USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania; also containing a separate account of the several boroughs and townships in the county, with biographical sketches > Part 34
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The pair have three surviving children: Harry W., George N. and Mahlon H. Lauer.
Leibenguth, James H., cashier of the Citizens' Na- tional Bank, of East Mauch Chunk, began life as a tele- graph operator, in which capacity he served the Lehigh Valley Railroad for years. His father was Joseph Leibenguth, a native of Northampton county, while his mother, before her marriage, bore the name of Eliza- beth Smith.
Mr. Leibenguth was born at Cherryville, Northamp- ton county, April 11, 1859, and was educated in the
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public schools and at Weaversville Academy, North- ampton county. Having served his apprenticeship as a telegrapher, he was given a position as operator for the Lehigh Valley at Laurys, near Allentown. Later he held similar positions under the same corporation at Mahanoy City and at Delano, where he was in the office of division superintendent Blakslee. During the eighties he was made freight agent for the company at East Mauch Chunk, in which position he continued until September, 1906, when he and others organized the bank of which he has since been the cashier and a member of the board of directors.
Mr. Leibenguth has been twice married. His first wife was Julia B. Reeder, daughter of George Reeder, of Easton. Two children were born of this union: Nettie Elizabeth and Lola Leibenguth. Mrs. Leiben- guth died in 1907, and two years later Mr. Leibenguth was wedded to Mrs. Carrie Jeffries, of East Mauch Chunk. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and at- tends the Methodist church.
Lentz, Lafayette, one of Carbon county's grand old men and a well-known coal operator, living at Mauch Chunk, is one of the descendants of Conrad Lentz, who settled in Lehigh county prior to the Revolution. This pioneer was a school teacher, and he died in early life. Among his children was Colonel John Lentz, the father of the subject of this memoir, who was born in Lehigh county in 1793. He began life as a shoemaker, but later became a hotel keeper. He was also a successful contractor, and was one of the builders of the Lehigh Canal.
While still a young man, he removed to that portion of Northampton county which was in 1843 set apart as the county of Carbon. In the subdivision which was then made he was a prime mover. Having previously
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served as a commissioner of Northampton county, he was later elected to the offices of commissioner and of sheriff in Carbon county.
Taking a keen interest in military affairs all his life, he enlisted for service in the war of 1812, when but a lad. Among the first to volunteer at the breaking out of the Rebellion, he was rejected on account of his ad- vanced age. His title as Colonel was obtained in the State Militia. When Lee invaded Pennsylvania in 1863, he recruited a company of reserves at Lehighton, and, as their captain, led them to Harrisburg in de- fense of the country.
Colonel Lentz was thrice married. His first wife was Mary Lacier, his second, Julia Winter Barnett, widow of John Barnett, and the third Mrs. Elizabeth Metzgar. His death occurred at Mauch Chunk in 1875 at the age of eighty-two years.
Lafayette Lentz was born of the first marriage, at Lehigh Gap, Carbon county, in 1828. Beginning life as a clerk in a store at Parryville, he subsequently en- gaged in railroad construction work, being one of the original contractors in the building of the Lehigh Val- ley Railroad. He also built important stretches of the North Pennsylvania, Easton and Amboy, and Mor- ris and Essex railroads, and was the builder of the Vosburg tunnel, in Wyoming county.
Mr. Lentz began his career as a coal operator near Mahanoy City, about 1869. He is now the senior mem- ber of the firm of Lentz and Company, operating a large colliery at Park Place, Schuylkill county.
Cheerful, benevolent, and democratic, he has always enjoyed great personal popularity. He has been a great lover of the life out-of-doors, and has been an enthusiastic hunter and fisherman, retaining his vigor
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of mind and body to an unusual degree for one of his advanced years.
His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Swartz, was the daughter of John Swartz, a farmer and inn- keeper of Northampton county. They became the par- ents of five children: John, James, and Lafayette, who died in infancy; William O., the manager of his father's coal interests, and Horace De Y. Lentz.
Horace De Y. Lentz, who is a member of the Carbon county bar, was born at Mauch Chunk, where he still resides, on February 24, 1867. He was educated in the schools of his native town, the Preparatory School for Lehigh University, Adams Academy, Quincey, Mass., and at Harvard University, graduating from the latter institution with the degree of B.A. in 1891.
