Joseph Lawrence was the fifth son of Major Jonathan Lawrence. As a young man he entered the East India trade and twice sailed to India, a hazardous undertaking during the period of the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. The risks of maritime life led him to abandon seafaring and turn to farming, first in Westchester County, and later with his brother Samuel at Cayuta Lake in central New York, on land their father had purchased after the Revolutionary War.

The two brothers left New York City for Cayuta Lake in the autumn of 1814. The journey survives in a vivid contemporary account recorded by their kinsman, Hon. Abraham Lawrence, in the centennial history of the town:

“...they passed from Hoboken, N.J., northward to Montgomery, on the Newburgh and Cohocton turnpike, following it west of the Delaware River, which they crossed at Cohocton and went thence through the famous ‘beech woods’ to Great Bend on the Susquehanna, which they crossed and followed its north bank to Owego; thence passing up the Owego, Catatunk and Cayuta Creeks through the ‘Dutch Settlement’ to Johnson's Settlement—the journey having occupied about two weeks’ time. They remained there several weeks, as neither of their homes were ready for occupancy, and then moved into the one intended for Joseph Lawrence.”

Joseph and Samuel selected the sites for their homes and engaged the builder Samuel Winton, with David Beardsley and Elijah S. Hirman as partners in the work. Bricks for both houses were made from clay taken from the Hirman property, and Hirman served as mason for the many fireplaces. The houses were built close to one another: Joseph’s residence, known as the Lake House, remained little altered over time; Samuel’s home was later enlarged and became the Fontainebleau Inn.

Joseph’s stay at Cayuta Lake was short. Ill health forced him to leave his new home, and he returned with his family to Newtown, Queens County, for the winter. In the spring of 1817 he attempted to go back to Cayuta Lake, but died en route at Bloomingburgh, Sullivan County. His widow and children never returned to Cayuta Lake, and after his estate was settled the property passed out of the family.