Reflections at Journey’s End: Memorial Minutes Volume I 1850–1949

By York County Bar Association and J. Ross McGinnis

A compelling series of insightful biographical sketches of the men and women of the York County Bar commencing eleven years before the start of the Civil War as recounted by contemporaries and colleagues. Candid, sincere, honest, and on occasion with a touch of comic relief, these memorial minutes are tributes to those who have made their rendezvous with mortality.
Found within these volumes is the venerable Jeremiah S. Black who walked the corridors of national recognition during the Civil War era; the urbane and brilliant Herbert B. Cohen who wielded substantial political power throughout the commonwealth and rose to become an associate justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; the charismatic Harvey Gross whose superb advocacy in the third Hex trial and subsequent twenty-year tenure on the York County Orphans’ Court placed him in the forefront of the princes of Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence.
This “callout” of the giants in no way diminishes the significance, commitment and integrity of the many other remarkable individuals who came after and counseled and inspired others to live honestly, to exercise compassion, to act with prudence and diligence, and above all else made their contribution to the vast and diverse panorama of our humanity.
Not a typical memoir or story, these memorial minutes constitute the defining epic of the York County Bar. More than history, more than recitals of character and personality, of delightful encounters and more somber content, they are about individuals remembered for the richness and power of their hopes, achievements and commitments to the timeless values of the life of the law.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Nov 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9781982214227

York County Bar Association

Compiled and forward by J. ROSS MCGINNIS. J. Ross McGinnis, attorney and author of “Trials of Hex,” was born in 1928 and was raised on a farm in southern York County. After graduating from Fawn Township Vocational High School in 1944, he attended York Collegiate Institute/York Junior College for one year. He then went to Princeton University, graduating in 1949 summa cum laude, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and awarded the Lawrence Hutton Prize in History, and was the co-recipient of the C.O. Jolene Prize in American Political History for his thesis on Henry Adams, the Sequence of the Democratic Force. He graduated from the Harvard Law School in 1952 and was given a direct commission in the U.S. Air Force. He became a staff judge advocate and, after two years, was discharged with the rank of Captain. Since 1954, he has been a practicing attorney in York County. He was President of the York County Bar, Moderator of Donegal Presbytery, and a life member of the Salvation Army. He is currently “of counsel” for the law firm of Stock and Leader in York, Pennsylvania.

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Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgements

1850–1879

Judge Charles A. Barnitz

John Gardner Campbell

Edward Chapin, Sr.

