Lorenzo Dow Lewelling was an American reformer and politician. He was superintendent of the State Reform School for Girls from 1873 to 1885 and the 12th Governor of Kansas from 1893 to 1895.
Background
Lorenzo Dow Lewelling was born on December 21, 1846 in Salem, Iowa, United States, the youngest son of William and Cyrena (Wilson) Lewelling and a nephew of Henderson Luelling, who retained the earlier spelling of the name. The family was originally Welsh. Lorenzo's grandfather moved from North Carolina to Indiana in 1825 and with his sons engaged in the nursery business there. When promising reports came to them of opportunities in Iowa several of the sons moved on and established themselves in Salem in the same business. William Lewelling became a minister in the Society of Friends, but he died when his son was only two years old, leaving a family of small children to be brought up by the widow and, after her death, by relatives.
Education
He attended country school until he was sixteen. Later he studied at Whittier College at Salem.
Career
Lewelling worked at various jobs until the Civil War broke out in 1861. He attempted to enlist in an Iowa regiment, but on account of his youth and their Quaker faith his relatives protested. He then engaged in several forms of non-military service in the Federal army, and after various experiences, returned to Iowa and became the teacher in the Iowa State Reform School for Boys. In 1873 he became the first superintendent of the State Reform School for Girls, where he remained until 1885. During this period Lewelling became a member of the first board of the Iowa State Normal School at Cedar Falls, and later was president of the board.
He also published for a time, beginning in 1880, the Des Moines Capital, an anti-administration paper in opposition to the Republican organization. About 1887 Lewelling settled in Wichita, Kansas, where he engaged in business. These were years in which the Populist movement was developing. In 1892 he was the fusion candidate of the Democrats and Populists for governor and was elected, serving from 1893 to 1895. The Senate was controlled by the Populists, but in the lower house the vote was almost evenly divided. A legislative struggle resulted, two bodies were organized, each claiming to be the constitutional House of Representatives. In the course of this controversy open hostilities were narrowly avoided, and the Governor, to avert bloodshed, agreed to submit the decision to the supreme court, which decided in favor of the Republican House. Differences of opinion naturally developed in regard to the way in which the situation had been handled. An anti-administration group was formed, but Lewelling was renominated by the Populist party. The Democrats put a separate ticket in the field and the Republican candidate was elected. In 1896 and again in 1898 Lewelling was elected a member of the state Senate, and his death occurred while he was holding this office.
He was a representative Quaker. He and his family were opposed to slavery and he taught in a school for negroes in Missouri after the close of the Civil War when it was necessary to have friends guard the door to protect him from the threatened assaults of the people of the neighborhood. His ancestry and life experience prepared him for his most striking rôle as the Populist governor of Kansas. Perhaps his Quaker aversion to the use of force led to his concessions in the legislative war, which featured his administration as governor.
Achievements
Lewelling became known as a public speaker and as a reformer in politics. During his governorship, he sanctioned the Australian ballot, approved an eighteen-month compensation allowance on mortgages, negotiated the coal strike and challenged the appointment of Mary Elizabeth Lease as superintendent of the state board of charities. He was also the founder of the periodical "Des Moines Capital".
Politics
He was a member of the Populist party.
Connections
In 1870 Lewelling married Angie Cook, a school teacher, whom he had known in college. His wife was a matron at the State Reform School for Girls. After her death he was married to Ida Bishop.
