Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Schedule 1, § 18. Courts of Philadelphia and Allegheny counties;  organization in Philadelphia

The courts of common pleas in the counties of Philadelphia and Allegheny shall be composed of the present judges of the district court and court of common pleas of said counties until their offices shall severally end, and of such other judges as may from time to time be selected.  For the purpose of first organization in Philadelphia the judges of the court number one shall be Judges Allison, Pierce and Paxson;  of the court number two, Judges Hare, Mitchell and one other judge to be elected;  of the court number three, Judges Ludlow, Finletter and Lynd;  and of the court number four, Judges Thayer, Briggs and one other judge to be elected.  The judge first named shall be the president judge of said courts respectively, and thereafter the president judge shall be the judge oldest in commission;  but any president judge, re-elected in the same court or district, shall continue to be president judge thereof.  The additional judges for courts numbers two and four shall be voted for and elected at the first general election after the adoption of this Constitution, in the same manner as the two additional judges of the Supreme Court, and they shall decide by lot to which court they shall belong.  Their term of office shall commence on the first Monday of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.