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The Reverend Mr. David Craft |
THE LEARNED PROFESSIONS---LAW---ASSOCIATION OF
MAGISTRATES—JUDGE LYNCH—BAR OF BRADFORD
--MEDICAL SOCIETY—HOMEOPATHY
THE LAW.
ASSOCIATED MAGISTRATES OF NORTHERN LUZERNE
As a fitting introduction to this chapter, an account of an association of the justices of the peace in the northern part of old Luzerne county is here given. A preliminary meeting was held at the house of Jonathan Stevens, Esq., in Wyalusing, Feb. 8, 1810, "for the purpose of forming a society and fixing on certain precedents to govern said society." There were present ten justices, representing every district in that part of this county which was embraced in Luzerne. Henry V. Champin was chosen president, and George Scott secretary. A committee was appointed to draft a constitution and rules to govern the society. Among the resolutions passed at this meeting was one in which they declare "that we will use our best endeavors to suppress all pettifogging whereby it appears they do it with an intention to stir up and encourage litigation;" and another, "that we will for the future use our best endeavors in our official capacity to suppress vice and immorality." The association also gave its opinion on several legal questions affecting the practice of justices’ courts.
The second meeting was held at the same place June 12, 1810, at which eight justices were present. At this meeting a constitution was adopted, which provided that the name of the society should be the "Associated Magistrates resident in the north part of Luzerne County;" that three stated meetings of the association should be held each year; that every member of the society shall take every necessary precaution to suppress lawsuits and to bring about reconciliation between contending parties; in all ordinary cases to notify persons complained of for the non-payment of debts previous to any compulsory measures being taken, when it will not make an unnecessary delay of payment, or endanger the plaintiff of losing his money; to be vigilant and watchful over themselves and others; to admonish and reprove immoral characters of every description, and by all proper means to suppress all vice and immorality at all times and places; and to discountenance pettifoggers of every description. Each member of the association was required to present at least one law question for discussion at each meeting, which was to be decided by a vote of ayes and noes to be recorded by the secretary.
Oct. 2, 1810, a third meeting of the association was held at the house of Jacob Myer, in Wysox. Eliphalet Mason was admitted a member, but Charles Brown was rejected because "of his not residing within the township for which he was commissioned."
This is the last meeting of the association of which the records have been preserved. At the next meeting of the legislature the county of Bradford was erected, and it was certain that courts would be established in a short time which would supersede the association; but this record is valuable as indicating the state of society at this period and the character of the magistrates who dispensed justice to the people.
The 11th judicial district was composed of the counties of Tioga, Bradford, Susquehanna, and Wayne. John Banister Gibson was the first president judge, and his task was an arduous one, as his district extended along nearly one-half the entire length of the State. He was promoted to the bench of the supreme court. He was succeeded by Thomas Burnside, who soon resigned, and Edward Herrick took his place in 1818.
FIRST COURT AND BAR.
The first court for the county was held January, 1813, at the tavern-house of William Means, in the lower part of Towanda, which was for many years known as the old red tavern, and I think* Simon Kinney, Ethan Baldwin, and Alphonso C. Stuart were the only resident attorneys in the county. Edward Herrick was admitted at a subsequent term the same year. The end of Stuart was a tragic one. About 1817 he removed to Belleville, Ill., where, for some reason, one Bennett proposed to him to fight a sham duel. The guns were loaded by individuals who put no balls in either weapon, but before reaching the ground selected for the duel to take place Bennett stepped to one side and put a ball into his rifle, and Stuart fell, mortally wounded. Bennett made his escape, but was apprehended about a year after, tried, convicted, and executed.
The court-house was first occupied at May term, 1815; the room for holding courts, together with the offices of the prothonotary and the county commissioners, being on the same floor, but separated from each other by partitions.
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*Judge Bullock.
FAIR PLAY.
"And there was no magistrate in the land to put them to shame in anything."
