Abbott Lawrence (1792-1855)
Recently I was poring over a map of the New England states, with a view to visiting Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. Plymouth Plantation is a reconstructed pilgrim village just south of the present-day town of Plymouth and central to the history of both Randi’s Lawrence and Clark (DeClark) families, who landed there in 1630 and 1640 respectively.
I happened to glance inland a bit and spotted a town called Lawrence. A bit of sleuthing followed and sure enough, Lawrence MA is named after Abbott Lawrence, Randi’s 4th cousin 6X removed. Both Abbott Lawrence (1792-1855) and Randi through her grandmother Edith née Lawrence are descended from the same Lawrence that landed at Plymouth, John Joseph Lawrence (1609-1667). Randi and all the BC and Alberta Lawrences are descended from John’s son Enoch (1648-1744) while Abbott Lawrence is descended from John’s son Nathaniel (1639-1724).
Abbott Lawrence interests me because he seems to exemplify in spades that spirit of entrepreneurism so characteristic of Lawrences. Although it is arguable that every pioneer in the New World was an entrepreneur by necessity, Lawrences were often the economic hub of wherever they chose to settle. Issaac Lawrence and family immigrated to French Canada in 1793. There, they set up a sawmill and flour mill to produce two critical products for new settlers, lumber for building and flour, a food staple. In time, the area about the Lawrence farm became Lawrenceville Quebec. Ninety odd years later, when those Lawrences arrived in Fort Vermillion, Alberta they did the same thing again. And again, they became the economic driving force of Fort Vermillion.
Abbott ‘s father was Major Samuel Lawrence (1754-1827), a distinguished American revolutionary during the War of Independence. Samuel fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Rhode Island at which he was adjutant (executive assistant) under General John Sullivan. After the war, Samuel settled as a farmer. In 1793, he helped to found the Groton Academy, still operating today as the elite preparatory school, Lawrence Academy, at Groton. Samuel’s sons William and Amos were generous supporters of the school in years to come.
Samuel was the patriarch of the Lawrences who numbered among the Boston Brahmin or Boston elite – members of Boston’s traditional upper class and the historic core of the East Coast establishment. Descendants of the earliest English colonists, such as those who came to America on the Mayflower or the Arbella (our Lawrences), are often considered to be the most representative of the Boston Brahmins. Sons William (1783-1848), Abbott (1792-1855) and Amos (1786-1852) all played significant roles in American history. These three brothers along with a fourth brother Luther became business partners in numerous successful ventures.
Where was I? Ah yes, Abbott Lawrence. Please allow me at this point to quote, with the odd edit, Abbotts concise yet comprehensive biography from Wikipedia:
“Abbott was born in Groton, Massachusetts in 1792, the son of American Revolutionary War officer Samuel Lawrence, Abbott Lawrence attended Groton Academy, (now Lawrence Academy at Groton.) Upon his graduation in 1808, Lawrence became an apprentice to his brother, Amos, as chief clerk in his brother’s firm. On the conclusion of his apprenticeship, in 1814, the Lawrences formed a partnership, specializing in imports from Britain and China, and later expanded their interests to textile manufacturing. Initially called A. & A. Lawrence, the firm later was named A. & A. Lawrence and Co. It continued until Amos’s death, and became the greatest wholesale mercantile house in the United States. It was successful even in the hard times of 1812-1815.
The firm did much for the establishment of the cotton textile industry in New England. In 1830, it came to the aid of financially distressed mills of Lowell, Massachusetts. In that year, the Suffolk, Tremont and Lawrence companies were established in Lowell, and Luther Lawrence, the eldest brother, represented the firm’s interests there. When Amos retired from the business in 1831 due to ill health, Abbott became head of the firm. In 1845-1847, the firm established and built up Lawrence, Massachusetts, named in honour of Abbott, who was a director of the Essex Company, which controlled the water power of Lawrence, and later was president of the Atlantic Cotton Mills and Pacific Mills there. Many cite the Lawrence brothers as the founders of New England’s influential textile industry.
In the 1820s, Abbott became a prominent public figure—a vocal supporter of railroad construction for economic benefit. He was an ardent protectionist, and represented Massachusetts at the Harrisburg convention in 1827. Abbott was highly influential among Massachusetts Whigs and in 1834 was elected to the 24th Congress as a Whig. He did not run for re-nomination to the 25th Congress, but was re-elected to the 26th Congress. In 1842, he was appointed commissioner to settle the North Eastern Boundary Dispute between Canada and the United States. Abbott took an active part in the presidential campaign of 1844 as a supporter of Henry Clay, as he had done four years previously in the election of William Henry Harrison, and was a presidential elector in that year. Abbott was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1846, and subsequently was also elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1847.
In 1848, Abbott was an unsuccessful candidate for the vice-presidency on the Whig ticket, headed by Zachary Taylor. With Taylor’s presidential victory, he offered Abbott a choice of administrative positions. After rejecting a cabinet appointment, Abbott chose the post of minister to Great Britain. He was involved in the negotiations of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. He resigned in October 1852, and returned to the United States to join the presidential campaign of Gen. Winfield Scott, an anti-slavery proponent. However, Abbott soon grew dissatisfied with the Whig stand on slavery and estranged himself from the party.
Abbott was active in Boston’s Unitarian Church and donated money to various causes. He supported Lawrence Academy, affordable housing in Boston, and the Boston Public Library. He also provided $50,000 to establish the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard College, and provided a similar sum in his will for the School. Abbott died in Boston on August 18, 1855, aged 62, and was interred in Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts.”
Should Lawrence readers be now convinced from the above that Lawrences have something of a privileged position in society, the following quote may prove a useful tonic:
“In the late spring of (1738) (Capt. Isaac Lawrence) left Plainfield and journeyed westward, taking with him the members of his family and their household effects, and traveling in a covered wagon by a yoke of oxen and a horse. The distance traversed was about eighty miles, and the last third of their route lay through the primeval forest.
On arriving on the second day of June, at Canaan, which was to them the ‘land of promise,’ they encamped for a few days and nights, their wagon meanwhile serving as a house.
‘Soon afterwards he dug a hole in the side of a hill, and with some crotches,poles, and boards made a temporary shelter, half under ground, in which they lived till the next spring. He then built a house, which was their home for some twelve years. ‘“
Source: https://ia600503.us.archive.org/23/items/historicalsketch1888lawr/historicalsketch1888lawr.pdf
Notable Lawrence Residents
A number of notable people were born and/or lived in Lawrence. Here are four:
- Al Bernardin, inventor of the Quarter Pounder
- Leonard Bernstein, composer and conductor of the New York Philharmonic
- Don Casey, professional baseball player
- Robert Frost, iconic poet, winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and a Congressional Gold Medal, a graduate of Lawrence High School
Sources
Samuel Lawrence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Lawrence_(revolutionary)
Boston Brahmin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Brahmin
Abbott Lawrence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_Lawrence#References