Doctor Lewis H. Lamar, father of Doctor Austin Algernon Lamar is a direct descendant of Thomas Lamar of Wieres, France who emigrated to Virginia around 1660, and moved to Maryland prior to 1663.
Doctor Lewis Lamar, the son of William Bishop Lamar and Elizabeth (Harley) Lamar, both natives of Frederick County Maryland, was born on May 8, 1838, in the family homestead located in Burkittsville, Maryland.
Education:
Doctor Lamar secured his literary education in the public schools of Frederick County Maryland, and under private tutorship of the Reverend M. Stewart, a German reformed minister.
In 1857 at the age of 19 until the age of 25, Dr. Lamar taught higher education mathematics to students in the public schools of his native Frederick County. For two of these years he was the school commissioner.
After six years of teaching he began reading medicine under his uncle, the late Dr. Tilghman Biser of Burkittsville, Maryland. At the age of 29, he graduated from the Starling Medical College located in Columbus, Ohio now known as Ohio State University School of Medicine, and relocated to Wolfsville, Maryland where he remained in active practice until his retirement at which time he moved to his farm in Washington County Maryland to spend his remaining days in quiet and relaxation.
Personal Life:
In 1867, Dr. Lamar married Susan C. Snyder, daughter of the late George N., and Sarah Snyder. Doctor and Mrs. Lamar had five children to include Emma E., born in 1867, and deceased in 1944 at the age of 77; Angie V., born in 1870 and deceased in 1927, at the age of 57; Rhoda E., born in 1872 and deceased in 1902, at the age 30; Austin A., born in 1876, and deceased in 1932, at the age of 56; and Bruce S., born in 1881, and deceased in 1905, at the age of 24.
Dr. Lamar had a great interest in his family genealogy spending a significant amount of time and effort successfully tracing his heritage to the time of their emigration to the United States from France in 1660.
A Well-Respected Physician:
Doctor Lamar was one of the best known physicians in Frederick and Washington counties of Maryland. For nearly forty years he practiced his profession in Wolfsville, Maryland where he built an extensive patronage held in the highest esteem by the entire community.
Considered to be a physician of the 'old school' he was signally successful, being regarded as a skilled and attentive practitioner.
Dr. Lamar the Poet:
Doctor Lamar was not only highly skilled in the medical profession, but he was a gentlemen of literary ability and possessed marked poetic qualifications. At various periods of his life a number of his poems have appeared in the papers of his native State, and two of them "The Old Covered Bridge," and "The Iron Horse," appear in Poets of America, a volume of poems published in 1890 in Chicago, Illinois by the American Publishers Association.
Memberships & Affiliations:
In 1870, Dr. Lamar was appointed a member of the Board of County School Commissioners. In 1874 and 1875, Dr. Lamar was a member of the Maryland Legislature, having been elected to the House of Delegates by the Republican party. While there he was instrumental in having two very important bills passed relating to the oyster culture and mileage.
Death:
Doctor Lewis H. Lamar died after a short illness on November 12, 1908, at the age of 71. Doctor Lamar is buried in the Lamar family plot at the Christ Reformed Cemetery located as 12 South Church Street, Middletown, Maryland.