386 



HISTORY OF BUCKS COUNTY. 



public schools, and followed this voca- 

 tion for four years, when he entered a 

 country store and devoted his spare mo- 

 ments to the study of law under the pre- 

 ceptorship of Eleazer T. McDowell, 

 Esq., of Doylestown. He removed to 

 Doylestown in 1844 and entered the of- 

 fice of his preceptor and was admitted to 

 practice at the bar of his native county 

 on November 16, of the same year. In 

 August, 1848, he was appointed deputy 

 attorney general for the county of Bucks, 

 by Hon. James Cooper, the attorney- 

 general of the state, and was recommis- 

 sioned by Mr. Cooper's successor, Hon. 

 Cornelius Darrah, and held the posi- 

 tion until the oi^ce was superseded by 

 the creation of the office of district at- 

 torney in 1850. Endowed with more 

 than ordinary intellectual ability, a 

 ."Strong will, a marked gift of oratory, a 

 tremendous force of character and in- 

 'dustry, and, above all, of a sturdy corn- 

 mon sense, he soon rose to a proud posi- 

 tion among his fellows. He was'an elo- 

 quent speaker and a forceful reasoner, 

 and had great power before a jury. He 

 rarely accepted a case vmtil he was con- 

 vinced of the justice of the claim of his 

 client, and then threw himself into It 

 with all the force of an indomitable cour- 

 age and sense of justice. The people of 

 Bucks county will long remember the 

 bold advocate and faithful counselor. He 

 was for many years the recognized 

 leader of tlie bar. The host of friends 

 who knew him and loved him will like- 

 wise remember his genial, honorable and 

 manly traits of character, that made him 

 a pleasant companion and a faithful 

 friend. What he was in the practice of 

 his profession he was, in the world at 

 ilarge, a bold and fearless advocate of 

 right and justice, and earnest in the de- 

 'fense of his principles. In politics he 

 -was an ardent Republican from the or- 

 Iganjzation of that party, and stood de- 

 servedly high in its councils. He was a 

 member of the constitutional conven- 

 tion of 1872-3, but did not sign his name 

 to or vote for the constitution as adopted 

 by the convention. Though he advocated 

 and helped to sustain all the important 

 measures of reform in the convention, he 

 was convinced that the instrument as 

 adopted contained unwarranted restric- 

 tions on the rights and powers of the 

 people. In 187=^ he was appomted by 

 Governor Hartranft as attorney general 

 of the state and filled that position with 

 eminent ability. He was elected presi- 

 dent of the Doylestown National Bank, 

 and filled that position until his death. 

 He died at his home in Doylestown, May 

 23, 1884, and his funeral obsequies were 

 attended by the most prominent men of 

 the state. In January, 1845, '^e married 

 Sidney White, of Montgomery county, 

 who survives him. They were the pa- 

 rents of three children— Henry, born 

 March 21, 1848; Cordelia, wlm died in 



1903, unmarried; and Mary, the wife of 

 George P. Brock. 



Henry Lear, son of George and Sid- 

 ney, was educated partly in Doylestown 

 and Philadelphia, and graduated at Yale 

 College in the class of 1869. He attended 

 lectures at the University of Pennsyl- 

 vania, and studied law in the office of 

 his father, and was admitted to the bar 

 September 11, 1871. He is a man of 

 marked ability as a lawyer, and achieved 

 eminence in the practice of his profes- 

 sion. He succeeded his father as presi- 

 dent of the Doylestown National Bank 

 in 1884, and held that position for twenty 

 years. He married, June 10, 1875, Louisa 

 Philler Brock, daughter of John J. and 

 Julia (Philler) Brock, of Doylestown. 

 Their children are John B., George, Will- 

 iam P., Julia, and Sidney. The family 

 are members of the Protestant Episco- 

 pal church. 



GEORGE H. QUINBY, of Warring- 

 ton, Bucks count}^ Pennsylvania, was 

 born in Solebury township, and is a son 

 of James and Grace (Ridge) Quinby, the 

 former a native of Amwell township, 

 Hunterdon county. New Jersey, and the 

 latter of Tinicum township, Bucks 

 county. Pennsylvania. 



Isaiah Quinby came from Chester in 

 1742, bringing a certificate to Bucking- 

 ham Monthly Meeting of Friends, and 

 located in Amwell township, New Jer- 

 sey, retaining his membership in Buck- 

 ingham Meeting, and later SoleBury, 

 when it became a monthly meeting. 

 Most of his children intermarried with 

 Bucks county families, and he has nu- 

 merous descendants in Bucks county. 

 James Quinby, the grandfather of George 

 H., married 10 mo. 13, 1803, Margaret 

 Good, of Plumstead township, Bucks 

 county, and resided the greater part of 

 his life in New Jersey. He died 2 mo. 

 2, 1830, and his widow 2 mo. 25, 1842. 

 They were the parents of seven chil- 

 dren: Mary; Rachel, who died in in- 

 fancy; Martha, who married John E. 

 Kenderdine, of Solebury; Hannah, who 

 married Thomas Atkinson, of Wrights- 

 town; Francenia, who died unmarried 

 in 1854; Isaiah, born September 5, 1814. 

 located in Solebury, in 1834 and lived 

 there all his life, married Ruth Scar- 

 borough, and left .one son and two 

 daughters; and James, born 1816, mar- 

 ried Grace Ridge. 



James Quinby was born and reared in 

 Amwell, Hunterdon county, and came 

 to Solebury, Bucks county, when a 

 young man, and was employed for some 

 years in the milling business with his 

 brother-in-law, John E. Kenderdine. On 

 his marriage he began farming in Sole- 

 bury, and has since followed that voca- 

 tion. He was supervisor of roads in 

 Soleburj' township for eleven years. 

 James and Grace (Ridge) Quinby were 



