The Lane Family of Scott County, Iowa

JAMES T. LANE.

Among the older members of the Davenport bar who won well merited fame and distinction during the thirty-five years of his practice in the courts of Iowa was James T. Lane. While the practice of law was his real life work, his strong and forceful nature, broad minded and intelligent appreciation of the real values of life brought him prominently before the people in other connections and he became widely known in fraternal, political, social and church circles. He was born March i6, 1830, at Freeport, Pennsylvania. His father was proprietor of a general store and the son assisted him, as clerk behind the counter and in other ways through the period of vacation and after school hours until seventeen years of age, the remainder of his time being given to the acquirement of an education. He was ambitious, however, to enjoy better educational privileges than had here been afforded him, and with an elder brother he entered the university at Lewisburg, at that time a Baptist institution of note. It required six days to make the journey from Freeport to Lewisburg by stage coach and canal, for such was the primitive method of travel at that time. Mr. Lane was a close and apt student, a over of books, quick and able in debate even in his school days. He eagerly embraced the advantages which were offered him and acquired a knowledge that constituted an excellent foundation upon which to build the success of his later life. Following his graduation he returned home and, with the desire to make the legal profession his life work, spent two years in Butler, Pennsylvania, in reading law under the direction of General Purviance afterward attorney general of the state.

Admitted to the bar, Mr. Lane came to Davenport, February 23, 1854. He was a passenger on the first through train from Chicago to Rock Island, which was then the western terminus of the road. At once he opened an office and for thirty-five years continued in active practice here. In the spring of 1855, he returned to Butler, where he married Annie J. Reed, whom he brought as his bride to Davenport. They became the parents of a son and daughter. Joe R. Lane, the former, is a prominent member of the Davenport bar, while the latter was Mrs. lies. With the added stimulus of having a home to provide for, he bent every energy toward building up a good practice and recognized that this must be done by making his professional labor of value to his clients. He was very careful and earnest in the preparation of cases, was always accurate in the application of a legal principle and in debate was strong, forceful and logical. In 1856 he was appointed city attorney, which position he filled for a year. Later other political honors were conferred upon him. On the 4th of

September, 1861, he was nominated by the republicans of the county for representative to the state legislature and was elected. He served during 1867 and 1868 as county attorney and the following year became a member of the school board, his incumbency continuing through 1871. He also took a keen interest in education and was the champion of every measure which he believed beneficial to the interests of the schools. In 1873 the republican state convention nominated him as one of the eleven presidential electors and in the campaign that followed he took an active part, as he always did, for he was ever an active, loyal and stalwart supporter of the principles in which he believed. In the same year President Grant nominated him for the position of United States district attorney for Iowa, the duties of the position being at that time much more onerous and important than at the present. During his term of office he was called in to the federal courts all over the state and his reputation was heightened by the able service which he rendered and the comprehensive knowledge of law which he displayed. As United States district attorney he gained valuable experience and wide acquaintance that proved of inestimable benefit to him as he continued in the practice of his profession.

The law partnership of Davison & Lane was formed in April, 1873, and continued until November 1, 1889, when it was dissolved by the withdrawal of Mr. Lane on account of impaired health. He died March 19, 1890, in Denver, Colorado, and throughout Davenport there swept a feeling of intense regret and sorrow. He had practiced law in this city for more than a generation. He was a man of notable mental and physical strength and utilized his time and his talents not only for the promotion of his individual interests but for the benefit of the general public as well. He was recognized as one of the leading republicans in the state and his opinions always carried weight in the councils of his party. As an orator he displayed an eloquence that never failed to leave its impress upon his hearers, his speech frequently thrilling those who listened to him, his ability in this direction proving a potent force in his addresses to the jury. He was always kind and courteous to his professional brethren, considerate of a witness and deferential to the court, believing that the dignity of the law should ever be sustained.

