HISTORICAL SKETCHES
of the Bench and Bar of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
[Contents] [Last-Part 15] [Next-Part 17]
Deceased Resident Members of the Bar
(M - O)
Calvin H. McCauley
Calvin H. McCauley was admitted to our bar in 1908 and was associated with the McCormick firm for a time but later moved to Ridgeway.
Gerald Mark McClain
Gerald Mark McClain was born November 11, 1948 in Crabtree, Pennsylvania. He was the only child of Kenneth and Louise Corleto McClain.
Jerry graduated from St. Vincent Preparatory School, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1966. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in pre-law and sociology with minors in psychology, French and math. He joined the ROTC. Jerry received his Bachelor of Arts degree in April, 1970 and became a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force. He received his Juris Doctorate from Ohio State College of Law in December, 1972. He served as Judge Adjunct General from November, 1972 until his honorable discharge in June, 1980. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in the spring of 1973.
Jerry worked as law clerk for the Honorable James Kelley, Judge of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and a Pennsylvania State Senator from 1974 until 1988. Jerry served as campaign treasurer for the Senator's election in 1975. Jerry also served as a Westmoreland County Assistant Public Defender during that time.
In 1975, Jerry opened his own law practice in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, maintaining his private practice until 1978. He then became managing partner in the law firm of Selkowitz, McClain, and McKee, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania until 1987. During those years, Jerry worked as part-time Hearing Master and Chancellor in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties. From 1981 until 1986, Jerry was also a part-time Adjunct Professor at Seton Hill College. He designed and taught two courses in business law and labor-management relations. Those courses were selected as requirements for undergraduate degrees from Seton Hill.
In December, 1987, Jerry found his way to Lycoming County and accepted a position as an Assistant Public Defender in Lycoming County. Jerry brought enthusiasm, compassion, and charisma to the office and served his indigent clients well until 1991. Jerry then accepted a position as Lycoming County Family Court Hearing Master. Jerry remained in that position until his death on August 5, 1995.
Jerry was the father of two children, a daughter Ryann and his son, Sean, who graduated from Williamsport Area High School. Jerry was a man of incredible strength and exemplary character. Although much of his professional career transpired outside of Lycoming County, the Bar of Lycoming County was fortunate to have shared in the life of such a caring, compassionate, and humorous man with such high standards of excellence.
Hepburn McClure
Hepburn McClure was a son of Robert McClure, who was one of the first three lawyers to locate in Williamsport in 1795. He was born November 24, 1809, studied law with his father and was admitted to our bar in 1830. He served as postmaster of Williamsport and prothonotary of Lycoming County. At the time of his death, in the spring of 1890, he was the oldest member of the bar.
Robert McClure
Among those attracted to Williamsport soon after the organization of Lycoming County was Robert McClure, the father of Hepburn McClure, Esq. He was born in Cumberland County, February 6, 1772. Little is known of his ancestry. After receiving a rudimentary education, he entered Dickinson College, from which he was graduated with honors. Among his classmates at college were Roger B. Taney, later Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and Judge Huston, of Bellefonte. He studied law at Carlisle, and after being admitted to the bar came to Williamsport about the time of the organization of the county in 1795, and settled here. He and Charles Huston were the first lawyers here. He married Mary, a daughter of William Hepburn, who owned what was then known as “Deer Park”, comprising 320 acres. Old Oaks Park, site of the Williamsport Hospital, was a portion of this splendid estate.
John F. Wolfinger, late of Milton, who knew him well wrote of him: “In personal appearance Robert McClure was a tall, heavy man, with broad ruddy face and a countenance indicative of firmness and severe thought. His movements were slow and easy. He did but little law business when I knew him, and lived sort of a retired life, and died soon after I came to Williamsport. He seemed to have done a considerable amount of work in his best days, and to have occupied a high and honorable rank at the bar...”
Mr. McClure was sent to the legislature in 1822 and re-elected in 1824. In 1827 he was sent to the State Senate, but died before the completion of his term. Joseph B. Anthony filled out the vacancy, caused by the death of Senator McClure, which occurred December 13, 1829. His remains lay in the old burying ground on West Fourth Street, a short distance this side of Lycoming Creek, until the bodies buried there were removed to other cemeteries.
Frank H. McCormick
Hugh and Thomas McCormick, from whom the McCormicks of Pennsylvania trace their descent, were natives of Ireland, Sons of James McCormick, of Londonderry. These two sons came to America in 1735, and settled in what was then Lancaster (now Dauphin) County, Pennsylvania. Hugh McCormick was born in the County of Ulster, about 1695. He married and had four children: John, James, Samuel and Hugh, Jr. Hugh, Jr., was born in Ireland about 1725. He married Sarah Alcorn, daughter of James and Mary Alcorn, of Cumberland County, Pa., and they had issue— nine children — one of whom was Seth McCormick, born in Paxtang Township, then Lancaster County, in 1756.
About the year 1770, Hugh McCormick, Jr., purchased 1,300 acres of land in White Deer valley, and two of his sons, Seth and Thomas, settled upon it. His cabin was located on the south branch of White Deer Hole Creek about a mile from Samuel Swan’s. Here Seth married Margaret Simmons, daughter of Samuel and Margaret (Plunkett) Simmons of Buffalo Valley, the latter a niece of Dr. William Plunkett, celebrated Revolution army surgeon.
In 1778, at the time of the Big Runaway, when the settlers along the West Branch fled before the invading Indians and British Tories, the McCormick family took refuge for a time at Fort Augusta, which stood on the site of Sunbury, from whence they returned to White Deer Valley after the danger had passed.
Seth and Margaret were the parents of ten children, of whom the fourth child was Seth, born in 1789. He married Hannah Hammond, the daughter of James Hammond and Mary Brown. Both of these families were old settlers in the valley. James Hammond was one of the company commanded by Captain Hawkins Boone, who went from Boone’s Fort, on Muddy Run, July 29, 1778, to the relief of Fort Freeland, on Warrior Run, when it was attacked by the British and Indians, and he was one of the few who escaped death. Both he and his wife were members of the Warrior Run Presbyterian Church, and later of the Log church, located on the south side of Penny Hill. James’ wife, Mary Brown, the second daughter of Matthew Brown and Eleanor Lytle, and granddaughter of John Brown, the Pioneer Settler, was born January 17, 1764, in Cumberland County and died at White Deer Valley, Dec. 9, 1827. Matthew Brown was a member of the Committee of Safety for Northumberland County for White Deer Township for the first six months of 1776. He became a member of the Flying Camp, but contracted a fever in New Jersey which resulted in his death, April 22, 1777.
Seth Thomas McCormick, second son of Seth and Hannah (Hammond) McCormick, was born in Washington Township, Lycoming County, January 27, 1817. He was a farmer and lumber man in early life. In 1861, at the age of 44 he determined to study law, and removed with his family to Williamsport, where he entered the law office of W. W. Willard. In 1863 he was admitted to the bar, and built up a lucrative and important practice. According to one of his descendants he was a formidable and powerful opponent and was known as “Torpedo” McCormick. He married in 1837 Miss Eleanor Miller (who died May 27, 1897), and they were the parents of eight children: Sarah Elizabeth, born 1839, who became the wife of William D. Oakes; 2. Hannah, b. 1841, and died at age of six years; 3. Henry Clay, born 1844, law partner of his father; 4. William Miller, born 1846; 5. Horace Greeley, born 1850, a prominent Williamsport physician; 6. Frank H., the subject of this sketch; and 8. Seth Thomas, born 1860, another lawyer whose sketch appears below.
