Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (1888-1893)
Lived from 1825 to 1893.
Early Life and Legal Career
Lucius Q.C. Lamar II was born near Eatonton, Georgia to Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar and Sarah Williamson Bird. He attended Emory College (now Emory University) in Georgia, where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduating from Emory in 1845, Lamar read law for two years, passing the bar in 1847. Eventually, Lamar moved to Oxford, Mississippi, where he settled on a plantation and resumed his law practice.
After returning to Georgia in 1852, Lamar, who had become involved with the Democratic Party, was elected to the Georgia State House of Representatives. Seemingly dissatisfied with settling down, Lamar moved back to Mississippi with his family three years later. Shortly thereafter, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served until December 1860.
After retiring from the House, Lamar raised, and funded out of his own pocket, the 19th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. Commissioning himself as lieutenant colonel, Lamar offered his regiment to the Confederate War Department on May 14. Unfortunately, on May 15, 1862, Colonel Lamar suffered an attack of vertigo, ending his service as a soldier. Following his brief stint in the military, Lamar served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Grover Cleveland from March 6, 1885 to January 10, 1888.
Appointment to the Supreme Court
Lamar was nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Cleveland on December 6, 1887, filling the seat of the late William Burnham Woods. Confirmed on January 16, 1888, Lamar became the first justice of Southern origin appointed after the Civil War. He served on the Court until his death.
Death
Lamar died on January 23, 1893 in Vineville, Georgia. He was originally buried at Riverside Cemetery in Macon, Georgia, but was moved to St. Peter’s Cemetery in Oxford, Mississippi in 1894.