Jacob Wiest

Judge Peter Ahl

William L. Boy

John L. Mayer

John Evans

A. T. Patterson

1880–1899

D. Bigler Bailey

Judge Thomas E. Cochran

William H. (known as W. H.) Kain

William Hay

Justice Jeremiah Sullivan Black

Andrew Caslow Deveney

John Blackford

Judge John Gibson

A. C. Fulton

Judge David Wills

C. B. (Charles) Wallace

Silas Herr Forry

Judge Levi Maish

James Kell

Judge James W. Latimer

Judge Stephen G. Boyd

Vincent K. Keesey

1900–1909

Frank Geise

George W. Heiges

William J. Ness

E. Z. Strine

Chauncey Forward Black

Arthur N. Green

James B. Ziegler

Major Hiram S. McNair

Edward Webster Spangler

William L. Ammon

Henry L. Fisher

1910–1919

Edward Chapin

James St. Clair McCall

Henry C. Brenneman

Charles E. Bittenger

John F. Kell

Hugh H. McClune

Joseph Ross Strawbridge

Philip J. Rau

Jeremiah S. (known as Jere) Black

Judge John W. Bittenger

Kerwin Wilson Altland

William Aurelius Miller

E. Dean Ziegler

1920–1929

Smyser Williams

Ernest A. Armstrong

John J. Bollinger

John L. Rouse

Judge N. Sargent Ross

Horace Keesey

Daniel K. Trimmer

John N. Logan

Charles Milton Wolff

Robert C. Bair

W. Zacharias Bair

1930–1939

Edward G. Myers

Richard Ellis Cochran

Samuel C. Frey

Edward Evans Allen

John William Heller

Charles Evans Ehrehart

C. W. Albert (Christian William) Rochow

Hugh Whiteford McCall

Edward D. Ziegler

Michael Schall Niles

Judge W. F. Bay Stewart

Andrew J. Hershey

Robert W. Kinzie

Dixon Hoover Geiser

George S. Schmidt

Charles A. Hawkins

William Harry Sitler

Charles A. May

James Graham Glessner

Samuel Kurtz

John Edward Vandersloot

George E. Neff

Edward Chapin McLean

Harry Miles Brooks

Judge Henry Carpenter Niles

Samuel B. Meisenhelder

Thomas Byrd Glats Hiestand

1940–1949

Charles J. Delone

David P. Klinedinst

William A. Allen

Lee S. Fake

Charles Reider

John E. Brenneman

Donald H. Yost

Judge Nevin M. Wanner

William G. Allen

Vincent K. Keesey

Samuel Kell McCall

Bright Rupert Paxton

Jacob E. Weaver

Robert Shaffer Frey

J. Howard Manifold

Elmer S. Welsh

Edison B. Williamson

James M. Ebbert

Allen C. Wiest

William Henry Kurtz

Amos W. Herrmann

George S. Love

Introduction

By J. Ross McGinnis

These are the researches of Herodotus of Halicarnassus, which he publishes, in the hope thereby preserving from decay the remembrance of what men have done, and of preventing the great and wonderful actions of the Greeks and the Barbarians from losing their due meed of glory…. The History of Herodotus.

With these lines, Herodotus opens his history and we believe them to be no less appropriate for the members of the York County Bar. No one can read these memorials and not echo the declaration of Judge Ray Sherwood when he said:

We direct that the minute for Lee S. Fake – 1941 be spread upon the records of this court as a part of the permanent history of a truly great bar. And again, He was a worthy member of a great county bar for Robert E. Frey – 1946.

And also the declaration of Judge Nevin Wanner for James Glessner – 1936 who said:

It is ordered that this minute he spread upon the records of this court as part of our permanent history of this really great bar.

The memorials of the York County Bar are a unique and unusual literary genre that got underway in 1850 and still continues in a much more verbose contemporary format. While the memorials cannot claim the soaring rhetoric of a Pericles’ funeral oration or plumb the depths of a Hamlet death soliloquy, they compel more attention and interest than the typical obituary recording the death of prominent people.

The memorial commences with the bar president announcing the name of the deceased and then an introduction of the partner or close friend who presents the minute which is primarily a brief biography accompanied by some personal references and a motion to adopt. This minute is followed by seconds by friends and associates who enlarge upon the personal and professional character of the departed and highlight their observations with anecdotal references.

Only members of the bar may speak. This limitation was imposed only recently and, in all likelihood, was the result of two non-lawyers introducing what might be described as lengthy, extraneous comments and resolutions in one of the memorials. A verbatim transcript of the memorial is made by a court reporter. For purposes of clarity, we define minute, as the single resolution or opening statement. When observations or comments are added, the more inclusive term memorial is used.

The thread that is common throughout all the memorials is the court order coming at the end directing that the memorial in its entirety be made a permanent part of the court’s record and that a copy be forwarded to the decedent’s family; the inference being that this will impart an element of immortality and add greater significance to the decedent’s life.

There is one notable exception to the universal policy of limiting these memorials to members of the York County Bar.

In 1881, The Honorable Thomas E. Cochran, in a short but appropriate address spoke of the death of President Garfield at the hands of an assassin as a great national calamity, calling upon all to pause and reflect; to consider how much each had contributed toward the culmination of crime which ended the life of this great man; concluding with a motion to the court to adjourn out of respect to the chief magistrate of the country. Mr. Chapman in a few pertinent remarks seconded the motion.

"His honor, Judge Wickes, said in reply, That the sensibilities of the Court had been deeply moved by the death of the Chief Magistrate of the nation – that there was a peculiar sadness about this death, which has evoked the profoundest sympathy and grief of all, without regard to party or section. It was creditable to the country that its citizens could forget all, in the presence of this great sorrow, remembering only that the President of the United States has fallen in the midst of his official career, under circumstances deeply distressing. It is proper we should all pause in our business pursuits, and pay whatever tribute of respect is possible to his memory.

It is therefore ordered that this Court stand adjourned until tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock, and that this proceeding be entered upon its records."

On a cool, crisp Friday afternoon in November 1963, Judson Ruch, Esquire opened the door to Courtroom #1 interrupting a trial in progress – President Judge George W. Atkins presiding – and announced to all of us present in the room, Your honor, President Kennedy has been shot in Dallas, Texas. The Judge responded by saying, Out of respect for the memory of the President, Court will be adjourned until Monday morning.

In the early years, the memorial consisted of a formally drafted resolution employing a heavy, baroque style language – what could be described as a true minute.

Over time, the minute along with accompanying observations has evolved into a much more comprehensive tribute, heavily freighted with character descriptions and philosophies of life – a true memorial cast against the horizon of death.

The early minutes were handwritten, difficult to interpret and somewhat spartan in substance and ended up in the dust bin of the Prothonotary’s records tucked away in the County’s archives repository at Stony Brook, virtually inaccessible. Over the years, the great bulk of the memorials have been scattered throughout the numerous volumes of the York Legal Record following no discernable order except the date of presentation.

