Samuel Lawrence (May 23, 1773October 20, 1837) was an American politician from New York.

Early life

He was the son of Jonathan Lawrence and Ruth (Riker) Lawrence. He attended the common schools, studied law with his cousin Attorney General Nathaniel Lawrence, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Among his siblings was New York State Senator

John L. Lawrence John L. Lawrence (October 2, 1785 – July 24, 1849) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and politician from New York. Early life John was born in New York City. He was the son of Jonathan Lawrence (1737–1812), a merchant and New York State Se ...

(father of Abraham R. Lawrence) and U.S. Congressman William T. Lawrence. He was also a direct descendant of Capt.

James Lawrence James Lawrence (October 1, 1781 – June 4, 1813) was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded in a single-ship action against , commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, ...

, a hero of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, and Maj. Thomas Lawrence of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

who received a land grant in 1656 in what became

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Career

He was appointed a judge of the Marine Court of New York City. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co.) in

1811 Events January–March * January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes, in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana. * January 17 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Calderón Br ...

, and was Clerk of

New York County Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

from 1811 to 1812. In 1814, he removed to an estate on the margin of

Cayuta Lake Cayuta Lake is a small lake located in Schuyler County, New York, Schuyler County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is within the Catharine, New York, Town of Catharine, about north of Odessa, New York, Odessa. The lake is also referr ...

, in Tioga County. He was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

1816 This year was known as the ''Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1815, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in s ...

and voted for

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

and

Daniel D. Tompkins Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...

. He was again a member of the State Assembly in 1820-21. Lawrence was elected as an Adams-Clay

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the 18th United States Congress, holding office from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1825.

Personal life

His son Samuel Lawrence (1810-1882) was a member of the New York State Assembly from Tompkins County in 1847; and from Schuyler County in 1863. He was buried in the family cemetery on his estate.

References

''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 71, 185, 197, 287, 321 and 325; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
''Historical Genealogy of the Lawrence Family''
by Thomas Lawrence * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Samuel 1773 births 1837 deaths People from Tioga County, New York People from Elmhurst, Queens Members of the New York State Assembly 1816 United States presidential electors Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)