1860. He took James Craig into partnership in 1861, and in the same year raised a company and went into the army, returning in August, 1862. In July, 1863, he raised another company for the three months service, and was elected major of his regiment. The firm of Reid & Patrick (Joseph H. Patrick) existed from 1865 to 1869. In 1871 Mr. Reid removed to Titusville, and finally to Erie, and returned to Clarion in 1877. Mr. Reid is a master of the legal science, abstract and applied. As. an analyst of evidence he has marked ability. In land suits of importance his services are almost invariably required, his experience as a surveyor rendering him especially fitted for such causes.
David Lawson, a son of Hon. James B. Lawson, was born in Madison-township, Clarion county, in 1833, and completed his education at Elder’s Ridge Academy, Indiana county. In 1856 he began the study of law at the’ office of Campbell & Lamberton, and was qualified an attorney in 1858. He entered into a partnership with Mr. Lamberton in 1861, which continued for some time. In 1869 Mr. Lawson removed to Wisconsin, and returned in 1871. He has filled the office of district attorney twice, and assisted Messrs. Brinker, Edinger and Sharrar in the county treasury during their respective terms. Mr. Lawson is an experienced and painstaking lawyer of unquestioned integrity.
It was toward the close of Hon. J.S. McCalmont’s administration that the memorable trial of Charles Curtis, alias Logue, for the murder of Jared Lewis occurred. It was the first murder case in the annals of the county, and this-fact, and the circumstances attending the fatality, aroused the intensest interest, in it. With this there was mingled no inconsiderable degree of popular indignation against the prisoner.
Charles Curtis, a native of Ohio, and of respectable family, had early fallen into a career of evil, which led him to become one of a band of organized thieves and depredators, who made Ohio and the Western States their field. After a while, finding themselves under dangerously close surveillance, the gang dispersed, and Curtis, and one Ira Shotwell, came to Northwestern Pennsylvania, hoping to ply their vocation here in comparative security. They confined their operations to the smaller towns and rural districts, wandering about, leading a lawless and vagabond life under the guise of farm hands, etc. About 1857 they came to Clarion county, assuming the name Charles Logue, and Ira Davis. They remained in the neighborhood of New Bethlehem but for a short time, and left for other parts. In 1860 they returned, and came to Toby township as harvest hands in search of work. Logue was employed by Parker, and Davis, by Milton Stewart. After working there a while they moved to the vicinity of Callensburg, living most of the time at Major’s, on the road leading from Easton to the bridge. Major was an invalid pauper, and his daughters, Harrietta and Lucetta, had a dubious reputation in the neighborhood. In August and September an alarming series of robberies and arsons excited that hitherto peaceful and secure community. Reynolds’s store in Callensburg was robbed and his barn burned. The house of an old man named Camp was burglarized.
Suspicion began to attach to the strangers at Major’s. Since leaving the Stewart’s they had been engaged in no apparent occupation. At one time, during their absence, a store in Butler county had been robbed, and the mystery connected with their movements did not tend to dispel these surmises.
On Sunday, the 2d of September, 1860, the people of that locality were startled by two daring robberies, at McEwen’s near Sligo, and Thomas Stewart’s, in Toby township. At McEwen’s, while the house was temporarily vacant, $125 were taken. The robbers then proceeded to Stewart’s, and reached there about ten o’clock A.M., while all but the aged Mrs. Stewart were absent at church. Mrs. Stewart was silenced at the point of a revolver, and eighty- five dollars taken from a bureau. The plunderers were unmasked and she recognized one as Charles Logue. Mr. Stewart, on returning, and hearing the tale, immediately raised a hue and cry. He proceeded to Callensburg and had a warrant issued for the arrest of Charles Logue and Ira Davis. The warrant was given to W.F. Cartwright, constable of Callensburg. Cartwright deputed Jared Lewis, a citizen and ex- constable of Callensburg, about thirty years of age, to make the arrest. Lewis went the same evening to Canoe Ripple, where constable McCall of Toby, and William Thomas had been watching for the culprits, surmising that they would cross there that night in passing to or from Major’s to ” Boss” Buck’s, then living near Tippecanoe Furnace, and whose house was suspected as being a rendezvous for the criminals. About half past eleven, as Lewis and McCall lay in ambush by the roadside, two men appeared walking down the road, one of whom was identified as Logue. When they had approached within a few feet Lewis sprang up, presented his pistol and ordered the twain to halt. Almost immediately two shots flashed from a weapon in Logue’s hand. Lewis said, “My friend, you’ve shot me; I’m shot through the side and through the thigh.” The party then scattered and ran, McCall receiving a wound in the leg. Lewis reached Thomas’s house, which was close by, lay down on a bed, and after a few convulsions expired, about ten minutes after receiving the shots.
