Anticipated Release Date: Fall 2025

John Lesher (Johannes Loscher), (1711-1794), was an ironmaster and political leader in colonial Pennsylvania. He emigrated from Germany in 1723 and settled at Spangsville, in Oley, Berks County in 1729. A blacksmith, he built and operated Oley Forge and District Furnace and was a wagon master in the French and Indian War. Early on, he supported
the Revolutionary cause and formed an independent militia company as its captain. His company saw service in the New Jersey and Brandywine Campaigns. He served briefly in the 1776 General Assembly and represented Berks County in the Constitutional Convention. He also acted as one of the commissioners for purchasing army supplies while Washington was at Valley Forge. This is his story.

More about the author:

DANIEL A.GRAHAM is an early Pennsylvania iron researcher and a Potts and Rutter family historian. He has written more than 60 articles, papers and books on the iron industry and its participants in Berks, Chester and Montgomery Counties and on Pottstown, Valley Forge and the Revolutionary War. He holds a B.S. from West Virginia University and an MPA from George Washington University. He is retired and lives in Montrose, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

Find all books in this series: Biographical and Historical Sketches

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