HISTORICAL SKETCHES
of the Bench and Bar of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
[Preface] [Contents] [Back-Part 13] [Next-Part 15]
Deceased Resident Members of the Bar
(H - J)
William Ellis Haines
William Ellis Haines was born in Pennsdale, Muncy Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, July 7, 1872, the son of Jesse and Mary Whitacre Eckroyd Haines. He passed his boyhood on his father’s farm. As his father before him, he was educated at the celebrated Quaker institution at Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania. . He married Lillian Focht, daughter of F. R. and Elizabeth Focht, of Pottsville, in June 1898. She survived Mr. Haines, as did his sister, Anna Eckroyd Haines, and a brother, Henry Eckroyd Haines, of Philadelphia. There was no issue.
Mr. Haines studied law in the offices of H. C. & S. T. McCormick and was admitted to the bar, April 10, 1897. He formed a partnership with Clarence L. Peaslee, which continued for about 17 years, after which each practiced separately.
Mr. Haines’ grandfather, Jacob Haines, was the first president and one of the founders of the Catawissa Railroad, now a part of the Reading System. Jacob Haines lived to be 99 years and 359 days old. Will Haines’ father was a leader in the Society of Friends, as were his mother, Mary Whitacre Eckroyd Haines, and her maternal grandmother, Mercy Ellis, a member of the celebrated Ellis family.
Will Haines was a born Quaker. He was consulted by the authorities of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting as to real estate titles of Friends Meeting Houses, and he helped organize “The Affiliated Friends Trust”, a corporation to take title to and preserve property of Friends Meeting Houses in America.
Essentially a business lawyer, the tilts of the forum had no attraction for him. Mr. Haines died April 10, 1926 at the age of 53.
Charles Hall
Charles Hall, whose name is associated with the famous farms at Halls (now known as the Brock farm), descended from an old and prominent English family. As early as July 30, 1679, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hall patented a tract of land known as Mt. Welcome, on Octoraro Creek, at its junction with the Susquehanna, in Cecil County, Maryland. The bricks for the mansion he erected were imported from England. This house was occupied by six generations of Halls.
Charles Hall, the subject of this sketch, was born in 1767. He studied law with his uncle, Colonel, later General, Thomas Hartley, at York, Pennsylvania, and was admitted to the bar.
The romantic story of his marriage is thus related: While in Lancaster one day on business, accompanied by a friend, they met two young ladies on the street. Mr. Hall remarked to his friend if he could ascertain the name of one of the young ladies he would marry her. Later in the day he presented a letter of introduction to Robert Coleman, the noted owner of the Cornwall furnaces, who invited him to dine with him. At dinner he was introduced to the young lady he had met in the street, who proved to be Mr. Coleman’s daughter, Elizabeth, then about seventeen years of age. The introduction led to an acquaintanceship which finally ripened in love, and in due course of time they were married.
Mr. Hall, before his marriage, settled at Sunbury and engaged in the practice of law. Being possessed of some means, and having the prospect of a good law practice, he built the large house there, later occupied by Hon. John B. Packer, and when he married he took his bride to this house and there they resided for some years. The house at that time was one of the finest in Sunbury, and in it its occupants dispensed a splendid hospitality.
In 1806 Robert Coleman purchased the Muncy Farm of the Samuel Wallis estate, ten miles east of Williamsport and presented it to his daughter, Eliza Hall. Other purchases were made from time to time, until the estate comprised some 6,000 acres. Samuel Wallis, the former associate law judge, had acquired these lands and built there a stone house in 1769, parts of which were still standing, and to which the Halls added.
Charles Hall died suddenly in Philadelphia, January 14, 1821, where he had gone on business, at the age of 53 years and 3 months and 12 days. His remains were afterwards removed to the cemetery on Muncy Farms and laid to rest in the family plot. This cemetery is noted as the burial place of Captain John Brady, who was killed by the Indians at Wolf Run, April 11, 1779. For a long time the location of his grave was lost, but his friend Henry Lebo had asked to be buried besides him, and thus Brady’s grave was rediscovered many years later, as Henry Lebo’s grave had been marked by a headstone.
Soon after the death of Mr. Hall, his widow, with her twelve children, moved from Sunbury to her splendid estate and carried on the business of farming. She employed the same architect who had built the former State Capitol building at Harrisburg to draw plans and superintend the work. The woodwork was finished at Harrisburg and brought up the river in batteaux. This 1821 addition adjoins the original Wallis home.
In 1823, Mrs. Hall removed to Lancaster and left the estate in the charge of her son, William Coleman Hall, who married Sarah Ann Watts, daughter of Judge Watts, of Carlisle. Then in 1840 she returned to the farm and resided there until her death, August 5, 1858. After her death the property was divided among her children. According to her will, the mansion farm went to her son, James, who lived there until 1868, when he moved to Philadelphia, and died there in 1882, leaving this fine estate to his son, William Coleman Hall.
Recently one portion of the Hall estate, now known as Ashurst, changed hands and an erroneous account appeared in the local news paper. The eleventh child of Charles and Elizabeth Hall was Sarah Jane (1818-1877), who married Thomas Potter, of Princeton, New Jersey. It was their daughter, Elizabeth, who married Henry Ashurst of Philadelphia. It was used chiefly as a summer home, and fitted up with fine old furniture which came from the Potter and Ashurst families. Much of this furniture was still there and finally sold at the time of the Charles W. Sones sale.
Muncy Farms had figured largely in the history of the valley from the earliest times. Fort Muncy, built in 1778 by Captain Andrew Walker, stood a few hundred yards north of the mansion and was a rallying point for the settlers until it was destroyed by the British and Indians, under command of Captain John McDonald, as he marched down the valley to capture Fort Freeland. It was later rebuilt by Captain Thomas Robinson, of Robinson’s Rangers, and did good service until the close of the war. All traces of the fortifications have long since disappeared. The Catawissa Railroad cut through the knoll on which it stood, but its site is still pointed out by the older inhabitants. A scale model of the fort was made by the W. P. A. and presented to the Muncy Historical Society, complete in every detail.
Chester E. Hall
Chester F. Hall was born at Muncy, Pennsylvania, January 8, 1872, the son of Egbert P. and Clara A. (Little) Hall. His father was a veteran of the Civil War, a member of Company A, 5th Pennsylvania Reserves. He was wounded at Gaines Mills and then held a prisoner in Libby prison for nine months. He was later exchanged for southern prisoners and returned to his home to recuperate from the serious illness.
