HISTORICAL SKETCHES
of the Bench and Bar of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
[Contents] [Last-Part 10] [Next-Part 12]
Deceased Resident Members of the Bar
(C )
Charles Augustine Caffrey
Charles Augustine Caffrey was born on August 15, 1930 in Plains Township, Pennsylvania He was the son of Anthony Michael and Josephine (Brady) Caffrey.
Mr. Caffrey grew up near the anthracite coal mines, and the colliery where his father worked as a young boy and his home and the neighborhood playground on Helen Street stood in the shadow of the colliery and a culm bank. He was proud of his Irish heritage, but was a consummate American.
Mr. Caffrey and the former Mary Alice Goobic were married on July 2, 1953 and together they celebrated sixty-four years of marriage. He was the valedictorian of the 1948 graduating class of Sacred Heart High School in Plains Township, Pennsylvania and graduated from Wilkes University in 1952 with a BA in political science, becoming the first in his family to earn a four year degree. Willie attending Wilkes, Mr. Caffrey played on the college's hockey team.
After graduating from college, he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served in Army Intelligence until being honorably discharged in 1956. After his service in the military, he went to work for the National Security Agency as an analyst during the height of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union.
While working at the NSA, Mr. Caffrey enrolled in law school, attending George Washington University at night. He was on Law Review and passed the bar exam before earning his degree.
After graduating from law school in 1959, Mr. Caffrey went to work for the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C. While at the NLRB, he became the first President of the Union representing NLRB attorneys. Also during his time at the NLRB, he earned his LLM from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1962.
In 1967, Mr. Caffrey accepted a position at Stroehmann Brothers Baking in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. At that time, Stroehmann Brothers Baking was the country's largest independently owned wholesale baking firm. He spent twenty-two years with Stroehmann Brothers Baking, rising to the position of Vice President and General Counsel, negotiating many labor contracts, dealing with numerous strikes and labor stoppages, as well as many union organizing campaigns.
Mr. Caffrey retired from Stroehmann as Senior Vice President and General Counsel in 1989 and entered private law practice where he spent the last eighteen years of his working career. He took great pride in being a knowledgeable, experienced, and expert practitioner of his craft: labor and employment law.
He was a fifty year member of St. Boniface Catholic Church, was active in the West Branch Manufacturing Association and served on many labor management boards and committees.
Mr. Caffrey died January 12, 2018 at age 87.
Richard James Callahan
Richard James Callahan, died on September 1, 2020.
Richard J. Callahan, commonly referred to as Dick by his friends and family, was born in Williamsport on December 16, 1948 to Charles V. Callahan Jr. and Mary G. (Chapman) Callahan. Dick has three siblings, Charles V. Callahan III of Colorado, Joan A. Callahan of Muncy and Sharon Harshberger of Colorado.
Dick was survived by his siblings, his wife, Janet L. Callahan, a son, Richard J. Callahan, Jr., of Williamsport; grandchildren, Chase R., Connor M., and Cooper M. Cowden. Dick was preceded in death by his daughter, Shannon, who passed away unexpectedly from injuries sustained as a result of an ATV accident in 2012.
Dick graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in 1966. During his time at St. Joe’s, Dick was a member of the high school debate team as well as the basketball team. Dick excelled as an athlete despite overcoming Polio as a child. But for a slight limp and noticeable size difference between his two legs, you would never know that he was afflicted by Polio when watching him dribble a basketball on the court or run down a fly ball on the baseball field. Dick’s athletic prowess lead him to join the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 1970. He remained in the Guard until 1979.
Following graduation from high school, Dick attended the Pennsylvania State University where he graduated with honors. He graduated from the Villanova University School of Law in 1974 and subsequently admitted to the Bar of the Court of Common Pleas of Lycoming County and to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania the same year.
He was first employed as an associate attorney with the law firm of Greevy and Mitchell in September 1974. Dick remained with the Mitchell family after the Mitchell’s and Greevy’s split. Dick continued to practice with the Mitchell and Mitchell firm until he hung his own shingle as a sole practitioner in 1978. He remained in solo practice until he partnered with Anthony Miele forming the Miele and Callahan Law Office. Throughout his forty plus year legal career, Dick realized partnerships and or associations with various local attorneys including John Zurich, Don Martino, Ryan Gardner, Christian Lovecchio and Matthew Diemer. Dick took great pride in campaigning for and assisting Ryan Gardner achieve the position of District Attorney in 2019 and he did this while silently battling several significant medical issues including diabetes and renal failure.
Dick will certainly be remembered as a zealous criminal and civil litigator who possessed a quick wit and a feisty fighting Irish spirit. In addition to his legal accomplishments, Dick was also a proud business owner. He purchased the New Lycoming Bakery on June 28, 1991 and owned and operated same until he sold it to his daughter, Shannon and son-in-law, Matt, on May 22, 2006. It was during his ownership of the New Lycoming Bakery that Dick underwent heart valve replacement surgery and left the day-to-day operations of the bakery to his longtime friend, Attorney Ed Mitchell, until he was medically cleared to return. Heart surgery was not a deterrent to Dick’s business endeavors as he decided to purchase and operate the Bridge Tavern located in South Williamsport with then business partner, Ron Insinger.
If you ever had occasion to meet Dick, you knew immediately his allegiance to the Blue and White of Penn State University. He was a member of the Nittany Lion Club and the Penn State Founders Club. Any local avid Penn State fan trying to score last minute tickets to a wrestling match, concert, basketball game or football game realized that one phone call to Dick would likely generate a few tickets, and if lucky, his parking pass as well. Dick’s passion for sports did not end with all things Penn State as he also bled green and white for his Philadelphia Eagles. When not swinging his clubs on the Country Club golf course during football season, Dick could almost always be found in front of the television with his friends and family watching either Penn State or Eagles gridiron football.
Dick’s knowledge base with regard to basketball was second to none. He could easily dissect both offensive and defensive plays. This skillset led him to become longtime Loyalsock varsity basketball coach Ron Insinger’s assistant during the era when Loyalsock made several good runs at a state title in the mid to late 1990’s. Dick was the brain trust behind the shot calling and formations during this time and spoke often of the 1995 Loyalsock vs. Williamsport game that was held at Lycoming College.
It was also during the mid to late 1990’s that Dick was introduced to Loyalsock High School student, Tyrone Quartman through his son, R.J. After R.J. explained to Dick that Tyrone’s home life was less than desirable, the decision was made to allow Tyrone to live with Dick and his family until Tyrone graduated high school. After Tyrone’s untimely death at the age of twenty-six (26), Dick paid for all funeral and burial expenses.
Dick was a devoted Husband, Father and Grandfather. He enjoyed life to the fullest, capitalized on every opportunity to attend any event in which his grandchildren participated and despite the affliction of physical ailments just prior to his death, he still enjoyed going to the office and sharing anecdotes about Chase’s, Connor’s and Cooper’s many accomplishments.
Ambrose Ralph Campana
Ambrose R. Campana was born January 22, 1922 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Potito and Luigia Campana. He attended the Williamsport public schools and graduated from Williamsport High School in 1939. He then attended the University of Scranton and the Pennsylvania State University where he graduated in 1942.
