My Genealogy Hound

FRANK J. SHERER. To successfully edit a daily paper is by no means an easy task, as many anxious and harassed newspaper men can testify. It requires more patience, perseverance and tact than almost any other undertaking. When, therefore, it is said that Mr. Sherer has met with flattering success as editor of the Allentown Chronicle and News, no slight praise is bestowed upon him. The paper is well known throughout this section of the state as a zealous advocate of local interests, and an intelligent advocate of all progressive measures, and its editorials attract no little attention.

Referring directly to the life record of Mr. Sherer, we find that he was born in Snydersville, Lehigh County, Pa., January 30, 1853, and is a son of Edward and Anna (Snyder) Sherer, the former an expert millwright in his day. Frank J. received the advantages of the common schools of the home locality, and after coming to Allentown in 1862 was a student at this place. He was graduated from the high school in 1869, being one of the three members of the first class ever graduated therefrom.

In January, 1870, several months before the Chronicle was founded, he entered the employ of Robert Iredell, Jr., then the editor and proprietor of a weekly paper, the Lehigh Register, and whose name afterward became indissolubly connected with the present publication. There he began at the foot of the ladder, but, entering upon the work with diligence, soon gained a thorough knowledge of every department, first entering the press-rooms, thence going into the composing-room, and afterward spending two years in the job office.

In the spring of 1873, Hon. J. S. Biery, who at that time represented the Lehigh-Montgomery district in Congress, appointed Mr. Sherer a cadet at West Point. He was successful in passing the examination, but his father’s failing health caused him to decline the position. In December, 1875, he succeeded D. B. Wood as local editor of the Chronicle, to which much of his time has since been devoted. In the winter of 1883 he was employed in the secret service of the United States Government, securing evidence in the “tissue ballot” frauds perpetrated in South Carolina. The work was of a hazardous and delicate nature, requiring the utmost tact on the part of the agent. He proved fully equal to the emergency, displaying such skill in the discharge of his duties that he was presented with a valuable testimonial by Judge Melton, the United States Attorney, and his special assistant, Gen. William P. Snyder.

Resuming his position on the paper in May, 1883, Mr. Sherer has since retained his connection with this able publication. Since the death of Robert Iredell, Jr., in October, 1893, he has been manager of the Chronicle, and is also one of the executors of the Iredell estate. In addition to his other duties he has for many years been correspondent of New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Cleveland papers. A Philadelphia paper, in presenting a sketch of his life, says that “he wields a vigorous pen, is never prolix or verbose, and does not cloud or darken the wisdom of an article by an avalanche of extraneous or irrelevant matter. He has kept the paper abreast with the times, and as long as he fills his present position, the Chronicle and News will not lag superfluous on the journalistic stage.”

The marriage of Mr. Sherer occurred June 3, 1880, uniting him with Miss Laura G. Moyer, and they are the parents of one child, Parke. Mrs. Sherer is an accomplished lady and a member of one of Allentown's most prominent families. Her father, the late Tilghman H. Moyer, was for many years Cashier of the First National Bank, and in addition to being a prominent figure in financial circles, was also an influential and successful Sunday-school worker. In politics Mr. Sherer is a stanch Republican, and takes rank among the influential men of his party in this state.