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Historical Society Headquarters
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Educational Resources: The 37 Judicial District of Pennsylvania For more information on the 37 Judicial District, visit their website at www.warrenforestcourt.org General History of the 37 Judicial District The 14 President Judges of Warren County's 37th Judicial District 14th President Judge William F. Morgan 37th Judicial District William F. Morgan was elected as the first
secondary Judge of the District in 2001 and began his term in January
2002. He has practiced in Warren since 1967, was a district attorney,
assistant district attorney and master for juvenile cases for many
years. He served in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the US Naval
Reserves from 1967 to 1992, retiring with the rank of captain.
Born 1944 Paul H. Millin was appionted by Governor Casey to
fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Robert L. Wolfe in
1994. Following confirmation, he was sworn into office on November 1,
1994. Judge Millin was elected in 1995 and commenced his first full term
on January 1, 1996.
Robert L. Wolfe was elected as President Judge in
1969 and began his first term January 1, 1970. He was retained for two
consecutive terms, remaining on the bench for 23 years as President
Judge until his retirement at the close of 1993. Since his retirement he
has served as a senior judge for Warren, Forest and McKean Counties,
also accepting assignments to other counties in Pennsylvania as needed.
Upon the retirement of Judge Alexander C. Flick
Jr., Warren jurist Samuel Bonavita was appointed to complete the term
left vacant. 10th President Judge Alexander C. Flick Jr. 1903-1975 37th Judicial District 1954-1969 Born October 31, 1903, in Syracuse, NY, he attended elementary schools in Syracuse and the Loomis School at Windsor, CT; graduated from Columbia College in 1927 with a BA degree and from the Columbia University Law School in 1930 with an LL.B; associated with the law firm of Richards & Affeld in New York City from 1930-1933. Moved to Warren in 19934 and was admitted to the Bar in 1935. Formed a law partnership with his brother-in-law Warren M. Stone and practiced with Stone & Flick until 1954. Local Young Republican chairman and regional director for Warren, Forest and McKean Counties, President of the Warren County Bar Association from 1952-1954 and member of the Pennsylvania State and American Bar Association, member of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Council, appointed President Judge by Governor John S. Fine, January 20, 1954 and elected to a ten-year term commencing January 2, 1956. ©The Pennsylvania Manual 9th President Judge Allison D. Wade 1902-1954 37th Judicial District 1942-1954 On January 13, 1954, while presiding on the bench over the divorce trial of Norman Moon, Judge Wade was shot during the proceedings. The first assassination of a Judge in Pennsylvania, and only one of three in the nation, more information on the assassination of Judge Allison Wade, consult the new book by John Young MURDER IN THE COURTROOM. 8th President Judge Delford U. Arird 1851-1945 37th Judicial District 1922-1942 Born in Sugar Grove in 1851, Delford U. Arird was educated at the Collegiate Institute of Jamestown NY before serving three years in the Pennsylvania National Guard. Before being elected as President Judge of the 37th Judicial District in 1921, he served as the principle of Union Schools in Youngsville for five years. Elected as Prothonotary and Clerk of courts for Warren County, Arird also served on the Warren Borough School Board and the City Council of Warren. 7th President Judge Edward Lindsey 1872-1943 37th Judicial District 1920-1922 A son of Judge Wilton M. Lindsey, Edward was one of four children born after the Judge married Emma Sherman of Thetford, Vermont. Like his father, he was a partner in law with James O. Parmlee in Warren and, with him, established Parmlee & Lindsey. He received his preparatory education in the Phillips-Exeter Academy and subsequently in the New York Law School, after which he attended Dartmouth College where he graduated. He was admitted to the Bar in 1895, the same year he married Mildred Crosby, a daughter of Professor A.B. Crosby an instructor at Dartmouth. A member of the Presbyterian Church, he was one of a committee of five appointed to superintend the erection of a new stone edifice for that church in 1896. ©Thirty-Seventh Judicial District, Biographies 6th President Judge Watson D. Hinckley 1854-1920 37th Judicial District 1910-1920 Senior member of the law firm of Hinckley & Rice, Watson D. Hinckley was one of the leading lawyers of Warren County and a descendant of Thomas Hinckley whose history is prominent in the Plymouth Colony. Hinckley received his early education in Fredonia, NY, then the University of Michigan where he received a Ph.B. He then began the study of law with Nelson B. Smiley of Bradford, PA, and was admitted to the Warren County Bar in 1882. After locating in Warren he became a partner in Wetmore, Noyes & Hinckley. After the retirement of Judge Wetmore, the firm was known as Noyes & Hinckley until 1890 when William Rice became associated with Hinckley. A member of the Warren Shakespeare Club, he was also on the board of the Warren Public Library, the Struthers’ Library Building and an active worker for the Republican Party. ©Thirty-Seventh Judicial District, Biographies 5th President Judge William E. Rice 1860-1922 37th Judicial District 1909-1910 The junior member of the law firm of Hinckley & Rice, William E. Rice was born in Lottsville on December 19, 1860. Receiving his education in part