Chester attended the public schools of Muncy, was graduated from the Muncy Normal School in 1895, and Dickinson Seminary. He then entered the law office of the Hon. William W. Hart, former district attorney, senator and judge. He was admitted to the bar, April 13, 1899, and practiced law for 51 years.
He remained as a clerk in Judge Hart’s office until the latter was elected Judge in 1902, at which time Mr. Hall established his private practice. In 1904, he married Claudia Beatrice Riley, the daughter of Orsan F. and Emeline Riley, of Elmira, New York. Mr. Riley was also a veteran of the Civil War, having served with a New York outfit. He was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Mr. Hall was a Republican and was elected County Auditor in 1895. He was a member of the I.O.O.F., B.P.O.E., and a trustee of the Lycoming Historical Society and a member of the Muncy Historical Society. He was president of the Lycoming Law Association in 1936. He died July 14, 1950.
Thomas Max Hall
Thomas Max Hall, a 57 year member of the Lycoming Law Association, died on April 28, 2016.
William Coleman Hall
William Coleman Hall was the son of James Hall (1811-1882) and Mary Johns Craig Hall. He was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar to No. 166, January Term 1881. Since Meginness in his History does not list him as an attorney it is probable that he was not engaged in practice in 1881. After the death of his father, James Hall, he inherited the mansion farm and lived there for many years, traveled a great deal and finally lost his ancestral farm to the Brocks, who foreclosed on the mortgage on the farm.
Thomas H. Hammond
Thomas H. Hammond was born in Macclesfield, England, April 1, 1856, and died June 4, 1934. He came to this country at an early age, as we find that he was naturalized September 11, 1880. The certificate of naturalization was signed by Hugh H. Cummin, as Judge of the Courts, and by Adam Fullmer as Prothonotary. He was educated in the Williamsport public schools and attended Dickinson Seminary. He read law with H. T. Ames and was admitted to the bar, December 1, 1883. He formed a partnership with his preceptor, which continued until the death of Mr. Hammond.
For some five years after his admission to the bar, Tom taught school, but from the time the partnership was formed until his health failed, forcing a partial retirement, he engaged in active practice. Mr. Ames was the trial lawyer of the firm and Mr. Hammond was the office lawyer. Mr. Hammond was a Republican, a member of the Ross Club, the Scottish Rite, and Lodge No. 397. For many years, he served as a vestryrnan in Trinity Episcopal Church.
John. A. Harries
John A. Harries was born in Williamsport, December 14, 1876. His father, who came from a Welsh family, was a skilled cabinet maker. Mr. Harries was educated in the common and parochial schools and the Williamsport High School. Before he was 20 years of age, he registered as a law student in the office of Charles J. Reilly. He was admitted to this bar, April 27, 1898. These were the days of the Spanish-American war, and in 1898, Johnny enlisted in Company G, of the old 12th Regiment, in which he was a corporal. After they had reached Mt. Gretna, he desired to enter the federal service, but fearing he was too short in stature, he succeeded in being accepted through the expedient of placing one and one-half inches of paper in the heels of his shoes, before he was measured for height. He was still the shortest man in his company, and one of the original volunteers in it, when the United States declared war on Spain, April 28, 1898.
After the war, Johnny moved to Chicago, Illinois, which city he had visited during the World’s Fair, as a reward for being one of the outstanding school children in the community. He was very active in Chicago in legal circles, and a member of the bar there for some 12 years or more; he also became prominent in the political activities of the Windy City. He eventually returned to Williamsport because of the serious illness of his father, and remained here until after his father’s death.
During World War I, he did counter-espionage work for the United States in this area, in which work he was acting with and as a member of one of the largest private detective agencies ever to operate. It continued to exist after the war, and Mr. Harries never lost touch with it.
After the end of the war, and the death of his father, he moved to New York City, where he was admitted to the bar and practiced for a year or more. There he was engaged in matters of international importance including the famous Benjamin will case. During this time he was admitted to the U. S. Supreme Court.
Thereafter he removed to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where his brother, James I. Harries, then lived. There he was admitted to practice, and where he enjoyed considerable practice for some two or more years, after which he returned to Williamsport, largely because his sister, Mary, since deceased, was unmarried and alone as was he, and both needed companionship, as they were beginning to grow old. Also the Harries properties in Williamsport needed attention and supervision which his rather fragile and quite saintly sister, Mary, was unable to give. Here he resumed his active practice, maintaining an office in the Flower Building, and thereafter, until his last illness, in the Malloy Building, at 32 West Fourth Street, where Frank P. Cummings and Joseph R. Straub were also located.
After being in ill health for several months, on January 18, 1946, Mr. Harries entered the Williamsport Hospital and remained there continuously for almost a year. Thereafter he lived for a short time at the Ross Hotel, and then removed to the Veterans Administration Hospital at Bath, New York, where he was a patient until his death on February 2, 1949. Mr. Harries was never married. He was very active in the I.O.O.F., W. F. Ricks Camp No. 47, Spanish-American War Veterans, and regular in his attendance at masses in his church, the Church of the Annunciation.
Robert Hawley
Robert Hawley was born in Muncy, Lycoming County, October 6, 1827. He was educated in the public schools at Lairdsville and Muncy and the Lewisburg Academy. He studied law with the Hon. Henry Johnson of Muncy, and was admitted to the bar of Lycoming County, in 1850. He practiced in Muncy, Hughesville and Williamsport at various times. He was appointed Prothonotary by Governor James Pollock in 1856, and commissioner of the board of enrollment for the XVIIIth district of Pennsylvania from April 1863 to May 1865. He was appointed Postmaster at Williamsport, July 30, 1869 and retired January 23, 1878. He was widely known for his poetical genius. According to the Muncy Luminary, on December 23, 1856, he was practicing in Hughesville. In 1863 he was still practicing in Muncy where he gave special attention to soldiers’ pension claims, until November 14, 1865, when he moved to Williamsport with Hugh H. Cummin. He was the son of Enos Hawley, who had established a tannery with Thomas G. Downing, known as the Franklin tannery, located about half a mile below Lairdsville.
Enos Hawley was remembered and honored by the generation that knew him as a man of strictest integrity and morality. He was the first man in his community who had the courage to vote the Abolition ticket. He and his home were the innocent victims of the Muncy Abolition Riot. He had considerable of John Brown in his make-up, according to Meginness, but being in sympathy with the Friends in his ideas regarding war, he was not in the same spirit aggressive. Enos Hawley was born in Chester county, near the Brandywine Battlefield, in June 1799, and came with his father, Robert Hawley, and mother to Lycoming County in 1802, settling in Muncy Township. Enos was appointed Postmaster at Muncy, July 9, 1861 and served nearly twelve years until March 12, 1873. He died October 2, 1881.
