Lawrence, Effingham Nicoll Jr. (1915–1991)

1915–1991

Parents: Effingham Nicoll Lawrence (1887–1963) and Julia Harriman Budd (1892–1981).
Spouse: Frances Laurance Geer (1918–2008).
Children: Katherine Lawrence, Julie Lawrence, Anne Hamilton Lawrence (1952– ), and Elizabeth Nicoll Lawrence (1954– ).
Kinship: First cousin once removed of the wife of the third cousin three times removed of the post–World War II Smith generation.

Early Life and Education Effingham Nicoll Lawrence was born in 1915. He attended the Groton School in Massachusetts and later New York University. His family background reflected the long-established Lawrence ties to New York and Long Island, with ancestral connections reaching back to the seventeenth century.

Marriage and Residence Following his marriage to Francis Laurance Geer, Effingham settled in Irvington, New York. He was a member of St. Barnabas Church, an institution long associated with the local community and the families of the Hudson River valley.

Historical and Genealogical Interests Effingham devoted considerable time to historical and genealogical pursuits. He served as a trustee of the Bowne House (see Houses and Estates), the historic Flushing residence of his ancestor who sheltered individuals facing religious persecution in the seventeenth century. He was also an active member of the New York Biographical and Genealogical Society and the Brooklyn Historical Society. Among his projects was the restoration of the Trinity Church graveyard in New York, where many of his Lawrence forebears are interred.

Death He died in 1991. His widow, Francis Laurance (Geer) Lawrence, survived him until 2008.