We have compiled all of the memorials (including the early resolutions and minutes) in the order in which they were given in a single collection of multiple volumes making them readily accessible and available.

They are an important record of men and women who were not only prominent members of our bar and in the legal profession, but were significant contributors to the community, whose lives made a substantial impact on the broad sweep of community life and character. For that, we must always be not only proud, but grateful.

Because of the brevity of the early memorials, we have inserted excerpts from biographical personal sketches where they could be found in the two outstanding York County Histories – John Gibson – 1886 and the two volume Prowell - 1907.

Unfortunately, there were some very prominent lawyers and judges whose lives were not memorialized, either because the practice was not in place when they died or the result of neglect or choice.

Hugh Brackenridge was the college classmate of James Madison – Princeton, 1771 – lived for a time in Peach Bottom Township near the Mason-Dixon Line and was, in addition to being a lawyer, a literary figure of some stature in the early years of the nation’s history.

James Smith was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence.

Robert Fisher served thirty years as President Judge during the mid-nineteenth century and as a result of his persuasive advocacy, the Confederate General Jubal D. Early whose columns marched through York on the eve of the Battle of

Gettysburg, did not torch the courthouse records.

Edward Chapin, Sr. is the only exception to our general policy of not including anyone who did not have a memorial. He was a lawyer of some note in the mid-nineteenth century and the father of Edward Chapin who did have a memorial.

In the twentieth century, there is no memorial for Norman Petow – considered by some to have been the Bar’s reigning cynic and who famously said in his prelude to the memorial for Charles H. Still, I have attended many of these ceremonies where we pay tribute to the members of the bar who have passed on. I suppose that if somebody in the future, some historian would examine the rolls of this court, they would probably think that all the angels had descended at some time or other, to become members of the York County Bar. ¹

McClean Stock wanted no memorial, but his wishes were never reduced to writing and a very fine and generous memorial materialized out of nowhere, the author unknown.

In a similar vein, his law partner, Henry Leader, had often expressed his opposition to a memorial. But again, there was no written record of this position; his four daughters asked for a memorial and a ceremony was held.

Judge Walter Anderson asked that his minute be confined to a memorial tribute as a record of this court. For this reason, the members of the bar generally have not been requested to attend. Leo Gribbin, President of the Bar, for Judge Walter Anderson – 1977.

Again quoting Jeffrey Bortner’s delightful little book – Commentaries for Lawyers & Ilk - Over the years, several have given such instruction (no minute upon my death). The one that lingers in my mind was that of Paul Stein, using words by Alfred Lord Tennyson in clever double entendre directed: Sunset and evening star and one clear call for me and let there be no moaning of the bar when I put out to sea.

The occasion for the memorial not only promoted professional cohesion, it also afforded the opportunity to remember the dead and extol their virtues. Were they unduly laudatory? Why not? These were last rites and were intended to remind surviving colleagues that here was a model for everyone to emulate and re-examine their own values as suggested by Judge Albert Blakey when he spoke at Edward Garber’s memorial, He was a professional of these kind of ideals that we come here to renew – Judge Albert Blakey for Edward Garber – 1994 and Ronald

Hershner when he said at Henry Leader’s memorial, I can only hope that these moments of reflection in these minutes will remind us and those that follow us what it takes to be like Henry Leader, a truly exceptional in our profession. Ronald Hershner for Henry Leader – 2015.

Nor was aggressive advocacy any less a part of the practice of law in the twentieth century than in the nineteenth. In 1884, H. L. Fisher said of John Blackford, Our departed friend and I were antagonists in many a long and hard fought case in Court and before referees and arbitrators, and momentary asperities of temper were sometimes indulged in on both sides but I am happy to say that no protracted unfriendly feelings ever existed between us.

Tom Reed at Nevin Stetler’s memorial (1996) referred to a case where he and Nevin fought like tigers and Judge Ray Sherwood called them both to the bench and asked, Why do you two fight so much, aren’t you friends? Stetler replied, We are the best of friends Judge. We’re just helping our clients out here. I’m taking care of the state and he is taking care of his client.

In the Amos Herrmann memorial, Judge Ray Sherwood complimented

Herrmann as follows – During one week of that court, from Monday morning until Saturday night at nine o’clock, Mr. Herrmann tried three homicide cases and was successful in each one of them. That, I believe, was close to a record in the courts of our county for the expeditious manner in which district attorneys have facilitated the work of the court.

This was not only a record for the reason given by Judge Sherwood, these three homicide trials arising out of the Hex murder in Southern York County marked that week as historic in the broad sweep of the common law. Never before had there been such a cluster of homicide cases tried back to back in the brief time interval of one week. Even more significant, the first two trials concluded with first degree verdicts accompanied by sentences of life in prison, but against all odds, the third trial concluded with the verdict of second degree and ten years as a result of the inspired advocacy of the charismatic Harvey Gross.