The above quotation from Scripture was very appropriate to the inhabitants of northern Pennsylvania at its early settlement. They were remote from the place of holding courts, and the force and operation of laws was scarcely felt among them. Yet they had codes and courts of their own in each neighborhood, to which all had to submit, and where justice was administered without "sale, denial, or delay." We give one instance of a proceeding of this kind, which was had in the township of Ulster.
"David Couch was accused of having slandered one of his neighbors. In ordinary cases at the present time, a suit of this kind continues for several years before its final determination. He was brought at once before a court specially convened for that purpose, the proof was conclusive against him, and he was sentenced to receive a certain number of stripes with an oak sprout cut for the occasion. The sentence was immediately put into execution, and with the delay of scarcely an hour from the commencement, he went home if not a better, a better whipped man than he came."*
THE BAR OF BRADFORD COUNTY.
The bar of Bradford has been noted from the first organization of the
courts of the county in 1813 to the present, for ability and worth. In
its early history there may have been characters that have stood out more
prominently than now, but they may have been developed by the circumstances
and requirements of their day, which, lacking in the present more prosaic
times, leaves just as able men perhaps in comparative obscurity. But the
past and present of Bradford’s roll of attorneys is an honorable one. They
have borne the good name of Bradford into the national and State councils,
and given it a bright radiance among the honored names of the Union. In
the senate and the lower house of congress, in the halls of the State,
on its supreme bench, and on the battle-fields of the Union, in defense
of the integrity of the nation, Bradford has won imperishable renown through
the statesmanship, erudition, and indomitable bravery and will of her sons.
Her Wilmot has carried her fame to the ends of the earth, in that glorious
proviso for freedom, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist
in any of said territories,† except for crime, whereof the party shall
be duly convicted."
* Dr. Bullock.
† Territory acquired by the Mexican War.
Her Purple has carried the name of the county to the supreme bench of the great prairie State (Illinois); her Booth dispenses justice, fair and impartial, from the bench of the chief city of the great northwest, that sits a queen at the head of the great lakes. Mercur adorns the supreme bench of the great Keystone commonwealth, where Lewis sat before him; while Herrick, Williston, Bullock have presided with honor over the courts of their own district, a seat now as worthily filled by Morrow. Overton represents an intelligent constituency, with credit to himself and honor to them, in congress, in the seat long held by the veteran Wilmot. On the field of war the bar of Bradford has been none the less distinguished. Watkins, learned, affable, courteous, and brave, sealed his devotion to his country with his life’s blood; Madill bears about his person honorable scars, received in her service; Overton gained unfading laurels in the defense of the axiom "all men are created free and equal;" McKean, Carnochan, and others for a time doffed the gown of the barrister for the blouse of the soldier, laid down the brief to solve more knotted intricacies with the sword, and aided in placing the honor of their country on high in the annals of patriotism. Others, less publicly prominent, have added largely to the luster of the bar in times past, among them Baldwin, Scott, Kinney, Evans, Overton (senior), Patton, Strong, Cash, Adams, Barstow, Watkins, Elwell, Ward, Patrick, Sanderson, and others of equal merit.
THE BAR—PAST AND PRESENT.
William Prentice, who was admitted to the bar in Luzerne Co., Pa., at the November session of the common pleas in 1799, at the age of thirty-four years, was the first full-fledged attorney in what is now Bradford County.
1813-14.—These attorneys, given under this date, were in attendance on the first terms of the common pleas, held in those years, and signed an agreement as to the rules of pleading: Edward Herrick* (afterwards president judge of the district), Ethan Baldwin,* Charles Catlin, Simon Kinney,* C. F. Welles.*
1816.—Edward Overton, not in practice.
1818.—William Patton,* Horace Williston* (president judge of district), Robert Welles, Darius Bullock* (president judge of district).
1819.—David Cash.*
1823.—D. F. Barstow.*
1824.—J. C. Adams.*
1826.—Alpheus Ingham, Rinaldo D. Parker (in West Virginia).
1828.—Wm. Watkins,* Ellis Lewis* (judge of supreme court, Pa.).
1830.—E. W. Baird,* Hiram Payne.