The bar memorial to Robert Hawley, No. 114, December Term 1905 is missing from the Prothonotary’s office, so he presumably died in Muncy in that year.
John King Hays
John King Hays was of the sixth generation of a family of colonial days. He died at the home of his son, John Coryell Hays, January 28, 1951, in his 95th year, having been born in Lycoming County, August 18, 1856.
He was educated in the Williamsport public schools, and was graduated in the first class from the Williamsport High School in 1872. At the time of his death he was also the oldest living alumnus of Lafayette College, having been graduated in the class of 1876.
Mr. Hays was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar, May 19, 1879, and practiced law until 1904,when on account of his loss of hearing he felt compelled to retire. In 1904 he was City Controller and served as such until 1908, when he became City Assessor, a position which he retained until 1919.
He was a director and secretary of the old Sun and Banner Company, now the Sun-Gazette Publishing Company, and also for a time engaged in the manufacturing of an early type of gas engine, and formed the Williamsport Gas Engine Company. He was also engaged as a contractor and as such he laid the concrete base for the first hard surface street in Williamsport, being that portion of West Fourth Street, between Elmira and Campbell Streets.
He was the last surviving member of the now famous Company G, 12th regiment, P.N.G., and from 1880 until 1885, he served as a sergeant.
Mr. Hays was a Christian gentleman and came from an old Presbyterian family, serving for many years as Superintendent of the Sunday School. He served as Master of Lodge No. 106, in 1893, and wrote a history of that lodge on its 125th anniversary. Both his father, John Walker Hays, and his grandfather, John Hays, were also Past Masters, in 1857 and 1820 respectively. He was a Past Commander of Baldwin II Commandery, K. T., and a past officer of Lycoming Chapter, No. 22, and Adoniram Council, No. 2. He was one of the seven founders of the Howard Club, K. T., and a former President. On June 25, 1885, he married Sarah Burrows Coryell who predeceased him. He left a son, John Coryell Hays, of Nisbet, with whom he lived, and a sister, Mrs. Charles T. Stearns, six grandsons, one granddaughter and six great-grand children. His daughter, Margaret Hays Lamade, predeceased him also.
Carl Wesley Herdic
Carl Wesley Herdic was the son of Charles and Nancy (Needler) Herdic and was 55 years of age at the time of his death, October 14, 1948. He entered the McCormick law office as an office boy, and became an accountant and stenographer, but his ambition was to b a lawyer. He succeeded in passing his preliminary bar examinations under his preceptor, S. T. McCormick, Jr.
He served in the U. S. army during World War I, beginning in August 1917. While he did not get overseas, he performed valuable service in preparing others for military duty at Fort Niagara, N.Y.
Resuming his studies, he was admitted to the bar in 1921.
He was active in the American Legion, Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Episcopal church. He was senior vestryman of Trinity church, a member of the executive council of the Harrisburg Diocese and served in its finance committee. He, Jackson M. Painter, Carl A. Schug and others were active in forming Garrett Cochran Post No. 1, and one of the earliest commanders, also a district commander, and a vice commander of the State.
He was President of the Lycoming Law Association in 1930.
He was a member of the Williamsport Consistory, A.A.S.R., Royal Arch chapter and the Commandery, and Irem Temple Shrine at Wilkes-Barre.
He left a wife, May Fisher Herdic, a daughter, Mrs. Newton Chatham, Jr., a son, Major Carl, Jr., a granddaughter, Patricia Gale, and brother, James F. Herdic. Another son, John Robert, was killed in China while a member of the armed forces of the United States.
Lancaster Waldo Herritt
L. Waldo Herritt was born in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania on May 2, 1909 and died April 7, 2003. His sketch is pending.
Carl Max Hess
Carl Max Hess was born on October 6, 1925 in Hughesville, Pennsylvania, the son of George M. Hess, Sr. and S. Margaret Swank Hess.
Following his graduation from Hughesville High School in 1943, he enlisted in the United States Army in December 1943, and served in the European theater during World War II being honorably discharged in April 1947 with the rank of platoon sergeant. Thereafter, he pursued his education, first graduating from Lycoming College in 1953, with a bachelor degree in political science, and then from Dickinson School of Law in 1959. He was admitted to the practice of law in 1951, and was a member of the Lycoming County, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations.
After being admitted to practice, Max formed a partnership with his brother, George M. Hess, Jr. Thereafter, sons, Steven D. Hess and Thomas D. Hess joined the firm. His law practice covered a wide range of subjects, including tort, criminal, real estate, insurance, and commercial law.
Hess was interested in banking and had served for many years as a bank director of the Grange National Bank, which later became Commonwealth Bank. He was a staunch promoter of the Hughesville area as an economic center of eastern Lycoming County.
Max was a lifelong Democrat and twice made the run for Congress, once in 1956, and again in I958.
He had served as President of the Lycoming County Fair from 1975 to his death and had been on its Board of Directors since 1964. He was also involved in many volunteer and social organizations, including among others, the Oaks Club of Williamsport, a Charter member of Muncy Valley Moose Lodge #866, a member of Muncy Lodge #299, F & AM, the Williamsport Consistory Irem Temple Shrine, Wilkes-Barre and the Williamsport Shrine Club. He was also a member of the Rotary Club for thirty-seven years, and served an its President in 1965-1966.
He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church and served an church school superintendent.
He died on Saturday morning, March 9, 1991
George M. Hess Jr.
George Morrison Hess, Jr. was born on August 24, 1921, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He was the son of George M. Hess, Sr. and Margaret Swank Hess. He attended the Hughesville public schools and graduated from Hughesville High School in 1939.
After graduating from high school, George attended two years at Asbury College, after which he served in the Army during World War II. George was a captain and tank commander of three tank destroyers, serving in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany. After returning from service, he attended Bucknell University, graduated in 1947, and he received his LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School in 1950.
George M. Hess was married to Audrey Attig on November 27, 1946, and had three children.
On motion of H. Swank Phillips, George was admitted to practice before the civil courts of Lycoming County on March 5, 1951. He was also admitted to practice before the Commonwealth, Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 1953.
In 1955, George, Michael J. Casale, Sr. and Robert C. Wise formed the law partnership of Hess, Casale & Wise, located at 25 West Third Street in the old First National Bank Building. In 1966 the partnership was reconstituted Hess & Casale, and which partnership ultimately became Hess, Casale & Bonner. He left that partnership to open a solo practice in Williamsport. All the time that George practiced in Williamsport he also practiced in Hughesville, normally on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday afternoons. George and his brother, C. Max Hess formed a partnership known as Hess & Hess, in Hughesville. George practiced with his brother, Max Hess, and later with Max’s two sons, Steven D. Hess and Thomas D. Hess.
