Albany County New York Family Sketches - Surnames L

Transcribed by Lynn Tooley

Albany County New York Family Sketches - surnames L, extracted from the Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Edited by Amasa J. Parker of Albany, N.Y., Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co., Publishers, 1897.

LAMB, James, Family Sketch

Lamb, James, whose death in 1885 was so sorely felt in the city of Cohoes, was one of its most public spirited and benevolent citizens. He was a native of Scotland, and came to America in early manhood and located in Mechanicville, working in a tailor establishment, which he afterwards purchased. He later engaged in the same business in Troy, and in 1855 came to Cohoes and entered the employ of R. G. Smith. In 1857 he associated with Mr. Leroy, continuing the business for eight years, and was alone until 1872, when the present Globe Knitting Mill was established, under the firm name of Leroy, Lamb & Co. Mr. Lamb was an active politician, as well as a prominent manufacturer, and was serving his sixth term as alderman of the Third ward. In the Common Council he was a man of marked ability and an earnest advocate of all that pertained to the advancement of local affairs. He was a member of the Sons of Scotia, and was past grand in Egberts Lodge, K. of P., and also of the I. 0. O. F. He left a wife and three children.

LAVENTALL, Julius, Family Sketch

Laventall, Julius, born in March, 1832, in Bovendon, Hanover, Germany, came to America in August, 1854, settling in Albany and opened a small jewelry store on South Pearl street, in 1857. In June, 1865, having sold this business, he bought of S. M. Valkenburgh the Ladies' Bazaar, on the corner of South Pearl street and Hudson avenue. In 1857 he also purchased the property, and in 1876, built the present building, where he carries an extensive line of ladies and children's furnishings and shoes. He is a member and ex-president of Shiloh Lodge, I. O. of B. B. and of Arnon Lodge, I. O. of F. S. and has represented both in their respective Grand Lodges of the United States. He is a member and past noble grand of Mt. Carmel Lodge, I. O. O. F., member of Washington Lodge, No. 85, F. & A. M., was manager of the Jewish Home and has been a trustee of the Congregation of Temple Beth Emeth since 1873, and was its vice-president for eight years, its president in 1883, and chairman of the building committee during the erection of the present temple, on the corner of Lancaster and Swan streets. He was also one of the organizers and for the first two years a director of the South End Bank. In 1858 he married Miss Sarah Swartz of Albany, who died, leaving two daughters: Mrs. H. W. Foreman of Albany, and Mrs. Daniel Stern of Brooklyn. In 1863 he married second, Hannah, daughter of M. Hydeman of Albany, and they have two sons: Louis Julius, born January 28, 1866, and Edward Simon, born June 13, 1874, both of whom are associated in business with their father.

LAWSON, Joseph A., Family Sketch

Lawson, Joseph A., son of Isaac and Elizabeth L. (Steere) Lawson, was born in Albany. December 13, 1859. The family have lived in Albany county for more than one hundred years, the old homestead in Watervliet, now Colonie, having been purchased by his great-grandfather, Peter Lawrence Lawson, from the French refugee. Marquis La Tour; it has always remained in the name and is now owned by a cousin, Joseph C. Lawson. His ancestors fought in the Revolutionary w^ar and were with the detachment that captured Major Andre. Isaac Lawson, for many years a prominent lawyer in Albany, was the Republican nominee for justice of the Supreme Court in 1887. His wife came from an old Rhode Island family of English descent. Joseph A. Law.son was graduated from the Albany Academy in 1878, with the highest honors. He read law in New York with Marsh, Wilson & Wallis and in Albany with I. & J. M. Lawson. and took a course of lectures at the Albany Law School and was graduated from Columbia Law School in New York city in May, 1882, wjth the degree of LL. B., and in September of the same year was admitted to the bar by the General Term of the Supreme Court. He began practice in New York city, associating himself with the firm of Marsh, Wilson & Wallis. In 1884 he returned to Albany and became a member of the firm of I. & J. M. Lawson until the fall of 1891, when he withdrew and opened his present office. While a student at law Mr. Lawson indulged in some newspapei' and magazine work, being connected as editor and proprietor with the Fort Orange Monthly, and later assuming the duties of editor of the Sunday edition of the Albany Morning Express. As a lawyer, he has been successful and is possessed of sound judgment and forensic ability. He is a Democrat and has been active as a stump speaker throughout the State, and from January to October, 1896. served as Mayor Thacher's first clerk. He is a charter member of the Albany Press Club; a member of the Fort Orange Club, the Albany Camera, Burns, Whist and Chess, and Young Men's Demccratic Clubs, the Albany Institute and the Albany County Wheelmen; a sustaining member of the Y.M.C.A.; a member and past master of Masters Lodge, No. 5, F. & A. M., and a member of the American Bar Association, and a member and formerl)' secretary of the New York State Bar Association. He has been a member of the Faculty of the Albany Law School since 1895. Among his most significant achievements have been his successes as a postprandial orator and campaign speaker of originality and force. In June, 1885, he married Harriette C, daughter of William E. and Helen S. Morgan, of Syracuse, and their children are Helen E. and Florence M.

