Gawen Lawrie was a deputy

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the American province of

East Jersey The Province of East Jersey, along with the Province of West Jersey, between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed, were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey, which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

from 1683 to 1686.

Biography

Of Scottish ancestry, Lawrie was born in England and was a resident and merchant in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for many years. Along with

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

and Nicholas Lucas, Gawen Lawrie was a trustee for the legally bankrupt Edward Byllynge from 1675 to 1683. On 1 July 1676, Lawrie was one of the signers of the

Quintipartite Deed The Quintipartite Deed was a legal document that split the Province of New Jersey, dividing it into the Province of West Jersey and the Province of East Jersey from 1674 until 1702. On July 1, 1676, William Penn, Gawen Lawrie (who served fro ...

that split

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

into

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and East Jersey. In 1682 Lawrie became involved in East New Jersey as a trustee for the children of Arent Sonmans, one of the Proprietors.

Thomas Rudyard Thomas Rudyard (1640 – buried 2 November 1692) was a Quaker lawyer in London before moving to America and being appointed deputy governor of East Jersey and the first Attorney General of the English Province of New York, the predecessor posit ...

was deputy governor under Governor Robert Barclay. The Proprietors and Rudyard had a policy disagreement as to the granting of land, and, on 27 July 1683, appointed Gawen Lawrie deputy governor, replacing Rudyard. Thomas Rudyard's land dealings resurfaced when, on 28 February 1684/85, he received a grant of 1,038 acres (420 ha) on

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Per ...

in Monmouth County; Lawrie received a grant of 1,000 acres (405 ha). This resulted in Gov. Barclay and the Proprietors issuing instructions to Deputy Governor Lawrie on the laying out of land. Section 7 directly addressed the questionable activity of Rudyard and Lawrie in their taking up of land. The Proprietors in England were concerned about the secretive dealings of the Lawrie Administration and they instructed the East New Jersey Board of Proprietors to investigate the state of affairs, including an audit of the finances. In March 1686 the Proprietors appointed Andrew Hamilton to oversee the investigation. During Gawen Lawrie's tenure the Proprietors in England drafted a new constitution for East New Jersey, the Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of East New Jersey. This document, drafted in 1683, was intended to supersede the Concession and Agreement of 1665. Lawrie introduced the new constitution in Council on 12 April 1686; the Council voted "that the same Did not agree with the (constitution) of these American parts--", but nonetheless sent it to the General Assembly for reading. On 16 April, in response to Lawrie's inquiry as to the Assembly's action on the constitution, the lower house reported "That they apprehended the same Did not agree with the (constitution) of this province and that they understood that the same were noe wise bindeing Except past into a Lawe by the Generall Assembly--". With both houses concurring, the Fundamental Constitutions was defeated, and the Concession and Agreement would remain the East Jersey constitution until the surrender to

The Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

in 1702. In September 1686 the decision was made to remove Lawrie from office, and on 5 October Lord Neill Campbell presented his commission from Gov. Barclay as deputy governor to the

East New Jersey Provincial Council The East New Jersey Provincial Council or Governor's Council was the upper house of the East New Jersey Legislature under proprietary rule until the surrender of the right of government to The Crown, and Queen Anne's acceptance. History The Coun ...

, who confirmed and recognized the appointment. Lawrie was then commissioned a member of the Council. Lord Campbell, having urgent business in Britain, nominated Councillor Andrew Hamilton as Deputy Governor on 10 December 1686; the next day Lawrie was the only councillor to register a protest and vote against confirming Hamilton. On 5 May 1687 Gov. Barclay and the Proprietors issued a directive to Deputy Governor Hamilton and the Council revoking all powers and authority held by Lawrie.''New Jersey Colonial Documents, Archives of the State of New Jersey, First Series, Vol. I''; Daily Advertiser Publishing House, Newark, New Jersey, 1880. pp. 531–532 Later in 1687 he died.

References

External links

"The Grants, Concessions and Original Constitutions of the Province of New Jersey", Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer; W. Bradford, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1758Text of the Concession and AgreementText of the Fundamental Constitutions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrie, Gawen Colonial governors of New Jersey Deputy Governors of East New Jersey Year of birth missing 1687 deaths British people of Scottish descent Members of the East New Jersey Provincial Council British Quakers Businesspeople from London Politicians from Perth Amboy, New Jersey People from Middlesex County, New Jersey English emigrants

Biography

See also

References

External links