USA > Massachusetts > One of a thousand, a series of biographical sketches of one thousand representative men resident in the commonwealth of Massachusetts, A.D. 1888-'89; > Part 55
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He received his early education at the common schools of his native town. When quite a boy he went into the employ of Samuel Williston at Easthampton, with the expectation of going at once into his store, but much to his surprise he was set to work in the garden. Though a little dis- appointed and dissatisfied, he has since said he did the work the best he could.
KNOWLTON.
He soon rose in position. In 1832 he be- came a clerk in Mr. Williston's employ, and in 1842 he was a partner with him in his extensive button manufacturing busi- ness. He continued with Mr. Williston in various manufacturing enterprises and mer- cantile pursuits till the time of the lat- ter's death. He is now a manufacturer and merchant, being the senior member of the Williston & Knight Company, New York.
Mr. Knight served two years in the House of Representatives, two years in the Senate, two years in the executive coun- cil, and four years as lieutenant-governor.
He has been a trustee of Williams Col- lege, Williston Seminary, Clarke Institu- tion for Deaf Mutes, president of a national bank, a savings bank, and of several man- ufacturing corporations, a director of the New Haven & Northampton railroad, a member of the state board of education, of the Easthampton school committee, and has held various other offices in his native town.
Mr. Knight was appointed by "War Governor " Andrew to the office of draft- ing commissioner, by Governor Claflin a commissioner on the Lee and New Haven railroad matters, and by Governor Wash- burn a state commissioner to the Vienna Exposition.
He has traveled extensively in this and foreign countries, having visited Europe many times for business and pleasure.
He was a delegate to the Chicago con- vention that first nominated Abraham Lin- coln, and to the Philadelphia convention that nominated General Grant.
Mr. Knight was married in New York City, September 28, 1842, to Mary Ann, daughter of Charles and Minerva P. Hun- toon, by whom he has five surviving chil- dren : Alice, Horatio W., Lucy, Charles H., and Mary Knight - two boys, Frederick A. and Russell W., dying in infancy.
KNOWLTON, MARCUS P., son of Merrick and Fatima (Perrin) Knowlton, was born in Wilbraham, Hampden county, February 3, 1839.
He was five years old when his parents moved to Monson, where he lived upon a farm till he was seventeen, studying in the public schools and fitting for college in the Monson Academy, teaching in the dis- trict school the last two winters. He entered Yale in 1856, graduating in 1860, when he accepted the position of principal of the Union school, at Norwalk, Conn. A year later he entered the law office of James G. Allen, of Palmer, and afterward studied under John Wells and Augustus L.
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LADD.
Soule, of Springfield, who were then in partnership, and both of whom were after- wards justices of the supreme judicial court. There he was admitted to the bar in 1862, and opened a law office, and there he still resides. In 1870 he was ad- mitted to practice in the supreme court of the United States.
Though a man thoroughly devoted to his profession, he has found time to serve the public in various official capacities. In 1872 and '73 he was president of the common council of Springfield. He is a director of the City National Bank, and at the time of his appointment to the supe- rior court in 1881 was a director of the Springfield & New London Railroad Com- pany, and trustee and treasurer of the Springfield City Hospital.
LAFORME.
In 1878 he was sent as representative to the Legislature, where he served on the com- mittees on judiciary, liquor law, state detec- tive force and constitutional amendments, gaining for himself an enviable reputation as one of the leading members. He declined a renomination, but was sent to the state Senate in 1880, where his independence, integrity, and ability won for him the high- est esteem, and resulted in a re-election, In August, 1881, he was appointed a justice of the superior court, and in September, 1887, was promoted to the supreme judicial court.
On the 18th of July, 1867, at Spring- field, Mr. Knowlton married Sophia, daugh- ter of William and Saba A. (Cushman) Ritchie, who died at Springfield, on the 18th of February, 1886.
LADD, CHARLES R., son of Ariel and Mary (Winchell) Ladd, was born in Tol- land, Tolland county, Conn., April 9, 1822.
His early education was obtained in the public schools, and by two years' attendance at Westfield Academy. Mr. Ladd chose the profession of law, and pursued his legal studies in Tolland, Conn .; was admitted to the bar in 1847 ; removed to Chicopee in 1848 ; in 1857 removed to Springfield, and became interested in the insurance business in the office of his brother, R. E. Ladd, in which business he is still engaged, the firm name being Ladd Brothers & Co.