George was extremely active in politics. He was elected Lycoming County District Attorney and served from 1956 through 1959, as a Democrat.
George was a member of the Lycoming County Law Association, serving on its Executive Committee in 1977 and 1978. His law practice covered a wide spectrum, from criminal law to civil law, including real estate, domestic relations, wills, estate planning and administration, and municipal work, representing Hughesville Borough as its solicitor, Hughesville Authority as its solicitor, as well as several townships in eastern Lycoming County.
George died on March 10, 2006.
Henry Cheston Hicks
Henry C. Hicks was born May 16, 1892, at Williamsport, the son of Thomas M. B. Hicks and Alice Cheston Hicks. He attended the public schools and was graduated from Williamsport Dickinson Seminary in 1910. He was an undergraduate at Dickinson College when World War I broke out. He received his officer’s commission at Plattsburg, and saw active combat services as Lieut. of the 78th Division Machine Gun Company. Later he was promoted to 1st Lieut. and took part in the battles of Arras and St. Michiel, and the Marne-Argonne offensive, being wounded in the Argonne on October 25, 1918, and was discharged as a Captain. After his return from Europe he attended the Harvard Law School from which he was graduated. He practiced law with his father until the latter’s death on August 1, 1924, after which he practiced alone. He was District Attorney from 1927-31, his only venture into politics.
In 1920 he married Claire Louise Ellis, from Nebraska, who survived him as did a daughter, Phyllis, now residing in New Jersey, also his mother and three brothers, T. M. B. Hicks, Jr., Seattle, Washington, W. W. Hicks, of Rosemont, Pa., and Everett Hicks, of New York City. He was a member of the American Legion, 40-et-8; the Lycoming Law Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He served as Secretary of the Lycoming Law Association when his father was president. His death which occurred in 1951 resulted from a condition aggravated by the wounds he had received in the Argonne.
Thomas Mason Bacon Hicks
Thomas M. B. Hicks, son of Dr. William W. and Clara (Hart) Hicks, was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, November 26, 1863; died suddenly at the Union Club of New York, while on a vacation August 31, 1924.
Mr. Hicks was educated at Shortledge Academy, Media, Pa., at Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pa., and at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. He entered his senior year but left college before graduation. After studying law at Huntington, he was admitted to the Lycoming County bar in 1888. He was president of the Lycoming Law Association in 1923. He held a number of offices in Pine Street Methodist Church, having served as trustee, superintendent of the Sunday School, and as secretary of the Preachers’ Aid Society of the Central Pennsylvania Conference. At the time of his death he was a trustee of Dickinson Seminary. He married Alice Haven Cheston, daughter of Rev. Henry C. Cheston, a native of Carlisle. They were the parents of four sons: Capt. Henry C. Hicks (op. cit); Thomas M. B., Jr.; William W.; Everett.
Mr. Hicks’ report as master in Young v. Weed, 154 Pa. 316 (1893) which on exceptions was affirmed by Judge Metzger, and subsequently by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania went far to establish his reputation as a lawyer.
Ermin Forest Hill
Ermin F. Hill was born on a farm in Muncy Creek Township, March 5, 1872, the son of Jacob Franklin and Christina (Steck) Hill. Jacob F. Hill spent his entire life in that township and died in 1885. He is buried in the Hill cemetery, near Muncy. His wife died in 1922 and is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, near Hughesville.
Ermin spent his boyhood on his father’s farm. He attended the public schools and the Muncy Normal. He then taught school for several years with special interest and ability in mathematics. He then attended Pennsylvania State College from which he was graduated in 1897. He became a teacher in the Muncy Creek and Hughesville schools for four years, and also served as principal of schools at Lopez, Sullivan County, Pa. He studied law in the office of Walter C. Gilmore from 1900 to 1904 when he was admitted to the bar on February 1, 1904. Thereafter he engaged in practice at Hughesville for more than 53 years, until his last illness and death on July 16, 1957. He never married, but for many years he cared for and provided for his mother with deep and affecting love.
He was noted as an outdoor man, an expert shot, but he would never shoot a sitting bird. Although he shot and killed a number of deer and several bear, in his lifetime, he always regretted having shot more than one deer. He was one of the finest trap shooters in Pennsylvania, and won many area and district matches. He was a member of Atlantic Indians Trapshooting Association; Muncy Lodge, F. & A.M., Williamsport Consistory, A.A.S.R., Royal Arch Chapter, at Watsontown, and Baldwin Commandery, K.T. He was a Democrat and served as secretary of the Hughesville School Board for 16 years.
Harvey Russell Hill
H. Russell Hill was the son of J. Clinton Hill and was admitted to the bar in 1896, and practiced with his father, but was apparently not engaged in active practice thereafter as there was no memorial meeting held by the bar. He died February 14, 1944.
Jeremiah Clinton Hill
Jeremiah Clinton Hill was born June 11, 1841, in Hughesville, the oldest son of Dr. George Hill and his wife, Rachel Hughes, daughter of Jeremiah Hughes, whose father, William Hughes, was prominent in the Society of Friends, and a lineal descendant of John ap Hugh, who came from Wales in 1698, and settled in Philadelphia.
J. Clinton Hill was graduated at Pennsylvania College, Gettysburg, in 1864, after which he read law with Hon. William H. Armstrong, and was admitted to the bar in February 1867, and practiced until 1919, when he became an alderman in the Eighth Ward of Williamsport.
Mr. Hill was married on September 8, 1870, to Sophia Catherine Weise, daughter of Henry Weise, of Hagerstown, Maryland. They were the parents of five children: Harvey Russell Hill, a member of this bar; George Henry Hill; Leila Catherine; Robert Clinton and Frederick Weise Hill.
Mr. Hill served as City Solicitor, 1871-74; also many terms in Common Council, and president of that body, 1887-88, and was largely instrumental in furthering legislation for sewers, pavements and other public improvements. He also served as solicitor for the Williamsport School District, and the Overseers of the Poor. He was one of the organizers of the Edison Electric Company, Renovo Electric Company, Sunbury Edison Company, West Branch Building and Loan Association, and the Williamsport Board of Trade. He was a Trustee of the James V. Brown Library, for many years attorney for the Williamsport Water Company and the various Brown interests. He was Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1912-16, when that court ceased to hold sessions in Williamsport. He was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.
