Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 66

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388

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Superintendent, when he became First Assistant Superintendent.

LANE, Edward, ex-Congressman, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, March 27, 1842, and became a resident of Illinois at the age of 16. After receiv- ing an academic education he studied law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in February, 1865. Since then he has been a successful prac- titioner at Hillsboro. From 1869 to 1873 he served as County Judge. In 1886 he was the successful Democratic candidate for Congress from the Seventeenth Illinois District and re-elected for three successive terms, but was defeated by Frederick Remann (Republican) in 1894, and again by W. F. L. Hadley, at a special election, in 1895, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Remann.

LANPHIER, Charles H., journalist, was born at Alexandria, Va., April 14, 1820; from 4 years of age lived in Washington City; in 1836 entered the office as an apprentice of "The State Regis- ter" at Vandalia, Ill., (then owned by his brother- in-law, William Walters). Later, the paper was removed to Springfield, and Walters, having enlisted for the Mexican war in 1846, died at St. Louis, en route to the field. Lanphier, having thus succeeded to the management, and, finally, to the proprietorship of the paper, was elected public printer at the next session of the Legisla- ture, and, in 1847, took into partnership George Walker, who acted as editor until 1858. Mr. Lan- phier continued the publication of the paper until 1863, and then sold out. During the war he was one of the State Board of Army Auditors appointed by Governor Yates; was elected Circuit Clerk in 1864 and re-elected in 1868, and, in 1872, was Democratic candidate for County Treasurer but defeated with the rest of his party.

LARCOM, Lucy, author and teacher, born at, Beverly, Mass., in 1826; attended a grammar. school and worked in a cotton mill at Lowell, becoming one of the most popular contributors to "The Lowell Offering," a magazine conducted by the factory girls, thereby winning the acquaint- ance and friendship of the poet Whittier. In 1846 she came to Illinois and, for three years, was a student at Monticello Female Seminary, near Alton, meanwhile teaching at intervals in the vicinity. Returning to Massachusetts she taught for six years; in 1865' established "Our Young Folks," of which she was editor until 1874. Her books, both poetical and prose, have taken a high rank for their elevated literary and moral tone. Died, in Boston, April 17, 1893.

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LARNED, Edward Channing, lawyer, was born in Providence, R. I., July 14, 1820; graduated at Brown University in 1840; was Professor of Mathe- matics one year in Kemper College, Wis., then studied law and, in 1847, came to Chicago. He was an earnest opponent of slavery and gained considerable deserved celebrity by a speech which he delivered in 1851, in opposition to the fugitive slave law. He was a warm friend of Abraham Lincoln and, in 1860, made speeches in his support; was an active member of the Union Defense Committee of Chicago during the war, and, in 1861, was appointed by Mr. Lincoln United States District Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois, but compelled to resign by failing health. Being absent in Europe at the time of the fire of 1871, he returned immediately and devoted his attention to the work of the Relief and Aid Society. Making a second visit to Europe in 1872-73, he wrote many letters for the press, also doing much other literary work in spite of declining health. Died at Lake Forest, Ill., September, 1884.

LA SALLE, a city in La Salle County, 99 miles southwest of Chicago, situated on the Illinois River and the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and a center for three trunk lines of railroad, which intersect there. Bituminous coal abounds and is extensively mined. Zinc smelting is a leading industry, as also the manufacture of glass and hydraulic cement. Large quantities of ice are annually cut from the river and shipped south. It is connected with Peru (one mile west) by an electric railway. Population (1880), 7,847; (1890), 9,855; (1892), 11,920.

LA SALLE, Reni Robert Cavelier, Sieur de, a famous explorer, born at Rouen, France, in 1643; entered the Jesuit order, but conceiving that he had mistaken his vocation, came to America in 1666. He obtained a grant of land about the Lachine Rapids of the St. Lawrence, above Montreal. It was probably his intention to settle there as a grand seigneur; but, becoming interested in stories told him by some Seneca Indians, he started two years later in quest of a great waterway, which he believed led to the South Sea (Pacific Ocean) and afforded a short route to China. He passed through Lake Ontario, and is believed to have discovered the Ohio, The claim that he reached the Illinois River at this time has been questioned. Having re-visited France in 1677 he was given a patent of nobility and extensive land-grants in Canada. In 1679 he visited the Northwest and explored the great lakes, finally reaching the head of Lake Michi-