Ambrose R. Campana was married to Angeline M. Liberti of Williamsport, Pennsylvania on August 19, 1947. They had two sons and two daughters.
He attended the George Washington University School of Law and graduated in 1952, attaining a Bachelor of Laws degree with honors. He was admitted to practice before the several courts of Lycoming County, the Commonwealth, Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
He was a member of the Lycoming County Law Association, having held a number of offices including President in 1986.
He associated over the years with several lawyers including Joseph Keliher and his brother, John P. Campana. At the time of his death, he was in partnership with his son, Peter T. Campana, his daughter, Angela Campana Lovecchio and his son-in-law, Marc Lovecchio.
Ambrose R. Campana lived life to its fullest. He was a legal scholar who used and interpreted the law as it was intended. He spoke out against the evils in society and took positions, although sometimes unpopular, for the good of his clients and society at large.
Ambrose R. Campana died on May 24, 1993 at his home in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
John P. Campana
John P. Campana was born in Williamsport on November 14, 1919. He attended St. Josephs Elementary School and Curtin Junior High School. He graduated from Williamsport High School in the Class of 1937.
After high school, John Campana attended Drexel Institute of Technology, now Drexel University, and graduated from Mansfield State Teacher’s College, now Mansfield University, in 1943. His education was interrupted by World War II. He graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1952 with an LL.B. degree.
John Campana was drafted into the United States Army during World War II and served as an enlisted man in the Asiatic Pacific Theater. Following the surrender of Japan, he served in the occupation forces in Sendai.
After being released from active duty, Mr. Campana remained in the United States Army Reserve. He was again called to active duty during the Korean Conflict. This second tour of active duty began the week following his graduation from law school and continued for fifteen months. He continued to serve in the United States Army Reserve and eventually retired as a Captain in 1985.
He was admitted to the several courts of Lycoming County on February 14, 1954, and to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on January 2, 1955. He was also admitted to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in 1955 and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 1956.
During his career, John Campana practiced in law firms with his brother, Ambrose R. Campana, his nephew, Peter T. Campana, his grandson, Michael E. Groulx and Michael Rudinski, Anthony D. Miele and the late Patrick H. Fierro. He was both a criminal and a civil litigator. He was also an appellate advocate.
John Campana was still actively practicing law when he suddenly died on April 12, 2006. He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Martha I. Farley Campana, who died on August 2, 2000 and his brother Ambrose R. Campana, a member of this Bar.
Yvonne Helen Stuart Messeih Campbell
Yvonne Helen Stuart Messeih Campbell, Esquire, a member of the Bar of the Lycoming County since 2008, died unexpectedly on August 25, 2019. Yvonne was the wife of Donald Campbell and the mother of two children, Dahlia and Broderick.
Yvonne was born on July 13, 1979 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dr. Adel Messeih and Jean Stuart Messeih.
Yvonne was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church, Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Yvonne graduated from the Williamsport High School in 1997 and from Bucknell University in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration.
Yvonne was employed at New York Life Insurance Company in New York, New York between 2001 and 2004. Yvonne also had experiences as a paralegal and a summer associate with the McCormick Law Firm, as an intern with the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office, and as a certified legal intern with North Penn Legal Services prior to and during law school.
Yvonne then enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law from which she graduated Cum Laude with a Juris Doctorate in 2008.
Yvonne returned to Lycoming County after graduation from law school and secured a position as a law clerk to the late Honorable James F. McClure, Jr., United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She held this position until Judge McClure’s death in December 2010. Following Judge McClure’s death, Yvonne served as a law clerk to the late Honorable Malcolm Muir, United States District Judge, until his death in July 2011. Yvonne served as the senior law clerk for the Honorable Matthew W. Brann, United States District Judge, from January 2013 until her untimely death.
Yvonne was active in the Lycoming Law Association and served as a member of its Executive Committee; she also briefly served as a member of the board of directors of North Penn Legal Services.
Yvonne periodically served as an adjunct professor at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where she taught paralegal courses.
Yvonne’s professional accomplishments, while significant, paled by comparison to her commitment to her family, most particularly to her children. She was an attentive, devoted and loving mother, who tried to plan nearly all of her professional and social engagements around her children and their activities. Yvonne’s devotion to her family was recognized and appreciated by the entire community.
Yvonne’s legal acumen was recognized and appreciated by the federal judges for whom she clerked. She also radiated a sunny, vibrant personality that made her a pleasure to work with, encounter, or simply be around.
Yvonne was survived by her husband, Donald Campbell, her two children Dahlia and Broderick Campbell, her mother Jean S. Messeih, and her father and step-mother, Dr. Adel Messeih and Ellen Pletcher.
Francis Caldwell Campbell
Francis C. Campbell, son of Rev. John Campbell, was born in York, Pennsylvania, April 18, 1787. He studied law with David Watts, of Carlisle, and was admitted to the bar August 1810.
He removed to Williamsport, April 18, 1818, being then just 25 years of age. He married Jane Hepburn at the residence of her father, the Hon. James Hepburn, in Northumberland, Pa., in May 1816, and he died in his 81st year in Williamsport, April 21, 1867.
He was in active practice for fully fifty years and at length retired full of honors. He stood high along the eminent lawyers of the State for the extent of his legal learning and his practice was marked with rare success. He devoted himself exclusively to the practice of his profession, and refused all political preferments. His integrity was above suspicion and his reputation for learning, honesty, benevolence, and all good works, remains as a legacy of honor to his posterity.
Mr. Campbell was a graduate of Dickinson College, Carlisle, and was a man of high literary attainments. His reading of classic literature, and particularly of the standard English authors, was extensive, and his remarkably retentive memory enabled him to repeat whole passages of poetry and to quote from favorite authors with great appropriateness and force. His taste for poetry was cultivated, and he himself was a poet of no mean merit. Without aspiring to the reputation of an author, he wrote many published pieces, and left behind much well worthy of publication. In social life he was genial, refined and dignified. He abounded in anecdotes of the early history of the county, and especially of Williamsport. His memory recalled the, later wars of the great Napoleon and he frequently referred with deep interest to the excitement consequent on the announcement in this country of the French victories. He frequently spoke of his acquaintanceship with persons distinguished in our Revolutionary War.
He served as chairman of a committee of lawyers, appointed at a meeting of the members of the bar of the District Court of the United States for the Western District of Pennsylvania, held October 6, 1829, to ask Judge William Wilkins not to resign his office. On this committee also were Hugh Belles and F. Greenough of Northumberland County, James Merrill, of Union County, among others.
Mr. Campbell filled a large place in the social and professional life of Williamsport during his active years, and when advanced age compelled his retirement, he was followed with universal affection and respect. His memory is cherished, as one largely endowed by nature with every virtue and who passed through the activities of a long and useful life, leaving no spot upon his reputation.
His wife, Jane, who was born March 21, 1795, followed him to the grave May 17, 1867, aged 72 years one month and 29 days. Their remains rest in the Williamsport cemetery, Washington Boulevard, marked by neat marble tablets. They left six children to survive them.
