Box 1, Folder 1: Autobiographies

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My children now living are five; Mary Jane, Julia Allcott, Henry, Seneca G., and Charles. Two others died young and are buried at Forest Home a cemetary near Milwaukee. Family records show my direct ancestry as follows: I. John Lapham, a weaver born in 1635 in Devonshire England; settled in Providence Rhode Island where his house was burned in the King Phillip War. II. John Lapham, who married Mary Russell. III. John Lapham born Oct 3 1703 married Desire Howland. IV. Benjamin Lapham born January 15 1727. V. Pazzi Lapham born Oct 22 1750 married Bethany Foster. VI. Seneca Lapham, my father, born in Duchess County New York June 10 1784 married Rachel Allen; died in Champaign County Ohio, December 30, 1853. In 1852 Dr. Asa Gray of Cambridge in a memoir published in the Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge entitled 'Plantae Wrightiana (page 99 plate 9) named a new genus of plants Laphamia with the remark 'I dedicate this genus to I.A. Lapham Esqu. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin author of a catalogue of the plants of that stae and a zealous explorer of its botany.'

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In the examination of the several masses of meteoric iron discovered in 1868 not far from Milwaukee in Wisconsin I detected some peculiar markings within the Widmannstattian figures which Dr. J. Lawrence Smith of Louisville Ky thought worthy of being named 'Laphamite markings' - Am. jour. of Science for March 1869. The animal shaped mounds of Wisconsin early attracted my attention I made a survey of the turtle mound around at Prairie Village (Waukesha) before it was destroyed. I afterwards made an extended survey of the mounds and results were published in the Smithsonian Contributions, 1855. My travelling expenses while on this survey were paid by the American Antiquarian Society. The Memoir covers 95 quarto pages with 55 plates.

Question #14: In the early history of Milwaukee I held several offices; usually such as yielded no pay - Alderman - School Commissioner etc. - I took an active part in securing the proper organization of the public schools upon the basis of free tuition to all. I assisted the organization of the Young Men's Association, and of the Female College...

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...of which last I was the President for many years. In 1846 I made a donation of thirteen acres of land in the second (now sixth) ward to the city for the purpose of a high school. In March 1837 a code of by-laws was adopted at meeting of persons who were then occupying the public lands, at which I acted as secretary and received the appointment of Register of Claims. The duties of this office were performed gratuitously. Besides the meteorological, geological, botanical, and other observations I have made very numerous observations on the rise and fall of the water of Lake Michigan at Milwaukee by which the highest and lowest water and the mean average stage became known. These are important in various ways and were used by the Engineers of Chicago and Milwaukee in establishing their systems of sewerage and for water pipes, foundation of works in any way connected with the water. They were also used by the Lake Survey when in charge of Capt Geo G. Meade in fixing a zero from which to make soundings &c.

Question #12: In 1849 I made a series of very careful observations at regular hours for the whole month of August from which I discovered a slight lunar tide exactly like the ocean - This important fact was announced at the time in the newspapers - and the observations were communicated with the meteorological observations were communicated with the meteorological observations to the Smithsonian Institution. Many years afterwards (1863) Col. Graham made the same discovery at Chicago, the tide there being much larger than at Milwaukee. The irregular fluctuations of water level - the changes of the seasons and of years are also shown by these observations. Since 1859 I have had charge of a self registering tide gauge at Milwaukee for the Lake Survey. This fully confirms my discoveryand shows the height of the tide to be the same as by my observations a little less than one tenth of a foot.* I have made no discovery of a tide on Lake Huron as blunderingly stated in Appleton's Cyclopedia. Capt Geo G. Meade and Gen G.B. Comstock have fully acknowledged the importance of these observations.

*See the report of Lake Survey for 1861 page 361.

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Mr. E.S. Cherborough or W.H. Clarke Engineers Chicago will tell you of their value to them in devising plans for the sewerage and for the Water Works at Chicago. In December 1869 I sent to Hon Halbert E. Paine member of Congress from Milwaukee a memorial representing the duty and necessity of some effort to prevent the loss of life and property on the Great Lakes; the possibility of predicting the occurrence of great storms and how it could be done. The memorial was accompanied by a long list of disasters that had occurred upon the lakes in that year, and was the means of securing the adoption of measures for Weather predictions which have grown to be of so much importance, not only to the commerce of the Lakes and Ocean but in many other ways. I spent most of the winter of 1870-71 in Chicago assisting in the organization of the signal service and in making up the results of observations upon which the first storm predictions or probabilities were based. How much every sailor, ship owner, and others engaged in the commerce of our great lakes were other person who daily...