Frank H. McCormick, son of Seth T. and Eleanor (Miller) McCormick, was born in Washington Township, February 24, 1857. When he was four years old his parents moved to Williamsport, and there he was reared and received his public school education. He then entered upon the study of law in the office of his father, and after the death of his father, continued with his brother. He was admitted to the bar in May 1880, and practiced for five years in association with his brother. But after a time he determined to give his attention to commercial pursuits, and on June 1, 1885, he engaged in the fire insurance business as a member of the firm of Campbell & McCormick. Then in 1888, Mr. Campbell withdrew and Mr. McCormick formed a partnership with Carl Herdic, and engaged in the same business in the Susquehanna Trust building. In 1895 he organized the Diamond Wall Cement Company, and in 1900, the Lycoming Calcimining Company. On May 18,1886, he married Miss Marietta Culver, born in Williamsport, and the daughter of Eben Culver, of English and Dutch extraction. Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were the parents of two children: Fred, a graduate of Princeton University, 1907, now living in Tucson, Arizona; and Eleanor. Mr. McCormick died November 20, 1935.
Henry Clay McCormick
Henry Clay McCormick was the eldest son of Seth Thomas and Eleanor (Miller) McCormick and was born in Washington Township, Lycoming County, June 30, 1844. As a boy he worked on his father’s farm, attending the schools of his native township and Dickinson Seminar. In 1863 he attended the Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and was graduated from that institution with high honors. After returning home, he kept books for a local firm and subsequently took charge of a school. In October 1864, he began the study of law, at the same time continuing his duties as a teacher. On August 28, 1877, he was admitted to the bar. He then went to Iowa, but after a few months’ stay, returned to Williamsport and entered into partnership with his father. From February 1867, until the death of his father, the firm so continued. On January 1, 1882, Mr. McCormick took as a partner his younger brother, Seth Thomas.
In 1873 he helped organize the Lycoming National Bank, of which he was a director for 14 years. In April 1887, he severed his connection with that bank to assist in founding the banking house of Payne, Cochran and McCormick. He served for many years as a member and director of the old Board of Trade, and was the chief mover in organizing the Edison Illuminating Company. In February 1892, he was elected President of the Williamsport and North Branch Railroad.
In 1869 he was elected solicitor for the City of Williamsport, and was re-elected in 1879. He was strongly urged for the appointment of U. S. District Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and was endorsed generally by the bench and bar for the position.
In October 1886, after a protracted deadlock of many weeks, Mr. McCormick was nominated for Congress by the Republican conference, on the 253rd ballot, to represent the 16th Congressional District. It was only ten days prior to the election, but he received a majority of 4,826 votes, a larger one than any previous candidate. Mr. McCormick carried the Democratic county of Lycoming (which shortly before had given over 2,500 majority to the Democratic District Attorney) by a majority of 847, the first time in the history of the county that it gave a majority to a Republican candidate for Congress. Mr. McCormick took his seat on December 5, 1887. In 1888 he was renominated as the Republican candidate and was re-elected by a large majority even leading the presidential ticket. He was one of the delegates-at-large from Pennsylvania to the Republican National Convention in 1892, at Minneapolis, and voted for the nomination of William McKinley.
Governor Hastings, immediately after the election of 1894, tendered to Mr. McCormick the appointment of Attorney General, which he accepted, and he served throughout the Hastings administration.
Upon his retirement from public life, in 1899, he returned to the practice of his profession. He was one of the originators and founders of the Lycoming Law Association and served as its President from 1899 to 1901 inclusive. He also acted as its Secretary for many years.
Mr. McCormick married on October 21, 1875, Ida, the daughter of John W. and Sarah (Jackson) Hays, at Erie, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of three children: Nelle, born August 12, 1876, wife of Joseph W. Cochran; John Hays, born July 12, 1879; and Henry C., born August 14, 1883, who died in infancy. Mrs. McCormick was born August 1, 1855. Her paternal ancestry is traced to Scotland, and she was a descendant of John Forester, a native of County Antrim, Ireland, who emigrated to America early in the 18th Century and settled in what is now Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Mr. McCormick died May 26, 1902.
Henry Clay McCormick
Henry Clay McCormick died in Longwood, Fla., on Feb. 10, 2011, just shy of his 99th birthday. He was born in Williamsport on April 12, 1912, the son of John H. and Martha Foresman McCormick.
Mr. McCormick graduated from The Hill School. He graduated from Princeton University in 1935, and Yale Law School with an LL.B. in 1938. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1938
He practiced law in what is now The McCormick Firm from 1938 to 1978.
He was a member of the Lycoming Law Association and served as its president in 1962, following in the steps of his grandfather, a former attorney general of Pennsylvania and congressman, for whom he was named..
It's hard to imagine anyone loving Williamsport more than Mr. McCormick did. His forebears settled in White Deer Valley in the 17th century and through the generations played significant roles in the life of Williamsport, a tradition he followed. In 1967 he received the Grit Award in recognition of his many contributions to the life of the town, in particular his "vision to see the potential of urban renewal in the city ... and the problems and need for regional planning." He served on and, in several cases, chaired numerous boards and commissions, including those of the Williamsport Hospital, the Greater Williamsport Chamber of Commerce, the Recreation Commission, and what was called the Central Lycoming Area Regional Planning Commission when it was formed in 1959. "He knew how to organize men and how to keep them organized," the Grit article noted.
Mr. McCormick was a member of the Ross Club, the Williamsport Country Club (president and secretary), and Dunwoody Hunting and Fishing Club. His sense of humor and general ease in public made him a perfect toastmaster for special events, not to mention a legendary and indefatigable host to his many friends.
In 2000, when commuting to Florida became too difficult, Mr. McCormick retired permanently to Village on the Green in Longwood, Fla. Leaving his hometown was for Mr. McCormick one of the hardest moments of his life. He never expected to return, but in June 2008, after Lou's death, he decided to come back once more, see a few old friends, and visit his law office. His daughter drove down from Maine to act as their chauffeur and, despite temperatures in the mid 90s, they had a grand time. Mr. McCormick was virtually blind at that point, but he didn't need to see the countless streets, houses, people, and memories that had an indelible place in his heart.
From his marriage to Suzanne Paris, which ended in 1960, he had three children, Martha Porter and husband, Stephen, of Searsmont, Maine; Henry C. Jr., who died in Maine in 2006; and Andrew and partner, Carel van Tuyll, who live in Paris. He is also survived by two grandsons, Matthew Porter and William Porter, and his great-granddaughter, Eliza Porter. In 1961 Mr. McCormick married Anne Louise Weller of Rochester, who died in Florida in 2007.
