The Lapham Family History

Charles Willard Lapham was born July 21, 1852, in the small village of Danby, Vermont to Joseph and Lydia Lapham. The family was part of the Society of Friends Church, better known as Quakers. Shortly after Charles was born, the family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan. While there his mother gave birth to his only sibling, a brother named Chester.

In 1870, when Charles was nineteen, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. His father Joseph, a tanner and cobbler by trade, set up his shoe-and-leather business on Erie Street in the heart of downtown Chicago. Charles did not work for his father’s business but is listed as a clerk for George Congdon, also a shoemaker and competition for Joseph.

On October 8, 1871, Charles got caught in “The Great Chicago Fire” which consumed much of Chicago over a three-day period. He suffered extensive lung damage from smoke inhalation and experienced psychological trauma.

Nonetheless, Charles proved himself to be an ambitious businessman. By April 1873, Charles used capital obtained from his father and opened his own shoe store in downtown Chicago. His business did well, and within a few years he had expanded to three stores and enlisted the help of his brother Chester. Although the brothers dissolved their partnership after only a couple years, Charles continued to excel in the shoe business.

Charles married Emma Mary Conger in October of 1880, the daughter of a prominent family from Collins Center, New York. As Charles had been living with his parents until his marriage, the newlyweds moved into a hotel, before renting a series of apartments. Meanwhile, Charles continued in the shoe business, expanding to four stores by 1881.
The Laphams lived comfortably, partially due to Charles’ business success but also due to Emma’s inheritance from her father, who had passed away shortly before her marriage. Her sister Ella socialized amongst the prominent families of Buffalo, New York, and married Charles Waterhouse Goodyear. The Goodyears were and remain one of the most powerful and wealthy families in the United States.

Charles first vacationed in Thomasville in 1882. He came alone, as Emma was caring for their one-year-old son Anson Joseph and was pregnant with their second child, Lydia Portia. By 1884, Charles and a friend, Ephraim Hackett of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, purchased neighboring lots on the 600 north block of Dawson Street. Both the Laphams’ and Ephraim Hackett’s houses were completed by early 1885.

Charles displayed considerable interest in cultural improvement during his time in Thomasville, particularly during his first few years as a property owner. In 1886, he campaigned for Thomasville to build an opera house, which opened in 1888. In 1887, he campaigned for a “Pleasure Park” in Thomasville of considerably larger size than Paradise Park. The park opened in 1888, with a wide variety of flora and fauna. In 1895, the park was transformed into Glen Arven Country Club, complete with one of Georgia’s earliest eighteen-hole golf courses.

Tragedy seemed to follow the Laphams. In 1886 their daughter Lydia Portia died only a few days before the family’s planned return to Chicago. At the time, Emma was pregnant with the couple’s third child, a daughter who was born a few months later and was named Portia Rogers in memory of her late sister. Both Portia Rogers and eldest child Anson Joseph suffered from some degree of intellectual disability or illness, and both spent time in mental health facilities. By 1894, Charles’ shoe business had collapsed, he changed his profession to real estate agent and “pleasure seeker,” and the family never returned to Thomasville.

Emma Lapham’s mother died in 1905, leaving her and sister Ella the remainder of her family’s considerable fortune. Emma filed for a legal separation from Charles less than a year later, an extraordinary move at the time by itself. Emma agreed to pay for their children’s education and pay Charles thirty-five dollars a month alimony. Charles moved to San Diego, California while Emma moved to Arizona with the couple’s two younger sons, Charles Jr. and Frank.

Emma and the two children in Arizona worked in the cattle ranching business. Despite their success, drama followed the family again. Emma was forced to attend a sanity trial after her neighbors raised questions about her own eccentric behavior. In a sad and ironic twist, Emma died from a kerosene lamp exploding and setting her bed on fire in 1912. Charles Jr. and Frank tried to carry on the cattle business after their mother’s death but were met with financial troubles in settling the estate. Meanwhile, Anson accused his brothers of attempting to kidnap him in order to control his share of their mother’s estate. While these issues were eventually resolved, the Lapham children became estranged from one another.

Charles Lapham passed away in 1919. He is buried in an unmarked grave in the family’s plot in Chicago, alongside his daughter Lydia Portia. Although Charles Jr. and Anson later married, the two couples never had children and the family line ended with the death of Charles Jr. in 1971 at the age of 84.