^ 
 
— OF— 
 
 DAUPHIN COUNTY. 
 
 Read bffore the Dauphin County Histori- 
 cal Society, November: 1871, by 
 
 GEO. WASHINGTON HARRIS, Esq. 
 
 /S"^ 
 
 The county of Daupliin was set off from 
 Lancaster county in the year 1785. Be- 
 fore the adoption of the constitution in 
 1790 the courts were held before judges 
 who were not lavv'yers by profession — sucli 
 as Timothy Green, Samuel Tows, Jona- 1 
 than IM'Clure. John Joseph Henry was t 
 commissioned in December, 1793, (See ' 
 Morgan's annals of Harrisburg.) f 
 
 Jiidgo Henry was, I understand, a na- 
 tive of Lancaster county. He was a large 
 man, perhaps above six feet in height, and 
 he was lame from a rheumatic affection, 
 contracted probably when in the military 
 service. He had been in the Revolutionary 
 army, and was in the Quebec expedition 
 in 1775, and subsequently wrote a narrative 
 of that expedition, which is now a scarce 
 book. I do not distinctly recollect of ever 
 seeing him. I know nothing personally of 
 his ability as a judge, but never heard it 
 questioned. He presided, in the year 1798, 
 at the trial of Hauer and McManus for the 
 murder of Francis Shitz ; and from the re- 
 port of that case I would judge quite fa- 
 vorably of his capacity. He also wrote 
 the will of George Frey for the founda- 
 tion of the Emaus orphan house. He 
 died when in Lancaster, Lancaster county 
 forming a part of his judicial district. His 
 family lived in Harrisburg after his death 
 for several years, and several of his daugh- 
 ters were zealous, active members of the 
 Methodist church. 
 
 The case of Haner and M'Manus, as I 
 have intimated, was reported. It was one 
 of the most interesting murder trials which 
 ever took place in the State. It was de- 
 vised by Hauer for the destruction of the 
 lives of Francis and Peter Shitz, his 
 brothers-in-law, by whose death he de- 
 sired his wife to come into possession 
 of a considerable estate. M'Manus was a 
 young Irishman, who, when executed, was 
 not twenty-one years of age. He had led 
 rather an irregular life in his own country, 
 and was seduceol into this outrage through 
 Patrick Donagan, who lived for a time 
 with John Hauer. Donagan and otliers 
 were also indicted for the murder, but 
 none were convicted but Haner and Mc- 
 Manus. 
 
 V 
 
 u. 
 
 A degree of ability was displayed by the 
 counsel in this case which has seldom 
 been equalled at any criminal trial in the 
 interior of this state. Charles Smith, of 
 Lancaster, Charles Hall, of Sunbury, and 
 Matthew Ilenrv, who, I understand, was 
 a brother of Judge Henry, were concerned 
 on the part of the commonwealth. Thomas 
 Duncan, of Carlisle, afterward Judge 
 Duncan, of our Supreme Court, James 
 Hopkins, William Montgomer, of liancas- 
 ter, George Clymer, of Reading, who had 
 been a member of the convention which 
 formed the constitutioii of the United 
 States, and Messrs. Fisher, Elder and 
 Laird, of Harrisburg, were concerned tor 
 various of the prisoners. Me.ssrs. Dun- 
 can, Fisher, Elder, Laird and Clymer 
 were concerned for Ilauer. 
 
 A bill had been at first found against 
 John Hauer and Peter M'Donough as 
 principals, and against Patrick Donagan, 
 Francis! Cox, Hugh M'Donough and Eliza- 
 beth Ilauer, who was the wife of John 
 llpuer, as accessories before the fact. 
 
 Hauer was put upon trial. It was in- 
 tended, on his trial, to use M'Manus a wit- 
 ness on the part of the commonwealth, as 
 he alleged that the murder had been com- 
 mitted by Haner and Peter M'Donough, 
 whilst he held their horses at the end of 
 the lane. But on the trial Ilauer sent for 
 the president and Judge Gloninger and 
 made a confession of his guilt as an acces- 
 sory before the fact,but denied that he was 
 present at the commission of the murder 
 which he alleged had been committed by 
 M'Manus and"^ Peter M'Donough, and that 
 the rest of the prisoners were acces- 
 sory before the fact. It appearing prob- 
 able that M'Manus was present at the mur- 
 der and was the person wlio shot the de-^ 
 ceased, he was not examined as a witness 
 on the trial of Hauer. The jury was dis- 
 charged from giving a verdict as to Haner 
 and the cases were continued until tWiext' 
 term. In this proceeding the-colrajeil of 
 Haner declined to interfere as they \\m not 
 been cowsulted by Ilauer as to his jConfes- 
 sion,and theyconsidered that hehftn,by that 
 act, taken his case out of their hands. 
 At the next term a bill was found against 
 M'Manus as the person who conniiitted5» 
 the murder with a pistol or axe, and one 
 against Hauer and others j^ar procuring., 
 and abetting it. ^/ V 
 
 M'Manus was tried anil^^victe^ on hist 
 awn confession. W-m ■ . . 
 
