William Lawrence (September 2, 1814 – September 8, 1895) was a Senator, Congressman, and member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from the 17th District of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He also served as President of the board of directors of the

Ohio Penitentiary The Ohio Penitentiary, also known as the Ohio State Penitentiary, was a prison operated from 1834 to 1984 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, in what is now known as the Arena District. The state had built a small prison in Columbus in 1813, but as the ...

. Lawrence was born in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Guernsey County, Ohio Guernsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,438. Its county seat is Cambridge, and it is named for the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel, from which many of the county's earl ...

. He graduated from Jefferson College (now

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries to ...

) in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

in 1835. After

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

for a few years, Lawrence was elected to the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

in 1843. 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 appo ...

in 1848 for Secretary of State

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He w ...

, and Congressman

William Orlando Butler William Orlando Butler (April 19, 1791 – August 6, 1880) was a U.S. political figure and U.S. Army major general from Kentucky. He served as a Democratic congressman from Kentucky from 1839 to 1843, and was the Democratic vice-presidentia ...

. He was a delegate to the Ohio State constitutional convention in 1851. From 1856 to 1857, he served in the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of the se ...

. On March 4, 1857, William Lawrence (D) was inaugurated as the Representative from the 17th Congressional District of Ohio to the 35th U.S. Congress. Lawrence served only in this Congress, as he was elected only to one term in office. Upon leaving Congress, Lawrence served again in the Ohio Senate (in 1867, 1885, and 1886). He also served as president of the board of directors of the

, a prison in downtown

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. William Lawrence died in

Old Washington, Ohio Old Washington is a village in Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. The population was 279 at the 2010 census. History The village has been known by several names in its history. Platted by George and Henry Beymer in 1805, it was initially kno ...

on September 8, 1895, and is interred at the Washington Cemetery. Lawrence was father of

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state, State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost. History The office ...

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, ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, William 1814 births 1895 deaths Washington & Jefferson College alumni People from Guernsey County, Ohio Democratic Party Ohio state senators Ohio Constitutional Convention (1850) 1848 United States presidential electors Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio