USA > New York > Famous families of New York; historical and biographical sketches of families which in successive generations have been identified with the development of the nation, Vol. I > Part 16
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Among those that Henry the Councillor sent out to the New World were his cousins of Great St. Albans, Hertfordshire. These were John [1618] and William [1623], who in turn brought out their younger brother, Thomas [1625].
John and William sailed from England in 1635 on the good ship Planter, and with them, as a fellow-voyager, was Governor
John and Winthrop of Massachusetts. They landed at Plymouth
William, Founders and removed to Ipswich, where they resided some time. On account of the fierce fighting at Saybrook, as well as of a threatened Indian uprising in the neighborhood of their new home, they determined to remain at the latter, where there were many women and children, rather than go to Fort Say- brook, which was practically a military garrison. About 1640 they removed to the western end of Long Island, which was then claimed by both England and Holland. With great shrewd- ness, the two brothers, though patriotic Englishmen, recognized the Dutch suzerainty, and in 1644 obtained, as one of a number of patentees, a grant of the territory now known as Hempstead, from the Dutch Governor, William Kieft. The next year they, with other citizens, obtained the patent of Flushing, L. I., from the same Governor.
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John L. Lawrence From a portrait by Waldo
Mrs. John L. Lawrence From a portrait by Jarvis
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They must have been shrewd business men because, besides attending to their estates on Long Island, they engaged in mer- cantile pursuits in New York and took an active part in politics. In 1666, John was an Alderman of the City of New York, and one of its wealthiest citizens. The same year they obtained a patent for Flushing from Governor Nicoll, confirmatory of the one issued by Governor Kieft. In this way they secured their title and prevented the litigation which occurred in regard to other Dutch patents, unconfirmed by the British authorities. Meantime, Thomas, the younger brother, had come Thomas the from England, and had joined them in New York. Cadet In 1655, the three brothers obtained title to a large tract in New- town, L. I., and in 1689 they received a patent for their estates from Governor Dongan. Subsequently, Thomas purchased the whole of Hellgate Neck, extending along the East River from Hell Gate Cove to Bowery Bay, consisting of four valuable farms and several pieces of pasture and woodland.
All three brothers were men of great importance in New York. John made New Amsterdam his permanent residence in 1658, but retained a country house near Flushing. He was a Boundary Commissioner under Governor Stuy- Mayor John vesant in 1663, Alderman in 1665, Mayor of the city in 1672, and member of the Council in 1674, in which office he continued till 1698. He was again Mayor in 1691, and in 1692 became Judge of the Supreme Court, which office he held until his death in 1699. By his wife Susanna he had six children, none of whom left male issue. His daughter Mary, who married William Whittinghame, was the mother of Mary Saltonstall, wife of Governor Saltonstall of Connecticut, who gave princely endowments to both Harvard and Yale Colleges.
William remained at Flushing, where he was a magistrate under the Dutch Government, and, after the English conquest, a captain under the new régime, as well as a Judge of
Judge
the North Riding of Yorkshire, as that part of Long William Island was then called. He resided upon Lawrence Neck, and was very wealthy. The inventory of his estate is on file in the New
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York Surrogate's office. He was twice married, having two sons by his first wife, and by his second, Elizabeth Smith, seven child- ren. The second wife, Elizabeth, was a woman of extraordinary endowments; after the death of William she married Sir Philip Carteret, Governor of New Jersey. It was in her honor that the Governor named Elizabeth, Elizabethtown, and Elizabethport in the latter colony.
Thomas, the youngest brother, settled on his estate at Hell Gate Neck. During the troublous times of the Leisler Adminis-
Major tration he was appointed Major-Commander of the
Thomas Militia of Queens County. He was the head of the Newtown branch of Lawrences, which is the largest, and is repre- sented in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey by numerous descendants, and by a few in more than twenty States of the Union.
In the second generation were many sons who inherited the thrift and high intelligence of their fathers, and who built up extensive estates upon Long Island and elsewhere. Through their wealth and connections by marriage, they held a high position in New York society, many of them having residences during the winter or the entire year in the latter city. Among those worthy of mention were William, the oldest son of William, who married Deborah Smith, daughter of Richard Smith, the patentee of Smithtown, L. I. This marriage brought him a large holding of real estate, almost doubling his riches. There were twelve children by the union.
Joseph, the second son of William, by his second wife, Eliza- beth, married Mary Townley, daughter of Sir Richard Townley. Joseph the This made him connected with the Howards of Effing- Land-owner ham, who afterwards became the Earls of Effingham. Lord Effingham at that period was the commander of a British man-of-war, which was attached to the North American station, and which was usually moored in Long Island Sound, oppo- site to Joseph's mansion. Lady Effingham lived most of the time with her sister, Mrs. Joseph Lawrence, so that the home was the centre of a large and fashionable circle. Joseph entertained very
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generously, and his mansion was usually crowded with society people from New York and Brooklyn. He had his own sloop, with which to bring visitors from the metropolis; frequently, when there were large functions, the boats of the war-ship were put at his disposal. It was in honor of the friendship superinduced by this marriage that Joseph's grandson was named Effingham, from whom descended the Effingham Lawrences of New York, Queens, and London, England.
Captain John, High-Sheriff of Yorkshire, the third son of Thomas, remained at Newtown and married Deborah, daughter of Richard Woodhill, patentee of Brookhaven, by whom he had three sons. This was another union of landed proprietors which strengthened the powerful Newtown branch.
The third generation was very numerous. The leading mem- bers were Adam, son of William II., who was a member of the State Legislature, High Sheriff of Queens County, and High-Sheriff a leading churchman. John [1703], son of Joseph, was Adam born in Flushing, but migrated with his stepfather, Lord Carteret, to Elizabethtown, N. J. He inherited an estate there which was held by the family through several generations. Business took him to Newport and Providence, R. I., where he was largely interested in shipping. By his first wife, Mary Woodbury, he had eight sons and three daughters; but by his second, Elizabeth Little, no issue. Richard [1691], son of Joseph, married Hannah Bowne, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Bowne, of the Society of Friends.
Thomas, son of John of Newtown, married Deborah Woolsey, and removed to West Farms, Westchester County, where he made a permanent home. He had four children, one of whom became the head of the Westchester family.
Judge John [1695], son of Captain John, was a wealthy farmer and magistrate who married Patience Sackett. Judge John Jonathan, third son of Jonathan V., son of Thomas I., settled in the Bronx, moved to Tappan, Rockland County, where he purchased the ancestral estate of the Ludlow family. He married Mary Betts of Newtown, by whom he had nine children.
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The family had become rich and powerful in the fourth gen- eration. Many sons relinquished the care of estates and entered
the professions and into mercantile pursuits. Dr. Will-
Dr. William
iam, son of Obadiah, who was a son of William and Deborah Smith, was a successful physician in Oyster Bay.
Effingham [1734], the third son of Richard, removed to Lon- don, and became a member of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity Effingham House, the official organization which controls British
marine and naval interests. He married Catherine Farmer, by whom he had issue.
Joseph [1729], oldest son of John, removed with his father to Newport and Providence, where he became distinguished in marine insurance. He drafted the charter for the Providence Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and became its secretary and manager. Through his remarkable energy, he made that body the most flourishing institution of its class in the country. He married, first, Amy Whipple, by whom he had five children, and, second, Mrs. Susanna T. Eaton, by whom he had six.
David [1738], brother of the preceding (Joseph), was a famous patriot in the Revolution. He was an intimate friend of Benjamin David Franklin and Samuel Adams. Having amassed a for- the Patriot tune in commerce, he retired from business, and re- moved from Providence to Hudson, N. Y., of which town he was one of the thirty proprietors. Here he was Judge, Recorder, and Mayor, and in his leisure hours contributed to the literature of the period. He married Sybil Sterry, by whom he had four sons and five daughters.
Captain Thomas [1732], son of Thomas of West Farms, was a gallant soldier in the Revolution, where he served as lieutenant. Captain With the establishment of peace, he removed to Mount Thomas Pleasant, Westchester County, and afterwards to Red Hook, Columbia County. He married Elizabeth Girard, by whom he had issue.
John [1721], the oldest son of Judge John and Patience Sack- ett, left Newtown for New York while still in his teens, and there became an eminent merchant. He married Catherine Liv-
Residence of John L. Lawrence in East 14th Street, about 1870
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ingston, daughter of the Hon. Philip Livingston, but had no issue.