LAWYER, George, Family Sketch

Lawyer, George, is a descendant of Johannes Lawyer, who came from Holland to Schoharie, N. Y., about 1700 on a surveying expedition, and whose son, Johannes H., was granted 36,000 acres of land in what is now Schoharie county, by King George II. The latter was commissioned by Governor Tryon in 1772 ensign in Shaffer's Company of Foot and by Sir Henry Moore, Bart., ensign of Grenadiers. He served as lieutenant in the 15th N. Y. Regt. through the Revolutionary war, as did also his son Jacob, who was an ensign. Jacob I. Lawyer, son of Jacob, succeeded his ancestors as a large land owner in Schoharie, and married Nancy Spraker, who died in 1884, aged 101. Their son, George, who is living at Schoharie Court House at the age of ninety, owns much of the ancestral grant. Dr. James Lawyer, son of George, practiced medicine in New York city and at Middleburgh, N. Y., and was for six years treasurer of Schoharie county, where he died November 26, 1890. During the Rebellion he was assistant surgeon in Bellevue Hospital. He married, first, Eliza J. Irwin, who died in 1880, leaving an only son, George, of Albany. He married, second, her sister, Mrs. Marion K. Case, who survives. George Lawyer, born in New York city, September 34, 1864, attended Schoharie Academv, was graduated from Hamilton College in 1885, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa, and read law with Judge S. L. Mayham, of Schoharie Court House. He was graduated from the Albany Law School and admitted to the bar in May, 1887. spent two years in the office of Clark Bell in New York city, and in 1890 began the practice of law in Albany as partner of F. E. Wadhams. Since 1893 he has practiced alone. He is a foundation member of Philip Livingston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, and has been its secretary since 1895. He is one of the first members of the Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States and of Troop A, Cavalry of New York (in which he served two years), and of Temple Lodge No. 14, F. & A. M. He was admitted to practice in the Ignited States courts in 1890. In 1892 he married Agnes Estelle, daughter of David B. Pershall, of New York city. Their children are James Pershall and George Irwin.

LENWAY, W. A., Family Sketch

Lenway. W. A., was born in West Troy, December 11, 1849. The late Alexander Lenway, his father, came to West Troy about 1835. The paternal grandfather of W. A. Lenway came from France. Mr. Lenway was carefully educated at select schools and at the Troy Business College. He has been officially connected with canal admmistrations since 1880. at which date he was appointed chief clerk to John H. Hulsapple, then a canal collector. Before his association with the canal departments he was associated in a clerical capacity with F. B. Durant and William Hollands in the fire insurance line. He spent five years in the D. & H. freight office as clerk and was for a time mate of a river steamer plying between Troy and New York.