Addison Candor
Addison Candor, son of David and Caroline G. (Watson) Candor, was born at Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, August 7, 1852.
David Candor was born on a farm near Lewistown, where he spent his early life. He read law at Sunbury and was admitted to practice in Northumberland County. He then practiced for some time at Pottsville, about 1839 he was appointed district attorney of Mifflin County, and moved to Lewistown where he died in the fall, of 1870. His wife was a native of Watsontown. They had two children: Mary, deceased, and Addison.
Addison Candor attended the public schools of Lewistown and the Lewistown Academy. This academy was incorporated under the same act of assembly as the Williamsport Academy. The academy building was completed in 1828, and became a boarding school in 1872. In 1884 it became privately owned and was still functioning in 1886.
Mr. Candor was graduated from Princeton University in 1873, with the A. B. degree, and later received his A. M. also. He read law in the office of Allen and Gamble, in Williamsport and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He then formed a partnership with C. Larue Munson, in March 1878, and continued to practice until a few years before his death, January 5, 1937. His son, John G. Candor and Edgar Munson later joined the firm, which was later known as Candor, Youngman and Gibson.
In 1878, he married Catherine S. Grafius, daughter of John S. and Sarah (Pollock) Grafius, of Williamsport, who survived her husband. Their only child, John Grafius, is at present a member of this bar, and the head of his firm which has been in continuous existence since 1878.
As previously related in these sketches, Mr. Candor was tendered the judgeship, in 1900, when a vacancy occurred by reason of the death of Judge John J. Metzger, which he declined. Outside of the law, Mr. Candor’s interests were in banking, as he was a director and Vice President of the Savings’ Institution, and also director of the West Branch National Bank, and the Bell Telephone Company.
John Grafius Candor
John Grafius Candor was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, January 27, 1879, the son of Addison Candor and Catherine Grafius Candor. He attended Cheltenham Military Academy and Lawrenceville School. In 1902, he graduated from Princeton University with a degree of bachelor of arts. He received his bachelor of law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1905 and was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar that year. He entered the law firm of Candor and Munson in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which had been formed in 1875 by his father, Addison Candor, and Cyrus Lame Munson. This firm was continued by John Grafius Candor and Edgar Munson, sons of the fathers respectively.
After the death of Edgar Munson in 1931, John Grafius Candor continued the practice of law by himself. He was later joined by Harry R. Gibson, and in 1942 a new partnership was formed known as Candor and Gibson. In 1943, Mr. Candor and Mr. Gibson and John C. Youngman formed the partnership of Candor, Youngman & Gibson. Following World War II, J. Neafie Mitchell and John C. Gault became associated with the firm and both became members of the firm in 1954. In 1963, John C. Youngman, Jr. also became a member. In 1964, Mr. Mitchell resigned to join another law firm and in 1965, the firm name was changed to Candor, Youngman, Gibson & Gault.
John Grafius Candor continued in the active practice of law until 1967 when he retired at the age of 88. He was elected president of the Lycoming Law Association in 1931. He specialized in Orphans’ Court matters and corporation and banking law.
Mr. Candor served on the board of directors of the Savings Institution and the Northern Central Bank and Trust Company. His only political office was as a member of the Williamsport School Board for the years 1908-1909.
John Grafius Candor was a devoted benefactor of the Williamsport Hospital. He served as a member of the board of managers beginning in 1937. He was vice president from 1943 to 1956 and president of the board of managers of the Williamsport Hospital from 1956 to 1962. He was chairman of the board from 1962 until his death in 1971.
Mr. Candor was an active outdoor sportsman. He was a member of the Grays Run Hunting and Fishing Club and an active participant in deer and bear hunting and trout fishing. He was a member of the Ross Club.
While in his early days, Mr. Candor did a substantial amount of trial work, particularly in defending negligence actions against the local streetcar company, his main legal reputation being in the field of advising clients, both individuals and corporate, with reference to financial matters. He was a careful practitioner, industrious and respected. At the time of his death at age 92, his sole survivor was his wife, Evelyn.
William Caprio, III
William Caprio, III was born November 13, 1946, in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the son of William and Helen Caprio. He attended public schools of Lock Haven, graduating in 1964.
He then entered the University of Pittsburgh, which granted him an A.B. degree in history in 1969. Thereafter he entered Villanova University School of Law, receiving his J. D. degree in 1972.
After graduation, he relocated to Cogan Station, Pennsylvania, where he operated his family’s lumber business, Caprio-Horner Timber Products, Inc.
He was admitted to practice in Lycoming County in 1972 and joined the American Bar Association in that year. He then entered Lycoming Law Association and the Pennsylvania Bar Association both in 1974. He was admitted to the U.S.D.C. (Mid. PA.) in 1977; to the U.S.C.A. (3rd Circ.) in 1978; and to the U.S.D.C. (Eastern PA.) in 1980. He also practiced in the U.S.D.C. (Western PA.).
On February 9, 1976, he married the former Diane Lundy of Williamsport. His practice emphasized Federal and State criminal law, real estate, family law, and corporations. He enjoyed classical music, tennis, travel and was a gourmet cook. He died April 9, 1989, survived by his wife, his mother, two sons, William and John A., one daughter, Catherine, all at home, and a sister, Mrs. Jeanne C. Hawks, of Lock Haven.
Clyde Ellis Carpenter, Sr.
Clyde E. Carpenter, Sr. was born October 19, 1899 in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania, the son of James G. and Catherine H. Carpenter. He died July 27, 1987, in Leader Nursing Center, Jersey Shore, where he had resided for his last six years. His wife, the former Mary Katherine Smith, also an attorney at law and a member of the Lycoming County Bar, died December 7, 1979.
Surviving are a son, Clyde E., Jr., Esquire, a retired member of this bar; two daughters, Mrs. Mary Katherine Kurtz and Mrs. Barbara C. Schaum, both of Philadelphia. There are four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one step-great-grandson.
Mr. Carpenter graduated from Jersey Shore High School in 1918, from Dickinson College in 1926, and from Dickinson School of Law in 1928. He practiced law with John T. Hyatt in Jersey Shore until Mr. Hyatt’s death in 1934. After this he formed a law partnership with his wife, Mary Katherine Smith Carpenter, who had obtained her law degree at Dickinson after her marriage to Clyde, Sr. Clyde Carpenter, Jr. was admitted to the partnership upon his admission to the Lycoming County Bar in 1951.
Clyde Carpenter, Sr. was a former solicitor of the Borough of Jersey Shore, and became prominent in Masonic and civic affairs. He was a past master of LaBelle Valley Lodge No. 232, Jersey Shore, and also belonged to Williamsport Consistory, A.A.S.R. He was a past president of Jersey Shore Chamber of Commerce, and a member of Jersey Shore Rotary Club, and, of course, the Lycoming Law Association. He also was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church of Jersey Shore.
