History of the District Court of

the City and County of

Lancaster,

A history of the establishment andabolition of the District Court of theCity and County of Lancaster may notbe important to the present genera-tion, and it is easily ascertained byany one who is willing to make

diligent search. A resume of it mayprove, however, not wholly uninter-esting to the members of the Bar andto those of our citizens who delightin antiquarian research. It was thesecond Court of this character estab-lished in the State, the first one be-ing in the county of Philadelphia.Therefore, to place the subject inconcrete form for easy reference, Ibriefly sketch the substance of theacts of Assembly relating thereto.

The Act of March 27, 1820, P. L.113, was entitled, "An Act to providefor the erection of an additional Courtwithin the city and county of Lan-caster." Section 1 provided "thatthere shall be a Court of Record es-tablished in and for the city andcounty of Lancaster by the name andstyle of 'The District Court for theCity and County of Lancaster,' whichshall consist of a president, who shallhave power to try, hear and determineall civil pleas and actions, real, per-sonal and mixed provided thatthe said Court shall have no jurisdic-tion, either originally or on appeal,except when the sum in controversy

shall exceed three hundred dollars."By authority contained in Section 2,suits of this character might, withina stipulated time, be transferred atthe election of either party from theCourt of Common Pleas to the newCourt. The Act was to remain inforce for four years. By the Act ofMarch 10, 1823, P. L. 66, the countyof Dauphin was added to the DistrictCourt, and the President Judge wasauthorized to exercise such powerswithin the county of Dauphin as weregranted to him in the city and countyof Lancaster. The Act of 1820 wasthereby continued in force for fouryears more from March 27, 1824, andthe salary of the Judge was fixed at$1,600. The Act of April 10, 1826, P.L. 277, continued the Act of 1820,and certain supplements (so far asthey related to the District Court ofthe City and County of Lancaster) inforce until the first day of May, 1833,and declared that the Court shouldconsist of two Judges, namely, thePresident and Assistant Judge. The-Governor was directed to appoint andcommission an Assistant Judge. TheCourt was to have no jurisdiction, ex-cept as to cases then pending therein,either original or on appeal, unlessthe sum involved exceeded $100, andsuits in the Common Pleas, where thesum in controversy exceeded $200,were, after May 1, 1826, to be trans-ferred to the District Court, and theoriginal jurisdiction of the CommonPleas, where the amount exceeded$200, was to cease. By the seventhsection of the Act, the county of Yorkwas annexed to the district,and there-after the district was composed of thecity and county of Lancaster, thecounty of Dauphin and the county ofYork. This situation continued until

March 27, 1828,when the Act of March10, 1823, expired of its own limitation.It was not renewed by subsequentlegislation so far as Dauphin countywas concerned; that county, after1828, ceased to be part of the district.

By the Act of April 14, 1828, P. L.446, the Judges were required to re-side within the bounds of their dis-trict, and under certain other supple-ments the jurisdiction of the Courtwas enlarged, but not to an extent re-quiring special comment. By the Actof April 8, 1833, P. L. 215, the countyof York was made a separate district,and the respective District Courtswere continued in force until May 1,1840. Under the Act of March 11,1840, P. L. 122, the District Court 01the City and County of Lancaster wasre-established and continued for tenyears from May 1, 1840, and by theAct of March 29, 1849, P. L. 256, theCourt was abolished, and its recordsand business was transferred to theCourt of Common Pleas.

SKETCHES OF THE JUDGES OFTHE DISTRICT COURT, ANDALSO OF THE ASSOCIATE

AND ADDITIONAL LAWJUDGES OF THE SEC-

OND JUDICIAL DIS-TRICT OF PENN-

SYLVANIA.

Charles Smith.