Of course the tragedy aroused intense excitement. The commissioners offered $500 for the arrest of the murderer; descriptions of the men were sent out in all directions, and a number of detectives became interested in the case. The confederates escaped to Ohio, and, being hotly pressed by officers on their trail, separated, Shotwell going further west and Logue returning to Pennsylvania. On the 28th of October he was traced to the house of one Thompson in Crawford county, near Jamestown, by Sheriff Smith and ex- Sheriff Leach, of Mercer county, and after some show of resistance gave himself up. About the same time, Shotwell was captured by Robert Hague, chief of the Pittsburgh police, while husking corn at a relative’s farm near Laporte, Ind. By a strange coincidence both parties arrived in Clarion with their prisoners on the same day, and within a few hours of each other. Neither had heard of the other’s coming.
Charles Logue was arraigned on December 4, 1860. The trial took place in the Presbyterian Church, then occupied as a court- room on account of the destruction of the court- house. It was filled with eager spectators from all parts of the county. The Commonwealth was represented by District- Attorney Barr and Messrs. Corbett, Campbell and Lamberton. Myers & Knox were retained by Mr. Irwin, Lewis’s father- in- law, and Reynolds Laughlin by other parties. Defendant’s counsel were John D. Mahon, of Pittsburgh, and B.J. Reid. The jury consisted of John Cummings, Irvin McFarland, Charles Beatty, John Himes, B.J. Rankin, Luther Stone, Peter Knight, Jeremiah Best, D.R. Craig, Thomas F. Riley, Jacob Brinker, and G.W. Arnold. The trial lasted a week. William L. Corbett and James Campbell made the closing argument to the jury on the part of the prosecution; Mahon and Reid for the defense. On the 11th the jury found the prisoner guilty of murder in the first degree, and on the 13th, a motion for a new trial being overruled, he was sentenced to be hung.
A writ of error was taken to the Supreme Court, and in February a new trial granted on the following assignment: “The Court erred in charging the jury, as follows: The prisoner’s counsel have contended that the homicide might be justifiable or excusable, if Logue, the prisoner, had reasonable cause to apprehend danger to his life, and if it appeared imminent. I cannot so instruct you, unless there was actual danger to his life, and not occasioned by his own resistance or attempt to resist.’” Logue was tried again at the May sessions, 1861; his counsel admitted his guilt of murder in the second degree, and he was sentenced to imprisonment for twenty- two years on three, several indictments, viz.: murder in the second degree, robbery, and breaking into a dwelling- house. Logue lived only five years after his commitment.
Davis, or Shotwell, was brought to trial at the February term, 1861, convicted of being accessory to murder in the second degree, and robbery, and sentenced to sixteen years confinement in the Western Penitentiary.
An incident arising out of this trial is of uncommon interest. Judge Campbell was holding court at Mercer in the fall of 1862. At the supper table one evening he noticed a girl who seemed to watch him anxiously. Her face was somewhat familiar to the judge, but he could not identify her. He soon discovered, through Sheriff Leach, that the girl was Lucetta Major, and that she had traveled all the way from Michigan to interview one of the attorneys who had taken part in the Logue trial, and inform him that the gang to which Logue belonged, and with whom she was connected in some manner, were plotting to kidnap the son of Governor Curtin, then attending school in Union county, and extort Logue’s pardon as a ransom. The Major girl had been actuated in this revelation by fear of Logue, against whom she had testified. It appears that he had made dire threats against her, and she dreaded that if released he would carry them out. Judge Campbell gave little credence to the story, aware of the light character of the girl, but on returning he met his former partner, Lamberton, at Franklin, and communicated it to him. Lamberton kept it to himself a few days, and then advised with Arnold Plumer, ex- State treasurer. Plumer counseled him to notify the governor, saying, “If anything happens to that boy you’ll never forgive yourself for not telling Curtin all about it.” Colonel Lamberton therefore wrote to the governor, giving him all the particulars of the story. A few weeks afterwards he chanced to be at Harrisburg, and visited Governor Curtin; as soon as the governor recognized him he advanced hastily to meet him, and grasping his hand cordially, exclaimed, “Do you know that you have saved my boy?” On receiving Lamberton’s letter Governor Curtin had promptly taken precautions for his son’s safety, and set a detective at work to ascertain the truth of the affair. The officer reported that a deeply laid plot had really existed, as the girl said, and in all probability, were it not for the warning, a loved child would have fallen into the hands of these desperadoes.
