Bellefonte, Pa., June 7, 1895.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Brief Sketches of Bellefont-
ers Who Have Met with
Political Preferment
Outside their Home
County.
Proud and Noble Bellefonte.
What a Galaxy of Great Men
Thou hast Produced.
The early history of our town is one
co-incident with that of many distin-
guished men. It is a rare instance in-
deed, the fact ot such a small town
having been the birth place of so many
great men,
Were we to publish a biography of
all who have brought honor to this
their place ot residence the columns of
the WarceMAN would be overtaxed, so
brief sketches of those who have lived
in the town for a long period of time,
only, are given. These include the
men who have been called to other
than local county offices.
Bellefonte has been the temporary
home of many other men who have won
honor after leaving here ; among them:
Ex-Governor William F. Packer, born
at Howard, this county, April 2, 1807.
He learned the printer's trade in the
office of the Bellefonte Patriot and fin-
ished it in 1825. Afterwards he was
elected State Senator over A. G. Cur-
tin, was appointed Auditor General of
the commonwealth in 1842 and was
elected Governor in 1857:
Hon. John Bigler was another dis-
tinguished man who lived for several
years in this place to build the founda-
tion ot his later successes. He came to
Bellefonte in 1827 and had charge of
the old Centre Demoerat until 1832.
He was elected to the first Legislature
in California and was twice its speaker.
In 1851 and 1853 he was nominated and
elected Governar of California and later
was minister to Chili under President
Buchannan.
Another of the notables whom Belle-
fonte once afforded a domicile was ex-
Governor William Bigler, who died in
Clearfield in 1880. He was elected
Governor in 1848 and was defeated by
the know nothings when he ran again
in 1854. He lived in Bellefonte from
1830 to 1833.
Robert J. Walker, who was Secre-
tary of the Treasury under President
James K. Polk, was a son of Jonathan
Walker, the 3rd Judge who ever lived
in Bellefonte, When a boy he lived
with his parents in the house now oc-
cupied by Hon. John B. Linn, on Alle-
gheny street,
In the subjects of these sketches are
Congressmen, Senators, Judges of the
Supreme Bench, Common Pleas
judges, State Cabinet officers and Gov-
ernors. All these men are truly sons
of Bellefonte and to them the proud
position she holds to-day is largely
due.
CONGRESSMAN ANDREW GREGG.
Hon. Andrew Gregg, was born June
10, 1755, about two miles northwesterly
of Carlisle, Pa., on a farm adjoining
the meeting house farm, in Middleton
township. His father, Andrew, came
from Londonderry, Ireland, and his
grandfather's name was John. The
family had emigrated from Scotland to
Ireland, and an old-fashioned sword
and espontoon, long in the garret of the
old house on the Conodoguinet, were
arms of the ancestor in the army of
King William at the battle of Boyne,
July 1, 1690.
Of Mr. Gregg’s grandfather’s family, |
John remained in Ireland, David, An-
drew, and their sister Rachel, who was
married to Solomon Walker, came to
America. David settled in New
Hampshire, and raised a large family
there. The Gregg families of Salem,
Mass., Elmira, Noy. and Indianapo-
lis, Ind., are descendents of David.
Andrew and Mrs. Walker settled on
Christiana Creek, near Newark. Del.,
in 1732, where his first wife died, and
Andrew married Jane Scott, daughter
of Matthew Scott, who had emigrated
from Armah, Ireland, to Chestnut Lev-
el. Andrew Gregg, the elder, remoyed
to the farm near Carlisle, in 1750, where
he died Nov. 18, 1789. Among his
children were Matthew, who was a wag-
on master in the army from Jan. 9,
1779. to Aug. 14, 1790, James and
John, who were also connected with
the army. John Gregg was the father
of Elizabeth (wife of George McKee),
who died in Bellefonte, Oct. 11, 1801,
and of the first Mrs. Roland Curtin, Sr.
Hon. Andrew Gregg received his
early education at Rev. John Steel’s
Latin school, in Carlisle, and was then
sent to Newark, Del., to complete his
education. While thus engaged he
turned out upon several occasions in the
militia.