In 1898, he was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Judge and lost by a narrow margin to his opponent, J. S. Bentley.
John Murray Hill
John Murray Hill was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on June 4, 1915, the son of Howard C. and Mary Murray Hill. His father was a prominent businessman in Williamsport until his death in 1943. Mr. John Hill died Thursday, May 15, 1975.
Mr. Hill attended the public schools of Williamsport and graduated from the Williamsport High School in 1932. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1936 and from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1939. He was admitted to practice in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the courts of Lycoming County in 1940.
He engaged in private practice in the City of Williamsport until 1941 when he became a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, serving in that capacity through World War II and until 1946. After leaving the FBI, Mr. Hill returned to Williamsport and resumed his law practice which was an extensive commercial one with particular emphasis on bankruptcy.
In 1960, Mr. Hill became associated with the law firm of Furst, McCormick, Muir, Lynn and Reeder and he practiced with that firm until the fall of 1967. He then became court administrator for the courts of Lycoming County, after which he became field counsel for the Veteran’s Administration and served this area.
Shortly after the Susquehanna Valley was devastated by the flood of 1972, the United States Small Business Administration opened an area office in Williamsport and Mr. Hill joined the legal staff of that office, where he remained until it was closed in 1973. He then became an associate in the office of Alfred Jackson and Scott A. Williams, which position he held at the time of his death.
Mr. Hill was active in the Lycoming Law Association and served that organization as its president in 1961. He was a member of the Ross Club of Williamsport.
In 1943, he married Eleanor Smith of Knoxville, Tennessee who survived him. He was also survived by a sister, Mrs. Mary Loughery.
Archibald Millar Hoagland
Archibald Millar Hoagland, son of John P. and Elizabeth (Millar) Hoagland, was born at Williamsport, June 30, 1879. His father was a traveling salesman and secretary of the J. E. Dayton Company, shoe manufacturers of Williamsport. Arch attended the public schools and was graduated from the Williamsport High School in 1898. He was a student at Dickinson Law School, 1900- 01. He then entered the law offices of H. C. & S. T. McCormick, was admitted to the Lycoming County bar, October 27, 1902, and associated with that firm for about five years. In April 1907, he began to practice alone. He was admitted to all the State and Federal Courts within the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and to the United States Supreme Court. He was solicitor of the Williamsport School District from 1904 to 1911, and district attorney of Lycoming County from 1912 until 1916.
He was appointed mayor by city council in April 1917; in the fall of that year he was elected mayor to finish the unexpired term to January 1920, and re-elected in the fall of 1919 by the largest majority ever given to a candidate for that office, having only nine votes cast against him. He was a candidate of his (Republican) party for the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1908. He was a delegate to the Republican State Convention in 1912. He was appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania a member of the Board of Governance of the Pennsylvania Bar for a four year term, commencing January 1, 1929. In 1921-22 he was president of the League of Third Class Cities. He was vice president and solicitor of the Citizens National Bank.
During World War I, Mr. Hoagland was a member of the Local Draft Board, and was elected an honorary member of Garrett Cochran Post No. 1, American Legion, before the rule was adopted limiting membership to persons who had seen service in some branch of the armed forces. He was a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Lambda Sigma and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities. He was a member of Lodge No, 106, F. & A.M., Lycoming Chapter. R.A.M., Adoniram Council, R. & S.M., Baldwin II Commandery, No. 26, K.T., and the Coordinate Bodies, A.A.S.R., and a member of its choir. He was also a member of the Williamsport Rotary Club and Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Hoagland married, November 15, 1904, at Williamsport, Blanche Bovee, daughter of Perry H. and Anne (Patterson) Boyce. Their children were: John P., 3rd; Archibald M.; and Miriam.
William Henry Holloway
William H. Holloway was born in Philadelphia, May 16, 1855. He attended the Central High School and following his graduation came to Williamsport. In 1876, he was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad, as a clerk, beginning in the office of his uncle, D. C. Hough, until 1910, when he was promoted to Chief Clerk to the Division Freight Agent. In 1922, he was made a special clerk, serving under Samuel L. Seymour, W. E. Fraser, and William G. Spangle. He retired from the railroad May 31, 1925, having reached the age of 70 years. It was during his spare time that he studied law under the tutelage of Clinton Lloyd, and was admitted to this bar on January 9, 1891.
Mr. Holloway married Henrietta (Pain) Hough. He died November 17, 1935, predeceased by his wife, and left the following children: William H. Hough, Mrs. Walter J. Emmons, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mrs. David F. Beach, Wayne, Pa., Mrs. Walter H. Norton, Naugautuck, Conn.; Mrs. Walter L. Hill, Scranton, and Seth McCormick Holloway.
He was a member of the Williamsport School Board for three terms of three years each, and its treasurer for several years. It was his hobby to visit the various schools from time to time, and for short periods to take over the teaching of classes, which he delighted to do. He was a member of Covenant-Central Presbyterian church, and always considered being a member of this bar as a high privilege and was zealous of its efforts.
Alfred D. Hower
A. D. Hower was born in Milton, Pennsylvania, February 21, 1845, the son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Dreisbach) Hower, natives of Northampton County. Nicholas Hower, son of Jacob, came to Milton when he was quite young. There he married Elizabeth Dreisbach who had also emigrated to Milton with her parents. They finally located on a farm near Turbotville, where they died after rearing five children: George W., who practiced law for several years at Sunbury and then turned farmer; A. D.; Aaron A., who taught school for many years and then became a farmer; William H., a farmer, and Caroline, who married Charles Wondaw. Nicholas was a member of the Lutheran church and his wife of the Reformed church. He was educated at the Millersville Normal School, Lancaster County, Pa., having been graduated in 1871. A. D. Hower began the study of law in August of that year under W. C. Lawson, of Milton, and was admitted to the bar, August 4, 1874. He began to practice at Turbotville, and soon after was elected principal of the public schools of Muncy, which, in 1875, was converted into a Normal School, and he was selected professor of Mathematics and the theory and practice of teaching. In July 1876 he opened a law office in Muncy where he practiced.
He was married July 4, 1872, to Drusilla Schuyler, daughter of Lewis Schuyler, then residing near Turbotville, and they had two children: Bettie and Lewis. Mr. Hower was a Republican and belonged to the Reformed church, while his wife and daughter were members of the Baptist church.