Richard [1725], his brother, was a captain of horse in the Revolution, and was captured by the British and confined in the jail which is now the Hall of Records in City Hall Park. Captain
Here he contracted wasting fever, and died shortly after Richard the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He had been unable to leave his bed for several days when the news was brought to him. He made the bearer repeat it, and then rising to his feet he de- clared his readiness to die, now that the ultimate triumph of his country was secured. He passed away shortly afterwards, ac- cording to an old chronicler, from too much happiness of heart.
Captain Thomas [1733], another brother, enlisted in the navy, where he became commander of the ship Tartar and did efficient work during the old French War. In 1784, he was a Captain
Thomas
judge of Queens County, which office he held nearly to his death, in 1816. He married Elizabeth Fish, daughter of Nathaniel Fish, by whom he had a numerous family.
Major Jonathan [1737], brother of the foregoing, was a mer- chant and a partner in the house of Watson, Murray, & Lawrence. He retired from business at the age of thirty-four with Major
a very large fortune, and purchased an estate at Hell Jonathan Gate, which had belonged to his great-grandfather, Thomas. In 1774, he became prominent as a Revolutionary leader. In 1775, he was a member of the Provincial Congress at New York. In the Convention of 1776-1777 he was one of the members which framed the first constitution of the State. At the breaking out of the war, he went to the front as major, and served his country upon the field and in the Cabinet. In 1777, he was elected tem- porary Senator, which he remained until 1783. He also served as Assemblyman, Commissioner of Forfeitures, and Commissioner for the Redemption of Money. With the return of peace, he found that his estates had been ruined and his fortune dissipated. He re-entered business, and by economy and energy made a sec- ond fortune. He married twice : first, Judith Fish, and, second, Ruth Riker.
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The chief members of the fifth generation were Effingham [1760], son of John, who was a wealthy merchant and real-estate owner. He was one of the founders of the famous Tontine Coffee- House Association of New York. He married Elizabeth Watson, by whom he had issue.
Effingham, son of Joseph, was first judge of Queens County. He married Anna Townsend. Walter [1781], oldest son of Joseph, Judge was a brave officer in the United States Navy, and Effingham served under Captain William Bainbridge in the war with the Algerian pirates.
Samuel Adams [1775], the third son of David, settled in New York, where he was an importer, and thereafter director and pres- ident of many corporations and institutions. He was the friend and backer of De Witt Clinton, who always referred to him as "his Benjamin." He married Catherine Remsen, by whom he had eleven children.
William [1776], son of Thomas, was the first manufacturing druggist and chemist in the New World. His works stood on ground now occupied by Essex Market. He served through the War of 1812, where he had a fine record. He married Thamer Fisher, by whom he had seven children.
Jonathan [1767], son of Major Jonathan and Judith Fish, was a banker and insurance official in New York City, a member of the Board of Aldermen, and a prominent church worker.
Samuel [1773], son of Jonathan and Ruth Riker, was a man of high distinction. He was a lawyer, judge of the Marine Court, Judge Assemblyman, City Clerk, Register, Presidential Elec- Samuel tor, and Congressman. He married Elizabeth Ireland and had a numerous family.
Captain Andrew [1775], second son of Jonathan, took to the sea and became a famous skipper. At the age of nineteen, he Captain commanded a ship, and at thirty discovered that a
Andrew bight on the West African coast was one of the mouths of a great river, which was afterwards named the Niger.
Richard [1778], third son of Jonathan, was a brilliant mer- chant, who developed, if he did not found, the East Indian traffic
7
John Lawrence From a portrait by Copley
Major Jonathan Lawrence From a painting
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with New York. He was very active in New York commercial affairs (1815-1855).
Abraham Riker [1780], fourth son of Jonathan, was graduated from Columbia (1797), was a great merchant, politician, capitalist, and railway man. He was a candidate for Congress, and Presi- dential Elector.
Joseph [1783], the fifth son of Jonathan, a merchant in the East India trade, married Mary Sackett.
Hon. John L. [1785], the sixth son of Jonathan, was graduated from Columbia (1803), and for thirty years was a distinguished lawyer, whose specialty was banking and corporations. Hon. John L., He was Secretary of Legation at Sweden, member of Senator the Constitutional Convention of 1821, Assistant Register of the Court of Chancery, Presidential Elector, State Senator, City Comp- troller, Assemblyman, Treasurer of Columbia College, first Presi- dent of the Croton Aqueduct Commission, and United States Chargé d'affaires at the Court of Sweden. He married Sarah Augusta Smith, by whom he had eleven children.
William T. [1788], the seventh son of Jonathan, was a wealthy merchant, who retired from commercial pursuits and purchased a great estate on Cayuga Lake. He was judge of Tompkins County and member of Congress from that district. He married Margaret Sophia Muller.
Many representatives of this generation moved to other dis- tricts and became the heads of branches. Thomas [1775], son of Captain Jonathan, moved from Rockland County and settled in Ul- ster. He married Sarah, daughter of Nehemiah Smith.
Nicholas, son of John, settled in Richmond County. Estell [1738], his brother, who married Mary A. Jones, and his cousin, John, son of David, moved to South Carolina, and established a well-known branch of Lawrences in that commonwealth.
More than thirty were members of large firms in New York City at the beginning of the nineteenth century. There were four firms in which the seniors were members of the Lawrence-Bowne branch and adherents to the Society of Friends. Their establish- ments were on Pearl Street, and by the merchants of the time the
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neighborhood was styled Quakertown. With the honesty for which the " Friends " are proverbial, none of these firms, tradition says, ever failed, and nearly all of them attained affluence.
The fifth generation found the family high in social, commer- cial, and agricultural life, and widely distributed throughout the Union. They still held their original homesteads upon Long Island, in Westchester, New York County, and in Elizabethtown, N. J., and in addition they had descendants in Suffolk County, Kings, Dutchess, Putnam, Ulster, Rockland, Orange, and Richmond counties ; also in Pennsylvania, Maryland, North and South Caro- lina. Many members held high positions under the British Crown in England, and a few were scattered in the leading commercial seaports of foreign lands. They had supplied many brave soldiers and sailors to the American Government, and had filled numerous places of honor and trust, from the lowest to the highest. Their cousins of the Massachusetts branch had run a similar course, and reflected honor upon the name of the race. Their vitality was unimpaired, and they had fulfilled the Scriptural injunction to in- crease and multiply.
At the opening of the nineteenth century, the family name was covered with laurels by the heroism of Capt. James [1781] of Capt. James the United States Navy. Appointed a midshipman in the Hero 1798, he proved so admirable a seaman that he was made acting lieutenant two years afterwards. He participated in the war with Tripoli, commanding a gunboat as second in command to Commodore Decatur, when the latter's expedition destroyed the frigate Philadelphia under the guns of the African citadel. For five years he cruised along the Barbary coast, running down the pirates who had made those waters a scene of blood and robbery for years. He did efficient work, and in 1808 was promoted to be first lieutenant. Three years afterwards saw him captain and in command of the sloop-of-war Hornet.
When hostilities broke out with Great Britain, he sailed down the coast of Brazil, where he performed the odd feat of blockading a British man-of-war in a neutral harbor. On February 4, 1813, he encountered the British man-of-war-brig Peacock, and a stirring
Captain James Lawrence From a steel engraving by Williamson
Hon. William Lawrence From the portrait by Inman
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engagement took place. The action was brilliant and brief. The British aimed poorly, while the American fire was accurate and swift. The Peacock was so badly injured that she sank shortly after hauling down the flag, which took place fourteen minutes from the first gun-fire. Lawrence saved the officers and crew of the Peacock, and carried them home with him upon his ship, reach- ing New York on March 20th, where he received a popular wel- come of the most enthusiastic kind. Later, Congress presented a gold medal to his nearest male kinsman and silver medals to his officers.
He was then promoted to take command of the Chesapeake, one of the finest frigates of the time. This vessel had, however, the reputation of being unlucky, which, in those days, made its command an unpleasant responsibility. While preparing the ship at Boston, the British frigate Shannon arrived and cruised outside of the harbor, waiting to give battle to the Chesapeake. Here Cap- tain Lawrence made the mistake of allowing gallantry to precede wisdom, which cost him his ship and probably his life. Instead of waiting within the harbor until he had trained and drilled his men, most of whom were raw recruits, and unused to naval armaments and the system of a man-of-war, he sailed the moment that his ship was fully manned. On June 1, 1813, the Chesapeake spread sails to meet the Shannon, which lay a few miles offshore. The battle began at 5:50 P.M. The firing was terrific, and at six o'clock Lawrence was mortally wounded. He gave the famous order: "Tell the men to fire faster, and not give up the ship." Two minutes afterwards the crews of the two vessels, which had come together, engaged in a desperate combat upon the decks, and at five minutes after six the Shannon had won the victory. The Chesapeake was carried to Halifax by a prize crew, and on the trip Lawrence became delirious, repeating over and over again, "Don't give up the ship!" He died before the journey was terminated. He married Julia Montandevert of New York, by ~ whom he had one surviving child, Mary, who married Lieu- tenant William Preston Griffin, of Virginia.
