Early Life and Family Background Lydia Ann Lawrence was born into the Long Island branch of the Lawrence family, a line with deep roots in Bayside and Flushing, Queens. Through both parents she was connected to the interwoven Lawrence, Townsend, and related Quaker-descended families who shaped the civic, political, and cultural life of early nineteenth-century New York. Her upbringing was one of refinement, education, and familiarity with both New York civic affairs and Quaker traditions that still influenced the family.

First Marriage and Motherhood On June 4, 1833, Lydia married her cousin, Edward Newbold Lawrence. Their union produced one son, Frederick Newbold Lawrence, born in 1834. Edward died in 1839, leaving Lydia a young widow. His letter announcing the birth of their son reveals an affectionate family tone, and reflects the Quaker-influenced language still in use among some branches of the Lawrences at that time:

“It becomes my duty, my dear mother, to inform thee of the arrival of a young stranger this morning, in whom thee will doubtless feel an interest. My dear Lydia was this morning at 6 o’clock delivered of a fine boy. I say a fine boy, as the nurse and doctor both pronounce him so. He is judged to weigh full 15 pounds and looks bright and healthy… Lydia desires me to give her best love to thee and all the family.”

Second Marriage: Mrs. Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence On June 5, 1844, Lydia married her second cousin, Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence, a prominent figure in New York public life. He served in Congress, was Collector of the Port of New York, and became the first popularly elected Mayor of New York City. The marriage united two influential branches of the Lawrence family and brought Lydia into a more public social sphere of Manhattan and Long Island society.

The “Three Lawrences” Anecdote A newspaper notice at her death recorded with some astonishment that although Lydia had been twice married, she had never changed her surname. Born a Lawrence, married first to a Lawrence, and then again to a Lawrence, she was sometimes referred to with affectionate humor as “Lydia Ann Lawrence Lawrence Lawrence.” A contemporary comment captures both the curiosity and admiration she attracted:

“A lady died on Saturday in Bayonne [in fact, Bayside], Long Island, who had been twice married, but never changed her name… She was a lady of remarkable grace and accomplishments, an authoress, her last book having been published only a few weeks ago. It was entitled Do They Love Us Yet? and was a discussion of the relation of the dead to the living. She has had the problem solved more speedily than she had perhaps expected.”

Portrait: “Long Island Madonna and Child” In 1836, an unknown artist painted a work later known as the Long Island Madonna and Child, depicting Lydia with her infant son, Frederick. The painting was created in Bayside, and family tradition held that Lydia served as the model. The portrait remained in the possession of Lawrence descendants well into the twentieth century. It was remembered not only as a tender family image, but as a symbol of Lydia’s early life before the experiences that later drew her toward Spiritualism.

Spiritualism: Origins of Her Belief After the death of Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence in 1861, Lydia entered a period of deep reflection. Like many bereaved women of the mid-nineteenth century, she sought comfort in the belief that communication with the departed was possible. Her interest developed within a cultural moment in which Hicksite Quakerism, with its emphasis on the Inner Light and ongoing revelation, made the transition to Spiritualism more accessible for some Friends. Lydia wrote that her first experience came unexpectedly, through automatic writing in the presence of a medium, when she believed her late mother communicated with her:

“Your mother, my dear child, now writes to you—not from the grave, but from heaven. Angels, my daughter, clothed with light and love, have been permitted by a divine Providence to return to earth, and through the medium of a known law move with their dear friends, sounding heavenly echoes, telling them the grave need have no terrors, that death is a pleasant change, and that your mother still lives and loves and ever watches over you.”

From this moment, Lydia wrote, her interest in the subject “never ceased.” She found in Spiritualism what she understood to be a continuation of divine guidance, consistent, in her view, with Quaker spiritual sensitivity.

Messages and Experiences Many of Lydia’s Spiritualist experiences occurred at Forest Hill, the Lawrence summer house overlooking the Hudson River in what is now Fort Tryon Park. She described both written communications and raps around the room during séances. One message she believed to be from her husband, Cornelius, linked earthly affection with heavenly presence:

“I hope, dear W., that you will be mild and love E. with all power. Remember I am with your spirit, loving always to hover around you. Mysterious as you may think it, my spirit is permitted by a divine Providence to come to you here at F. H., that place I spent so many happy hours gazing in the magnificent scenery, the work of God’s hands. Adieu.”

Other messages came from relatives, Friends, and those she regarded as spiritual guides. Some used the language of Quaker piety familiar to Lydia. One message, attributed to a Quaker relation newly “in the spheres,” read:

“I cannot commune more with thee tonight, as thee knows I have not been long an inhabitant of these lovely spheres, but I will try to come to thee again soon.”

Lydia also recorded guidance about how one should prepare to receive communications, echoing the quietist practice of Friends’ meetings:

“Whenever thee desires to communicate with us, put aside all work and care and worldly thought, and wait, as in the olden time we waited at our weekly meetings for whatever may come of the spirit.”

Theological Themes in Her Writings The messages Lydia collected reveal both familiar Christian consolations and ideas associated with nineteenth-century Spiritualism. Many stressed the continuity of life after death, the ministry of angels, and the nearness of loved ones. One passage, reflecting traditional Christian sentiment, declared that the departed “love us still with all the old love of earth and all the new love of heaven together.”

A sermon of St. Cyprian, quoted in her volume, comforted those who had lost family to disease:

“There await us a multitude of those whom we love—fathers, brothers, and children—who are secure already of their own salvation, and concerned only for ours.”

At the same time, Lydia included passages reflecting ideas more characteristic of Spiritualism, such as the continuance of personality in the afterlife and the activity of spirits in the physical world. She quoted Swedenborg’s teaching that those entering the next life are surprised to find themselves still able to hear, see, and speak as before. She also included metaphysical reflections on the soul’s liberation from the limitations of the body, consistent with some Victorian spiritual and philosophical currents.

Publication of Do They Love Us Yet? (1879) In her later years Lydia wrote articles for the Flushing Journal, edited by her brother Joseph E. Lawrence. She collected her experiences, reflections, and selected spiritual communications in her book Do They Love Us Yet?, published in New York by James Miller in 1879, only weeks before her death. The volume attempted to offer comfort to the bereaved, to show the closeness of the spiritual and earthly worlds, and to suggest that the bonds of affection are not broken by death.

Her writing aimed to harmonize Spiritualism with Christian faith, presenting it not as a replacement for religion but as a continuation of divine consolation. The book stands as a personal testament to her search for assurance of continued love and communion with those who had passed on.

Death and Contemporaneous Reflections Lydia Ann Lawrence died in 1879 at Bayside, Long Island. News of her death was noted for the unusual circumstance that she had been twice married without ever changing her surname. Contemporary reports described her as a woman of grace and accomplishment, and commented with poignancy that her inquiry into the love of the departed had “been solved more speedily than she had perhaps expected.” Her book, published so near the end of her life, was regarded by those