Lane, Ebenezer, Family. Papers, 1811-1866

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Two generations of the Ebenezer Lane family are represented in this collection.

The papers of the first Ebenezer Lane (1793-1866), the son of Capt. Ebenezer Lane and Marion Griswold, daughter of Connecticut’s Governor George Griswold, record four major aspects of his life: his early years, his career as a lawyer and judge, his interest in the railroads, and his long-awaited visit to Europe.

The early years were spent in Northampton, Massachusetts and Cambridge, Massachusetts where he attended Harvard University. After graduating from Harvard in 1811 he studied law with his uncle, Matthew Griswold. In 1814 Lane was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Norwich and East Windsor, Connecticut. After three years in Connecticut he decided to emigrate west and settled in Elyria, Ohio. He returned briefly to New England in 1818 to marry Frances Ann Griswold, his cousin from Lyme, Conn.

When the young lawyer returned to Ohio, he rapidly gained prominence during a period when, in his words, law "was a new field inducing new studies or rather old studies from a different standpoint." In October of 1819, he moved to Norwalk, Ohio where he had been elected the prosecuting attorney of Huron County. After five years as prosecuting attorney Lane was appointed judge of the Common Pleas Court. In 1830 he was named judge of the Ohio Supreme Court, and in 1835 became Chief Justice and travelled the Ohio circuit until his resignation in 1845. When he left the bench he turned once more to private practice in Sandusky, Ohio.

Lane retired in 1859, and fulfilling a life-long dream, he visited Europe. After the trip Lane returned to Sandusky and died there in 1866.

His oldest son, Ebenezer S. Lane is also represented in this collection. He was born on August 16, 1819. He attended Kenyon College. After he was graduated in 1838, Lane studied medicine at the Ohio Medical School. Lane completed medical school and practiced medicine in Sandusky. In 1856 he moved to Chicago where, like his father, he was active in the Illinois Central Railroad. Lane and his family were prominent in the early cultural and social life in Chicago. He spent the last thirty years of his life in the real estate and loan business, and died in Chicago in 1892.

The Ebenezer Lane Papers contain materials relating to Lane and his son, also named Ebenezer. The papers of the father (1811-1859) document his career as an attorney and judge, with materials including financial records, legal documents, letterbooks, and notes on law cases. The collection also includes letterbooks and account books relating to Lane's interests in railroad expansion. A travel diary is also included. The papers of the younger Lane (circa 1836-circa 1887) contain a diary kept while attending Kenyon College; medical school notebooks; and miscellaneous reports, invitations, announcements, and clippings relating to the Calumet Club in Chicago. The collection also includes clippings and a catalog relating to Lane's interest as a collector of rare books, manuscripts, and autographs.

The collection is comprised of two series: Series I: Ebenezer Lane, 1793-1866; and Series II: Ebenezer Lane, 1821-1881.

The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections:

• Names
  • Lane, Ebenezer, 1793-1866
  • Lane, Ebenezer, 1821-1881
  • Calumet Club (Chicago, Ill.)
• Subject
  • Lawyers
  • Collectors and collecting
  • Railroads