At the conclusion of the third trial, Herrmann said, Mr. Gross, I want to thank you for saving the life of that boy (Wilbert Hess, one of the three accused defendants). Gross then turned to one of the reporters and made a statement of Delphic ambiguity – mankind reached its full stature here tonite. Gross was complementing the jury for a remarkable feat in the wake of two first degree verdicts and in a community saturated with witchcraft and pow wow publicity. Gross would go on to serve twenty years as Judge of the York County Orphans’ Court.

These memorials are a resume of unique personalities and relationships, a record of men and women who once upon a time walked the halls and used the marble stairs of the old Court House on East Market Street, peopled the courtrooms in earnest advocacy and argument, experienced triumph and defeat at the hands of indifferent juries and demanding judges.

In an era characterized by a growing number of women swelling the ranks of the profession in droves, it is noteworthy that no woman gained admission to the rolls of the dead until 1954 when Mary Jane Yohe was given a memorial.

Mary Jane was physically handicapped which prompted Walter Van Baman to say, This lady lived a life of daily bravery. The very sight of her was an inspiration to us. Judge Walter Anderson’s observation was notably prescient, I have no doubt that in the future there will be other members of the fair sex admitted to the Bar of York County, but I gravely question that there will ever be one who will be more beloved than was our gracious and friendly Mary Jane.

Mattie Chapman followed in 1982 and was distinguished not only as a woman, but also as an honorary member of the Bar and the first African-American to be given a memorial tribute (Judge Clarence Patterson, Jr. would be the second in 2011). Mattie was the unqualified favorite of all who knew her – an absolutely delightful person and to borrow briefly from Don Quixote, truly the lady of the cheerful countenance of the York County Prothonotary’s Office. Judge Buckingham said, I believe when Mattie passed, a light went out in this Court House.

Ruth Robey followed Mattie in 1993 and at her memorial, Judge Penny Blackwell gave one of the more thoughtful analyses of the nature and purpose of the occasion. This moment of respect that was given to Ruth Robey and has been given many times before and will be given many times in the future to other attorneys and judges, causes us to pause and reflect upon that person’s contribution to each of our lives.

After Ruth Robey, Patricia Butler’s death in 1996 prompted a vast outpouring of sorrow and grief demonstrating how deeply felt her loss was to her many colleagues and friends. Rees Griffiths summarized the multiple facets of her life and personality, When I think of Pat Butler, I reflect on a virtuous life filled with love and devotion for her husband and family, filled with dedicated service to her profession and her clients and filled with warm and unqualified friendship.

In 2015, Angela Dobrinoff-Blake died, the tragic victim of cancer at a very young age. At her memorial, Judge Andrea Marceca Strong described her as the incarnation of the words of Bessie Anderson Stanley’s poem of success, whose opening and closing lines are as follows, He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much….whose life was an inspiration, whose memory a benediction.

The sixth woman remembered and also the first woman elected to the York County bench in its entire history was Judge Sheryl Dorney who died in 2016. With a caustic but crisp nod to the past, Judge Maria Musti Cook summarized Judge

Dorney’s notable distinctions when she said, The Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas were established by the PA Constitution in 1776. In 1790, judicial districts were formed and the position of president judge was established as the head of common pleas courts. Based upon this history, it took the enlightened citizens of York County only 211 years to elect a woman to the common pleas bench. Whether you personally knew Judge Dorney or not, there can be no mistake that she was a trailblazer for women in the legal profession in York County and across the state and dare I say the nation, first by being the first female Assistant DA hired in 1975 and also by her election to the bench in the fall of 1987. And in between those two events and the years that followed her election to the bench, Judge Dorney dedicated herself to her profession.

And so women took their place along with men in that silent caravan which like the sacred river Alph winds through caverns measureless to man down to a sunless sea. ²

As would be expected, death was a constant presence, but when it occurred suddenly with no prior alarm, it was particularly intimidating and anomalous. A. C. Fulton collapsed in the courtroom in the turmoil of a will contest. His death was followed by this lament, But yesterday in the full flesh and vigor of manhood at its prime, he went in and amongst us and today lies cold and silent in death’s dark embrace – said of A. C. Fulton – 1892, and again, death is always tragic, and it is more keenly so when it comes with the swiftness of a lightening flash – Judge Ray Sherwood for Charles Still – 1957.

Many died in their early years or before anything like their full potential had been reached. When the Grim Reaper takes one of our members in the prime of life…it is a real tragedy to all of us. Judge Walter Anderson for Benjamin

Weinbrom – 1952. We lost her far too soon, Brian Strong for Angela Dobrinoff-Blake – 2015.

Death was considerate of Carroll Lingg, it came while he slept, and for Victor Dell’Alba, it came on the grassy slopes of a Florida golf course.