Choosing the law as his profession, he entered the offices of Hon. L. H. Barber and Frederick Bertolette, at Mauch Chunk, as a student in 1893, being admitted to the bar in 1896.
As the first agent of the Palmer Land Company, Mr. Lentz played an active part in the establishment of the now thriving town of Palmerton. He is a believer in the principles advocated by the Democratic party, but has never sought office, save on one occasion, having been a candidate for the nomination for Congress in the Twenty-sixth District in 1912.
He has been a consistent friend of the Young Men's Christian Association of Mauch Chunk, and was for a time a vestryman of St. Mark's Episcopal church. He is a member of the University Club of Philadelphia, and is one of the directors of the Mauch Chunk Trust Company.
In 1893 he was married to Jennie McCreary Alsover, a daughter of the late Jabez Alsover, prominent in legal circles in Carbon and Luzerne counties.
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Leslie, Harry, one of Palmerton's enterprising young business men, was born at Towanda, Bradford county, Pa., on August 25, 1870. He is the son of John and Sarah (Houser) Leslie. When Harry was eight years of age, his father, who was a locomotive engineer, was accidentally killed, and the family re- moved to Summit Hill, where, two years later, he began life as a slate picker on the breaker, subsequently en- tering the mines.
Learning the trade of a tailor, he pursued his voca- tion at Mauch Chunk and other places until 1906, when he came to Palmerton and opened an establishment, soon attracting a large patronage. Recently he moved into larger and more handsome quarters, where he car- ries a complete line of up-to-date furnishing goods for men.
Mr. Leslie has displayed his public spirit in many ways since locating in Palmerton. He was a charter member and the first vice president of the Palmerton Co-operative Society ; took an active part in the organ- ization of the fire company of the town, did much to- ward securing the erection of the handsome new high school building of the place, and was the first president of the Palmerton Athletic Association.
As one of the Roosevelt delegates to the Republican state convention of 1912, he assisted in the overthrow of the political dynasty of United States Senator Boies Penrose. One of the cherished momentos that he re- tains of that gathering is the leg of a chair, which was used as a gavel by the chairman of the convention. He is one of the leaders of the Progressive movement in the county.
On June 14, 1904, he was married to Stella, daugh- ter of Luther La Barre, of East Mauch Chunk. Anna and John are their two children.
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Mr. Leslie is a member of the Patriotic Order of Sons of America and of the Sons of Veterans.
Lewis, William, a member of the firm of Lewis & Bray, operating the Old Millport Slate Quarry, near Aquashicola, being the only slate quarry that is now being worked north of the Blue mountains, was born in Devonshire, England, September 16, 1862. He is the son of Robert and Mary (Chaffe) Lewis, and, at the age of fifteen, left school to enter the slate quarries of his native county.
Coming to America in 1882, he located at East Ban- gor, Pa., following his trade as a slater.
In 1894 he accepted a position as superintendent for the Brilliant Black Slate Company at Aquashicola, serving in that capacity for two years. He then formed a partnership with Walter M. Bray, leasing the quarry over which he had been superintendent; this partner- ship is still in force, the firm employing about twenty- five men in its operations, and producing a good qual- ity of slate.
Mr. Lewis is the father of a large and interesting family, having been married at the age of twenty- three to Laura C. Eyer, a daughter of Reuben Eyer and his wife Ellen, of East Bangor. Their children are: W. Robert, Lottie, Violet A., Clarence E., T. Wil- mer, Arlington R., Paul L., and Alice C. Lewis. Rob- ert is a graduate of Perkiomen Seminary; Lottie and Violet are both teachers in the public schools, the form- er being a graduate of the high school of East Mauch Chunk, while the latter is a product of the high school maintained at Palmerton by Lower Towamensing township. Clarence is also a graduate of this institu- tion.
Mr. Lewis has taken an active interest in the cause of popular education, having been a member of the board
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HON. WILLIAM LILLY.
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of education of Lower Towamensing township. His fraternal connections are with the Odd Fellows and the Masonic order.
Lewis, Winfred D., a member of the Carbon county bar, living at Lansford, was born there on February 6, 1883. He is of Welsh descent, being the son of the late 'Squire John L. and Ann (Davis) Lewis. In early life he worked about the mines of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Graduating from the Lansford high school with the class of 1899, he later attended Perkiomen Seminary. For a year he taught Greek and Latin there. Entering Princeton University, he graduated from that institution in 1905, with the de- gree of A.B.
