The Biographical Dictionary of America/Allison, Joseph

ALLISON, Joseph, jurist, was born at Harrisburg, Pa., in 1819, and admitted to the bar in 1843. Shortly afterward he located in Philadelphia and soon took a leading position at the local bar. He was first elected to the bench in 1851 by a fusion of the native American and Whig parties. After that he was regularly re-elected on the republican ticket, and in his last two elections was indorsed by the democrats. From 1865 Judge Allison was presiding judge of the court of common pleas. He possessed an essentially judicial mind and his knowledge of the law made his decisions and rulings generally sustained by the higher courts. He died in Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 8, 1896.