 When the case of Hfeilt anfl others 
 was called up it was objectP<t%y Duncan, 
 Fisiier and Clymer, that llauii was 'in Jaw 
 discharged, as the jury in his caSQ^ajt. the 
 former term had been discharged without 
 his consent and it was alleged that he could . 
 not be but, in jeopardy of life twice for the i 
 same offense. Able and learned arguments 
 v.'ere made by them, and by Mr. Hall and i 
 Suiith on the part of the Commonwealth. 
 It was contended by them that the proceed- I 
 ing which should bar a second trial must be 
 an actual acquittal by° verdict on the gen- 
 eral issue (p. 35); and further that there 
 must have been a verdict of not guilty on an 
 indictment free fromlerjul error, and that in 
 this case of Hauer, the first indictment was 
 defective, it not having been alleged 
 in it that Thomas Shetz died of the looiinds 
 received. Judge Henry held that sucli 
 omission was fatal to the indictment and 
 was conclusive in the matter; and that it 
 was therefore uirneccssary to decide the 
 other question. As Ilauer therefore could 
 not have, been legally cor.'ucted on the first 
 indictment, his case and that of Donegau 
 and Ct)v jWas called up. On being called 
 
on to i^eaa iiauer stood muie. iiie court 
 considering that he stool mute from ohsli- 
 nacy, directed the plea of not guilty to be 
 entered for him. . 
 
 Donegan and Cox objected to being tried 
 with Haver ; but the court decided that 
 the matter was within the dicretion of 
 the prosecuting officer, and they were ac- 
 cordingly tried together. The confession of 
 Iiauer was used against him, and the testi- 
 mony given as to Donegan and Cox. 
 Hauer was convicted, and Donegan and 
 Cox acouitted. A bill was found against 
 the wife of Iiauer and Hugh M'Donougli, 
 but no evidence was given on the part of the 
 Commonwealth and they were acquitted. It 
 would appear to me probable that if Iiauer 
 had not made confession of his guilt, he 
 would not have been convicted; as the per- 
 sons present in the room where Fran- 
 cis Shetz was killed, (he first was shot 
 with a pistol and then struck with an axe) 
 
 could not identify the murderers, they hav- 
 ing their faces concealed and the candle in 
 the room being extinguished by accident. 
 
 The case was another illustration of the 
 sayiug that "murder will out." Asobserved 
 by Webster in the Crowningsshield ease, 
 the secret is often too deep for conceal- 
 ment, and must be confessed. Iiauer, in 
 this case confessed and acknowledged his 
 written confession on being arraigned on 
 the^^r.^^ indictment; but when arraigned on 
 the sewnd indictment he did not speak, and 
 never spoke publicly afterwards, and was 
 eventually hanged without publicly assert- 
 ing a word. 
 
 It is, however, worthy of remark that 
 when the jury were ready to deliver their 
 verdict and the clerk proclaimed, "John 
 Iiauer, hold up your hand," he held it up. 
 
 M'Manus made a confession subse- 
 quently, which was published. In this 
 he persisted that he was not present at the 
 house when the murder was committed, 
 but that he held the horse at the end of the 
 lane. He also declared that when Iiauer 
 and himself were confined in the same 
 apartment in the jail Hauer declared that 
 he would behave in such a manner as to 
 induce a belief that he was insane. 
 
 A report of the trial was published by 
 Mr. Wyeth, from which I have made up 
 this statement: 
 
 Iiauer and M'Manus were executed on 
 Capitol hill in July, 1798. 
 
 Judge Henry was followed in the judicial 
 oftice by Walter Franklin, of Ijancaster, 
 who Wiis commissioned on the 18th Janu- 
 ary, 1811. He lived in Lancaster when 
 appointed by Governor Snyder. He was 
 considered by the profession as incompe- 
 tent. He was a man of very gentlemanly 
 appearance, was perhaps possessed of con- 
 siderable legal knowledge, but was inef- 
 ficient as a judge, and his judicial admin- 
 istration was "not satisfactory to the law 
 either in this county or in Lancaster coun- 
 ty, where he afterwards presided. When 
 acting as judge in Lancaster county at 
 least two attempts were made before the 
 legislature to effect his removal, either by 
 address or impeachment. On one of those 
 
 occasions he was defended by James Hop- ■ 
 kins, a veteran attorney of Lancaster. "^ 
 During the proceeding one of the managers 
 of the" house concluded his address late in 
 the afternoon. Mr. Hopkins rose and 
 asked that the House adjourn till the next 
 day to afford him an opportunity for more 
 special preparation. The house, however, 
 was fatigued with the length of the pro- 
 ceeding and refused to adjourn, and Mr. 
 Hopkins, being obliged to proceed, rose 
 and stated that he would divide his pro- 
 posed argument into a considerable num- 
 ber of heads, and the first head of his ar- 
 irunif'jf into various rarts A member 
 numediately rose and moved that the house 
 adjourn in order to afford to the council an 
 opportunity to condense; and the house ac- 
 cordingly adjwurned. 
 