On the march of the British from
Turkey Point to Philadelphia the
academy at Newark was broken up,
and Mr. Gregg returned to Carlisle to
assist his father on the farm, his other
brothers being in the army. In 1779
he went to Philadelphia, with the in-
tention of going to France for his
health, which had been in a declining
state for some time; but changing
his intention he accepted the appoint-
ment of tutor in the college (now uni-
versity) there, and continued there un-
der Drs. Smith and Ewing’s administra-
tions until 1783, when he removed to
Middleton, Pa., where he resided four
years, engaged in the mercantile busi-
ness,
. Jan, 29, 1787, Mr. Gregg was mar-
ried to Martha, daughter of Maj.-Gen.
James Potter, at the latter’s old resi-
dence in Buffalo valley (Union county
now). He then removed to Lewistown,
then being laid out by Gen. Potter and
Maj. Montgomery, where his daughter
Mary, stterwards Mrs, McLanahan, of
Greencastle, Pa., was born, Nov. 2,
1788. In 1789 he removed to Penn’s
valley, two miles east of the Old Fort.
His public services commenced Nov.
He was continued in the House by suc-
cessive elections for a period of sixteen
years, and in 1807 he was chosen United
States senator, which position he occu-
pied until the 3d of March, 1813. He
was twice elected president of the Sen-
ate, the highest distinction in the coun-
cils of the nation any Pennsylvania had
then attained.
In 1814 he removed from Penn's val-
| ley to Bellefonte for the purpose of bet-
ter educating his family. He was the
first president of the Centre Bank,
which was organized under articles of
association or partnership in 1813, and
was re-elected in 1814.
On the 19th of December, 1820, Mr.
Mr. Gregg was appointed Secretary of
the Commonwealth by Governor Hies-
ter, which office he held when nomina-
ted by a convention that met at Lewis-
town on the 15th of May, 1828, for
Governor, in opposition to Mr. Shultz,
who had been nominated by what was
called a Legislative Convention at Har-
risburg on the 5th of March.
After Mr. Gregg retired from the of-
fice of Secretary of the Commonwealth
he resided in Bellefonte until his death,
which occurred May 20, 1835.
Mr. Gregg had strong party predilec-
tions, but was remarkable for his inde-
pendence of character, always acting ac-
cording to the convictions of his own
mind, though they sometimes differed
from those of political friends. He was
while in office, in fact, what he was
elected to be, the representative of the
interests of his constituents.
He was always scrupulousy tena-
cious of his oath to subserve the
public good according to the best of his
judgment and ability, never yielding
kis duty to the prejudices of party spirit
or the views of interested politicians.
Mr. Gregg’s children, ten in number,
were: 1, Mrs. Mary McLanahan, of
Greencastle, mother of Andrew, James,
Isabella and Mary. 2, Jane, mother of
Roland Curtin, Sr., father of ex-Gov-
ernor A. G. Curtin. 3, Martha who
married Dr. Constans Curtin, and died
Dec, 41, 1829. 4, Julia Ann, who
married Gen. James Irvin, and died
discriminating sense of justice and ex-
tensive knowledge of law and moral
courage to carry its mandate into exe.
cution. As remarked by Hon. James
Macmanus, one of his students, his
great strength of mind, common sense,
and quickness of apprehension enabled
him to grasp the main points of a case,
and with a vigorous step and stately
march he would clear away the rub-
bish of technicality, caring only for the
justice of the cause before him. Mr.
Macmanus relates that upon the oc:
casion of some eminent visitor arriving
at the Judge's house in Bellefonte, Mrs.
Burnside sent Mr, Macmanus for the
Judge, wholwas holding court at Lewis-
town. It was late in the week, and a
canal case to try, the judge asked the
lawyers to continue the case to oblige
him. They replied the case was im-
portant, and the witnesses were from a
distance. ‘‘Well, then, go on; I will
try it for you,” said Judge Burnside.
Taking a little time to get the facts ac-
curately he drove the case through,
and charged the jury, and was ready
by the time he had fixed upon to go
home, and, what was remarkable, his
opinion was the only oue sustained of
several which went up from different
districts the canal passed through in-
volving precisely similar questions of
law.