Mr. Carpenter had an unusual athletic record. He played football for Dickinson, and reputedly participated in every game. While at Dickinson, he coached football and basketball at Carlisle High School. He also joined the staff of Camp Moosilauke, Pike, New Hampshire, the third oldest boys’ camp in New England, which was owned and managed by Dickinson College faculty members. On June 16, 1978, Clyde E. Carpenter, Sr. was elected to the West Branch Chapter, Sports Hall of Fame.
Clyde Ellis Carpenter, Jr.
Clyde E. Carpenter, Jr. was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on June 1, 1926 and died November 8, 1995. His sketch is pending.
Katherine Smith Carpenter
Katherine S. Carpenter was born in Ocean City, New Jersey, on May 19, 1902, the daughter of Mary Katherine Glantz Smith and Warren Smith. She attended Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, graduating with an A.B. degree, cum laude. She continued on in Dickinson School of Law, taking her J.D. degree there in 1937.
On May 6, 1938, upon motion of her husband, Clyde E. Carpenter, Esquire, she became a member of Lycoming County Bar. The couple thereafter engaged in active practice under the firm name of Carpenter and Carpenter, which at the time of her death, included her husband, herself and her son, Clyde E. Carpenter, Jr.
She was admitted to practice before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and the U. S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and was a member of the American and Pennsylvania Bar Associations, being also a member of the Association’s committee on service to the public. Mrs. Carpenter belonged to Lycoming Law Association, served on its executive committee, and was its president in 1958. She was a member of Phi Delta Delta Legal Fraternity, and was appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower to the International Organization Employee’s Loyalty Board, a federal board set up by executive order, which reviews cases and holds hearings on questions of loyalty involving U. S. nationals employed by international organizations.
Very active in her community life, Mrs. Carpenter served on the board of the Williamsport Civic Club, and with the Lycoming County Girl Scouts until her death, being president 1950 to 1959. She also served on the regional committee of Girl Scouts of the United States of America. She further served on the board of the Lycoming County Community Chest, becoming campaign chairman in 1955 and president in 1956. She was a United Fund member from 1957 until her death. She also belonged to the Soroptimist Club of Williamsport, and the Williamsport Branch of the A.A.U.W.
Katherine S. Carpenter was an extremely capable lawyer and counselor. She was held in the highest esteem by every member of this bar, who found her a capable, careful and friendly co-worker in all professional matters.
She died December 7, 1979, survived by her husband and son, by two daughters, Katherine S. Kurtz of Springfield, Pennsylvania, and Barbara Lew Schaum of Philadelphia, and four grandchildren.
Michael Joseph Casale, Sr.
Michael Joseph Casale, Sr. was born March 19, 1922, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the son of Anthony and Josephine Casale. He received his early education in the public schools of Williamsport, graduating from high school in 1940. From there he entered the Mansfield State Teacher’s College, where he was graduated in 1942 with a bachelor in education degree.
World War II was then raging. Mike entered the U.S. Marine Corps, serving out the war in the Pacific area and in China. During the postwar occupation period he was provost marshal for Hong Kong. On September 17, 1944 he married the former Mary Brecher of Towanda, Pennsylvania. They raised two sons, Michael J. Casale, Jr. and James D. Casale, who were law partners of their father at the time of his death.
Mike entered the John B. Stetson University School of Law, and received his LL. B. degree in 1951. After graduation he was recalled to active service in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, with the rank of captain.
After returning to the U.S. in 1952, he was admitted to practice in the several courts of Lycoming County. His associates over the years included Michael J. Maggio, George M. Hess and Robert C. Wise, and at the time of his death, John R. Bonner, his sons Michael, Jr. and James, and Norman Lubin.
Mike Casale was solicitor for the City of Williamsport for 24 years, and for Lycoming County from 1964 to 1968. He practiced before the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth, Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania, and in the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Department. His practice covered a broad spectrum from criminal law (in early years) to civil and real estate law, estate planning and administration. Despite his failing health during his last illness, he practiced to within three weeks of his death. He served as president of Lycoming Law Association in 1981, and also belonged to the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
He was a lifelong member of Mater Dolorosa Catholic Church and its Holy Name Society. He belonged to the Ross Club, was a past president and a life member of the Wheel Club, and was active in Elks Lodge 173. Interested also in civic matters, he was a member of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, served on the City Charter Commission, and was a member of the Williamsport-Lycoming County Airport Authority at the time of his death.
Michael J. Casale, Sr. died in the early morning of July 13, 1988 after a 15 month illness. He was survived by his wife Mary, sons Michael, Jr. and James, four grandchildren, a sister, Mrs. Madaline Williams, and a brother, Anthony Casale.
Joseph Budd Champion
Joseph B. Champion was born at Warrensville, Eldred Township, Lycoming County, on September 11, 1867. He was the seventh child of Robert Cameron and Catharine (Hanger) Champion. He was a member of the Lycoming County bar, admitted to No. 126, December Term 1892. He was also a graduate of the medical department of the University of Indianapolis, and engaged in the practice of medicine at Indianapolis, Indiana. He died December 13, 1937.
William Walters Champion
William W. Champion was born at Warrensville, May 12, 1863, and was the older brother of Joseph B. Champion. He was the fifth of ten children of Robert Cameron Champion, who was the third child of Joseph and Elizabeth (Adams) Champion. Robert was born at Tuckahoe, New Jersey, September 2, 1826, died at Williamsport, Pennsylvania January 18, 1892 and is buried at “Christian Hill burial ground.” He spent his life at the forge, being an expert iron worker, saying he had done everything with iron except the digging of the ore. His father, Joseph, was a stove moulder and with his family in 1838 migrated from Tuckahoe to the “Walker Furnace”, on Pine Creek, Lycoming County, four miles north of Jersey Shore later known as the Safe Harbor Hills, where Walker & Vicars, of Philadelphia, owned a great number of “coaling lands” and operated a blast furnace at Tuckahoe, and had induced a number of its employees to make the trip to Pine Creek by a promise of good wages, two hundred acres of farm land, &c. At the time he was induced to move to Lycoming County, Joseph Champion was preparing to “go west” to join three of his brothers who had preceded him to the “Ohio country” and were settled in Cincinnati. The trip to their Pine Creek home was made in one of the Walker & Vicars six mule teams and a coaling wagon, and occupied a full week, via Reading, Catawissa and Williamsport. The three youngest children were taken ill en route, and Mother Champion remained with them for three months at the home of her brother, Samuel Adams, at Reading, Pennsylvania, where the youngest child died.
The Champion family remained at the Walker furnace for two years, making ten-plate stoves, Robert C. often told how, as a small boy, he assisted in making the hay-cores used in casting these stoves, frequently falling asleep whilst turning the twister. The attempt to send the stoves down the river in “arks” to Columbia for shipment to Philadelphia frequently proved disastrous, the boats being wrecked in the turbulent Susquehanna. The panic of ‘37-40 brought the iron industry to one of the recurrent “paper periods”, and Walker & Vicars failed disastrously. While at the furnace the youngest of the children became ill, the old family doctor was summoned from Jersey Shore, and coming in an intoxicated condition, gave the child a dose of medicine which threw it into convulsions from which it died the next day.
