Lemuel Amerman (October 29, 1846 – October 7, 1897) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

from 1891 to 1893.

Life and career

Lemuel Amerman was born near

Danville, Pennsylvania Danville is a borough in and the county seat of Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. The population was 4,221 at the 2020 census. Danville is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolita ...

. He attended the Danville Academy, and graduated from

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Williamsport and north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. The population was 5,158 as of the United States Census 202 ...

, in 1869. He taught school for three years. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1873 and commenced practice in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He moved to

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, in 1876 and continued the practice of law. He was also engaged in banking. He served as solicitor for

Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Lackawanna County (; ) is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It had a population of 215,615 in 2022. Its county seat and most populous city is Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton. The c ...

, in 1879 and 1880. He 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 ...

from 1881 to 1884. One of the important bills that he fathered and championed was an act providing for free public instruction in Pennsylvania. He was elected city comptroller of Scranton in 1885 and 1886, and reporter of the decisions of the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

in 1886 and 1887. For seven years, he was superintendent of the dynamic and socially concerned Penn Avenue Baptist Church in Scranton (later Immanuel Baptist Church).

Congress

Amerman was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1892. He continued the practice of law in Scranton until his death in

Blossburg, Pennsylvania Blossburg is a borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,533 at the 2020 census. History In 1792, a party of immigrants who were building the Williamson Road from Williamsport, in Lycoming County, to Painted P ...

, at the age of 50. Interment in Forest Hill Cemetery in Scranton.

Personal life

After the death of his first wife, he married Mary Caroline Van Nort (born September 2, 1859), who was in the first graduating class of Scranton High School. She later became a public school teacher in Scranton. Lemuel and Mary Amerman had a son, Ralph, born 1884, and a daughter, Mary Caroline, born February 14, 1886. The mother died in childbirth on that day. In 1910, Mary Caroline Amerman married Frederick Lewis of Norfolk, Virginia. Frederick Lewis eventually became the Vice President of the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch Corp and of Norfolk Newspapers, Inc. In 1940, their daughter, Mary Caroline Lewis married Eleuthere Paul DuPont Jr (son of the founder of DuPont Motors). Lemuel Amerman died in Blossburg on October 7, 1897.

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amerman, Lemuel 1846 births 1897 deaths Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers People from Danville, Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Politicians from Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania People from Tioga County, Pennsylvania Bucknell University alumni 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives