Christiansen, Carla

Samuel Postlethwaite: Trader, Patriot, Gentleman of Early Carlisle

Largely overlooked in local histories, Samuel Postlethwaite deserves a prominent place on a list of early Cumberland County notables. A frontier trader, he helped supply the Continental Army in the American Revolution and played an active role in Cumberland County’s government and social institutions during the early days of the American Republic. In the 1790’s, he served in the Pennsylvania legislature as the senator from Cumberland County.