BIO: Thomas J. BALDRIDGE, Blair County, PA

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Donehoo, George P., Editor-in-Chief.  Pennsylvania, A History, 
Vol. 3, Biography.  New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc., 
1926, page 3.
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  JUDGE THOMAS J. BALDRIDGE - As the presiding judge of Blair County for the 
past decade and a half, Judge Thomas J. Baldridge has won a renown that has 
carried his name beyond the horizon of his county.  Called upon in 1917 to 
be one of the commissioners to revise and codify the laws of the State of 
Pennsylvania,  he fulfilled this honorable duty with skill and integrity; 
and the service thus rendered to his time and to future generations in 
conjunction with his associates is an immeasurable one.  The son of a 
lawyer, it was perhaps natural for him to follow in his father's footsteps, 
the association of legal minds and legal intercourse being almost the food 
on which his boyhood was nourished.  His education in like manner further 
propelled him along this road of choosing a career, but it must be stated 
that Judge Baldridge was more led by his legal propensities.  With a mind 
naturally endowed with a keen sense of reasoning and far-seeing judgment, 
his self-reliance and initiative, his nature free from prejudice, that 
impartially weighed both sides of a question, his logical powers of 
deduction, all these combined to create an ensemble that naturally led him 
to his present high calling.  His success and the esteem in which he is held 
has been well earned, and his services to his county have been along many 
lines besides those in a legal connection, important among which is his 
directorship of the Citizens' National Bank. 
  Thomas J. Baldridge was born April 5, 1872, son of H. Malcolm and Laura 
(Mattery) Baldridge; his mother was a native of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, 
and died in 1874.  His father, who also was a native of this town, was 
engaged as an attorney until his demise in 1895.  The son was educated in 
the public schools of his native town, and later attended Phillips-Andover 
Academy, Bucknell University, and the University of Pennsylvania.  He was 
admitted to the bar in 1895, and commenced practice immediately in 
Hollidaysburg.  Since 1910 he has been Presiding Judge of Blair County, 
Pennsylvania.  He belongs to the Blair County Bar Association; Pennsylvania 
State Bar Association; American Bar Association and the Union League of 
Philadelphia, and is honorary president of the Boy Scout Council. He is a 
member of the Baptist Church and is active in many organizations.  Mr. 
Baldridge is one of the able and prominent citizens of this locality who do 
all in their power for the welfare of the community and the progress of the 
county.  His services to his section have been of a kind that have won for 
him the respect and honored esteem of a wide area of people.
  Thomas J. Baldridge married, in 1917, Anna Dean, born in Hollidaysburg, 
daughter of Justice John and Margaret (Bell) Dean.