1832.—William Elwell (president judge 26th district, Pa.), James T. Hale* (president judge 25th district, Pa.; M. C., 1859-64), Mason Hulett, Stephen Pierce.
1833.—Norman H. Purple (justice supreme court, Illinois), Hiram Thomas.
1834.—David Wilmot* (M. C.; U. S. Senator; judge court claims U.S.).
1835.—Silas Noble.
1837.—Lyman E. De Wolf (Chicago), C. L. Ward,* L. P. Williston, territorial judge, U.S.
1838.—H. W. Patrick.†
1839.—Julius R. Barstow,* Roswell C. Ingalls.
1840.—Edward Elwell, George Sanderson, Hutchins T. Wilcox.
1841.—St. John Goodrich, James Holiday, E. W. Hazard, S. G. Patrick, Wilson Scott.
1842.—H. C. Baird, † H. C. Kelly, L. H. Pierce, Elhanan Smith.†
1843.—Ulysses Mercur (justice supreme court, Pa.).
1844.—Henry Booth (judge circuit court, Cook Co., Ill., Chicago), O. H. P. Kinney, Morris S. Wattles (judge in Wisconsin), Francis Smith,* Julius Sherwood,* James E. Pierce, Thomas Smead, Thomas Welles.
1845.—Charles Kellum (Sycamore, De Kalb Co., Ill., State senator), Wm. G. Scott, John E. Canfield.*
1846.—S. F. Wilson (additional judge in Tioga, Potter, and McKean district).
1847.—Hugh Tyler,* Wm. H. Peck,* James H. Welles, George O. Welles, Edwin Hurlbut, Galusha A. Grow (M. C.).
1848.—W. R. De Witt, N. P. Case, Eli B. Parsons,† Nathan C. Elsbree,† N. Miller Stephens, Geo. R. Barker.
1851.—James Macfarlane (on geological survey of Pennsylvania), Henry J. Madill† (Col. 141st Pa. Vols.; major-general by brevet), Joseph B. Reeve, † Marvin E. Mills.
1853.—Milton H. Case, Isaac N. Evans,† Mark H. Greenman,* Miles F. Kinney,* Harvey McAlpin,* D. Alanson Overton,† Paul D. Morrow (president judge of district), Guy H. Watkins* (killed before Petersburg, Va.), Ralph Tozer.
1855.—A. Chauncey Lyman,* Henry B. McKean.
1857.—Geo. De La Montanye,* Jas. J. Siebeneck.
1858.—Edward Overton, Jr.† (M. C., 1877-78; lieut.-col. 50th Pa. Vols.).
1859.—H. N. Williams.†
1860.—Thomas J. Ingham (president judge of Sullivan and Wyoming district, Pa.), James Wood,† Benj. M. Peck (prothonotary).
1861.—Thomas Ryan (M. C. from Kansas, 1877-78), Edw. T. Elliott (not in practice), Charles Mercur (not in practice), Wm. T. Davies† (State senate), Warner H. Carnochan,† F. G. Coburn.*
1862.—Delos Rockwell,† Henry Keeler.
1863.—Henry Peet,* Jacob De Witt,* John W. Mix.†
1864.—Wm. A. Peck, S. R. Payne,† John N. Califf.†
1865.—Edward Herrick, Jr.
1868.—F. G. Patrick, W. Hersey Watkins (editor in Kansas).
1869.—J. H. Shaw,† Wm. H. Thompson.†
1870.—William Foyle,† D. D. Fassett, Hiram C. Johns, Joseph R. Harris (St. Louis, Mo.), D. C. De Witt.†
1871.—E. C. Gridley,† H. F. Maynard.†
1872.—Judson W. Stone,† Henry Streeter,† C. L. Lamb, J. S. Tozer, Isaiah McPherson,† D. W. Smith.
1873.—J. Ferris Shoemaker,† P. C. J. De Angelis, S. W. Little.†
1874.—Adelbert C. Fanning,† John F. Sanderson,† W. E. Chilson,† Frank F. Drake (district attorney for Sullivan county, Pa.).
1875.—J. Andrew Wilt,† Rodney A. Mercury,† Wm. Maxwell,† Gordon F. Mason,† Llewellyn Elsbree,† Elisha L. Hillis,† Wm. Little,† George D. Stroud,† E. F. Goff,† O. D. Kinney.†
1876.—E. J. Angle.†
1877.—L. M. Hall,† Wm. J. Young,† Augustus Redfield,† Thomas E. Myer,† Arthur Head,† Charles M. Hall.†
1878.—Albert Morgan.†
* Dead.
† Of the present bar.
The members of the judiciary will be found in the civil list.
THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF BRADFORD COUNTY.
The Bar Association of Bradford County was organized December 17, 1877, at a meeting at which Col. Elhanan Smith was chairman and John F. Sanderson was secretary. A constitution was adopted, and at an adjourned meeting, held January 7, 1878, a code of by-laws was also adopted. At the annual meeting, held February 4, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, Col. Elhanan Smith; Vice-President, Gen. H. J. Madill; Secretary, John F. Sanderson; Treasurer, Henry Streeter. The constitution declares the object of the association to be (1) the instruction and improvement of its members, (2) promotion of good feeling and brotherly intercourse, and the maintenance of the professional character, and (3) the formation of a library. Any member of the bar of this or any other county is eligible to membership. The regular meetings of the association are held on the first Monday evening of each month, at which papers on legal subjects are read, or legal questions are discussed, and a person appointed to write an opinion on the question discussed, which opinion is presented to the next regular meeting, for approval or rejection, as it may appear to agree or disagree with the individual opinions of the members.
On the night of the regular meeting, March 4, 1878, last prior to this writing, there were twenty-six members who had subscribed the constitution, the name of the veteran Edward Overton, Sr., leading the list.
MEDICAL.
BRADFORD COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY.
The first effort to organize the medical profession of Bradford County was made August, 1847, when about twenty of the prominent physicians of the county met in the court-house, and elected Drs. Samuel Huston president, and Alexander Madill secretary. Two or three meetings were held in Towanda, and one was appointed for Troy. Dr. Madill and Dr. Bliss went to Troy, but no one else, and this was the last meeting of the society.
The present medical society was organized Sept. 20th, 1849, at the Ward House, in Towanda, with nine members. The object of the society was declared to be the advancement of medical knowledge, the elevation of professional character, the protection of the interests of its members, the cultivation and extension of medical science, and the promotion of all measures adapted to the relief of the suffering and to improve the health and protect the lives of the community.
Qualification for membership requires that the applicant be either a graduate of some medical college in good standing, or has license to practice from some medical board recognized by the State medical society, or has been engaged in honorable practice for fifteen years, and sustains a good moral character.
The officers of the society consist of a president, four vice-presidents, two secretaries, a treasurer, and five censors, who are elected by ballot, and hold office for one year.
The constitution and by-laws are in accordance with the State medical society and the American medical association, to both of which it is subordinate, and its code of ethics is the same as that adopted by the last-named body.
The by-laws require that two members be appointed to read essays at each meeting; each member to report a case connected with medicine at each meeting, or, at the May meeting, instead of a case he can report a synopsis of his practice during the year. Clinics are also held at meetings of the society, which are in charge of a physician and surgeon appointed for that purpose. During the twenty-nine years of its history, many interesting cases, brought before the society, have received the benefit of its advice; able and instructive essays have been read, and a large number of important cases have been reported.
The society have endeavored to combine in their meetings social pleasures with professional labors, and frequently for this purpose are invited with their wives and daughters to dine in the family of some one of their number. These social gatherings have not only awakened new interest in the members, but have been the means by which the families of physicians can form pleasant acquaintances.
The organization has been eminently successful. It has had on its roll of members nearly all the regular practitioners in the county. The society has sent delegates annually to the medical society of Pennsylvania, and has frequently been represented in the American medical association. With but few exceptions it has made annual sanitary reports to the State society. In 1862, one of its members (Dr. Horton) was chosen president of the State society. A report on the geology of the State, with a map, was made in 1858, and one on hydrography and drainage; the former by Dr. Horton, and the latter by Dr. Mason. They were the first papers on these subjects ever published in the county. The influence of the society has been salutary to the profession, and consequently beneficial to the public. It has stimulated the members of the profession to reach higher attainments in medical science, exposed quackery, and has elevated the standard of the profession both scientifically and morally.