Seth Thomas McCormick
Seth Thomas McCormick is mentioned briefly in the account of Frank H. McCormick. When nearly forty years of age, he forsook his occupation of farmer and lumberman, moved to Williamsport, and entered the law office of W. W. Willard, Esq., for the purpose of studying law. In 1863 after a highly creditable examination he was admitted to bar of Lycoming County. After a few years he associated with himself, his son, Henry Clay McCormick, thus forming the firm of S. T. & H. C. McCormick, which firm occupied a place in the front rank of the legal profession. Mr. McCormick took a keen interest in every enterprise having a tendency to advance the best interests of his adopted city. He was many times elected to the common council of the city, during which service his influence was always exerted on behalf of honest municipal government. He was the compiler of the book of charter, laws and ordinances of the City of Williamsport, and nearly every ordinance of that period was drafted by his hand. In 1871 he was nominated by the Democrats for the office of City Recorder, but by that time the city had become strongly Republican and he was defeated by a small majority. The later generation of McCormicks forsook the Democratic party and became Republicans.
His children are enumerated above. He died December 1, 1878.
Seth Thomas McCormick (2)
Seth Thomas McCormick was the son of Seth T. McCormick, the second of the well known lawyers bearing the same name in this county. He was born in White Deer Valley, August 28, 1860, the youngest son of Seth T. and Eleanor (Miller) McCormick. His parents removed from Washington Township to Williamsport when he was six months old. As a boy he attended the public schools and later studied law in the office of his brother, the late Henry C. McCormick. Before he reached the age of twenty-one years he was equipped for admission to the bar. He became twenty-one on August 28, 1881, and was admitted on September 1st, 1881, becoming a partner with his brother, January 1, 1882 and practiced until just before his death, which occurred August 6, 1916, just before he had intended to set out on a European trip. He had been in poor health for a year preceding his death.
The McCormick office in those days was in the building across Willow Street from the Court House, and then later removed to the building erected by Payne, Cochran and McCormick as their banking house, later succeeded by the Northern Central Trust Company, and now know as the Arcade Building.
At the time of the removal of the office, the firm consisted of Henry Clay McCormick and Seth T. McCormick (2), arid was known as H. C. & S. T. McCormick, Seth T. McCormick (1) having died previously. Death again changed the firm in 1902, when Henry C. McCormick, former congressman and attorney general, passed away. Later Seth T. McCormick, Jr. (3), son of Dr. Horace Greeley McCormick and nephew of Seth T. McCormick, the elder, was admitted to the firm.
Mr. McCormick (2) was married October 21, 1886, to Belle Herdic, daughter of the late Frank L. Herdic. They had three children: Myra McCormick Lynn ( mother of Seth McCormick Lynn); William C. McCormick and Seth T. McCormick III.
Mr. McCormick was a director of the Northern Central Trust Company and other business enterprises. He was eminent as a corporation lawyer and counsel for many extensive concerns, being the legal adviser for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, the New York Central and other lines.
For many years few important cases were tried in this county without the McCormick law office being associated with them on one side or the other. Some of these cases involved large amounts of money. Although Mr. McCormick was a Democrat he never sought public office, but paid assiduous attention to his practice. He was an ardent golfer, and enjoyed playing at the new Country Club, and walking everyday to and from his home on West Fourth Street.
Seth Thomas McCormick, Jr.
Seth T. McCormick, Jr., was born at Montoursville, Pennsylvania, on September 14, 1880, the only son of Dr. Horace Greeley and Margaretta (Hill) McCormick. She was the daughter of George and Martha (Brown) Hill, and a granddaughter of John and Margaretta Hill, of Northumberland County, Pa. John Hill was born near Milton, January 13, 1816. His early life was spent at the paternal homestead, where he nobly assisted his widowed mother by assuming many of the burdens incidental to the management and cultivation of the farm. In 1835 his mother with her children removed to the White Deer Valley. Their seventh child was Margaretta, born April 30, 1854, who married Horace Greeley McCormick, M. D., descendant of Mary Brown of the Matthew Brown family.
Seth T. McCormick, Jr., received his early education in the public schools of Williamsport from which he was graduated in 1898. He attended Lafayette College from which he was graduated in 1902. He immediately began the study of law in the office of his uncle, Seth T. McCormick, and in 1906 was admitted to the Lycoming County bar. He became a partner of his uncle, until the latter’s death in 1916. He then formed a partnership with Henry Hipple, with whom he practiced until the dissolution of the partnership in 1923. He was President of the Lycoming Law Association in 1922.
Aside from his labors as a lawyer, however, Mr. McCormick was active in many civic and community affairs. He served as director of many corporations, including the Pennsylvania Railroad,the New York Central Railroad, the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, and the Lycoming Trust Company, the Sun and News Publishing Company, the Grit Publishing Company, as well as the Lycoming Hotel, the Lycoming Manufacturing Company, as President of the Board of Managers of the Williamsport Hospital.
He married in Williamsport, on June 29, 1910 Esther Thompson, daughter of William F. and Clara M. Thompson. They had two daughters, Esther Caroline Furst O’Brien, and Dorothy Husted. He died July 15, 1945.
His cousin, John Hays McCormick, was the father of Henry Clay McCormick II, now a member of this bar.
Edward S. McGraw
Edward S. McGraw was born in Williamsport, September 25, 1873, the son of John and Margaret Jane (Costello) McGraw. John McGraw was born in the parish of Cluna, County Clare, Ire land. In 1851 Mr. McGraw came to the United States with his brother and two sisters, arriving at Philadelphia. They came to Williamsport on a packet boat, the captain of which was Thomas Rathmell. After his arrival here Mr. McGraw was employed in the saw mills. He retired in 1900 and died June 25, 1901. His wife died April 19, 1928, at the age of 86 years. Both are buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Williamsport, Pa.
Edward was the ninth child in the family and received his early education in the parochial schools of Williamsport from which he was graduated in 1888. He then spent a year at Williamsport Commercial College. In 1890 he became associated with his twin brothers in the contracting business as builders of window and door frames for McCollum & Cline, Williamsport. In January, 1891, Mr. McGraw entered the law office of John J. Reardon. He also attended Pott’s Shorthand College, after passing his preliminary bar examinations, as he was unable to take the final examinations for admission to the bar because of his extreme youth, not being 21 years of age. In July 1895, he was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar and continued to practice with Mr. Reardon and became the latter’s assistant when he was elected City Solicitor in May, 1898. Mr. Reardon was re-elected in 1900, and Mr. McGraw remained in his office until April, 1903, when he became a member of the firm of Reilly, Shale & McGraw, with offices at 35 West Third Street, and a branch office in Jersey Shore. In the mean time Mr. McGraw had organized McGraw Brothers Planing Mill Company, Inc., of which he was secretary and treasurer.
He was later appointed by Governor Tener to a position in the state fire marshal’s office at Harrisburg, serving as counsel. He then became confidential secretary to Hon W. B. Wilson, the first U. S. Secretary of Labor at Washington, D. C. In September 1917, he was appointed private secretary to the Secretary of Labor, and upon motion of Hon. John W. Davis, then Solicitor General of the Department of Justice, admitted to the U. S. Supreme Court. Mr. McGraw remained as private secretary to Secretary of Labor Wilson, until the latter’s term of office expired March 4, 1921. He had tendered his resignation to James J. Davis, who succeeded Wilson, but it was not accepted. Mr. McGraw therefore continued to serve in that capacity until September 1921. He then returned to the practice of law in Williamsport. In January 1925, he was appointed Deputy Register and Recorder under Major Orlando L. Nichols. Then in the spring of 1928 he again returned to private practice. He was a life long Democrat and served for five years as secretary of the Young Men’s Democratic Club. He was a member of the Church of the Annunciation. He died November 23, 1931.