In 1840, Joseph Champion moved to “McKinney’s Forge,” on Lycoming Creek, four miles north of Newberry, at what is Heshbon, Loyalsock Township, Lycoming County. Here William McKinney, one of the early iron masters of this section, operated a charcoal furnace and forge. The McKinney iron enjoyed an unrivaled reputation. Owing to its superior quality it took the place of Swedish iron for the “rib” or backs of mowing scythes, a test of the severest character. Many years after the forge had disappeared, the Champion brothers, five of them blacksmiths, would recognize by the “feel under the hammer” a piece of scrap from “McKinney’s,” and lay it away for some special use requiring great tensile strength. The ore for the forge was brought from Center County to Jaysburg (Newberry) by boat and then hauled to the forge over the old Strap Railroad, then the Williamsport & Elmira, now the Northern Central Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. This road, begun in 1833, the second in the state, was to extend from the West Branch Canal at Williamsport, to Elmira, New York, but was only completed to Ralston, twenty-seven miles. It was graded for a double track, with hammer-dressed stone bridge abutments, a model of dirt and stone work even to this day. By the time Ralston was reached, requiring fourteen bridges over the serpentine Lycoming, the money was exhausted and building ceased for nearly twenty years. The rails were of wood with an iron-strap on top. The company owned an engine, but shippers were required to furnish their own cars and sidings and do their own switching by horse or mule power, the cars being dropped from the rear of the train on the main track. The engine soon broke down, and for years the McKinneys used the track for the transportation of their iron and raw materials to and from the forge, using horses to draw the cars. The Champion boys were early at work in and about the forge and assisted in hauling on the “old strap railroad.” About 1845 the family moved to Danville, Pennsylvania, working for the Grove Bros., in their rail mill, where the first railroad rails rolled in America were made. In a year or two they were all again back at McKinney’s, where Joseph, the father, died in 1851, and was buried in the Old Lycoming burying ground. Elizabeth, his widow, survived her husband thirty-two years, making her home with her son, Mark Adams Champion, until her death, at Warrensville, April 10, 1883, having outlived all but three of her ten children, and being hale and hearty up to the last week of her long and useful life. She is also buried at “Christian Hill Burial Ground,” at Warrensville.
Joseph Champion’s father, Thomas, was an Englishman of reputed French ancestry, who settled near Tuckahoe, Cape May County, New Jersey. Joseph was the youngest of twenty-one children, his mother being the second wife of Thomas Champion. Joseph Was born at Tuckahoe, March 19, 1799. Elizabeth, Joseph’s wife was a daughter of Mark and (Cameron) Adams. Mark Adams was a Revolutionary soldier who lived many years thereafter in the enjoyment of his soldier’s pension.
William W. Champion’s mother was Catherine Hanger, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Hanger. She was born at Liberty, Pennsylvania, and in early girlhood moved to the homestead farm in Hepburn Township, near Crescent.
William attended the township schools at Warrensville, and in 1881 entered the Muncy Normal School as a student. At this time the Muncy Normal School was under the superintendency of Professor Charles S. Riddell, who was later elected County Superintendent, and was succeeded as principal by Dr. Charles Lose, of Montoursville. Mr. Champion later attended the Millersville State Normal School, and then taught in the rural schools of Lycoming County.
He registered as a student at law in the office of James B. Krause and was admitted to the Lycoming County bar, January 10, 1891. He continued to practice until the time of his death, January 16, 1938. He was a Republican by party affiliation, and at all times was greatly interested in local and state politics. He received the Republican nomination for District Attorney in 1892, and was opposed by Democrat Walter C. Gilmore who defeated him, the county at that time being overwhelming Democratic.
Early in his career, Williamsport celebrated its centennial, in 1895, and Mr. Champion was made General Chairman of the Historical Committee, which planned, prepared and directed that celebration.
He was always interested in newspapers and newspaper work, and as for a time editor of a paper published in Williamsport, known as the Williamsport Times, which later suspended publication. During this period, he was the Williamsport correspondent of the old Philadelphia Press, later merged with the Philadelphia Inquirer, and even after discontinuing his relationship with the Williams port Times, he continued to write numerous articles for other papers throughout the state. He wrote easily and convincing ly and his articles were charming and very readable.
When the Pennsylvania Act providing for compensation to those injured in industry was enacted, Mr. Champion was named as Compensation Referee in the Williamsport District, which position he held for twelve years, and then he was later appointed a Referee in Bankruptcy, for Lycoming and Sullivan Counties, by Federal Judge Albert W. Johnson, in 1928, a position he occupied at the time of his death.
During the later years of his life, his eyesight was considerably impaired, but that did not interfere with his hobby of investigating and observing the habits of animal and bird life. Although he could no longer see them, he had so attuned his ear to the calls of the wild that he was able to distinguish and name almost any bird of this section of the state by its call alone,
Mr. Champion left to survive him, his wife, Frances Bird, born May 20, 1863, daughter of John Derick and Mary Jane (Pass) Bird. They had a son, George Becht Champion, born at Montoursville, September 7, 1894, and a daughter, Elizabeth Bird Champion, (Mrs. Layton E. King), born at Williamsport September 11, 1896.
Louise Lazelere Chatham
Louise Lazelere was born at Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, February 12, 1872, the daughter of Henry B. and Josephine (James) Lazelere. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, born at Willow Grove. He was a mechanical engineer but the greater part of his life was spent as head of large manufacturing plants. He was the holder of several patents, notably one for a traction engine. Later in life, he became a salesman for A. B. Farquahar Company, York, Pa., selling and installing large saw mill outfits. He died August 20, 1917, and his wife, a native of Doylestown, died October 28, 1916. Both are buried in Wildwood cemetery, Williamsport.
When Louise Lazelere was ten years old her parents removed to Greencastle, Pa. She later lived at Muncy for five years, and has been a resident of Williamsport since 1890. Her early schooling was obtained in Muncy, where she was graduated from high school in 1888 as the valedictorian of her class. Mrs. Chatham began her career as a church organist, when at the age of sixteen she became organist of the Muncy Presbyterian Church. She later served as organist and director of a boy choir of 35 voices at Christ Church, Williamsport for five years. She was also director of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Boys’ Choir in Williamsport for fifteen years. Mrs. Chatham continued in church and concert work for thirty-five years and gave it up that she might devote her entire time and efforts to her law practice.
From her early youth, it has been her desire to study law but she was unable to take up that profession after her graduation from high school. Finally she began to prepare for the preliminary Pennsylvania bar examinations, and after successfully passing them, she entered Boston University. At the same time, her son, Clyde, was a student at M. I. T. Mrs. Chatham was graduated from Boston University Law School magna cum laude, in a class of 250 students.
She was admitted to the Massachusetts bar, October 9, 1923, and became the first woman ever admitted to the Lycoming County bar, January 14, 1924.
On June 24, 1897, Louise Lazelere was united in marriage with Newton C. Chatham, son of Walter and Jennie (Carothers) Chatham, native of Pennsylvania. To this union were born: Clyde Lazelere, and Newton C. Jr.
