Biography

12/19/1842 - 09/11/1900

Major Samuel Alfred Losch (R29) Schuylkill (Part) County 1897-1900

Early Life: 

Major Samuel Alfred Losch, born December 19, 1842, Uniontown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, son of George Losch, first lieutenant, Company C, 50th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Civil War,  1861-1865; major, 4th Division, Pennsylvania National Guard 1866-1871; farmer; bricklayer; canal driver; laborer and operator, Schuylkill Haven & Mine Hill Railroad Company; appointed, clerk, Pennsylvania Department of State, 1872-1873, 1876-1878; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1874 and 1875; not a candidate reelection, 1876; appointed, chief clerk, Pennsylvania Department of State, 1878-1883; elected, delegate, Republican National Convention, 1880; appointed, post office inspector, Pennsylvania, United States Postal Service, 1883-1884; appointed, secretary, New Mexico Territory, 1884-1885; elected, chair, Schuylkill County Republican Committee, 1885-1887; unsuccessful campaign, Secretary of Internal Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of State, 1886; elected, chief clerk, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1887-1888; incorporator, Schuylkill Electric Railway Company, 1889; unsuccessful campaigns, United States Congress, 1890, 1894; unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1892; reelected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1892-1893; not a candidate for reelection, 1894; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1897-1900; died, September 11, 1900 (age 57), in office of Senate, Atlantic City, Atlantic County, New Jersey; interment, Schuylkill Haven Union Cemetery, Schuylkill Haven, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.   

Early Career:

First lieutenant, Company C, 50th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Civil War, 1861-1865; saw action, Port Royal, South Carolina, Pocataligo, and Hilton Head; 2d Bull Run; South Mountain; Antietam; Fredericksburg; the Mud March; Newport News; Paris, Kentucky.; Vicksburg; Jackson; the Wilderness; Spotsylvania; the Assault on the Salient; Cold Harbor; the Petersburg Campaign; Poplar Springs Church; Boydton Plank Road and Hatcher’s Run; and the Appomattox Campaign. Major, 4th Division, Pennsylvania National Guard, 1866- 1871.

Farmer; bricklayer; canal driver; laborer and operator, Schuylkill Haven and Mine Hill Railroad Company; incorporator, Schuylkill Electric Railway Company, 1889.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Grand Army of the Republic and Kindred Societies, senior vice president, since organized; president, Schuykill haven School Board; member, Patriotic Order Sons of America, Page Lodge 27; member, Free and Accepted Masons; member, Pecos Tribe, No. 323, Improved Order of Red Men; Masonic Mountain City Royal Arch Masons, Chapter 196; Jeremiah "Jere" Helms, Grand Army of the Republic and Encampment No. 19; member, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States; director, Valley Forge Memorial Association.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Appointed, clerk, Pennsylvania Department of State, under Matthew Stanley Quay, 1872-1873, clerk, Pennsylvania Department of State, 1876-1878. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1874 and 1875; not a candidate for reelection, House, 1876. 

Appointed, chief clerk, Pennsylvania Department of State, Governors Hartranft and Henry M. Hoyt, 1878-1883.

Elected, delegate, Republican National Convention, one of 306; 1880. 

Appointed, post office inspector, Pennsylvania, United States Postal Service, 1883-1884. 

Appointed, Secretary, New Mexico Territory, President Arthur, 1884; Suspended President Cleveland, 1885. 

Elected, chairman, Schuylkill County Republican Committee, 1885-1887. 

Unsuccessful campaign, Secretary of Internal Affairs, Pennsylvania Department of State, 1886. 

Elected, chief clerk, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1887-1888.

Unsuccessful campaigns, United States Congress, 1890, 1894. 

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1892. 

Reelected, Republican, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 1892-1893; not a candidate, reelection, House, 1894. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 29th district, Schuylkill (Part) County, 1897-1900; committee assignments, Appropriations, Corporations, Legislative Apportionment, Military Affairs, Mines and Mining (Chairman), Public Roads and Highways; died, in office of Senate. 

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Appointed, Secretary, New Mexico Territory, President Chester Alan Arthur, 1884; Suspended President Stephen Grover Cleveland, 1885. 

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "L"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1900). Cochran, T.B., (Editor) Miller, H.P. (Assistant Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 1186, 1192-1194, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 1161.

MAJ Samuel Alfred Losch (1842-1900) - Find a Grave Memorial