The first Judge of this Court wasCharles Smith. He was born in theCity of Philadelphia on March 4, 1765.He was the son of William Smith,D. D., Provost of the College of Phila-delphia. His early education was un-

der the care of his father, and heafterwards graduated from Washing-ton College, Maryland, on May 14,1783. He studied law with his brother,William Moore Smith, who resided inEaston, and he was admitted to thePhiladelphia Bar in June, 1786, and topractice before the Supreme Court ofPennsylvania on January 8, 1787. Hebegan the practice of the law at Sun-bury, and then coming to Lancaster,he was admitted there at the Mayterm of 1787. He was a delegate tothe Constitutional Convention of 1790,and was elected to the State Houseof Representatives from this countyin 1806, 1807 and 1808. He was amember of the State Senate in 1816.On March 27, 1819, he was appointedPresident Judge of the Ninth JudicialDistrict, then made up of the Countiesof Adams, Cumberland and Franklin,as successor of Judge Hamilton, ofCarlisle; but, nevertheless, he retain-ed his residence in Lancaster. Heserved in this position until April 27,1820. On April 28, 1820, he was com-missioned President Judge of the Dis-trict Court of the city and county ofLancaster, and he served as such untilMarch 27, 1824, when the Act of March10, 1823, went into effect, and EbenezerG. Bradford was appointed under itsprovisions to the presidency of thatCourt. In disgust, he then sold hishouse and moved to Baltimore, Mary-land. He ultimately returned to Phila-delphia, where he died at Belmont onApril 18,1836. His body is interred inthe graveyard of the Church of theEpiphany, in Philadelphia. He wasappointed by the Legislature to re-vise the laws of the Commonwealthand to frame a new compilation of thesame, and in 1810 there was publishedby John Bioren, under the authority ofthe State, four volumes known as"Smith's Laws on Pennsylvania." In

1812, volume 5 was issued, and in 1822volumes 6 and 7. He also was theauthor of a treatise called "Land Lawsof Pennsylvania."

He was married to Mary, daughterof Judge Jasper Yeates, and when hecame to Lancaster, he purchased atract of land east of the city, alongthe Conestoga River, and built "Hard-wick," well known to our older citi-zens. This beautiful country seatafterwards came into the ownership ofCaptain James Wiley, and it was con-veyed indirectly by him to the Penn-sylvania Railroad Company in 1882,when what is now known as the "Cut-off" was constructed to the north ofthe city.

Alexander Thomson.

Alexander Thomson was born atScotland, in Franklin county, on Janu-ary 12, 1788. His parents died whenhe was young, and at the age of fifteen,he was apprenticed to his uncle,Andrew Thomson, to learn the tradeof sicklemaking. While so engaged,he pursued his studies and acquiredthe rudiments of Greek and Latin. Heafterwards taught school for threeyears in a select school in North-umberland, and then went to Bedford,where he took charge of an academy.While so engaged, he studied lawwith Judge James M. Riddle, who,after retirement from the Bench in1804, practiced law in Chambersburg.In 1816, he was admitted to the Bed-ford County Bar. In 1823, he waselected to the State House of Repre-sentatives from Bedford county, andin 1824 he was a member of theEighteenth Congress from the Thir-teenth Congressional District of thisState, composed of the counties ofBedford, Somerset and Cambria, asthe successor of John Tod, resigned.

He was also a member of theNineteenth Congress. He served inCongress until May 1, 1826, when heresigned. On that day, he was com-missioned by Governor John AndrewShulze, under the Act of April 10,1826, Assistant Judge of the DistrictCourt of the city and county of Lan-caster and the counties of Dauphin andYork, and he continued to hold thatoffice until June 25, 1827, when heresigned. On June 25, 1827, he wasappointed and commissioned PresidentJudge of the Sixteenth Judicial District,composed of the counties of Franklin,Bedford and Somerset, as the suc-cessor of John Tod, who was appoint-ed a Justice of the Supreme Court.He then moved to Chambersburg, andlived there until his decease. In 1837,he opened a law school in Chambers-burg, which was subsequently madethe law department of Marshall Col-lege. This college was then locatedat Mercersburg, Franklin county.There were no formal lectures, thecourse being conducted by oral in-struction and examinations. The lawcollege was in a one-story building,adjoining his residence, on Mainstreet, near the public square. Afterhe left the Bench, he resumed thepractice of the law,using this buildingalso as his office. He was the lastJudge appointed under the Constitu-tion of 1790, and his commission ex-pired, as provided for in the amend-ments of 1838, on June 30, 1841. Hissuccessor was Judge Jeremiah S.Black. The date of his admission tothe Franklin county Bar cannot beascertained, as the records were de-stroyed during the War of the Rebel-lion, when Chambersburg was burnedby the Confederates under Generl Mc-Causland. He died at Chambersburgon August 2, 1848, and was buried inthe graveyard of the Falling Spring

Presbyterian Church, on the banks ofthe Conococheague. He was marriedon October 21, 1817, to Abigail Blythe,of Bedford county, and after her de-cease to Jane Graham. Frank Thom-san, a son of the first marriage was, onFebruary 3, 1897, elected President ofthe Pennsylvania Railroad Company,in which position he continued untilhis death.