Mrs. Chatham was active in all women’s organization’s, in Republican politics and was a member of Covenant-Central Presbyterian Church. She died November 13, 1938.
Emerson Collins
Emerson Collins was born in Hepburn Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1860. His great-great-grandfather was Scotch-Irish and came from Ireland at a date unknown, but probably about 1725. 1-us great-grandfather, William Collins, born in Pennsylvania, came to Lycoming County in 1783, and became a large landowner. Subsequently he moved to Ohio, where he died. He was a farmer by occupation. He served in the Revolutionary war, He married Affa Brewster, whose ancestry is unknown. Among the children of this marriage was Jeremiah, born in 1800, in Lycoming County. He spent his entire life here and died in 1890.
John Collins, son of Jeremiah Collins, and father of Emerson Collins, was born in Lycoming County, in 1829. He was a farmer by occupation. In 1852 he married Catherine Hyde (1835-1882). She was the daughter of George Hyde, born about 1804, the son of Jacob George Hyde, the founder of the family in America. Jacob George Hyde was born in Pfulligen, Wurtemberg, Germany, and was a member of a family of considerable prominence there, holding an important position. He came to America about 1804 and located in Hepburn Township. The children of this marriage were: William George; Emmarine; Emerson; Mary Alice; Herman LeRoy, whose pen name was “Girard”, a Philadelphia newspaper columnist; Harry Elwood; Edgar Thomas, who graduated from West Point and was a Major General when he died in 1932.
Emerson Collins was first educated at the “Factory School” near his home, then Muncy Normal, and was graduated from Lafayette College, cum laude, in history, in 1884.
After leaving college, he taught school for some time and was assistant and then principal of the Muncy Normal School, when Charles S. Riddell. County Superintendent died in 1885, and Charles Lose took his place. Collins was appointed principal, from which position he resigned at the close of the 1886 term to study law in the office of the Hon. H. C. Parsons, Williamsport, and was admitted to the bar of Lycoming County in 1887. He entered into partnership with the late Colonel James Coryell, which continued for several years until Coryell moved to Philadelphia to look after his extensive coal mining interests. Collins then continued to practice until his appointment to the Pennsylvania Public Service Commission in January 1927.
Mr. Collins did considerable work as a public speaker on various historical and anniversary occasions in his section of the state, having made a specialty of the study of American History and the collecting of Americana. Politically Mr. Collins was a Republican. He was a member of the Pennsylvania legislature from 1895-96. Among the positions he held may be mentioned that of member of the hoard of managers of the Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory at Huntington, from 1897-1902, serving as president of that board for two years, having been appointed by Governor Daniel H. Hastings. He served as county chairman of the Republican party in Lycoming County, also in the heated presidential campaign of 1900 he was working with the national committee at Chicago, and spoke for it in various western states.
Emerson Collins was married in December 1888, to Anna Holstein Johnson, daughter of Senator Henry Johnson (a member of this bar, see his sketch in alphabetical order, post), whose mother was a. grand of General Daniel Brodhead, who in 1775, was chosen by the Pennsylvania Assembly to command the Eighth Regiment of Pennsylvania Riflemen, and was in the Battle of Long Island, in 1778 he marched with his regiment to Muncy and rebuilt Fort Muncy which had been destroyed by the Indians.57
One child was born to this marriage, Helen Johnson (Collins) Speaker Curley, born October 13, 1904. One of her sons is Frederick H. Speaker, Jr., a member of this bar. The other is Emerson Collins Speaker.
In 1915, his long time personal friend, Governor Martin G. Brumbaugh appointed him a Deputy Attorney General under Francis Shunk Brown. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1916 and nominated Brumbaugh for President
He was re-appointed by Governor William A. Sproul but resigned when Governor Gif ford Pinchot went into office in 1923. In 1925 he received an LL. B. from Juniata College.
Mr. Collins was a great orator, especially on his favorite subjects, Clay, Lincoln and Washington. He was a delightful companion. His favorite dessert was cherry pie. Whenever it would appear on their dining table, he always burst into song, tone-deaf though he was: “Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy?
Every time he drove to Eagles Mere, as soon as he came within sight of North Mountain, he stopped the car, got out and then declaimed, with appropriate gestures, the poem beginning: “Ye crags and peaks, we’re with you once again. . .”
In January 1927, Governor John S. Fisher appointed Mr.. Collins a member of the Public Utility Commission for a six year term. In January 1930, while he was delivering the principal address at the Pennsylvania Society Dinner in Washington, D. C., he collapsed and from that time his health declined. His illness made him a prominent figure in Governor Gifford Pinchot’s attack on the Public Utility Commission. In July 1932, he requested Collins’ resignation to become effective immediately, and advised Mr. Collins that in the absence of his voluntary retirement, he intended to have charges preferred against him for neglect of his duties as a Commissioner. At first he refused to resign as he fully expected to regain his health. Then the Governor brought formal charges against him, which he was to answer on August 1, 1932. An hour before the scheduled hearing, Mr. Collins’ resignation was presented to the Governor to become effective October 1, 1932. His term would have expired July 1, 1933.
Emerson Collins died at his home, 820 Louisa Street Williamsport, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1933, at 8 p.m. He was buried in the Muncy Cemetery.
James B. Coryell
Few families have been more closely identified with the progress and development of Williamsport than the Coryell family. Their ancestors were Hugenots and were driven from France in 1665, because of the Edict of Nantes. They came to America and landed at Perth Amboy. One of the sons, Emanuel, traveled across the state to the Delaware River and settled at Well’s Falls, six teen miles above Trenton, where he established a ferry across the Delaware on the main road from New York to Philadelphia, known as Coryell’s Ferry.
It was there that George Coryell, father of Tunison, was born April 28, 1761. At the early age of about sixteen he entered the Revolutionary Army in Captain Craig’s Company of Dragoons, just before the capture of the Hessians, and before the cannonade at Trenton, January 2, 1777. His company marched up the creek, and was in the Battle of Princeton. While in Captain Craig’s company he was sent as an express messenger to Boston, leaving orders along the road. He said in his diary that he saw gray headed men and minors in Craig’s company.
George Coryell was married in 1790 to Charity Van Buskirk, of Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania, and Tunison, the eldest of his sons, was born in the old ferry house, in New Jersey in 1791. In 1793, George moved to East Buffalo Township, Northumberland (now Union) County, and settled on land of Samuel Maclay. He was a carpenter by trade and built many houses in Buffalo Valley. In 1799 he was Captain of the Valley Troop, and always rode a sorrel horse that had been wounded at St. Clair’s defeat. Coryell was Adjutant of George Weirick’s regiment, at Marcus Hook, in 1814.
Tunison Coryell left an autobiography, in manuscript, which contains much information otherwise unavailable, about Milton and Williamsport. In 1802, when but eleven years of age, he carried the mail, for a short time, on horseback from Lewisburg to Bellefonte for Andrew Leiser, the contractor. When twenty- three years of age he removed from Milton to Williamsport and clerked in the office of Prothonotary General John Borrows. He subsequently held the office of Register and Recorder, &c., under appointment by Governor Findley, and for some six years was Prothonotary by appointment of Governor Shulze.
