Louis McLane was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware, and Baltimore, Maryland. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and a member of the Federalist Party and later the Democratic Party. He served as the U.S. Representative from Delaware, U.S. Senator from Delaware, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Secretary of State, Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom, and President of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Named for the King of France, Louis McLane was born in Smyrna, Delaware, son of Allen and Rebecca Wells McLane. Allen McLane was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War and long time tax collector for the port of Wilmington. He was wellknown and a fervently loyal Federalist. As such he received the strong backing of James A. Bayard, who managed to see that the elder McLane was able to keep his lucrative position in spite of the accession of Thomas Jefferson to the presidency in 1801. In fact, he held the office until the administration of Andrew Jackson. Much of his income came from the seizure of contraband and Louis McLane inherited much of this wealth, along with legal issues that lasted well beyond the death of his father.
Source: Wikipedia