The movement for the foundation of the historical society of Bradford County originated in a call issued by a committee of the society for a meeting of the citizens for that purpose. Dr. Mason at the time of his death was president of the historical society, and
Dr. Horton has since held the same position. There have been connected with the society fifty-eight physicians, of whom eighteen are dead, besides two honorary members—Dr. Darius Bullock, of Smithfield, and Granville Sharp Patterson, of Athens, professor of anatomy in the medical department of the University of New York; both are now dead. The present membership is twenty-five, of whom Dr. P. A. Quick, of Wilmot, is president; Dr. T. B. Johnson and E. D. Payne, of Towanda, are the secretaries.
Names and Residences of Members of Bradford County Medical Society—Geo. F. Horton, Terrytown; John E. Ingham,* Wysox; Thesus Barnes,* Le Raysville; E. H. Mason,* Towanda; C. T. Bliss, Canton; Daniel Holmes,* Canton; A. R. Axtell, Troy; T. F. Meadill (expelled), Wysox; Geo. H. Morgan,* Wysox; Chas. R. Ladd,* Towanda; E. P. Allen, Athens; Alfred Parsons,* Troy; Edward Mills, Ulster; William L. Claggett, Standing Stone; Benjamin De Witt,* Le Raysville; Horace P. Moody,* Frenchtown; Volney Homet, Camptown; E. G. Tracey, Troy; H. S. Cooper, Monroeton; Hiram Rice,* Rome; R. C. Rockwell,* Troy; C. M. Turner,* Towanda; H. L. Knapp, Windham; G. P. Tracy, Burlington; L. de la Montanye, Towanda; Gustavus Conklin, Orwell; T. H. Morse,* Canton; E. A. Everett, Burlington; G. W. McKee, Windham Centre; A. J. Cole, Mansfield (Tioga Co.); J. D. Underwood, Smithfield; Stephen L. Chilson,* Troy; H. Monte Moody, Smithfield; Rees Davis, Le Raysville; H. O. Ely, Towanda; Benjamin Moody, Wyalusing; Charles P. Godfrey, Wyalusing; C. S. Dusenberry, Le Raysville; C. B. Knapp, Stevensville; R. H. Ely, Burlington; J. E. Rockwell,* Troy; D. N. Newton, Towanda; W. C. Hull, Monroeton; Freman Fairchild, Dushore; L. A. Jones, Terrytown; William Nice, Rome; T. B. Johnson, Towanda; J. M. Barrett, Orwell Hill; P. A. Quick, Sugar Run; E. D. Payne, Towanda; J. W. Lyman, Towanda; S. M. Woodburn, Towanda; Nathaniel Smith,* South Creek; G. W. Russel,* Ulster; Charles Drake,* Granville; O. H. Rockwell, Monroeton.
Honorary Members—Prof. Granville Sharp Patterson,* Athens; Dr.
Darius Bullock,* Smithfield.
* Deceased.
