Remember Lyman Hanks Lord (1864-1938)

This rare photo of Remember L.H. Lord is located on the Minnesota State Historical Society website.

   Undoubtedly one of the oddest named members of the Minnesota State legislature, Remember L. H. Lord is also one of the most obscure, hence why his profile here will be on the short side. Lord served two terms in the state house of Representatives from 1925-1929 and other than his service in state government, little else could be found on him!

   Remember Lyman Hanks Lord was born in Minnesota on April 7, 1864, the third born child in a family of six born to Cornelius Rollin and Malissa Hanks Lord. It is unknown why exactly Lord was endowed the first and middle names "Remember Lyman Hanks", but it could be in honor of his maternal grandfather, Lyman Hanks (1806-1847), who died in Almond, Allegheny County, New York at the young age of 41.  It seems that when Cornelius and Malissa married they chose to bestow the name "Remember Lyman Hanks" upon their firstborn son (out of their six children), obviously in remembrance of Malissa Hanks Lord's father.

  As far as Lord's early life and education goes, reference is given to him attending the Wells Rural School and he eventually graduated from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota in the class of 1890. He later went on to study at the University of Minnesota's Law School.

   In 1895 R.L.H. Lord married Blanche Kemmerer (born 1877) with whom he had two children, Dorothy Pauline (1898-1990) and Gordon Rollins (1902-1968). Lord and his wife are recorded as divorcing by a genealogical website mentioning his lineage, but no exact date is given as to when they separated. The few sources that mention Lord list him as being involved in education in Faribault County, Minnesota. He was a teacher in the Wells, Minnesota school system and was also a member of its Board of Education for several years. Lord was later appointed as Superintendent of High Schools for the LeRoy, Aitkin, Chatfield, and Fairmont, Minnesota areas. 

  In addition to his many years of being an educator and superintendent, RLH Lord is also listed by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's website as being a fruit grower and nurseryman. He held a membership in the Faribault County Horticultural Society and later went on to serve as the Vice President of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society for a short time.

   In 1924 RLH Lord was elected to the Minnesota State House of Representatives, where he ably represented Faribault County for two terms. During his service, he held a seat on the committees on Crime Prevention, Elections, Labor, Appropriations, Corporations, Horticultural and Agriculture, and served as chairman of the committee on Education.

   Little could be found on Lord's life after he left the legislature in 1929. He died at the Ancker Hospital in Saint Paul on March 31, 1938, a few days before his 74th birthday. The cause of his death is recorded as being "bilateral pulmonary infarction" he was subsequently interred at the Rosehill Cemetery in Wells, Minnesota.