gan and erecting a fort near the mouth of the St. Joseph River. From there he made a portage to the Illinois, which he descended early in 1680 to Lake Peoria, where he began the erection of a fort to which, in consequence of the misfortunes attending the expedition, was given the name of Creve-Cœur. Returning from here to Canada for supplies, in the following fall he again appeared in Illinois, but found his fort at Lake Peoria a ruin and his followers, whom he had left there, gone. Compelled again to return to Canada, in the latter part of 1681 he set out on his third expedition to Illinois, and making the portage by way of the Chicago and Des Plaines Rivers, reached "Starved Rock," near the present city of Ottawa, where his lieutenant, Tonty, had already begun the erection of a fort. In 1682, accom- panied by Tonty, he descended the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, reaching the Gulf of Mexico on April 9. He gave the region the name of Louisi- ana. In 1683 he again returned to France and was commissioned to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi, which he unsuccessfully attempted to do in 1684, the expedition finally landing about Matagorda Bay in Texas. After other fruitless attempts (death and desertions having seriously reduced the number of his colo- nists), while attempting to reach Canada, he was murdered by his companions near Trinity River in the present State of Texas, March 19, 1687. Another theory regarding La Salle's ill-starred Texas expedition is, that he intended to establish a colony west of the Mississippi, with a view to contesting with the Spaniards for the possession of that region, but that the French government failed to give him the support which had been promised, leaving him to his fate.

LA SALLE COUNTY, one of the wealthiest counties in the northeastern section, being second in size and in population in the State It was organized in 1831, and has an area of 1,152 square miles; population (1890), 80,798. The history of this region dates back to 1675, when Marquette established a mission at an Indian village on the Illinois River about where Utica now stands, eight miles west of Ottawa. La Salle (for whom the county is named) erected a fort here in 1682, which was, for many years, the headquarters for French missionaries and traders. Later, the Illinois Indians were well-uigh exterminated by starvation, at the same point, which has he- come famous in Western history as "Starved Rock." The surface of the county is undulat- ing and slopes toward the Illinois River. The soil is rich, and timber abounds on the bluffs and

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along the streams. Water is easily procured. Four beds of coal underlie the entire county, and good building stone is quarried at a depth of 150 to 200 feet. Excellent hydraulic cement is made from the calciferous deposit, Utica being espe- cially noted for this industry. The First Ameri- can settlers came about the time of Captain Long's survey of a canal route (1816). The Illinois & Michigan Canal was located by a joint corps of State and National engineers in 1830. (See Illi- nois & Michigan Canal.) During the Black Hawk War, La Salle County was a prominent base of military operations.

LATHROP, William, lawyer and Congress- man, was born in Genesee County, N. Y., April 17, 1825. His early education was acquired in the common schools. Later he read law and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice in 1851, making his home in Central New York until his removal to Illinois. In 1856 he represented the Rockford District in the lower house of the General Assembly, and, in 1876, was elected, as a Republican, to represent the (then) Fourth Illi- nois District in Congress.

LA VANTUM, the name given, in the latter part of the seventeenth century, to the principal village of the Illinois Indians, situated on the Illinois River, near the present town of Utica, in La Salle County. (See Starved Rock.)

LAWLER, Frank, was born at Rochester, N. Y., June 25, 1842. His first active occupation was as a news-agent on railroads, which business he followed for three years. He learned the trade of a ship-calker, and was elected to the Presidency of the Ship-Carpenters' and Ship- Calkers' Association. While yet a young man he settled in Chicago and, in 1869, was appointed to a clerical position in the postoffice in that city ; later, served as a letter-carrier, and as a member of the City Council (1876-84). In 1884 he was elected to Congress from the Second District, which he represented in that body for three suc- cessive terms. While serving his last year in Congress (1890) he was an unsuccessful candidate on the Democratic ticket for Sheriff of Cook County ; in 1893 was an unsuccessful applicant for the Chicago postmastership, was defeated as an Independent-Democrat for Congress in 1894, but, in 1895, was elected Alderman for the Nine- teenth Ward of the city of Chicago. Died, Jan. 17, 1896.