None of these deaths, even though proclaimed to be tragic and premature, could match the horror that engulfed Judge Gordon Roe. Recently elected to the bench at age 41, his prospects and potential stretched to the sky – his vistas unlimited; on a late spring day, pinned helplessly under farm equipment with his life slipping away – he died shortly thereafter as a result of his injuries – his death must rank near the top in the annals of human misfortunes. The saddest words in life are ‘what might have been.’ Lewis Markowitz for Judge Gordon Roe – 1988.

In responding to the death of a colleague, they were subconsciously dealing with the realization that their own lives were finite and that they too were destined inexorably and irrevocably and with absolute certainty to this same fate – that issues, problems and challenges that had seemed so important and monumental during their professional careers in the grand scheme of things were really trivial and insignificant.

The existentialist Jean-Paul Sarte in anguished protest proclaimed, it is absurd that we shall die, a sentiment affirmed by Judge Walter Anderson at the James Gerry memorial, one of the greatest tragedies of death is that the vast knowledge, experience, skill that one has spent a lifetime in acquiring ceases and passes into oblivion with the last heartbeat.

Cursed by the frailties of their mortality and finality, they turned to philosophy, literature and poetry attempting to learn something of the unknowable, to find meaning in mysteries and events beyond meaning, to reach out to worlds too obscure and distant to understand.

This fixation on death gave the memorials an impetus that was both clarifying and opaque, a frustration that was agonizing and profound, that added to and deepened the significance and meaning of life, as mirrored in the words spoken at the memorial for Major H. S. McNair – 1906, In the midst of life, we are in death – a thought amplified by Leo Tolstoy in his short but powerful novel – The Death of Ivan Ilyich where he argues that all life points to death, that a life is a value, but an incomplete value and that death is a natural corollary. In all of this one of the characters in the novel, the peasant Gerasim, interjects something of the pragmatic when he cries out, we all have to die someday.

In the words of Horace G. Port’s minute for Ralph Fisher (1958):

"Death is but a name, a date,

A milestone by the stormy road

Where you may lay aside your load

And bow your face and rest and wait,

Defying fear, defying fate."

In the words of W. Van Baman’s minute for Spencer Wareheim, and so Spencer Wareheim (1966) has taken the road to discover we must travel too. He was my friend, faithful and just to me.

And so he moves into eternity, eternity

Came he from one?

Goes he to one?

And is his life then but a fleck

of dust between the two

A fleck of dust

Who knows? Who knows?

and Judge Emanuel Cassimatis at Christian Ness’s memorial – 2001 reaching into the deep wells of his own Greek heritage, quoting Socrates, One must wait until the evening to see how bright the day has been, death really causes us to look back and see what a bright day his journey in life has been.

We cannot help but conclude that these memorials have about them a dimension that broadens and defines our history, heritage and even our humanity, a dimension that Judge John Uhler implied when he said at Nevin Stetler’s memorial – 1996 – These minutes are essential in memorializing and preserving for the remaining members of the Bar as well as history the greatness of those that have come before us.

To paraphrase the medieval scholastic, St. Bernard of Chartres, we are as dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants and thus we are able to see more and farther because we are carried aloft by the magnitude of the giants. For all their individuality, the contributions to these memorials form an eloquent and incisive whole that teaches how much there is to discover in the sober and creative thoughts and observations of the men and women of the York County Bar.

Acknowledgements

I am deeply grateful for the help and support given me in this enterprise. Retired former President Judge John C. Uhler of the York County Court of Common Pleas initiated this work just as he energized the writing of Lawyers and Leaders, a York County Bar history in 2005. A fervent believer that the Bar Memorials are an integral part of York County Bar History, through Judge Uhler’s persuasion, the Bar Leaders agreed to fund this compilation. Judge Uhler’s spirit inspires all of us.

I have also greatly benefited from the participation of Victoria A. Connor, Chief Executive Officer of the York County Bar and Bar Foundation. She believed this publication to be an appropriate milestone marking the 136th anniversary of the York County Bar and the 25th anniversary of the York County Bar Foundation. By virtue of Ms. Connor’s suggestion that the memorials be structured by decades, they form a much more cohesive entity.

I am also indebted to the very competent and dedicated staff members of the York County Bar and Foundation, Cheryl Kauffman, Jennifer Mischke and Kendall Menzer, and intern Stephanie Bange, for their supervision and management of the host of technical issues.

I cannot say enough for the patience and excellence of the work of my very competent secretary, Geri Benzel, who managed to turn my handwritten legal sheets into very impressive manuscript. Fortunately, Geri takes to the current technology with ease and agility.