After reading law in the office of a Mauch Chunk attorney, he pursued a course of study at Dickinson Law School, being admitted to the bar of Carbon county in 1908. He maintains an office in the Navi- gation Building at Mauch Chunk, in addition to his of- fice at Lansford.
In 1910 Mr. Lewis was the Republican nominee for state senator from his district, but was defeated by a slight margin, the district being overwhelmingly Democratic. Two years later he easily won the nom- ination of his party for the office of assemblyman from Carbon county, losing in the general election, owing to the split in the Republican ranks.
He has been retained as the legal adviser of the bor- ough of Summit Hill, and has built up a good general practise.
Mr. Lewis is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was a prominent athlete during his years at college.
Lilly, General William, who was one of Carbon county's foremost public men, as well as a man of
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large affairs in the industrial and financial world, was born at Penn Yan, New York, June 3, 1821. He was descended from Revolutionary stock, his forefathers having participated in the struggle by which Amer- ican independence was achieved. His father, Colonel William Lilly, left New York in 1838 and, with his family, settled in Mauch Chunk. General Lilly was but seventeen years of age at this time, but he imme- diately entered upon a life of industry and responsi- bility, being entrusted with the duties of a conductor on the Beaver Meadow Railroad. He also served as the coal shipping agent of this company at Penn Haven, which was then the head of the Lehigh Canal. His life henceforth was one of active business enter- prise. He soon entered into coal mining operations, being associated with Ario Pardee, J. Gillingham Fell and George B. Markle at Jeddo, and becoming a mem- ber of the firms of Lentz, Lilly & Company, and of L. A. Reilly & Company in the Schuylkill region. He was a director in the East Broad Top Railroad Com- pany, in the Highland Coal Company, in the Union Improvement Company, and in the Andover Iron Com- pany. General Lilly was also president of the Lehigh Emery Wheel Company and of the Carbon Metallic Paint Company, besides holding a seat as a director in the First and Second National Banks of Mauch Chunk and of the First National Bank of Shenandoah. He was also one of the board of commissioners to lo- cate and build a state hospital for injured persons in the anthracite region. This institution, called the Miners' Hospital, is situated near Ashland, Schuyl- kill county, and was opened in 1884. He was one of the original trustees of this hospital and later became pres- ident of the board.
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While General Lilly thus bore a prominent part in industrial and commercial affairs, he was more widely known for his services in public life. He first came into prominence in connection with the military estab- lishment of the state. At the age of twenty-one he enlisted in the ranks of the militia, and through suc- cessive promotions, arrived at the rank of colonel, and was finally appointed a brigadier general.
General Lilly early affiliated with the Democratic party, and was elected to the state legislature of 1850 and 1851, bearing such a conspicuous part in the work of the first session that at the beginning of the next, he became a prominent candidate for Speaker of the House, but was defeated by a few votes. Urgent business demands compelled him to decline a re-elec- tion to that body.
It is related that while on a visit to Washington in 1862, General Lilly met some of the leading Democrats of the country and became very much dissatisfied with their views on the war. Visiting the house of repre- sentatives, he found fifty-five Democratic congressmen voting against a war measure of vital importance to the cause of the Union. It was at this point that the General parted company with his party, going over to the fold of the Republican party, to which he gave his loyal allegiance during the remainder of his life. He served as a delegate at every important Republican convention held in the state and was also a delegate or alternate to every national Republican convention for twenty-five years.
In 1868 General Lilly was a candidate for the guber- natorial nomination, receiving next to the highest vote on the last ballot. It was partly through his instru- mentality that the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention of 1872-73 was called, to which he was elect-
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ed as a delegate at large. At this convention which was composed of many of the most eminent men of the state, he bore a part equal to that of any of the mem- bers of that famous assemblage.
General Lilly was elected as one of the congressmen at large for Pennsylvania for the Fifty-third Congress. As a member of that body he acquitted himself use- fully and honorably. A forceful speaker, he cherished no oratorical ambitions and spoke but seldom. He was reckoned, however, among the most industrious members of the House, and his services in the commit- tee room were of much value.
As indicating his varied tastes and activities, it may be mentioned that he was a life member of the Acad- emy of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, and also of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, besides being a member of the Society of American Mining Engineers.
