Levi Leslie Lamborn (October 10, 1829 – June 14, 1910) was an

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

doctor,

horticulturalist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, and politician. Born in 1829 in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the De ...

, Lamborn was the son of Townsend Lamborn and Anna (Clayton) Lamborn.S. Lamborn, p. 180 Townsend Lamborn was involved in local politics and once ran for governor as the nominee of the

Anti-Masonic party The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry, but later aspired to become a major party by expanding its platform to take positions on other issues. After ...

. The Lamborns were a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

family, and Levi was educated in schools of that sect. The family moved to Ohio when Lamborn was a boy and settled in

Salem, Ohio Salem is the largest city in Columbiana County, Ohio, with a small district in southern Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 11,915. It is the principal city of the Salem micropolitan area in Northeast Ohio. It is 18 m ...

. Lamborn decided at the age of fifteen to pursue a career in medicine. After studying under a local doctor, he moved to

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 ...

for additional training, then returned to Ohio to attend lectures at Western Reserve College (now

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

) in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. After graduating in 1849, Lamborn moved to

Alliance, Ohio Alliance is a city in eastern Stark County, Ohio, United States. With a small district lying in adjacent Mahoning County, the city is approximately northeast of Canton, southwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 21 ...

, and set up a medical practice. That same year, he married Maria Grant.S. Lamborn, p. 181 They would have six children, all of whom were given the initials L.L.L. In 1854, he founded the ''Alliance Ledger'', the town's first newspaper, but sold it a few months later. Lamborn became involved in local politics, running for a seat in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

as a

Free Soil The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...

candidate in 1858. He was unsuccessful, but was appointed the clerk of the house from 1859 to 1861. In 1866, he retired from the practice of medicine, but remained active in politics. In 1874, Lamborn ran for a state senate seat, this time as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He was not elected, but ran again in 1876, this time for the

United States House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

seat for

Ohio's 17th congressional district The 17th congressional district of Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of ...

. Lamborn's opponent in 1876 was his friend

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

, the future president, who defeated Lamborn by some 3300 votes. In 1874, Lamborn founded a bank with several associates. He also became a trustee of the State Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. Although he no longer ran for office after 1876, Lamborn remained a popular speaker on behalf of Democratic candidates in the area. Lamborn was a serious student of horticulture, specifically dealing with breeding

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' (), commonly known as the carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus''. It is likely native to the Mediterranean region but its exact range is unknown due to extensive cultivation for the last 2,000 years.Med ...

s. He grew some of the first carnations in the United States in 1866.Goodman & Brunsman, p. 47 Before a debate in his 1876 race against McKinley, he gave his opponent a red carnation; after McKinley won, he adopted the flower as a good-luck token for the rest of his career in politics, keeping a vase of them in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

. In 1892, Lamborn published a book on the subject, "American Carnation Culture".L.L. Lamborn, ''passim''

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamborn, Levi L. 1829 births 1910 deaths People from Chester County, Pennsylvania People from Alliance, Ohio Writers from Ohio Writers from Pennsylvania People from Salem, Ohio