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LAWRENCE

The first eight generations given here are attributed to H G Somersby, noted author of fictional genealogies written for wealthy clients, in 1857, and are not to be taken as authoritative:

Robert Lawrence, silversmith who worked for the Lord of Lancaster Castle about 1150.

Robert Lawrence (c1150)  In 1187 accompanied Richard, Coeur de Lion, in the Third Crusade.  At the Siege of Acre, 12 July 1191, he scaled the walls, along with four other men, and opened the gates to the armies of Britain.  For his bravery, he was knighted "Sir Robert Lawrence" and awarded Ashton Hall, about three miles from the city of Lancaster.   And he obtained for his arms, "Argent, a cross raguly gules."

Robert Lawrence (c1170) married a daughter of James Trafford

James Lawrence (c1195) married c1225 Acely Botcher; married c1252 Matilda de Washington, daughter and heiress of John de Washington

John Lawrence (c1260) married Margaret, daughter of Walter Chesford

John Lawrence (c1290-1360) married Elisabeth Holt of Stabley, Lancashire

Edmund Lawrence (c1315-1381) married Agnes de Washington

Robert Lawrence (c1371-8 Sep 1439) married Margaret Holden, Represented Lancashire in Parliament 1404, 1406, 1414, and 1429-1430.
. 1. Robert Lawrence (1399-1450) married Amphilibis, daughter of Edward Longford
. 2. Edmund Lawrence (c1405) married a daughter of Miles de Stapleton
. 3. Thomas Lawrence (c1410) married Mabilla Redmain
. 4. Sibyl Lawrence (c1410) married Thomas Hesketh
. 5. Ann Lawrence (c1412) married Richard Ratcliffe
. 6. William Lawrence (c1425-1455) died in battle at St Albans

Thomas Lawrence (c1410) married Mabilla Redmain, and lived in Chelsea, Middlesex
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1. Edmund Lawrence (c1439-1515) became a monk, never married
. 2. John Lawrence (c1441)
. 3. William Lawrence (c1443)
. 4. Arthur Lawrence (c1445)
. 5. Richard Lawrence (c1447)
. 6. Robert Lawrence (c1449) 

Arthur Lawrence (c1445)
. 1. Thomas Lawrence (c1490-1583)
. 2. Savacre Lawrence (c1492)

Thomas Lawrence (c1490-1583)
. 1. Thomas Lawrence (1539-1593)

Sir Thomas Lawrence (1539-1593) was granted arms, and his son John made a Baronet in 1594, and used the same shield as the Lawrences of Ashton Hall in Lancaster, but with a different crest.  There is no small controversy concerning his ancestry.  In the 1634 Visitation of Buckinghamshire, Sir Thomas is described as "descended from Lawrence of Lancashire."   Thomas Faulkner's History of Chelsea, 1829, states that purchased the Manor House on Lawrence Street, Chelsea, from Henry VIII, and was descended from the Lawrence that came to England with William the Conquer and settled at Ashton Hall.
However, Randall Davies, Chelsea Old Church, 1904, based upon a paper by Walter Rye on "Lawrence of Iver and Chelsea" published in Vol IV of the Herald and Genealogist citing a pedigree by Lilly in the Harleian MS., No. 1096, claims "that he was the son of Thomas Lawrence of Chelmarsh, near Bridgnorth, in the county of Salop; where also Thomas Lawrence, his grandfather resided."  As further evidence, Davies refers to the burial monument of Sir Thomas in Old Chelsea Church, that the chief was omitted from the Lawrence coat of arms.
Then there is the ancestor list from Jobes Journal, widely circulated in the US, which traces descent: Sir Robert (fl.1150) / Sir Robert / Sir Thomas / William / John / Sir Edmund / Sir Robert / Sir Robert / Sir James / Sir Thomas / Arthur / Thomas / Sir Thomas / Sir John.

Sir Thomas Lawrence (1539-28 Oct 1593) m.22 Jul 1572 married Martha Gage, daughter of Anthony Gage.  He was a goldsmith in London who lived in Chelsea, Middlesex.  After his death, she married John Bromley
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1. Thomas Lawrence (c1584)
. 2. Blanche Lawrence (c1586)
. 3. Martha Lawrence (c1588) married a Jackson
. 4. John Lawrence (c1589-12 Nov 1638) married Grisselle Gibbone (c1590-Mar 1675)
. 5. Mary Lawrence (c1590) married William Jackson
. 6. Sarah Lawrence (c1592) married Richard Colville

Sir John Lawrence (c1589-12 Nov 1638) married Grisselle Gibbone (c1590-Mar 1675), daughter and co-heir of Gervase (Jarvis) Gibbons of Bennenden, Kent, (1535-4 Jan 1594/5) and his wife Grysell Birde.  John entered St Johns College, Oxford 27 May 1603 at age 14. He received a B. A. from Oriel College on 29 October 1604 and a M. A. from St. Edmunds Hall on 7 July 1615. John was knighted at Royston 26 January 1609/10 and was made a baronet on 9 October 1628.  His will written 18 Oct 1638 was probated 21 Jan 1638/9, and reads "Sir John Lawrence of Delfords and Iver, Buckinghamshire, Knight and Baronet..." and speaks of the house he is building at Iver.  He is buried in the Lawrence Chapel of Old Chelsea Church, on one side of the nave, opposite the chapel of St Thomas More.  On 23 June 1620, Sir John purchased one share of stock in the Virginia Company.
. 1. John
Lawrence (c1615-11 Oct 1664) second baronet, married Mary Hampson 
. . . .11. Thomas
Lawrence (c1626-1714) m. Catherine Lewis.  Acting Governor of Maryland in 1700
. 2. Anne
Lawrence (c1616) married Thomas Exum
. 3. Robert
Lawrence (c1617-aft.1682) married Elizabeth Adkinson, to Virginia 1638.
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4. Frances
Lawrence (c1619)
. 5. Grissell
Lawrence (c1620) married Isaac Lawrence, son of William Lawrence of Sherdington
. 6. Henry
Lawrence (c1622) merchant to Turkey
. 7. Sampson 
Lawrence (died before 1638) sometimes listed as son, but not in Sir John's will.

