My Genealogy Hound

SAMUEL E. LEITH. Our subject is one of the venerable men of Lehigh County, for over seventy years have left their record upon his head in whitened hair. His honorable position in the community has been gained by virtue of his keen ability and well preserved physical attributes. He is a prominent citizen of the county, and is residing at the present time in Whitehall Township.

Our subject was bom in Northampton County, this state, September 6, 1822, and is the son of Peter and Catherine (Ehrhard) Leith, the former of whom was born in the above county, and the latter in Bucks County, this state. John Peter Leith, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Scotland, and came to America when quite young, locating in Northampton County, where he resided until his decease. He was very prominent in agricultural circles, and at his death had accumulated an estate of six hundred acres. The ancestors of our subject on his mother’s side were natives of Germany.

Samuel E. Leith has spent almost his entire life in his native county, and like all farmer lads received his primary education in the district school. Later he prepared himself in a private school for entering college, and for some time was a student of Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg. After leaving that institution he received private instruction in theology and the languages under the tutelage of Rev. Benjamin German, the latter a well known minister of the Lutheran Church in Allentown. Although not accepting any permanent charge, our subject occasionally filled pulpits for other pastors for many years, and after completing his education he was engaged in teaching school for sixteen terms in Bucks and Lehigh Counties.

In 1864 Mr. Leith located on his present farm, in the cultivation of which he has been very successful. He has persevered through many trials and hardships, and has at last reached the point where he can enjoy the wealth and prosperity which rightly belong to him. Mr. Leith was married, December 21, 1848, to Miss Sarah Gross, a native of South Whitehall Township, her birth occurring January 20, 1824. She is the daughter of Solomon and Hannah (Guth) Gross, also natives of this county. Great-grandfather Peter Gross was born in Germany, and on coming to America located in North Whitehall Township. Mrs. Leith removed to Allentown with her parents when eleven years of age, and there received a fine education in the city schools. By her union with our subject she has become the mother of one daughter, Jane.

Mr. Leith of this sketch is a devoted member of the Lutheran Church, while his wife and daughter worship in the Reformed Church, He has always been a strong advocate of the free-school system, and in politics votes the Democratic ticket. He is one of the oldest residents of the county and is well known throughout its length and breadth, He has a host of warm friends, is very popular with all, and we take great pleasure in presenting his sketch in these pages.