Ebenezer Green Bradford.Ebenezer Green Bradford was the

son of Rev. Ebenezer Bradford andElizabeth Green. He was a direct de-scendant of that William Bradford,who came over in the Mayflower andwho became the Second Governor orthe Plymouth Plantation. His fatherwas ordained evangelist by the Pres-bytery of New York in 1775, and sup-plied the church at Danbury, Conn.,from April 9, 1777, to November 22,1779. On August 4, 1782, he wasmade pastor of a church at Rowley,Mass. The subject of this sketchwas born at Danbury on February 19,1777. He was educated at DartmouthCollege, graduating in the class of1796. I am not certain when or wherehe was first admitted to the Bar. Hewas, however, admitted at Philadel-phia on March 1, 1802, and on Febru-ary 14, 1814, at the first Court held atMiffiinburg, Union county, he, on mo-tion of Enoch Smith, Esq., was swornin as one of the attorneys. He wasa member of the Northumberlandcounty Bar, for he at one time residedin Sunbury, and he was appointedDeputy Attorney General for thatcounty on January 19, 1809. He con-tinued to hold that office until Janu-ary, 1821. In December, 1822 he wasa candidate for the State Senate fromthe Northumberland district, but wasdefeated by Lewis Dewart. On May

3, 1824, he was commissioned by Gov-ernor John Andrew Shulze, PresidentJudge of the District Court, then com-posed of the city and county of Lan-caster and the county of Dauphin,and on March 27, 1828, he was againcommissioned to the same office bythe same executive, the district beingthen the city and county of Lancas-ter and county of York. Under thissecond commission he remained inoffice until May 1, 1833, when the dis-trict was divided and each county be-came a separate district. His sou,Rev. Arthur G. Bradford, was born inReading, in 1810; but whether or notJudge Bradford lived there at thetime, I am unable to ascertain. Helived in Sunbury until the Act of 1828was passed, requiring Judges to residein their respective districts, where-upon he moved to the borough of Co-lumbia, in this county. After histerm of office expired, he went toYork. He died suddenly on May 17,1836, in Pottsville, at PennsylvaniaHall, from an attack of apoplexy. TheMiners' Journal, of that borough, inmaking mention of his demise, speaksof him as "Judge E. G. Bradford, ofYork," and states that his "remainswere accompanied to the grave by aportion of his bereaved family anda numerous concourse of friends."Pennsylvania Hall, which was openedin 1831, is one of the leading hotelsin Pottsville. Judge Bradford was in-terred in an old cemetery in Potts-ville, wherein also was buried JohnPotts, the founder of that city. In1895, this cemetery was appropriatedby the school district, and his remainswere then removed to the Presbyter-ian Cemetery, where they now lie. Aflat tombstone contains the followinginscription: "Sacred to the memory

of Ebenezer Green Bradford, 17thMay, 1836. Aged 59."

The assessment book of Norwegiantownship, Schuylkill county, shows:"Judge E. G. Bradford, 400 acres."This tract is supposed to be under-laid with coal and to be now of greatvalue. In his lifetime he sold theone-half of it to one Martin Weaverfor $9,250, and after his death a de-cree for specific performance of thecontract was entered in the Orphans'Court of York county, and his admin-istrators thereupon executed a deedfor it. What became of the otherhalf does not appear from the recordsof Schuylkill county. He left a wid-ow, May Bradford, who lived with hertwo minor daughters, Sarah Ann andEmily, at Northumberland, and alsofour sons, who were then of age,namely, Rev. Arthur B., Albert G.,Charles A. and Oscar. His widowand John Evans, of York, were hisadministrators.

