John Lawrence (1618–1699) was

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

from 1672 to 1674, and again in 1691.

Life

Thomas Lawrence, the first known Lawrence to arrive in the US landed at

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

in 1635, and later removed to

Ipswich, Massachusetts Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,785 at the 2020 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island. A reside ...

and later to

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. In 1644, he was one of the patentees of Hempstead under grant by Dutch Colonial Governor Willem Kieft. In 1645, Kieft granted the patent of Flushing to Lawrence and 16 others, which was confirmed by English Colonial Governor

Richard Nicolls Richard Nicolls (sometimes written as Nichols, 1624 – 28 May 1672) was the first English colonial governor of New York province. Early life Nicolls was born in 1624 in Ampthill in Bedfordshire, England. He was the son of Francis Nicolls (1 ...

in 1666. In 1658, Lawrence removed to

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

. New Amsterdam was renamed New York on September 8, 1664, in honor of the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

(later James II of England), in whose name the English had captured it. In 1663, he was appointed by Governor

Pieter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant (; in Dutch also ''Pieter'' and ''Petrus'' Stuyvesant, ; 1610 – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial officer who served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Net ...

as a Commissioner to negotiate with the General Court at Hartford to determine the boundary between

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

. Thomas' brother John Lawrence was one of the first aldermen of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

when the city was incorporated in 1665. John Lawrence was

from 1673 to 1675 and again in 1691. ( Seventh and nineteenth NYC Mayor) He was a justice of the Supreme Court of the Province of New York from 1692 until his death. John Lawrence married Susanna, and they had six children, among them John Lawrence who married Mrs. Sarah Willett; Susanna Lawrence who was married first to Mayor

Gabriel Minvielle Gabriel Minvielle was a prominent Huguenot who settled in New York after emigrating from France in 1673. He engaged in foreign trade, especially with the West Indies, and prospered as a merchant and trader and also politically. He served as the 1 ...

, and second to Alderman William Smith; and Mary (daughter of John Lawrence) who marrie
William Whittinghame
in 1660 (for account of whose ancestry see collections of Historical Society of Massachusetts). Mary, a daughter by this marriage, distinguished by her literary acquirements, and the gifts she bestowed upo
Harvard
an
Yale
Colleges, was the wife of Gurdon Saltonstall, governor of Connecticut, and died 1730. — See notice of her in Knaps Female Biography, p. 453.

Sources

''Historical Genealogy of the Lawrence Family''
by Thomas Lawrence (1858; pages 21f)

History of Thomas Lawrence * List of mayors of New York City Mayors of New York City

Historical Genealogy of the Lawrence Family Pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, John 1618 births 1699 deaths Mayors of New York City New York City Council members People from St Albans 17th-century English people People of the Province of New York