John Bannister Gibson
Encyclopedia
John Bannister Gibson was a Pennsylvania
attorney and judge.
, Gibson was named for John Banister, a Virginia
hero of the American Revolution
. Gibson's father, George Gibson, also fought in the war and remained in service after its end. George Gibson was killed in an expedition to the Great Black Swamp
when Gibson was eleven years old.
In 1795 or 1796, Gibson was sent to Dickinson College
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
, where he remained about four years. Apparently Gibson did not take his degree, and the tradition is that he made very little mark as a student, though his latent abilities, or rather, his occasional and spasmodic indications of ability, were recognized by a few. Judge Hugh Brackenridge, of the state Supreme Court, who lived in Carlisle, took some notice of the tall and awkward young student, and gave him the use of his library, the best in the town, which Gibson greatly appreciated.
On leaving college, Gibson read law in Carlisle, in the office of Thomas Duncan, a lawyer of sound and thorough, if not brilliant ability, well versed in the learning of the time. In 1803, Gibson was admitted to the bar in Cumberland County, and later in the same year at Pittsburgh. In 1804, he was admitted in Beaver County, and he also practiced for a short time in Hagerstown, Maryland
.
In the sessions of 1810-1811 and 1811-1812, he served as a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature, having been elected on the Democratic ticket. He acted as chairman of the judiciary committee, introduced and after considerable effort secured the passage of the Act of 1812 abolishing survivorship as an incident of joint tenancy, and was prominent in unsuccessfully championing the cause of Judge Thomas Cooper
against impeachment proceedings against the judge.
Gibson was married in 1812 to Sarah Work Galbraith of Carlisle.
In 1813, Governor Simon Snyder
appointed Gibson judge of the new Eleventh judicial district, and Gibson took up his residence at Wilkes-Barre, holding court in a log-house.
In 1817, on the death of Judge Yeates, Duncan was appointed to the vacancy, largely, it is supposed, through the influence of Gibson, who had thus the unique benefit of the presence of his preceptor on the bench as his junior associate.
A constitutional amendment in 1838 changed the tenure of office of the Supreme Court justices from life to a term of fifteen years, and provided that the commissions of the judges then in office should expire at intervals of three years, in the order of their seniority as of January i, 1839. Judge Gibson had opposed this change on broad grounds of public policy. At the suggestion of his associates, he resigned and was reappointed by Governor Joseph Ritner
in 1838, thus prolonging his term by several years. This called forth much adverse criticism from the newspapers.
Another constitutional amendment in 1850 provided that the judges of the Supreme Court should be elected instead of being appointed by the governor. At the Democratic convention in 1851, the only member of the then existing court who was placed upon the ticket was Chief-Justice Gibson. "The nomination," says Judge Porter, "was an act of high homage to his character. It was the result of that feeling. He was more than seventy years of age, too old, if he had been willing, to accomplish by his own energy anything to promote his nomination, and as unacquainted as a child with partisan politics and with party leaders. In one sense, the nomination was a rebuke to himself. He had seldom lost an opportunity to express his want of confidence in popular action, and his disapprobation of every movement designed to enlarge the boundaries of popular power. He took as little pains to conceal his sentiments on this point as on all others, and while he expressed them decorously he uttered them boldly. It must, therefore, have cost him some surprise, if not compunction, to find that carrying into effect the very movement of which he had most horror, the people, through their representatives, chose to retain their hold of him as one of their most important public servants."
The judges drew lots for the terms, the law providing that one of them should go out of office every three years. Jeremiah Black drew the shortest term, and with it the office of Chief-Justice. Gibson was thus commissioned as associate in the court where he had sat as Chief-Justice for twenty-four years.
Soon after his election, his health was broken by a severe illness, and while his mind remained unimpaired, the vigor of his body was abated. In the spring of 1853, he went to Philadelphia, against the protest of his physicians, to attend the meeting of the court—and there died, May 3, in his room in the United States Hotel, on Chestnut Street, between Fifth and Sixth. He was buried at Carlisle, close to the graves of Brackenridge and Duncan.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
attorney and judge.
Early life
Born in Perry County, PennsylvaniaPerry County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 43,602 people, 16,695 households, and 12,320 families residing in the county. The population density was 79 people per square mile . There were 18,941 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
, Gibson was named for John Banister, a Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
hero of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Gibson's father, George Gibson, also fought in the war and remained in service after its end. George Gibson was killed in an expedition to the Great Black Swamp
Great Black Swamp
The Great Black Swamp, or simply Black Swamp, was a glacially caused wetland in northwest Ohio, United States, extending into extreme northeastern Indiana, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19th century...
when Gibson was eleven years old.