Arthur Hutchings McKean
Arthur H. McKean was born in Williamsport, Pa., July 17, 1909, the son of Scott R. and Martha (Hutchings) McKean. He received his education in the Williamsport public schools, being graduated in 1927. He received his A.B. degree from Syracuse University, 1931, and that fall entered its law school, and obtained his LL. B. in 1935. He was admitted to the New York bar, in 1936, and was employed by the American Surety Company of New York as an investigator. He returned to Williamsport and registered first with Hon. D. L. Larrabee, and later with Hon. Charles Scott Williams, and was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar on October 22, 1940. Among other accomplishments, he was a fine musician.
He volunteered as a spotter in the Aircraft Watching Service and spent many cold winter nights on top of Steam Valley mountain. He was also a member of the Williamsport Ration Board. In October 1942 he was commissioned Lieut. (j.g.) U.S.N.R., at Cornell, and afterwards transferred to Harvard. Then in April 1943 he was assigned to active duty upon a troop transport, as second in command of a gun crew on a voyage to South Africa. He returned in May 1943, the ship carrying 300 war casualties. He was then assigned to a munitions ship which collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, and resulted in an explosion which cost him his life, June 1, 1943. He was survived by his wife, Lucretia Tucker McKean, then a Lieut. in the SPARS, at St. Augustine, Florida, his father and mother, a sister and a brother.
Daniel Webster, from whom all lawyers have learned much, has given us a true definition of an American which aptly describes Art McKean: “I was born an American, I live an American; I shall die an American; and I intend to perform the duties incumbent upon me in that character to the end of my career...”
Charles J. McKelvey
Charles J. McKelvey was born October 12, 1928, in Hazleton, the son of Francis A. and Philomena M. Graziano McKelvey. Charlie grew up in Hazleton, graduating from St. Gabriel’s High School. He received a bachelor of arts decree in Greek and Latin from the University of Scranton in 1950. In 1953, he graduated from the Georgetown University Law School. He was awarded a master’s in labor law from Georgetown University Law School in 1958.
Charlie was admitted to the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia in 1958. He was employed by the National Labor Relations Board in Washington, D.C.
Charlie served in the Central Intelligence Division of the Army and was stationed in Germany.
Charlie joined the Law Firm of McNerney, Page, Vanderlin & Hall in 1969 where he developed an active practice in all aspects of labor law. In addition, he built upon his trial experience to develop a substantial litigation practice focusing on insurance defense work, as well as other general litigation matters. In 1972, Charlie was admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Charlie served as president of the Williamsport Rotary Club. He was a member of the Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations, the Williamsport Country Club, and the Lycoming County Historical Society. He served as Secretary - Treasurer of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association for many years.
In 1982, he became President of the Lycoming Law Association to be succeeded in 1983 by his law partner, O. William Vanderlin.
An avid reader, Charlie was well versed on the history of the Civil War. His recollections of battles were vivid and historically accurate and his color commentary was one of a kind.
Charles McKelvey died March 4, 2000.
John McKinney
John McKinney was born at Heshbon, Loyalsock Township, where between 1825 and 1830 Isaac McKinney and his son, William, had established a forge, furnace and rolling mill and called the place Heshbon. He was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar about 1853. During the Civil War he held a position in the office of the Attorney General in Washington, D. C. When peace was restored he was appointed United States District Judge for a district in Florida and died there.
Joseph Maurice McNerney
Joseph M. McNerney was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on October 23, 1909, the son of John P. and Johanna McNerney. He was graduated in 1934 from Catholic University, with an A.B. degree, and received his LL.B. degree from Catholic University Law School in 1937. His admission to practice in the courts of Lycoming County followed in 1939, after he served his clerkship in the office of Harry Alvan Baird, Esquire. He was a member of the Lycoming Law Association and the Pennsylvania and American Bar Association.
On December 11, 1949, Allen P. Page, Esquire, associated with him in a partnership known as McNerney and Page. Subsequently Otho William Vanderlin and T. Max Hall became members of the firm, thereafter known as McNerney, Page, Vanderlin and Hall.
On June 10, 1938, Joseph M. McNerney was married to the former Elizabeth M. Kelly of Oneida, New York.
As an attorney, he was a staunch advocate of clients’ rights, and an aggressive, competent competitor, tempered always by a thread of Irish wit which endeared him to his adversaries. He was a member of the Church of the Annunciation, and of the Knights of Columbus. He was also a director of Williamsport National Bank and its general counsel, and had been a member of the original hoard of Divine Providence Hospital.
Joseph M. McNerney died January 13, 1967, survived by his wife, two sons, Joseph G. and John, and a daughter, Ellen.
Carrol R. Macklem
Carrol R. Macklem, the son of Mrs. Sarah Macklem, of Jersey Shore, was associated with Charles F. Greevy, as a law student for three years. He then registered in the office of John T. Hyatt, and was admitted to the bar, October 16, 1933. He was graduated from the Jersey Shore High School, Dickinson College and Law School. He was a member of LaBelle Valley Lodge No. 232, F. & A.M., Jersey Shore. He was engaged to be married to Miss Janet Bingaman, a teacher in the Jersey Shore High School, when he suddenly died of appendicitis on August 28, 1934.
Guiseppe L. Maggio
Mr. Maggio, an uncle of Michael J. Maggio, of our bar, was registered as a law student here in 1901, and was later admitted to the New York bar. Another uncle of Mike’s who had been hurt on the Pennsylvania Railroad also practiced law in New York. The railroad company paid for his education because of his injury.
Michael Joseph Maggio
Michael Joseph Maggio was born June 22, 1897, in Redburn, Pennsylvania (near Ralston), where his father, James Maggio, worked in the coal mines. When the mines were offered for sale, James bought them, and operated them until about 1936, when he was injured in a mine accident. Michael took over the operation then, selling much of the coal produced to local industries.
About 1912, James Maggio and his wife, Venerina, bought the Ralston general store, moving there from Red Run Mountain. James ran the mines and Venerina operated the store until James died in 1939. It was then that young Mike was introduced to the business world by delivering groceries and merchandise for his mother to the Ralston townspeople.
Young Mike spent his boyhood at Ralston and attended public schools there in earliest years, graduating from Williamsport High School. He went on to Bucknell, taking his B.A. in 1921, then attended Columbia Law School, receiving his LL.B. in 1923. He was admitted to Lycoming County Bar in February, 1924.
For a time he was associated with G. B. M. Metzger, later with Mortimer C. Rhone. During this latter association, Mortimer C. Rhone (on March 18, 1938) was appointed judge of Lycoming County, holding office until 1940, when he resumed private practice with Mr. Maggio, continuing until Rhone’s death on March 16, 1941.
During World War I, Mr. Maggio served with the U.S. Navy, stationed at Seattle, Washington. During World War II, he gave up law to become an enforcement officer with the Office of Price Administration, a great personal sacrifice, but he did so because Mike believed it was his civic duty.
During his years of practice a number of young members of our bar associated with him while serving their clerkships, or afterwards. Among these were the Honorable Malcolm Muir, the Honorable Charles F. Greevy, the late Lester L. Greevy and Patrick H. Fierro, Michael J. Casale, Sr., John S. Hayes and the Honorable Robert J. Wollet. Judge Wollet was admitted to Lycoming County Bar in 1957; his association with Mr. Maggio endured 15 years, until Mike’s death in 1972.
