Lawrence, John Lawrence (1785–1849)

New York State Senator and New York City Comptroller

Parents: Jonathan Lawrence (1737–1812) and Ruth Riker (1746–1818). Spouse: Sarah Augusta Smith (1794–1877). Children**:** John Smith Lawrence (1818–1880), Sarah Augusta Lawrence (1820–1866), Lydia Lawrence (c.1820– ), Margaret Ruth Lawrence (1822–1890), Ann Middleton Lawrence (1823–1870), Richard Montgomery Lawrence (1824–1843), Charles William Lawrence (1827–1895), Mary Judith Lawrence (1828– ), William Thomas Lawrence (1830–1893), Charles Jeffery Lawrence (1831–1884), Abraham Riker Lawrence (1832–1917), and Lydia Smith Lawrence (1835–1894). Kinship: Fourth cousin six times removed of the post–World War II Smith generation.

Biography: John Lawrence was born in New York City in 1785, the son of Jonathan Lawrence, a merchant and New York State Senator, and Ruth Riker of the notable Riker family. He graduated from Columbia College in 1803. From June 7, 1814 to May 19, 1815 he served as Chargé d’Affaires of the United States at Stockholm, representing American interests during the absence of Minister Jonathan Russell, at a time when U.S.–Swedish relations were influenced by the concluding phase of the War of 1812 and the diplomatic climate surrounding the Treaty of Ghent.

Returning to New York, Lawrence entered public life. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from New York County in 1816–1817 and a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1821. He served as Treasurer of Columbia College and was the first President of the Croton Aqueduct Commission, overseeing the early stages of the monumental public works project that brought fresh water to New York City. In 1840 he was a presidential elector, voting for William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. He served in the New York State Senate (4th District) in 1848 and 1849. In May 1849 he was appointed New York City Comptroller, but his tenure was cut short when he died two months later in the cholera epidemic of 1849.