Lawrence family

The Lawrence family is a New England family associated with the Boston Brahmin, or traditional Boston elite, and with the development of commerce, education, politics, religion, abolitionism, and civic institutions in the United States. The American line described in the principal historical account descends from John Lawrence, who was baptized in Wissett, Suffolk, England, in 1609 and emigrated to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635. The family name has also been rendered as Lawrance in some contexts. John Lawrence and his wife, Elizabeth, had thirteen children. In 1662 they moved to Groton, Massachusetts, where the family established a durable regional presence. Their descendants became involved in local government, military service, education, religious leadership, and business. Nathaniel Lawrence, a son of John and Elizabeth, served as an ensign, deacon, and representative from Groton to the Massachusetts General Court in the late seventeenth century. Later generations participated in the American Revolution, including Captain Asa Lawrence, who led a Groton company of minutemen toward Cambridge after the Lexington alarm and fought at Bunker Hill. The family’s prominence increased substantially in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Major Samuel Lawrence, a Revolutionary-era participant and trustee of Lawrence Academy, became an important patriarch of the branch later associated with Boston. His sons Amos and Abbott Lawrence founded A. & A. Lawrence and Company, a major wholesale mercantile business based in the industrial community that became Lawrence, Massachusetts. Their commercial success supported extensive philanthropy. Amos Lawrence gave large sums to educational, religious, and civic causes, including Williams College, Groton Academy, Wabash College, Kenyon College, and the Bangor theological seminary. He also supported the Bunker Hill Monument and was involved in the establishment of Lawrence, Massachusetts, Lawrence, Kansas, and the University of Kansas through business and settlement initiatives. Abbott Lawrence combined commercial activity with public service. He advocated protective tariffs and railroad development, served as a Whig representative from Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives, and became United States minister to Great Britain during the administration of President Zachary Taylor. His philanthropy included support for Lawrence Academy, the Boston Public Library, affordable housing in Boston, and the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard College. The next generation extended the family’s influence into reform and higher education. Amos Adams Lawrence, son of Amos Lawrence, supported abolitionism before the Civil War and contributed to the development of the University of Kansas and Lawrence University in Wisconsin. His children included William Lawrence, who became Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts, and Harriet Lawrence Hemenway, a co-founder of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Through marriage, the family was also connected to the Appleton, Bigelow, Adams, Lowell, and related New England families. The Lawrence family’s wider historical significance therefore rests not on a single commercial brand but on a network of descendants and institutions. Members were merchants, soldiers, politicians, bishops, university leaders, philanthropists, and social reformers. Abbott Lawrence Lowell, a member of the related Lowell family and grandson on his mother’s side of Abbott Lawrence, served as president of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933. Because the subject is a genealogy and historical family grouping rather than an operating company, it has no single headquarters, product portfolio, ownership structure, or current executive team.

The Lawrence family’s documented American history begins with John Lawrence of Wissett in Suffolk, England, who arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635. The family account traces the English surname to medieval Lawrence ancestry, including a tradition connecting it with Sir Robert Lawrence of Ashton Hall, although the principal significance of the Wikipedia subject is the Massachusetts lineage rather than a commercial enterprise. John and Elizabeth Lawrence had thirteen children and moved to Groton in 1662, establishing the geographic base from which later generations expanded into Massachusetts public life. Nathaniel Lawrence, born in Watertown in 1639, became a local military and civic figure. He received a commission as an ensign, served as a deacon, and represented Groton in the Massachusetts General Court in 1692. In the eighteenth century, members of the family continued to participate in local institutions and military affairs. Captain Asa Lawrence commanded a Groton company of minutemen, responded to the Lexington alarm, and fought at Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War. The Reverend William Lawrence, a Harvard graduate and minister at Lincoln, Massachusetts, represented another branch of the family’s early involvement in education and religious leadership. Major Samuel Lawrence, born in 1754, became a central ancestor of the Boston-associated branch. He served in the Revolutionary period and was among the founders and long-serving trustees of Lawrence Academy in Groton. His sons Amos and Abbott transformed the family’s position through A. & A. Lawrence and Company, a wholesale mercantile house that became one of the major American commercial firms of its era. The industrial city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, was named in connection with the family’s economic activity and influence. Amos Lawrence later became known for philanthropy. His gifts supported colleges, theological education, monuments, and other public causes. His activities also helped establish or advance communities and educational institutions in Kansas, including Lawrence, Kansas, and the University of Kansas. Abbott Lawrence combined business with Whig politics, tariff advocacy, railroad promotion, diplomacy, and institutional philanthropy. He served in Congress, declined a cabinet post, and accepted appointment as minister to Great Britain. His donations helped support the Boston Public Library and Harvard’s Lawrence Scientific School, while his civic interests included housing and education. Amos Adams Lawrence carried the family’s institutional and reform interests into the nineteenth century. He supported abolitionist causes and helped develop the University of Kansas and Lawrence University in Wisconsin. His descendants included William Lawrence, an Episcopal bishop, and Harriet Lawrence Hemenway, whose conservation work contributed to the creation of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. The family was connected by marriage to several other prominent New England families, including the Adams, Appleton, Bigelow, and Lowell families. The historical network associated with the Lawrence name continued into religious, academic, and civic leadership. Abbott Lawrence Lowell, whose mother was a descendant of Abbott Lawrence, was president of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933. Other listed members included politicians, merchants, bishops, and reformers. Taken together, the family’s history illustrates the role of nineteenth-century New England mercantile wealth in founding schools, universities, churches, libraries, municipalities, and reform organizations. It is best understood as a genealogical and historical subject, not as a contemporary brand or operating corporation.

• 1909

  Abbott Lawrence Lowell becomes Harvard president

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  Abbott Lawrence Lowell, a member of the related Lowell family and a maternal descendant of Abbott Lawrence, began his tenure as president of Harvard University.

• 1849

  Abbott Lawrence becomes minister to Great Britain

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  After declining a cabinet appointment offered by President Zachary Taylor, Abbott Lawrence selected the diplomatic post of minister to Great Britain.

• 1846

  Abbott Lawrence joins the American Antiquarian Society

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  Abbott Lawrence was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society, followed by election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1847.

• 1834

  Abbott Lawrence enters Congress

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  Abbott Lawrence was elected as a Whig representative from Massachusetts to the Twenty-Fourth Congress.

• 1777

  Samuel Lawrence marries Susannah Parker

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  Samuel Lawrence married Susannah Parker and later became a central patriarch of the family branch associated with Boston.

• 1775

  Asa Lawrence responds to the Revolutionary alarm

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  Captain Asa Lawrence led a Groton minuteman company toward Cambridge after the Lexington alarm and later fought at Bunker Hill.

• 1692

  Nathaniel Lawrence serves in the Massachusetts General Court

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  Nathaniel Lawrence was elected as a representative from Groton to the Massachusetts General Court.

• 1662

  Move to Groton

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  John and Elizabeth Lawrence relocated from Watertown to Groton, Massachusetts, where later generations developed a long-standing presence.

• 1635

  John Lawrence arrives in Massachusetts

  [1]Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Lawrence of Wissett, Suffolk, England, emigrated to Watertown, Massachusetts, establishing the American line described in the family history.

Historical family and Boston Brahmin lineage associated with New England commerce, philanthropy, education, politics, religion, and civic institutions.

1. 1Lawrence familyen.wikipedia.org