Mr. Ladd was married in Hyde Park, April 3, 1886, to Ella M. Weaver, daughter of William G. and Rebekah G. (Ayers) Morse. They have no children.
Mr. Ladd has held many offices and posi- tions of honor and trust in city, county and state; was selectman in Chicopee two years ; representative to the General Court from that town two years, 1853 and '54 ; register of probate, Hampden county, two years ; treasurer of the county nine years ; member of Springfield common council two years; member of the board of aldermen two years ; state senator, Ist Hampden district, two years, 1869 and '70 ; represen- tative from Springfield to the General Court two years, 1873 and '79. In 1879 he was appointed auditor of accounts of the Commonwealth to fill a vacancy ; was elected on the general ticket in November following, and has been re- elected to the same office every year since, and now hokls the position, having retained
the office longer than any incumbent since the department was created.
He was in early life a quarter-master in the Connecticut militia. He is now a di- rector in three paper manufacturing com- panies, and also in the Third National Bank of Springfield. His temporary resi- dence is in Malden - his home in Spring- field.
In boyhood Mr. Ladd worked on a farm and in a saw-mill ; taught school five win- ters while securing an education, and by industry, pluck, and integrity, has carved his fortune with but little assistance other than his own hands and brain.
LAFORME, VINCENT, was born in Rheine, Westphalia, on the 25th of June, 1823. His father was Anthony Laforme (who was descended from Peter Laforme, of St. Omer, France, an officer in the French army), who, in the year 1833, emi- grated to Boston, where he was engaged in the manufacture of silverware until his death in 1846.
Vincent Laforme was educated in the public schools of Boston, where he gradu- ated with honor, and subsequently entered his father's business, in which he has since continued.
He was married to Sarah Jane Field of Boston, in 1845, and is the father of nine children. Mrs. Laforme was a descend- ant of John Sealy, a citizen of Boston in 1776, who left the town at the evacuation of Boston by General Howe ; he went to Halifax with the British and settled there. Mr. Sealy had two sons in the Federal
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LAMBERT.
army, who remained in active service dur- ing the war ; after the declaration of inde- pendence they remained and settled in the states.
Mr. Laforme joined the Massachusetts volunteer militia in 1841, and was an active member thereof, with the rank of sergeant, until 1848. In 1858 he became a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, al- ways taking an active interest in its affairs,
VINCENT LA FORME.
holding during his membership various im- portant offices, and has served the com- pany in the post of treasurer and paymas- ter since 1875.
He was appointed May 6, 1889, by Mayor Hart, one of the three commissioners of public institutions, and confirmed by the board of aldermen May 13th.
As a citizen of Boston, Mr. Laforme has always been deeply interested in public matters. Although a Democrat in politics, he has ever been independent in action outside of national affairs, fearlessly con- demning, and actively opposing, whatever he considered mischievous or evil in local politics.
LAMBERT, THOMAS RICKER, son of William and Abigail (Ricker) Lambert, was born in South Berwick, York county, Me., July 2, 1809. He is of the seventh
generation of his family in Massachusetts, of which Francis Lambert, of Rowley, (" freeman " in 1640), was the first.
He was prepared at the South Berwick and the Exeter academies for entrance at Dartmouth College. His father was gradu- ated by the same alma mater in 1798.
Receiving an appointment to a cadet- ship at West Point at this time, his collegi- ate course was exchanged for a military education. Before graduation, ill health compelled him to leave, and he entered upon the study of law in the office of Judge Levi Woodbury, at Portsmouth, N. H. He was admitted to the bar in 1832. Success at the bar did not deter him from regarding the advice of friends who urged him to the church. He became a candidate for orders, and was ordained by Bishop Griswold in 1836. Previous to this he had been in 1834 appointed by Secretary Woodbury a chaplain in the navy, in which he served on board the frigates "Brandywine," "Constitu- tion " and "Columbia," under Commo- dores Wadsworth and Rousseau, and Cap- tain Wilkinson.
While on a vacation, he instituted the parish of St. Thomas at Dover, N. H. On another leave of absence, he was invited to the rectorship of Grace church, New Bedford, which he accepted and where he remained four years. Returning in 1845 to the chaplaincy, he served at the Navy Yard, Charlestown, with Commodore John Downs. In 1855 he resigned the chap- laincy and became rector of St. John's church, Charlestown, where he remained twenty-eight years. In 1845 he received the degree of A. M., honoris causa, from Brown University, and in 1852 the same degree from Trinity College; in 1863 Columbia College conferred upon him the degree of S. T. D.
For thirty years Dr. Lambert has been a member of the standing committee of the diocese of Massachusetts. His promi- nence in the church and the navy, his extended acquaintance with public men for half a century, and his social qualities - for the indulgence of which Dr. Lambert was not only rarely qualified, but also possessed of ample means for their gratifi- cation -rendered his delightful home at the rectory the resort of visiting clergy from every part of the country, of travelers from abroad, and of the scholars and literary men of the vicinity.
In 1884, when nearly seventy-five years of age, Dr. Lambert resigned his rector- ship and passed into retirement, save only
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his connection with the diocesan stand- ing committee, which he still retains.
In Free Masonry he has wrought for nearly sixty years, having received the first degree in his twenty-first year, and attained the thirty-third in his sixtieth. He has been repeatedly grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and for
THOMAS R. LAMBERT.
more than fifty years the intimate and social friend of the grand officers.
Dr. Lambert was married in January, 1845, to Mrs. Jane Standish Colby, of New Bedford, daughter of Hon. John Avery Parker and widow of Judge H. G. O. Colby. They have one son : William Thomas.
LAMBERT, WILLIAM HENRY, son of Isaac and Lucy (Dingley) Lambert, was born in Durham, Androscoggin county, Maine, August 8, 1843.
His early mental training was directed in public schools, the printing office of the "Lewiston Journal," and Lewiston Falls Academy, Auburn, Me.
He was graduated from Colby Univer- sity in the class of 1865. After graduating, he studied law in Waterville, and was ad- mitted to the bar at Augusta, 1867. He was then called to Castine, to take charge of the high school. He accepted, and re- mained there one year.
LANE.
He was principal of the Augusta high school 1868, '69 and '70 ; principal of the Lewiston high school from 1870 to '74; principal of the Fall River (Mass.) high school from 1874 to '79 ; superintendent of schools, Malden, from 1879 to '84. In 1887 he was again called to the Fall River high school, where he still remains as principal.
Mr. Lambert was married in Waterville, Me., in September, 1866, to Emma F., daughter of W. G. and Achsah C. (Wood) Otis. Of this union are two children : Grace E. and Gertrude A. Lambert.
Mr. Lambert has served as editor of the " Maine School Journal ; " secretary of the New England School Superintendents' As- sociation ; president of the Middlesex Teachers' Association and president of the Massachusetts State Teachers' Association.
He was admitted to practice in Massa- chusetts courts, 1883. He edited " Mem- ory Gems" and " Robinson Crusoe," for use of schools, and has been an occasional contributor to the "New England Journal of Education," and other school journals.
LANE, SAURIN ELIOT, son of Benja- min Ingersol and Susan (Eliot) Lane, was born in Townshend, Windham county, Vt., August 31, 1818.
Among his ancestors are found the names of John Eliot, Sirs John Lawson and Hildreth. His father was the son of a daughter of John Lawson, and Benjamin Ingersol Lane. Of the early settlers who came to the colonies of the name of Lane, there were three brothers, two of whom settled in Virginia, and one in Massachu- setts, and hence the relations between the Lanes of the South and the North. But all the Lanes of the North do not trace, with Dr. Lane, it appears, to the same an- cestor, who was a Scotch Presbyterian, and an officer, nevertheless, in the army of King Charles. The three brothers were educated men, from whom descended the Lanes who founded the Lane Theological Seminary, at Cincinnati, Ohio. General Douglas Lane, for about forty years a senator of Virginia, was of the same stock, and also Generals " Joe " Lane, and " Jim" Lane, the "Father of Kansas," also General Lane of North Carolina.
His early educational training was re- ceived in select schools. He was prepared for college under private tutors at an early age, and graduated from Union College in the class of 1841, receiving subsequently the degree of D. D. from a Western col- lege.
After graduating, he entered the Union Theological Seminary, New York City.
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LANE.
where he remained two years, then occu- pied his time in study and travel until his ordination, in 1845, at Albany, N. Y. He was s first invited to the Presbyterian church, Auburn, N. Y., but his attention was turned to other fields in the West, and he was selected as one best fitted to take the position of pastor of the Presbyterian church at Lansing, the new capital of Michigan, which he declined, much against his personal inclinations.
He became quite widely known through the publication of a pamphlet entitled " Temperance a Christian Duty, Abstinence a Matter of Christian Liberty," which was endorsed by the leading clergymen and scholars of the country - notably Dr. Ed- ward Robinson. He published several other pamphlets that obtained for him some local notoriety.
Dr. Lane was married in Fawn River, Mich., in 1844, to Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Philip Riley and Nancy (Degraff) Tol, of Schenectady, N. Y. Of this union were five children, of whom three are liv- ing. His second marriage was in Marl- borough, N. H., in 1863, with Louise Noble, daughter of Samuel and Rachel (Noble) Devens, of Boston.
Dr. Lane, through the urgent wishes of friends, was finally settled in Galloway, N. Y., over a church then of note and promise, where he remained fifteen years, after which he was in Carmel, N. Y., five years. After the war of the rebellion he was solicited to go South in the interests of the church in West Virginia, he having become acquainted with the needs of the church in the South, by a sojourn in South Carolina during the troublous days of " reconstruction." He was quite conser- vative in his views, and allied to some of the first families - the Lanes and Eliots- of the South ; and his hold upon the pub- lic has been utilized for their good rather than for the advantage of any party.
Since returning North Dr. Lane has given his attention to literary work. He is the author of " The Battle of Point Pleas- ant," written for the Monument Associa- tion, Va .; " Passion Week Dated ; " " The Transit of the Three K's ;" " Home with- in the Gates ; " " Vacation Recreations, or the Castle on the Knob ; " " Astronomical Recreations," and numerous other pam- phlets and addresses, some published, and some awaiting publication.
Dr. Lane has wrought in other fields than that of the gown. When in "recon- struction " days he was called into South Carolina to look after some properties, he
became interested by some developments in the social condition of the state during its transition, and joined hands with the better element of society, always Union at heart. He declined a pressing invitation to a professorship in the University of South Carolina. He was finally solicited to act as assistant-adjutant-general in the department of South Carolina, with civil and military power. He was also special trial justice. While subjected to many tests of mental and physical courage, and for many months living in danger of mo- mentary assassination, he was successful in his mission, and did much in quieting the country, in the protection of life and prop- erty, and the organization of schools. His story of this period would be indeed a thrilling one.
LANG, BENJAMIN JOHNSON, son of Benjamin and Hannah (Breed) Lang, was born in Salem, Essex county, December 28, 1837.
He received nis early education in the common and high schools of his native town.
His father being a music teacher, he inherited a tendency toward the profession which he has adorned so many years. Re- ceiving instruction from his father, he was qualified to play the organ in a church in the town of Danvers at the early age of eleven years, and subsequently played at the Parsons Cooke church, in Lynn, Rev. Rollin H. Neale's, the Old South, and Rev. E. E. Hale's church (the latter at the age of twenty-four) in Boston, and is now organ- ist at King's Chapel, where the standard of church music has for many years been notably the very highest.
After his father, his teachers have been Francis Hill of Boston, Alfred Jaell, Gus- tave Satter and Franz Liszt, Mr. Lang being one of the torch-bearers at the lat- ter's funeral. From Mr. Lang's friendship with Liszt sprang his close connection with Wagner, in whose plans and purposes he had deep interest, even from the time of Wagner's life in Paris.
In 1859, at the age of twenty-one years, he became pianist and organist of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, still holding the position.
Mr. Lang was married at Boston, Octo- ber 10, 1861, to Fanny Morse, daughter of Johnson C. and Emeline (Brigham) Bur- rage. Their children are: Harry (de- ceased), Margaret, Rosamond, and Mal- colm Lang.
Mr. Lang, since the age of sixteen years, has been almost constantly before the Bos-
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ton public as a concert-soloist, and it has been at his hands that many of the piano- forte concertos of Bach, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann and Beethoven, as well as the works of the newer school, the con- certos of Rubenstein, St. Saens, Bronsart, etc., were first brought out in Boston.
Since the age of eighteen years he has been to Europe nearly every year (giving successful concerts himself in Berlin, Dres- den and Vienna), during which time he made the acquaintance of many of the noted living masters of music, from whom he feels that he has somewhat developed himself.
Since their organization he has been the conductor of the Apollo and Cecilia clubs of Boston. Under his conductorship Men- delssohn's "Walpurgis-Night," "Hymn of Praise," "Antigone," and "Œdipus," Bee- thoven's " Praise of Music," Haydn's "Sea- sons," Schumann's "Paradise and Peri," and "Faust," Berlioz's "La Damnation de Faust," and Brahm's "Requiem," and the "Rinaldo," and many other notable works, have been given a first perform- ance in the city of Boston. Perhaps the most important part of his life has been given to teaching, in which his success has been as gratifying to him as to his numer- ous pupils, many of whom have achieved great distinction as concert-soloists, organ- ists and composers.
