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HON. SAMUEL CALVIN, a man whose name will always stand high in the legal 
history of Blair and surrounding counties, possessed many of the 
qualities which command respect and win popularity. A factor in the 
business life and a leader in the political affairs of the county, he 
always supported what he thought to be right, and openly denounced what 
he believed to be wrong in public affairs. He was a son of Matthew and 
Mary Calvin, and was born in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, July 30, 
1811. Distinguished ancestry and the line of ancestral descent in a new 
country, or under a republican form of government, are subjects that do 
not receive the close attention which is paid to them in an old country, 
or under a monarchial form of government. Samuel Calvin came of sturdy, 
honorable, and honest family, and his father, Matthew Calvin, left his 
native land county of Chester, Pennsylvania, to settle in Columbia 
County, where he soon became influential and prominent as a citizen, and 
well respected and highly esteemed as a man and a friend. Samuel Calvin 
received his education at the then well known and famous Milton Academy. 
After graduation Mr. Calvin assumed charge of the Huntingdon Academy, 
and Was its principal for nearly tow years, during which time he had as 
pupils many men who afterward became distinguished in public and 
political life, among whom were Judge W.A. Porter, Gen, Titian J. 
Coffey, of Washington, District of Columbia, and Col. William Dorris, of 
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. He read law with James M. Bell, of Huntingdon, 
and was admitted to the bar at the April term of court in 1836. In July 
of that year he came to Hollidaysburg, where he was successfully engaged 
in his profession for forty years. For some years before his death, in 
1890, he withdrew from the active practice of his profession, and gave 
some time to the publication of his views concerning the currency 
question. In 1848 he was elected as a whig member of the thirty-first 
Congress, to represent the district composed of the counties of Blair, 
Huntingdon, Mifflin, Juniata, and Centre. In that illustrious Congress, 
where some of the most talented and able statesmen of America were 
engaged in heated contest over the lave question, Mr. Calvin was not an 
idle looker-on. As a protectionist, he chiefly directed his efforts and 
made his speeches with the view of securing adequate protection to 
American industries. At the expiration of his term in Congress he was 
offered a re-nomination by his party, but declined it to return to the 
practice of law. As A lawyer he gave considerable attention to the 
details of his case, and by close examination of his opponent's 
position, he prepared himself with all the authorities possible to meet 
any and every conjectural exigency. In important cases his preparation 
was elaborate, and while employed in a great many important cases in 
Blair County, he was also called frequently into adjoining counties, and 
was a constant practitioner in the Supreme Court of the State. He was 
regarded "as the soul truth and professional honor," ranked as an able 
jury pleader, a wise counselor, and able lawyer. He was often eloquent, 
and his fine literary taste and extensive reading gave him a mine of 
knowledge to draw upon for choice illustrations and appropriate examples 
in his speeches and addresses. As a citizen, he always enjoyed the 
respect and confidence of his fellow townsmen, and was largely 
instrumental in securing the erection of Blair County and establishing 
it county seat at Hollidaysburg. He was a warm friend of the common 
school system and higher education, and served as a school director for 
over thirty years, during which period he was president of the school 
board for nine years. In 1862 he helped to organize and served as a 
private in the ranks of a militia company which marched to Chambersburg 
to help repel a threatened Confederate invasion of Blair County. In 1863 
he again served as a private in a company raised to take part in the 
repelling another expected Confederate raid into the county. During his 
life Mr. Calvin was always active in politics. He was a political 
economist of the school of Henry C. Carey, and like him, wrote 
extensively upon the tariff and currency, advocating the protection of 
American industries, and contending for the abolition of the national 
banks as banks of issue, and the substitution of a paper currency based 
upon the faith of the government. He went to his rest at the end of a 
long and useful life on March 12, 1890, and his remains lie entombed in 
the Lutheran Cemetery. December 26, 1843, he married Rebecca S., 
daughter of John A. Blodget of Bedford, Pennsylvania. They had three 
children, two of whom: Eliza, wife of Dr. G. W. Smith and Matthew, 
survive. Matthew Calvin was educated in the common schools and academy 
of Hollidaysburg and university at Lewisburg. He read law with his 
father, and was admitted to practice in the courts of Blair County, and 
is now a practicing lawyer in Hollidaysburg. He is also interested in 
various lumber enterprises. May 14, 1873, Mr. Calvin was chosen a 
republican delegate at large to the State Constitutional Convention, to 
fill the vacancy caused by the death of Hon. Hugh McAllister. He was 
likewise a member of the last revenue board in Pennsylvania.Transcribed 
and submitted to Blair County, PA, USGenWeb Archives by Janet L. Gray  
bmgray@dol.net