Heartfelt accolades must be assigned to the multitude of lawyers and judges, men and women, who over the decades gathered in formal judicial arenas where every word spoken was frozen for all time in transcripts – a ritual setting and a ritual procedure - and poured out their commentaries in deep and somber mourning for the passing of a colleague from life to death – call it rites of passage – call it reflections on journey’s end, call it whatever pleases your youth and fancy, this is their legacy for present and future generations.

The memorials speak for themselves, some of them with a touch of humor when the subject has been a universally recognized character, but by and large they are sober reflections by learned men and women on the rich and moving mosaic of a life at its termination.

- J. Ross McGinnis

1850–1879

***

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Judge Charles A. Barnitz – 1850

When there is a common bereavement, the afflicted may mingle their sorrow together.

JUDGE CHARLES A. BARNITZ – March 1850

March 11, 1850

At a special Court of Common Pleas, The Honorable Ellis Lewis presiding, Judge Durkee announced the death of The Honorable Charles A. Barnitz, and offered as expressive of the unanimous sentiments of the members of the Bar and the Judges of the Court, the following testimonial of respect for the memory of the deceased.

Resolved, By the Judges of the Court and the members of the Bar, that in the decease of The Honorable Charles A. Barnitz, on Friday last, they have sustained the loss of one who had for more than twenty years been justly esteemed as the eldest member and honored head of the Bar. In the councils of the State and Nation his talents and integrity ever commanded the respect and gratitude of his fellow citizens. His urbanity, kindness of heart and high sense of honor in the discharge of his duty as an advocate and counsellor rendered him an ornament of the legal profession. As a man, a husband and a father, he was beloved by all who had an opportunity to become acquainted with his many virtues.

Resolved, That as a mark of respect for his memory, the foregoing resolution be entered upon the records of the Court, and that a copy thereof be presented to the family of the deceased.

The foregoing resolutions having been presented to the Court accompanied by appropriate remarks by Judge Durkee, expressive of the respect in which the deceased was held by the community and by his professional brethren, Judge Lewis, who was presiding, made the following remarks accompanied by the order of Court which is subjoined.

Although a resident of another county, and sitting as the President of this Court for a temporary purpose, I am no stranger to the character of the deceased, and to the estimation in which he has always been held. I may be indulged in hearing testimony to the truth of the statements contained in the Resolution. From my earliest boyhood I have heard of, and have known, the lamented object of this notice, and I have never known or heard anything but what tended to endear him to all and most to those who knew him best.

His public life was characterized by the display of abilities of a high order, and by the most unspotted purity of purpose. His duties as a member of the Bar were discharged with uniform courtesy and kindness to all, and with a high sense of that

integrity and honor what is the distinguishing trait of the profession entrusted with the protection and defense of character, life, liberty and property. Amid the melancholy thoughts called forth by the departure of a citizen so well and so favorably known, it was consoling to perceive, in the innumerous concourse which followed his remains to the grave, the strong hold upon the affections of the whole community which a long life of kindness and usefulness had secured. The rewards of the next world are undoubtedly, and should be, the chief inducements to good conduct in this. But the sincere respect and warm hearted attachment of the community in which we live will always be valued by every well-regulated mind as a strong incentive to good deeds – to the practice of charity, benevolence, and all the Christian virtues which contribute to the happiness of man. When a citizen, distinguished for the high powers of his mind and for the nobler qualities of the heart departs from amongst us, it is proper that an enduring memorial of his virtues should be made, in order that others might be encouraged to follow his commendable example. And, on the present occasion, it is peculiarly proper that this memorial should be made by those who have been associated with the deceased, during all the severe trials of a long and arduous professional life. A word of condolence, also, from such a quarter, will not be deemed obtrusive, by those who stand in the nearest relationship of domestic life. When there is a common bereavement, the afflicted may mingle their sorrow together.

The motion having been made, upon consultation with the Bar, and at their unanimous request, it is ordered that the Resolutions be entered of Record, and that Judge Durkee and Mssrs. Evans and Chapin be a committee to communicate a copy thereof to the family of The Honorable Charles A. Barnitz, deceased.

Biography

CHARLES A. BARNITZ, March 4, 1850

For a period of thirty years the most eloquent member of the bar, was born at York, September 11, 1780.

He obtained a classical education, and during his entire life, was a diligent student of literature, history and biography, and was well informed on all public questions of interest to the state and nation. After a thorough preparation he was admitted to the bar in 1811, and soon acquired local distinction, not only for his eloquence but his broad and comprehensive knowledge of the law. He was gifted with superior intellectual endowments and became prominent in public debate.

