Levi L. Lamborn

Levi Leslie Lamborn (October 10, 1829 – June 14, 1910) was an Ohio medical doctor, horticulturalist, and politician.

Early life Levi Leslie Lamborn was born on October 10, 1829, in Chester County, Pennsylvania, to Townsend Lamborn and Anna (Clayton) Lamborn. Townsend Lamborn was involved in local politics and once ran for governor as the nominee of the Anti-Masonic party. Lamborn became involved in local politics, running for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives as a Free Soil candidate in 1858.

In 1874, Lamborn founded a bank with several associates, including E. W. Gray. Before a debate in his 1876 race against McKinley, he gave his opponent a red carnation; after McKinley won, he adopted the flower as a good-luck token for the rest of his career in politics, keeping a vase of them in the White House.

Personal life Lamborn married Maria Grant in June 1851. His wife was the niece of Ulysses S. Grant. She died in 1905. They would have six children, all of whom were given the initials L.L.L.

In 1856, Lamborn built a brick and stone house at the northwest corner of Main Street and Union Avenue in Alliance. It was called the Lamborn house. In 1865, Lamborn purchased of land near Alliance. He died on June 14, 1910, in Alliance.

Legacy The carnation that McKinley adopted from Lamborn would become the state flower of Ohio because of its association to McKinley. In the late 1950s, the city of Alliance was named the "Carnation City".