Alexander Laws Hayes.Alexander Laws Hayes was born in

Kent county, in the State of Dela-ware, on March 7, 1793. After a pre-liminary education in Newark Acad-emy he entered Dickinson College, atCarlisle, and graduated there in 1812.He then began the study of law in theoffice of Hon. H. M. Ridgely, of Do-ver, in the State of Delaware, and hewas admitted to the Kent countyBar on November 15, 1815. In themeantime he, 'In 1814, served as clerkof the State Senate of Delaware, andin 1815 he was elected and served asclerk of the State House of Repre-sentatives. He practiced law in Do-ver until 1820, when he removed toPhiladelphia, and he remained in thatcity for one year. From there hewent to the city of Reading, in this

State, and practiced his profession inBerks county for six years. Duringthis period, namely, on April 19,1824, he was, on motion of Molton C.Rogers, Esq., admitted to the Lancas-ter Bar. While living in Reading, he,under a special appointment of Attor-ney General Frederick Smith, servedfor three sessions as Deputy AttorneyGeneral in prosecuting the criminalpleas of this county.

By the Act of March 27, 1820, P. L.113, "The District Court for the Cityand County of Lancaster" was estab-lished, and on June 25, 1827, JudgeHayes was appointed by GovernorJohn Andrew Shulze Assistant Judgeof that Court. By virtue of the Actof April 8, 1833, P. L., 215, it was pro-vided that the several acts of Assem-bly then in force relative to the dis-trict Courts of the city and county ofLancaster and the county of Yorkshould be continued until the first dayof May, 1840, but that, after the firstday of May, 1833, the city and countyof Lancaster should form a separatedistrict, and the county of Yorkshould form a separate district,and that the Governor shouldappoint and commission a Judge ofcompetent legal attainments for eachdistrict. In pursuance of this author-ity, and at the instance of the Bar ofLancaster county, Governor GeorgeWolf, on May 1, 1833, commissionedJudge Hayes as President Judge ofthis Court, to serve until the first dayof May, 1840. By the Act of March11, 1840, P. L. 122, the Court was re-established for the term of ten yearsfrom May 1, 1840, and Judge Hayeswas appointed and commissioned onMay 1, 1840, by Governor David R.Porter, to serve for said term. He,however, resigned on January 1, 1849,

and entered upon mercantile pur-suits.

Under the act of April 13, 1854, P.L. 369, the Governor was directed tofill the vacancy then existing in theoffice of Associate Judge of the Courtof Common Pleas of this district, byappointing thereto a competent per-son, learned in the law, to continueuntil the first Monday in December,1854, and that, at the next generalelection, the electors of the countyshould elect such a person, "learnedin the law," to be an Associate Judgeof said Court, to hold office thereinfor ten years from the said first Mon-day in December. I can find no rec-ord that any appointment was madein the interim, but at the general elec-tion of 1854, Judge Hayes was electedAssociate Judge, and on November13, 1854, he was commissioned byGovernor William Bigler for a termof ten years from the first Monday inDecember of that year. Under theact of March 25, 1864, P. L. 94, theAct of 1854 was continued for anoth-er period of ten years, with the likeprovision that "an Associate LawJudge" should be elected at the ensu-ing general election and he was, onthe fall of 1864, again elected. Hewas commissioned by Governor An-drew G. Curtin on November 23, 1864,for a term of ten years from the suc-ceeding first day of December. Byvirtue of the Schedule to the Consti-tution of 1873, his term was extendedto the first Monday in January, 1875.The Constitution of 1873, abolishedthe office of Associate Judge in coun-ties forming separate districts, andby the Act of April 9, 1874, P. L. 54,it was provided "that the qualifiedelectors of the county of Lan-caster, coustituing the Second dis-

trict should "at the next gen-eral election, in the manner prescrib-ed by law for the election of Presi-dent Judges, elect one person learned in the law, to serve as an ad-ditional Judge of the several Courtsin said" district. In the fall of1874 Judge Hayes, William AugustusAtlee and David W. Patterson be-came candidates for this office at theRepublican primary election, andDavid W. Patterson was nominatedby a plurality of 473 votes over Mr.Atlee, the next highest candidate,Judge Hayes than became an inde-pendent candidate at the generalelection, but was defeated. He thenretired to private life and died in hishome on South Prince street, thiscity, on July 13, 1875, at the vener-able age of eighty-two. He lies bur-ied in the graveyard adjoining St.James' Episcopal Church, in this city.He served longer than any Judge whoever occupied a judicial position inthis county, namely, six and a-halfyears as Assistant Judge of the Dis-trict Court, sixteen years as Presi-dent Judge of that Court, and twentyyears as Associate Law Judge of theCourt of Common Pleas. His totalservice was forty-two and a-halfyears.