For over thirty years Mr. Lane was connected with nearly all of the organizations which had for their object the improvement or betterment of Davenport. To mention these in detail would be to give a history of the state. Suffice it to say that all who are familiar with the annals of the state know how important and valuable a part he took in its upbuilding. He was a prominent and helpful member of the Baptist church and an enthusiastic, exemplary Mason, becoming one of the earliest members of Davenport Lodge, A. F. & A. M. When Fraternal Lodge was organized he became one of its charter members and was elected its first worshipful master. He was also a member of Davenport Chapter, No. 16, R. A. M., and a Sir Knight of St. Simon of Cyrene Commandery, K. T., of which he was a past commander. He was also made deputy grand commander of the Iowa Commandery and acted as a delegate from this state to the triennial conclave at San Francisco in 1883. AH these varied interests brought him a large acquaintance and it is said that he knew personally every prominent man in Iowa. When death claimed him he was mourned as a great lawyer, as a distinguished political leader, as an exemplary brother of the Masonic fraternity and more than all as a good man. He manifested the qualities that have come to be known as those of a practical idealist, for, while he labored to secure the adoption of measures and projects which represented the highest standards, he knew how to use the means at hand for the accomplishment of this purpose. His integrity in no relation of life was ever called into question and the simple weight of his character and ability carried him into most important and prominent relations.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JOE R. LANE.

There is no problem more difficult than character analysis. Psychic research often fails to clearly elucidate the problem and yet there is no truth more evident as the result of careful and analytical contemplation of successful lives than that results have been achieved through intelligence and energy. What special phases of nature causes a man to take up a certain line or lines of activity it is impossible to determine, but in the execution of a clearly defined purpose it is inevitable that unfaltering energy and intelligent appreciation of opportunity must constitute the vital forces. It is these qualities that have carried Joe R. Lane to the eminent position which he now occupies as a man of notable business sagacity and as a political leader whose wisdom and resourcefulness have enabled him to accomplish seemingly impossible results. His interests are never so self-centered as to exclude active participation in affairs of moment to the community at large, for, on the contrary, he has been an active participant in those activities which have promoted the material, political and social life of the community and which are matters of civic virtue and civic pride.

Mr. Lane was born in Davenport in May, 1858, a son of James T. and Annie J. (Reed) Lane, and a brother of Mrs. lies. His father, who is mentioned elsewhere at length in this volume, was long a representative member of the bar and died in Denver in 1890. Passing through consecutive grades in the public schools, Joe R. Lane eventually became a high-school pupil and later attended Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois, from which he was graduated with the class of 1878. He began preparation for the practice of law as a student in the office of Davison & Lane, of which firm his father was the junior partner. Subsequently he matriculated in the State University Law School, from which he was graduated in 1880, when he became assistant in the office of Davison & Lane, thus continuing until January, 1881, when Charles Davison and Joe Lane, the sons of the respective partners, were admitted to the firm. In the following August, Charles Davison went to North Dakota and in 1889 James T. Lane withdrew from the firm on account of failing health. The relation between the older Davison and Joe R. Lane continued uninterruptedly and in 1893 Charles Davison reentered the partnership, the firm remaining Davison & Lane until 1900, when the death of the senior member occurred, while two years later Charles Davison also passed away. Mr. Lane was left alone to care for an increasing practice that had already brought him distinction as one of the most eminent representatives of the Iowa Bar. Soon afterward he was joined by Judge Waterman, who resigned his position as a member of the Iowa supreme court to enter into partnership relations with Mr. Lane under the firm style of Lane & Waterman. A contemporary writer has said in this connection: "Possibly no higher testimonial to the standing, business value and reputation of the practice which Mr. Lane had helped to upbuild and of which he had become the head could be given than is embodied in Judge Waterman's action. Few positions are more earnestly coveted; none considered higher in judicial dignity; scarcely any offer more assured social position or sure and more commensurate recompense than the supreme judgeship, yet Judge Waterman resigned all these to become Mr. Lane's partner. Comment would be superfluous." The public voice names this firm as the most prominent in Davenport and one of the most distinguished of the state.

