Digital Scan by Fay-Wesy.com. All Rights Reserved. CHAPTER XVII. Upon the erection of Westmoreland county on February 26, 1773. the first court west of the Allegheny mountains was established and was held at the house of Robert Hanna, April 6th of that year; Colonel William Crawford and his associate justices presiding. Although this court was broken up on April 9, 1774, by Dr. John' Connelly, acting under authority from Governor Dunmore of Virginia, and the justices arrested. courts continued to be held here until the burning of Hannas- town by the Indians, July 13, 1782. - The District of West Augusta, Virginia, was formed in the fall of l'ri4, to include all the territory of the present West Vir- ginia, as well as all of southern Pennsylvania lying west of the Allegheny mountains, and a county court was established at Fort Dunmore, now Pittsburgh, and was there maintained until 1776, when it was removed to what was called Augusta town, a short distance west of the present town of Washington, Pa., where it was continued until the summer of 1777, when the District of West Augusta ceased to exist, having been divided into three Virginia counties, viz., Ohio, Youghiogania and Rfonongalia. The courts of Monongalia county were held in a shop on the farm of Theophilus Phillips in Springhill township, now Fayette county, until the running of the Mason and Dixon line, which was completed in 1782. The act by which Fayette county was erected provided and declared that " The justices of the peace commissioned at the time of the passage of this act and residing within the county of Fayette, or any three of them, may and shall hold courts of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, and General Jail Delivery, and county courts for holding of Pleas, and shall have all and singular the powers, rights, jurisdiction and au- thority to all intents and purposes as held in other counties; 373 Document is not to be posted on any other Web site but Fay-West.com Digital Scan by Fay-Wesy.com. All Rights Reserved. which said court shall sit and be held for the county of Fayette on the Tuesday preceding the courts of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas in Washington county in every year. Under these provisions and authority the first term of the court of Quarter Sessions and Common Pleas for Fayette county was held in a school house at Uniontown on the fourth Tuesday in December, 1783, before Philip Rogers, Esq., and his associates, Alexander McClean, Robert Adams, John Allenj Robert Ritchie and Andrew Rabb, all justices in and for the county of Westmoreland. The business of the first court was the adnlission of at- torneys, viz., Thomas Scott, Hugh H. Brackenridge, David Bradford, Michael Huffnagle, George Thompson, Robert Gil- braith, Samuel Irwin and David Reclick, the fixing of tavern rates, the subdivision of the county into townships and the trial of a few trivial cases. The original townships of the county established at the first court were Menallen, Washington, Frank- lin, Luzerne, Union, German, Springhill? Wharton and Georges? These justices courts were held until the new constitution of 1'790, abolished the justices county courts and provided for a judge learned in the law, and two associate judges, all to be appointed by the governor. The Honorable Alexander Ad- dison was the first judge learned in the law to preside in the county of Fayette, and held his first term at Vniontown on the third Monday in September, 1791; Fayette county at that time forming a part of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, which comprised the counties of Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington and Allegheny, and to which Greene was attached upon its formation in 1796, and later, Crawford was added upon its formation in 1800. In 1803, Beaver was added and Washington and Crawford de- tached. Judge Addison was born in Ireland in 1739, was educated at Edinburgh, Scotland, and was licensed to preach the gospel at Aberlour, Scotland. He came to the United States and ap- peared before Redstone presbytery of the Presbyterian church at Pigeon creek in Washington county, December 20. 