Lawler, Iowa

 This information comes from “ancestry.com:”

ID: I599

• Name: John LAWLER
• Surname: Lawler
• Given Name: John
• Sex: M
• Birth: 4 May 1832 in Carlow Co., Ireland
• Death: 24 Feb 1891 in Prairie du Chien, Crawford Co., Wisconsin
• _UID: 7BD7AE03E5C2504B9CC9F4909EFA434851E4
• Note:

According to a bio, John was the eldest son of Mary Cantwell and Patrick Lawler, who came to the US in 1836 and lived in New Jersey. At 15 [abt 1847] John started working for a railroad company in Middletown, New York. Three years later [1850] he became a foreman at the Erie Railroad docks in Piermont. In 1856, he and his new wife left for Chicago, and a year later, settle in Prairie du Chien. { The Columbian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of the Representative Men of the United States, Wisconsin Volume, 1895, by D. I. Nelke, <googlebooks>, 9 Aug 2012}
“While in Piermont [Rockland Co., New York], he had become acquainted with a young Irish girl, Catherine Dinon, whom he married in 1854.” {‘The Life of John Lawler’, by William B. Flaherty, Wisconsin Magazine of History, Dec 1940, <http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/wmh&CISOPTR=13742&CISOMODE=print>}
John Lawler and his wife Catherine (Dinan?) had at least 13 children:
John D. 1855-1896;
Thomas P. 1857-;
Daniel W. 1859- ;
Louis Dana 1860-1885;
Frances J. 1862-1890,
Joseph C. 1865-1920;
Mary J. 1866-1894 m. Charles J. L. Lantry;
Vincent 1868-1869;
Augustine 1870-1871;
Katherine Emily 1874-1945;
Clement A. 1874-1923;
Ellen ‘Nelly’ Caroline 1876-1933;
and Julia P. 1876-1876.
“Born in a small village in Carlow county, Ireland, May 4, 1832, he came to America in boyhood. At fifteen [1847?], he began working for a railroad company in upstate New York. Almost immediately his fine talents came to the knowledge of his employers, and three years later we find him foreman at the Erie railroad docks at Piermont, New York. Continuing to advance, before he was twenty-one he had secured a desirable position on the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls railroad at Tonawanda, New York. Moving to Chicago in the following year [1853?], he engaged in general railroad work. The summer of 1857 found him in the Wisconsin town of Prairie du Chien, an agent for the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien railroad….” {‘The Life of John Lawler’, by William B. Flaherty, Wisconsin Magazine of History, Dec 1940, <http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/wmh&CISOPTR=13742&CISOMODE=print>}
“John Lawler 1832-1891: railroad executive, businessman, philanthropist, b. Carlow County, Ireland. He migrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1836. As a young man he worked for various railroads in the East and, after living briefly in Chicago and Milwaukee, settled in Prairie du Chien in 1857, where he was station agent for the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad. A short time later he became general agent for the line; in 1861, it was taken over by the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railway Company. In 1863 he became vice-president of the newly organized McGregor Western Railway Company, and in 1867 both lines became part of the Milwaukee and St. Paul. Recognizing the importance of the Mississippi River to the transportation system, Lawler gained control of the river ferry in 1859, received a contract to ferry rail traffic in 1863, and remained in virtual control of all rail traffic between Prairie du Chien and McGregor until his death. In 1864, he became president of the Northwestern Packet Company, which merged with the Davidson line in 1866. To meet the problem of transferring railroad traffic between Prairie du Chien and McGregor, Lawler at first utilized railroad barges and later financed construction of a pontoon bridge, which was completed in 1874. He was a director of the Northwestern Life Insurance Company and a regent of the Univ. of Wisconsin. Active in many local philanthropies, he was particularly interested in furthering Catholic education. He was one of the founders and financiers of St. Mary’s College and Academy and St. John’s (now Campion) College in Prairie du Chien, and gave liberally to Georgetown Univ. and the Catholic Univ. of America.” {Dictionary of Wisconsin History, <http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/>}
“In April 1857 the railroad came to Prairie du Chien and determined the economic and social life of the community for a century. That summer a young John Lawler came as the station agent…. The railroad built a hotel on the Upper Mississippi known first as the Railroad House and later renamed Dousman House. About that same time John Lawler bought much of Fort Crawford and donated a block to Catholic nuns for St. Mary’s Academy…. Lawler made his money transferring railroad cars and passengers across the river first by ferry. In 1874 he launched the pontoon railroad bridge that operated until 1955 and was dismantled in the early 1960s. Lawler Park was named after John Lawler, Prairie du Chien’s greatest philanthropist.” {Crawford Co., Wisconsin, <http://crawfordcounty-wi-us.org/>}
“The width of the Mississippi River posed a challenge for further expansion of the railorad into Iowa. This problem was temporarily solved by disassembling the trains at Prairie du Chien and ferrying them across the river to be put back on the tracks on the other side. A better solution was found by two men named Michael Spettel and John Lawler, who designed a permanent pontoon bridge to span the river in 1874. Lawler took most of the credit for this invention, and made a small fortune through its operation.” {Wikipedia, ‘Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin’, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>}
“[Lawler, Chickasaw Co., Iowa] was named after John Lawler, of Prairie Du Chien, he being the active agent representing the railroad company when the town was laid out. “ {http://iagenweb.org/chickasaw/maps/mapsnames.htm}

