Hon. Aaron E. Reiber, of Butler, for many
years a distinguished judge in the Court of Common Pleas, is one of
Butler’s most prominent citizens, active in innumerable local enterprises
and intimately identified with the welfare and progress of Butler. Judge
Reiber is now engaged in private practice since his retirement from the
bench in 1923. He is the son of Martin and Mary (Yetter) Reiber, the
father, born in Germany, near Stuttgart, died in Butler in 1883, one of
the pioneer merchants of Butler, the mother, died in 1890, belonging to a
family that has lived for generations in Butler County.
Aaron E. Reiber was born April 9, 1863, at Butler, and attended the public
schools there, and also Witherspoon Academy. He studied for one year at
Washington and Jefferson College, but is a graduate of Princeton
University, from which he received his degree of Bachelor of Arts in the
class of 1882. He then studied law in the office of T. C. Campbell, of
Butler, and was admitted to the Butler County bar in 1885. In that same
year he commenced the practice of his profession in Butler under his own
name, and continued for a period of forty years to carry on his own
practice, until April 1, 1925, when he became senior member of the law
firm of Reiber, Hosford & Sipe. Meantime, however, he had attained
prominence in public office. He became district attorney of Butler County
in 1890, serving one term, and in 1913 he was elected judge of the Court
of Common Pleas in the Fiftieth District for a ten-year term, succeeding
Judge J. W. Galbreath in this office. Judge Reiber is a stanch Democrat by
political conviction, but in public office has always held the respect and
loyal support of both Republicans and Democrats, and in a section of the
country that is notably Republican he is highly regarded by the
community-at-large. During the World War he was a member of the Legal
Advisory Board of Butler County, rendered valuable service on various war
committees, did considerable “four-minute” speaking in support of the
several patriotic drives, and was awarded a certificate for his services
from the United States Government. He is one of the most prominent members
of the Lutheran Church, in which he has served for many years as an elder,
and in various other capacities. He was a delegate to the National
Convention held in New York City that framed the merger whereby the
several churches were amalgamated into one body, and was also a member of
the Adjudication Commission. Judge Reiber is a member of the board of
trustees of Thiel College, a member of the board of trustees of the Old
People’s Home of Butler County, and active in his support of all that
makes for the well being of the community. Before his elevation to the
bench he was identified with many industrial and commercial enterprises in
Butler, was instrumental in organizing the Butler Street Car Company; is
president and one of the founders of the Guaranty Trust Company, and has
always taken a prominent part in the development of the city. He is a
member of the Butler Country Club, Sterling Club, the Butler County
Historical Society, and the Knights of Pythias.
Judge Reiber married, in 1887, Florence Smith, of Carroliton, Ohio,
daughter of Rev. Enoch and Elizabeth (Helsel) Smith, the father a
clergyman. Judge and Mrs. Reiber have two children: Martin A., a graduate
of Princeton University, now attending Harvard Law School, and Mary
Elizabeth, a graduate of Smith College.
History of Butler County, Pennsylvania, Historical Pub. Co., 1927,
Pages 752-753.
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