 On the first proceeding before the legis- 
 lature in his case the judge came oiT suc- 
 cessfully, but on a second or third proceed- 
 ing it was said that he h;(d written 
 on both sides of some political question; 
 and this was considered to be so grave an 
 olfence, that, fearing a more unfavorable 
 result, the judge resigned. 
 In one of the proceedings against Judge 
 Franklin, one of the 'managers on the 
 part of the house was Andrew Stewart, of 
 Fayette county, who was a candidate for 
 congress in 1870, against Mr. Foster, the 
 present member, and Mr. Stewart is prob- 
 ably the last survivor of the legislature to 
 which I have referred. On one of the 
 same proceedings, perhaps the same one, 
 against Judge Franklin, my old friend 
 Kichard Coulter, afterwards a judge in the 
 supreme court, was also a manager on the 
 part (-tf the house. He was frequently po- 
 etic in speech and in writing. I recollect 
 one of his figures on the occasion referred 
 to. He said substantially that the judiciary 
 of Pennsylvania should be like the guar- 
 dian angel of old, standing on the battle- 
 ments of the constituti<m, waving the 
 sword of justice to and fro, to keep cor- 
 ruption from its base. 
 
 As I was on quite friendly terms with 
 Judge Coulter during my appointment as^ 
 reporter, I desire to be excused for refer- 
 ring in this place to another eloquent pas- 
 sage from one of his judicial opinions. It 
 is in his opinion, in the case of Snpplee vs. 
 Hansen, reported in 5 Harris Keports, 388- 
 9. An individual granted a piece of ground 
 for the erection of a church and for the use 
 of a burial ground, reserving the right to 
 him and his wife to build a vault or vaults 
 In it, and to keep the same in repair. 
 Some of the grand children had an- 
 other vault made, appropriating four 
 burial lots on the ground. This was 
 objected to by the trustees of 
 the church, and the decision of the Su- 
 preme Court was adverse to the claim of 
 
 Judge Coulter, who delivered the opin- 
 ion in the case, observed "there is room 
 yet in the family sepulchre ; but if 
 the grand children do not like the cold and 
 lonely damjiness of that place, but prefer 
 that their narrow house should be visited 
 by the glimpses of the sun and moon, and 
 be fanned by the breezes, (and the thoughts 
 and feelings of this life often linger about 
 the grave), they can enjoy that preference 
 by being buried as most other people are 
 buried, and like other members of the 
 church, in the bosom of mother earth, 
 with.the green sod over them " 
 
>ssor of Judge Franklin was 
 Amgs.Ellniaker. He was born in Earl 
 t.,|<-.wflship, Lancaster count}^, on the 2il of 
 I February, 1787. After graduating at 
 Pcinceton he studied law for one year with 
 James Hopkins, of Lancaster; tljen a year 
 at the Litchfield law school, and con- 
 cluded his studies with Thomas Elder, of 
 this place, whose daughter he married. 
 He was admitted to the bar at December 
 term 1808. He was elected to congress, but 
 
 ' der of a connnission as a judge of Ihe Su- 
 preme Court. He CDntinued in the practice 
 of thelaw at Harrisburg until his re 
 moval to Lancaster in June 1821. 
 He went to Baltimore in the year 1814, as 
 an aid to General Foster. lie was com- 
 missioned as judge in July, 1815 and occu- 
 pied the bench till December, 18ifi. He 
 was reputed to be a good lawyer His ad- 
 dresses to the jury, when at the bar, were 
 clear, distiHct and argumentative, but by 
 no means oratorical. He left the bench in 
 December, 1816, for what reason, I do not 
 know. He held an elevated position here, 
 and was appointed attorney general by 
 Governor Findiay. He, however, contract- 
 ed the odium of the Governor's friends by 
 refusing to defend him before the legisla- 
 ture, when unjustly assailed by a Phila- 
 delphia faction, headed by the celebrated 
 John Binns. This refusal may have been 
 owing to the fact that Mr. Thomas Elder, 
 his father-in-law, was one of those who 
 urged the prosecution. 
 
