Lawrence Lawrason
ID # 2340, (1760-1830)
| Father | Thomas Lawrason |
| Birth | Lawrence Lawrason was born on 1 December 1760 at New Jersey. |
| Marriage | He married Rachel Pettit, daughter of Nathaniel Pettit and Margaret McFarlane. |
| Death | He died on 9 March 1830 at London Township at age 69. |
| Burial | He was buried at St. Pauls Cathedral Burying Ground. |
| Note | The list of children that we have for Lawrence Lawrason and Rachel Pettit is taken from a page headed 'Genealogy' and handwritten by Lawrence Lawrason Jr., son of Lawrence and Rachel. From this same list we take the dates of birth and death of Lawrence Sr. and the death date of Rachel. A photo copy of this genealogy appears on pages 26 and 27 of Delores MacIntyre's revised year 2000 work: Some Records of the Lawrason Family. This document also dates the death of Lawrence Lawrason to the 9th of March, 1830, in London Township. This agrees with his date of death as provided by a transcription of this stone by the Middlesex Branch of the OGS. From the available documentation, we may say that Lawrence came to Upper Canada before bringing his wife and children. In 1797, Lawrence petitioned Peter Russell for land on behalf of his wife Rachel, the daughter of Nathaniel Pettit, U.E. He states that he came into the province in 1786. Since his first born, Elizabeth, is stated in the family genealogy to have been born in New Jersey in 1787, we must believe that Rachel traveled to the province shortly thereafter, for their second child, Thomas, was born in Upper Canada in 1788. At the time of the 1797 petition, Lawrance states that he is living in Grimsby. This does provide us with a conflict in terms of family information, for Lawrence Lawrason Jr's handwritten genealogy done in later years places the birth of his brother Joseph in Ancaster in 1790. He also shows his sister Margaret as being born in Ancaster in 1794. Sister Mary is stated to have been born in Ancaster in 1796. Brother Nathaniel is said to have been born in Ancaster in 1799. Land records may sort this out, but possibly not considering the destruction of Niagara Town during the War of 1812. This included the land records' office. After the War of 1812, commissioners went to land owners in an attempt to ressurect destroyed records. Their efforts may be found on microfilm GSU170143. Also, a precise of the two commissioners' volumes that are recorded on this microfilm may be found in a hard cover book by the Mayholme Foundation, St. Catharines, Ontario, in 2012, entitled Commissioners' Books, A Reconstruction of Land Records Destroyed in the War of 1812. Here, in volume 2 on the same microfilm reel, we find Lawrence Lawrason as a witness to a transaction. He identifies himself as being in Ancaster in 1802. We should note that for at least a period of time in his life, Lawrence taught school. For example, a letter has survived (this is in the Archives of the University of Western Ontario) dated Dumfries, 15 July, 1818. It is to his family and it is evident that he has been resident in Dumfries for some months while teaching. This should be kept in mind when pondering his domicile at the time of the 1797 petition. (Ancaster abstract index pages have yet to be examined.) Meanwhile, the birth locales of Lawrence and Rachel's children are taken from Lawrence junior's genealogy unless reasonably direct evidence exists to the contrary. |
Children of Lawrence Lawrason and Rachel Pettit |
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| Last Edited | 28 Apr 2020 |