Dr. Stephen Hopkins, the first resident physician at Tioga Point, was born in Morris Co., N. J., Sept. 3, 1766. He was a son of William Hopkins, who was born near Providence, R. I., in the year 1726, and removed to New Jersey in 1756. Stephen studied medicine in Morris county, and practiced some years before coming here. He married there, April 3, 1788, a daughter of Colonel Eleazer Lindsley, who, in 1789, purchased of Phelps and Gorham a township of land in their purchase, which is now known as Lindsleytown, Steuben Co. In the summer of 1790, Colonel Lindsley, with his sons, daughters, and others, to the number of over fifty, started for their new home. They halted at Tioga, and, there being no physician here, Dr. Hopkins concluded to remain. His practice speedily became extensive, and he was frequently called as far as Wilkes-Barre to the south, and Palmyra to the north. His first purchase of land here was May 24, 1791, when Captain Ira Stephens conveyed to him village lot No. 38, being the third lot south of the public square on the east side of the street, on which, in 1795, the doctor built the first frame house erected in Athens. In 1796 and 1798 he purchased lots 45 and 46, some distance north of the square, and in the summer of 1800 (according to the late Captain John Snell, who was the builder) he erected his large house, which is still standing, just north of the Episcopal church. In addition to practicing medicine, the doctor was a merchant and an inn-keeper, although his name does not appear among those licensed by the courts. He was frequently elected supervisor of the town of Athens, trustee of public lands, etc. He was the first Senior Warden of Rural Amity lodge, No. 70, named as such in the warrant; was one of the trustees named in the acts of the legislature incorporating the academy, the Presbyterian church, the company for erecting the bridge over the Tioga river, etc. He died, without previous illness, March 29, 1841. His wife, Jemima Lindsley, was born in Morris Co., N. J., June 28, 1772, and died Aug. 16, 1830. Their children were Minerva, born June 15, 1789, married Walter Herrick, Nov. 30, 1805, and died at Flemingville, N. Y., Nov. 21, 1861; Celestia, born March 26, 1792, married, Nov. 5, 1810, Edward Herrick, and died at Athens, Aug. 28, 1830; Eliza, born Oct. 7, 1794, married, June 25, 1812, to Dr. Thomas T. Huston, and died at Athens, Aug. 28, 1830; Eliza, born Oct. 7, 1794, married, June 25, 1812, to Dr. Thomas T. Huston, and died at Athens, July 17, 1856; Charles Lindsley, born Nov. 18, 1796, married Amanda Shepard (daughter of John Shepard), Dec. 31, 1817, and died March 31, 1873; Phoebe Maria, born Jan. 27, 1798, married, Oct. 18, 1825, to Rev. James Williamson, and died at Milton, Pa., Dec. 6, 1844. The children all left posterity yet known in the valley.
Dr. Amos Prentice, born April 24, 1748, son of Samuel, born Nov. 25, 1702, son of Samuel, born 1680, son of Thomas, born 1649, son of Capt. Thomas, born England, 1620, was also among the early physicians. He removed with his family from New London, Conn., to Bradford County, and settled in Athens township, in 1797. A house was built for him on the hill near Cayuta creek, and a drug-store was connected with it. He was one of the sufferers in New London at the time that city was burned by Arnold, the traitor, in 1781, where he practiced his profession for several years. Mrs. Prentice, a very accomplished woman, was the daughter of Rev. Mr. Owen, of Groton, a friend and contemporary of President Edwards. Dr. Prentice practiced medicine in this county several years. He died suddenly, July 19, 1805, much beloved and lamented. Mrs. Prentice died Dec. 7, 1815, aged seventy-seven years. In addition to the practice of medicine, Mr. Prentice was engaged for a time in teaching school. Of his children, William was a lawyer, and died suddenly at the home of his father, in Milltown, Oct. 6, 1806.
Of the children of Dr. Prentice, one was William, the lawyer, who died young, another a physician at Sag Harbor, the third a tanner, who lived at Milltown; one daughter married Dan Elwell, the second married John Spaulding, once sheriff of Bradford County, the third married J. F. Satterlee, a merchant, first at Milltown, afterwards at Athens.
He was succeeded by Dr. Spring, who married the widow Grant, who was sister to John Shepard. He had a large family, who have married and settled in the neighborhood. Most of his children are now dead. William Prentice, a son of Dr. Amos Prentice, was a well-educated, talented man. He had studied law, and had been admitted to the bar in New London previous to his coming here (1798). In 1799 he was admitted to the bar in Luzerne county, and after the dismemberment of the county practiced in Lycoming county. He died Oct. 6, 1806. He is said to have been a young man of excellent character, good talents, and fine personal appearance. He wore his hair braided, hanging upon his shoulders, according to the custom of the times.
