It makes sense that within a group of individuals wishing to preserve and celebrate the lives and events of a county, there were a few who actively sought out roles to directly contribute to their county’s wellbeing. This month we take a look at the founders of the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pa who dedicated their lives, or a part of it, to service in politics. Who better to start off with than our own first president.
Theodore Weber Bean
Shortly after Theodore W. Bean was admitted to the bar, he found himself appointed as deputy escheator*. Following his term he was appointed as the solicitor for the county treasurer which he served from 1872-1877. He moved on to the solicitor for the borough in Norristown for one year in 1880. Lastly, for his soliciting terms, he served as solicitor for the sheriff’s office for Montgomery County from 1880-1884. In 1887, James Addams Beaver, then governor of Pennsylvania, appointed Bean to the State Commission on Industrial Education. He served until 1888 when he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a Democrat. An interesting note here is that on the Pennsylvania House Archives website, it notes that even though he was elected as a Democrat, Bean was a Republican. After his term ended, Bean was unsuccessful in his reelection campaign of 1890.
* An escheator was an individual appointed to the legal position of handling the reversion of property back to the state upon the property owner’s death.
Jones Detwiler
Jones Detwiler was not a businessman, lawyer, or doctor like some of the other founders discussed in past blog posts. He was a farmer in Whitpain. Whether inspired by his own education, the birth of his many half-siblings (the last born when he was 19 years old), or the birth of his own children, Detwiler found himself as school director in Whitpain for nine years. From this, he went on to serve as Montgomery County auditor from 1859-1865. Eventually, from 1877-1878, Detwiler was appointed to the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 12th district in Montgomery County. While serving, he was assigned to the committee on Accounts, Agriculture, Military Affairs. While these do not seem like issues that would go together, they each align with appropriation bills and agricultural resources for military veterans.
M. S. Longaker
The October 5, 1923 issue of the Norristown Times Herald featured the obituary for founder Montgomery S. Longaker. It outlined that Longaker “was one of the biggest factors in Democratic politics in” Pottstown. In 1863 at the age of twenty-one, Longaker became the deputy treasurer for the county treasurer’s office. This position was under his father who was the treasurer at the time. Twelve years later he was appointed to burgess of Pottstown. He resigned the position the following year when he was elected to a seat in the state assembly. In 1886, President Grover Cleveland appointed Longaker as postmaster of Pottstown. During Cleveland’s second term he reappointed Longaker. Throughout his entire political career, he served as delegate and chairman for several democratic conventions.
L. H. Davis
Unlike the first three founders mentioned, Lewis H. Davis kept his political focus on his township. He was a member of the Upper Merion School Board and served as secretary. He then served as the township assessor for at least fifteen years. Finally, he served ten years as a tax collector. He likely would have continued serving his local community if he did not suddenly pass away at sixty-four years old from a ruptured blood vessel in the brain.
There are other ways to serve your community apart from appointed positions. Citizens can form groups and committees. Isaac Roberts served on one such committee. He was secretary of the Prohibition County Committee. He was likely inspired by his father as well as the Corson family. Next month we will take a deeper dive into the founders who involved themselves in prohibition and the temperance movement.
Is there a distinct list of “founders”. Are these all of them? If not, what is the list and what town do each hail from?
Thanks for posting these blogs.
For a list of the founders, you can check out our first blog in the series, “Remembering our Founding Spirits” (https://hsmcpa.org/remembering-our-founding-spirits/).
As for where they are all from, keep an eye out for the next Bulletin for some insight. There will be a visual included in one of the articles indicating the parts of Montgomery connected to our founding members.