George Washington Lane

Who was George Washington Lane?

George Washington Lane was a United States federal judge.

Born in Cherokee County, Georgia, Lane moved to Limestone County, Alabama with hs family in 1821 and read law with Judge Daniel Coleman in Athens, Alabama to enter the bar, and practiced there until 1829. He was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1829 to 1833, a County Court judge in Alabama beginning in 1832, and a judge on the Alabama Circuit Court from 1834 to 1846. He was in private practice in Huntsville, Alabama from 1846 to 1861. Lane opposed the secession of Alabama from the United States.

On March 26, 1861, Lane was nominated by President Abraham Lincoln to a joint seat on the United States District Courts for the Northern, Middle, and Southern Districts of Alabama, all vacated by the resignation of William Giles Jones, who had joined the Confederacy. Lane was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 28, 1861, and received his commission the same day.

Lane was unable to actively serve on the court, as it was not recognized to exist by the Alabama government. Though Lane was a strong Unionist, his son, Captain Robert W. Lane, was killed in the Confederate service in Forrest's cavalry.