David Watson Patterson.David Watson Patterson was born

in Rapho township, this county, justoutside the limits of the borough ofMt. Joy, on August 30, 1815. He waseducated at Lititz, and also took apreparatory classical course at Mos-cow Academy, Chester county, and atthe Old Milton Academy, Northumber-land county. He entered WashingtonCollege (now Washington and Jeffer-son), and graduated there in 1839.He studied law under John R. Mont-

gomery, Esq., and was admitted tothe Bar of this county on June 20,1842. In 1847 he was elected as aWhig to the State House of Repre-sentatives, serving one term, and in1853 he was elected to the office orDistrict Attorney, for a term of threeyears. He was active in the organi-zation of the Republican party in1856. In 1872, he was chosen a mem-ber of the Constitutional Convention,from the Ninth Senatorial District,and in the fall of 1874, was electedAdditional Law Judge. The vote atthe Republican primary was: DavidW. Patterson, 5,078; A. L. Hayes, 880;William Augustus Atlee, 4,605; and atthe general election, David W. Patter-son, 9,514; A. L. Hayes, 7,035. Hiscommission,by Governor John F. Har-tranft, was dated December 3, 1874,and was for ten years from the firstMonday in January, 1875. In 1884, hewas re-elected for another term of tenyears, but he died on February 21,1892 in the seventy-seventh year ofhis age. His remains lie buried inLancaster Cemetery, in this city.

David McMullen.David McMullen was born near

Mount Hope, Lancaster county, on Oc-tober 20, 1844. He was educated inthe public schools, in Yeates Institute,in the Vermont Episcopal School atBurlington, Vt., and at the Millers-ville State Normal School, from whichlast-named institution he graduatedin 1868. He first began the study oflaw under Hugh C. Graham, Esq., ofOil City, but afterwards entered theoffice of Samuel H. Reynolds, Esq., ofLancaster city. He was admitted tothe Bar on December 23, 1871. Hewas elected to the office of SchoolDirector of the city of Lancaster in1889, and he continued to serve as

such until February 27, 1909. Hewas president of the School Boardfrom November, 1890, to November,1906. On March 2, 1892, he was ap-pointed and commissioned by Gov-ernor Robert E. Pattison, AdditionalLaw Judge, as the successor of DavidWatson Patterson, lately deceased,and he served in that office until thefirst Monday of January, 1893. Beinga Democrat in politics, he was thecandidate of that party for the officeof Judge at the general election heldin the fall of 1892, but he was defeat-ed by Henry Clay Brubaker, the Re-publican candidate. After the expira-tion of his term of office, he resumedthe practice of the law, and he con-tinues at this time to follow his pro-fession.

Henry Clay Brubaker.Henry Clay Brubaker was born in

West Earl township, Lancaster coun-ty, on March 5, 1843. When quite ayoung boy, his father moved to Lan-caster city, and it was there that helived during the greater portion of hislife. He was educated in the publicschools of the city, and subsequentlyattended Franklin and Marshall Col-lege, from which institution he grad-uated in 1864. After his graduation,he went to Cambridge in the State ofIndiana, and he there studied lawand was admitted to the Bar. Hepracticed in that State for a shorttime, and then returned to Lancasterto assist his father, who had beenelected District Attorney of this coun-ty. On October 26, 1865, on motionof his father, George Brubaker, Esq.,he was admitted to the LancasterBar. He was twice a candidate fornomination to the office of DistrictAttorney, and once for that of CitySolicitor, but each time he was de-