After Logue’s, the, most notable murder trial before the Clarion county Oyer and Terminer was that of Commonwealth vs. David L. King. February 5, 1887, James C. Davis was shot and instantly killed by King in a house of ill- repute at St. Petersburg. The tragedy arose out of mutual jealousy in regard to their respective claims over the house and its mistress. The trial began April 20, and occupied six days. W.D. Moore, Esq., of Pittsburgh, appeared as senior counsel for the prosecution; John W. Reed and M.A.K. Weidner were attorneys for the prisoner. A verdict of murder in the first degree was rendered. Its mysterious character, and the delicate questions of fact and medical jurisprudence involved, made this one of Clarion county’s celebrated cases. Fifteen murder trials have occurred in Clarion county. Seven of these resulted in acquittal; in two a verdict of murder in the first degree was rendered, but in one case, a new trial being granted, the verdict was changed to the second degree, making in all three convictions in that degree. There was one verdict of voluntary and one of involuntary manslaughter; the latter was reversed on technical grounds by the Supreme Court.
Glenni W. Scofield, of Warren, was appointed in September, 1861, to fill the vacancy occasioned by Judge McCalmont’s resignation. He held one, the September term of court, in Clarion. The judicial year began then in December, and in that month, 1861, Judge Campbell ascended the bench. After his short judicial career, Mr. Scofield was elected to Congress, serving several terms there. He was subsequently appointed registrar of the national treasury, and finally judge of the Court of Claims, a life office. He resides principally at the capital, spending his vacation at his home in Warren.
The Republican, convention nominated William Stewart, of Mercer, for the eighteenth district judgeship. His nomination was received with great dissatisfaction by many Republicans, and they looked about for an independent candidate. Campbell, of Clarion, a prominent member of the party, was selected. Through the exertions of Charles L. Lamberton, Campbell’s law partner, the Democrats were induced to refrain from nominating, and to support Campbell, and with the united aid of the Democrats and bolting Republicans, Judge Campbell won, although the district, Mercer, Venango, Forest, Clarion and Jefferson, was strongly Republican. A notice of the life of Hon. James Campbell will be found in another part of this work.
Hons. P. Clover and J. Kahl were succeeded, in 186r, by Thomas Stewart and John McCall, who both served out their terms. In 1866 Hugh Maguire and John Keating were elected associates.
Among the Clarion county attorneys admitted to practice since 1865, are the following:
Joseph H. Patrick was born in 1840, at New Derry, Westmoreland county. While he was a child his parents removed to Armstrong county. Mr. Patrick graduated from Glade Run Academy, near Dayton, that county. He began to teach at the age of sixteen, and at the breaking out of the war was engaged in that profession in the South. He came to Clarion in 1862, as principal of the public schools there, remaining so for two years. In June, 1863, he began the study of law in the office of B.J. Reid; in July of the same year joined the army as a volunteer. December, 1865, he entered the bar, and immediately became Major Reid’s partner. In 1880 he formed a partnership with his brother, Jno. B. Mr. Patrick is ranked as an energetic lawyer; his bounty and pension clientage is extensive.
John T. Hindman, born in Clarion county, 1842. Took a course at Glade Run Academy; read law with Corbett and Boggs, was admitted ‘in 1865, and entered into partnership with Mr. Corbett. His untimely death at Portsmouth, Ohio, in 1876, in returning from a Western trip, which he had taken to benefit his health, cut short a promising career.
William E. Lathy, a son of George W. Lathy, studied with his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1866. Shortly before his father’s removal he went to Tidioute, and finally to Erie, where he served a term as city solicitor. Mr. Lathy is now a successful lawyer at Newton, Kansas.
James T. Maffet, a son of John Maffet, was born on his father’s farm in Clarion township, February 3, 1837. After graduating at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, he went – at the age of twenty- two – to Missouri, and thence crossed the plains to California, where he married, taught school, held the position of tax collector, and studied law, but irregularly. In 1870, on the death of his sister, he returned home, and after remaining there awhile, started again for California, but upon reaching Indiana circumstances induced him to return and settle at Brookville. Here he completed his legal studies with George A. and W.P. Jenks. He removed to Clarion in 1872, and in the autumn of that year formed a partnership with Colonel James B. Knox; his integrity, assiduity, and high professional acquirements soon winning deserved recognition. In 1881, when Mr. Knox was elevated to the judgeship, William H. Ross, esq., became Mr. Maffet’s partner, the firm being Maffet & Ross. In 1886, Mr. Maffet was elected to congress from the twenty- fifth district over St. Clair, Fusionist.
