52 Ancestors, Week 2- Jane Lathrop (1828-1905)

~52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks~

~Week 2~

Good Morning! This week I am writing about my 5^th cousin, 6x removed, Jane Elizabeth Lathrop Stanford.

I decided to write about Jane because up until today, I didn’t know I was related to her. This weekend, my friend Krystle and I went on a tour of the Leland Stanford Mansion here in Sacramento, California. The mansion is located at 800 N St.; built in 1857. During the tour, we learned about Leland Stanford and his wife Jane Lathrop. I knew the surname Lathrop sounded very familiar and knew the name was in my tree so this morning, I researched it and found out that I already had Jane’s 3^rd great grandfather in my tree!

Jane Elizabeth Lathrop was born on 28 Aug 1828 in Albany, New York to Dyer Lathrop (1788-1855) and Jane Ann Shields (1803-1882). She married Leland Stanford (1824-1893) on 30 Sep 1850 and they didn’t have their first (and only child) until she was 39 years old. Leland Jr. was born on 18 May 1868. He died at the age of 15 while on a trip to Europe with his parents after catching Typhoid Fever. His parents were devastated and used the money they were going to use to educate him to build something in his memory- Stanford University. According to the Leland Stanford Mansion tour, Jane funded and operated the university (even student’s tuitions) up until her death.

Leland Stanford and Jane on their wedding day- don't they look happy! LOL :) 

 Leland, Jane and Leland Jr. (age 15)

leland Jr. 

Jane died at the age of 76 on Feb 28, 1905. Jane’s death is a mysterious one and is considered a murder case since she was poisoned from Strychnine. Earlier that year, she suspected she was poisoned a different time because her drink tasted odd…she made herself vomit and had the drink analyzed and it had in fact been poisoned with the same ingredient that would later end her life.