History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/Lorenzo D. Lewelling
LORENZO D. LEWELLING, was born in Salem, Iowa, December 21, 1846. His father, William, was a Quaker minister, who died when his son was a small boy. Lorenzo worked for farmers in the neighborhood, went to district school in the winter and later graduated from Whittier College. When sixteen years of age he began work at bridge building, drove cattle in the quartermaster's department in Tennessee during the war and again became a member of a company of bridge builders. He was a teacher under the Freedman's Aid Society in Missouri after the close of the war. Mr. Lewelling served some time as assistant superintendent of the State Reform School and in 1870 established a paper at Salem. He and his wife were employed in the Girls' Industrial School at Mitchellville for a number of years and later he was president of the State Normal School. In 1880 Mr. Lewelling removed to Des Moines and established the Iowa Capital. In 1887 he removed to Kansas, locating at Wichita, where he took an active interest in politics, espousing the cause of the new Populist party and becoming one of the most eloquent advocates of its principles. In 1888 he was nominated by that party for Secretary of State but was defeated at the election. In 1892 the Democrats and Populists united upon a ticket and Mr. Lewelling was the fusion candidate for Governor. After a spirited canvas he was elected over the Republican candidate by a plurality of over 5,000. He was renominated in 1894 but was defeated at the election.