 The governor was defended bv George 
 M. Dallas, of Philadelphia. The chair- 
 man of the committee of the house was 
 William Wilkins, of Pittsburg, who made 
 a report favorable to Governor Findiay, 
 Mr. Wilkins was afterward rewarded for 
 his action by appointment as a judge in 
 the Pittsburg aistrict, to fill a vacancy, op- 
 portunely for him, happening through the 
 death of Judge lloberts, a few days, per- 
 haps within two days before the termina- 
 tion of Governor Findlay's oflicial term. 
 
 He was appointed on the 18th of Decem- 
 ber 1820, Mr. Findiay having been inaugu- 
 rated on the 16th of December, 1817, his 
 executive term being for three years. 
 
 Mr. Ellmaker, as before observed, after- 
 ward removed to Lancaster and was, after 
 the lapse of some years, a candidate for 
 the Vice Presidency on the ticket with the 
 celebrated William Wirt. He died in No- 
 vember, 1851. 
 
 Mr. Ellmaker was succeeded as judge 
 by David Scott, who was appointed by 
 Governor Snyder, and was commissioned 
 in December, 1816. He was a native of 
 New England, but was settled in Bradford 
 county at the time of his ai)pointment. 
 He is said to have been a good lawy(>r. He 
 is also said to have been pugnacious in his 
 temper. I have heard it observed that if 
 lie had been in military life he would most 
 probably have been distinguished. I have 
 no recollection of ever seeing Iiith on the 
 bench, but saw him after he had left Har- 
 risburg as his place of residence, and when 
 I saw him he was somewhat deaf. He re- 
 signed his jjosition as judge of this dis- 
 trict, having been appointed to another 
 district in the northern part of the state, 
 and was succeeded by Samuel 1). Franks, 
 J who was commissioned in July, 1818. 
 
 Knowing little oTJUage Scott, I addressed 
 Judge Woodward, Ifte of our Supreme 
 Court, for information as to him. 
 
 Judge Woodwards atesthat Judge Scott 
 was a native of Com ecticut, and that he 
 settled in Bradford m unty. When Judge 
 Scott was appointed 1 1 this judicial district, 
 Judge Gibson was ttte president judge in 
 the Bradford TOStrl^to which he had boon 
 appointed by Goverudr Snyder. A va- 
 cancy happening on the supreme bench. 
 Judge Gibson was appointed by Governor 
 Snyder as a supreme judge, and Judge 
 Burnside was appointed to the Bradford 
 district, then consistingof the counties of 
 Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna and 
 liradford. Judge Burnside after presid- 
 ing in that district for above a year, re- 
 signed, and Judge Scott was appointed, 
 the district having been reduced to the 
 counties of Luzerne, Pike and Wayne. 
 Judge Woodward states that Judge Scott 
 presided in that district with greet ability 
 until the year 1838. when in consequence 
 of increasing deafness, he resigned in fa- 
 vor of Nathaniel B. Eldred; but Governor 
 Ritner appointed Judge Jessup instead of 
 Mr. Eldred. Judge Scott lived severai 
 years afterwards, and died at AVilkesbarre. 
 Judge Woodward states that Judge Scott, 
 whilst on the bench, also acted as canal 
 commissioner for several years, but with- 
 out compensation; and Judge Woodward 
 further writes that Judge Scott was a man 
 of great clearness and force of intellect. 
 He had not been thoroughly educated 
 either in literature or law, but he supplied 
 his deficiences by application and force of 
 character. He v/as an honest, upright judge 
 — a littleoverbearingsometimes,and always 
 of irascible temper; and on the whole an ex- 
 cellent officer both as judge and canal com- 
 missioner. He was the founder of the 
 Episcopal church in Wilkesbarre and in- 
 stituted, in his office, there the first Sunday 
 school that was organized in northeastern 
 Penusylv\jnia. , 
 
 Judge Scott was succeeded in this dis- 
 trict by Judge Frank's, who was commis- 
 sioned" by Governor Findiay in 1818. 
 I Samuel D. Franks and (reorge 1'. I'or 
 ter, the first of Reading, and the latter ot 
 Lancaster, had been in the military service, 
 having gone to Baltinuu'e in lAl4, when 
 it was threatened l^y the British forces. 
 They v^«^re imt engaged in any battle, but 
 when the legislature met, after the Penn- 
 sylvania forces, volunteers and militia, 
 liad returned home, the two came to Har- 
 risburg, and both clerks of the house, as I 
 think, not having gone into the military 
 service, they were elected clerk and assis- 
 tant clerk of the house of representatives. 
 They were efficient officers, and Franks was 
 an excellent reader. He was uselul to the 
 members and was quite poi)niar. It was 
 unfortunate for him tiiat he did not con- 
 tinue in that position; but after the elec- 
 tion of Xv. Findley as governor he applied 
 for appointment "as judge, tiiat being at 
 I that time an ai)pointnient during good be- 
 I havior. Ho was possessed of consid- 
 erable talent, and it was supposed that 
 with industry he miglit make a respecta- 
 ble judge, and uulortunately h(! was ap- 
 , pointed. He was an auuising companion. 
 lie had considerable talent for mimicry, 
 and if he had adopter' the stage as his pur- 
 suit in life, he probably would have been 
 distingushed as a comic actor. He was 
 possessed of much humor, and abounded 
 in anecdotes. I have heard of one told by 
 him relative to a chirge by an associate 
 judge to a jury in Lehigh county. 
 