He was throughout life a vital contributor of assets and time to local civic, commercial, and charitable endeavors, doing so with little fanfare. He actively promoted Divine Providence Hospital and was a member of its advisory board until poor health forced his resignation. He took part in industrial development projects and Lycoming College campaigns.
Mr. Maggio favored construction of a road along the river through Williamsport to eliminate the heavy traffic downtown. He wrote many letters to PennDOT, as well as to various Pennsylvania governors, outlining his thoughts concerning such a highway. Today there is such a road, known as “Via Bella”.
He was concerned with youth and the underprivileged and was known as a man who could be persuaded to help needy persons. Thus he assisted frequently with the purchase of items for the young people at Lycoming County Juvenile Detention Quarters. He associated with several other individuals in promotion of a camp for boys near Trout Run, Pennsylvania.
He also actively encouraged development of Lycoming Creek Valley, especially in the Ralston area. He was instrumental in having PennDOT pave Route 14 from Trout Run to New York State. He was active in locating several industries in local areas. As an avid sportsman he originated the concept that later became known as Wheel Inn, Inc., Red Run Rod and Gun Club, Inc., and Wheel Inn Outdoor Life, Inc., which all added to area social activity. He put much personal money and time into development of fishing lakes and recreation areas on property owned by him, which he made available to members of the organizations above named.
He also was an organizer, with other attorneys and medical men, of Highland Lake Manor, which later became associated with the local 40 et 8 group.
Mike had many friends, and enjoyed membership in numerous civic and fraternal organizations, among which were Elks Lodge #173, where he held life membership; over 50 years in American Legion Post No. 1; the 40 et 8; Antlers Country Club, Inc.; Alpha Phi Delta Fraternity; Bucknell Alumni Association; Lycoming Historical Society; and life membership also in Williamsport Wheel Club (of which he was a past president), Wheel Inn, and Red Run Rod and Gun Club. He was president of Lycoming Law Association in 1953, and was a member of St. Aloysius Church in Ralston.
During his practice he was especially well known for his ability as a trial attorney. Due to his short stature and aggressive manner, he was affectionately called “the Banty Rooster” and was noted for his persuasive powers with a jury. There can be no greater tribute to Michael J. Maggio than that paid to him by a fellow member of Lycoming County Bar who regarded him as the only true gentleman he had ever met. Michael J. Maggio died December 20, 1972.
Andrew Ferguson Martin
Andrew F. Martin, son of Dr. Henry H. Martin and Margaret Ferguson, his wife, was born January 25, 1858 at Jersey Shore. He was educated at the West Branch Academy, Jersey Shore; Lafayette College and W. & J. He then studied law under his father, and was admitted to our bar, April 3, 1884.He was a member of the firm of H.H. & A.F. Martin, with offices in both Williamsport and Jersey Shore. About June 1, 1896, the father retired and became a J.P. Andy continued to practice until his death, March 27, 1921.
Andy Martin was the inventor of the so-called ‘Shirt-tail’ note, which had a confession of judgment and appearances for both parties on the back. (The only place I ever saw them for sale was at George Wolf’s stationery store.) He was a little man with a high squeaky voice, fond of swearing in nearly every sentence, but always his language was interspersed with quotations from the Bible, giving both the chapter and verse. He and W. R. Peoples were mortal enemies for some reason, and when John T. Hyatt came to the bar, Andy demanded of him a decision as to whose side he was on. Andy showed him a pasteboard heart well peppered with bullet holes, and told him that whenever he practiced revolver shooting, he always used Peoples’ heart as a target. But apparently this antagonism was mostly verbal and not physical, and they never actually came to blows.
Andy would read the index in every volume of the Pennsylvania Reports, when preparing a case — as they did not have LRA, &c., in those days and sometimes he would come up with some decision which was unknown to the lawyer on the other side, and completely surprised the latter. Andy died March 27, 1921.
Henry H. Martin
H. M. Martin was born in Rutland, Vermont, February 2, 1820. He was educated at Middlebury College, Vermont. He studied law at Jersey Shore, in 1842-45, with Hon. James Gamble and was admitted to the bar about 1845. He was Prothonotary of Lycoming County, 1870-71, and resided in Jersey Shore. He was also a Justice of the Peace. He died in 1904 at the age of 84 years. He was familiarly called “Doctor but whether has was an M.D. or a Veterinarian I do not know.
John Wesley Maynard
John Wesley Maynard was horn, May 18, 1808, at Spring field, Massachusetts, the second son and third child of Lemuel Maynard, a native of Sunbury, Massachusetts. In 1823 his father’s family moved to Hamilton, New York, where young Maynard spent a year in attendance at the Hamilton Academy. In 1827 he began the study of law in the office of William G. Angell and George C. Clyde, in Oswego County, New York. Here he spent three years, after which the family located in Lawrenceville, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, where he was admitted to the bar in 1831.
Until 1840 he was engaged in practice in Tioga, Bradford, Potter and McKean Counties. In the summer of that year he located in Williamsport.
In 1859 he was appointed Associate Law Judge for the fifth judicial district, then consisting of the County of Allegheny, including the City of Pittsburgh. In 1862 he was elected President Judge of the third judicial district, composed of the Counties of Northampton and Lehigh. In the autumn of 1867, owing to the death of his son-in-law and former partner, W. W. Willard, and also on account of his own ill health, Judge Maynard resigned and returned to Williamsport.
He was nominated for Congress by his Democratic friends from Lycoming County, but declined to run. Judge Maynard had a legal experience of more than half a century, during which time he was called upon to conduct many of the most important cases in Pennsylvania and New York. He married (1) Ann, daughter of Thomas and Nabby Mather, of Burlington, N. Y., May 18, 1830. They were the parents of one child, Sarah Ann, who became the wife of W. W. Willard. Mrs. Maynard died Dec. 25, 1832, and Judge Maynard married (2) Alvira C., daughter of Elijah De Pui. The offspring of this union were four sons and three daughters, of whom three sons and one daughter survived. The survivors were: Encie Eliza, who married (1) Peter Herdic; (2) Henry Rawle; James W.; and Clara, who married and later divorced James O. Parker, once a member of this bar. The second Mrs. Maynard died April 1, 1881, and in November 1883, he married Cordelia Bellows, who survived him. Judge Maynard died at his summer home, Minnequa Springs, Bradford County, Pa., May 8, 1885.
James L. Meredith
Mr. Meredith was born near Marshalton, Chester County, Pa., November 12, 1838. He was graduated from Union College, New York, in 1865, and read law with Hon. Daniel M. Smyser, of Norristown, and was admitted to the Montgomery County Bar, September 25, 1867. He located in Williamsport in the spring of 1868, and continued to practice here. He was elected City Recorder of Williamsport in May 1871, which position he held until December 1, 1875.
He was the son of Isaac and Thornazine (Pennock) Meredith, natives of Chester County. His father died therein in 1874, his mother surviving the father, and dying in 1891. James was the eldest of four children. He served as Chairman of the Republican County Committee in 1878; member of the School Board from the Sixth ward, president of the board for one year and solicitor for two years.