On February 13, 1816, he married Sarah Borrows, daughter of General John Borrows. Among their children was John Borrows Coryell who married Margaret Bingham. Their son, James Bingham Coryell, was born in Williamsport, September 4, 1856. He received his education in the Protestant Episcopal Academy, Cheshire County, Connecticut, where he was graduated in 1876. He read law in the office of Armstrong and Linn, and completed his legal studies with Hon. Henry C. Parsons, of Williamsport. Colonel Coryell was admitted to the Lycoming County bar, to No. 156, May Term 1880. In 1891 he formed a partnership with Emerson Collins. In 1886 he was elected District Attorney of Lycoming County, and served from January 1, 1887 until January 1, 1890. Colonel Coryell was commander of the Twelfth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania at the time of the Spanish-American War, having previously served during the great Homestead lockout riots in July, 1892.
He married Mary Blanchard Mayer, daughter of Hon. C, A. Mayer, President Judge of the Clinton-Cameron-Elk Judicial District, October 11, 1887.
After practicing law a few years with Emerson Collins, he removed to Philadelphia because of his extensive coal mining interests, and so far as can be ascertained did not thereafter practice but engaged solely in business pursuits.
[Addendum from The Chi Phi Fraternity Centennial Memorial Volume, published by the Chi Phi Council, Lehigh University in 1924: He was educated at Cheshire Military Academy in Connecticut, and Lehigh University, having graduated in 1876. He became a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1890. After the Spanish American War, he went into the coal business, in an unknown capacity. He was a member of the Union League in Philadelphia and several Spanish American War Veterans organizations and a member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He died on February 8, 1824 in Philadelphia, PA.] Courtesy of Alan A. Abels, who is writing a history of the Psi Chapter of the Chi Phi fraternity at Lehigh University. (3/6/2013)
William F. Crawford
William F. Crawford was born at Warrensville, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, August 14, 1850, son of Nicholas and Rebecca (Casner) Crawford. He was educated in the common schools and Bucknell. He began the study of law under Hon. John J. Metzger, and was admitted to the bar in August, 1873. He practiced in Williamsport until 1875, when he located in Hughesville, thus becoming that town’s first lawyer. He married, February 14, 1877, Anna, (laughter of Jacob Artley. They were the parents of three daughters: Mrs. William McCollum, Pittsburgh; Mrs. W. C. Migrath, Chicago, and Alethera, at home. Mr. Crawford died March 25, 1918.
William Douglas Crocker
William D. Crocker was born at Buffalo, New York, September 19, 1851, the son of William W. and Eleanor S. (Rumsey) Crocker. He was educated in public schools of Buffalo from 1838 to 1865, attended Round Hill School at Northampton, Massachusetts, from 1865 to 1869. He entered Yale in the fall of 1869, graduating with the class of 1873. He attended the Albany Law School for three months in the fall of 1873. He read law with Ganson & Bacon, in Buffalo, from 1873 to September, 1874; with Sprague, Gorham & Bacon until June 1875; and with Allen & Gamble, of Williamsport, until October 1876. He was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar in 1876, and practiced for 54 years.
In 1885 he formed a law partnership with Judge Linn, which lasted until Judge Linn’s death in 1890. I n 1890, 1894 and 1896. Mr. Crocker was elected City Solicitor of Williamsport, and in 1900 he compiled the City Digest of all ordinances and acts of assembly affecting the City of Williamsport in force at that time. No revision or new digest has since been compiled, although during this past year the City Council was considering employing a professional firm to make a similar digest. In May 1901, he was appointed Clerk of the newly created District of the Federal Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and retained that office until 1911, when the office was transferred to Scranton He was appointed U. S. Commissioner in 1908, and served for twenty-nine years. From 1917 to his death he was associated with the firm of Candor and Munson. He was president of the Citizens Water Company, of Canton, Pa., from 1892. In 1906, as Secretary of the Committee on Marriage and Divorce of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, he prepared the preliminary draft of a law regulating annulment of marriage and divorce which was, in substance, adopted by the National Divorce Congress in 1905, approved by the American Bar Association in 1907, adopted with procedural additions in Delaware and New Jersey in 1907, by Wisconsin in 1909, and by Pennsylvania in 1929.
He also prepared the initial draft of a marriage and marriage license act, a marriage evasion act, and a desertion and non-support act, which have been adopted by several states.
On October 29, 1885, he married Clara Steele Andrus, of Williamsport, the daughter of Daniel Sylvester and Adeline I. (Flaskell) Andrus, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Connecticut. Mr. Andrus died in February 1883, and his wife, November 13, 1912. Mr. and Mrs. Croeker had two sons: Douglas Andrus, born November 13, 1886; and Dana Rumsey, born Oct. 17, 1895, both residents of New York City.
Mr. Crocker was a member of Company G, Pennsylvania National Guard from 1880 to 1885. He was a Republican, and a member of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Crocker was a tall, rather handsome man in appearance, with snow white mutton chops (when I knew him), immaculately dressed and smelling faintly of sandalwood. He became somewhat deaf, and was called upon at one of the bar picnics to sing in a quartet all the members of which had the same affliction. You can imagine the result!
He was a lawyer of the highest scholarship, and not with standing his busy professional life, spent many hours in reading and research work along legal lines. His interest in legal questions was not only that of a busy lawyer, but also that of a scholar, and he would thoroughly investigate any point in the law. I can re member asking him a legal question one day in the Recorder’s office, and he said he was sorry he did not know, but would look it up and let me know. Naturally I assumed that was the end of the matter, but not so with Mr. Crocker. Two or three days later I got an elaborate brief of some three or four pages which covered my question most fully, citing all available authorities. This occurred with him, to my knowledge, not only once but on at least several occasions. There are not many lawyers who would go to all that trouble to help out a younger member of the bar. He, like all the older lawyers of my acquaintance, kept what was then called a “common place book”, in which they recorded decisions, points of law and other matters of reference, all of which was properly indexed. I started such a book, but regret to say I soon fell by the wayside and neglected it. It is only natural that Mr. Crocker’s opinion on a close legal question was very highly regarded by his associates in the law and by his clients.
Mr. Crocker died at 2 A.M., December 29, 1930.
Frank Patrick Cummings
Mr. Cummings was born in Lewis (now Gamble) Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1854, a son of Patrick F. and Elizabeth Ann (Kelley) Cummings. Both parents were born on the “ould sod”, the father in County Kildare and the mother, in County Down, Ireland. Patrick F. Cummings came to this country about 1842, settling in what was then known as Rising Sun Village, now a part of Philadelphia, where he was employed as general manager for Mrs. Smith, a very wealthy lady. He was married in the United States to Elizabeth Ann Kelley, who although born in the north of Ireland, went to England at an early age, from whence she came to this country. They were the parents of nine children, one of whom died in infancy.