LAWLER, (Gen.) Michael K., soldier, was born in County Kildare, Ireland, Nov. 16, 1814, brought to the United States in 1816, and, in 1819, to Gallatin County, Ill., where his father began

farming. The younger Lawler early evinced a military taste by organizing a military company in 1842, of which he served as Captain three or four years. In 1846 he organized a company for the Mexican War, which was attached to the Third Regiment Illinois Volunteers (Colonel Forman's), and, at the end of its term of enlistment, raised a company of cavalry, with which he served to the end of the war-in all, seeing two and a half years' service. He then resumed the peaceful life of a farmer; but, on the breaking out of the rebellion, again gave proof of his patri- otism by recruiting the Eighteenth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry-the first regiment organized in the Eighteenth Congressional District-of which he was commissioned Colonel, entering into the three years' service in May, 1861. His regiment took part in most of the early engagements in Western Kentucky and Tennessee, including the capture of Fort Donelson, where it lost heavily, Colonel Lawler himself being severely wounded. Later, he was in command, for some time, at Jackson, Tenn., and, in November, 1862, was com- missioned Brigadier-General "for gallant and meritorious service." He was also an active participant in the operations against Vicksburg, . and was thanked on the field by General Grant for his service at the battle of Big Black, pro- nounced by Charles A. Dana (then Assistant Secretary of War) "one of the most splendid exploits of the war." After the fall of Vicksburg he took part in the siege of Jackson, Miss., and in the campaigns on the Teche and Red River, and in Texas, also being in command, for six months, at Baton Rouge, La. In March, 1865, he was brevetted Major-General, and mustered out, January, 1866, after a service of four years and seven months. He then returned to his Gallatin County farm, where he died, July 26, 1882.

LAWLER, Thomas G., soldier and Com- mander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, was born in Liverpool, Eng .. April 7, 1844; was brought to Illinois by his parents in childhood, and, at 17 years of age, enlisted in the Nineteenth Illinois Volunteers, serv- ing first as a private, then as Sergeant, later being elected First Lieutenant, and (although not mustered in, for two months) during the Atlanta campaign being in command of his com- pany, and placed on the roll of honor by order of General Rosecrans. He participated in every battle in which his regiment was engaged, and. at the battle of Missionary Ridge, was the first man of his command over the enemy's works. After the war he became prominent as an officer

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of the Illinois National Guard, organizing the Rockford Rifles, in 1876, and serving as Colonel of the Third Regiment for seven years; was ap- pointed Postmaster at Rockford by President Hayes, but removed by Cleveland in 1885; re- appointed by Harrison and again displaced on the accession of Cleveland. He was one of the organizers of G. L. Nevius Post. G. A. R., of which he served as Commander twenty-six years; in 1882 was elected Department Commander for the State of Illinois and, in 1894, Commander-in- Chief, serving one year.

LAWRENCE, Charles B., jurist, was born at Vergennes, Vt., Dec. 17, 1820. After two years spent at Middlebury College, he entered the junior class at Union College, graduating from the latter in 1841. He devoted two years to teaching in Alabama, and began reading law at Cincinnati in 1843, completing his studies at St. Louis, where he was admitted to the bar and began practice in 1844. The following year he removed to Quincy, Ill., where he was a promi- nent practitioner for ten years. The years 1856-58 he spent in foreign travel, with the pri- mary object of restoring his impaired health. On his return home he began farming in Warren County, with the same end in view. In 1861 he accepted a nomination to the Circuit Court bench and was elected without opposition. Before the expiration of his term, in 1864, he was elected a Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court for the Northern Grand Division, and, in 1870, became Chief Justice. At this time his home was at Galesburg. Failing of a re-election in 1873, he removed to Chicago, and at once became one of the leaders of the Cook County bar. Although persistently urged by personal and political friends, to permit his name to be used in connec- tion with a vacancy on the bench of the United States Supreme Court, he steadfastly declined. In 1877 he received the votes of the Republicans in the State Legislature for United States Senator against David Davis, who was elected. Died, at Decatur, Ala .. April 9, 1883.

LAWRENCE COUNTY, one of the eastern counties in the "southern tier," originally a part of Edwards, but separated from the latter in 1821, and named for Commodore Lawrence. In 1890 its area was 360 square miles, and its popu- lation, 14,693. The first English speaking settlers seem to have emigrated from the colony at Vin- cennes, Ind. St. Francisville, in the southeast- ern portion, and Allison prairie, in the northeast, were favored by the American pioneers. Settle- ment was more or less desultory until after the

War of 1812. Game was abundant and the soil productive. About a dozen negro families found homes, in 1819, near Lawrenceville, and a Shaker colony was established about Charlottesville the same year. Among the best remembered pio- neers are the families of Lautermann, Chubb, Kincaid, Buchanan and Laus-the latter having come from South Carolina. Toussaint Dubois. a Frenchman and father of Jesse K. Dubois, State Auditor (1857-64), was a large land proprietor at an early day, and his house was first utilized as a court house. The county is richer in historic associations than in populous towns. Lawrence- ville, the county-seat, was credited with 865 inhabitants by the census of 1890. St. Francis- ville and Sumner are flourishing towns.

