William Miner Lawrence (September 14, 1861 – November 23, 1935)[1] was an American politician.
William Miner Lawrence | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New York State Assembly | |
| In office January 1, 1891 – December 31, 1891 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 14, 1861 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 23, 1935 (aged 74) Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse |
Lavinia Oliver
(m. 1891; died 1916) |
| Relations | Jane Mesier Suydam (cousin) John L. Lawrence (grandfather) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Abraham Riker Lawrence Eliza Williams Miner Lawrence |
| Alma mater | Columbia College |
Early life
editLawrence was born on September 14, 1861, in New York City.[2][3] He was the son of Abraham Riker Lawrence (1832–1917)[4] and Eliza Williams (née Miner) Lawrence (1838–1915).[5] His younger sister was Ruth Woodhull Lawrence,[6] who did not marry and who was a founder of the National Society of Colonial Dames in New York in 1893.[7][6]
His paternal grandparents were Sarah Augusta (née Smith) Lawrence and John L. Lawrence, a New York State Senator, Comptroller of New York City and diplomat (who served as chargé d'Affaires at Stockholm during the absence of U.S. Minister to Sweden Jonathan Russell).[4] Among his extended family were great-uncles, Congressmen Samuel Lawrence and William T. Lawrence, and his great-grandfather Jonathan Lawrence, a merchant and New York State Senator.[8] He was also a direct descendant of Capt. James Lawrence, a hero of the War of 1812,[6] and Maj. Thomas Lawrence of the British Army who received a land grant in what became Queens in 1656,[1] Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull, and General John Tangier Smith, a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from New York.[9] His maternal grandparents were Dr. William Miner and Julia Caroline (née Williams) Miner.[10] Through his aunt, Ann Middleton (née Lawrence) Suydam, he was the first cousin of Jane Mesier Suydam.[11]
Career
editAfter graduating from Columbia, he went into the realty business with Bryan L. Kennelly in New York.[1] In 1890, he was elected as a Democrat to represent Manhattan in the 114th New York State Legislature,[12] and served as a member of the New York State Assembly from January 1 to December 31, 1891.[10]
Lawrence served as Assistant Secretary and Chief Clerk of the New York City Board of Estimate and Apportionment during the George B. McClellan Jr., William Jay Gaynor, and John Purroy Mitchel administrations until his retirement in 1924. He also served as Assistant Secretary, and then, Secretary of the New York State Board of Elections.[1]
Personal life
editOn December 12, 1891, Lawrence was married to Lavinia Oliver (1869–1916), a daughter of Joseph Cory Oliver and Lucretia (née Phillips) Oliver.[10] Together, they were the parents of three children:[13]
- Oliver Philips Lawrence (1892–1975), a U.S. Navy veteran.
- Clement Miner Lawrence (1897–1918), who died in the Bristol Channel during World War I.
- Ruth Lawrence (1902–1992), who married Stuart M. Briggs, son of G. Loring Briggs, in 1926.[14] Ruth, who graduated from Wellesley College in 1925, was one of only five non-family members to inherit from Hetty Green, through her mentorship relationship with Green's son, Edward Howland Robinson Green.[15]
Lawrence died of bronchial pneumonia at his home, 94-08 25th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens on November 23, 1935.[1] He was buried at the Lawrence Family Cemetery, on 20th Road and 35th Avenue, in Astoria, Queens.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "W. M. LAWRENCE DIES; HELD CITY HALL POSTS; Assistant Secretary and Chief Clerk of Estimate Board Under Three Mayors" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 November 1935. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society: Advanced Sheets, First Series. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 1902. pp. 90–91. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Kert, Faye (2015). Privateering: Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812. JHU Press. p. 126. ISBN 9781421417479. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ a b "A. RIKER LAWRENCE, EX-JUSTICE, IS DEAD; Jurist of New York Supreme Court for 28 Years Expires in His Eighty-fifth Year. ONCE NOMINEE FOR MAYOR Author of Legal Works Was Twice the President of the St. Nicholas Society" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 February 1917. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "LAWRENCE" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 July 1915. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "RUTH LAWRENCE OF PATRIOTIC UNIT; Founder of Colonial Dames Society, a Descendant of War Heroes, Dies at 90" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 June 1956. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Register of the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York. The Society of Colonial Dames. 1901. p. 44. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Schechter, Stephen L.; Tripp, Wendell Edward; Burke, Thomas E. (1990). World of the Founders: New York Communities in the Federal Period. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 67. ISBN 9780945660026. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Youngs, Florence Evelyn Pratt; Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York (1914). Portraits of the Presidents of The Society, 1835-1914. New York, NY: Order of the Society. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Lawrence Buckley (1896). The Thomas Book: Giving the Genealogies of Sir Rhys Ap Thomas, K. G., the Thomas Family Descended from Him, and of Some Allied Families. H. T. Thomas Company. p. 411. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "JOHN R. SUYDAM". The New York Times. May 16, 1882. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ The New York Red Book. Williams Press. 1897. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Weeks, Lyman Horace (1898). Prominent Families of New York: Being an Account in Biographical Form of Individuals and Families Distinguished as Representatives of the Social, Professional and Civic Life of New York City. Historical Company. p. 28. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "EDYTHE A. PARSONS WEDS VINCENT RICH; Bridegroom's Father Performs Ceremony in the Church of the Transfiguration. RUTH L. LAWRENCE BRIDE Wed to Stuart M. Brlggs by the Rev. W. B. Kinkaid in Old Trinlty--Other Marriages" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 October 1926. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Times, Special to The New York (23 July 1916). "HETTY GREEN'S WILL IS READ IN COURT; Document Admitted to Probate Without Contest at Her Old Home in Bellows Falls. SON GIVES $50,000 BOND Full Text of Will Gives No Hint of Value of Estate and Reveals No Charity Bequests. HETTY GREEN'S WILL IS READ IN COURT" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Lippincott, E. E. (17 September 2000). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: ASTORIA; An Aging Custodian Worries About a Historic Cemetery". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2018.