Skip to main content

Kane, Thomas L. (Thomas Leiper), 1822-1883

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1822 - 1883

biographical statement

Thomas L. Kane (1822-1883) was lawyer, abolitionist, Civil War soldier, frontiersman, and advocate for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Thomas Leiper Kane was born January 27, 1822 in Philadelphia to Judge John Kintzing Kane and Jane Duval Leiper. He attained the bar in 1846, after studying law with his father. He served as clerk in his father's court until 1850, at which point he resigned due to a moral conflict with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. He went on to become an active member of the Underground Railroad. Kane became interested in the migration of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the West, and was crucial in securing government aid for the movement. His friendship with Brigham Young is credited with the non-violent resolution of the Utah War. At the advent of the Civil War Kane organized a volunteer Union Army regiment known as the "Bucktails" and served as lieutenant-colonel of that outfit. He later was brevetted the rank of major-general for his service at Gettysburg. After his military service he retired to found the town of Kane, Pennsylvania. In 1853 Kane married Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood, and together they had four children: Harriet Amelia Kane (1854-1896); Elisha Kent Kane (1856-1935); Evan O'Neill Kane (1861-1932); and Thomas Leiper Kane, Jr. (1863-1929). Kane died of pneumonia in Philadelphia on December 26, 1883.

Citation:
Dict. of American Biog. Vol. X, 1928: p. 258 (educated by his father, founded Civil War regiment called "The Bucktails, brevetted rank of Major General for service at Gettysburg, participated in Underground Railroad, peacefully negotiated the end of the Utah War, married Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood in 1853, died of pneumonia in 1883)

Story of John Kane of Dutchess County, New York, 1921: p. 4-5 (children named Harriet Amelia Kane; Elisha Kent Kane; Evan O'Neill Kane; and Thomas Leiper Kane, Jr., founded Kane, Pennsylvania)

Ancestry.org, Jan. 29, 2013: (four children: Harriet Amelia Kane (1854-1896); Elisha Kent Kane (1856-1935); Evan O'Neill Kane (1861-1932); and Thomas Leiper Kane, Jr. (1863-1929))

Found in 8 Collections and/or Records:

Kane family drawing, map, and other material, 1862

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 9
Scope and Contents Contains a large printed drawing, map, and photocopies related to the Kane family. The pictures depicts of Thomas L. Kane leading his Civil War regiment "The Bucktails" in an attack on Confederate troops led by Stonewall Jackson. The map has no title, but features several landmarks including Stafford Church, Kane's Landing, and Old Aquia Village. The photocopies are facsimilies of the handwritten manuscript of Elizabeth Wood Kane's two volume work History of the Settlement of Kane,...
Dates: Other: 1862

Kane family notes, cards, and other material, 1849-1866

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 8
Scope and Contents

Contains a letter, several notes, picture cards, and a botanical pressing found within printed works in the Kane family collection. The letter is concerns a trial and injustice in the life of Thomas L. Kane and is signed by his aunt. The notes include copied scriptural and lyrical passages, as well as notes on a book concerning genealogy. The picture cards depict religious scenes. Materials date from 1849 to the late 19th century.

Dates: Other: 1849-1866

Kane family photograph album, approximately 1840-1900

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 11 Sub-Series 1
Scope and Contents

Contains photographs found in first volume the Kane family photograph album. The photographs primarily depict places in the United Kingdom such as Oxford, Cambridge, and King's College, but also depict scenes in the United States and Canada, including the town of Kane, Pennsylvania, New York, Washington D.C., and Niagara Falls. Materials are largely undated and unlabeled, but presumably date from the mid 19th century to early 20th century.

Dates: approximately 1840-1900

Kane family photograph album, approximately 1840-1900

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 11 Sub-Series 4
Scope and Contents

Contains photographs found in the third volume of the Kane family photograph album. The photographs primarily depict people known to the Kane family. These include photographs of the deceased Thomas L. Kane, and many unnamed people who are presumably Kane or Wood family members. Materials are largely undated and unlabeled, but presumably date from the mid-19th century to early 20th century.

Dates: approximately 1840-1900

Kane family photographs, approximately 1840-1900

 Series
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 11
Scope and Contents Contains photographs and related materials by or of the Kane family. The photographs depict a wide variety of people and places, including Kane family members, the town of Kane, Pennsylvania, England and Scotland, and Thomas L. Kane's Civil War regiment "The Bucktails." Also included are the original steel plate of a portrait of Thomas L. Kane, and five printings from that plate. Materials are largely undated and unlabeled, but presumably date from the mid-19th century to early 20th...
Dates: Other: approximately 1840-1900

Kane family photographs, approximately 1840-1900

 Sub-Series
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 11 Sub-Series 6
Scope and Contents

Contains photographs and related materials of the Kane family that were not found in the three-volume family photograph album. These include a steel printing plate of a portrait of Thomas L. Kane in his Civil War uniform, five prints made from that plate, a photograph of George Q. Cannon, and two photographs of unknown people. Materials are largely undated and unlabeled, but presumably date from the mid 19th century to early 20th century.

Dates: approximately 1840-1900

Kane family poems and flower, 1885

 Sub-Series — Box 14: Series 11, Folder: 2
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 11 Sub-Series 5
Scope and Contents

Contains a folio found in the third volume of the Kane family photograph album. The folio contains a transcription of a poem in German titled Haiden-Roslein, a note that reads "In Memoriam A.K.F.," a transcription of the same poem in English, and a dried flower. Materials are dated August and September 1885.

Dates: Other: 1885

Thomas L. Kane papers, 1840-1908

 Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 3190 Series 2
Scope and Contents Contains materials related to the life and activites of Kane. These include two bound volumes, a pocketbook, and a variety of papers, botanical pressings, and letters. The bound volumes contain anecdotes and histories in English and French about Thomas's family. The papers mostly concern the relationship between Thomas and the Mormon Church, including a letter from Brigham Young, a patriarchal blessing given to him by John Smith, and a cipher to be used while referring to Mormon leaders over...
Dates: Other: 1840-1908