Clatsop County OR Archives Biographies.....Leinenweber, Frank P. June 15, 1875 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com May 31, 2010, 12:56 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 354 - 356 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company FRANK P. LEINENWEBER. Among the native sons of Astoria who have spent their lives here and have not only prospered in their individual affairs, but have also attained a high place in the respect and confidence of the people of the community, stands Frank P. Leinenweber, a leading member of the Clatsop county bar and the present district attorney, in which position he is rendering able and appreciated service. He is essentially a self-made man and the story of his life was well told by Fred Lockley, who, after an interview, printed the following article in the Portland Daily Journal of May 19, 1925: "Frank P. Leinenweber, district attorney, was born, reared and now lives in Astoria. I visited him recently in his office in the Clatsop county courthouse. 'Yes, I was born in Astoria,' he said in answer to my question. 'My father and mother were born in Germany. My father fought through the Civil war, serving under General Sigel. Father was severely wounded at the battle of the Wilderness and, though they did not expect him to recover, he did so, rejoined his regiment and served till peace had been declared. He and mother came west not long after the war. "'I was born next door to the old custom house here in Astoria, on June 15, 1875. My father, whose name was Henry Leinenweber, was drowned when I was three years old. He lived at what was then termed Upper Town. There was no road at that time to what is now the business district of Astoria, so all travel was done by boat. Father was drowned while coming in a small boat from our home downtown. My mother was left with five small children in a rented house without funds. She had to have money at once, so she took boarders. As soon as the children became old enough to get jobs they dropped out of school. I stopped school when I was fourteen and went to work. "'My mother's maiden name was Theresa Eckhart. Some years after the death of my father she married C. A. Granns. Mother had five more children by her second husband. Mother is still living in Upper Town. "'I started my political career as a letter carrier. I was appointed to that position when Charles McDonald was postmaster of Astoria. That was twenty- seven years ago. I received fifty dollars a month for the first six months and after that seventy-two dollars a month. I decided to rise in the service to postal inspector, for that job paid fourteen hundred to eighteen hundred dollars a year. I learned to throw the case — that is, distribute the cards that represent all the post offices in Oregon, with their proper railroad or stage connections. I also learned in my spare time how to make out money orders and attend to the registry department. I also "subbed" at times at the general delivery window. I studied the postal laws and regulations till I nearly knew the "P. L. & R." by heart. "'As a first step toward my ultimate goal I took the examination for railway mail clerk, passed, and was offered a position in that service. My wife was in the hospital and I did not feel I could leave her, so I declined. I was later offered a run out of Pasco, but I felt that I could not go so far away from the sight and sound and smell of the ocean, so I declined this run. The postmaster offered me a clerkship in the office, and I later accepted the position of assistant postmaster. "'In 1905 Scott Cornelius, county assessor at that time, offered me a position as his deputy. I accepted it and served eight years under him. He decided to drop out, so I ran and was elected assessor and served for the next twelve years. Two years after dropping out as assessor, Cornelius was elected county judge and has served in that position ever since. He is the son of Colonel T. R. Cornelius, for whom the town of Cornelius, in Washington county, was named. His mother is still a resident of Cornelius. While I was serving as assessor, Murray Wheat, a young attorney here, organized a class to study law, and I joined. He had served as stenographer for Judge Frank A. Moore, of St. Helens, who served so long on the Oregon supreme bench. There were five of us in Wheat's law class. Charles Haiderman, one of the number, is now postmaster of Astoria. L. J. Tuomala is now justice of the peace. Charles M. Johnson is now with the Astoria Abstract Company. Alec Ostrom is in Portland and I am district attorney. Yes, we were all admitted to the bar. Murray Wheat and another Astoria boy, Charley Abercrombie, went overseas in the World war. Both were lieutenants and both were killed in action. I was admitted to the bar in 1919. My father's brother, C. A. Leinenweber, was one of the pioneer cannerymen of Astoria. He had a cannery here more than fifty years ago. "'The two paramount problems I have to deal with the juvenile delinquency and the enforcement of the prohibition law, and they are inseparably linked. How is that? Well, where a man is a bootlegger he loses respect for law, and his children do not get a fair chance to become useful, law-abiding citizens. If a man patronizes bootleggers he, too, is a lawbreaker. He spends the money his children need in education, for booze. His home is apt to be broken by divorce. The man who drinks booze is the man who usually contributes to juvenile delinquency. If fathers and mothers exercised proper parental care over their children the girls would not go out on joyrides with young chaps who ply them with liquor and ruin them. If we could wipe out moonshine, if we could put the bootlegger and the customer of the bootlegger out of business, we would have taken a long step toward reducing divorces and consequent juvenile delinquency. Children of broken homes do not secure proper parental example, guidance or discipline. No church, no Sunday school, no day school, can take the place of home training and maternal and paternal guidance. They can supplement home training, but cannot take its place. "'Another problem I have to deal with is delinquent taxes. Additions galore were laid out and the lots sold to non-resident buyers. Taxes have not been paid for years on hundreds of these lots. As soon as the sheriff can check up these delinquent lots I am going to file a motion for foreclosure proceedings and sell all delinquent property. This will restore them to the tax rolls once more and render them income-producing to the county.'" Supplementing the foregoing record, it may be stated that Mr. Leinenweber's father, who came to this country about 1860, reached the Pacific coast in 1870, traveling by rail to San Francisco, California, and thence by boat to Astoria. Here he engaged in the tanning business to the time of his accidental death, in 1878. To him and his wife were born five children, namely: Mrs. Josephine T. Kearney, of Astoria; Henry, deceased; C. A., who is a member of the state fish commission and lives in Astoria; Frank P.; and Alfred, who is engaged in the wholesale feed business in Astoria. On December 31, 1902, Frank P. Leinenweber was united in marriage to Miss Hilda Marie Johnson, who was born at Brush Prairie, Clark county, Washington, and is a daughter of J. L. and Louise Johnson, who were pioneer settlers in Clark county, and are still living there. Mr. Leinenweber is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of which he is past exalted ruler; past chief ranger of Astoria Lodge, No. 180, Foresters of America; past great sachem of the Improved Order of Red Men; and member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He is an able and fearless district attorney, in which office he has made an enviable record, while in the sphere of private citizenship he has earned the unequivocal esteem of his fellowmen, who found him to be dependable and devoted to the public welfare. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/clatsop/bios/leinenwe1099gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 8.5 Kb