Martin Alonzo K. Weidner, born at Earlville, Lancaster county, Pa., in July, 1839. Studied at the common school, and began to teach early in life, and continued from 1857 to 1862, attending the Millersville Normal School during the summer vacations. In 1862 he entered Company B, One Hundred and Twenty- second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, on nine months’ service. In 1865 he came to Clarion to clerk for Mr. N. Myers. Began to read law with Theo. S. Wilson in 1869, and was admitted in November, 1874. He immediately entered into partnership with his last preceptor, James Boggs, Esq. Mr. Weidner has, a facile tongue, and a fascinating address; his style is more oratorical than that of any of his fellows of the bar. He is about removing to Wellington, Kansas, as a means of removing an asthmatic affection.
John W. Reed is a native of Clarion, having been born there in 1853. He taught school three terms at Lineville and Clarion; studied Blackstone under the tutorship of Hon. James Campbell, and was admitted in August, 1875. Mr. Reed practiced two years at Brookville, in the office of Hon. A.C. White; returned to Clarion and shortly after became a member of the firm of Wilson, Jenks & Reed. In May, 1883, he removed to Grand Forks, Dakota, and returned the succeeding year, resuming partnership with Messrs. Wilson and Jenks, which partnership continued till January, 1886. In January, 1887, the firm of Reed & Wilson was formed (John W. Reed and Harry R. Wilson). Mr. Reed is a leader among the younger lawyers. He has successfully grappled the large practice thrown upon his shoulders by the retirement of his senior partners, and in argument is plain, but earnest and convincing.
Jasper E. Wood, born in 1842, in Ashland township, Clarion county, finished his education at the Edinboro Normal School. At seventeen he had become a pedagogue; between 1869 and 1875 two terms, he filled the office of county superintendent; studied under William L. Corbett, and was admitted in May, 1877.
Madison M. Meredith resided at Brookville originally, became a member of this bar August 13, I’877, at first practicing at Edenburg, later at Clarion. He was the partner of George F. Kribbs for a short time. In 1883 he was appointed corporation clerk in the office of the secretary of the Commonwealth at Harrisburg, where he still remains.
Among the young attorneys of talent and rising fame we may mention William H. Ross, Samuel K. Clarke, William A. Hindman, Frank R. Hindman, A.B. Reid, F.J. Maffet, H.R. Wilson, G.G. Sloan, and G.F. Kribbs.
Hon. James Campbell, was succeeded in 1871 by William P. Jenks.
William Parsons Jenks was born at Punxsutawney, Jefferson county, and is the son of Dr. John W. Jenks, of that place. In 1843 he went to Brookville to read law with his brother, D.B. Jenks, Esq., and became an attorney in September, 1845. He was elected to the Legislature from Clarion and Jefferson in 1866, and re- elected in 1867. Judge Jenks is still engaged in the practice of law at Brookville, where he has his home, but devotes himself almost entirely to the legal management of the estate and business of John E. Dubois, which position he received when his brother, George A. Jenks, resigned it to become solicitor- general.
James Sweny and Alexander McCall were chosen associate judges in 1871.
Christian Brinker and James Sweny were elected in 1876 and served until 1881.
The Standard Case. – What promised to be a legal contest of extraordinary magnitude and national concern was the conspiracy suit against the Standard Oil Company, instituted before the court of Clarion county in 1879. The case did not reach the stage of actual trial, but the proceedings, so far as they went, are of sufficient interest to merit preservation.
For some time previous there had been mutterings against that great corporation on the part of oil producers and refiners; oppressive monopoly and merciless “squeezing out” were laid to its charge. As an outcome to this hostility, it was determined to prosecute the Standard criminally, and Clarion county was selected as the field of the attack. B.B. Campbell, of Parnassus, Pa., the president of the Producers’ Association, on April 24, 1879, made information before Esquire Shanafelt, of Clarion, setting forth that he was informed and expected to be able to prove that John D. Rockafeller, William Rockafeller, Jabez A. Bostwick, Daniel O’Day, William G. Warden, Charles Lockhart, Henry M. Flagler, Jacob J. Vandergrift, Charles Pratt, George W. Gisty, and others, on the 17th of October, 1877, and at divers times before and after that date, had conspired “to cheat and defraud the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the public, by confederating together to secure a monopoly, and prevent lawful and legitimate competition, and to injure the occupation and business of producing and selling crude petroleum, by compelling the owners and producers thereof to sell the same to the aforesaid defendants and their confederates below its actual and market value.” The next section specifies J.A. Vera as one of the victims of this conspiracy. The following ones complained that the defendants attempted to prevent competition in the refining of petroleum by extorting rebates from various railroads; that they had confederated to deprive the Pennsylvania and Allegheny Valley railroads of their petroleum traffic; and lastly, that the company had corruptly conspired to control the petroleum trade in all its branches – producing, buying, and selling, storing, transporting, and refining – in the markets of the United States, and the entire world.