 C 
 
A man wae on trial before the asso-.ate 
 iudaS for some offense. The evidence dui 
 not sliow him to be siuilty, but the judae 
 chaS the jury thalthough the case wf 
 doubtful they miaktas well convict the 
 Sendant, forthpiere had. beeii a great 
 ripal of rascality Sfout there lately. 
 '^' have al?o hla^ that he was called on 
 for a toast on an ^^"^"Itura occa- 
 sion about rhiladelphia; and that he 
 gave as a sentiment, '"Agricultural ^ocuv 
 ties- the liampart of American Industry 
 and' the Bau'imrk of National ludepen- 
 
 '^'ne was a large man, with a large head; 
 and though not handsome, yet had a fine 
 f?ce He had a large Grecian nose, a 
 tlorkl countenance and red hair. He sa d 
 
 ewasf e best red (or read) judge in 
 Peinsvlvania. lUit the lavv as a science 
 ha fcAV charms for him. The busmess of 
 the court languished excessively whilst he 
 was in oflice, perhaps not more than twenty 
 verdicts being taken in a jean Ihe 
 younger members of the bar, of whom 1 
 was one, suffered in consequence and aft^i 
 
 wo attempts before the legislature we 
 succeeded in having him displaced. He 
 
 whSirtook place b^ore him which excited 
 considerable iutere.t at the tune. 
 
 A p.'rson in Karrisnurg who had been 
 Hrrrpiv e-iL'a^ed in speculation m real e^- 
 tatS die" m'^olvent. 'judge Bucher, who 
 was an associate jud.e on the benci^w.th 
 
 Tn.lcrp Franks, aduiuiistered on tie et, 
 tale Ml- Elder brought a considerable 
 
 fimberof suits a.aiust ^he. admiuistra- 
 > tor, wl- emn^ MK ^S^^^v^ 
 
 ?he usYial time, on Settling the docket 
 i dements bv default svere taker.. Aft; r 
 
 I Shears Mr. El.J'er issued writs of scire 
 S\o revive t/e judgments. Judge 
 liucher became /alarmed and, on Mi 
 
 ' F sher being caHed upon, he a^ked o hav _ , 
 the iud"mei;l!S opened and the plea of 
 tne ■l"'.'»'"^7:^,-„i ■..-, This was objected 
 want of assyts put m. i'"= V " .,J. ^: „ 
 to by Mr. pdex, who alleged that the time 
 for such i>leading was passed, iln^gave 
 £etoa)?ngtlienedaiscussion Ma^^^^^^^^^ 
 in arLniytig his moticm, produced man> au- 
 thorities Mr. Elder, in turn produced 
 othe Jand Mr. Fisher rejoined. In tlie 
 se3 ai-gument, in -^<^^^^^^:^ 
 in(/(,n the cases adduced byMr. i^icui, 
 ■SJ Fisher cited other author ties. Mn 
 Sex claimed the .right ^ re,.ly to tlrn^e 
 
 Slditional authorities, a"?' ,";,^"i^\, ^nl 
 fisher objected, alleging t'^^t /le was en 
 titled to conclude the argument, Mr. ElUei 
 
 
 A 
 
 was heard. In the course of his reply he 
 also adduced new authorities. Mr. Fisher, 
 in turn, claimed the right to reply to them. 
 The court would get wearied with the dis- 
 cussion, and would occasionally adjourn 
 for days or a week or more, and after these 
 see-sawing, turn-about- Jim-Crow-opera- 
 tions, the judgments were opened and the 
 administrator let into a defence, and this 
 terminated tiie contest. The case was so 
 long in argument that it was said that du- 
 ring the period of discussion Mr. Elder 
 went to Lykens Valley and Mr. Fisher 
 built a barn. 
 
 This attempt to compel an administrator 
 to pay out of his estate the debts of an in- 
 solvent decedent was rather an ungracious 
 jiroceeding; and it has since been enacted, 
 that, "no 'mispleading or lack of pleading" 
 shall render any executor or administra- 
 tor personally liable bej'ond the amount of 
 assets of the estate received or receivable 
 by him. 
 