After the death of John R. Coates, of Philadelphia, Charles A. Barnitz was appointed attorney for the heirs of Penn, in all matters relating to their claims in Springettsbury Manor. When the Whig party originated, in 1828, he became an ardent advocate of its policy and principles. In 1832, he was elected to represent York, Adams and Cumberland counties in the national House of Representatives. He made several speeches in that body in advocacy of measures supported by his party. His eloquence attracted the attention of Henry Clay, who, on one occasion, came to York and was entertained by Mr. Barnitz at his home at Spring Dale, later the residence of his great-grandson, Grier Hersh.

His entire professional career of forty years as a member of the York bar, marked him as one of the most distinguished men who ever practiced before the local courts. His brilliant attainments called into requisition his services in the trial of important cases before the courts of adjoining counties, the Supreme courts of Pennsylvania, and the Federal courts.

He appeared as an orator in many public demonstrations, the most notable of which was the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of American independence, on July 4, 1826. On this occasion, standing under an arch erected in front of the Court House in Centre Square, he addressed a large audience. Sitting in a semi-circle in front of him were rows of nearly fifty soldiers of the Revolution. The speech he delivered on this commemorative day was published in full in the local papers, and is stated to have been his ablest oratorical effort. Having been a close and diligent student of the best forms of English and American literature, his speeches were noted for their elegant diction and forceful expression. For a period of ten years, he was president of the York Bank, then the only financial institution in the town. He died in York, March 8, 1850.

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John G. Campbell – 1859

Said of John G. Campbell, Esquire …who during a long series of years, adorned the practice, and illustrated the principles of law, with the fullness of learning, a large, liberality and courteous deportment.…

JOHN GARDNER CAMPBELL – June 1859

And now, June 3, 1859.

Mssrs. Welsh and Ziegler communicated to the court the following proceedings. Whereupon the court ordered the same to be entered of record, viz:

Tribute of Respect

The members of the Court and Bar of this county assembled at the residence of Judge Fisher, on Tuesday evening, the 10th inst. for the purpose of taking the requisite steps to testify their sense of the loss sustained by them in the recent decease of their former associate, John G. Campbell, Esq., and organized a committee calling The Honorable Robert G. Fisher to the chair, and appointing C. B. Wallace, secretary.

On motion, a committee composed of Thomas E. Cochran, John L. Mayer, Charles A. Barnitz, V. K. Keesey, and John Gibson, Esqs., was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting, and after a brief interval Mr. Cochran, on behalf of the committee, reported the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted.

Resolved, That the members of this Bar have heard with the most unfeigned regret of the decease of their late professional brother and friend, John G. Campbell, Esq., who, during a long series of years, adorned the practice, and illustrated the principles of Law, with the fullness of learning, a large liberality and courteous deportment, which alike commended him to their admiration, attracted their affections, and enshrined his memory within their hearts, and to be commended to those who shall succeed them as worthy of all imitation and respect.

Resolved, That the loss of so fine an intellect, so true a sense of honor, such a just appreciation of the profession, its obligations and responsibilities, and such a considerate regard for the rights and feelings of his professional associates, as so marked the life and character of Mr. Campbell, is one which extends beyond the immediate sphere of our action and may well be felt and mourned by the community at large, so deeply interested in the conduct of judicial proceedings, and who are deprived, moreover, by his death of a citizen upright, generous and exemplary in all the walks of life.

Resolved, That our most sincere condolence is hereby tendered to the bereaved family of our deceased brother and friend in this visitation of Divine Providence, which has fallen so heavily on his cherished domestic circle, and while we dare not intrude on their sacred sorrows, we would be unjust to our own emotions, were we not to offer them all the consolation which may be found in the expression of our earnest sympathy with their grief, and our cherished appreciation of his talents and virtues.

Resolved, That we will attend the funeral of Mr. Campbell at the time and place which may be appointed therefore and wear crepe on the left arm for 30 days as a badge of the sorrow which affects our hearts on the occasion of his death.

Resolved, That Mssrs. Meiser and Green be a committee to convey to the family of the deceased a copy of the proceedings of this meeting on behalf of the Bar of York County now assembled, and that Mssrs. Welsh and Ziegler be requested to communicate them to the several Courts of this county, at their next session, with a request that they be entered of record.

Resolved, That these proceedings be published in the papers of the County.

Resolved, That this meeting is now adjourned.

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Edward Chapin, Sr. – 1869

EDWARD CHAPIN, SR. – March 1869

March 17, 1869

Edward Chapin, Sr., Esq., was for fifty-five years practicing attorney in the courts of York County, and for the larger portion of that period an acknowledged leader of the bar.

He was born in Rocky Hill, Conn., on the 19th day of February, A. D., 1799.

