Oscar Lapham (June 29, 1837 – March 29, 1926) was an American lawyer and politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. He served as a member of the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of wh ...

and the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

Early life

Lapham was born in Burrillville, Rhode Island and attended the

Smithville Seminary The Smithville Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution established in 1839 on what is now Institute Lane in Smithville-North Scituate, Rhode Island. Renamed the Lapham Institute in 1863, it closed in 1876. The site was then used as the campus ...

Scituate, Rhode Island Scituate () is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,384 at the 2020 census. History Scituate was first settled in 1710 by emigrants from Scituate, Massachusetts. The original spelling of the town's na ...

Pembroke Academy Pembroke Academy is a public secondary school in Pembroke, New Hampshire. History Pembroke Academy was incorporated on June 25, 1818, as a private school, and on May 25, 1819, the first building was dedicated. The academy opened with 48 students o ...

Pembroke, New Hampshire Pembroke is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,207 at the 2020 census. Pembroke includes part of the village of Suncook. The center of population of New Hampshire is close to the Pembroke town center. ...

and the University Grammar School in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

. In 1864, he graduated from Brown University. At Brown, he was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

and

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

. Lapham studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1867. He began the practice of law in Providence.

Career

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, he served as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

, adjutant and captain in the Twelfth Rhode Island Volunteers. After the war, he was elected as a companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...

. He was a member of the Rhode Island Senate in 1887 and 1888, and served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He was treasurer of the

Rhode Island Democratic Committee The Rhode Island Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Joseph McNamara is the chair of the party. The party has dominated politics in Rhode Island for the past five decades. Democratic Pa ...

from 1887-1891. Lapham was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Forty-eighth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first Congresses. He was elected as a Democratic candidate to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses, serving from March 4, 1891 to March 3, 1895. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress. After leaving Congress, he resumed the practice of law in Providence. He served on the board of trustees and on the executive committee for his alma mater Brown University. He was a member of the Providence Board of Trade. He died on March 29, 1926 in Providence and is interred in the

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organ ...

there.

Family life

Lapham was the son of Duty Lapham and Lucinda (Wheelock) Lapham. He married Claira L. Paine on June 20, 1876, and their only child Annie died in infancy.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapham, Oscar 1837 births 1926 deaths People from Burrillville, Rhode Island Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island People from Providence County, Rhode Island Rhode Island lawyers Democratic Party Rhode Island state senators Brown University alumni Union Army officers People of Rhode Island in the American Civil War Burials at Swan Point Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island 19th-century American lawyers