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Charles James Lanman (June 5, 1795 – July 25, 1870) was an American lawyer and politician.

Early life

Lanman was born on June 5, 1795, in Norwich, Connecticut. He was one of four sons and eight daughters born to James Lanman (1769–1841) and Marian Griswold (née Chandler) Lanman (1774–1817), a granddaughter of Governor Matthew Griswold. His father was a U.S. Senator from Connecticut who was a cousin of Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.

He attended Yale College, from where he graduated in 1814.

Career

Following his graduation from Yale, he studied law with his kinsman, Roger Griswold (the former Governor of Connecticut), and with his father before being admitted to the bar in 1817.

Michigan Territory

Although he was invited by Henry Clay to settle in Kentucky, Lanman emigrated to the Michigan Territory in 1817 on the invitation of his friends, William Woodbridge (later a U.S. Senator and Governor of Michigan) and Lewis Cass (the 2nd Governor of the Michigan Territory and later the Secretary of War under Jackson, U.S. Ambassador to France under Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler and Secretary of State under Buchanan), making the journey from Buffalo to Detroit largely on horseback.

While in Michigan, Lanman began practicing law as a partner with Woodbridge. While "riding the circuit he visited Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, where he married the daughter of Frenchman" and settled there. In Frenchtown, he "held many local positions, such as attorney for the Territory, Judge of Probate, colonel of Militia, inspector of customs, and postmaster of Frenchtown." President Monroe appointed him receiver of public moneys for the District of Michigan and he was reappointed by President Adams, serving from 1823 to 1831. He was also an extensive dealer in public lands; owning at one time the entire site upon which the city of Grand Rapids was built, and was one of the founders of the town of Tecumseh."

Later life

He returned to Norwich in 1835 for "family considerations". Although he lost the bulk of his properties in Michigan during the Panic of 1837, he was chosen Mayor of Norwich in 1838 and then president of the Norwich Water Power Company. In 1862, he moved to New London, Connecticut "because of his intense love of the scenery and air of the ocean."

Personal life

On March 19, 1819, Lanman was married to Marie Jeanne Guie (1801–1879), a native of Canada who was a daughter of Antoine Francois Guie and Mary Angelica (née Bourdeau) Guie. Together, they were the parents of nine children, seven daughters and two sons, of whom the following survived to adulthood:

• Charles James Lanman (1819–1895), who married Adeline Dodge, a daughter of Francis Dodge of Georgetown, in 1849.
• Marie Louisa Lanman (1822–1893), who married, as his third wife (after the death of her sister), John De Peyster Douw Jr., a son of John De Peyster Douw and Catherine (née Gansevoort) Douw.
• Julia Woodbridge Lanman (1824–1903), who married William Pierpont Williams in 1851.
• Marianna Chandler Lanman (1826–1884), who married, as his second wife, John De Peyster Douw Jr.
• Elizabeth Gray Lanman (1829–1883), who married lawyer Darius G. Crosby in 1866.
• Sarah Cort Lanman (1833–1899), who married her cousin, Thomas Hubbard.
• Mary Jane Lanman (1834–1894), who married New York lawyer Edmund J. Vose.
• Roger Griswold Lanman (1836–1845), who died young of yellow fever.
• Susan Harmer Lanman (1838–1914), who died unmarried.

Lanman died in New London on July 25, 1870. His widow died at their daughter Susan's residence in East Orange, New Jersey, in 1879 and was buried with Lanman in Norwich.

References

1. Patricia F. Staley (28 January 2014). Norwich in the Gilded Age: The Rose City's Millionaires' Triangle. Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-62584-725-6. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
2. ^ Hughes, Thomas Patrick; Munsell, Frank (1895). American Ancestry: Giving Name and Descent, in the Male Line, of Americans Whose Ancestors Settled in the United States Previous to the Declaration of Independence, A. D. 1776. Munsell. p. 45. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
3. Marshall, Benjamin Tinkham (1922). A Modern History of New London County, Connecticut. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 171. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
4. ^ Bersey, John (1890). Cyclopedia of Michigan: Historical and Biographical: Comprising a Synopsis of General History of the State, and Biographical Sketches of Men who Have, in Their Various Spheres, Contributed Toward Its Development. Western publishing and engraving Company. pp. 20–21. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
5. "STATE ITEMS". Hartford Courant. 27 July 1870. p. 4. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
6. "Enoch C. Chapman". Hartford Courant. 26 July 1853. p. 2. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
7. Lanman, Charles (1887). Biographical Annals of the Civil Government of the United States: From Original and Official Sources. J.M. Morrison. p. 290. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
8. Davis, Gwenn; Joyce, Beverly A. (1989). Personal Writings by Women to 1900: A Bibliography of American and British Writers. Mansell. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7201-1885-8. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
9. "An Archival Mystery: Follow the Yellow Brick Road" (PDF). tudorplace.org. Tudor Place Historic House & Garden. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
10. ^ Ross, Robert Budd (1907). The Early Bench and Bar of Detroit from 1805 to the End of 1850. p. 113. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
11. Edwards, William Henry (1903). Timothy and Rhoda Ogden Edwards of Stockbridge, Mass., and Their Descendants: A Genealogy. R. Clarke Company. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-608-32105-9. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
12. "William Pierpont Williams". Norwich Bulletin. 29 July 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
13. "MARRIED". The New York Times. 31 May 1866. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
14. "VARIOUS MATTERS". Norwich Bulletin. 29 December 1914. p. 5.
15. "DEATH OF CHARLES J. LANMAN". Rutland Weekly Herald. 4 August 1870. p. 1. Retrieved 25 October 2021.

External links

• Charles James Lanman at Find a Grave

• 1795 births
• 1870 deaths
• 19th-century mayors of places in Connecticut
• Yale University alumni
• Mayors of Norwich, Connecticut