Levi Clifford Wade (January 16, 1843 – March 21, 1891) was a lawyer, politician and railroad executive who served as a member, and the Speaker of, the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1879, and as the president of the Mexican Central Railway from 1884 until his death in 1891.

Early life

Levi Clifford Wade was born on January 16, 1843, in

Allegheny City, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

, to Levi Wade and A. Annie Wade (née Rogers). He was educated at local schools until the age of 13 when he was privately tutored. At the age of 16, he entered Lewisburg University to study law. He entered Yale College at the age of 19 in 1862 and became an editor of the Yale Literary Magazine. Wade graduated from Yale College in 1866 with a Bachelor of Arts. After Yale, he went to the Newton Theological Institution in October 1866 and studied exegesis under

Horatio Balch Hackett Horatio Balch Hackett (December 27, 1808 – November 2, 1875), American biblical scholar, was born in Salisbury, Massachusetts. His father, Richard Hackett, was a ship-builder who died when Horatio was only five years old. Hence, Horatio and ...

and theology under Alvah Hovey.

Family life

Wade married Margaret A. Rogers of Bath, Maine, on November 16, 1869. Together, they had four sons (Arthur, William, Levi, and Robert) and two daughters that died in infancy. They lived in a small house in Newton Upper Falls from 1869 to 1881. After, they moved to a 225-acre estate called "Homewood" in Oak Hill, Newton, Massachusetts.

Career

Early career

From 1868 to 1873, Wade taught at a grammar school in Newton Upper Falls in Newton, Massachusetts, while studying law.

Legal career

Wade was admitted to the bar in 1873, and entered the law office of I.W. Richardson. Wade practiced law in Boston, Massachusetts, first as a solo practitioner in 1875, then in 1877 until May 1, 1880, in partnership with future Governor

John Q. A. Brackett John Quincy Adams Brackett (June 8, 1842 – April 6, 1918) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. A Republican and temperance advocate, he served one term as the 36th Governor of Massachusetts, from 1890 to 1891. Born in ...

State legislature

In 1876, Wade was elected to the Massachusetts General Court and served until 1879. In 1879, he was selected as the speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Career in the railroad industry

On May 1, 1880, Wade took up railway law. He was one of the four original projectors and owners of the Mexican Central Railway. He became counsel of the Mexican Central Railway, Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railway, Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, and the Sonora Railroad. Wade served as the President of the Mexican Central Railway from August 1884 until his death. He was a business partner of

Albert W. Nickerson Albert Winslow Nickerson (May 21, 1840 – May 17, 1893) was an American railroad executive and director of both the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the Mexican Central Railway. Personal life Nickerson was born on Perkins Street in Ja ...

. He also served as the director of the Mexican Central Railway, Sonora Railroad, Cincinnati, Sandusky, & Cleveland Railroad, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, and the Theological Library in Boston. He served on the water board of Newton.

Illness and death

On March 21, 1891, after a lingering illness of only a few weeks, Wade died at his "Homewood" residence at Oak Hill. He was interred at Newton Cemetery.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Levi C. 1843 births 1891 deaths Yale College alumni 19th-century American railroad executives Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts lawyers 19th-century American legislators 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century Massachusetts politicians