at Chamberlain Institute, Randolph, NY, he also attended Allegheny College. After leaving college he taught school for seven years, and in 1882 took up the study of law in the office of Wetmore, Noyes & Hinckley in Warren. He was admitted to the bar in Warren County in 1885 and immediately began practice. In 1888 Rice formed a partnership with Judge Brown and Hon. CW Stone in Brown, Stone & Rice which was dissolved in 1890, the same year he partnered with Watson D. Hinckley. One of the strongest firms in the judicial district, Hinckley & Rice, a good portion of legal business was attended to by them. ©Thirty-Seventh Judicial District, Biographies 4th President Judge Wilton M. Lindsey 1841-1915 37th Judicial District 1898-1909 Born in Pine Grove Township in 1841, he entered Randolph Academy in Randolph, NY, realizing full well that he had a hard task to accomplish; he was obliged to pay his own tuition. He worked on his father’s farm during the summer, and performed other odd jobs which would bring him money, and thereby secure enough to pay his way through college the following year. Prior to completing his course, he enlisted in the 145th Pennsylvania Regiment serving from 1862-1863. In the fall of 1863 he entered the State Normal School at Edinboro and then in 1865 took a post as superintendent of schools in Warren County. He had always displayed a fondness for the legal profession, and while serving as superintendent, began the study of law. Admitted to the Bar in 1872, he was elected to the State Legislature in 1876. Lindsey was chosen by the Governor to fill the term left vacant by the death of Judge Noyes in 1898. ©Thirty-Seventh Judicial District, Biographies 3rd President Judge Charles H. Noyes 1849-1898 37th Judicial District 1891-1898 Born in Marshall, Michigan, Judge Noyes was orphaned at a very early age and left the schoolroom when barely twelve years old. He learned the printer’s trade and then the business of a druggist, coming, soon after the age of twenty-one, to the study of law. This was in the office of Hon. William D. Brown of Warren. Admitted to the bar in 1871, he partnered with Lansing D. Wetmore and W.D. Hinckley in 1883. In the fall of 1890, he was elected President Judge and spent seven years and more upon the bench in a steady demonstration of the insight which placed him there. A Democrat, he was burgess of Warren in 1877and a member of the 1884 Democratic National Committee. He was a member of the Warren Shakespeare Club, the Social Science Club and active in the Warren Public Library. A distinct literary gift possessed him, and in 1878 he published a thin volume of his poems. ©Thirty-Seventh Judicial District, Biographies 2nd President Judge William D. Brown 1823-1917 37th Judicial District 1881-1890 Hon. William D. Brown was born in Sugar Grove in 1823. After availing himself of such educational advantages as the public and private schools of Sugar Grove and the Warren Academy afforded, he studies law in the office of Johnson & Brown and was admitted to practice in 1847. In 1849 he was elected justice of the peace for Warren borough but resigned a short time later. In the fall of 1850 he was elected district attorney and held the office for three years. He was also a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1863-1965 and elected to the bench as President Judge in the fall of 1880. From 1851 to the time of his election as judge, he was actively and quite successfully engaged. A lifelong resident of Warren County, Judge Brown was the son of Hon. David Brown the first Representative from Warren County to the Pennsylvania House. ©Schenck’s History of Warren County 1st President Judge Lansing D. Wetmore 1818-1905 37th Judicial District 1874-1881 Lansing D. Wetmore was born in Pine Grove Township, the son of Lansing Wetmore who was himself an associate judge in Warren County in 1851. Lansing D. Wetmore received his education at Union College, New York, graduating in 1841. Immediately, he took up the study of law in Warren and while pursuing this course he taught several terms in the Smethport Academy. He was admitted to the bar in 1845. Later he became a partner in the firm Wetmore, Noyes & Hinckley. In the fall of 1870 he was elected President Judge of the 6th Judicial District, the predecessor to the 37th District, which at that time included Erie, Warren and Elk counties. In partnership with his brother Charles, Judge Wetmore had an extensive lumber business. Previous to being elected to the bench, Judge Wetmore was president of the First National Bank of Warren. A portrait of Judge Wetmore, as well as the large portrait of his three sons, hangs in the front parlor. ©Thirty-Seventh Judicial District, Biographies
For more information on the 37 Judicial District, visit their website at www.warrenforestcourt.org
Look into these other resources for education in Warren County history... We offer resources for educators and classrooms on a variety of topics in Warren County's history to help you reach your goals in Warren County School District's Planned Instruction. We preserve the past to help you prepare your students for the future! Notable People In Warren County Places in Warren County African Americans in Warren County History Judges: the history of the 37th Judicial District The Oil Industry in Warren County The Lumber Industry in Warren County The Underground Railroad in Warren County Women in Warren County History Early Transportation in Warren County Immigration in Warren County
Partial Listing of Warren County School District Planned Instruction Social Studies Grade 3
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210 Fourth Avenue, Warren, Pennsylvania 16365 Phone: 814-723-1795