Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Lamb, John C.

Born: 1825-01-16 Kaskaskia, Illinois

Died: 1904-03-16 Springfield, Illinois

John C. Lamb was a merchant, businessman, and manufacturer in Springfield, Illinois. Lamb spent his early life in Kaskaskia, Illinois. In 1832, he moved with his parents to Springfield, where his father established a general merchandise store. Lamb received his education at public schools in Springfield, and spent eighteen months at a private school in Waverly, Illinois. He subsequently attended Shurtleff College of Alton, Illinois. He joined his father's store as a clerk, and later became a partner in the enterprise. He also worked with his father in the pork packing business. In March 1848, Lamb entered into partnership with George W. Lowry and Thomas Mather to form the firm of Lowry, Lamb & Company as successors to D. M. Hitchcock & Company. Lowry, Lamb & Company sold stoves and iron, tin, and copper wares to customers in Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Illinois. In August 1849, the firm began constructing what would become the largest foundry in Illinois. Lamb and his partners retained Lincoln & Herndon in three cases before the Sangamon County Circuit Court. In January 1856, Lamb entered into partnership with E. P. Penniman to form Springfield Iron Works, which manufactured steam engines, steel plows, and iron railings, pipes, and fixtures. Lamb and Penniman dissolved their partnership in April 1856, and Lamb continued the business alone. By January 1857, Lamb was proprietor of the Aetna Foundry and Iron Works, a company he operated until well after the Civil War. Lamb's business proved lucrative, and in 1860, he owned real property valued at $15,000 and a personal estate of $10,000.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 436; Joseph Wallace, Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1904), 80, 83; Illinois Journal (Springfield), 9 March 1848, 2:6; 29 August 1849, 1:5; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 12 January 1856, 2:4; 11 April 1856, 2:4; 6 January 1857, 2:6; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 105; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 134; Lamb v. Hidden, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=139579; Lamb v. Kock & Johnson, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=139580; Lowry & Lamb v. Frackelton, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Details.aspx?case=139701; Gravestone, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL.