George W. Lakin (March 29, 1816September 13, 1884) was an American schoolteacher and lawyer, originally from

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, who became a pioneer leader of

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 ...

. He was a member of the second Wisconsin Constitutional Convention, a member of the

1st Wisconsin Legislature The First Wisconsin Legislature convened from June 5, 1848, to August 21, 1848, in regular session. Members of the Assembly and Senate were elected after an election on February 1, 1848, that ratified the proposed state constitution. Major event ...

, and

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the District of Wisconsin.

Early life and education

George W. Lakin was born in Harrison, in Cumberland County, Maine, in March 1816. He attended

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

until about 14 years old, then went to Bridgton Academy in

North Bridgton, Maine North Bridgton is a village in the town of Bridgton in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is located just west of Long Lake, and just south of the town of Harrison. In 1768, the undeveloped land was granted by the Massachusetts General ...

, then to the

Maine Wesleyan Seminary Kents Hill School (also known as Kents Hill or KHS) is a co-educational, independent college-preparatory school for boarding and day students. Kents Hill is located in Kents Hill, Maine, 12 miles west of the state capital of Augusta, Maine, August ...

Readfield Readfield (/ˈɹid fild/) is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,597 at the 2020 census. Readfield is home to the Kents Hill School, a preparatory school, Maranacook Community Schools, public schools for the dis ...

, from which he graduated in June 1837. He tutored or taught school during his five years at Wesleyan; after graduating, his schoolmate of

Elihu B. Washburne Elihu Benjamin Washburne (September 23, 1816 – October 22, 1887) was an Americans, American politician and diplomat. A member of the Washburn family, which played a prominent role in the early formation of the Republican Party (United States), ...

invited him to come teach school in

East Livermore, Maine East Livermore is an unincorporated village in the town of Livermore Falls, Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. It is included both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan New ...

, where he lived for some time at the home of Washburn's father,

Israel Washburn Israel Washburn Sr. (1784–1876) was a Massachusetts politician, brother of Reuel Washburn and father of Israel Washburn Jr., Elihu B. Washburne, Cadwallader C. Washburn, and William D. Washburn. Charles Ames Washburn was an elector and a ...

. Lakin was well compensated by the Washburns and, in May 1838, he began to

read law Reading law was the method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship under the ...

while continuing to teach school at a number of schools in various towns around Maine. In the Fall of 1839 he went west, eventually ending up teaching school in the Cook Settlement of southeastern

St. Francois County, Missouri St. Francois County () is a county located in the Lead Belt region in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 66,922. The largest city and county seat is Farmington. The county was officially organized on Decemb ...

. He moved to

Ste. Genevieve, Missouri Ste. Genevieve (french: Sainte-Geneviève ) is a city in Ste. Genevieve Township and is the county seat of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,999 at the 2020 census. Founded in 1735 by French Canadian colonist ...

, in 1840 and was invited to live and study law with the former

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

John Scott John Scott may refer to: Academics * John Scott (1639–1695), English clergyman and devotional writer * John Witherspoon Scott (1800–1892), American minister, college president, and father of First Lady Caroline Harrison * John Work Scott (180 ...

, who was then living there. In the Summer of 1841, Lakin was admitted to the bar in Missouri. That Fall, he went north to the Wisconsin Territory and set up a legal practice in Platteville.

Public office

In 1846, Wisconsin began the process of becoming a U.S. state. The first constitution they devised was rejected by voters in an April 1847 referendum, and a second

constitutional convention Constitutional convention may refer to: * Constitutional convention (political custom), an informal and uncodified procedural agreement *Constitutional convention (political meeting), a meeting of delegates to adopt a new constitution or revise an e ...

was called for the following Winter. Lakin was elected on the Whig Party ticket to serve as a

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United ...

from Grant County to that second constitutional convention. The

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

they produced was approved by voters in 1848. The following February, he was elected to serve in the first session of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing all of Grant County. In the Fall of 1849, he was named

for Wisconsin by President

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

. He served in the office through to the end of the term of

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

After public office

He moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in 1854, and derived a significant proportion of his business from the lawyers in the western part of Wisconsin and in the Galena, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowa, regions who had contended with him in the past. In January 1855, Lakin was one of the defense attorneys involved in the defense of John Ryecraft (one of the people who helped free runaway slave Joshua Glover), arguing that the defendant, in freeing a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, acted in accord with the higher law. He died of

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

at his home in Milwaukee on September 13, 1884.

Personal life

Lakin was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and served as

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the December 1843 Masonic convention which led to the creation of the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin. On June 2, 1847, he married Statira C. Clark, "late of Danville, Me." in Potosi. They had three children, Fannie, Mildred and Charles.Green, Dr. Samuel Abbott, M.D. ''Lakin Families of Groton, Mass. & Maine''. Groton, Massachusetts: Groton Historical Series, Relating to the History of the Town of Groton, Mass., 1893; vol. III, p. 93

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lakin, George 1816 births 1884 deaths Schoolteachers from Maine Missouri lawyers People from Cumberland County, Maine People from Platteville, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee United States Attorneys for the District of Wisconsin Wisconsin state senators Wisconsin Whigs 19th-century American legislators American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American educators Wisconsin pioneers 19th-century Wisconsin politicians