Source:Digby
Percy G. Digby. Pittsburg Press, Jan. 1, 1905, p. 4. Newspapers.com 141917148.
THE official record of admissions to the Allegheny county bar show that the year of 1905 begins with a total of 1,063 lawyers in good standing [. . . rs] of all the Allegheny county [. . .] and entitled to practice law.
Probably a little better than one [. . .] every 700 inhabitants of the [. . .] but as the number engaged in [. . .] practice is probably 350 less, the [. . .] persons who look after the legal [. . .] of the great State of Allegheny [. . .] to by Abraham Lincoln is one [. . .] inhabitants. I will leave it to [the public] to say whether or not this [. . .] is too great and whether or [not they] think there are enough [attorneys . . .] eat up their estates in good fees [. . .] of family quarrels.
[. . . s] one fact, however, that will [. . . t] boldly when the history of [. . .] of Allegheny county is finally [. . .] and that is that today it [numbers among] its members some of the [. . . minent] and brainiest lawyers of [the world]. The standard of admission [. . .] Allegheny county bar has always [. . .] so far as I can learn, so far above [. . .] required in most other courts of [. . .] country that the Pittsburg attorney [. . . veled] found himself looked upon [. . . n] of ability and learning [wher . . .] would be professionally [intro . . .] Pittsburg lawyers never have [. . .] trouble being admitted to other [. . .] when health or climatic conditions [. . . el] them to leave the Smoky City [. . .] more agreeable locations; a fact which cannot apply with equal force to attorneys coming to Allegheny county from other States.
In the Law Library of Allegheny county there is a little book called "Rules and Orders for Regulating the Practice in the Courts of Common Pleas of the Fifth Circuit, Composed of the Counties of Washington, Beaver, Allegheny, Fayette and Green, in the State of Pennsylvania. Printed for the Judges, Counsellors and Court Officers of the Fifth District, by B. Brown, Pittsburg, 1811," and which was presented to the library by William G. Johnston. On the fly leaves appears:
List of attorneys, practicing at the Pittsburg bar arranged agreeably to admission:
| James Ross, Henry Baldwin, |
George Watson, T. B. Dallas, |
Printed in the book just before the above list appears the following: Attornies and counsellors at law residing and practicing within the Fifth Judicial District:
Borough of Pittsburg—Allegheny County.
James Ross, John Woods (dec'd), Steele Semple (dec'd), Thomas Collins (dec'd), Thomas Collins (dec'd), Judge William Wilkins, Henry Baldwin, James Mountain (dec'd), Charles Wilkins (dec'd), Morgan Neville (dec'd), John McDonald, Jun., Alexander Johnston, Jun., Magnus M. Murray, John H. Chaplin (dec'd), James Wills (dec'd), J. C. Gilleland (dec'd), John M. Austin (gone), Neville B. Craig, Benjamin Evans, Samuel Douglass (gone).
Borough of Washington—Washington County.
Parker Campbell, Isaac Kerr, James Ashbrooke, Sampson King, Jonathan Reddick, Joseph Petecost, near Washington; Thomas McGiffin, John Marshall, Thomas Baird, John S. Tarr.
Borough of Union—Fayette County.
Thomas Meason, John Kennedy, Thomas Haddon, John Lyon, Richard W. Lane, Thomas Irwin, Abraham Baltzel, Richard Coulter.
Waynesburg—Greene County.
Robert Whitehill, Jr., Andrew Buchannon, Samuel W. Caldwell.
Borough of Beaver—Beaver County.
James Allison, Jr., David Hays, Robert Moore, John R. Shannon.
In the good old days professional courtesy was a great thing among members of the bar. Imagine the 1,063 lawyers of Pittsburg getting together agreeing upon a set of rules governing their practice and abiding by the same. Of course, such a thing would be an impossibility today, owing to the numerous and diverse interests involved, but the lawyers of today must admit that they depend more on the hard and fast rules of law to govern the interests of their clients than upon what might be considered a matter of professional etiquette. In the book just mentioned above, in addition to the rules of court, their [sic] appears in the back of the book:
Agreement.
"Signed by the Attornies of the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny county—dated 17th July, 1810.
"In our practice in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny county we will be governed by the following agreement, and the same shall be considered as a rule of court.
"In all actions of debt, covenant, account and assumpsit, an appearance shall be entered for the defendant, or defendants, where an attorney is employed, at the term to which the action is brought. At the second term a statement, or declaration shall be filed, and an issue joined and at the third term the plaintiff shall be at liberty to direct judgment, of course to be entered, unless the defendant, or some person for him or her, shall make affidavit, and previously file the same in the prothonotary's office, that to the best of his or her knowledge or belief, there is a just defence, in whole, or in part in the same cause, and given general specification of the same; and if the defence is in part only, then judgment to be entered for so much as shall be acknowledged to be due the plaintiff, if he or his attorney will accept the same in full satisfaction of his demand."
The first court held in Allegheny county was on December 16, 1788. At that time James Ross, Hugh Henry Breckenridge, John Woods, Robert Galbraith, George Thompson, Alexander Addison, David Bradford, David Reddick, James Carson, Daniel St. Clair and Michael Huffnagle were admitted to the practice of law in Allegheny.
