Lockwood was born in
Ossining, New York, the son of Munson Ingersoll and Sarah Lewis (
née Smith) Lockwood. Munson Lockwood, like his two older brothers,
Ralph and Albert, was a lawyer and intimate friend of
Henry Clay. However, Munson primarily achieved prominence during his military service and civic activism. He was a general in the
New York State Militia and commandant of its 7th Brigade. In New York, Munson actively raised funds for the Hungarian statesman and freedom fighter
Lajos Kossuth, whom he greatly admired. He was also one of the founders of Ossining's first bank and
Dale Cemetery and served as the Warden of
Sing Sing prison from 1850 to 1855. Lockwood had two brothers, Henry Clay Lockwood and Howard Lockwood. Like his father and uncles, Ingersoll Lockwood trained as a lawyer, although his first position was as a diplomat. In 1862, he was appointed
Consul to the
Kingdom of Hanover by
Abraham Lincoln. At the time, he was the youngest member of the U.S. consular force and served in that post for four years. On his return, he established a legal practice in New York City with his older brother Henry. By the 1880s, Lockwood had established a parallel career as a lecturer and writer. He wrote and published
two children's novels featuring a character named Baron Trump in 1889 and 1893 respectively. ==Personal life==