Mr. Meredith married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. C. C. Joslin, of Johnstown, N. Y., in October 1867. Their only child died in 1889, at the age of 20 years. Mr. Meredith was a Quaker and his wife an Episcopalian. He was City Recorder at the time of the Saw Dust War in 1872.
Verus Hope Metzger
Verus H. Metzger was one of the prominent members of the bar, and engaged in active practice until his death, May 28, 1891. He was born in Clinton Township, Lycoming County, in 1859, the son of Hon. J. J. Metzger. He was educated in the public schools and Dickinson Seminary, and graduated from Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, in 1878. He read law with his father and was admitted to the bar in April 1881. Active in local politics, at the age of 24 years he was elected District Attorney in 1883, serving for three years. In 1886, he was elected to the State Senate for four years. He was a member of Company G. 12th Regiment, N.G.P. He married in 1884 Lulu, daughter of A. Condradi, of Bethlehem, Pa., who bore him two children, John. J., and Clementine. At the time he took his seat in the Senate, he was the youngest member of that body.
Anthony Dominic Miele
Anthony Dominic Miele was born on September 16, 1924, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the son of Luigi and Orsola Cioffi Miele. He died on Thursday, July 29, 2010, at the age of 85.
Mr. Miele grew up in Williamsport in the area of Via Bella which was populated by several Italian families. He was educated in the Williamsport School District and graduated from the Williamsport High School in 1942.
He accepted a football scholarship to Villanova University; however, his education was cut short when in April of 1943 he was drafted into the United States Navy. Mr. Miele served in the United States Navy during World War II and was discharged in April of 1946.
He attended the Dickinson Seminary which is now Lycoming College for one year in 1947 to play football. In 1948, Mr. Miele received a football scholarship to Bucknell University. While attending Bucknell University, he began dating Matilda Noviello, whom he married on September 15, 1950.
In 1953, Mr. Miele earned his Juris Doctor from the Washington School of Law at American University in Washington D.C. While attending law school, he worked as policeman at the United States Capitol.
Mr. Miele initially practiced law in Washington D.C. before returning to Williamsport to practice law with his brother, Patrick H. Fierro. His law practice covered a wide spectrum from criminal law to civil law. At the time of his death, Mr. Miele was still actively practicing law.
Mr. Miele served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Lycoming Law Association from 1985 through 1990.
In addition to being a 49-year member of the Lycoming Law Association, he was a member of other professional organizations including the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Mr. Miele’s love was race horses; he loved to watch horses race and also owned race horses for some time.
In the late 1970s, Sol Wolf, a football coach and sports announcer, asked Mr. Miele to help him form the West Branch Valley Sports Hall of Fame. Tony did so and served as its Master of Ceremonies and attorney for many years. As a fitting tribute, in 1985, Tony was inducted into the West Branch Valley Sports Hall of Fame.
With regard to his religious service, Mr. Miele was a member of St. Joseph the Worker Parish Mater Dolorosa Church.
Mr. Miele was preceded in death by his wife, Matilda Noviello Miele, on December 3, 1986. He was also preceded in death by a daughter, Cecilia L. Miele on December 24, 2008. Surviving are three daughters, Lucia Montoya, Lisa Salvatori and Ursula Blazer, a son, Anthony P. Miele, sixteen grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
Andrew Gibson Miller
Mr. Miller was born on February 19, 1862, in the Pine Creek region, Brown Township. He died January 12, 1926. He was educated in the public schools, Muncy Normal, and then taught. He later attended Dickinson Seminary, and entered the office of Hon. J. J. Metzger, and was admitted to the bar in 1891. He was a great believer in prohibition.
Otho N. Miller
Otho N. Miller was born in Williamsport, March 11, 1861, the son of William H. H. Miller and E. Virginia (Hammett) Miller. He was educated in the Williamsport public schools, and by private instruction until he was 15, when he took the freshman course at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa. The following year he entered Lafayette College as a sophomore, the youngest in a class of 110, and was graduated in 1880. He then read law with Hon. Robert P. Allen and was admitted to the Lycoming County bar in July 1883. A few months later Lafayette College conferred upon him the honorary degree, A.M. While studying law he was connected with the Williamsport Sun and Banner, and also did substitute teaching in the high school, and in all grades from the junior floors up. He was a Democrat and stumped his native county during the presidential campaigns of 1884 and 1888. He was a member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and the Board of Trade. He died in 1908.
His father, William H. H. Miller, was a physician and surgeon born near Springtown, Pa., August 23, 1825, the son of Reverend Henry S. and Camilla (Clemens) Miller. His father was a Lutheran minister holding charges in Bucks and Montgomery counties, and thereafter in Lebanon, Reading, Norristown, and Phoenixville, dying at the latter place in August 1877, at the age of 86 years. Dr. Miller passed his youth principally in Montgomery County, where he was educated and read medicine under Dr. Hahn. He was graduated from Pennsylvania Medical College in 1849, and first practiced in Hancock, Maryland, where he soon built up a lucrative practice, which on account of failing health he was compelled to abandon, and afterwards located in Baltimore. He then moved to Williamsport in 1858, where he again engaged in active practice. He served as President of the Lycoming Medical Society in 1869.
Charles W. Mink
Charles W. Mink, of Philadelphia, a former attorney of Williamsport, died on October 26, 1946, at the home of Mrs. Paul Brown, 89 Parkwood Place, Williamsport, Pa. He entered into a law partnership with William Henry Smallock, who moved here from Philadelphia in 1921, which continued until Mr. Smallock’s death. He was a former member of the Philadelphia bar and was admitted to our bar in 1921. At the time of his death he was associated with the Veterans Administration in Washington, D. C. He was a former President of Beth Ha-Sholom Temple and former Secretary of the Jewish Charities, a member of Lodge No. 173 B.P.O.E. He was survived by his wife and several sisters.
Jacob Neafie Mitchell
Jacob Neafie Mitchell was born in Hartford, Connecticut on November 15, 1919. J. Neafie Mitchell was born in Hartford, Connecticut on November 15, 1919. He was the son of J. G. Neafie and Madeline Gray Mitchell.
Following his graduation from the Williamsport High School in 1937, he began his undergraduate studies at Dickinson College, finishing in 1941; he continued graduate work at the Dickinson School of Law and received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1943.
In 1943, he was called up for active duty and served with the United States Navy in the Pacific, and was honorably discharged in 1945.
He began his law career with the firm of Candor, Youngman and Gibson in 1946. In 1964, he joined the late Lester F. Greevy, Sr. and the late Daniel F. Knittle in the firm of Greevy, Knittle & Mitchell In 1976, he organized the firm of Mitchell & Mitchell with his son, C. Edward S. Mitchell, and continued this practice, which eventually grew into the firm of Mitchell, Mitchell , Gray & Gallagher.
He was President of the Lycoming Law Association in 1960 and a charter member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Board of Governors, having served in 1960 and 1961. In 1988, he was elected to the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates. He was cited by the Pennsylvania Bar Association for 50 year membership in 1996.
During his law career, he was appointed to serve as a delegate to the Third Circuit Judicial Conference and as Chair of the Task Force which studied the need for a fourth judge for Lycoming County.
He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church and had served as a Senior Warden, Secretary, and on various committees of the Church. He also served on the Canonical Vestry from 1949 to 1976, and was elected an honorary vestryman on November 8, 1987.
