James S. Lithgow
Encyclopedia
James Smith Lithgow was the sixteenth Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky
from January 2, 1866 to February 14, 1867. He was born in Pittsburgh and apprenticed as a coppersmith
there.
He moved to Louisville in 1832 and worked various jobs before starting Wallace & Lithgow, a metals company on Market Street in 1836. The business was successful, and made Lithgow wealthy. After the death of Wallace in 1861, the company became J.S. Lithgow and Co. and built its headquarters at what became the Board of Trade Building, initially one of the largest and most expensive buildings in Downtown Louisville
. Lithgow lost both the building and his business in the Panic of 1873
, but he regained his fortune with a new company, Lithgow Manufacturing Co..
A Democrat, Lithgow was elected to the City Council in 1849, and was a member of the convention to draft a new city charter in 1866. After Philip Tomppert
was impeached by the city council in 1866, that same body elected Lithgow mayor. He resigned when a state appeals court reinstated Tomppert on February 14, 1867.
He had eight children with wife Hannah Cragg, and is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
from January 2, 1866 to February 14, 1867. He was born in Pittsburgh and apprenticed as a coppersmith
Coppersmith
A coppersmith, also known as a redsmith, is a person who makes artifacts from copper. The term redsmith comes from the colour of copper....
there.
He moved to Louisville in 1832 and worked various jobs before starting Wallace & Lithgow, a metals company on Market Street in 1836. The business was successful, and made Lithgow wealthy. After the death of Wallace in 1861, the company became J.S. Lithgow and Co. and built its headquarters at what became the Board of Trade Building, initially one of the largest and most expensive buildings in Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville
Downtown Louisville is the largest central business district in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the urban hub of the Louisville, Kentucky Metropolitan Area. Its boundaries are the Ohio River to the north, Hancock Street to the east, York and Jacob Streets to the south, and 9th Street to the west...
. Lithgow lost both the building and his business in the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
, but he regained his fortune with a new company, Lithgow Manufacturing Co..
A Democrat, Lithgow was elected to the City Council in 1849, and was a member of the convention to draft a new city charter in 1866. After Philip Tomppert
Philip Tomppert
Philip Tomppert was the fifteenth and seventeenth Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky in 1865 and 1867 to 1868. He was born in Württemberg, Germany and immigrated to Wheeling, West Virginia in 1831, and moved to Louisville in 1837....
was impeached by the city council in 1866, that same body elected Lithgow mayor. He resigned when a state appeals court reinstated Tomppert on February 14, 1867.
He had eight children with wife Hannah Cragg, and is buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.