 During the pn\sidency of Judge Franks 
 Tom M'Ellienny was tried for the mur- 
 der of Sophia German. This case excited 
 very considerables interest at the time. He 
 had been a candidate for the sheriffalty, 
 and desired to be a candidate at the next 
 election. On the morningof the day when 
 she disappeared, M'Elhenny had an inter- 
 view with her at her residence, and it was 
 offered, on the part of the commonwealth, 
 to show that when on the same day, and 
 after M'Elhenny had gone, she was about 
 to leave with her child, of which he was 
 reputed to be the father, she said she was 
 going to meet M'Elhenny, in pursuance of 
 
 nu cxrrtvnpoiiioiit witK Uliii. Tlilo vvao OVCl- 
 
 ruled by the court; and there being no di- 
 rect evidence against him he was acquitted 
 by the jury. He was not, however, acquit- 
 ted by public sentiment. 
 
 The manner of discovering the body of 
 Sophia German was very singular. After 
 she had been missing for several days, 
 a man was walking along the hill bordering 
 Swatara creek. A dog, which he had with 
 him, ran down the hill and barked. The 
 man went down to see the cause of it, and 
 found that the dog was barking at a do- 
 mestic cat on a tree. On his return to 
 the path he saw a bonnet, which he lifted 
 and hung upon a tree. The bonnet be- 
 ing subseciuenly shown to the mother of 
 Sojihia Garinan, she pronounced it to 
 bethat of her daughter. Search was 
 soou made along the side of the hill for 
 the body of Sophia Gannan ; and on 
 going along, some one laid hold of a 
 bush, which drew out of the ground, and 
 on examinaiion the body of Sophia Gar- 
 man and her child were found in the same 
 grave. 
 
(!Triviii Blythe siaxruku Judge Franks 
 He was a native of Adams county, 
 in tliis state. lie had settled at the town 
 of Mifflin, in Mifflin county, where he was 
 elected to the house of representatives, and 
 was subsequently appointed attorney gen- 
 eral by Gov«sior Shulze, the appointment 
 being made on the 5th of February, 1828. 
 lie was also secretary of the common- 
 wealth under the same executive. lie was 
 a man of medium size, of respectable ap- 
 pearance; was possessed of excellent un- 
 derstanding, and was of undoubted integ- 
 rity. He was well versed in legal princi- 
 ])les; but not in a knowledge of cases, from 
 tlie fact o his practice in tlie law having 
 been interrupted by several official posi- 
 tions. He was indulgent to tlie bar, rather 
 diffuse in his charges to the jury, and fre- 
 quently was considered too lenient in the 
 punishment of criminals. But he never 
 avoided responsibility and acted on the 
 ease in hand to the best of his judgment. 
 He was much respected in this community. 
 He received the appointment of collector 
 of customs at Philadelphia, and resigned 
 his judicial of^2e. 
 
 1 reqjember an incident which occurrod 
 in the court house during the presidency 
 of Judge Blythe, which was of an amus- 
 ing character and which tended to ihow 
 the deUberateness and unexcitability of the 
 judge. 
 
 A civil case was on trial — Mr. Alexan- 
 der, or Carlisle, was one of the coun.sel, 
 and the elder M'lidyre, of Perry county, 
 were probably a witness. Suddenly a loud 
 crash was heard, and it seemed as if the 
 upper floor and ceiling of the court room 
 was giving way. The jury, 'counsel, 
 witnesses and spectators rushed to the 
 door. 1 was amongst them, and as I went 
 out of the room, turned my head and 
 looked back, but saw no dislocation of the 
 bnildinff, but in the excitement 1 kept on 
 until I reached the pavement. M'intyre 
 contnuh'd on across the street, and he was 
 without his hat. I went back to the court 
 room, and the house was as we left it, but 
 it had been cleared by all except the judge 
 and as 1 have since been told, by Mr. Alex- 
 ani '-'dge merely rose and walk- 
 
 ed . "ow which looked into 
 
 the y^. .lat was the matter. 
 
 When ti. ■ ce was investigated, it 
 
 appeared thai, .i. front wall of the cellar 
 in the j-ard of the court house was lined 
 with boards or plank, and that a cart load 
 of coal had been dumped down upon it; 
 and this produced tUe noise which sounded 
 like the crash of the building. The judge 
 and Mr. Alexander it would seem, were 
 the only persons present who were not 
 frightened. The affair when understood, 
 alforded much amusement. 
 