Charles Huston
This distinguished jurist was of Scotch-Irish descent, his grandfather being one of the earliest emigrants to Pennsylvania. He was the eldest son of Thomas and Jane (Walker) Huston, and born in Plumstead Township, Bucks County, January 16, 1771. He was educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, where he was graduated in 1789 with honors. During 1790 and 1791 he taught a select school at Carlisle, meanwhile studying law with Thomas Duncan, Esq., with whom he was afterwards associated on the bench of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In 1792-8 he was employed by the trustees of the college as a tutor of languages. Among his pupils was Roger B. Taney, afterwards Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In his autobiography, Taney says of Huston:
“I need not speak of his character and capacity, for he afterwards became one of the first jurists of the country. He was an accomplished Latin and Greek scholar, and happy in his mode of instruction. When he saw a boy was disposed to study, his manner toward him was that of a companion and friend, aiding him in his difficulties. The whole school under his care was much attached to him.”
In October 1794, General Washington passed through Carlisle, on his way to quell the Whiskey Insurrection. Mr. Huston joined the expedition, and his vivid description of its various incidents was long remembered by the many who had the good fortune to number him among their acquaintances.
His parents having removed to Williamsport and settled here soon after the formation of Lycoming County, he accompanied them and was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar in August 1795. They resided in Williamsport until the close of their lives. Thomas, the father, died May 11, 1824, aged 85 years, and Jane, the mother, July 18, 1824, aged 77. Their remains lie in the old Williamsport Cemetery and plain marble tombstones mark their graves. It will be noticed that there was a difference of only about two months in the dates of their deaths.
Mr. Huston first opened his law office in Jaysburg which was then the principal town in Lycoming County and was expected to become the county seat. When Williamsport was selected he re moved his office to the new place.
Soon after he entered upon the practice of law he discovered that our land titles were in a very unsettled condition. In the introduction of his work on land titles he says:
“In Lycoming County where I settled were only three young lawyers, admitted the same year in the Eastern Counties, no one of whom knew any more of land titles than I did. No law book of decisions had been published in this state except the first volume of Dallas’ Reports. I did not know in what respect titles differed, but I was determined to become a lawyer and understand all this, but how or where I could obtain the information was the difficulty. To accomplish it I made the acquaintance of men who had been deputy surveyors, and I particularly mention William Maclay, of Harrisburg. From him I learned more than from any I had known before. All ejectments were removed into the Circuit Courts held only by Judges of the Supreme Court. Regularly for years I met the Circuit Court at each county in the district; went in with the court and came out with it when it rose. With paper before me and pen in hand, I wrote down the titles on each side, the testimony of each witness, the points made as to the admission of evidence, and the opinion of the Judge in his charge to the jury. In the interval between courts I arranged and digested my notes; and was often called upon by members of the bar younger, and older too, than myself to state the precise point decided in a particular case. The usual effect of industry and close study began to show itself in professional business, and in 1807 I was retained in most of the ejectment cases pending in the district.”
Mr. Huston rose rapidly in his profession and his practice was very large. In the spring of 1807 he removed to Bellefonte, where he continued his practice until Governor Findlay appointed him President Judge of the Fourth District, (composed of the counties of Bedford, Huntington, Mifflin and Centre) over which he presided eight years with distinguished success (1818-1826).
In 1826 he was appointed by Governor Shulze one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in the arduous and responsible duties of which he continued until the expiration of his commission in 1845. As an advocate at the bar, he was all powerful, and his arguments were clear, forceful and convincing.
After much labor he completed his great work on land titles near the close of his life. After spending a year on his book, and when it was about ready for the printer, “nine-tenths of it was burnt by an accidental fire from a candle.” (How reminiscent of Thomas Carlyle whose first volume of the French Revolution, which he had loaned to John Stuart Mill, was accidentally burned). He went to work again, however, and under great difficulties and discouragements from age and failing eyesight, completed it again in June 1849.
His wife and only son preceded him to the grave. He died November 10, 1849, in the 80th year of his age. His wife was Mary Winter, a daughter of William Winter, the first settler on the site of Williamsport. Her sister, Ellen, married Hon. Thomas Burnside, another eminent lawyer and jurist. Judge Huston had two daughters, Jane, the eldest, married James T. Hale, of Bellefonte, who represented this district in Congress from 1858 to 1864, and died April 7, 1865. The second daughter, Lucy, married General E. W. Sturdevant, of Wilkes-Barre. Judge Huston’s son, Charles, died when he had just reached the age of twenty-one.
Judge Huston’s opinions are to be found in 35 volumes of reports. The full title of his work on land titles, completed just before his death, is The History and Nature of Original Titles to Land in the Province and State of Pennsylvania.
Charles T. Huston
Charles T. Huston was born at Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania in 1835. He was educated in the public schools and at Bucknell University. He read law with Samuel Gamble Morrison, of Jersey Shore, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. Like his preceptor Morrison, he became interested in the newspaper world, for in September 1865, Mr. Huston and his associates purchased the Lycoming Gazette, which had been a weekly newspaper for more than half a century. Huston resolved to change to a daily, and on April 9, 1867, the first issue appeared as a six-column evening paper. In July 1869, A. J. Dietrick, another member of this bar, purchased Huston’s interest.
John Thomas Hyatt
John T. Hyatt, son of Dr. Pulaski F. and Margaret (Allen) Hyatt, was born at Bordentown, N.J., September 12, 1868. He received his early education in the public schools and at Bordentown Academy, later matriculating at Bucknell Academy and finally at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa., from which institution he was graduated in 1891, with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. During his academic life, he was active in college and university activities, literary, scholastic and athletic. He was president of the Athletic Association, Theta Alpha, Business Manager of the Mirror; editor-in-chief of Commencement Daily News, and Manager of the football team. After graduation he became business manager of Southern Life, a magazine published in Atlanta, Georgia, returning to Lewisburg in May 1892, where he took up the study of law in the office of Samuel H. Orwig, and pursued his studies until the following year, when he was appointed U. S. Vice Consul at Santiago, Cuba. There he served under his distinguished father, who had been appointed U. S. Consul by the late Grover Cleveland, then President of the United States. While serving his government in Cuba, he was married in 1894 to Miss Margaret McLaughlin, of Lewisburg, Pa., who with her infant daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, died of tropical fever while residing in Cuba. Mr. Hyatt continued at his post until the outbreak of the Spanish-American War and was the one who notified the Secretary of State of the Cuban insurrection, which eventuated in the hostilities between Spain and the United States.
During this time, Mr. Hyatt was an author of note and wrote several publications, among which was Cuba, Its Resources and Opportunities. He also wrote for newspapers and leading periodicals throughout the country.