Upon an affidavit from District Attorney W.A. Hindman, stating the weighty nature of the case, and the distant residences of most of the defendants, leave was granted to present the indictment to the grand jury at the May term without a preliminary hearing. The bill, as found, contained seven counts, and is in substance an elaboration of the complaints which have been given in the affidavit of Campbell. Upon this inquest warrants were issued, and Warden, of Philadelphia; O’Day, of Buffalo; Vandergrift, of Oil City; and Lockhart, of Pittsburgh, arrested. All but O’Day appeared at Clarion May 27, and gave security for their appearance at the August session. O’Day gave bail August 11.
Lewis C. Cassidy, of Philadelphia; A.B. Richmond, of Meadville; D.T. Watson, of Pittsburgh; S.C.T. Dodd and C. Heydrick, of Franklin; and as local counsel, James Campbell and B.J. Reid, were retained by the Standard. George A. Jenks, of Brookville, was senior counsel for the prosecution. He was assisted by Roger Sherman, of Titusville, and Knox and Maffet and William L. Corbett, of Clarion.
It was conceded by the attorneys on both sides that it would be impossible to try the cause at the August term, and that a special session would be necessary. The defendants, therefore, did not appear when that court met. In their absence the president, Judge Jenks, ordered their local attorneys to plead for them, and Messrs. Campbell and Reid entered a plea of not guilty. The suit was continued till November. In the mean while the defendants obtained a rule on the Commonwealth to furnish a bill of particulars, specifying more distinctly the offenses and their circumstances; and pending this, at the argument court, October 2, it was mutually agreed to withhold the trial till December 15. After considerable delay, the desired bill was furnished, but at the November sessions the Standard’s attorneys asked for a further postponement, on account of its vague and unsatisfactory character. This was refused.
Monday, December 15, the day set for the commencement of the trial, the defendants, who had given bail, and their array of counsel were on the scene, as also the representatives of the opposition. On December 11, Judge Jenks had been served with a writ, issued from Justice Paxon of the Supreme Court, eastern district, staying proceedings till a motion for a certiorari, that is, a transfer of jurisdiction in the cause from the District to the Supreme Court, could be argued. As a reason it was urged that, the amount of prejudice, heightened by inflammatory editorials, which existed in and around Clarion county, precluded the prospect of a fair trial. To support this, affidavits from various parties, and extracts from the hostile press, were produced.
Judge Jenks in deference to this writ, but under protest, postponed the trial.
January 8, 1880, after argument before the Supreme Court, a rule was issued fixing a date for a final hearing on the certiorari before a full bench; but before this day a compromise was effected, a nolle pros. entered, and the great suit ended.
The Clarion bar was at its best and strongest between 1876 and 1881, when Messrs. Campbell, Reid, Corbett, Knox, Maffet and George A. Jenks, were all in the arena, and enjoying the full development and vigor of their powers. Its aggregate ability then could scarcely be excelled by any provincial bar in the State.
In 1881 James B. Knox was elected president judge over A.C. White. A biographical sketch of Hon. J.B. Knox appears elsewhere.
Isaac Clover and Charles Weaver were elected to succeed Sweny and Brinker as associates, in 188i. Judge Clover died in office, 1883. R.D. Newell was appointed in his place, but before the next election the operation of the constitution abolishing the office of associate judge in counties which are entire districts, went into effect. Hon. Charles Weaver served out his term, and was Clarion county’s last associate.
On the death of Judge Knox in December, 1884, William L. Corbett was appointed temporary president judge by Governor Pattison. His competitor for the honor was B.J Reid.
William Lucas Corbett was born on the paternal farm near Clarion, in 1826. He was educated at the common schools and Clarion Academy, and at the age of eighteen commenced reading law with D.W. Foster, Esq. He was admitted to practice in February, 1847; and served as district attorney from 1848 – 50. He was a member of the constitutional convention which formed the constitution of 1873. In 1876 – 78 he represented the thirty- eighth district in the State Senate. William L. Corbett ranks deservedly high as a lawyer, especially as a forensic lawyer. Forcible in argument, sometimes vehemently so; his antagonist’s armor must be well tried to withstand his hammer- like blows.
At the election of November, 1885, Judge Corbett was defeated, after a sharp contest, by Theo. S. Wilson, the Republican nominee, who took his seat January 1886.
Theophilus Strattan Wilson, the oldest son of Samuel Wilson, was born at Strattanville in 1837. He was educated at the Brookville Academy and Allegheny College. For a short time he was engaged in the iron and mercantile business at Helen Furnace. In 1857 Mr. Wilson registered as a law student at the office of George W. Lathy, Esq., and was admitted to the bar in 1861. He immediately entered the practice of law at Clarion, and in 1872 united with George A. Jenks, of Brookville. The firm enjoyed a lucrative business, especially in the collection branch. Mr. Wilson was never conspicuous as a pleader, but through an extensive office practice became thoroughly conversant with the many ramifications of the legal science, and since his elevation to judicial honors, has given promise by his systematic methods, his concise and generally lucid diction, and his dignified bearing, that the traditional integrity and learning of the Clarion bench shall find in him no unworthy guardian.