Judge Burnside took a deep and
lively interest in all the public enter-
prices of the day, turnpikes, canals,
railroads, and there are few public im-
provements, whether in our own im-
mediate neighborhood or in more re-
mote portions of the State, which do
not owe much of their success to his
exertion and influence. If ever he was
biased on the bench it was by any de-
lay caused by riots or tumults obstruct-
ing their progress even temporarily.
The late Judge A. S. Wilson used to
relate an anecdote in point. I was con-
cerned when at the bar for a poor
Irishman, who with others had been
convicted of a riot on the canal near
ond day after the election. He had
been gone three weeks, and James M.
Petrikin was about starting out to hunt
him up and inform him of it. In Octo-
ber, 1826, when he ran the second time,
there was but one vote against him in
the Bellefonte box. This was attribu-
ted to Mr. Norris, brother-in-law of
John Brown, one of the opposing candi-
dates. He, however, denied the im-
eachment.
In the summer of 1827, under the di-
rections of the canal commissioners, he
made a survey and examination of the
proposed canal routes between the Sus-
quehanna and Potomac, commencing at
the mouth of the Conedocwinet, above
Harrisburg, and running west as far as
Green village, in Franklin county;
thence continued to Gettysburg, ete.
In 1857 he was appointed engineer on
the Erie Extension, connecting with
the Beaver Division above New Castle,
and running to Erie, superintending
the construction of the French Creek
feeder, which was the first part of the
work.
In 1829 he was appointed by the Leg-
islature one of the canal commissioners,
reappointed by governor Wolf in 1830,
and continued in office until the advent
of Governor Ritner’s administration.
It was in this office that the peculiar
talents of Mr. Mitchell shone most con-
spicuously. Possessing strong common
sense, an intuitive sagacity, and a com-
plete knowledge of mankind, he uni-
ted with these qualities great coolness
and discretion, an indefatigable perse-
verance, supported by an iron constitu-
tion. Accustomed from early life to
endure privations, often voluntarily un-
dergone, neither the storms of winter
tor the heat of summer interfered with
the steady performance of his duty.
His habit was to get up before five
o'clock in the morning, and do a large
amount of brain-work before breakfast.
He was Presidential elector on the Van
Buren and Johnston ticket in 1835, and
after his removal by Governor Ritner in
1887 he went into the iron business, the
firm of John Mitchell & Co., owning
and managing Heela and Mill Hall
country, by President Van Buren, and
on the 27th of September Mr. Potter
made his maiden speech in Congress on
the bill to postpone the fourth install-
ment of deposit with the States, which
placed him in the front rank of saga-
cious counselors upon our financial
policy.
His next speech, Jan. 4, 1838, in reply
to Mr. Cushing upon the Hayes resolu-
tion in relation to the United States
Bank, was a masterly constitutional ar-
gument. On the 12th of April he de-
livered a remarkably eloquent speech,
exhibiting extensive historical research,
upon the resolution relative to the Wy-
oming flag. The people of Wyoming
valley had asked for the flag their fath-
ers had fought under, believing the one
captured in Canada in the war of 1812
and in the State Department was it;
but it turned out to be the one the Brit-
ish had fought under during the battle
of Wyoming. On the 13th of June,
1838, he delivered a very able and ex-
haustive speech on the independent
treasury bill, which acquired for him
great notoriety and popularity. We
shall allude to one other speech of Mr.
Potter, that which was delivered Feb.
28, 1939, on issu 1g treasury notes to
meet the expenses of the government,
as a brief, unanswerable, logical argu-
ment.
He died at 2 comparatively early age,
in his forty-eighth year, in the midst of
of his professional usefulness, and when
rising into national fame. His remains
were conveyed to the family burying-
ground at Potter’s Mills on the morning
of the 1st of October, attended by the
judges of the court and the members of
the bar in a body. He left no children.
His widow, Lucy (Winters) Potter, sur-
vived him until May 30, 1875, when
she died in Bellefonte, at the advanced
age of eighty-four years. They were
married March 20, 1815. She was a sis-
ter of Mrs. Judge Huston and Mrs.
