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James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Portrait of Senator ‘Wild Jim’ Lane returns to Kansas

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

LECOMPTON, Kan. (AP) – An 1890 painting of Kansas’ first senator, “Wild Jim Lane,” will be unveiled next month at the Lecompton Historical Society.

Lane’s descendants recently donated the portrait to Lecompton, where Lane lived during the Civil War.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Lane was a celebrated orator who fought to keep Kansas a free state. He was known as “Wild Jim” because his political opponents successfully characterized him as a bit loony.

The portrait was donated by Lane’s direct descendent James Shaler, of Massachusetts. It will be unveiled as part of a “Bleeding Kansas” history lecture series on Feb. 5.

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Information from: Lawrence Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.