 Judge Blythe was succees^led by James 
 M. Porter. •.*'■ 
 
 Judge Porter was a good looking man. 
 rather above the common 'sii;e.''-lle was 
 mther a vain ma'-, entertaining a high 
 oj ion of his own capacity: \ lie wa'^, 
 however, considered to be an excellent 
 lawyer and he was jjosscssed of great in- 
 dustry. He was a brother of (iovernor 
 Porter, and was appointed by hiiu, it was 
 supposed, to settle some jwlitical matters 
 which had happened in the course of his 
 election. lie held the oftice for about a 
 
 ear and a half, when he was succeeded 
 
 y Anson V. Parsons. Judge Porter was 
 I^or a while secretary of war under Presi- 
 'dent Tyler, but was not confirmed by the 
 senate. , — r- , 
 
 Judge Parsons was from one of the New 
 England s ates, and when a young man 
 settled at Williamsport, where he resided 
 when appointed as judge. He was abovl 
 the medium size, of thin vissage, was pos- 
 sessed of st'aniboat energy, in the ses- 
 sions was a rigid disciplinarian, and iu 
 that respect contrasts 1 stroiiglv with Judge 
 Blythe, who was rather mild iii his judicial 
 action in the sessions. 
 
 Judge I'arsons was transferred to Phila- 
 delphia, and Judge Blythe was then reap- 
 pointed to this district and remained until 
 he was again appointed to the custom 
 house at Philadelphia under the adminis- 
 tration of President Tyler. After he was 
 superseded in that position, he engaged in 
 the practice of law in Philadelphia, where 
 I became associated with him in the prac- 
 tice. He became paralized and soon after 
 died. 
 
 Judge Blythe was an honest man, was 
 possessed of a kind disposition; but was too 
 generous, liberal and inconsiderate for his 
 own interest; and though he received a 
 considerable amount of money as collector 
 of the port of Philadelphia, yet he died 
 poor. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, 
 and was in the battle of Bridgewater, and 
 at the subsequent attack on the fort at 
 Lake Erie. 
 He was succeeded as judge by Xathan- 
 
 ^ 
 
 iel B. Eldred— who was appointed in 
 March, 1843. 
 
 Judge P:idred was a man of medium 
 size, of an angular face, rather un- 
 handsome, but of a genial expression. 
 He was of a social disposition. He came 
 from Wayne county iu this state. He was 
 a man of integrity, and was considered by- 
 Chief Justice Gibson, to beposscssed of ex- 
 cellent legal judgment. But he could 
 scarcely be considered a profound lawyer. 
 Whilst occuppying his judicial position he 
 was engaged in business matters else- 
 where. He was extensively engaged in 
 lumber operations in the west, which in- 
 duced his absence and thus interfered ma- 
 terially with his attention to ids official 
 duties. He was translated to the Wayne 
 County district, and was succeeded 
 by the present judge, John J. Pear- 
 son, who was appointed by (rovernor 
 Johnston iu April, 1.S4!». After the 
 termination of the period for which he 
 was commissioned he was elected to the- 
 I same position in October, 18,51, and was- 
 1 subsequently re-elected and is stillin office 
 having been again re-elected at the h'&t 
 election. 
 
 These repeated elections, and aU withmW 
 any oppoxing amdidatoi, are highly credita- 
 ble to him as evidence of the estimation, 
 for legal iiualilicatiou and judicial integ- 
 rity, in which he is held by the people of 
 the district in which he has so long lu-esided. 
 It is also proper to remark that, in addi- 
 tion to the ordinary business of the drst- 
 trict, it has been his province to preside on 
 appeals from the decision of the account- 
 ing officers of the State— a branch of busi- 
 ness not only arduous to him but of great 
 importanci! to tlie revenues of the Com- 
 luoiiweulth. This has rench'red him widely 
 kuowu not only throughout the State, but 
 beyond it. 
 
Judge Pearson was born in Delaware 
 county, in this state, but in his infancv 
 was taken by his father to Mercer gouu- 
 ty. where he read law and was ad- 
 nntted to practice, and was residinf' 
 in Mercer county wlieu appointed as 
 judge for this district in 1849. He had 
 been elected to congress for one term 
 serving there during the administration of 
 Crcneral Jackson, and was a member of 
 our state senate during the administration 
 of Governor Ritner. He has also held 
 courts in other districts, and his ability as 
 a judge IS generally acknowledged. lie i« 
 perhaps better acquainted with the land 
 laws, which prevailed in western Pennsyl- 
 vania, than any other man now living 
 Titles were held in various counties west. 
 of the Allegheny under the laws of Vir- 
 gmia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, under 
 the conllict of jurisdiction prevailing as to 
 portions of that region. 
 