LARRABEE, JOHN, son of John and Sarah Jane (Kimball) Larrabee, was born in North Malden, now Melrose, Middlesex county, April 21, 1850.
He received his early education in the public schools. When quite young he en- tered the employ of Dr. Edward R. Knights, then the only apothecary in Mel- rose, and when seventeen years old, pur- chased the store, continuing in the same business ever since.
He was elected town clerk in 1873, which office he still holds. He was repre- sentative of the 11th Middlesex district in the Legislature 1886 and '87, being chair- man of the committee on engrossed bills both years, and also clerk of the committee on woman suffrage for 1886, and clerk of the committee on public health for 1887. He is now serving as trustee and clerk of the Melrose Savings Bank, upon the commit- tee on cemeteries, having been secretary of the latter fourteen years, and as clerk of the board of selectmen. May 11, 1887, he was appointed by Governor Ames on the board of registration in pharmacy, vice Samuel A. D. Sheppard, resigned, to serve until 1890.
LASKER.
Mr. Larrabee is an active member of the Baptist church and Sabbath-school, also of Wyoming Lodge, F. & A. M., and Mel- rose Lodge, I. O. O. F.
He was married September 18, 1876, at Milton Mills, N. H., to L. Ellen, daughter
JOHN LARRABEE.
of Stephen and Sarah (Clements) Ricker. They have a son and daughter : John Heber and Sarah Helen Larrabee.
Mr. Larrabee is a descendant of the old family of Larrabee who first settled in this section in colonial days.
LASKER, RAPHAEL, was born in Zirke, Prussia, February 19, 1835. His talmudi- cal studies he began early with his father, a learned talmudist and rabbi, and then he continued under Rabbi Caro of Pinne, Rabbi Hirsh Schneidemuhl, of Obornick, and later under the great talmudical celeb- rities, Rabbis Moses Veilchenfeld and Men- del of Rogasen. He received his classical and academical finish at the gymnasium of Gleiwitz and the university of Giessen.
In 1858 we find the subject of our sketch in the state of Ohio at Portsmouth, where he organized the congregation Bnai Abraham, and such was the success of the then young rabbi, that one of the halls of the place was at once fitted up as a syna- gogue, and regular divine services held. He was eminently successful in his work,
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LATHROP.
and established the first Sabbath-school in Portsmouth.
The same year, in Portsmouth, he was married to Ernestine Karger. Eight chil- dren have blessed the rabbi : Jacob, Alex- ander, Meyer, Arthur, Julia, Isabella, Lillie and Florence Lasker.
While laboring in this field, he fre- quently came in contact with the late Dr. Lilienthal, then stationed at Cincinnati, and this great divine, recognizing the abilities of Raphael Lasker, spared no pains to secure for him the position as rabbi with the congregation Shaar Hasho- mayim, of New York, where he officia- ted for nine years, enjoying the uniform respect and good will of his congrega- tion. In conjunction with his ministerial duties, Rabbi Lasker had also under his charge a large educational institute, which grew to such proportions that he was obliged to give up his ministerial office, much to the regret of his congregation, to devote his whole time to the institution named. Many prominent men in New York and elsewhere - judges, lawyers, legislators, physicians and merchants, as well as leaders in Jewish orders-now look back with reverence and pride to their school-days under the training of their spiritual benefactor, Rabbi Lasker.
In 1871 he accepted a unanimous call from the Temple Israel congregation, Brooklyn, N. Y., where he remained until November, 1876, when, at the urgent solici- tation of the most prominent members of the congregation Ohabei Shalom, Boston, he consented to become its minister, and the immediate successor of Dr. Valk Vid- aver, now of San Francisco, Cal.
Here the work of Rabbi Lasker has been signally blest. From chaos and dissension he created harmony and order. He is highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens, both Jew and Christian. By his deep in- terest in public schools, he has won an en- viable position on the Boston school board, of which he has been a member for six years.
LATHROP, JOHN, son of Rev. John P. and Maria Margaretta (Long) Lathrop, was born in Boston, February 8, 1835.
He received his early education in the public schools of that city and in the state of New Jersey, graduating from Burlington College, New Jersey, in 1853. He re- ceived the honorary degree of A. M. from his alma mater in 1856, and subsequently that of LL. B. from Harvard law school in 1855.
He was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1856, opening an office in Boston ; and in
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