During the war he was a loyal friend of the Union soldiers, and supported a number of the families of his workmen who had volunteered.
He was an active member of the Masonic fraternity for more than half a century, and held the position of Grand Master of Pennsylvania.
He died suddenly at his residence in Mauch Chunk on December 1, 1893, in the seventy-second year of his age. He was preparing to go to Washington to take his seat at the beginning of the session of congress of that year when the final summons came.
The usual tokens of respect were paid to his mem- ory in both branches of the national legislature, and his demise was sincerely mourned in the community in which he lived.
Lindemuth, Theodore, postmaster of East Mauch Chunk, and an insurance man of that place, is the son
CURLO MBREKY
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HISTORY OF CARBON COUNTY.
of Jonathan and Catharine (Faust) Lindemuth, na- tives of Schuylkill county, Pa.
His maternal grandfather, Jacob Faust, was the founder of the village of Barnesville, Schuylkill county, while his father, who was a contractor and lumberman, was the first postmaster of Mahanoy City. At that time the town was without railroads and the mail was carried to and from the place on horseback.
Theodore Lindemuth was born at Barnesville, Jan- uary 2, 1855.
Leaving school at the age of fifteen, he began life as a brakeman for the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Be- coming a locomotive engineer, he remained in the service of this company until the strike of 1893. Dur- ing the ensuing year he embarked in the business of life insurance, which he has since successfully followed.
Mr. Lindemuth has lived in East Mauch Chunk since 1882.
On January 24, 1883, he was united in marriage to Louisa, a daughter of Charles Zellner, of that town.
His appointment as postmaster of the borough came on February 23, 1911.
He has taken an active part in municipal affairs, having held most of the offices in the gift of the people of the community in which he lives. His political al- legiance is given to the Republican party, while he is identified with the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- gineers and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a communicant of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Long, Dr. Wilson P., a Weatherly physician and surgeon was born in Longswamp township, Berks county, Pa., in 1861.
Frederick Long, his great-grandfather was a Palat- inate immigrant. He fled from his native country to
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escape from the religious persecutions of the time, settling in Berks county on land which was deeded to him by the descendants of William Penn, the same be- ing now included in the township of Longswamp.
In this freer and more hospitable environment he spent the remainder of his life in agricultural pursuits, being a man of influence in the community where he lived.
His son, Daniel Long, who was also a farmer, be- came possessed of the homestead acquired by the fath- er. He married Rachel Snyder, a native of Montgom- ery county, Pa.
David Long, one of their ten children, and the father of the subject of this notice, was born in Berks county in 1830. By his marriage to Floranda, daughter of John P. Fegley, of Shamrock, Berks county, five children were born: Mary, Celia, Amanda, Wilson, and Malazina Long. The father of this family was stricken with typhoid fever, of which he died in his thirty-fourth year. Subsequently his widow became the wife of William Butz, of Alburtis, Pa. Two of their four children survive: Rev. Charles Butz, a min- ister of the Reformed church, and William Butz, a farmer, of Mertztown, Pa.
Dr. W. P. Long was less than three years of age when the death of his father occurred, and he was early thrown largely upon his own resources.
When he was nine years of age he was taken into the family of his uncle, Samuel Long, of Mertztown, upon whose farm he labored and grew to maturity.
Having gained a fair common school education, he later attended the Keystone State Normal School. During a period of three years he was engaged as a teacher.
Choosing the profession of medicine, he was matric-
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ulated in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he was gradu- ated in 1886. Immediately thereafter he located at Weatherly, establishing himself in the practice of his profession, and soon gaining liberal recognition as a result of his ability and skill in diagnosing and treat- ing disease. He early discovered that a cheery pres- ence in the sick room is an important factor in the realm of therapeutics, and this has been one of the secrets of his success.
In addition to his general practise, Dr. Long is the local medical examiner for several old line insurance companies, and is the official physician of the alms- house of the Middle Coal Field Poor District, which position he has filled for more than a decade.
As an aid to keeping abreast of the times in matters affecting his profession, he has affiliated himself with the Carbon County Medical Society, the Lehigh Valley Medical Society, the State Medical Association, and the American Medical Society.