He was a life member of the Gray's Run Club and the Williamsport Wheel Club and a member of the Ross Club, the Antler's Club, and the Wheel Inn. He was an avid Penn State fan and a member of the Nittany Lion Club.
His law practice covered a wide spectrum of law, which included civil and criminal law, as well as real estate, estate, administrative and commercial law; he specialized in automobile negligence work and counted among his clients, many insurance companies.
J. Neafie Mitchell died very suddenly in the early morning hours of June 8, 1996.
David L. Montgomery
Mr. Montgomery was a member of this bar, was born April 5, 1836. He was a Corporal in the Woodward Guards, in April 1861, when they were called into the Federal service. He was wounded and taken prisoner, and then paroled. After the close of the war, he remained in the army and was transferred to Texas, where he died as the result of an accidental shot from his own pistol in June 1868. The remains of Brevet Lieut-Colonel Montgomery were brought to the residence of his father in Clinton Township, in November 1868 and interred in the family plot in the Muncy Cemetery. The body was accompanied from Texas by an army surgeon, Dr. Tober, an intimate friend of the deceased.
Samuel Gamble Morrison
Samuel G. Morrison was born in Jersey Shore, February 8, 1817, and studied law with Hon. James Gamble, and was admitted to the bar in 1842. He married Eliza (or Elizabeth) C. Magee, daughter of Hon Alexander Magee, of Bloomfield, Perry County, Pennsylvania, December 30, 1845. Being by nature inclined toward scientific study, he did not devote himself closely to the law, and the last fifteen years of his life were devoted to the study of geology, chemistry and metallurgy. He also spent a few years in newspaper enterprises, and during his residence in Williamsport, he was interested in the publication of one or two papers. Soon after 1880, he took up his residence in Philadelphia. He died at Boulder, Colorado, March 10, 1885, while engaged in prospecting.
Cyrus LaRue Munson
C. LaRue Munson was descended from Thomas Munson, who was born in Suffolkshire, England, in 1612, and emigrated to Massachusetts colony during the Puritan exodus, some time prior to 1636. He was one of ninety men who composed Mason’s renowned company, in the Pequot war. At that time he resided in Hartford. He was one of the signers of the famous Fundamental Agreement, whereby the colony of New Haven was formed. In 1687 he was a Captain in command of the forces of his colony in King Philip’s War.
Jared Munson, of the fifth generation from Thomas, was a soldier in the Revolution, as was also his son, Rufus.
C. LaRue Munson, of the ninth generation, was the son of Edgar and Lucy Maria (Curtis) Munson, and was born in Brad ford, New York, July 2, 1854. After receiving a primary education in private schools, he entered the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, at Cheshire, in 1868, and was graduated valedictorian of his class in 1871. He then entered his father’s lumber office in Williamsport and also commenced the study of law in the office of Allen & Gamble, then leaders of the Lycoming County Bar. In September 1873, Mr. Munson entered the Yale Law School, from which he received the degree of LL.B., July 1, 1875, and was admitted to the Connecticut bar the same day. In September 1875, he entered into a partnership with Addison Candor, which firm has continued to this day.
In 1890 Mr. Munson became a regular lecturer on Legal Practice in the Yale Law School, and received an honorary A.M. from his alma mater in 1891. In 1897 he wrote his well known (at least to the older generation of lawyers) textbook entitled, “A Manual of Elementary Practice.” In 1902 he was President of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and in 1904, President of the Yale Law School Alumni Association. He became associated with James B. Dill, Esq., and had an office with him at No. 27 Pine Street, New York City. He served as President of the Lycoming Law Association in 1904. He was senior warden of Christ Episcopal Church, a member of the Williamsport Consistory, A.S.S.R., and a Past Commander of Baldwin II, K.T. He was also connected with a large number of business enterprises in Williamsport and the vicinity.
Mr. Munson married Josephine Anthony, daughter of Hon. Henry and Catherine (Anthony) White, November 8, 1877. She died July 26, 1889, and he married (2) on October 20, 1891, Minnie Wright, daughter of Ackley Post and Jennie (Bailey) Tuller, of Rome, New York. His children were: Edgar, whose sketch appears post; and George Sharp, a member of the firm of Town send, Elliott & Munson, of Philadelphia, both graduates of the Yale Law School. Mr. Munson died December 8, 1922. He was always immaculate in appearance, and wore a freshly pressed suit each morning.
Edgar Munson
Edgar Munson was born June 24, 1881, in Williamsport, Pa., the son of C. LaRue Munson and Josephine Anthony (White) Munson. He was educated at the Episcopal Academy, Connecticut, Lawrenceville School and was graduated from Yale, A.B., 1904; LL. B. Yale, 1907. He was admitted to the bar the same year, and became a partner in the firm of Candor & Munson. He was President of E. Keeler Company; Vice President of Williamsport Wire Rope Company; and a Trustee of The Savings Institution of Williamsport. He was a member of the Yale Clubs, New York and Baltimore; Wolf Head of Yale; Williamsport Country Club; Ross Club, Howard Club, K.T.; Society of Colonial Wars; Master, Lodge No. 106, F. & A.M..; Past Commander, Baldwin II Commandery, K.T.; and Lt. Colonel, Judge Advocate, World War I.
In politics he was a Republican. He was a vestryman in St. James Episcopal church, Muncy. He married Louise Franchot, July 16, 1907, at Olean, N.Y. They were the parents of three children: George; Van Vranken Franchot; and Anne Louise. Mr. Munson died October 4, 1930.
Bertram Smith Murphy
Bertram Smith Murphy was born on February 2, 1928 in Philadelphia, PA, the son of the late Bertram Smith Murphy and Bessie Griggs Murphy. The family moved to Montoursville when Bert was six months old. Bert was raised in Montoursville, graduating from Montoursville High School in 1946. After high school, he spent two years in the Air Force. He then enrolled in Bucknell University, receiving a senatorial scholarship. He graduated from Bucknell in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law in 1954.
On December 27, 1954, Bert married Dr. Edith Lechner Murphy. The couple had four children.
Bertram S. Murphy’s preceptor during law school was Thomas Wood. Following graduation from law school, Bert was admitted to the practice of law in the Courts of Lycoming County in 1955. He commenced practicing law with Thomas Wood and Nathan W. Stuart, practicing under the firm name of “Wood, Stuart & Murphy.”
Thomas Wood was elected to the bench in 1964. At that time, Henry G. Hager and Clinton W. Smith joined the practice, creating the firm of “Stuart, Murphy, Hager & Smith” as of August 6, 1966. Bert practiced with that firm and successor firms at that location until January 1, 1985, when he joined the law firm of Liebert, Short, Fitzpatrick & Hirshland. On August 1, 1988, Bertram S. Murphy left that law firm to form the law firm of “Murphy, Butterfield & Holland” with partners Jonathan E. Butterfield and Fred A. Holland. Bertram S. Murphy became “of counsel” to that firm in 1999.
Bertram S. Murphy served as Lycoming County’s First Assistant District Attorney, from 1960 to 1964. However, his forte was with an office practice, consisting primarily of banking law, business law, real estate, and estate planning and administration.