John and Catherine are buried in St. Gabriel’s Catholic cemetery in Prairie du Chien, with a number of their children. There are photos of their memorial listing “John Lawler, May 4,1832—Feb 24, 1891, born in Cnty Carlow, Ireland”; and “His wife Catherine, Dec 23, 1833—Apr 1,1922, born in Cty Cork, Ire–died in Kansas City, Mo.” There is also a memorial for their children Vincent A., Augustine E., and Julia P. who died young; and another for their children Clement A., Ellen Caroline and Katherine Emily; with Mary and her husband Charles J. L. Lantry. {WIGenWeb, <http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/wi/cemetery/crawford.html>}
There is also a record made by WPA of graves for Louis D. 1860-1885; Francis J. 1862-1890; Joseph C. 1864-1920; Clement A. 1874-1923; S. D. Sturgis 1892-1949, son of John D.& Ella; and John D. 1855-1896. {St. Gabriel’s Cemetery, Crawford Co., Wisconsin, USGenWeb, <http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/wi/crawford/cemeteries/stgabriels.txt>}

• Change Date: 12 Aug 2012 at 09:50:45

Thanks to Turkey Valley graduate Lawrence Hackman for dropping me an email concerning Lawler’s involvement in the Union Army during Civil War days. I jumped on Wikipedia to find the following information about that event a century and one-half ago: (Bill Sheridan)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Iowa_Volunteer_Infantry_Regiment

Thanks to all of you current and former Lawlerites who contributed to the complete restoration of that fabulous fountain…and just in time to be enjoyed by those who attended Lawler’s Irish Fest I.  This photo (below) was taken by Bonnie Kuehner and the following is a chapter from my book, “Depot Street Memories…The Lawler Stories:”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lawler’s Two-Sided Fountain

            It was one of the coolest landmarks in Lawler, but that is not how we thought of it. To us, it was simply a great place to get a drink any time of the night or day. Standing proudly on the sidewalk south of the lumberyard was the town’s only public water fountain.

It was without question one of the most unique fountains in the state of Iowa. The concrete structure was built to serve humans from the sidewalk on the north, and horses from the street side on the south.

Only a half block or so from The Park, the fountain was turned on in the early spring and ran continuously through October. Occasionally we called a halt to our football or baseball games and ran over for a cool refreshing drink.

There was a cement block for little kids to stand on in order to reach the fountain. It had a two-foot high barrier between the front (people-side) and back (horse-side).When we were youngsters, it was likely the most proficient germ-spreading device within fifty miles. That is because most of us completely cupped the fountain with our mouths to inhale the delicious cold water. (If you instinctively said, “Gross!”—I couldn’t agree with you more.)

The back side of the fountain had a large bowl beneath a valve that could be turned on to fill up for thirsty horses (or wash our hands if we had eaten something sticky).

As this is written in the summer of 2009, the fountain is still there and, I’m told, is still a functional piece of plumbing. My hope is that it does not go the way of the town bell that was located about one hundred yards to its west. To my regret, the bell has long since been dismantled.

That wonderful two-sided water fountain has stood guard over Main Street for at least eighty years, and needs to be there for future generations of Lawlerites and their horses to enjoy.