George Lawrence
ID # 9338, (1840-1904)
| Birth | George Lawrence was born on 28 January 1840 at Kirkham, Forfarshire, Scotland. |
| Marriage | He married Catherine Jenkins, daughter of Edward Jenkins and Catherine Williams, on 21 July 1868 at The Parish Church, St. Paul, Deptford, Kent & Surrey. Page 115 1868 Marriage solemnized at the Parish Church in the Parish of St. Paul Deptford, in the County of Kent & Surrey Nbr 230 July 21 George Lawrence, full age, bachelor, shipwright, of this parish, father James Lawrence, private (apparently in British Army). Catherine Jenkins, full age, spinster, of this parish, father Edward Jenkins, shipwright, H.M.S. (evidently working on Royal Navy Ships.) Married in the parish church by banns. Clergyman's name illegible. Witnesses Edward Jenkins and Fanny Jenkins. |
| Death | He died on 23 December 1904 at Owen Sound, Grey County, at age 64. |
| Burial | He was buried on 27 December 1904 at Greenwood Cemetery, Owen Sound. |
| Note | He Something of George's records, such as have been found, is outlined here. One or two earlier points may be questioned, but, mostly, it's probably correct. A record of the family in Canada is first to be found in the birth registration of son George Edward Lawrence in 1872. He was born on October 6 in Toronto. Rather counter-intuitively, the family is not found in the 1871 Canadian census. The 1881 census shows daughter Catherine, age 10, to have been born in Scotland. Census information for Scotland is not readily available in images, but Ancestry does carry transcriptions and here we find the family at 27 Alma Street in Govan, Lanarkshire, Scotland. This census goes on to provide us with some useful information. It locates George Lawrence's place of birth as Kirkcolm, Forfarshire, Scotland. It also locates the place of birth of his wife, Catherine, as Swansea in Wales, and it locates the birth of young Catherine, their daughter, as being in Govan. The 1871 census in Scotland was begun on April 2, and so we may say that young Catherine was born in September of 1870, or thereabouts. The family will likely have been resident in this location for at least a little time, but George and Catherine were married in St. Paul Deptford in England in July of 1868, so their stay in Govan can not have been long. Govan is on the River Clyde, on the outskirts of Glasgow. There will have been ship building there. And given that George was a shipwright quite the natural place for his employ. Per Ancestry: George Lawrence and family arrived at Quebec City 15 June, 1871, aboard the steamship St. David. George's birth year is given as about 1838 and he is shown as a shipwright. His age is given as 33. Catherine's age is given as 24 and she is shown as George's wife. Also with them is a child Catherine, shown as being a 1/2 year, or about six months. Also with them is Mary Jenkins, age 30, housekeeper. Her marital status is not shown. Also, and apparently with Mary, is a female child, age 6, and the given name is poorly written. The name, however, may be Harriott. Mary Jenkins is almost certainly Catherine's sister. Further information for Mary and the child Harriott has yet to be found. The St. David was a steam ship. It left Dublin on the 1st of June, and then, apparently counter-intuitively, sailed to Glasgow where it picked up more passengers, including the Lawrence family. It then sailed to Quebec City. The family appears in York East Township of York County in the 1881 census. With them are five children. The family is in Owen Sound as of the 1891 census. With George and Catherine are six children. Young Catherine is not present with them in this census. George is described as a ship carpenter. Both the 1881 and 1891 censuses tell that George was born in Scotland and Catherine in Wales. Some later information is at some variance, but the birth information for George and Catherine as shown in these two censuses is demonstrably correct. The 1901 census page is faded and scored and not clear on all points. The indexing for this page is problematic. It was finally found by querying Automated Genealogy's website and an image was found that had been correctly indexed and is downloadable in PDF format. Death reg. 011289-04 Owen Sound, Grey Co. George Lawrence died Dec. 23rd, 1904. Age 65. Residence Bay St. Ship carpenter. Born Scotland. Presbyterian. No physician. Informant Dr. Allan Cameron, coroner. George's date of burial, Dec. 27, 1904, is found in a burial index. This is provided by the Bruce-Grey branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. A photograph or transcription of the Lawrence gravestone has not been found. Earlier census records for George? George's marriage to Catherine Jenkins in 1868 names his father as James. James is said to be a private, probably in the British Army, and a record for him has not been found. The 1851 census shows a 14 year old George Lawrence with mother Ann and his place of birth is said to be 'Kirkden', Forfarshire. The residence of George a the time of this census looks garbled. It is shown as the town of Friockheim. (No guesses on this one, yet, but it is in Scotland.) The 1861 census has mother Ann's place of birth as Panbride, Forfarshire, which is the same as shown in the 1851 census. In 1861, she resides in Kirkden, but son George is not with her. George is next found in 1868 in St. Paul Deptford, England. This was recorded in his marriage registration when he married Catherine Jenkins. Here, for the first time, we find him recorded as a shipwright. We may note that per the 1851 census George's mother's name was Ann. George and Catherine had a daughter that they named Annie Matthew Lawrence. Speculation: Was George's mother's maiden name Matthew...or Matthews? Unproven, but a line of research. See notes for Catherine. |
Children of George Lawrence and Catherine Jenkins |
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| Last Edited | 3 Aug 2023 |