SAMUEL E. LESTER. Susquehanna, Pennsylvania.
Samuel E. Lester enlisted in the 3d New York Volunteers under Captain George B. Fordham in January, 1864, and served during the remainder of the war, being mustered out in October, 1865. His father, Henry Lester, is a prominent farmer of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, where the subject of this sketch was born October 5, 1849. He attended school until he was 13 years of age and then engaged in lumbering, following that occupation until the time of his enlistment. On returning from the war he secured a position with the Delaware & Hudson Coal Company, running, gravity cars between Carbondale and Olyphant for six months, being then transferred to plain No. 2 as head man, and then to Archibald, Pennsylvania, as stationary engineer for seven months. In the spring of 1867 Mr. Lester began firing between Carbondale and Albany, at which he remained two years, when he resigned to engage in lumbering. This he followed for seventeen years, returning to railroading in 1886, and fired on the Susquehanna Division of the Erie for six months, being then advanced to the position of instructing fireman how to use hard coal. After six months he went back to firing, having a run on Nos. 1 and 8 until June, 1890, when he was promoted to engineer and assigned to the freight service between Susquehanna and Hornellsville, where he has run ever since.
Mr. Lester was married May 27, 1876, to Miss Ida M. White, daughter of George C. White, a veteran and pensioner of the War of '61. They have four children, of whom Claude, aged 21, is a veteran of the Spanish-American War and now a boilermaker in the employ of the Lehigh Valley Railroad; Ora, aged 17, is married and lives in Oakland, Pennsylvania; Lulu, aged 7, attending public school, and Donald Lee, the baby, aged 16 months. Mrs. Lester is a member of Ladies' Auxiliary of the B. of L. E., while Mr. Lester is prominent in the affairs of Division 137, B. of L. E., having been a subordinate officer for two terms.
Excerpted from: "American Locomotive Engineers, Erie Railway Edition," H.R. Romans Editor; Crawford-Adsit Company Publishers, Chicago, IL 1899.
From the August 2, 1895 issue of the Hornellsville Weekly Tribune:
An Owego Special dated the 20th says: Samuel S. Lester, an Erie engincer, was severely assaulted by tramps on Saturday night. He was deadheading to Susquehanna on a freight train that had stopped west of the station to do some switching. Lester walked up the track, and purchased a glass of milk at a restaurant. On his return, when near McMaster street crossing he met three men, one of whom dealt him a serious blow which rendered him unconscious. About 10 o'clock he was found lying in the alley near Fairchild & Harris' shoe store. He had evidently wandered to this point while in a dazed condition. He was picked up and carried into the Central house and Coroner Dutcher called. Mr. Lester stated that he had been rohbed of four or five dollars which he had in his posaession when asaaulted.
His family at Susquehanna were notified and his son, Claude, came on and accompanied him home on train 14 yesterday. A large number of tramps had been making their headquarters near the line of the Erie and Lehigh tracks between McMaster stret and the Owego creek. Sunday afternoon Sheriff Conklin with Deputies Charles Redman and Will Robertson made a raid on them and arrested five, who gave their names as Henry Kelly, James Murphy, Thomas Reed, John Shannon and Charles Rogers. Their trial is set down for 10 a.m. tomorrow.