Lawrence, William Thomas (1817–1893)

1817–1893

Parents: John Lawrence Lawrence (1785–1849) and Sarah Augusta Smith (1784–1877).
Spouse: Sophie Clinch Tilley (1832–1894).
Children: Sarah Lawrence (1854–1857); Sophia St. Germain Lawrence (1858– ); Alice Montgomery Lawrence (1863–1895); and Margaret Woodhull Lawrence (1866– ).
Kinship: Fifth cousin five times removed of the post–World War II Smith generation.

Early Life and Family Background William Thomas Lawrence was born in New York City on February 7, 1817. He was a member of the long-established Lawrence and Smith families of New York. Through his mother, he was descended from the Smiths of Smithtown, Long Island.

Career Lawrence spent his career in New York financial institutions. He served as cashier of the Institution for the Savings of Merchants’ Clerks, a prominent mutual savings bank founded in 1820 to encourage thrift among mercantile employees. The annual reports of the Institution describe the cashier as a senior administrative and fiduciary officer, responsible for day-to-day financial operations, bookkeeping oversight, and custodianship of funds.

Later Life and Death He lived most of his life in Manhattan, later residing in Brooklyn. William Thomas Lawrence died in Brooklyn on November 5, 1893, at the age of 76.