Bert was a member of the Board of Directors and general counsel for the First National Bank of Montoursville and continued this role through various mergers, with successor banks. Bert served as solicitor for the Montoursville Area School District.
He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Williamsport-Lycoming Chamber of Commerce, and he also served as the first chairperson for the CRIB Advisory Board, and was instrumental in bringing about this innovative business incubator.
One of the distinctive aspects of Bertram S. Murphy’s legal practice was his early acceptance of the role of paralegals in his practice. His innovative utilization of paralegals led him to be named Williamsport’s “Boss of the Year” in 1989 by the Williamsport Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association.
Bertram S. Murphy was president of the Lycoming Law Association in 1979. He was secretary of the Montoursville Masons for a number of years. He was chairman of the Finance Committee at Faith United Methodist Church in Montoursville. He served as head of the lawyers’ division for the Lycoming United Way. He served on the Loyalsock Township Planning Commission. He was counsel to Hope Enterprises for many years. He was a founding member of the Williamsport Riding Club and the Loyalsock Men’s Club.
Bert Murphy died August 1, 2003, in retirement in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Lieut. Col. Milton Opp
Milton Opp was born in Moreland Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1835, the son of Philip and Hannah (Smith) Opp. Philip Opp was the youngest son of Philip Opp, Jr., who was descended from one of the pioneers of the West Branch Valley. The original Philip Opp was a native of Germany, and immigrated with his wife and five children to America at an early date. One of these children was Philip, born 1759. He married Hannah Wilson, born 1762. They came to Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, soon after their marriage settling in the woods and clearing a farm in what is now Moreland Township, but were forced by the Indians to return to Danville, whence they came. They subsequently returned to Lycoming County, where he died in 1837, and his widow in 1850. They were related to Colonel George Smith, of Moreland Township, and General U. (Hiram) S. Grant, through the Simpson family.
Having received a fair education in the common schools of that day, Milton Opp entered the University at Lewisburg and in due time was graduated with great credit, Being ambitious to rise higher, he entered the law office of Robert Hawley, Esq., at Muncy, March 14, 1859, in order to qualify himself for the legal profession. He applied himself diligently to his studies, and on April 22, 1861, he was admitted to the bar of Lycoming County. Between the time he commenced the study of law with Mr. Hawley and his admission to the bar, he attended the Poughkeepsie Law School and was graduated with high honors, in 1860.
On the outbreak of the Civil War he joined Company F, 84th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, September 1861, and was chosen First Lieutenant. Soon after the battle of Winchester. Captain Robert Flack was forced to resign on account of disability, and Lieut. Opp was commissioned Captain in his place, May 2, 1862. Then on October 1, 1862, he was promoted to Major, and on December 23, 1862, he became a Lieut. Colonel. He saw a great deal of hard service and participated in twenty-seven battles. From June 1, 1863, until he was severely wounded, he commanded the regiment, as Colonel Bowman was on detached service in Washington in the severe battle of May 6th, in the Wilderness, he received a mortal wound and died at the hospital in Fredericks burg, on May 9, 1864.
A veteran comrade who served with him wrote:
“As a company officer he was ever careful and watchful in looking after the welfare of his men. He applied himself as closely in acquiring military knowledge as he had in obtaining an education.. .He was one of the many brave and noble Lycoming County boys who yielded up their young lives as a sacrifice for their country. This noble man, gallant soldier, patriot and hero, is deserving of kinder and greater remembrance than has ever been exhibited in the perpetuation of his memory by the people of Muncy in particular and Lycoming County in general. Had he lived to return from the war he would undoubtedly have made his mark among those who acquire fame at the bar.”
Lieut. Col. Opp’s remains were brought home from Fredericksburg and buried in the cemetery at Muncy, and his name cut on the granite shaft which was erected by the people of that borough in honor of the gallant dead who repose beneath it.
History is full of examples of presentiments, later followed by the actual occurrence of the dread event. For example, Charles XI of Sweden had a foreboding of his death, which may have been hut a common calamity of war, a mere coincidence. Quite as remarkable an instance of the foreboding of evil as many cases cited in history was the conviction of William Bruner, also of Muncy, that he would fall in the battle of Fredericksburg. As our troops crossed the Rappahannock, he said to his comrades that he would be killed and never recross that river alive. He has expressed his anticipation of death on several occasions during the day and seemed unusually serious. Likewise, Colonel Milton Opp had a similar presentiment. After passing unharmed through twenty- seven bloody battles, he was suddenly seized with the conviction that he must fall in the battle of Wilderness. Before the engagement he wrote to arrange some business affairs about which he felt concern, and as he handed the letter to a friend he remarked he would never come out of the impending struggle alive. This prediction proved too painfully true. But even so, may not presentiments be mere caprice of the imagination, and their occasional fulfillment mere chance coincidence?
Joseph Francis Orso, Jr.
Joseph F. Orso, Jr. was born on September 26, 1927 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph F. Orso Sr. and Flora E. Schmilafski Orso. He grew up in Williamsport in the area of Textron Lycoming where his father owned a restaurant.
Mr. Orso was educated at St. Boniface Elementary School and graduated from the St. Mary’s High School in 1945. He attended the University of Scranton and graduated from Lycoming College in 1951. After graduation, he attended Notre Dame Law School and graduated from Vanderbilt Law in 1955 with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
He was admitted to bar of the District of Columbia on June 10, 1963. On April 24, 1972, was admitted to practice in Pennsylvania. He became a member of the Lycoming Law Association and on May 1, 1972, was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar.
Joe Orso initially shared office space with James Cendoma at 326 Court Street, Williamsport. His practice specialized in real estate law and estate administration. In 1981, he was elected as District Justice of the Peace for Lycoming County district number 2. He served in that position until 1987. He then resumed private practice until his retirement in 2004.
Joe Orso served as a member of the executive committee of the Lycoming Law Association from 1998 through 2003. He served as secretary in 1998 and 1999, treasurer in 2001 and 2002 and president elect in 2003. He was unable to serve as president for health reasons.
With regard to his religious service, Mr. Orso was a member of St. Boniface Church.
In 1962 he married Patricia Yellets, who survived him. He was also survived by five children, Joseph III, Kathryn, Steven, Angela and Julie.
Mr. Orso was remembered for his love of his faith, his family, his friends and Notre Dame Football. He enjoyed a good meal, a good drink and a good bad joke.
He died on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, at the age of 86.
George E. Orwig, II
George Orwig was born in Williamsport on December 6, 1933. He graduated from Williamsport High School in 1951. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1954 with an AB degree and received his LL.B. from its law school in 1957. He qualified to be on the Dickinson Law Review staff and was business manager of the Law Review his senior year.
While in law school, Mr. Orwig enlisted in the Army and participated in training to be commissioned in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps following graduation. But when the armed forces were cut and no commissions were readily available, he received his honorable discharge in 1962.
Following law school, he working as a special agent for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company for a year and a half until he passed the bar exam. He was admitted to the Lycoming County Bar on May 7, 1959 and immediately opened his office in the Williamsport Building.
Right after he started practicing law, he took a part-time job with Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania as a service representative covering Lycoming and Clinton Counties.
Mr. Orwig joined the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the American Bar Association in 1959 after his local admission. He served as Treasurer of the Lycoming Law Association in 1964 through 1974 and was elected President in 1991.
George Orwig died June 8, 2006.
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