1785, and applied for a license to preach by that body. This was denied him for the time being, and he turned his attention to the law, and was admitted to the Washington county bar in March, 1787. He was a man of culture and ability. His exalted opin- ion as to the supremacy of the law, and the necessity of subor- Document is not to be posted on any other Web site but Fay-West.com Digital Scan by Fay-Wesy.com. All Rights Reserved. dination to the same showed forth in him during the trying times of the Whisky Insurrection. Through a disaffection in the courts of Allegheny county. Judge Addiscn was unjustly retnoved by the Senate of Penn- sylvania, and was disqualified to hold and exercise the office of judge in any court of law witl~in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He did not long survive the injustice of his removal, and died at his home in Pittsburgh, Sovembcr 34,1807. Samuel Roberts was coinrnissioned to succeed Judge Ad- dison in the Fifth District and first presided at March term, 1803. In 1806, the Fifth District was composed of Eeaver, Allegheny, Washington, Fayette and Greene counties. In ISIS, another change was made by which Washington, Fayette? Greene and Somerset were made to compose the Fourteenth District, and Judge Roberts ceased to preside in Fayette county. Thomas H. Eaird was coinn~issioned president judge of the new Fourteenth District on October 10, ISIS, and held the office until he resigned, December, 1837. His term of office on the Fayette county bench was anything but pleasant on account of disaffection existing between the bench and the bar; an account of which is related elsewhere. During Judge Baird's term Somerset co~~ntywas taken from the Fourteenth District. Nathaniel Ewing was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge Eaird, his commission bearing the date of February- 22, 183s. The constitution of that year made the term of office to be ten years! which term Judge Ewing filled with signal ability. During his .term the court house was burned. Samuel A. Gilmore of the Eutler county bar, was appointed and commissioned in February? 18-IS, to succeed Judge Ewing as president judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District, which office he filled until January. 1, 183-!. Under the constitution of 1850, the office became electix, and at the election in Oc- tober, 1851, Judge Gilinore was elected for the term of ten years, beginning January 1, 1SZ2, and at the expiration of which term he was admitted to the bar and resumed the practice of law. He was the first to preside in the new court house. James Lindsey, of the Greene county bar, was elected in October, 1861, to succeed Judge Gilmore, and he opened his first term of court in December following. He was one of Document is not to be posted on any other Web site but Fay-West.com Digital Scan by Fay-Wesy.com. All Rights Reserved. 3'76 History of U~ziontoeevz,Perz~zsyhania. the youngest judges in the state and was a man of great prom- ise. His untimely death in September, 1864, terminated what promised to be a brilliant career. John Kennedy Ewing was appointed by Governor A. G. Curtain to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Lind- sey, in November, 1864. He presided at the sessions of Decem- ber, 1864, and March, June and September, 1866. Ex-Judge Samuel A. Gilmore was re-elected in October, 1863, and served on the bench until his death, which occurred May 15, 1893. During Judge Gilmore's second term Washing- ton county was cut off from the Fourteenth District. Edward Campbell was appointed by Governor Hartranft to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Gilmore, and presided at the terms of June and September, 18'73, having been commissioned May 31, 1873. Alpheus Evans Willson was elected to the bench at the October election in 1873, and held his first term of court in December following. He served his full term with dignity and ability, and died September 9, 1884, within a year from his retirement from the bench. Under the constitution of 1873, the Supreme Court in 1881, declared that Fayette county was not entitled to associate judges any longer, and the two associate judges, Griffith Rob- erts and D. W. C. Dumbald, were ousted from their office. James Inghram, of the Greene county bar, was elected to succeed Judge Willson in Kovember, 1883, and served his full term of ten years, the latter eight of which he had associated with him on the bench Nathaniel Ewing as additional law judge. Kathaniel Ewing, Jr., grandson of ex-Judge Nathaniel Ewing and son of ex-Judge John Kennedy Ewing, was ap- pointed additional law judge to fill the newly created judgeship on the Fayette county bench, his commission bearing date of August 26, 1887, his term to run until January 1, 1888. At the Kovember election, 1887; he was elected to that position which he held until the expiration of Judge Inghram's term, 1894, when he became president judge, which position he filled until 1898. During his term the present court house and'jail were erected, and the county of Greene was taken from this judicial district. S. Leslie Mestrezat was elected additional law judge at the Kovember election, 1893, and held that position until 1898, Document is not to be posted on any other Web site but Fay-West.com Digital Scan by Fay-Wesy.com.