Early Life and Background Emlen Newbold Lawrence was born into a cultivated New York family noted for its scientific and cultural interests. His father, George Newbold Lawrence, was a respected ornithologist associated with leading figures in American natural history, and the household fostered education, curiosity, and engagement with the world beyond New York.

Journey to the Upper Missouri (1861) In April 1861, as the Civil War began, Emlen Lawrence joined William de la Montagne Cary, later known for his paintings and illustrations of the American West, and their friend W. H. Schieffelin on an extended journey into the Upper Missouri region. Equipped with camping gear and letters of introduction from Pierre Chouteau, Jr., a leading figure in the Missouri River trade, the three young New Yorkers traveled west to St. Louis and continued by steamer upriver.

During the voyage, the steamer on which they were traveling caught fire after an accident in the hold, and the passengers escaped before the vessel exploded. Lawrence and his companions survived but lost much of their equipment. They returned to Fort Union, where they remained for several weeks before continuing their travels. While in the region, they attempted to construct a skin tipi purchased from Indigenous people near Fort Union, but eventually sought the assistance of two Native women to complete it properly. On another occasion, they dined with a Crow chief and later learned that the “antelope” they had enjoyed was in fact dog. A subsequent misunderstanding at their camp led to a tense confrontation with a group of Crow warriors, who briefly detained the travelers before releasing them after gifts and provisions were exchanged. The party eventually continued upriver to Fort Benton, then traveled overland to the West Coast and returned to New York by sea.

Civil War Service Upon his return east, Lawrence served with the Seventh Regiment of New York in the Civil War. The regiment, composed largely of New York’s socially prominent families, was among the first to respond to the call to defend the capital and was noted for its discipline and esprit de corps.

Career After the war, Lawrence entered the wholesale drug business in New York. He worked in the trade for thirty years, establishing a solid professional reputation before retiring in 1890.

Residences and Social Life Lawrence resided in New York City, most recently at 45 East Twenty-first Street. He was a member of the Union League Club, reflecting his place in socially active and civic-minded circles of the city.

Death Emlen Newbold Lawrence died at his home in New York City in 1925 at the age of eighty-eight.

Legacy Though he left no descendants, Lawrence’s youthful expedition with Cary preserved a glimpse of life along the Upper Missouri at a moment of transition, before the region was irrevocably changed by war, settlement, and federal policy. Their “boyhood idyll,” undertaken on the eve of the Civil War, contributed to the record of the frontier during its final years in its earlier form.