It would be difficult to enumerate all the interests which have felt the stimulus of Mr. Lane's cooperation, keen sagacity and liberal business policy! Banking, manufacturing, lumber and real estate are among those interests which have claimed his time and attention and in furthering his individual interest along these lines he has contributed in substantial measure to Davenport's growth and expansion along normal and healthy lines. He is the president of the Joe R. Lane Investment Company, which erected the Lane office building at Third and Main streets; president of the Building Society of the new Commercial Club; a director of the Davenport Hotel Company; vice president and director of the First National Bank of Davenport; and financially interested in numerous other commercial enterprises. His labors have constituted a most important feature in the railroad development of this section, for he was treasurer of the Davenport, Iowa & Dakota Railroad at the time of its construction and was also manager and had charge of the building of the Davenport, Rock Island & Northwestern Railroad bridge, which gave the road entrance to Rock Island and Moline. His realty investments are most extensive and in all of his business connections he has proven himself a man of action rather than of theory.

Moreover, Mr. Lane is recognized as one of the most influential members of the republican party. With full recognition of the duties and obligations as well as the privileges of citizenship, unlike many of the men today who are controlling extensive professional and business interests, he finds time for active participation in public affairs upon which hinge the political stability and welfare of the country. As a political leader he has always put public needs and party benefit before self interests. He has served in the ranks from preference and only held office when it has been clearly shown him that it was a duty which he owed his fellow citizens and for which he could obtain no substitute. Several terms he at in the council as alderman and his labors were always to the advantage of his ward and the city at large. During his term of service in congress, to which he was elected in 1898, he never forgot his allegiance to his state nor his duty to his constituents. He has frequently served as a member of the republican executive committee and always to his party's benefit. He holds decided views on public questions and expresses them clearly, cogently and logically when occasion demands, but it is always the timely word which he speaks. As a diplomat he has cemented party and business fractures, healed internal dissensions in various financial and political ventures and unified and solidified acute divisions in numerous enterprises where to all appearances such action was hopelessly looked upon. As a political leader he has led his party to victory in ward, city, county and state campaigns and added his share to national victories. And all this he has done without claiming individual credit or demanding personal recognition.

Mr. Lane was married in 1881 to Miss Jennie Richardson, a daughter of D. N-. Richardson and a native of Davenport. They have three children: Dick R., who is now associated with the firm of Lane & Waterman; Jeanette, student in St. Katherine's school, a private institution; and Reed, who is attending the Iowa State University Law School. Mr. Lane has attained the highest degrees in Masonry, and is also connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He likewise belongs to the Outing Club and the Arsenal Golf Qub. He is a member of the Business Men's Association and a patron of the many public beneficiaries which exist in Davenport. He is without sham or pretense, yet there is not the least shadow of mock modesty about him. He stands as a high type of the American business man and citizen, whose ideals are high, whose methods are practical, who is active and energetic in all public and private work and with laudable ambition for his own success displays a helpful and broadminded interest in public affairs that has constituted his services of wide benefit to the city and state.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

DICK R. LANE.

Dick R. Lane needs no introduction to the readers of this volume for he is a representative of one of the most prominent and distinguished families of Davenport, in which city he was born October 27, 1882. His grandfather and his father, both distinguished representatives of the Iowa bar, are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The public schools of Davenport afforded Dick R. Lane his early educational advantages and later he had the benefit of instruction in the Phillip Academy at Andover, Massachusetts. Thus he gained a broad literary knowledge to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning and in preparation for the bar he entered the law department of the Iowa State University, from which he was graduated in 1904. He then commenced practice with his father and is proving an active, working member of the firm. His knowledge of the law is also constituting an element in his successful management of business interests. He is now the secretary and treasurer of the Lane Building Company, secretary and treasurer of the Kimball Hotel Company and treasurer of the White Lily Manufacturing Company. His interest in Davenport's development along business lines is of most practical and tangible character and his standing among the leading business men of this city is indicated by the fact that he has been elected to the presidency of the Commercial Club.

On the 25th of December, 1904, Mr. Lane was married to Miss Grace Birdsail, a daughter of Horace Birdsall, a prominent resident of Davenport. Fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and, pFomineijt in its local ranks, he is now serving as chairman of the county committee. He is recognized as a young man of executive force and in possession of administrative direction he has shown marked enterprise. His mental qualities are of a brilliant character, his enterprise is undaunted, and with high ideals before him he is continuously reaching our for further accomplishment. " Like the others of the family he is leaving the impress of his individuality upon the city in no mistakable manner, his efforts and labors constituting a vital force in the upbuilding and improvement of Davenport.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.