Louis McLane (expressman) explained

Louis McLane Jr.
Office:President of Nevada Bank
Term Start:1875
Term End:1881
Predecessor:Inaugural holder
Successor:James Cair Flood
Office1:President of Wells Fargo & Company Express
Term Start1:1866
Term End1:1869
Predecessor1:Danford N. Barney
Successor1:Ashbel H. Barney
Birth Date:20 January 1819
Birth Place:Wilmington, Delaware
Death Place:Baltimore, Maryland
Parents:Catherine Milligan McLane
Louis McLane
Children:8
Relations:Robert Milligan McLane (brother)
Kitty Garesche (niece)
Robert McLane (nephew)
Allan McLane (grandfather)

Louis McLane Jr. (January 20, 1819 – December 13, 1905) was an American financier from a prominent Maryland family, who became a prosperous California forty-niner.

Early life

McLane was born on January 20, 1819, in Wilmington, Delaware. He was one of thirteen children born to Catherine Mary "Kitty" (née Milligan) McLane and Louis McLane, who served as a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State in President Jackson's cabinet (until his resignation in 1834), and Minister to the United Kingdom.[1] He later served as president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Among his siblings were Robert Milligan McLane (a U.S. Representative and Governor of Maryland who served as Ambassador to Mexico, France, and China), Lydia (née McLane) Johnston (wife of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston), Allan McLane (president of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company), James Latimer McLane (president of the National Bank of Baltimore and father of Baltimore mayor Robert McLane), and Juliette (née McLane) Garesché (wife of Peter Bauduy Garesché).

His paternal grandfather was Col. Allan McLane of the Continental Army.

Career

In 1835, at just sixteen years old, he left his classes at Newark College when he was appointed a midshipman in the U.S. Navy, serving aboard the USS Ohio from 1838 to 1840. McLean submitted his resignation of his commission as a Lieutenant on January 20, 1850, to the Secretary of the Navy. Secretary William Ballard Preston accepted his resignation on January 21, 1850.[2]

Business career

Shortly after his marriage and resignation from the Navy, McLane left for San Francisco and a career as a financier which was to take him away from his family many times during the next thirty years. He was a founder of the Safe Deposit & Trust Co. in 1864 and, during the 1850s, was Wells Fargo's first general manager in San Francisco.[3] [4] On November 1, 1866, he succeeded Danford N. Barney to become president of the Wells Fargo & Company Express, which he reorganized after its takeover of Holladay Overland.[5] He was replaced by Ashbel H. Barney in 1869. McLane also served as the first president of Nevada Bank in 1875, which had been started by William S. O'Brien and James Clair Flood, who succeeded McLane as president in 1881. He returned to Baltimore in 1892.

In his later years, he served as chairman of the executive committee of the Mercantile Trust Company of Baltimore and a director of many financial institutions.

Personal life

On June 12, 1849, McLane was married to Sophie Latimer Hoffman (1827–1907), daughter of Samuel Hoffman, a well known Baltimore merchant, and the former Elizabeth Rebecca Becker Curzon. Together, they were the parents of eight children, including:[6]

McLane suffered a stroke of paralysis in October 1901, but survived. After several years of ill health, he died on December 13, 1905, at 1101 North Charles Street, his residence in Baltimore, Maryland.[12] [13] He was buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.[2]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Death of Hon. Louis McLane. . 8 March 2021 . . 9 October 1857.
  2. Web site: McLane-Fisher Family Papers circa 1800-1905, MS. 2403 . www.hitandstay.com . . 8 March 2021.
  3. News: Rasmussen . Fred . Sophie Baylor, 97, helped schools, needy . 8 March 2021 . . January 18, 1996.
  4. Wells Fargo & Co Incorporation . Scott's Monthly Stamp Journal . 1924 . Mar-Feb 1924-25 . 273 . 8 March 2021 . Scott Publishing Company . en.
  5. Web site: This Day In History: 2020-07-15 . www.wellsfargohistory.com . Wells Fargo History . 8 March 2021.
  6. Book: Pleasants . Jacob Hall . The Curzon Family of New York and Baltimore, and Their English Descent . 1919 . 49. 8 March 2021.
  7. News: CATHERINE M. McLANE.; Member of Prominent Baltimore Family Dies at 77. . 8 March 2021 . . 13 April 1927.
  8. News: McLANE--BLANCHARD . 8 March 2021 . . 12 August 1887 . 2 . en.
  9. News: Bachrach . Bradford . BETSY M'L. FISHER BECOMES FIANCEE; Cockeysville, Md., Girl Future Bride of Thomas Cover 4th, Who Attended Yale . 8 March 2021 . . 22 August 1956.
  10. News: CHARLES E. M'LANE, TURFMAN, BROKER; President of Maryland Jockey Club, 1917-38, Succeeded by A. C. Vanderbilt, Dies at 70 OF DISTINGUISHED FAMILY His Grandfather in Jackson's Cabinet, Envoy to London-- Uncle a Maryland Governor . 8 March 2021 . . 2 June 1941.
  11. News: C. A. BROCKLEBANK, EX-RECTOR, 43, DIES; Served 4 Years at St. Mark'sin-the-Bouwerie--Formerly at Baltimore Churches . 8 March 2021 . . 2 November 1948.
  12. News: Times . Special to The New York . Louis McLane . 8 March 2021 . . 14 December 1905.
  13. News: LOUIS McLANE BREATHES HIS LAST IN BALTIMORE . 8 March 2021 . . 14 . 14 December 1905. 99.