This Pennsylvania native moved to Lewis County in 1840. A childhood friend of "Stonewall" Jackson, he served in the U.S. Army before running his family’s mill and farm. During the Civil War, General Lightburn led U.S. troops in West Virginia and later in battles such as Vicksburg and Chickamauga, and more locally, at the 1862 Battle of Charleston. After the war, he became a Baptist preacher and served in the West Virginia legislature. A monument at Vicksburg National Battlefield Park honors him.