Burnside.
CONGRESSMAN JOHN BLANCHARD.
The subject of this sketch was born
July 4, 1856. 5, Eliza Mitchell, widow
of David Mitchell, of Bellefonte, now
deceased 1882. 6, Hon. Andrew Gregg
who died May 13, 1869, father of Gen.
John I Gregg, late of United States ar-
my, of Andrew Gregg, Esq., county
commissioner. 7, James P. Gregg,
married Eliza Wilson, and died in Vir-
ginia, Sept. 8, 1845. 8, Matthew D.,
married Ellen McMurtrie, who also
died in Virginia, July 26, 1845, the
father of Gen. David McMurtrie Gregg,
now of Reading, Pa., a distinguished
cavalry officer of the United States army
during the war of the Rebellion. 9,
Sarah, who married Henry Kinney,
and died March 28, 1836. 10, Mrs.
Margery Tucker, of Lewisburg, Pa.,
widow of Rev. Charles Tucker, of the
Baptist Church.
JUDGE THOMAS BURNSIDE.
The subject of this sketch was born
near Newton Stewart, in the county of
Tyrone, Ireland. July 28, 1782. He
came with his father's (William Burn-
side) family in 1792 to Montgomery
County, his father locating near Fair-
view, in Lower Providence, in that
county. ‘In November, 1800, he com-
menced the study of law under Hon.
Robert Porter, of Philadelphia, and
was admitted to the bar Feb, 13, 1804,
and in March removed and settled in
Bellefonte.
In 1811 he was elected to the State
Senate, and was an active supporter of
Governor Simon Snyder in all the war
measures of 1812. In 1815 he was
elected to Congress, and served during
the memorable session of 1816. In
the summer of the same year he was
appointed by Governor ;Sayder presi-
dent judge of the Luzerne district. He
resigned this position in 1818, and re-
sumed practice at Bellefonte. In 1823
he was again elected to the State Sen-
ate, of which body he was chosen
Speaker.
In 1826, before his senatorial term
bad expired, he was appointed presi-
dent judge of the Fourth Judicial Dis-
trict (Centre, etc.), which office he held
until 1841, when he was appointed
president judge of the Seventh Judicial
District (Bucks and Montgomery). On
the 1st of January, 1854, he was com-
missioned one of the justices of the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, an of-
fice which he filled with honor up to
the time of his death,
.As remarked by Governor Cartin,
“Judge Burnside was a man of indomit-
able will, and had that intensity of
purpose which baffled want, poverty,
and ill-fortune. He came to this coun-
ty when it was comparatively a wilder-
ness, without means or friends, and
supplied the want of early educational
training by his energy and persever-
ance. His goodness of heart and open-
handed hospitality soon surrounded
him with a circle of steadfast personal
friends, and his large and liberal views
of progress, with his lofty State pride,
made him a captain of men and a rul-
8, 1791, as member of the House of
Representatives of the United States. '
ing spirit”
Asa judge, he possessed a keen and
Lewistown, to my utter surprise, he
was called up with the rest for sen-
tence. “Why,” I remounstrated with
the court, “the evidence shows clearly
my client was on the other side of the
river when the riot took place.” “It
don’t matter,” said Judge Burnside,
“if he could have gotten over he would
have been in it.”
In person the judge was of medium
height, prominent nose and eyes, dark
complexion, and rather noted for want
of comeliness of features, His kind-
ness and blunt honesty made ample
amends for his lack ot personal beauty.
In the language of Mr. Macmanus, the
judicial ermine was as unspotted when
he laid it aside for the habiliments of
the grave as when he first put it on,
Judge Burnside died at the residence
of his son-in-law, Mr. E. Morris, in
Germantown, Tuesday evening, March
25, 1857, in the sixty-ninth year of his
age. His first wife, Mary Fleming,
died Feb. 28, 1813, at the early age of
twenty-eight. Her children were Mrs.
Harvey Mann, of Boiling Spring ; Mrs.
Mary Morris, and late Hon. James
Burnside. By his second wife, Ellen
Winters, he also had children, now
residing in Bellefonte,—~Miss Lucy
Burnside, Thomas Burnside, and Mrs.