A.A. Carlisle, of the Clarion Jacksonian, May 15, 1886, through his attorney, C. Heydrick, Esq., of Franklin, made application at Philadelphia before Lewis C. Cassidy, attorney- general, for a writ of quo warranto on Hon. Theo. S. Wilson, alleging at the same time the use of corrupt means in securing his election, and producing several affidavits to support the specific charges of bribery. The hearing was fixed for June 17, and in the absence of Cassidy took place before his deputy, Mr. Snodgrass, at Harrisburg. The complainant was represented by Messrs. Heydrick and D.F. Patterson, of Pittsburgh. Counter affidavits, denying all the accusations, were presented by the defense, and Judge Wilson’s side argued by George A. Jenks, B.J. Reid, Lyman D. Gilbert, and C.Z. Gordon, Esqs. On January i6, 1887, two days before the close of Governor Pattison’s administration, Attorney- General Cassidy announced that the writ was refused.
History of the Eighteenth District. – By act of May 21, 1840, Clarion county was added to the eighteenth judicial district, then embracing Potter, McKean, and Jefferson, and known as the Wild Cat District. Elk county was added by the act of April 18, 1843. By act of April 5, 1849, the eighteenth judicial district was made to consist of the counties of Venango, Clarion, Jefferson, Elk, and Forest (but no courts were held in Forest county until 1857). Elk county was transferred to the fourth district by the act of April 15, 1851. Clearfield county was added to this district by the act of April 5, 1852. By the act of April 9, 1853, Clearfield was transferred to the twenty- fifth district, and Mercer county added to the eighteenth, which remained thus, consisting of Mercer, Venango, Clarion, Jefferson, and Forest, until Mercer and Venango were created into a separate district by the act of April 12, 1866. Forest county was transferred to the thirty- seventh district by the general apportionment act of 9th of April, 1874, leaving the eighteenth district consisting of Clarion and Jefferson counties. The census of 1880 showed that Clarion had more than 40,000 inhabitants, and wad, therefore, by the constitutional provision, entitled to be declared a separate judicial district. Accordingly on the 7th of August, 1883, it was enacted that the eighteenth judicial district should consist of the county of Clarion, “to which the county of Jefferson is hereby attached, and shall have one judge learned in the law.” In consequence of the constitutional provision and this enactment, no associate judges are to be elected in this county.
Below is given a complete list, up to the present date, of all attorneys resident in Clarion county, together with place of practice, and year of admission to the bar of Clarion county:
Admitted in 1840, Jacob K. Boyd, Jacques W. Johnson, David B. Hays, Alfred Gilmore, Jesse G. Clark, James Campbell, Clarion; 1841, George W. Lathy, D.W. Foster, John L. Thompson, Thomas Sutton, Thomas M. Jolly, Clarion; 1842, Parker C. Purviance, Clarion; 1844, G.W. Carskadden, Clarion; 1845, J.S. McCalmont, Clarion; 1846, Amos Myers, Clarion; 1847, William Shaw, William L. Corbett, Clarion; 1848, James Boggs, Clarion; 1850, Robert Sutton, Clarion; 1853, A.S. Barber, W.W. Barr, J.B. Knox, C.L. Lamberton, B.J. Reid, Clarion; 1854, Paul Carnyun (Huntington county), Clarion; 1857, Reynolds Laughlin, Callensburg; 1858, David Lawson, Clarion; 1859, John F. Craig, New Bethlehem; 1860, James Craig, William H. Fetzer, Clarion; 1861, James D. Mahon, Theo. S. Wilson, Clarion; 1862, Wm. Hasson, Clarion; 1865, Joseph H. Patrick, J.T. Hindman, Geo. S. Kelly; 1866, William E. Lathy, Clarion; 1868, Wm. Kinser, East Brady; 1870, J. McMurray; 1871, William H. Frampton, Clarion; 1872, D.S. Herron (Parker), J.S. McKay, G.S. Crosby, O.E. Shannon, Charles F. Fay (Crawford county), St. Petersburg; R.B. Bell, West Freedom; James T. Maffet, Clarion; 1874, William D. Burns, J.B. Patrick, Samuel K. Clarke, M.A.K. Weidner, Clarion; T.F. Ritchey, New Bethlehem; 1875, G.F. Kribbs, John W. Reed, John F. Shanafelt, Clarion; 1876, William A. Hindman, A.C. McComb, William H. Ross, Frank R. Hindman, James J. Frazier, Clarion; O.P. Hopper, John F. Gealey, W.A. Selby, John F. Selby, Edenburg; H. McSweeney, William A. McCormick, St. Petersburg; Harris Finley, Shippenville; D.E. Brenneman, Elk City; 1877, S.M. Crosby, J.W. Walker (Jefferson county), John A. Wilson (Venango county), John K. Wilson (Venango county), S.L. McGee, Edenburg; L.E. Johns, Elk City; Rodman F. Pugh, St. Petersburg; O.E. Taylor (Erie county), Turkey City; Jasper E. Wood, M.M. Meredith, A.B. Reid, Clarion; 1878, W.M. Boggs (Washington county), Edenburg; Robert D. Campbell, Samuel W. Calvin, Clarion; 1879, Lewis F. Barger, Edenburg; 1881, James Q. Sweny, G.G. Sloan, Clarion; 1883, F.J. Maffet, Clarion; 1884, Samuel L. Glasgow (Huntingdon county), St. Petersburg; 1886, T.J. Van Giesen, Edenburg; Charles P. Craig, New Bethlehem; H.R. Wilson, Clarion.
