Lafayette Lane (November 12, 1842 – November 23, 1896) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a

US Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

from 1875 to 1877. He was the son of Oregon

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Joseph Lane Joseph Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. Polk ap ...

and an uncle of future Oregon Senator

Harry Lane Harry Lane (August 28, 1855 – May 23, 1917) was an American politician in the state of Oregon. A physician by training, Lane served as the head of the Oregon State Hospital, Oregon State Insane Asylum before being forced out by political enemie ...

Early life

Lane was born near

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

, to then-Indiana state senator Joseph Lane and his wife Polly Hart Lane, one of 10 children. When Joseph was appointed governor of

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

in 1848, the Lanes moved west along the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

, arriving in Oregon in March 1849. Lafayette attended public schools in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, and

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

, studied law, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

and commenced practice in

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is the most populous city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Oregon. It is located in the Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 at the 2020 census, making it the principal city of th ...

. He married Amanda Mann in 1867.

Political career

In 1864, Lane served as member of the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

, representing

Umatilla County Umatilla County () is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. The population of 81,826 ranks it as the 14th largest in Oregon, and largest in Eastern Oregon. Hermiston is the largest city in Umatilla County, but Pendleton remain ...

. In 1866, he was the a Democratic nominee for

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in the line of succession to the List of Governors of Oregon, governor. The duties of the offi ...

in 1866, but was defeated by incumbent Samuel E. May. In 1874, Lane was appointed as a code commissioner, where along with noted jurist

Matthew Deady Matthew Paul Deady (May 12, 1824 – March 24, 1893) was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and the state of Oregon of the United States. He served on the Oregon Supreme Court from 1853 to 1859, at which time he was appointed to the n ...

, he compiled Oregon's statutes into a systematic code, ''

Deady and Lane's General Laws of Oregon Deady is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Mark Deady (born 1967), American middle-distance runner * Matthew Deady Matthew Paul Deady (May 12, 1824 – March 24, 1893) was a politician and jurist in the Oregon Territory and t ...

''.

Congress

In 1874, fellow Democrat George A. La Dow was elected to the US House of Representatives, but died two months into his term. In a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, Lane was elected to fill La Dow's vacancy, defeating Republican Henry Warren. He served one term from October 25, 1875, to March 3, 1877. He sought re-election in 1876, but was defeated by Republican Richard Williams.

After Congress

Following his defeat, Lane returned to Roseburg and resumed his law practice. He died in Roseburg on November 23, 1896, and was interred in Roseburg's St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery.

References

External links