Frances Boal. Mrs Ellen W. Burn-
side died in Bellefonte, June 3, 1839,
aged seventy-three years, eight months,
and seventeen days.
CONGRESSMAN JOHN MITCHELL.
Hon. John Mitchell, was a son of
Gen. David Mitchell, of Cumberland
county (now Perry), who was for some
twenty-two years a member of the Leg-
islature. John Mitchell - was born
about two miles from Newport, Perry
county, March 8, 1891. When quite a
boy he went with his father on his jour-
ney to the meetings of the Legislature
to bring the horses home, and returned
for him in the spring. He had little
schooling, but a great capacity for
mathematics. One of the members
gave him a book and told him he must
run lines all over the farm before his re-
turn in the spring, which he did, being
only about fourteen years of age then.
He came to Centre county in 1800,
and engaged with John Dunlop as a
clerk in the iron works. In May, 1814,
he was married to the widow of Col. W.
W. Miles (nee Annie Boggs), and then
entered into the mercantile busi-
ness with his brother David, in Belle-
fonte. In October, 1818, he was elec.
ted sheriff of Centre county, and as such
became the executioner of Munks.
Mr. Mitchell’s ability as a surveyor
and engineer was so universally recog-
nized that he became constantly em-
ployed in such services. In 1821 he
laid out the Centre and Kishacoquillas
turnpike and superintended its con-
struction, and subsequently as engineer
located many of the turnpikes in the
middle and northern portions of the
State. In the fall of 1822 he was elec-
ted to the Assembly, and re-elected in
1823. When elected to Congress the
first time, in 1824, he was in the moun.
tains surveying, and returned the sec-
Furnaces. He failed in that business
in 1838, and in 1839 was appointed su-
perintendent of the Beaver Division
of the Pennsylvania Canal, and in 1842
removed from Centre county to Bridge-
water, Beaver county.
In 1844, when Francis R. Shunk,
who had been clerk of the canal board
under Mr. Mitchell, was elected Gov-
ernor, he promised Mr. Mitchell the of-
fice of surveyor-general, but there being
factions in the Democratic party, and
Mr. Mitchell standing with ex-Gov-
ernor Porter, Governor Shunk regret-
ted bitterly, that he could not keep his
word saying he could not help it,
and was forced by circumstances.
On the 1st.of January, 1845, the State
transferred the Beaver Division to the
Erie Canal Company. This company
reappointed Mr. Mitchell and in the
erformance of the duties of the office
> passed the remainder of his days.
The last years of his life were clouded
by the death of his son David, who was
wounded in battle in Mexico, and died
at Perote. :
Mr. Mitchell died at Bridgewater
Aug. 3, 1849, of cholera. His two
children, Mrs. Martha Kephart,
of Unionville, Centre county; and
Mrs. N. H. Dickson, wife of Dr.
Joseph Dickson, at Pittsburg ; are both
dead.
CONGRESSMAN Wm. W. POTTER.
A grandson of Gen. James Potter of
the Revolutionary war, was born at
Potters’ Mills, Dec. 18, 1792. In Au-
ust, 1809, he commenced attending the
fatin school of Rev. Thomas Hood,
near Lewisburg, from which he was
transferred to Dickinson College at Car-
lisle. After he graduated he read law
with Hon. Charles Huston, and was ad-
mitted to the bar in April 1814, of which
for twenty-five years he was an honored
member.
Affable, courteous, and kind to the
junior members of the bar, he was look-
ed up to by them as a father. He was
an able and judicious counselor, and an
industrious, and successful practitioner
of the law, and his profession was his
pride. Left with an ample patrimony,
no child of penury and want was more
indefatigable and industrious in legal
pursuits, and at his death he had no su-
perior in his district in legal standing
and acquirements. In 1838 the grand
jury of Union county petitioned the
Governor for the appointment as presi-
dent judge of that distmict.
In 1952 he received the unanimous
nomination in the district for a seat in
Congress, and was elected by the largest
majority ever given iu the district ; and
in 1838, which was a fierce and bitter
political contest, was re-elected and died
in office.