The sixth generation furnished more men of state and national
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note than any preceding one. Watson Effingham [1788], son of Effingham, inherited a fine fortune which he employed wisely in
Judge many ventures. Shortly after coming of age he was
Watson E. made a magistrate of Flushing, which office he held until 1825, when he settled in New York City. While here he bought a great tract of land in Ulster County and established hydraulic cement works which soon brought into being a large and lucrative industry. He built houses for his employees and named the town Lawrenceville. At his death he was the wealthiest citizen in that part of the State. His wife was Augusta M. Nicoll, the great- granddaughter of William Nicoll, the patentee of Long Island. They had eleven children, of whom Effingham Nicoll alone grew up, married, and had issue.
John Watson [1800], his brother, was active in private and public affairs. He resided in both New York City and Flushing, John W., and from the latter locality was sent to the Assembly Congressman in 1840 and 1846, and to Congress from 1845 to 1847. In 1847, he was elected President of the Seventh Ward Bank in New York, where he served with signal success. He married Mary K. Bowne, daughter of the Hon. Walter Bowne, Mayor of New York, by whom he had ten children.
Cornelius Van Wyck [1791], son of Henry and Harriet Van Wyck, engaged in mercantile pursuits in New York in 1812, where Mayor Cor- he was successful from the first. He took an energetic
nelius V. W. part in local matters and was elected to Congress in 1833. He resigned the following year to become Mayor of New York City, he being the first occupant of that office who was elected by popular suffrage. On the expiration of his term he was re-elected, and while Mayor was a Van Buren Presidential Elector. He served capably as Collector of the Port for two years. For twenty years he was President of the Bank of the City of New York. He was also a director of the Bank of the United States and the Bank of America, and a trustee of many trust, fire, and marine insurance companies, retiring from business life in 1856. He married, first, Maria C. Prall; second, Rachel A. Hicks; and third, Mrs. E. N. Lawrence.
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Joseph [1797], his brother, had a similar commercial career, but took no part in politics, confining his leisure to social and re- ligious duties. He was President of the Bank of the Joseph State of New York, and of the United States Company, the Banker Treasurer of the city of New York, and a director in many moneyed institutions. He married Rosetta Townsend, by whom he had seven children.
Dr. Samuel Sterry [1804], son of Samuel Adams and Catharine Remsen, was a medical practitioner of great popularity and gener- osity. From his father he inherited a fortune which enabled him to gratify his scientific and literary tastes, Dr. Samuel S. as well as to contribute largely to the charities of the time. He married Christiana Knell, by whom he had two sons. Ferdinand [1807], his brother, was a wealthy merchant who also inherited large means. He married Isabella Eliza Burgoyne.
Eugene [1823], the author, another brother, was educated at Princeton and the New York University, studied law at Harvard, was admitted to the New York bar, and practised for Eugene
several years. His patrimony enabled him to gratify the Author his liberal tastes, he relinquished the legal profession, and took up literature as a calling. He went to Europe, where he prosecuted special studies at London and Paris. His literary work was exten- sive, varied, and of a high character. He contributed to encyclo- pædias and other works of reference, and published many monographs and magazine articles of interest and value. His best-known work is The Lives of the British Historians, after which come historical studies, literary primers, and a history of Rome. He never married.
William Beach [1800], son of Isaac and Cornelia Beach, was one of the great jurists of the United States. He was graduated from Columbia in 1818, where he took his A. M. degree Wm. Beach in 1823. He received the same degree from Yale the Jurist (1826); LL.D. from Brown University in 1869, and J.C.D. from the University of the City of New York (1873). He studied law, and in 1823 was admitted to the bar; 1826 saw him Secretary of the United States Legation at the Court of St. James, and the following 16
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