US Distric Attorney for Western Pennsylvania from 1889 to 1893 and from 1921 to 1925, Pennsylvania State Senator from 1893 to 1894, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1895 to 1899, and delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania in 1908, 1916, 1924, and 1928. He was born in Shaler Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and secured a permanent place in the history of the state as a polititian representing the Pittsburgh area his entire life. He practiced law for forty-five years but prior to that was educated in public schools, at the Wakeham Academy in Pittsburgh and also under private tutors. For five years following his own school days he became a school teacher, and afterwards studied law under the preceptorship of Samuel A. Pueviance, of the Allegheny County bar. He was admitted to the bar of Allegheny County in 1877 and at once began practice in Pittsburgh. He married Charlotte Wible in 1878, an aunt of Simon Snyder, the third Governor of Pennsylvania and then a year later was appointed United States District Attorney for Western Pennsylvania. He remained at that post until 1893 when he resigned to accept election to the seat in the Pennsylvania Senate formerly occupied by Senator John N. Neeb. In 1894, running on the same ticket as Governor Daniel H. Hastings, he was elected Lieutenant Governor, serving a full four year term. He then returned to private practice in Pittsburgh as a member of the law firm of Lyon, Hunter & Burke. In 1921 he was again appointed United States District Attorney for the Western Pennsylvania district and remained there until 1925. He was a member of the Allegheny County and Pennsylvania State Bar associations, the Duquesne and Union clubs of Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Country Club of Sewickley Heights. In politics he was a Republican and in church afiliation he was a Presbyterian. SOURCE: Courts and Lawyers of Pennsylvania: A History, 1623-1923. By Frank Marshall Eastman, Published by The American historical society, inc., 1922. Item notes: v.4
Original from Harvard University, Digitized Aug 22, 2007
467 pages; Pages 219-220.