George Read McLane (December 20, 1819August 16, 1855) was an American medical doctor, politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing northern Waukesha County during the

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping Reb ...

and

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Teut ...

sessions. At the time of his death, he was vice president of the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

Biography

George Read McLane was born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, a scion of two prominent Delaware families. He received his primary education at the Newark Academy, then attended Newark College for two years. At that time, he had become interested in civil engineering, and studied under

Isaac R. Trimble Isaac Ridgeway Trimble (May 15, 1802 – January 2, 1888) was a United States Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate States Army, Confederate General officer, general in t ...

, who was then an engineer in charge of the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad. After two years, however, he decided that he would instead follow his father into the medical profession. He studied with his father and then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He then went to work as a practicing physician in the hospitals of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and then operated in private practice in partnership with his father. After a period of poor health, he visited the Wisconsin Territory in 1847, then returned and established permanent residence in the Fall of 1848, shortly after

achieved statehood. He purchased a tract of land in the town of Delafield, in Waukesha County, which was known for many years as "Readland", in honor of his mother's family. The estate included a mile of waterfront on Delafield's Pine Lake, and came to be known as one of the finest farms in the county. In 1852, he ran for Wisconsin Senate on the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

ticket in the 9th State Senate district. At the time, the district comprised roughly the northern half of Waukesha County. He won election and served a two-year term, participating in the 6th and

7th 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube (algebra), cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion ...

Wisconsin legislatures. He did not run for re-election in 1854, and was appointed superintendent of the yet-to-be-built state insane asylum, which had been authorized by the Legislature in 1854. In that capacity, he visited many of the similar institutions of the eastern states and drew up a model for the treatment of patients in Wisconsin. But the construction of the hospital was delayed by controversy over corruption, and McLane ultimately died before the hospital became a reality.

Personal life and family

George Read McLane was one of five children born to Allen and Catherine (' Read) McLane. Allen McLane was also a notable medical doctor in his native Delaware. George McLane's paternal grandfather was Colonel

Allan McLane Allan McLane (August 8, 1746 – May 22, 1829) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was appointed as the first United States Marshal of Delaware in 1789, and as Customs Collector of the Port of Wilmingt ...

, who served as an officer in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

through most of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Louis McLane Louis McLane (May 28, 1786 – October 7, 1857) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, a member of the Federalist Party and later th ...

, who served as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

, Secretary of State, and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, was his uncle. On his mother's side, his great-grandfather was

George Read George Read may refer to: * George Reade (colonial governor) (1608–1671), politician, judge, and Acting Governor of Virginia Colony * George Read (American politician, born 1733) (1733–1798), lawyer, signer of Declaration of Independence and U ...

, one of the signers of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

and a highly influential legal and political leader in early Delaware. George Read McLane never married and had no known children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLane, George Read 1819 births 1855 deaths Politicians from Wilmington, Delaware People from Delafield, Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Physicians from Wisconsin 19th-century American legislators Physicians from Wilmington, Delaware 19th-century Wisconsin politicians