Abraham Riker Lawrence

Abraham Riker Lawrence (September 19, 1832 – February 14, 1917)[1] was an American lawyer, judge, and historian.

Abraham Riker Lawrence
Justice of the Supreme Court of New York
In office
1873–1901
25th President of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York
In office
1882–1883
Preceded byEdward Floyd DeLancey
Succeeded byNathaniel Platt Bailey
Personal details
Born(1832-09-19)September 19, 1832
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 14, 1917(1917-02-14) (aged 84)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political partyDemocrat
Spouse(s)
Eliza Williams Miner
​
(
m. 1860; died 1915)
RelationsSamuel Lawrence (uncle)
William T. Lawrence (uncle)
Jonathan Lawrence (grandfather)
ParentsJohn L. Lawrence
Sarah Augusta Smith
Alma materBallston Spa Law School

Early life

Abraham was born in New York City on September 19, 1832 and was the namesake of his paternal uncle, Abraham Riker Lawrence, a merchant.[2][3] He was one of eleven children born to John L. Lawrence (1785–1849) and Sarah Augusta (née Smith) Lawrence (1794–1877). Among his siblings was Ann Middleton (née Lawrence) Suydam, who married John Richard Suydam, a merchant and "gentleman well-known in New-York society for his genial and hospitably qualities" (parents of Jane Mesier Suydam),[4] Richard Montgomery Lawrence; and Charles William Lawrence.[5] His father was a New York State Senator, Comptroller of New York City and diplomat (who served as chargé d'Affaires at Stockholm during the absence of U.S. Minister to Sweden Jonathan Russell).[1]

His paternal grandparents were Jonathan Lawrence, a merchant and New York State Senator, and Ruth (née Riker) Lawrence, a member of the Riker family, for whom Rikers Island is named.[6] Among his extended family were uncles, Congressmen Samuel Lawrence and William T. Lawrence, as well as William Beach Lawrence, the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, and Brigadier General Albert G. Lawrence.[2] He was also a direct descendant of Capt. James Lawrence, a hero of the War of 1812,[7] and Maj. Thomas Lawrence of the British Army who received a land grant in what became Queens in 1656.[8] His maternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Woodhull) Smith (daughter of Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull) and General John Tangier Smith, a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from New York.[9]

Lawrence was educated at private schools and then attended and graduated from Ballston Spa Law School in Ballston Spa, New York.[9]

Career

After being admitted to the bar in 1853, he was appointed and served as Assistant Corporation Counsel of New York City from 1853 to 1856 and from 1857 to 1858. In 1859, Lawrence wrote Compilation of the Tax Laws of the State of New York, with notes of Cases.[10] In 1867, he was a member of the Constitutional Convention. In 1870, he was one of the founders of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York (serving as vice-president in 1905 and 1906).[9]

Political career

In 1870, he was a leading member of Apollo Hall,[11] a Democratic reform movement founded by New York State Senator James O'Brien as a response to the corruption of Boss Tweed controlled Tammany Hall.[12]

In 1872, Lawrence, then a lawyer doing business at 25 Nassau Street, was selected by both Tammany Hall (even though he had been a vocal opponent of Tammany)[13] and the Greeleyites as the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City against the O'Brien, the Apollo candidate, and William Frederick Havemeyer, the Republican candidate.[11][14] Lawrence came in second place, losing to Havemeyer,[15] in what became Havemeyer's third non-consecutive term as mayor.[1]

In 1873, he was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York. He was reelected in 1887 and served on the bench for twenty-eight years until December 31, 1901.[16] After his retirement, a dinner was given in his honor at Delmonico's and hosted by John Edward Parsons, president of the Bar Association.[16] From 1911 until his death, he served as the official Referee of the Supreme Court.[1]

Society life

Lawrence was a member of the Union Club, the Century Club and the Manhattan Club. In addition to membership in the Society of Colonial Wars (serving as Chancellor in 1895)[5] and the American Rifle Association, he served two terms as president the 25th President of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York from 1882 to 1883, succeeding Edward Floyd DeLancey.[9] He previously served as fourth vice-president in 1878, second vice-president in 1879, and first vice-president from 1880 to 1881.[17]

Personal life

In 1860, Lawrence was married to Elizabeth "Eliza" Williams Miner (1838–1915).[18] Eliza was the only daughter of Dr. William Miner and Julia Caroline (née Williams) Miner. Together, Eliza and Abraham were the parents of:[5]

Lawrence died at his home, 69 Washington Place in New York City, on February 14, 1917.[1] He was buried at the Lawrence Family Cemetery, on 20th Road and 35th Avenue, in Astoria, Queens.[20]

