Thomas Lawrence (1745-1823)
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This white person has 2 related events in the database, listed at the bottom of this page.
- Identifier
- NJS-PER-02161
- Given Name
- Thomas
- Family Name
- Lawrence
- Birth Date
- 1745
- Death Date
- 1823
- Sex
- Male
- Occupation
- Landowning
- Biographical Description
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Thomas Lawrence, Esquire, was an enslaver who resided in Hamburg, Sussex County, NJ.
He was born in Philadelphia, the son of Thomas Lawrence (1720-1775) and Mary Morris (1724-1805). He married first Rebecca Bond, then in succession his two first cousins Mary Morris (1752-1776) and then Catherine Morris (1750-1794). Through these marriages to the two Morris sisters, he became the son-in-law of his uncle Lewis Morris (1726-1798) of Morrisania (in present-day Bronx), the Signer of the Declaration of Independence (his mother Mary's brother). On his father's side, he was the grandson of Philadelphia Mayor Thomas Lawrence (1689-1754).
He relocated from Philadelphia to Sussex County around 1780 to manage a large farm. He became the first postmaster of Hamburg in 1795.
An account book related to his farming business was preserved by the Historical Society of Princeton. The book contains records from 1771 to 1821. It is known as Thomas Lawrence Commonplace Book, MS330.
He had a mansion built in 1794, which was located along present-day State Route 94 (Ames Blvd), about two-thirds of a mile west of Main Street. His son (also named Thomas) used the foundation of the house to construct a new mansion in 1841, which is now known as Lawrence Mansion and is on the National Register of Historic Places (NRIS ID 79001522). - Keywords
- white person
- enslaver
- References
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Snell, James P. History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1881. http://archive.org/details/historyofsussexw00snel.
Thomas Lawrence Commonplace book, MS 330. Historical Society of Princeton. https://princeton.pastperfectonline.com/archive/F2AAF185-6F33-4F3B-A506-221529775413.
This person is represented on the following page(s):
WikiTree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lawrence-6931
Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12447311 - Record Contributor
- Saketh Mandayam
- Linked Events
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Additional Participant in:
- 1809-01-01 Birth: Johnson Mogull (Role: Enslaver)
- 1813-04 Birth: Gabriel (Role: Enslaver)
