John H. B. Latrobe

Maryland Historical Society

John Hazlehurst Boneval Latrobe was the son of noted American architect Benjamin H. Latrobe and Mary Elizabeth Hazlehurst Latrobe. He was born in Philadelphia on May 4, 1803, the first son of his father's second marriage. Latrobe was a "jack-of-all trades": writer, attorney, inventor, and artist.

Latrobe's childhood was spent in Washington, DC, where his father, Benjamin, Sr., was chief architect of the U.S. Capitol building. He and his younger brother, Benjamin, Jr., were educated at home, and in schools in Washington and Baltimore. They studied at Georgetown College from 1815 to 1817. John entered West Point in 1818, where he studied civil engineering. For financial reasons, he was forced to return to his family after his father's death in 1820. The Latrobes moved to Baltimore in dire financial straits, living off the sales of Benjamin Latrobe's library and property that Mrs. Latrobe had owned in New Jersey. At age 18 John studied law with his father's close friend, Baltimore attorney Robert Goodloe Harper. Latrobe opened a law practice in Baltimore with his brother Benjamin, but it was not large enough to support both.

Benjamin moved to New Jersey where he practiced law and studied surveying. John became involved with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, from its early days. On July 4, 1828, the entire population of the city of Baltimore (70,000 people) was on hand to witness the grand parade launching the railroad on its way west to its eventual goal-the Ohio River. Marchers in the parade represented Maryland bankers and businessmen, as well as all the city's trades and crafts: blacksmiths, carpenters, painters, printers, whitesmiths, hatters, bakers, ropemakers, and on and on. Leading the parade, and poised to take a prominent place in the ceremonial "laying of the First Stone" of the railroad, was a group from the Grand Lodge of Masons. At their head was 25-year old John H.B. Latrobe. He and his fellow Freemasons were swept up by the excitement and marched to the site of the First Stone in West Baltimore. It was a spectacular beginning for the B&O, but no less for Latrobe who would be part of that "grand scheme" for the rest of his life.

Latrobe's early legal work for the railroad consisted of securing releases from property owners for the right-of-way along its proposed route. He became adept at speeches promoting the B&O, and was instrumental in securing deeds and rights-of-way to Point of Rocks in Frederick County in 1828 and 1829. Latrobe also made a name for himself with his representation of the B&O during the controversy and court cases between the railroad and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Company over rights-of-way along the Potomac River between Point of Rocks and Harpers Ferry.

As counsel for the B&O, he became involved in most aspects of promoting and raising revenue for the line. He made many of the financial and political arrangements that allowed the line to be built. Among his accomplishments were: the building of the Washington Branch from Baltimore to Washington, DC; the 1836 "Eight Million Bill" in the Maryland legislature, which gave the B&O $3 million in stock subscriptions and allowed it to continue building westward; laying the groundwork for the relationship with Baring Brothers & Co., the London banking firm; and helping to resolve legal issues with the state of Virginia in building the line to Wheeling on the Ohio River.

In addition to his legal work, Latrobe was an accomplished artist, known as a landscape painter and illustrator. His best-known invention is the "Latrobe" stove. He became a central figure in the movement to colonize Liberia with freed slaves from the U.S. His painting, "Maryland in Liberia," shows the settlement Cape Palmas, part of a large area of Liberia named "Maryland" because of Latrobe's support of the American Colonization Society there.

In Baltimore, Latrobe was a well-known cultural figure as a founder and president of the Maryland Historical Society, a founder of the Maryland Institute for Promotion of the Mechanical Arts, and a member of the commission that established Druid Hill Park. He was married twice, first to Margaret Steuart in 1828. They had one son, Henry (1830-1876) before her death in 1831. His second marriage to Charlotte Virginia Claiborne (1815-1903) produced seven children, six of whom lived to adulthood. Their eldest son, Ferdinand (1833-1911) was a businessman and mayor of Baltimore. John H.B. Latrobe died in Baltimore on September 11, 1891.