Biography

10/13/1874 - 06/21/1936

First Lieutenant Cleon Nivelle Berntheizel, Sr. (R17) Lancaster (Part) and Lebanon Counties 1921-1924 

Early Life:

First Lieutenant Cleon Nivelle Berntheizel, Sr., born October 13, 1874, Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; son of Doctor George W. and Elizabeth Sherk Berntheizel; Columbia public school education; Dickinson School of Law (now Penn State Dickinson Law), 1898; first lieutenant, battalion adjutant, Company C, 4th Infantry, Pennsylvania National Guard, 1900-1919; Mexican Border War, 1916; American Expeditionary Force, World War I; Judge Advocate, Pennsylvania National Guard; lawyer; elected, council president, Columbia borough, nine years; solicitor, Columbia borough; thespian; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1913- 1916; resigned, December 31, 1915; elected, District Attorney, Lancaster County, 1916-1917; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1921-1924; director, Keeley Stove Company; director, Central Savings and Loan Association; married, Lillian Y. Berntheizel, children, George Y. Berntheizel, Cleon N. Berntheizel, Jr.; died, June 21, 1936 (aged 61), Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; interment, Laurel Hill Memorial Gardens, Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 

Early Career:

Enlisted, first lieutenant, battalion adjutant, Company C, Fourth Infantry Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, 1900-1919; Deployed Mexican Border War, 1916; 28th Division, American Expeditionary Force, France, World War I; Judge Advocate, Pennsylvania National Guard.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, council president, Columbia borough, nine years. 

Solicitor, Columbia borough. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1913- 1916; resigned, December 31, 1915. 

Elected, District Attorney, Lancaster County, 1916-1917. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 17th district, Lancaster (Part) and Lebanon Counties, special election, December 21, 1920, vacancy, death, Horace Haldeman, re-elected, 1922-1924; committee assignments, Appropriations, City Passenger Railways, Corporations, Elections, Forestry, Game and Fisheries, Judiciary General, Law and Order, Legislative Apportionment, Military Affairs, Municipal Affairs, Pensions and Gratuities, Public Supply of Light, Heat and Water. 

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives Biography:

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

Legacy: 

Organized, first Columbia High School football team; accomplished thespian, Dickinson Law School. 

Cited:

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

The Pennsylvania Manual, (1923-1924). Whitmore, R.E., (Compiler). Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 983, 988, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 961.

Lancaster New Era (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) Monday, June 22, 1936. 

Lancaster Intelligencer-Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) Monday, June 22, 1936

Cleon N. Berntheizel (1874-1936) - Find a Grave Memorial