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LATH RHP. LAVALLEE. 3 6 7 and established the first Sabbath-school in Portsmouth. The same year, in Portsmouth, he was married to Ernestine Karger. Eight chil- dren have blessed the rabbi : Jacob, Alex- ander, Meyer, Arthur, Julia, Isabella, Lillie and Florence Lasker. While laboring in this field, he fre- quently came in contact with the late Dr. Lilienthal, then stationed at Cincinnati, and this great divine, recognizing the abilities of Raphael Lasker, spared no pains to secure for him the position as rabbi with the congregation Shaar Hasho- mayim, of New York, where he officia- ted for nine years, enjoying the uniform respect and good will of his congrega- tion. In conjunction with his ministerial duties, Rabbi Lasker had also under his charge a large educational institute, which grew to such proportions that he was obliged to give up his ministerial office, much to the regret of his congregation, to devote his whole time to the institution named. Many prominent men in New York and elsewhere — judges, lawyers, legislators, physicians and merchants, as well as leaders in Jewish orders — now look back with reverence and pride to their school-days under the training of their spiritual benefactor, Rabbi Lasker. In 1S71 he accepted a unanimous call from the Temple Israel congregation, Brooklyn, N. Y., where he remained until November, 1876, when, at the urgent solici- tation of the most prominent members of the congregation Ohabei Shalom, Boston, he consented to become its minister, and the immediate successor of Dr. Valk Vid- aver, now of San Francisco, Cal. Here the work of Rabbi Lasker has been signally blest. From chaos and dissension he created harmony and order. He is highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens, both Jew and Christian. By his deep in- terest in public schools, he has won an en- viable position on the Boston school board, of which he has been a member for six years. LATHROP, JOHN, son of Rev. John P. and Maria Margaretta (Long) Lathrop, was born in Boston, February 8, 1835. He received his early education in the public schools of that city and in the state of New Jersey, graduating from Burlington College, New Jersey, in 1853. He re- ceived the honorary degree of A. M. from his alma mater in 1856, and subsequently that of LL. B. from Harvard law school in 1S55. He was admitted to the Suffolk bar in 1856, opening an office in Boston ; and in 1872 he was admitted to the bar of the United States supreme court. His prac- tice was largely in admiralty. He was a reporter of the decisions of the supreme judicial court of Massachusetts from 1874 to '88. He is at present a justice of the superior court, having received the well- merited appointment at the hands of Gov- ernor Ames. His is eminently a legal mind, with a good share of practical business sense ; always self-contained and composed, his success as a judge seems assured. He was married in Boston, June 24, 1875, to Eliza Davis, daughter of Richard G. and Mary Ann (Davis) Parker. In 1862 he was made 1st lieutenant, 35th Massachusetts volunteer infantry, and also captain of the same, resigning on account of disability in 1863. He held the position of lecturer in the Harvard law school in 1S71 and '73, and in the Boston law school in 1873, '80, '81, '82 and '83. Judge Lathrop still resides in Boston. LAVALLEE, CALIXA, son of Augustin and Caroline (Valentine) Lavallee, was born at Vercheres, on the St. Lawrence River, in Lower Canada, December 28, 1842. After acquiring a rudimentary education in the schools of his native province, he completed his education in France, gradu- ating at Paris. He studied pianoforte under Marmontel, and harmony, counterpoint instrumentation under Boieldieu and Bazin. Returning to America, he established him- self as a teacher of the art in Boston, where he ranks as a superior musician in interpretation. The style of his composi- tions is bright and melodic, his concerted pieces exhibiting a knowledge of instru- mentation remarkably original. Mr. Lavallee has been prominent in the Music Teachers' National Association. In 1884 he played a programme of entirely American compositions before that body at its meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. He was elected president of the association and served as such 1886-7. In January, 1S88, he was sent as a delegate to London to represent the association before the Na- tional Society of Professional Musicians of England. At present he has a very large class of pupils, of whom many are at the head of leading schools throughout the country ; he is director of the music at the Cathe- dral of the Holy Cross in Boston, and chairman of the programme committee of the Music Teachers' National Association.