Mr. Ross was born in York county, educated in Canonsburg, read law in Philadelphia, where he was first admitted, then in Fayette and Washington counties in 1784, and in Westmoreland in 1785. He was soon recognized the leader of the Allegheny county bar, being a great lawyer, especially in cases involving title to lands. He helped frame the State constitution of 1790, was a United States senator from 1794 to 1805, was president of the Senate in 1795 and 1797. He was a candidate of the Federal Party for governor three times and defeated each time. He was president of Select Council in Pittsburg from 1816 to 1833. He was extremely wealthy. Ross street, Pittsburg, and Ross township, this county, were both named in his honor. He died November 27, 1847, and his body was buried in the Allegheny cemetery.
Archibald Blakeley in his history of the Allegheny county bar says: "Mr. Ross was not a stranger to the mutations of political life, which will be more apparent by a statement which legend and tradition tell us, that in one of his campaigns for governor he was defeated in this way: Mr. Ross owned the square where our court house now stands, on which there was a dwelling house. He leased it to a French family for a boarding house, and in the course of time they purchased the property on small payments and long time. Afterward the Frenchman left his wife, and she was unable to make the payments. After waiting a long time he foreclosed the mortgage and then let it rest for a while, he was finally compelled to take legal steps to oust her, and did so. His political adversaries got up a picture of Mr. Ross and the bailiff, driving the 'poor widow,' as they called her, out of the house and off the premises. Mr. Ross was conspicuously represented, whip in hand, and the subject otherwise distorted to misrepresent him. The picture in papers and hadbills [sic] was published and posted over the State, which turned the tide against him and defeated him.
"In another campaign, Simon Snyder was his opponent. There were marching clubs in those days and the supporters of Ross marched to the words, "James Ross, he's a hoss." The supporters of Snyder improved on this by adopting and using the following: "James Ross, he's a hoss, Simon Snyder, he's the rider." The new catch words took like wild fire and were largely, if not actually, the cause of his defeat."
The next lawyer of note was the man whose name appears on the records of the courts with that of Ross. He was Justice Hugh Henry Brackenridge, the first lawyer to go on the State Supreme Court bench from Allegheny county. He was a strong lawyer, made a good judge and was of fine literary ability and several of his works are found in the local libraries. John Woods was a son of Colonel George Woods, known to every lawyer who ever examined a title in this county as the man who laid out the "Military Plan of Pittsburg in 1784."
Alexander Addison, whom all who know anything about the history of the Allegheny county bar refer to as a great, good and honest man with clean-cut convictions in law, politics, morals and the courtesies of life, was impeached, tried, convicted and removed from office January 27, 1803. He was judge of the Fifth judicial district, comprising the counties already named.
To attempt to tell any of the details connected with the lives of all the great lawyers who have lived in Allegheny county and practiced law in the courts would mean the writing of a history volumes in size, which work must be left to some one more competent. It is sufficient to say that the reputation of Allegheny county and the city of Pittsburg, in particular, never once lacked on account of the ability and scholarly traits of the legal profession. The bar has always been on a high plane and to convince any stranger who might be dubious and blinded by the name Smoky City we have only to mention a few of the names of those whom we all personally knew in their life times and are acquainted with today. In such a list as this we find the names of D. T. Watson, P. C. Knox, Thomas Marshall, J. W. F. White, Thomas Ewing, E. H. Stowe, James R. Sterrett, Moses Hampton, J. H. Reed and the present judiciary.
Probably the most interesting document on record which demonstrates the real caliber of the Allegheny county law is a paper which was signed upon June 17, 1863, and can be seen at the law library. It reads as follows:
Pittsburg, June 17, 1863.
We the undersigned hereby enroll our names to be organized into an independent volunteer military company of the State of Pennsylvania and agree to drill daily at least one hour and hold ourselves in readiness for any emergency.
| J. W. F. White, William M. Shinn, |
W. B. Negley, John Mellon, |
| C. S. Fetterman. | |
During the 116 years of the history of the Allegheny county bar we will find the names of 41 judges, 24 of these have died. Today there are more lawyers than I can think of their names for this article who are the equals of Ross, Baldwin, Brackenridge, McCandless, Shaler, Stanton and the others whose names are held and cherished as memories of the past. The bar has given to the United States government two secretaries of war, one first comptroller of the treasury, two attorneys general, three assistant attorney generals, ten ministers and charges d'affaires to foreign courts, two secretaries of the treasury, one first assistant postmaster general, three judges of the United States Court, ten United States attorneys for the western district of Pennsylvania and seven judges for the same court; also five United States senators and forty-two members of the national house of representatives.
To the state of Pennsylvania the bar has given two governors, one lieutenant governor, four state treasurers, three attorney generals, ten Supreme Court judges, one Superior Court judge, thirty-five County Court judges, thirty judges to courts outside of the county and state, thirteen members of our state constitutional conventions, two secretaries of the commonwealth, three teritorial [sic] governors, one governor to Michigan, eighteen members of our state senate and sixty-four members of the state house of representatives. In the west you will find many graduates of the Allegheny county bar holding seats upon the benchs [sic] of their courts or filling some other equally important public office.
The Allegheny county bar is no place for drones. If perchance they should knock for admission their characters are soon discovered and the door closed inexorably against them. The lawyer who deals dishonestly with any of the courts does so at his great peril. Once an act contrary to his oath of admission is reported to the judges the astracism [sic] which follows is worse than disbarment.