Dr. Thomas Thomson Huston (forty-five years a physician in Athens, also druggist and drover, and about 1820 a justice of the peace) was descended in both lines of ancestry from the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who have given so much moral character to Pennsylvania. We learn by the "Colonial Records and Pennsylvania Archives" that, in September, 1775, Mr. Thomas Huston was appointed lieutenant of one of the armed boats; March, 1776, captain of the "Warren;" August, 1778, captain of the armed brig "Convention;" and, in October of the same year, he reported to the supreme executive council that he had "taken several prizes which are not condemned." Family tradition states that he came, on furlough, to his home in Newtown, Bucks Co., late on a certain afternoon; his anxious, fearful wife persuaded him to retire for the night to a neighboring hill for security. He soon saw British soldiers enter his house. Presenting their bayonets to Mrs. H., they demanded her husband, promising protection if he would give himself up. She assured them there were none there excepting herself, her little children, and a hired boy, who stood trembling by. They ransacked the house, thrusting their bayonets into beds, closets, or wherever a man might have been. They found some fire-arms, and, looking at the children, proposed to "kill the cursed rebels in the bud," but their leader prevented any further trouble. Other officers who came home with Huston were taken, and were not released until the war closed. (1785, £50 were paid Capt. Thomas Huston for recruiting in 1776 and 1777.) About that time the family settled near Carlisle. The oldest child, since well known throughout the State as Judge Charles Huston, graduated at Dickinson, about the age of nineteen; first encountered the army, afterwards studied law, then removed to Williamsport, finally to Bellefonte, where he died, 1849, aged eighty years. The parents followed him to Williamsport, and kept a public house, on a corner, northwest of the court-house, for many years. They reared nine children: Charles, the judge; Jane, who married Mr. Walton; Mary, married Turk; Elizabeth, married J. Hepburn; Rachel, married Hays; Martha, married A. D. Hepburn; Hugh, died unmarried; Sarah; living at Bellefonte, unmarried; and Thomas T., who married Eliza, daughter of Dr. Stephen Hopkins, Athens. Capt. Huston died at Williamsport, in 1824, aged eighty-five years, of dry mortification of the foot. He was blind for some years, but could distinguish any of his many grandchildren, by the voice, as he welcomed them while sitting in his arm-chair. His wife—Jeannette Walker before marriage—was a notable housewife, robust and sprightly, making up boxes of clothing for home missionaries when seventy years old, eyes to her husband when blind, never tired of reading, and he never tired of hearing, out of the blessed Book. She survived him but two months, dying in 1824, aged seventy-five years. Their youngest child, Thomas J. Huston, was like his father in personal appearance. He read medicine with Dr. Wood, of Muncy, graduated in Philadelphia, removed to Athens about 1820, and married. His reputation as a physician and surgeon gave him a good practice, but much of it was among the poor, whom he served as long as he could go; and he was careless in collecting, so that he never gained property. He held a high position in the Masonic ranks. Originally a Federalist, he joined in the Jackson movement, and thenceforth was an uncompromising Democrat. From 1824 to 1832, he was absent, near Lock Haven, in Monroe county, and in Tioga village, Pa. Returning to Athens, he died, 1865, aged seventy-three years. His most excellent wife, Eliza, preceded him to the better land, in 1856, aged sixty-two years. They reared four daughters and one son, Charles Thomas Huston; the latter was admitted to the practice of law in Williamsport, but has been engaged in publishing newspapers in Williamsport, Corning, N. Y., and Athens. His Athens Gleaner was the first paper in Bradford County, independent of party, and from the outset was devoted to the elucidation of local and general history.
A Dr. Dorman was settled for a time in the western part of Wysox, but had left there in 1792, and nothing further is known of him.
Dr. Adonijah Warner came from Granby, Mass., and lived near Dr. Dorman’s place, a little west of where Mr. Laning now lives. He came there a young man, just after he had completed his studies, had a very extensive ride, and was a very successful physician. Doctor Warner married Nancy, sister of William Means, Esq. He died in Wysox, April 14, 1845, aged seventy, and was buried in the Wysox cemetery.