feated. In 1891, he became a candi-date for Judge at the Republican pri-mary election, against John B. Living-ston, who was seeking a re-election.The contest was close, and, after aprolonged hearing before the Boardof Return Judges, it was announcedthat he had eleven majority, exclud-ing two of the wards of the city. Thefriends of Judge Livingston refusedto abide by this result, and both ofthe candidates, and also Hugh M.North, Esq. as the nominee of theDemocratic party, entered into thecontest at the general election heldin the fall of 1891. Judge Livingstonwas elected by a majority of 155votes over Judge Brubaker, his near-est competitor. When Judge Patter-son died on February 21, 1892, DavidMcMullen was appointed Judge toserve until the first Monday in Janu-ary ensuing. Judge Brubaker becom-ing a candidate at the Republican pri-mary, he was nominated for Addi-tional Law Judge by that party. Atthe general election of 1892, he waselected over Judge McMullen, and hetook his seat on the first Monday inJanuary, 1893, under a commissionissued by Governor Robert E. Patti-son, dated December 19, 1892. Hedied, after a comparatively short ill-ness, on March 29, 1899. By his spe-cial directions, his body was cre-mated. On the death of Judge Bru-baker, the writer of these sketcheswas appointed by Governor WilliamA. Stone as his successor in office,and was commissioned April 11, 1899,to serve until the first Monday inJanuary, 1900. Having been electedat the general election held in 1899,he was, on December 7, 1899, commis-sioned by the same Executive for aterm of ten years, from the first Mon-

day in January, 1900. Judge Living-ston, however, having retired on Feb-ruary 13, 1904, he became PresidentJudge, and Judge Hassler was there-upon appointed Additional Law Judgeof the district.

Aaron Bilyeu Hauler.Aaron Bilyeu Hassler was born at

Centre Square, Montgomery county,on April 13, 1860. His father, a cler-gyman of the Lutheran Church, hav-ing moved to New Holland, in thiscounty, his son was educated first inthe public schools of that vicinity,and afterwards at Muhlenberg Col-lege, where he graduated in 1882. Heread law with George Nauman, Esq.,and was admitted to the Lancastercounty Bar on June 5, 1885. He ser-ved for two years as solicitor for theBoard of Prison Inspectors, and threeand a-half years,from 1897, as CountySolicitor. He resigned the latter of-fice on May 17, 1901, to accept theoffice of County Controller, an officewhich, by force of the Constitution,was then established for the first timein this county. He served under thisappointment until the first Mondayin January, 1902. At the general elec-tion of 1901, he was elected for a fullthree-years' term. Upon the retire-ment of Judge Livingston, on Febru-ary 13, 1904, the writer became Pres-ident Judge, and on February 18,1904, Judge Hassler was appointedand commissioned by Governor Sam-uel W. Pennypacker as AdditionalLaw Judge, to serve until the firstMonday in January, 1905. At thegeneral election held in the fall of1904, he was elected for a full termof ten years, and his commission, is-sued by Governor Pennypacker, bearsdate December 6, 1904. Ordinarily

his term would expire on the firstMonday in January, 1915; but, owingto the adoption of an amendment tothe Constitution of the State at thegeneral election held in 1913, it hasbeen extended to the first Monday inJanuary, 1916. He is now servingacceptably in his office.

file:///Volumes/LCHS%3BLCHSFS01/OCR%20Journal%20Project/PDF%20Biblio%20Info/Pwebrecon.cgi.txt

Author: Landis, Charles Israel, 1856-1932.

Title: History of the District Court of the city and county of Lancaster / by Judge C. I. Landis.

Primary Material: Book

Subject(s): Smith, Charles, 1765-1836. Thomson, Alexander, 1788-1848. Bradford, Ebenezer, 1746-1801. Harper, A. L. (Alexander L.), 1793-1875. Patterson, David Watson, 1815-1892. McMullen, David, 1844- Brubaker, Henry Clay, 1843-1899. Hassler, Aaron Bilyeu, 1860- Courts--Pennsylvania--Lancaster County--19th century.

Publisher: Lancaster, Pa. : Lancaster County Historical Society, 1914

Description: 103-119 p. ; 23 cm.

Series: Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society ; v. 18, no. 5

Call Number: 974.9 L245 v.18Location: LCHSJL -- Journal Article (reading room)

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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Institution NameInstitution AddressInstitution Phone NumberInstitution E-mail Address

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