John Leisenring (June 3, 1853 – January 19, 1901) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, which includes Pittsburgh and much of Allegheny County. It has been represented since January 3, 2023 by Summer Lee. Prior to 2018, the 12th district was located ...

from 1895 to 1897.

Formative years

John Leisenring was born in Ashton, Pennsylvania, now known as Lansford, Carbon County, Pennsylvania. He attended two public schools, Schwartz’s Academy in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

, and an academy in Merchantville and

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

. He became a civil and mining

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

and was identified with banking,

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

, and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

industries. He moved from

Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania Jim Thorpe is a borough and the county seat of Carbon County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is historically known as the burial site of Native American sports legend Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe is loc ...

to Upper Lehigh, Pennsylvania, in 1885.

Political career

A Republican, Leisenring was a member of the

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1894 and 1895, and was then elected to the Fifty-fourth Congress. He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1896. He was a delegate to the Republican State convention in 1896. He resumed his former business pursuits and served as president of the Upper Lehigh Coal Company.

Death and interment

Leisenring died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1901, and was interred in the City Cemetery in present-day

Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania Jim Thorpe is a borough and the county seat of Carbon County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is historically known as the burial site of Native American sports legend Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe is l ...

. He was 47 at the time of his death.

Sources

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leisenring, John 1853 births 1901 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American politicians American bankers Politicians from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Politicians from Philadelphia Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania