Thomas Lawrence (mayor)

Thomas Lawrence
Born	September 4, 1689[1] New York City, New York
Died	April 21, 1754 (aged 64)[1] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation	merchant, politician

Thomas Lawrence (1689–1754) was a merchant who was elected to six one-year terms as mayor of Philadelphia between 1729 and his death in 1754.^[1]

Born in New York City, he moved to Philadelphia in 1720, where, for the rest of his life, Lawrence was engaged in the mercantile business. In 1730, after being associated with James Logan, Lawrence formed a partnership with Edward Shippen; Shippen & Lawrence became one of Philadelphia's leading firms.

Apart from his life in private business, Lawrence held several positions of trust in the city, including serving as mayor for six one-year terms, as city councilman and alderman, and as judge of the county court. During 1730 he worked with Dr. John Kearsley and Andrew Hamilton on a committee for the preparation and planning to build the Philadelphia state house, the later Independence Hall.^[2] At the provincial level, Lawrence began his service on the Provincial Council in 1728. On his death in 1754, a notice in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette emphasized his record of public service and his humanity in all aspects of his life.

Lawrence was a founder and trustee of The Academy and College of Philadelphia.

He died in office, in Philadelphia, and is buried at Christ Church Burial Ground.^[3]

References

1. Montgomery, Thomas Harrison (1900). A History of the University of Pennsylvania from Its Foundation to A. D. 1770. Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs & Co. pp. 59–61. LCCN 00003240.
2. Browning, Charles H. (1916). "The State House Yard, and Who Owned It First after William Penn. The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 40(1), p.87
3. Map of Old Christ Church Burial Ground

External links

• Brief biography and portrait at the University of Pennsylvania
• Thomas Lawrence at Find a Grave