He graduated at Yale College in the class of 1819. He read law in Connecticut, and after his admission to the bar there he resided for a time in Binghamton, N. Y., where his father had large landed interests. He removed to York in 1823, and was admitted to the York bar on motion of Walter S. Franklin, Esq., on April 10 of that year. He soon acquired a reputation as an able lawyer and profound thinker, and during his professional career was engaged in many of the most important cases tried in York and Adams Counties, especially those involving intricate and difficult legal questions. In the construction of obscure wills and deeds Mr. Chapin was especially skillful, and he pressed upon the courts his views on such questions with such force of logic and pro-foundity of legal learning, that even when unsuccessful, it was usually easier to reject his conclusions than to demonstrate their incorrectness. Judge Fisher, who presided in the courts of York County during the eighteen years of Mr. Chapin’s practice here, has said that his legal arguments were the ablest and most thorough and exhaustive he ever listened to.

Mr. Chapin was an intimate personal friend of The Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, who practiced law in the adjoining county of Adams during part of Mr. Chapin’s professional life. They were each in the habit of obtaining the assistance of the other in causes of unusual magnitude or difficulty. One of the latest and most important causes in which they both appeared, was the Ebert will case, an issue framed to determine the validity of the will of Martin Ebert. Messrs. Evans & Mayer, of York, and The Hon. Samuel Hepburn, of Carlisle, appeared for the propounders of the will; and Messrs. Chapin and Stevens for the contestants. It was a contest of intellectual and professional giants, to which the magnitude of the interests involved, as well as the reputation of counsel concerned, attracted great public interest. Though unsuccessful in winning his cause, Mr. Chapin’s address to the jury has been pronounced, by competent judges who listened to it with delight, the most eloquent oratorical appeal ever made to a jury within their recollection.

Mr. Chapin was not what is called a case lawyer. A close reasoner, a profound thinker, deeply versed in the principles underlying the science of law, his arguments contained few citations of authority and few references to text books. He was always listened to, both in the county court and in the supreme court, with the respectful attention his great professional learning and ability deserved.

Mr. Chapin was a great reader. He possessed a considerable knowledge of most branches of natural science. His learning and culture embraced a wide field.

As a legal practitioner his conduct was not only above reproach or suspicion of unfairness or impropriety, but he rejected as beneath him many of the methods resorted to by practitioners who are regarded as reputable. He once told the writer of this sketch, and his life bore witness to the truth of the statement, that he never, during his whole professional life, solicited or sought directly or indirectly the business or employment of any individual. Content with the business that his talents and reputation brought, he used no artifice to extend his clientage.

Mr. Chapin’s delight and recreation was in the cultivation of fruits, flowers and vegetables. He was extremely fond of gunning, and his portly form, armed with a gun which few men could hold to their shoulder, was a familiar figure about Peach Bottom in the ducking season.

Mr. Chapin died on the 17th day of March, 1869.

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JACOB WIEST – February 1872

February 7, 1872

The death of Jacob Wiest, Esquire, late an Associate Judge of the Several Courts of York County was announced, and on motion of John Gibson, Esquire, and seconded by A. N. Green, Esquire, District Attorney, the Court adjourned until 10:00 tomorrow morning to enable the Court and members of the Bar to attend the funeral of the deceased.

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JUDGE PETER AHL – May 1873

WILLIAM L. BOYD – May 1873

May 1, 1873

Peter Ahl

At 6 o’clock p.m., after some remarks, John W. Bittenger, Esq., announced the death of The Hon. Peter Ahl, Associate Judge of this Court, and moved that the Court adjourn. He was followed in eulogistic remarks on the life and character of the deceased by John Gibson and George Heiges, Esq’rs., and the Court, after which in respect to the memory of the deceased, the Court adjourned.

May 5, 1873

The Hon. Peter Ahl, Associate Judge

William L. Boyd, Esq.

Proceedings in the relation to deaths of The Hon. Peter Ahl, Associate Judge and W. L. Boyd, Esq.

After the opening of the Court, his Honor Judge Fisher suspended the business of the Court, in order to give an opportunity to the members of the Bar and Court to give some expression of their loss in the death of The Hon. Peter Ahl and Wm. L. Boyd, Esq. His Honor Judge Fisher called John Evans, Esq., to the chair, and James Kell, Esq., was made secretary.

On motion, the chair appointed John W. Bittenger, Col. Maish, and P. L. Wickes, Esq’rs, to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the loss of the Court and Bar in the death of Judge Ahl; and Wm. Hay, George W. Heiges, and John Blackford, appointed a committee to draft resolutions in relation to the death of Wm. L. Boyd, wherein the said committees reported the resolutions annexed, which, on motion were adopted.

John Evans, Chairman

Jas. Kell, Sec’y.

Whereas, It has pleased Divine Providence to remove from our midst, The Hon. Peter Ahl, one of the Associate Judges of the several Courts of this County and whereas, the deceased has endeared himself to his associates of the Bar and Bench by his official and personal courtesy and kindness.

Resolved, That we deeply lament the death of