During the sessions he represented
this district in Congress, by his talents,
clear and discriminating mind, his elo-
quence, with a mild and gentlemanly
demeanor, he gained for himself a high
reputation, and stood at the head of the
Democratic delegation from Pennsyl-
vania.
Congress was convened in extra ses-
gion on the 4th of September, in conse-
quence of the financial condition of the
at Peacham, Vt., Sept. 30 1787. When
fifteen years of age his father died, and
he assisted in carrying on the farm,
attending the public schools in the win-
ter. Supporting himself by school
teaching, he prepared himself for col-
lege, and graduated at Dartmouth in
1812. He then removed to York, Pa.,
where he taught school and studied
law, and was admitted to the bar of
York Couaty, March 31, 1815.
He first settled at Lewistown, and in
the fall of 1815 removed to Bellefonte,
which continued to be his residence up
to the time of his death. He at once
became largely engaged in the practice
of law, and took a high position at the
bar. He was married in March, 1820,
to Mary, daughter of Evan Miles.
He was a Whig in politics, but not-
an active politician, and after much
persuasion became a canditate of that
party for Congress in the fall of 1844.
His speeches in Congress, particularly
on the ariff question, were character-
ized by great logical ability and abound
ing in evidence of great research of sta-
tistics. He took sick about the close ot
his second term, and died at Columbia,
Pa., on his way home, March 8. 1849.
His widow survived him until Jan. 9,
1857. She was born at Milesburg,
March 23, 1799. Their sons, Edmund,
Blanchard, and Evan M. Blanchard,
Eeq., both well known members of the
bar, who died respectively Dee. 27, 1886
and Nov. 7, '94.
The following brief estimate of Mr.
Blanchard’s character is from the pen
of ex-Governor Curtin, at one time Mr.
Blanchard’s law partner:
Mr. Blanchard was a thoroughly
educated man, and it is not an exag-
gerated eulogy to say a ripe scholar.
He retained his fondness for the clas-
gics, and read Latin and Greek habitu-
ally in his hours of relaxation from
professional labor.
He was active and zealous in the
cause of education, and participated in
all means intended to improve and en-
lighted the people who surrounded
him. In his professional reading, ex-
cept in the preparation of his cases for
trial, he preferred books, and writers
in which elementary principles are dis
cussed, and had the fondnessof the
thoroughly educated and accomplished
lawyer for the common law.
There were other phases of Mr.
Blanchard’s nature which were scarce-
ly known except to his intimate friends.
He had a keen sense of the ludicrous
and enjoyed wit and humor with rare
zeet. Those who knew him well only
realized the exten: and variety of his
literary acquirements, Remarkable
for his agreeable conversation, he was
always the leader in the social circle
when not too ill, and then he gave real
enjoyment by his knowledge ot modern
classic literature, and amused by apt
and quaint illustrations drawn from his
well-filled memory. A man of posi-
tive convictions on all questions that
engaged his attention, Mr. Blanchard
was bred and educated a Federalist in
his political opinions, and never aban-
doned the principles of that party,
which he bad closely studied and well
understood. It was a high compli-
ment to him and a just appreciation of
his character, as well to the generosity
and good sense of the people of the dis-
trict in which he lived, to elect him
twice to Congress when it was well
known he was an avowed Federalist;
when the name was odious and the
party was defeated, disbanded, and its
leaders in retirement.
As an advocate Mr. Blanchard was
persuasive, clear in his logic, and al-
ways truthful in his statements. In
his forensic efforts he was remarkable
for the simplicity of his language. His
speeches were never long enough to
weary the court or jury, or to lose him
the interest of the court-room.
That he was learned and truthful,
and taithful to his clients, was the
foundation of his professional success,
is true to his memory; and the purity
of his social life and his integrity gave
him the sobriquet of “Honest John
Blanchard,” and more than all other
qualifications gave him power in the
forum and influence in the community.
JUDGE JAMES T. HALE.
The subject of this sketch was born
in Bradford County, Pa., on the 14th
of October, 1810. He lived with his
parents on a farm (still owned and oc-
cupied by his brother, Maj. Elias W.