Descendants

Through his son William, he was the grandfather of Oliver P. Lawrence (1892–1975), a U.S. Navy veteran, Clement Lawrence, who died young, and Ruth Lawrence (1902–1992), who married Stuart M. Briggs (son of G. Loring Briggs), in 1926.[21] Ruth, who graduated from Wellesley College in 1925, was one of only five non-family members to inherit from Hetty Green, through her mentorship relationship with Green's son, Edward Howland Robinson Green.[22]

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References
  1. "A. RIKER LAWRENCE, EX-JUSTICE, IS DEAD; Jurist of New York Supreme Court for 28 Years Expires in His Eighty-fifth Year. ONCE NOMINEE FOR MAYOR Author of Legal Works Was Twice the President of the St. Nicholas Society" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 February 1917. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society: Advanced Sheets, First Series. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 1902. pp. 90–91. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  3. Kert, Faye (2015). Privateering: Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812. JHU Press. p. 126. ISBN 9781421417479. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  4. "JOHN R. SUYDAM". The New York Times. May 16, 1882. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. Thomas, Lawrence Buckley (1896). The Thomas Book: Giving the Genealogies of Sir Rhys Ap Thomas, K. G., the Thomas Family Descended from Him, and of Some Allied Families. H. T. Thomas Company. p. 411. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  6. Schechter, Stephen L.; Tripp, Wendell Edward; Burke, Thomas E. (1990). World of the Founders: New York Communities in the Federal Period. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 67. ISBN 9780945660026. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  7. "RUTH LAWRENCE OF PATRIOTIC UNIT; Founder of Colonial Dames Society, a Descendant of War Heroes, Dies at 90" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 June 1956. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  8. "W. M. LAWRENCE DIES; HELD CITY HALL POSTS; Assistant Secretary and Chief Clerk of Estimate Board Under Three Mayors" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 November 1935. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  9. Youngs, Florence Evelyn Pratt; Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York (1914). Portraits of the Presidents of The Society, 1835-1914. New York, NY: Order of the Society. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  10. Library, Astor (1887). Catalogue of the Astor Library. Printed at the Riverside Press. p. 2142. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  11. "TAMMANY NOMINATES.; Abraham R. Lawrence for Mayor What They Did Adout It And what Else They Did" (PDF). The New York Times. 12 October 1872. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  12. "O'BRIEN TRIUMPHANT.; Grand Mass-Meeting and Torch-light Procession Last Evening Apollo Hall and its Surroundings Ablaze with Light and Enthusiasm Speeches by Samuel J. Tilden, S.G. Courtney, Abraham B. Lawrence, Theodore E. Tomlinson and Others. New-Jersey Politics" (PDF). The New York Times. 29 October 1871. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  13. "THE TAMMANY CONVENTION.; Abraham R. Lawrence the Probable Candidate for Mayor--A Committee of Twenty-One Appointed to Confer With the Reform Organizations. The Tammany Committee. The Marshal's Office--Preparing for the Election" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 October 1872. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  14. "TO-MORROW'S CONTEST.; The Greeley Democracy's Bargain With Apollo Hall. Republicans, Vote for Wm. F. Havemeyer for Mayor. Importance of Personal Effort in the Canvass. Reform Candidates for Congress and the Assembly. Remember, To-morrow is a Legal Holiday. Another Greeley Intrigue" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 November 1872. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  15. "THE CITY VOTE.; Complete Success of the Republican County Ticket. Havemeyer and Phelps Certainly Elected. A Scheme Concocted to Defeat Them by Fraud. Full Returns of the New-York and Brooklyn Canvass" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 November 1872. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  16. "Deal to Consolidate Ice Companies.; Dinner in Honor of Judge Lawrence" (PDF). The New York Times. 9 January 1902. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  17. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York: Organized February 28, 1835, Incorporated April 17, 1841 ... Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 1923. pp. 170–174. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  18. "LAWRENCE" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 July 1915. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  19. Register of the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York. The Society of Colonial Dames. 1901. p. 44. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  20. Lippincott, E. E. (17 September 2000). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: ASTORIA; An Aging Custodian Worries About a Historic Cemetery". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  21. "EDYTHE A. PARSONS WEDS VINCENT RICH; Bridegroom's Father Performs Ceremony in the Church of the Transfiguration. RUTH L. LAWRENCE BRIDE Wed to Stuart M. Brlggs by the Rev. W. B. Kinkaid in Old Trinlty--Other Marriages" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 October 1926. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  22. "HETTY GREEN'S WILL IS READ IN COURT; Document Admitted to Probate Without Contest at Her Old Home in Bellows Falls. SON GIVES $50,000 BOND Full Text of Will Gives No Hint of Value of Estate and Reveals No Charity Bequests. HETTY GREEN'S WILL IS READ IN COURT" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 July 1916. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
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