Jeremiah Hagenman, Lawyer and Judge, was born at Phoenixville, Chester county, Pennsylvania, February 6th, 1820. His parents were Jeremiah F. and Mary H. Hagenman. His primary education was obtained at Phoenixville, and followed till he was sixteen years of age, when he became a school teacher, and continued so for a short time. He afterwards removed to Reading and attended the public schools, at that time much inferior to what they now are, being neither well conducted nor properly systematized. At nineteen years of age, he left school and began the study of law in the office of Peter Filbert, of Reading, occasionally teaching school during the intervals of his legal studies. In the spring of 1842 he was admitted to the bar, and in the following fall opened an office in Reading for the practice of his profession, which he continued till 1850, when he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the city and Berks county, an office to which he was re-elected in 1853. He subsequently declined holding that position for another term. He then resumed the regular duties of his profession, which from that time forward increased rapidly till 1869, when he was elected additional Law Judge of the Twenty-third Judicial District of Berks county. In politics, he belongs to the Democratic party, and his prominent position, together with his well-recognized ability and popularity, have frequently led to his being requested to allow his name to be put forward for nomination for many important public offices, but such honors he has constantly and steadily declined. He occupied for some time the responsible position of one of the counsel for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, where his legal acumen and research found a fitting field for their display. In the year 1850, he was married to Louise E. Boyer, of Reading. His career, while being profitable and honorable to himself, has been highly beneficial to the community.
Source: The Biographical Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the Nineteenth Century. Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing Co., 1874, pp. 222.
Contributed by: Nancy.