Biography

09/17/1839 - 09/23/1916

First Lieutenant Jacob Holsinger Longenecker (R36) Bedford, Fulton and Somerset Counties 1883-1886

Early Life: 

First Lieutenant Jacob Holsinger Longenecker, born September 17, 1839, Huston Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania; son of John and Elizabeth Holsinger Longenecker; common schools education; attended, Allegheny Seminary, Rainsburg; Albany Law School, 1866; first lieutenant, Civil War, prisoner of war, 1862-1865, teacher; attorney, law practice, Russell and Longenecker, 1866-1891; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1869-1870; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1883-1886; deputy secretary, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1887-1890; Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1890; elected, president judge, 16th judicial district, Bedford County, 1890-1901; unsuccessful campaign for reelection, judge, 1900; director, First National Bank of Bedford, 1901-1916; married, Nannie Rebecca. Russell, children, Samuel R. Longenecker, Ralph Longenecker, Charles Longenecker; died, September 23, 1916, Bedford, Bedford County, Pennsylvania; interment, Bedford Cemetery, Bedford, Bedford County, Pennsylvania.

Early Career:

Enlisted, November 1861, first lieutenant, Company D, 101st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, saw action, Williamsburg, contracted typhoid fever, Chickahominy; recuperated, Belleview, New York; rejoined, regiment, North Carolina Campaign; captured with his command, Plymouth, North Carolina, April 20, 1864; imprisoned at Macon, Savannah, Charleston, Columbia, and Charlotte, escaped, recaptured; incarcerated, Salisbury and Wilmington, North Carolina; exchanged, March 1, 1865; honorably discharged;  Annapolis, Maryland, March 12, 1865. 

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

Member, William Watson Post, Grand Army of the Republic, member, Military order of the Loyal Legion. 

President, National Association of ex-Union Prisoners of War, 1885-1886.  

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1869-1870; not a candidate for reelection, 1870. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 36th district, Bedford, Fulton and Somerset Counties, 1883-1886; committee assignments, Constitutional Reform, Federal Relations, Insurance, Judiciary General, Legislative and Congressional Reform, Mines and Mining.

Continued Government Service after Senate:

Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1887-1890. 

Secretary of the Commonwealth, 1890-1891; Governor James A Beaver cabinet. 

President Judge of the 16th Judicial District, Bedford County, 1890-1901.  

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

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

Legacy: 

Law partner, Honorable Samuel L. Russell, United States Congressman, member, 33rd Congress, Russell and Longenecker, 1867-1891, when his death caused its dissolution. 

Cited: 

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

Smull’s Legislative Handbook, (1883). Smull, W.P., (Editor) Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 764, 770-772, Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 733.

Longenecker, Jacob H. (pa-roots.org)

Welcome to Bedford County, PA (bedfordcountypa.org)

Jacob Holsinger Longenecker (1839-1916) - Find a Grave Memorial