Education and Military Service

Townsend Bowne Lawrence graduated from Harvard University in 1894. On 15 January 1896 he enlisted in Troop 2, Squadron A Cavalry, New York City. He was transferred on 21 November 1896 to Troop 1 of the same squadron and was mustered into Troop A, New York Volunteer Cavalry, on 20 May 1898 at Camp Black, Hempstead, Long Island.

On 6 July 1898 he was commissioned a First Lieutenant in the 2nd United States Volunteer Engineers and assigned as aide to Major General Oswald H. Ernst. Lawrence participated in the Puerto Rico campaign, landing at Ponce in August 1898 and accompanying General Wilson’s column to Coamo. On 14 August 1898, the day following the signing of the Protocol of Peace, he entered the Spanish lines under a flag of truce, becoming the first American officer to inspect the Spanish positions at Aibonito.

When Major General Ernst was appointed Inspector General of Cuba on 13 December 1898, Lieutenant Lawrence accompanied him and served in Cuba until returning to the United States in April 1899. He resigned from volunteer service on 26 May 1899, rejoined Squadron A, and was honorably discharged on 29 September 1899.

During his service in Squadron A he served alongside two relatives: Francis Draper Bowne (1894–1904; 1909–1914) and Thomas Nisbet Lee (1896–1898).

Marriage and Family Life

Townsend Lawrence fell in love with his sister Anita Lawrence’s social secretary, Herminia Barnes, an Englishwoman. They were married at the Church of the Transfiguration (“the Little Church Around the Corner”) on 12 September 1912 and made their home at Willow Bank, the ancestral Lawrence residence.

Herminia Lawrence died suddenly on 15 May 1913 while giving birth to their son, David Lawrence, who also died at birth. Both Herminia and Anita Lawrence were members of a faith-healing group. Although other deaths were reportedly associated with this group, there is no direct evidence that faith-healing practices contributed to the deaths of Herminia or her child.

On 10 June 1915 Townsend married his distant cousin Caroline Lawrence Bogert, widow of Francis Gordon Brown, Jr., and daughter of Henry L. Bogert. The marriage took place at the Church of the Heavenly Rest in Manhattan. Lawrence adopted Caroline’s son, Gordon Brown, who thereafter bore the Lawrence name.

Career and Interests

Lawrence worked as a stockbroker, a profession that appears frequently among members of the Lawrence family in this period.

He was an enthusiastic amateur photographer and an avid outdoorsman, particularly fond of moose hunting in New Brunswick. He once reported photographic evidence placing him close enough to observe the movement of a moose’s eyelids. He was also a devoted golfer, pursuing the sport with sufficient intensity that he suffered injury during play.

Clubs and Associations

Townsend Bowne Lawrence was a member of the Union Club, Knickerbocker Club, Harvard Club, Squadron A Club, the St. Nicholas Society, and the Turf and Field Club.