LEONARD, Daniel, Family Sketch

Leonard, Daniel, was born October 3, 1839, and came to Albany in 1854 from Springfield, Mass., in which neighborhood his family resided" from the settlement of Springfield in 1636, and where John Leonard, his ancestor, was killed in King Philip's war in 1676. The family was allied to many of the early Connecticut and Massachusetts families, Mr. Leonard being in direct descent from Governor William Bradford of Plymouth. On commg to Albany he took a position in the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank, in the building then standing next north of the site of the postoffice, and was made teller of the bank before reaching his majority. In 1867 he entered the firm of J. G. Cotrell & Co., and in 1878, after the death of J. G. Cotrell, Edgar Cotrell and Daniel Leonard, who were brothers-in-law, formed a partnership and continued the business under the style of Cotrell & Leonard until Mr. Cotrell's death in 1890. The firm now consists of Mr. Leonard and his two sons, Edgar C. and Gardner C. Leonard and the firm name is retained as Cotrell & Leonard. In 1867 the business required only a three story building at 46 State street and was purely local. In 1870 the firm erected a five story building on the same lot, made necessary by the growth of its wholesale business. Still larger quarters being necessary the firm purchased and removed to the present location, 472 and 474 Broadway, in 1884; and from year to year have been compelled to connect upper stories in the Buildings on either side of them until now their business occupies space equal to ten stories of their present store. Mr. Leonard is president of the Albany Safe Deposit and Storage Co.; vice president and treasurer of the Mutual Fire Insurance Co.; treasurer of the State Street Presbyterian church; a charter member of Fort Orange Club; a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, and a trustee of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Savings Bank. He is a man of quiet and reserved manner who finds his greatest recreation in his family and home life.

LITTLEFIELD, Edgar, Jr., Family Sketch

Littlefield, Edgar, jr., is a son of Edgar and and grandson of Abijah Littlefield. who came from Connecticut to Rensselaer county and engaged in farming. He had three sons, Alvin, Sanford and Edgar, who settled at West Troy, where he engaged in the ice business and in 1889 came to Bethlehem where he is now engaged in the ice trade and farming, being assisted by his son, Edgar, jr., who is foreman for Tilly & Littlefield. They have the largest single ice house on the river.

LOCKWOOD, Leander S., Family Sketch

Lockwood, Leander S., born in the town of Westerlo, November 4, 1833, is the son of Samuel and Margaret (Swope) Lockwood, both natives of Westerlo. The parents of Samuel, Ira and Betsey (Utter) Lockwood, came from Connecticut and were pioneers of South Westerlo. He was a farmer and wheelwright. The maternal grandparents were Frederick and Adria (Whitmarsh) Swope. who lived in Westerlo and removed to Oneida county, where Mrs. Swope died, when he moved to Herkimer, then to Oneida county, where he died. The parents of Frederick, John and Katie (Teeter) Swope, came from Germany when young and settled in Eastern New York. Samuel Lockwood was a farmer of Westerlo, born in 1800 and died May 31, 1875. In politics he was a Whig, then a Republican, and a member of the Christian church. Mrs. Lockwood was born in 1803 and died in 1897. Leander S. Lockwood was educated at Troy Academy and in 1860 married Hannah, daughter of Benjamin and Avis (Hunt) Green, of Westerlo; they have five children: Margaret, Ella, Alida, Lillian, and Anna, who died aged nine years. Mr. Lockwood commenced his business career as a clerk for S. I. Peabody & Co. of Troy, where he remained four years, then one year for T. Saxton of South Westerlo. He then, in partnership with Robert S. Cryne, bought out Mr. Saxton in 1859. In 1860 his partner died, and he was then five years associated with J. B. Taets in the same business. In 1865 he bought out Mr. Taets and has since conducted the business at the old stand, where he carries a general line of goods found in country stores. He owns the old Lockwood homestead of 106 acres, which he carries on. He is a Republican and a member of J. M. Austin Lodge, No. 557, F. & A. M.