The first deed on the Clarion county records is from Jonathan Mifflin to the Bank of Pennsylvania, dated July 30, 1799. It conveys a one- half interest in twenty thousand-acre warrants, for one dollar and other considerations. The first transaction between Clarion county parties on record, is a deed from the county commissioners for borough lot No. 134, in Clarion, to Sophia G. Benton; dated December 10, 1840; consideration, $40.
The first will registered is that of Jacob Edenbun; dated October 31, 1840. It is a curious document, both in context and spelling. After providing for his debts and funeral expenses, it bequeaths his personal estate and a life interest in the real to his wife “Margret.” Seventy- five dollars is reserved out of the former for William Huffman when he reaches twenty- two; and at the death of the testator’s wife the realty is to revert to his nephew, Samuel Edingburgh, provided he takes good care of her and supplies her with all the necessaries of life “that is needful to make her comfortable in this life.” He appoints his wife executrix, and wills James Watson a piece of ground in exchange for an equal amount off Watson’s land. The will is witnessed by Jacob Watterson, John Early, and James Watson.
COUNTY OFFICERS.
Prothonotary, etc. – James Goe, 1840, re- elected 1843; Hugh A. Thompson, 1846, re- elected 1849; John H. Boggs, 1852; D.B. Long, 1855, re- elected Daniel Delo, 1860; Christopher Reichart, 1863; re- elected 1866; J.B. Watson, 1869, re- elected 1872; Manasseh Arnold, 1875; W.W. Greenland, 1878, re- elected 1881; W.F. Collner, elected 1884, term expires January, 1888.
Register and Recorders. – This office was not separate from the prothonotary’s till 1850. C.E. Beman, 1852, re- elected 1855; John Haslett, 1858, resigned in 1860; Jacob B. Lyon, 1860; J.W. Long, 1869, re- elected 1872; T.B. Barber, 1863, re- elected 1866; O.E. Nail, 1875, re- elected 1878; S.J. Burgoon, 1881, re- elected 1884, term expires January, 1888.
District Attorneys. – Before 1850 district attorneys were appointed by the attorney-general, and styled deputy attorney- generals. Alfred Gilmore was appointed deputy attorney- general 1840; John S. McCalmont, 1845 to 1848; W.L. Corbett, 1848 to 1850; William Shaw, elected district attorney in 1850; James Boggs, 1852; W.W. Barr, 1854, re- elected 1857; James Boggs, 1860; David Lawson, 1863; John T. Hindman, 1866; W.W. Barr, 1869, re- elected 1872; David Lawson, 1875; re- elected 1884. W.A. Hindman, 1878; F.R. Hindman, 1881,
Sheriffs. – James Hasson, 1840; Daniel Delo, 1843; Seth Clover, 1846; John Klingensmith, 1849; Daniel B. Hamm, 1852; J.S. Turney, 1855; James C. Galbreath, 1858; S. Scott Jones, 1861; C.J. Rhea, 1864; Henry H. Neely, 1867; Samuel Johnson, 1870; A.H. Beck, 1873; B.B. Dunkle, 1876; I.M. Shannon, 1882; C.A. Wheelock, 1885, term expires January, 1889.