LAWRENCEVILLE, the county-seat of Law- rence County, is situated on the Embarras River. at the intersection of the Baltimore & Ohio South- western and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railways, 9 miles west of Vincennes, Ind., and 139 miles east of St. Louis. It has a court house, three churches, a graded school and two weekly newspapers. Population (1880), 514; (1890), 865.

LAWSON, Victor F., journalist and newspaper proprietor, was born in Chicago, of Scandinavian parentage, Sept 9, 1850. After graduating at the Chicago High School, he prosecuted his studies at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and at Harvard University. In August, 1876, he pur- chased an interest in "The Chicago Daily News," being for some time a partner of Melville E. Stone, but became sole proprietor in 1888, pub- lishing morning and evening editions. He reduced the price of the morning edition to one cent, and changed its name to "The Chicago Record." He has always taken a deep interest in the cause of popular education, and, in 1888, established a fund to provide for the distribution of medals among public school children of Chi- cago, the award to be made upon the basis of comparative excellence in the preparation of essays upon topics connected with American history.

LEBANON, a city in St. Clair County, situated on Silver Creek, and on the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad, 11 miles northeast of Belleville and 24 miles east of St. Louis. It is located in an agricultural and coal-mining region, and has various descriptions of manufactures, the chief industrial establishments being flouring- mills, a distillery, a brewery, a planing-mill, and a manufactory of farming implements. The city also has a bank, eight churches and a newspaper,

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and is the seat of McKendree College, chartered in 1834. (See McKendree College.) Population (1880), 1,924; (1890), 1,636.

LEE COUNTY, one of the third tier of counties south of the Wisconsin State line; named for Richard Henry Lee of Revolutionary fame: area, 740 square miles; population (1890), 26,187. It was cut off from Ogle County, and separately organized in 1839. In 1840 the population was but little over 2,000. Charles F. Ingals, Nathan R. Whitney and James P. Dixon were the first County-Commissioners. Agriculture is the prin- cipal pursuit, although stone quarries are found here and there, notably at Ashton. The county- seat is Dixon, where, in 1828, one Ogee, a half- breed, built a cabin and established a ferry across the Rock River. In 1830, John Dixon, of New York, purchased Ogee's interest for $1,800. Set- tlement and progress were greatly retarded by the Black Hawk War, but immigration fairly set in in 1838 The first court house was built in 1840, and the same year the United States Land Office was removed from Galena to Dixon, Colo., John Dement, an early pioneer, being appointed Receiver. Dixon was incorporated as a city in 1859, and, in 1890, had a population of 5,161.

LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT. (See Apportionment, Legislative.)

LEGISLATURE. (See General Assemblies.)

LELAND, a village of La Salle County, on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway, 29 miles southwest of Aurora. Population (1890), 554.

LELAND, Edwin S., lawyer and Judge, was born at Dennysville, Me., August 28, 1812, and admitted to the bar at Dedham, Mass., in 1834. In 1835 he removed to Ottawa, Ill., and, in 1839, to Oregon, Ogle County, where he practiced for four years. Returning to Ottawa in 1843, he rapidly rose in his profession, until, in 1852, he was elected to the Circuit Court bench to fill the unexpired term of Judge T. Lyle Dickey, who had resigned. In 1866 Governor Oglesby ap- pointed him Circuit Judge to fill the unexpired term of Judge Hollister. He was elected by popular vote in 1867, and re-elected in 1873, being assigned to the Appellate Court of the Second District in 1877. He was prominently identified with the genesis of the Republican party, whose tenets he zealously championed. He was also prominent in local affairs, having been elected the first Republican Mayor of Ottawa (1856), President of the Board of Education and County Treasurer. Died, June, 24, 1889.