Hale, several miles east of Towanda),
working on the farm and at intervals
attending the schools of the neighbor-
hood, until he was about fifteen years
of age, when his father died, and he
being the oldest son the support of the
family was chiefly thrown upon him.
Some time after the death of his fath-
er he became the clerk in the prothono-
tary’s office at Towanda.
He then entered upon the study of
the law, under the direction of his un-
cle, Elias W. Hale, Esq., ot Lewis-
town, Mifflin Co., and on the 28th of
February, 1835, he married Miss Jane
W. Huston, daughter of the Hon.
Charles Huston, associate justice of
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
He continued his practice in the courts
of Mifflin County, and also attended
the courts in the counties of Clearfield
and Clinton. He was engaged in the
trial of all the principal causes tried in
these several courts for many years,
until the 10th of April, 1851, when a
vacancy occurred in what is now the
Twenty-fifth Judicial District, whereof
he was appointed president judge by
Governor Johnston. He presided in
the several courts of the district until
the 1st of December, 1851, when his
commission expired. and be was suc-
ceeded by the Hon. Alexander Jordan.
He occupied the bench but a short
time, but during that brief period dis-
charged the arduous duties of president
judge with such promptness, dispatch,
ability, and impartiality,that he achiev-
ed such popularity and renown asa
clear-headed and excellent judge as is
rarely attained by men who occupy the
bench for longer terme. After retiring
from the bench he resumed his profes-
sion, in which he continued until about
1856, when he had become so largely
engaged in other enterprises that he
was, to a great extent, obliged to aban-
don the active duties of the profession.
Having become interested as part own-
erin a large body of timber and coal
lands in the counties of Cambria, Cen-
tre, and Clearfield, kuown as the
Philips estate, whose value, develop-
ment, and availability depended chief-
ly upon railroad communication, he
embarked his means, industry, energy,
and financial skill in the building of
the Tyrone and Clearfleld Railroad.
In 1856 he was elected president of the
company, and continued in that posi-
tion until 1860. During that period,
notwithstanding the financial crisis of
1857, through his indomitable energy,
enterprise, industry, and financial abili-
ty, and the application of his own
means, the road was, through- much
difficulty and many embarrassments,
graded, and so far advanced towards
completion that it was ina year or
two afterwards finished and equipped
and put in running order; and that
important branch and feeder of the
Pennsylvania Central Railroad opened
up and made available the rich timber
and mineral wealth of parts of Cambria,
Centre, and Clearfield Counties.
In politics Judge Hale was an ar-
dent Whig and high tariff man. When
the Whig party passed out oi existence
he united with the Republican party,
and in 1858 was elected to the Thirty-
sixth Congress from the Eighteenth
District, composed of the counties of
Mifflin, Centre, Clinton, Lycoming,
Potter, and Tioga. He was re-elected
in 1860, from the same district, to the
Thirty-seventh Congress. In 1862 he
ran as an independent candidate, and
was again elected over his competitor,
the Hon. William H. Armstrong, the
regular Republican nominee. At the
close of the session, on the 4th of
March, 1865, he took his family to
Philadelphia, where, after attending to
some private business, he left them,
and returned to Bellefonte, and at once
engaged in professional work, tried sev-
eral cases at a special court held by
his Honor Judge Pearson, and, though
not being well, he argued a case with
great force and ability on Friday, the
31st of March. Theday follcwing he
was quite sick, and continued growing
worse until the following Thursday
evening, the 6th of April, 1865, when
he died.
EON. SETH H, YOCUM.
The death of Hon. Seth H. Yocum
occurred at his home in Passadena,
Cal, on Thursday April 18th, 1895,
after a long illness.
At one time he was one of Belle-
fonte’s foremost citizens, having built
the fine home on the Milesburg pike
now occupied by Mr. Edward Shoe-
maker. He was a native of Columbia
county, and came to Bellefonte in 1874,
to succeed his lamented brother, George
M. Yocum, in the law firm of Bush,
Yocum & Hastings, Mr. Geo. Yocum
having met a sad death by the acei-
Continued on Page 3
ra