Dr. Ebenezer Beeman lived in Wyoming county, but practiced as a physician in the townships of Wyalusing, Wilmot, Terry, and Tuscarora.
Dr. Nathan Scoville was settled for a time on the Wyalusing, but Dr. Daniel Baker was for many years the best-known physician in the lower part of Bradford and Susquehanna counties. He was a native of Litchfield Co., Conn.; came to Wyalusing, where he remained for a short time, when he moved up to the mouth of Cold creek, about 1803, where he lived for some time. He married a daughter of Isaac Hancock, Esq., but had no children. He was a kind-hearted man, skillful as a physician, but extremely fond of fishing and hunting. He returned to the east after he became an elderly man, and died there.
HOMEOPATHY.
The Hahnemannic system of medical practice, on the principle similia similibus curantur, was first introduced into Bradford County by Dr. Leonard Pratt, in 1846. He was a graduate of the old-school medical college, at Philadelphia, and located in Towanda in the year named, and began the homeopathic system of treatment. He remained there seven years. He is at present practicing his profession in Chicago, and resides in Wheaton, Du Page Co., Ill., one of the numerous suburban villages of that metropolis. He has been president of the Hahnemann college of homeopathy of that city, and his son is at present a professor of anatomy in one of the two colleges of that school now in that city.
Dr. Pratt’s contemporaries and successors of the same school of practice in the county have been as follows:
Dr. Belding (father-in-law of Dr. Pratt), an old-school physician in Le Raysville, about the same time as Dr. Pratt.
Dr. J. L. Corbin was at Towanda with Dr. Pratt from 1848 to 1850; then removed to Athens, where he has ever since remained, and still is in practice.
Dr. Nebediah Smith began the study and practice of homeopathy in 1848, and though not a graduate of any school, has, by long experience, become a skillful practitioner.
Dr. D. S. Pratt, a graduate of the Philadelphia medical college (old school), located in Towanda in 1851-52, and practiced with his brother, Dr. Leonard Pratt, until the latter removed, when he succeeded to the entire business of the firm, and has remained to the present time. He is reputed as a skillful physician, and has an extensive and remunerative practice. Many of his students have graduated from the medical colleges, east and west, honorably, and are now engaged in successful practice in the county and elsewhere.
Dr. Samuel Shepard was in practice in Troy in 1847, and is there still.
Dr. Silas Shepard was also a practitioner in Troy, but is now deceased.
Dr. Theodore L. Pratt, a student of Dr. D. S. Pratt, began practice in 1854 in Towanda, then went to Canton, and is now located in Germantown, Pa.
Dr. D. T. Abel, a student of Dr. Pratt’s, and a graduate of the Philadelphia college, began his practice in Athens in 1861-62. He is now in Sedalia, Mo., where he has achieved a high reputation as a skillful practitioner.
Dr. Wilcox, a graduate also of the Philadelphia college, has been in practice in Le Roy for the past fifteen years.
Dr. David Codding has been in practice twenty years in Le Raysville.
Dr. Gorham, a student of Dr. Corbin, was in practice with his tutor for several years, and is now west.
Dr. Robert Murdaugh has been in practice for the past five years in Burlington.
Dr. George Ingham began practice in Monroeton in 1872-73, and is located at present in Troy.
Dr. D. Leonard Pratt, son of Dr. D. S. Pratt, is in practice with his father in Towanda. He is a graduate of Jefferson medical college (old school), Pa. (class of 1875), and of the Chicago Homeopathic college (class of 1877).
Dr. Robert Brooks, a graduate of Chicago Homeopathic college, began his practice in Canton, 1875, and is still in practice there.
Dr. Kinney, of Rome (now deceased), was for several years a successful
practitioner there. He died in 1863, of consumption. His daughter, now
Mrs. Spaulding, at the earnest solicitation of her friends and acquaintances
of that place, prepared herself to take up her father’s practice, and became
a student of Dr. D. S. Pratt, and subsequently graduated at the Chicago
Homeopathic college, and is now in successful practice in the home of her
childhood and maturer years.