Aside from his calling as a physician, Dr. Long fig- ures actively in various phases of the life of the bor- ough in which he lives. He was one of the organiz- ers of the Weatherly Foundry and Machine Company, of which he is a principal stockholder, being also a di- rector of the company and serving as its secretary. He is similarly identified with the First National Bank of Weatherly. Besides this he has an interest in a mining enterprise at Hancock, Pa., which supplies the C. K. Williams Paint Mills at Easton with ochre, and he is a director and stockholder of the Allen Candy Manufacturing Company, of Weatherly.
In 1892 he was elected to the office of coroner of Carbon county on the Republican ticket, serving for a single term.
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Being a warm friend of the public school system, he has repeatedly been chosen to serve as a member of the board of education of the borough, of which he has been the president. He was chairman of the build- ing committee in the erection of the Schwab school building.
For some years he was the musical director of the Reformed church of the town, of which he is now an elder. Fraternally he is identified with the Patriotic Order of Sons of America, the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania, the order of Modern Woodmen, and the Free and Accepted Masons.
Dr. Long was married on August 2, 1886, to Clara Boyer, of Reading, Pa. She died May 1, 1901, leaving two sons, William S. and Albert F. Long. Both are graduates of Ursinus College, from which the former received the degree of A. B. and the latter that of B. S. William is now a student in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania, while Albert is a teacher at Kyle Military Institute, Flushing, Long Is- land.
Loose, Jacob C., a leading member of the Carbon county bar, was born at Myerstown, Lebanon county, Pa., on July 6, 1866.
He is the son of Jacob A. and Emma E. (Spangler) Loose, his father having followed the mercantile busi- ness at Palmyra, Pa., for many years. Attending the Palmyra Academy he subsequently entered Dickinson College, where he pursued a classical course, gradu- ating from that institution in 1887.
Choosing the law as his profession, he studied in the offices of the well-known firm of Craig and Loose, at Mauch Chunk, comprised of the late Judge Allen Craig and the late James S. Loose, an uncle of the subject of this sketch.
THE NEWYORK PUBLIC ;IR. P.F.)
ASTOR. . 'N' AND TILDEN FOUNDA UNA.
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Upon his admission to the bar in January, 1890, he opened an office at Mauch Chunk, where he prac- tised his profession for about eighteen months.
Removing to Shenandoah, Va., he built up a practise there and was elected mayor of the town. In 1897 he returned to Mauch Chunk to become a member of the firm of Loose, Craig and Loose. Upon the death of his uncle, in July, 1898, the firm became Craig and Loose, the other partner being Douglas Craig, a son of the late Judge Allen Craig.
On November 17, 1892, during his stay in the South, Mr. Loose was united in marriage with Alice M., daugh- ter of Henry A. Bear and his wife, Betty, of Bear Lithia Springs, Va. Their only son is Alan S. Loose, born March 16, 1899. Another son, James B., died in infancy.
Mr. Loose is identified with the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Common Law League of America. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Dim- mick Memorial Library, and of the Odd Fellows' Hall Association, of Mauch Chunk, and is one of the war- dens of St. John's Episcopal church, of East Mauch Chunk, which is his place of residence. He also holds the position of borough solicitor in the latter place. Mr. Loose is a Republican. The success which has come to him in his calling has been achieved by clean and honorable methods.
Luckenbach, Edwin F., who for many years served as postmaster of Mauch Chunk, where he was a rep- resentative business man, was born near Bethlehem, Northampton county, Pa., on October 11, 1842.
He was the son of Renautus and Catherine (Boyer) Luckenbach. His father, who in early life had been a blacksmith, later became a boat builder and followed the mercantile career. His mother was a descendant of
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Isaac Boyer, one of the pioneer settlers of Northamp- ton county. Both father and mother died during the seventies in Kansas, where they spent their declining years.
At the age of seventeen E. F. Luckenbach was ap- prenticed to a house, sign and decorative painter, named Anton Goth, of Bethlehem. His apprenticeship expired on August 3, 1862. On the same day he en- listed in the service of the Union, being enrolled as a private in Company C., One Hundred and Twenty- ninth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. This regi- ment was commanded by Colonel Jacob G. Frick, and was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, becoming a part of E. B. Tyler's First Brigade of Humphrey's Third Division, Fifth Army Corps. Mr. Luckenbach participated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and on May 18, 1863, at the expira- tion of his term of service, was honorably discharged.
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