County Treasurers. – Amos Williams, 1841; Benjamin Crisman, 1843; Greenberry Wilson, 1845; William T. Alexander, 1847; Daniel Laughner, 1849; William T. Alexander, 1851; David Morrell, 1853; John Keatly, 1855; William T. Alexander, 1857; James T. Burns, 1859; W.W. Barr, 1861; Samuel Johnson, 1863; Daniel Mercer, 1865; Jeremiah M. Best, Bernard Vensel, 1869; Christian Brinker, 1875; P. Graham, 1878; Andrew Edinger, 1873; Samuel Sharar, 1881; J.E. Fisher, 1884; J.B. Gwinn, 1884, term expires January, 1888.
County Commissioners. – Robert Potter, Lindsay C. Pritner, Hamilton, provisional commissioners appointed by the governor, 1840; George L. Benn, Jacob Miller, and Gideon Richardson, elected 1840; Joseph Young, 1841; James Kerr, 1842; William Curl!, 1843; Hugh Maguire, 1844; Henry Sloan, 1845; William Henry, 1846; Stephen D. Burns, 1847; Amos W. Owens, 1848; Daniel Bostaph, 1849; James T. Burns, 1850; Peter B. Simpson, 1850, re- elected 1851; Daniel Mercer, 1852; James Rankin, 1853; Samuel M. Zink, 1854; William Divins, 1855; Benjamin Miller, 1858; Samuel Kifer, 1859; John McLain, 1860; John F. McGinnis, 1861; William W. Rankin, 1862; William Frampton, 1863; Adam Black, 1864; Isaac Neely, 1865; E.W. Haines, 1866; W.A. Henry, 1867; James T. Burns, 1868; Valentine Shick, 1869; Isaac Mong, 1870; John Stewart, 1871; Christian Breneman, 1872; Levi Shaner, 1873; George T. Henery, 1874; Samuel D. Sloan, J.T. Burns, and Valentine Phipps, 1875; John Keatly, Aaron Kline, and John J. Wilson, 1878; James B. and Johnson Wilson, 1881; David Helfron, S.A. Bell, and Emanuel Over, 1884.
County Auditors. – John Elliott, Joseph C. King, and George Means, elected in 1840; John Elliott re- elected 1841; William Henry, 1842; Stephen D. Burns, 1843; Ephraim Armitage, 1843; Stephen D. Burns re- elected 1844; Daniel Bostaph, 1845; Hugh Kilgore, 1846; Peter B. Simpson, 1847; Reynolds Laughlin, 1848; Samuel B. Reyner, 1849; William Divins, 1850; John G. Fox, 1851; Samuel Winket, 1852; Samuel Johnson, 1853; J.J. Livingston, 1854; William Thompson, 1855; James Martin, 1856; Samuel Garvin, 1857; Joseph Wood, 1858; Isaac Neely, 1859; George Callihan, 1860; Geo. Heeter, Jr., 1861; John Elliott, 1862; E.W. Haines, 1863; A.K. Page, 1864; H.H. Neely, 1865; William C. Dunkle, 1866; Jeremiah Heeter, 1867; Stephen Smith, 1867; Edward Best, 1870; George Black, 1871; William B. Kribbs, 1873; W. Reed Boyle, 1874; James Russell, H.E. Best, and A.L. Sigworth, 1875; Jacob Kribbs, W.G. Allen, and A.G. Truitt, 1878, re- elected 1881; H.P. Elliott, W.H. Spangler, and W.L. Johnson, 1884, term expires 1888.
County Surveyors. – John H. Groce was appointed in 1841; B.J. Reid in 1845; John K. Maxwell, elected 1850; Jesse Teats, 1853; Christopher Reichert, 1856; re- elected 1859; George A. Knight, 1862; re- elected 1865; Samuel Conner, 1867, re- elected 1875 and 1880; James M. Owens, appointed 1885; I.J. Keck, elected 1886.
Coroners. – John Reed elected 1840; James Potter, Jr., 1843; John S. McPherson, 1846; William F. Keever, 1849; John B. Loomis, 1852; John Vensel, 1855; Jeremiah Whitman, 1858; Dr. C. Klotz, 1861; William Martin, 1867; Robert Blair, 1871; Daniel Bostaph, 1873; J.J. Green, 1876; A.R. Cyphert, 1879; J.D. O’Donnel, 1882; William T. Alexander, 1885.
Jury Commissioners. – Aaron Kline and Thomas L. Burns, elected 1867; Thomas A. Brinkley and William Davis, 1870; Daniel Delo and William Kelly, 1873; John McLain and William Kelly, 1876; William Turney and W.A. Forkum, 1879; P.M. Dunkle and Jesse F. Gardner, N. McCain, 1885.
*For a sketch of W.W. Barr, Esq., see Biographical Sketches.
SOURCE: Page(s) 387-410, History of Clarion County, A.J. Davis, A.J.; Syracuse, N.Y.: D. Mason & Co. 1887
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