Jonathan Lawrence
Jonathan Lawrence | |
---|---|
Member of the New York State Senate for the Southern District | |
In office September 9, 1777 – June 30, 1783 | |
Preceded by | Inaugural holder |
Succeeded by | Alexander McDougall |
Personal details | |
Born | Newtown, Province of New York, British America | October 4, 1737
Died | September 4, 1812 New York City, New York, U.S. | (aged 74)
Spouses | Judith Fish
(m. 1766; died 1767)Ruth Riker (after 1767) |
Children | 10, including Samuel, John, William |
Parent(s) | Patience Sackett Lawrence John Lawrence |
Occupation | Merchant, politician |
Jonathan Lawrence (October 4, 1737 – September 4, 1812) was an American merchant and politician from New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born on October 4, 1737, in
His paternal grandparents were John Lawrence and Deborah (née Woodhull) Lawrence and his maternal grandparents were Capt. Joseph Sackett and Elizabeth (née Betts) Sackett. His family was large and many members were prominent in New York business and politics. His brother Daniel Lawrence was an Assemblyman and his nephew
Career
At a young age, Lawrence became a merchant, visiting Europe and the West Indies in the employment of his eldest brother, John Lawrence before joining the house of Watson, Murray & Lawrence. After inheriting his brother John's estate and a portion of his brother Nathaniel's estate (who died unmarried in the West Indies), he retired c. 1771, around age thirty-four, and purchased a residence at Hurlgate which had been owned by his great-grandfather Thomas Lawrence, the youngest of three brothers who emigrated to America around 1645.[1]
Beginning in May 1775 Lawrence was a member of the 1st, 3rd (May to June 1776) and 4th New York Provincial Congresses (beginning in July 1776, which became known as the First Constitutional Convention).[1]
Revolutionary War
In 1772, he had been appointed captain in the provincial militia by the royal government.[1] Once the New York Provincial Congress organized a militia in 1775, he was appointed major of the Queens and Suffolk brigade under Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull.[1]
In August 1776, on the eve of the
Lawrence was appointed by Constitutional Convention to represent the Southern District of New York (consisting of Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties) in the New York State Senate beginning with the 1st New York State Legislature in 1777 to the 6th in 1783. On October 17, 1778, he was one of four elected to the Council of Appointment, serving for one year. He was again one of four elected to the Council on July 22, 1782.[2]
He later served as chairman of the city's committee for the reelection of George Clinton as governor (who later became the 4th Vice President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison).[3]
Personal life
On March 16, 1766, he married Judith Fish (1749–1767), the daughter of Nathaniel Fish and Jannetje (née Berrien) Fish (a sister of Judge John Berrien). Jannetje's niece, Elizabeth Berrien, was married to Fish's nephew Nathaniel Lawrence, and was the aunt of John M. Berrien, the United States Attorney General under President Andrew Jackson. Before Judith's death on September 29, 1767, at age seventeen, they were the parents of one son:[1]
- Jonathan Lawrence (1767–1850), a merchant with Lawrence & Whitney who married Elizabeth Rogers.[4]
After his first wife's death in 1767, he married Ruth Riker (1746–1818), a member of the Riker family, for whom Rikers Island is named. Ruth was the daughter of Andrew and Jane Riker. Together, they were the parents of nine children, including:[1]
- Judith Lawrence (1769–1827), who married John Ireland (1749–1836).[1]
- Margaret Lawrence (1771–1851), who died unmarried, aged 81.[1]
- U.S. Representative.[5]
- Andrew Lawrence (1775–1806), a sailor who died "of the
- Richard M. Lawrence (1778–1856), a merchant who sailed around the world, and upon his return to New York in 1815, became the vice-president of the National Insurance Company and then president of the Union Insurance Company, both in New York.[1]
- Abraham Riker Lawrence (1780–1863), who served as president of the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1836 (after John Mason).[1]
- Joseph Lawrence (1783–1817), who married Mary Sackett, daughter of John Sackett and Elizabeth (née Gibbs) Sackett.[1]
- John Tangier Smith and granddaughter of Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull.[6]
- William Thomas Lawrence (1788–1859), a merchant who married Margaret Sophia Muller, daughter of Remburtus F. Muller, in 1825.[7]
Lawrence died on September 4, 1812, in New York City.[8]
Descendants
Through his eldest daughter Judith, he was a grandfather of John Lawrence Ireland (1796–1879), who married Mary Floyd, a sister of
Sources
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Lawrence, Thomas (1858). Historical Genealogy of the Lawrence Family: From Their First Landing in this Country, 1635 to the Present Date, July 4th, 1858. E.O. Jenkins. pp. 102-110. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Hough, Franklin Benjamin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Weed, Parsons and Co. pp. 51, 110ff, 142. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ISBN 9780299106508. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York: History, Customs, Record of Events, Constitution, Certain Genealogies, and Other Matters of Interest. V. 1-. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 1905. p. 98. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "LAWRENCE, Samuel - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- New York, NY: Order of the Society. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ "LAWRENCE, William Thomas - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Thompson, Benjamin Franklin (1839). History of Long Island: Containing an Account of the Discovery and Settlement; with Other Important and Interesting Matters to the Present Time. E. French. pp. 421-427. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ Woodhull Genealogy: The Woodhull Family in England and America. H.T. Coates. 1904. p. 99. Retrieved 28 August 2019.