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SAMUEL ALANSON LANE

Born in Suffield, Connecticut on June 15th 1815, to the parents, Comfort Lane and Betsey Lane, Samuel Alanson Lane would become yet another witness to the scientific and technological progress (including marvels such as photography, telegraphy, steam locomotives and the advent of the modern railroad system as well as  revolutionary social change (such as the introduction of the Republican Party, four years of Civil War (1861-1865) and the freedom of enslaved Americans, that occurred in or greatly influenced the United States of America in the 19th century.

S. A. Lane's father, Comfort Lane (1783-1828) was both a farmer and an inventor of an innovation of the well-known Cotton gin called the Suffield Cotton Gin. Although his adaptation of the popular invention proved to be more efficient the invention was buried with its inventor at the time of his untimely death in 1828. Being the child of an inventor as well as being raised on a farm with various types of machinery and tools inevitably led to S. A. Lane's life-long display of inventive creativity which is characteristic of the spirit of the 19th century.

After working on several nearby farms after his father's death, S. A. Lane left Suffield, CT, in to work as a store clerk in Massachusetts quickly followed by his employment as a traveling book salesman throughout the South. Within the year 1835, S. A. Lane combed the country for employment, visiting numerous cities including, New Orleans, Cincinati, Columbus, Cleveland until finally settling in Akron, a city within the borders of Summit County, Ohio on June 29, 1835.

Up until his arrival in Akron, S. A. Lane explored various trades such as: working for a paper called The Southern Spy in Georgia, performing in a play, freelancing as a house and sign painter, and even working as a school teacher for the School District No. 7 in Portage Township, Ohio. His most notable careers during his lifetime were: newspaper journalist and editor for The Akron Buzzard and The Akron Daily Beacon, Sheriff of Summit County (1856-1860, 1878-1881), Mayor of Summit County (1881-1883) and historian and co-author of the history book entitled “Fifty Years and Over of Akron and Summit County”, published in 1892. In addition to these careers, S. A. Lane was also a dedicated follower and professional lecturer of the American temperance movement as well as an avid supporter and political participant for the Republican Party, formed in 1854. Perhaps one of his most interesting and daring pursuits, was his active participation in the mass emigration to California in search of fortune like many others during the California Gold Rush, leaving his family and home in Akron for about two years.

In his personal life, S. A. Lane was most certainly a family man, marrying his wife, Paulina Potter November 11, 1838 and remaining faithful and loving to her until her untimely death from cancer July 2, 1871. With Paulina, Lane had eight children, four of them surviving until his later years, when he began his writing of his handwritten auto-biography in the year 1879. These children were: Sarah Maria (1839-1841), Julius Sherman (b. 1841),  Henry Lorenzo (1843-1849),  William Alanson (1845-1849),  Charles Walter (1848-1849),  Frederick Alanson (b. 1849),  Arthur Malcolm (b. 1855),  Carrie Maria (1858-1892). Lane cherished his family and wrote many entries in his diary about the closeness he and his kin had with one another and their many reunions throughout the years, until his peaceful death on June 14, 1905, just fifteen days before his 90th birthday.