Mr. Hyatt later returned to Lewisburg, where he resumed the practice of law in the office of Hon. Albert W. Johnson, and was admitted to practice in Lycoming County in October 1901. He immediately established offices in Jersey Shore, and in September 1928, formed a partnership with Clyde E. Carpenter, which continued until Mr. Hyatt’s death on January 9, 1935.
On December 14, 1900, Mr. Hyatt married Laura Krouse, daughter of William A. and Sarah C. Krouse, of Williamsport, by whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth, intermarried with Robert Harris Rishell, who, with one grandchild, Katherine, survived him
Mr. Hyatt was a member of the Presbyterian church, LaBelle Lodge, No. 232, F. & A.M., Bucknell Chapter Sigma Chi, and was president of the Lycoming Law Association in 1921. During World War I, he was a member of the Pennsylvania State Safety Committee, chairman of the Jersey Shore Public Safety Committee, and in charge of the four minute speakers, and the Secret Service department of his section of the, county. He also served as a school director, and director of the Y.M.C.A. of Jersey Shore, and was a former vice president of the National Bank of Jersey Shore.
Alfred Rich Jackson
Alfred Rich Jackson was born November 5, 1908 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the son of Anthony Rich Jackson, then a member of Lycoming County Bar, and Josephine Mudge Jackson, and was one of five children of this well-known family.
In his early years, “Al” Jackson attended Stony Brook School, at Stony Brook, Long Island, graduating in 1926. He then entered Davidson College, North Carolina, taking his A. B. degree in 1931, in a class which included Dean Rusk, later U. S. Secretary of State. He then enrolled in the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, receiving his LL.B. in 1935. On April 7, 1937, he was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar. Membership in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Federal District Court followed in 1938.
Mr. Jackson served a preceptorship in the office of the late J. Fred Katzmaier, Esquire. After serving in World War II, he established his home in one of the most historic locations in Muncy, Pennsylvania, the T. Kenneth Wood house. At this location in 1969, in addition to his main office in Williamsport, Al opened an office in a portion of his home, in association with his long time friend and law school companion, J. Frederick Gehr, Esquire. At the Williamsport office he became associated in practice with Scott A. Williams, Esquire. Both of these relationships continued until his death.
During World War II, Mr. Jackson was commissioned into the U. S. Navy, serving as a communications officer in the Atlantic and Caribbean areas until he was honorably discharged at war’s end with the rank of lieutenant commander.
He was president of the Lycoming Law Association in 1952, served four years as assistant district attorney, and at various times also served as solicitor for the Borough of Muncy, the Muncy Borough Municipal Authority, and the Muncy School District. He held this last-named position at the time of his death.
Alfred Jackson was very active in his community, especially in church activities, being a member and former elder of the Muncy Presbyterian Church. He was a president of the Muncy Rotary Club, and held membership on the local advisory board of the Salvation Army, also on the boards of Camp Susque and the Hughesville Camp Meeting Association. Stony Brook School, where his education had begun, had him on its board of directors for many years until his death, also as president of its board of trustees.
His favorite personal involvement probably began with his charter membership in the Williamsport Christian Businessmen’s Committee, which he helped organize, and from which he soon joined into the country-wide work of that organization. In 1958 he was elected to its international board of directors, serving four separate terms thereon, and being twice elected as international chairman, in 1961 and 1973.
Mr. Jackson’s personal interests took him to concerts, recitals and musical activities in various parts of the country. He knew a number of top-ranking musicians personally. He was also a mountain climber, one of his favorite spots being a small town in the Swiss Alps known as Grindelwald. While traveling, he liked best the first-class railroad excursion trains that were so popular with avid sightseers in his early years.
Alfred Jackson was married to Jane Neill Jackson. They had one daughter, Gloria Jackson Clegg. His long, vigorous, and active life finally ended quietly at his home in Muncy, after a lengthy illness, on June 13, 1977.
Anthony Rich Jackson
Anthony Rich Jackson was born in South Williamsport, Pa., July 1, 1872, the son of Appleton R. Jackson. The pioneer ancestor of the family was Lemuel Jackson, a native of England, who settled in the state of Maine about 1750. He was the father of six children: Sarah, Lemuel, John, Godfrey, Ira and Nicolas. Lemuel, his eldest son, moved from Welch, Maine, to Ohio, in the early part of 1820 and took up lands in what is now Polk Township, Crawford County, Ohio. He was a member of the old school Baptist church and was known over the country-side as one of their strongest members, and his influence was greatly felt in that church. He was married to Mindwell West, and they were the parents of nine children: Betsey, Silvia, Lemuel, Abner, John, Enoch, Phares, Joshua Mindwell and Anna. Enoch, his third son, was a native of Maine, and married Rhoda Lewis, daughter of John Lewis, one of the first settlers of Knox County, Ohio. He is mentioned in Howe’s History of Ohio, and their children were as follows: Phares, Ambrose, Michael, Appleton R., Hannah, Jane, Rhoda, Mary and Ruth. Appleton R., his fourth son, was the father of Anthony R. Jackson.
Appleton was born in Polk Township, Crawford County, Ohio, November 4, 1838. After completing a common school education, he served an apprenticeship at the trade of saw-filing at which he was employed until 1865. He then turned his attention to the oil business on Pioneer Run, a tributary of Oil Creek, Venango County, Pennsylvania, where he drilled several wells and was a partner in the well known Andrews well on Western Run. Upon his return to Williamsport, he again engaged in his trade, continuing until 1872, in which year he purchased real estate on the opposite side of the river, to which he removed and there continued his trade until 1885. He then engaged in mercantile pursuits and real estate. He was a Democrat and held the office of councilman. In 1859 Appleton R. Jackson had married Mary E. Heller, daughter of Reuben and Julia Ann (Hand) Heller, of Williamsport, the latter having been a native of Northampton County and of Scotch Irish ancestry. Five children were born to this union: Orville E., Walter E., John S., Anthony R., and Charles R. C. Jackson. The family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church of South Williamsport.
Anthony R. Jackson was educated in the public schools of South Williamsport, Williamsport Dickinson Seminary and Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. He studied law in the office of W. C. Gilmore, a member of this bar, and was admitted to the Lycoming County bar in January 1896.
On March 3, 1903, at Williamsport, Pa., Anthony R. Jackson and Josephine Mudge, daughter of Hiram and Fanny Mudge, and a graduate of Wellesley College, were married. They were the parents of Josephine Mudge, a graduate of Mount Holyoke; Charles, a Presbyterian minister in Illinois; Alfred R., who attended David son College, North Carolina, and now a member of this bar, Helen Ward, graduate of Wilson College and Mrs. Jean Lundy Jackson McCormick, a member of the bar in Texas.
Charles R. C. Jackson
Charles R. C. Jackson was registered as a law student in Lycoming County, in 1896, but apparently never completed his studies, so far as I have been able to discover. He was a younger brother of Anthony R. Jackson.
Howard Taylor Janney
Mr. Janney is descended from Thomas Janney, an English Friend of some note in his day, who came to America and took up one of the original Penn grants on the Delaware River, near Newton, Bucks County, and subsequently, in 1783, became one of William Penn’s privy council. A large part of this grant remained in Janney family, and according to tradition, it was in the dining room of the homestead that General Washington dined on his way to the battle of Trenton.
In this homestead was reared Joseph Janney, the grandfather of Howard Taylor Janney. He prepared for the practice of law, but after marrying Mary Ann Taylor, daughter of David Barton Taylor, one of the pioneer lumberman of Philadelphia, he went into partnership with his father-in-law. Joseph and his wife had seven children among whom the third child, Samuel Sellers Janney, be came the father of Howard Taylor Janney. Samuel Sellers Janney was born in 1842 in Philadelphia and educated in the Friends School. In 1862 he married Ellen Hyndman, born along the Ban water, County Derry, Ireland, and brought as a child to this country by her parents, Alexander Hyndman and Esther (Hill) Hyndman.
Howard Taylor Janney was born March 14, 1863, in Wood ward Township, Lycoming County, Pa., and attended the Williamsport public schools, followed by private study with one of the instructors of the Friends High School of Philadelphia. After attaining his majority, he began to study law with Robert Porter Allen, at that time, the leading corporation lawyer of Williamsport, and on October 1, 1886 was admitted to the bar. He became connected with a number of business organizations and financial institutions.
Mr. Janney married on December 31, 1895, Laura Good Hill, horn October 19, 1875, in Williamsport, the only child of William Brown Hill, a descendant of the Revolutionary family of Brown, and Josephine Hortense (Good) Hill. Mrs. Janney is still living in Williamsport. Mr. Janney died September 27, 1922.
Henry Johnson
Hon. Henry Johnson was born, June 12, 1819, at Newton, Sussex County, New Jersey. He received his primary education in the schools of that place, and in 1837 was graduated from Princeton University. He read law with Hon. Whitfield S. Johnson, afterwards Secretary of the State of New Jersey, and was admitted to the bar in 1841, after an examination before the Supreme Court Judges of New Jersey, as required by the rules of that state. His father, Samuel Johnson, died in 1820, and his only brother, John Brodhead Johnson, while temporarily residing in New Orleans, died of yellow fever in 1825. His mother, with her five surviving children, moved to Muncy, Pennsylvania, in 1841, she having acquired as devisee of her grandfather, General Daniel Brodhead, considerable real estate in Pennsylvania which required her attention. On June 19, 1842, Henry Johnson opened his law office in Muncy, which he occupied for over fifty years, enjoying a large and lucrative practice. In 1856, he married Margaret, the youngest daughter of Enoch Green, and a sister of Hon. Henry Green, later a Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In November 1890, he removed to Williamsport, and erected a mansion at the corner of West Fourth and Maynard Streets.
From the time of his settlement in Lycoming County, he was prominent in politics and public affairs, first as a Whig and afterwards as a Republican. In 1848 he was among the earliest supporters of General Zachary Taylor; and as such he was elected one of the presidential electors from Pennsylvania, and voted directly for Taylor and Fillmore. In 1861 he was elected to the state senate for the counties of Lycoming, Union, Clinton and Center, and served during the war years, 1862-4. In 1864 he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and thus became the political leader of the Senate. He was also for a considerable period Speaker pro tem of the Senate. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania having decided that the Act of 1812, which authorized and regulated elections by soldiers in the field, was unconstitutional, thereby depriving a very large number of citizens of the right of suffrage, and endangering the re-election of Abraham Lincoln and the permanence of the Union, the Legislative Record of 1863, p. 60, records that on June 22nd, Mr. Johnson read in place, “ a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the constitution extending the right of suffrage to citizens in actual military service.” Subsequent proceedings show that it was adopted by both houses. At the next session he again introduced the amendment, as it had to be passed unchanged by two successive legislatures, and it was again adopted by both houses.
He also prepared, and on June 8, 1864, introduced another bill, providing for a special election in July of that year. An adjourned session, to receive the returns and announce the vote, was provided for to be held in August 1864. The election was duly held and the people, by a very large majority, adopted the amendment. The amendment was then made effective by being passed at a special session, and this resulted in assuring the reelection of Lincoln, at this critical time, and the final triumph of the Union. Henry Johnson is given full credit by all historians for his tireless efforts in behalf of the Union. In addition to his official acts showing his patriotism, he was a member of Company K, 14th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, refusing any higher rank than that of private; this was during his senatorial term, and he was under command of General Reynolds, at and around Hagerstown, Williamsport on the Potomac, and other southern places, in response to Governor Curtin’s call for volunteers at the time of the Antietam campaign. He was a member of Muncy Lodge, No. 299, F. & A.M., and of Post No. 66, G.A.R.
Family records on his paternal side show an ancestry traceable back to 1505, when one Casper Johnson, a colonel of infantry, and a Huguenot by religion, was compelled to flee from France on account of religious persecution; he subsequently emigrated to America. Several members of the Johnson family served in the Revolution and the War of 1812. His mother, as above stated, was a granddaughter of Daniel Brodhead, who was a deputy from Berks County to the Provincial Assembly which convened in Philadelphia, July 15, 1774, and as a member of an appointed committee recommended a Continental Congress and acts of non-importation, which were among the first steps toward the Revolution which followed. He was selected by General Washington to command the western department at Fort Pitt and performed valuable services during the war and at its close was active in forming the “Society of the Cincinnati.”64
The oldest sister of Henry Johnson married Col. H. L. Cummings, and their eldest son, Henry, was a colonel in the War of the Rebellion, and afterwards a member of Congress from Iowa. His sister, Laura, married Dr. Thomas Wood, of Muncy. His oldest daughter, Rebecca, became the wife of the late Charles Lose; another daughter was the wife of the late Emerson Collins, former member of this bar; and another daughter married Herman I. Collins, formerly of the old Philadelphia Record staff, writing under the pen name of Girard. Henry Johnson died at his Williamsport home, August 11, 1895.
64For those who are interested in a fuller genealogical account of the Brodhead and Green families, vide Collins, History of Lycoming County (1906), Vol. 1, p. 89ff.