LODGE, Barrington, Family Sketch

Lodge, Barrington, was born October 13, 1828, in Dublin, Ireland. Thomas Pippiet Lodge, his father, a native of Carlow, Ireland, was of French extraction and at an early age enlisted in the English army, with which he participated with Wellington in the battles of Waterloo, Salamanca and Victoria. After Waterloo he married Adelaide Le Dou, of Gaillefontaine, France, and later went to Newfoundlrnd, where he received the appointment of ordnance storekeeper under the British government and there Barrington obtained his education iu private schools. In 1852 Barrington Lodge came tp Albany, where he has since resided. He was a clerk in the dry goods jobbing house of Sheldons & Co. in 1852. In 1861 he formed a copartnership with Henry B., son of Alexander Marvin Gregory, and engaged in the knit goods business under the firm name of Lodge, Gregory & Co. In 1882 the firm became Lodge. Wilkins & Co., and in 1887 it was changed to B. Lodge & Co., which still continues, Mr. Lodge's two sons, William S. and Charles Y. D., becoming members in 1893. Mr. Lodge is a great lover of literature, well versed in history, political economy, biography and science, and from the age of fifteen has written much for the press. For poetry and versification he possesses unusual talent and has gained a high reputation in this respect. Such poems as "The Perquisition," "Fate," "Altruistic." "Charity." "It might have been," "Chadidja," " The Boulders of Blue Mountains," "Normandie," "The Blue Bell," "A Reverie." "Mary March," and many others exhibit higii poetical instiact and the wide scope of his genius. In 1854 he married Annie, daughter of John B. Scott and niece of William B. Scott of Albany. She died in 1886, leaving the two sons previously mentioned. In 1888 he married Christina, daughter of Alexander Graham of Newfoundland, whom he had not seen in thirty years, her home being at Balarat, Australia, during that time.

LORD, Edmund J., Family Sketch

Lord, Edmund J., was born in Lancashire, England, in 1820. At an early age he came to America and settled in Albany, where he engaged as a clerk in a grocery store, winning the respect of his employer by constant attention to business and those traits which foretold his later success. After years of hard work, in which pluck, perseverance and rigid economy played active parts, he succeeded in saving sufficient money to start the business with which he has been identified, and in 1841 established a grocery on the northeast corner of Washington avenue and Hawk street, opposite where the capitol now stands. Possessed of unusual business qualifications, it was not surprising that the work which he had begun on a small scale, should, in the course of a comparatively few years, increase to such a degree as to prove highly profitable and remunerative. In 1870 he moved to larger and more commodious quarters at the northwest corner of Washington avenue and Hawk street, where he continued in business until his death, September 22, 1895. The business since then has been conducted by his son, Edmund W. Lord, who inherits much of his father's business ability. In the constant rush and excitement attendant upon a business life, Mr. Lord never forgot the important duties to be performed in his home, and it was there the amiable disposition and kind heart were ever manifest. He was a devoted Presbyterian and while he loved his Creator and served Him as best he could, he did not neglect to practice that charity without which there can be little religious sincerity. He was also a member of the St. George Benevolent Society and several fraternal organizations. As a citizen, Mr. Lord was highly esteemed and respected. A Republican in principle, he stood ever ready to give his undivided and active support to his party when the exigencies of the hour demanded.

LUNDERGAN, John, Family Sketch

Lundergan, John, is one of the most respected and oldest residents of the locality. The trite saying. "that he is a self made man," became invested with fresh significance, when applied to Mr. Lundergan. He was born in Ireland, March 16, 1831, and came to America when four years of age. In 1832, after the death of his mother, at Montreal, he came to the vicinity of Albany, and has lived here for sixty-four years. He began life in the most humble way as a farm hand, but was very frugal and had no, bad habits. He was enabled to rent a small tract of land and became his own master in 1845. In 1848 he went to California via Cape Horn, and returned via the isthmus. Here he obtained the nucleus of his present considerable fortune, and soon began to purchase additionals to his original homestead. His most recent acquisition was the extensive fair grounds situated opposite his home, on the Troy road. Mr. Lundergan devoted his time to the business, which has occupied most of his long and useful life, that of extensive market gardening. His youngest son, Frank, is a dry goods merchant, at New York city. His oldest son. Adrian, manages home affairs. Mr. Lundergan is held in the highest esteem wherever he is known.

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