JOHN F. LACEY l 



BY HON. EDWARD H. STILES 2 



Major John F. Lacey, from humble beginnings became 

 one of the most distinguished lawyers and constructive 

 statesmen that Iowa has produced. His strength lay in 

 his constant persistency and tireless industry, backed by 

 strong resolution, sound judgment, and an eminently 

 practical mind. He was born in New Martinsville, West 

 Virginia, in 1841. He was educated in the schools of his 

 native place and in those of Oskaloosa, Iowa, his parents 

 removing to the latter place in 1855, when John was four- 

 teen years of age. Though not a collegian, he became a 

 man of learning. His eager spirit, his thirst for knowl- 

 edge, and his quite wide reading, made him one of the 

 most accomplished men in the state. In his profession 

 he was the most persevering and industrious of lawyers. 

 In that respect I do not think he had his equal in the 

 state ; the nearest approach to him, so far as my observa- 

 tion goes, was William McNett, of Ottumwa. Major 

 Lacey was not rugged in appearance, and to look at him 

 the unacquainted observer would not think him capable 

 of enduring long and trying strains of professional labor. 

 But such a judgment would be erroneous in the highest 

 degree, for in that respect I have never seen his superior. 



i From Recollections and Sketches of Notable Lawyers and Public Men 

 of Early Ioica; with annecdotes and incidents illustrative of the times. 

 1835-1880. 



2 Mr. Stiles was for many years a member of the Iowa bar, member of 

 House of Representatives 1863-1864, member of the Senate 1865-1866, 1867- 

 1875, reporter of the Supreme Court, author of digest of its decisions from 

 the earliest territorial period to the 56th Iowa Reports. Now resides in 

 South Pasadena, California. 