 In addition to the preceding jud<res 
 Dauphin county, for a while, liad a Dis- 
 trict court, in which cases were tried 
 where the value in controversy was of a de- 
 hned amount, perhaps $500. The place 
 was, f(n- a while, occupied by Judgfi Brad- 
 ford,from Sunbury, who was considered as 
 an inefficient judge. He afterwards pre- 
 sided in the York district. Charles Smith 
 from Lancaster, was also, for a while, oiir 
 district judge. He was the compiler of the 
 tirst five volumes of the laws of Pennsyl- 
 vania, and the author of a learned nute"in 
 volume two of tliMt work relative to the 
 land laws of the state. He was a >u|)erior 
 lawyer and was prompt and decisive in his 
 action as judge. 
 
 Thedistrict court sprang from the arrear- 
 age of business on tile dockets o( the 
 county, and was dispensed with when its- 
 existence was no longer re(piired. The 
 judges of theSJupreme Court also torawhile 
 held circuit courrs here an I m other parts 
 (ft the Stite. An appeal from their decis- 
 ion lay to the court iu banc. It was a 
 
 couVts' rin^'rlfP"'^^'^^''' '" relation to thf..«,^ 
 courts, tn<iL the judge wi,u m, ,i ,ii,. eaiisp 
 inthec.uirt below^gene.allv ad u're.l o 
 the opinion expressed on the triaV Tl ? 
 ettect usually was. that, as far as his onin! 
 "•n was concerned, the case was not a r^ 
 
 op.nion^'ThV''"^^''"'^"'^'' "^ l"^s' prevhu^" 
 op.nion. itie same u>a"e exists in the s;„ 
 preme Court of the Uuired state " e ci?" 
 cuit ju.lge before whom she case was tried 
 
 bc.i,igp,vsent at the final decisis o/^;;;? 
 
 1 ,j ,'" ^ consider a usa<'e wliieh 
 
 should be abrogated. It th,: ^Snpiime 
 
 udges try causes, they s^hould ha e no 
 
 ot appointing district circuit huUy^ 
 whose rulings maybe reviewed by ^^u' 
 pieme tribunal (,f which they form no «af 
 
 aSlSeS.^^'^ "-'^-*^^-i« 
 
 It may not be considered as alto<-ether 
 
 r^mal-''hf''i"'''"''"^'«'>'to ."afesome 
 remaiksin relation to one aspect of or 
 
 iilav?/^''/''^'-'^? "^« estab/ishment or 
 It may *opn be with n the control of ti.i 
 l^eople by an alteration of the'cli^stifution! 
 
 Under the present constitution the Su- 
 preme Judges are elected for fifteen years,, 
 and the President Judges of the common 
 pleas for ten years. There is no constitu- 
 tional limit as to age. 
 
 Now it may happen that an individual,, 
 either already on the bench, or off of it, 
 may reasonably be considered competent 
 to the performance of judicial duties for a 
 less term than the term for which judges 
 are elective, and yet not for the full 
 term, and the probability that he may 
 become disabled, \<y the infirmities of age, 
 short of the term for which judges are 
 elective, may jirevent the pul)lic enjoy- 
 ment of his services for a period during 
 which he may be entirely competent. This 
 objection was made to our present presi- 
 dent judgw previous to his last re-election,, 
 and its I'ffect, in future cases, may be met 
 by an alteration of the constitution. 
 
 By the Constitution of New York, some 
 years ago, the age of sixty years was fixed 
 as the limit of the tenure of judges, and 
 under it Chancellor Kent, then in the fulR 
 vigor of mind, was displaced. That age- 
 may reasonably be considered as too early. 
 But it may be considered as worthy of 
 consideration, whether, without fixing any 
 age at which judges shall arbitrarily be- 
 retired, it may not be provided that a 
 judge who, by reason of infirmity in body 
 or mind. Is disabled from the performance 
 of his judicial duties, may be allowed, 
 on resigning, to receive either full or half 
 pay for life, if it be short of the term for 
 which he was elected; or for the full term-, 
 if he lives so long, or for some other period,, 
 to be fixed in the Constitution. Whether 
 this shall be limited to such judges as have 
 served a definite period may be consid- 
 ered. 
 
 Pensions for mere civil service may, in- 
 general, be highly objectionable; but the- 
 effectual administration of the law, in 
 which the interests of society are so deeply 
 involved, may, perhaps, justify an excep- 
 tion in favor of the judicial department of 
 the government. This principle has been 
 lately adopted by congress in relation to- 
 disabled judges of the Supreme Court of 
 the United States, who, being appointed' 
 during good behavior, are not removable- 
 except by address or impeachment; and: 
 > Under the act passed on the subject Judge- 
 '""jrier resigned his position on the bench of 
 that court. 
 Nov. ly, 1871. 
 
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