In 1795 or 1796, Gibson was sent to Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
, where he remained about four years. Apparently Gibson did not take his degree, and the tradition is that he made very little mark as a student, though his latent abilities, or rather, his occasional and spasmodic indications of ability, were recognized by a few. Judge Hugh Brackenridge, of the state Supreme Court, who lived in Carlisle, took some notice of the tall and awkward young student, and gave him the use of his library, the best in the town, which Gibson greatly appreciated.
On leaving college, Gibson read law in Carlisle, in the office of Thomas Duncan, a lawyer of sound and thorough, if not brilliant ability, well versed in the learning of the time. In 1803, Gibson was admitted to the bar in Cumberland County, and later in the same year at Pittsburgh. In 1804, he was admitted in Beaver County, and he also practiced for a short time in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
.
In the sessions of 1810-1811 and 1811-1812, he served as a member of the Pennsylvania state legislature, having been elected on the Democratic ticket. He acted as chairman of the judiciary committee, introduced and after considerable effort secured the passage of the Act of 1812 abolishing survivorship as an incident of joint tenancy, and was prominent in unsuccessfully championing the cause of Judge Thomas Cooper
Thomas Cooper
Thomas Cooper may refer to:*Thomas Buchecker Cooper U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania*Thomas Cooper, 1st Baron Cooper of Culross , Scottish politician, judge and historian...
against impeachment proceedings against the judge.
Gibson was married in 1812 to Sarah Work Galbraith of Carlisle.
In 1813, Governor Simon Snyder
Simon Snyder
Simon Snyder was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1808 to 1817. A Jeffersonian Democrat, he served three terms as speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives before becoming governor...
appointed Gibson judge of the new Eleventh judicial district, and Gibson took up his residence at Wilkes-Barre, holding court in a log-house.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court service
On June 27, 1816, he was appointed by Governor Snyder as an associate-justice of the Supreme Court, to fill the place vacated by the death of his friend, Brackenridge. There he took his seat with Chief- Justice Tilghman and Justice Yeates. Placed, at the age of thirty-six, in so responsible and dignified a position, and brought into close contact with the wide learning and experience of these veteran judges, he quickly realized his deficiencies. In the laborious study which occupied the first years of his service on the supreme bench, his mind became engrossed in the law—other things became mere diversions—and he furnished himself with that vast and accurate knowledge which gave him, as the years passed, a sureness and mastery, rarely equaled by any judge, in dealing with all questions presented.In 1817, on the death of Judge Yeates, Duncan was appointed to the vacancy, largely, it is supposed, through the influence of Gibson, who had thus the unique benefit of the presence of his preceptor on the bench as his junior associate.
A constitutional amendment in 1838 changed the tenure of office of the Supreme Court justices from life to a term of fifteen years, and provided that the commissions of the judges then in office should expire at intervals of three years, in the order of their seniority as of January i, 1839. Judge Gibson had opposed this change on broad grounds of public policy. At the suggestion of his associates, he resigned and was reappointed by Governor Joseph Ritner
Joseph Ritner
Joseph Ritner was the eighth Governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, elected as a member of the Anti-Masonic Party. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in the Pennsylvania Gubernatorial election, 1835, and served from 1835 to 1839. Controversy surrounding his 1838 electoral defeat led...
in 1838, thus prolonging his term by several years. This called forth much adverse criticism from the newspapers.
Another constitutional amendment in 1850 provided that the judges of the Supreme Court should be elected instead of being appointed by the governor. At the Democratic convention in 1851, the only member of the then existing court who was placed upon the ticket was Chief-Justice Gibson. "The nomination," says Judge Porter, "was an act of high homage to his character. It was the result of that feeling. He was more than seventy years of age, too old, if he had been willing, to accomplish by his own energy anything to promote his nomination, and as unacquainted as a child with partisan politics and with party leaders. In one sense, the nomination was a rebuke to himself. He had seldom lost an opportunity to express his want of confidence in popular action, and his disapprobation of every movement designed to enlarge the boundaries of popular power. He took as little pains to conceal his sentiments on this point as on all others, and while he expressed them decorously he uttered them boldly. It must, therefore, have cost him some surprise, if not compunction, to find that carrying into effect the very movement of which he had most horror, the people, through their representatives, chose to retain their hold of him as one of their most important public servants."
The judges drew lots for the terms, the law providing that one of them should go out of office every three years. Jeremiah Black drew the shortest term, and with it the office of Chief-Justice. Gibson was thus commissioned as associate in the court where he had sat as Chief-Justice for twenty-four years.
Soon after his election, his health was broken by a severe illness, and while his mind remained unimpaired, the vigor of his body was abated. In the spring of 1853, he went to Philadelphia, against the protest of his physicians, to attend the meeting of the court—and there died, May 3, in his room in the United States Hotel, on Chestnut Street, between Fifth and Sixth. He was buried at Carlisle, close to the graves of Brackenridge and Duncan.