Mr. Cummings obtained an excellent rudimentary education in the public schools of his native township, and later pursued advanced studies at the Muncy Normal School. He then devoted considerable time to private study, for three years as a student at law in the office of Jonathan F. Streiby, meanwhile engaged in teaching school for eight terms in Salladasburg, in Ralston, and in South Williamsport. He was admitted to the bar of this county, April 3, 1884. Shortly afterward he formed a partnership with Charles J. Reilly, and in June, 1884, they opened an office for the practice of law on Pine Street, Williamsport, which partnership continued for four years when Mr. Reilly continued at the same office, and Mr. Cummings moved to No. 32 West Fourth Street, where he continued to practice until his death, March 24, 1939.
In 1902 Mr. Cummings was appointed City Solicitor of Williamsport, and later served at various intervals until his death. At the time of his death he was the Dean of City Solicitors of Third Class Cities. He was a Past President of the Lycoming Law Association, and for seventeen years its Treasurer. During his legal career he was counsel in several murder cases, in this and adjoining counties. He was also attorney for several litigants in the Austin Dam cases.
Mr. Cummings was one of the few remaining veterans of the old Twelfth Regiment, National Guard of Pennsylvania, in which he enlisted as a private in Company D, in 1881. The following year he was advanced and served for six years as Regimental Adjutant under Colonel Alfred H. Stead.
In politics, he was a lifelong Democrat, but never held nor was a candidate for any elective office. He was a charter member and Past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus; a member and Past Exalted Ruler of B.P.O.E., and a charter member of the Lycoming Historical Society.
Much of his active life centered in the affairs of his church. He was a member of the Church of the Annunciation for approximately sixty years, having joined when that congregation worshiped on Edwin Street. He was a charter member and Senior Past President of the Holy Name Society, and also a Past President of the St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Society. He aided in establishing the Catholic Total Abstinence Union, of Pennsylvania, was its Vice President in 1882, and its President for two years, 1889 and 1900. He was selected by the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America to be the Secretary of the Father Matthew Memorial Committee, which raised $50,000 to endow a Father Matthew chair in the Catholic University, Washington, D. C. While touring Europe with Mrs. Cummings, a few years before his death, they were granted an audience by the late Pope, Pius XI.
Mr. Cummings was united in marriage with Nellie M. Farrell, of Lock Haven daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Kelly) Farrell, who predeceased him, having died July 22, 1935. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survived him, as follows: Elizabeth Kelley; Eleanor Agnes, now Corcoran; Mary; Charles J.; John K.; Frank P., Jr.; and Agnes May Skelly.
At the memorial service held hy the Bar, March 27, 1939, one of the committee recited the following lines from the great Irish poet, Thomas Moore, whom Mr. Cummings loved:
“Oh! breath not his name, let it sleep in the shade,
Where cold and unhonored his relics are laid:
Sad, silent and dark, be the tears we shed,
As the night-dew that falls on the grass o’er his head.
But the night-dew that falls, though in silence it weeps,
All brighten with verdure the grave where he sleeps:
And the tear that we shed, though in secret it rolls,
Shall long keep his memory green in our souls,”
John Barbe Cupp
John Barbe Cupp was born May 13, 1906 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the son of John E. Cupp, Esquire, and Anna B. Barbe Cupp. His father was a distinguished member of this bar, and one of its leading trial lawyers.
He received his early education in the public schools of Williamsport, and his secondary school education at Lower Merion High School and Williston Academy. He graduated from St. John’s University, Annapolis, Maryland, in 1930, with a bachelor of arts degree. He then attended Harvard Law School for a time, following which he completed his legal education by reading law in Philadelphia in the office of David Kinley. He was admitted to the bar in 1935.
Mr. Cupp began his practice of law in Lycoming County in association with his father, John E. Cupp. Following his father’s death, he formed a partnership with Clyde E. Williamson, Esquire. For many years they practiced together under the firm name of Williamson and Cupp.
Although in failing health by 1974, he continued to practice law until two weeks before his death, March 5, 1975.
Mr. Cupp first married Ann Tardy, of Annapolis, Maryland, who predeceased him after bearing him three children: John E. Cupp, Jr., of Philadelphia; Mrs. Margaret A. Appel, of Hannibal, Missouri; and William G. Cupp, of San Francisco, California. His second wife, Pendred Lego, bore him one child, Mrs. Mercy Smith, of Williamstown, New Jersey.
Barbe, as he was known to friends, enjoyed an active practice, specializing in real estate, commercial and probate law. To many of his professional brethren he exhibited a cold, disdainful demeanor. But to the few who knew him best, this was only a facade, beneath which lay a fine sense of humor. Widely read and possessed of a keen wit, Mr. Cupp in any social context easily held center stage, delighting his companions with his inexhaustible store of anecdotes, and held their attention with his charm.
John Edward Cupp
Mr. Cupp, son of William U. and Elizabeth F. (Faher) Cupp, was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, August 11, 1876, where he attended the common schools graduating from the Williamsport High School in 1897. After his graduation from high school, he engaged in newspaper work, and during the years 1897 and 1898, he was a reporter for the Williamsport Times, during which period he read law with Otto G. Kaupp, and on July 7 1900, was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar. Since August 15, 1903, he was associated with Clarence H. Sprout, with offices at 317 Pine Street. Mr. Cupp was a Democrat, having served the organization two terms as secretary. He was a member of the Lycoming Presbyterian Church.
From 1900 to 1916, he practiced in Williamsport, and then he was offered and accepted the position of general counsel for J. Hile Weaver & Company, a large coal company with offices in Philadelphia, and acted in the same capacity for various coal companies, and the Cambria & Indiana Railroad Company, which were affiliated with the Weaver interests. This caused him to move to Philadelphia, and he did not return to Williamsport until 1929.
Upon his return in 1929, he resumed the practice of law and acquired a large practice due to his legal ability and standing at the bar. He was recognized as a leading trial lawyer.
Mr. Cupp married, first, Miss Anna B. Barbe, since deceased, by whom he had a son, John Barbe Cupp, a member of this bar; second, Miss Edith Roberta Rhoads, daughter of Hiram H. and Mary H. Rhoads, whom he divorced in 1939 and third, Helen Falls, whom he married in 1940. Mr. Cupp died January 29, 1943, in Newberry.
Will C. Currin
Will C. Currin was born at Bloomsburg, Pa., in 1873. He was graduated from Bloomsburg Normal School and was a tailor by trade. He turned to law, having lost an arm as the result of an industrial accident, reading law in the office of Walter C. Gilmore in Williamsport, He was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar about 1917. He took some interest in politics, although he never sought public office. He was secretary of the Democratic County Committee for several terms. He maintained an office at 29 W. 4th Street, Williamsport. Though physically handicapped, he attained a considerable degree of success. He was a true friend of the common people and drew his clientele from them, as he held their confidence.
He died April 21, 1928, after a long illness, and was survived by his father, Rev. G. W. Currin, of Berwick, Pa., a sister, Mrs. Arthur S. Gilmore, of California, Pa., and another sister residing in Berwick. He was buried in Wildwood cemetery on April 24.
57See Now and Then Vol. IV, p. 227 ff.
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