LEMEN, James, Sr., pioneer, was born in Berk- eley County, Va., Nov. 20, 1760; served as a soldier

in the War of the Revolution, being present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown in 1781; in 1786 came to Illinois, settling at the village of New Design, near the present site of Waterloo, in Monroe County. He was a man of enterprise and sterling integrity, and ultimately became the head of one of the most prominent and influential families in Southern Illinois. He is said to have been the first person admitted to the Baptist Church by immersion in Illinois, finally becoming a minister of that denomination. Of a family of eight children, four of his sons became ministers. Mr. Lemen's prominence was indicated by the fact that he was approached by Aaron Burr, with offers of large rewards for his influence in found- ing that ambitious schemer's projected South- western Empire, but the proposals were indignantly rejected and the scheme denounced. Died, at Waterloo, Jan. 8, 1822 .- Robert (Lemen), oldest son of the preceding, was born in Berkeley County, Va., Sept. 25, 1783; came with his father to Illinois, and, after his marriage, settled in St. Clair County. He held a commission as magis- trate and, for a time, was United States Marshal for Illinois under the administration of John Quincy Adams. Died in Ridge Prairie, St. Clair County, August 24, 1860 .- Rev. Joseph (Lemen), the second son, was born in Berkeley County, Va., Sept. 8, 1785, brought to Illinois in 1786, and, on reaching manhood, married Mary Kinney, a daughter of Rev. William Kinney, who after- wards became Lieutenant-Governor of the State. Joseph Lemen settled in Ridge Prairie, in the northern part of St. Clair County, and for many years supplied the pulpit of the Bethel Baptist church, which had been founded in 1809 on the principle of opposition to human slavery. His death occurred at his home, June 29, 1861 .- Rev. James (Lemen), Jr., the third son, was born in Monroe County, Ill., Oct. 8, 1787; early united with the Baptist Church and became a minister - assisting in the ordination of his father, whose sketch stands at the head of this article. He served as a Delegate from St. Clair County in the first State Constitutional Convention (1818), and as Senator in the Second, Fourth and Fifth General Assemblies. He also preached extensively in Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky, and assisted in the organization of many churches, althoughi his labors were chiefly within his own. Mr. Lemen was the second child of American parents born in Illinois-Enoch Moore being the first. Died, Feb. 8, 1870 .- William (Lemen), the fourth son, born in Monroe County, Ill., in 1791; served as a soldier in the Black Hawk War. Died in Monroe

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County, in 1857 .- Rev. Josiah (Lemen), the fifth son, born in Monroe County, Ill., August 15, 1794; was a Baptist preacher. Died near Du- quoin, July 11, 1867 .- Rev. Moses (Lemen), the sixth son, born in Monroe County, Ill., in 1797; became a Baptist minister early in life, served as Representative in the Sixth General Assembly (1828-30) for Monroe County. Died, in Montgom- ery County, Ill., March 5, 1859.

LEMONT, a city in Cook County, 25 miles southwest of Chicago, on the Des Plaines River and the Chicago & Alton Railroad. A thick vein of Silurian limestone (Athens marble) is exten- sively quarried here, constituting the chief in- dustry. Owing to the number of industrial enterprises, Lemont is at times the temporary home of a large number of workmen. The popu- lation is constantly shifting. The city has a bank, five churches, two weekly papers and a public school. Aluminum and concrete works are operated there. Population of the township (1880), 3,798; (1890), 5,539.

LE MOYNE, John V., ex-Congressman, was born in Washington County, Pa., in 1828, and graduated from Washington College, Pa., in 1847. He studied law at Pittsburg, where he was admitted to the bar in 1852. He at once removed to Chicago, where he continued a permanent resident and active practitioner. In 1872 he was a candidate for Congress on the Liberal Repub- lican ticket, but was defeated by Charles B. Far- well, Republican. In 1874 he was again a candidate against Mr. Farwell. Both claimed the election, and a contest ensued which was decided by the House in favor of Mr. Le Moyne.

LENA, a village in Stephenson County, on the Illinois Central Railroad, 13 miles northwest of Freeport and 38 miles east of Galena. It is in a farming and dairying district, but has manufac- tories of boots and shoes, sash and blinds, car- riages, and a foundry. There are also six churches, banks and a newspaper. Population (1880), 1,520; (1890), 1,270.

LEONARD, Edward F., Railway President, was born in Connecticut in 1836; graduated from Union College, N. Y., was admitted to the bar and came to Springfield, Ill., in 1858: served for several years as clerk in the office of the State Auditor, was afterwards connected with the con- struction of the "St. Louis Short Line" (now a part of the Illinois Central Railway), and was private secretary of Governor Cullom during his first term. For several years he has been Presi- dent of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad, with headquarters at Peoria.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois, Part 66

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1388

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913; Gale, W. Shelden
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago : Munsell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1388