John Oliver Halsted Pitney

John Oliver Halsted PITNEY, an eminent lawyer, was born in Morristown, New Jersey, April 14, 1860. He is the son of Henry Cooper PITNEY and Sarah Louisa HALSTED, and comes from an old family of English origin. His father, Henry Cooper PITNEY, served the State of New Jersey with great distinction as vice-chancellor, from 1889 to 1907. His brother, Mahlon PITNEY, was a Member of Congress from 1894 to 1898; represented Morris county in the State senate from 1898 to 1901, was a justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1901 to 1908 and chancellor of the State from 1908 until 1912, when he was appointed by President TAFT an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Pitney is a grandson of Mahlon PITNEY and Lucetta COOPER, his wife, and a great-grandson of Mahlon PITNEY, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, in which struggle for national independence his great-great-grandfather, David THOMPSON, and Henry COOPER, his grand-mother’s ancestor, also served. His great-great-great-grandfather was James PITNEY, whose father, also named James, came to this country in the eighteenth century from England, having been a manufacturer on London Bridge. The family is found originally at Pitney Parish and Pitney Hundred in Somersetshire, England, and for nearly two hundred years has lived, honored and noted, in Morris county, New Jersey. The PITNEYS, it will be seen, spring from an ancient and honorable line of ancestry.

Henry Cooper PITNEY Sr. was born in Mendham, Morris county, New Jersey, January 19, 1827, and was graduated from Princeton College in June, 1848. He studied law under Theodore LITTLE and the Hon. Ira C. WHITEHEAD, both of Morristown, and was admitted to the bar as an attorney in 1851, and as a counsellor in 1854. Beginning practice in Morristown, he soon became distinguished in his profession as one of its most learned and brilliant advocates. In dealing with scientific questions and matters of equity law he stood without equal. In 1862 he was appointed prosecutor of the pleas of Morris county and served in that capacity with great distinction for five years. For several years he acted as advisory master in chancery, and on April 9, 1889, he was appointed vice-chancellor by Chancellor MCGILL, being reappointed in 1896. As vice-chancellor Mr. PITNEY added materially to his already high prestige and brought to the office every required qualification. A director of the Morristown Library and Lyceum from the time of its organization, he was one of its ruling spirits; he was for many years a director in the National Iron Bank of Morristown; President of the Morris Aqueduct Company, and a trustee in the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown. He married, April 7, 1853, in New York City, Sarah Louisa HALSTED, daughter of Oliver HALSTED and Sarah CRANE, of Elizabeth and Newark, New Jersey.

John Oliver Halsted PITNEY received his preparatory education in the private schools of Morristown and afterward entered Princeton University, from which he graduated in the class of 1881, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, that of Master of Arts being conferred upon him by the same institution in 1884. He read law with his father in Morristown and was admitted to the bar of New Jersey in June, 1884, as an attorney, and as a counsellor three years later in 1887. Immediately after his admission as an attorney he established himself in the practice of his profession in Newark, where he has since remained. For the first two years he was in partnership with Frederick H. TEESE, and since 1902 he has been similarly associated with John R. HARDIN. Later Judge Alfred F. SKINNER was admitted as a partner, since which time the firm name has been Pitney, Hardin, & Skinner. There is no better known law firm in the State of New Jersey, and its clientele is large, extended in character, importance and influence. As a lawyer and advocate Mr. PITNEY exhibits the family talent to a pronounced degree. He is thoroughly versed in the law, and he has gained a standing in his profession that places him among the acknowledged leaders of the New Jersey bar. He has been prominently and successfully identified with many important causes, and his services are eagerly sought by corporations and others desiring the best attainable legal talent.

Mr. PITNEY is a Republican; while an earnest upholder of the principles of his party he has never held, or desired public office, preferring to devote his time and energies to the requirements of his ever extending professional interests. He is a director of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, the National Newark Banking Company and the American Insurance Company. He holds membership in the Essex Club, the University Club of New York, New York Yacht Club, Morris County Golf Club, and the Morristown Club, in all of which social organizations he is prominent and popular. A Presbyterian in his religious views, he is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown, where he makes his home and is held in high esteem as a leading citizen.

He married, January 15, 1890, Roberta A. BALLANTINE, daughter of Robert F. and Anne E. BALLANTINE. To this marriage have been born two sons:

John B., born December 12, 1892; and
Robert H., born June 4, 1907.

This biography was transcribed by John Cresseveur (1949-2003).