Lewis was born in York, Pennsylvania. He was elected Pennsylvania Auditor General in 1921 and then served as Pennsylvania Treasurer from 1925 through 1929. During the 1931-1935 administration of Gifford Pinchot, he was the Secretary of Highways and spearheaded the governor's ambitious rural transportation initiative. From 1951 through 1953, he was Governor John S. Fine's Secretary of Forests & Water. [1][usurped]. There is a state park near York named after the former lieutenant governor.