Robert Lawrence (c1617-after 18 Oct 1682) born at Chelsea, Middlesex, entered Oxford University 4 Nov 1631.  Upon reaching his majority, about 1638, he and his wife Elizabeth (Atkinson?) moved to Virginia.  He was granted 300 acres on Lawnes Creek, Isle of Wight County, 25 Aug 1642, and another 150 acres there 28 Sep 1643.  He patented 400 acres of land 20 Aug 1644 in Lower Norfolk County on the east branch of the Elizabeth River.  Robert joined other Puritans migrating to Nansemond County before 1659, where he served as Justice in 1659.  He became a Quaker and petitioned the House of Burgesses to be relieved of this office 14 Mar 1659/60.  Robert witnessed a Quaker wedding 19 Oct 1682.  His will and record of his estate perished with the destruction of all Nansemond County records during the Revolutionary War.  Other records show that he had four sons, but records do not prove the names of his daughters.
See: Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County by Boddie
1. Robert Lawrence (c1639-1720) married Jane, widow of Henry Gay, lived in Isle of Wight County,
. . also patented 625 acres in North Carolina on the west side of the
Chowanoke River in 1663.
2. George Lawrence (c1640-after 1704) of Nansemond County
3. John Lawrence (c1641-after 2 Jan 1696) married Mary (Power?), lived in Nansemond County
4. Henry Lawrence (c1642-27 Sep 1739) m(1) Isabella Purcell, m(2) Elizabeth Edey; Nansemond

John Lawrence (c1641-aft 2 Jan 1696/7) married Mary, and lived in Nansemond Co, Virginia.  Mary was a Quaker, who was recorded in Quaker records after 1700 as Mary Lawrence, widow.  Her maiden name might have been Power, but no source of this speculation has been suggested.  John patented 625 acres 25 Sep 1663 on the west side of Chowanoke River, in North Carolina, and witnessed wills in Albemarle Co, NC.  He also patented 530 acres in Isle of Wight 5 Jun 1678.  He wrote his will 2 Jan 1696/7 in Nansemond County.
1. Priscilla Lawrence married Matthew Whitfield, Nansemond Co in 1708, moved to Bertie Co, NC
2. Mary Lawrence (c1682-1736) married by 1704 John Thomas (d.1710), moved to North Carolina
3. Ann Lawrence (1666-1727) married Jeremiah (or Richard) Exum (d.1720) Isle of Wight, VA
. . . 1. Mary Exum married (1) William Murphy, (2) Jacob Ricks, (3) Barnaby McKinney; Bertie Co
4. John Lawrence (died before 23 Apr 1739) married Margaret Murphey (d.1750); Isle of Wight, VA
. . . 1. John Lawrence (d.1772)  m.9 Jun 1740 Martha Ricks, daughter of Abraham
5. Robert Lawrence (1680-1744) married (1) Anne Council (2) Elizabeth Nicholls; Bertie Co, NC
6. Daughter Lawrence (died before1697) married Henry Sanders
7. Daughter Lawrence (died before1697) married Richard Taylor
8. Elizabeth Lawrence died before 9 Feb 1708, unmarried 

Robert Lawrence (c1680-1744) may have married first Anne Council, then Elizabeth Nicholls, daughter of John Nicholls and Elizabeth Osborne.  They moved to Bertie Co, North Carolina, about 1730, but apparently moved back to Nansemond County in 1744 and wrote his will there, where it was lost during the Revolutionary War, though it appears to have still been in probate in 1747.
1. John Lawrence (c1721-c1788) married Jane Walston
2. George Lawrence (c1725-c1755) married Sarah Jordan
3. Humphrey Lawrence (c1726-1772) married Ann Ashley
4. William Lawrence married Elizabeth (or Ann)
5. Elizabeth Lawrence m(1) Thomas Sutton, m(2) Thomas Spiller, m(3) Samuel Spruill (Sprewell)
6. Thomas Lawrence (c1733-c1763) married Elizabeth Williamson
7. Robert Lawrence (c1735-aft1788))
8. Martha "Patsy" Lawrence married Joseph Parker

Humphrey Lawrence (c1726-1772) married (Jul 1747?) Ann Ashley, daughter of Thomas Ashley, Jr (c1710-1790) son of Thomas Ashley and Ann Plowman; and Ann Hicks, daughter of David Hicks and Elizabeth.  Humphrey was a goldsmith in Bertie County, NC.  Inventory of his estate was filed 13 June 1772.
1. Frederick Lawrence (c1748-1823) m(1) Judith Walston, m(2) Mary widow of Elisha Rhodes 
2. David Lawrence (c1751- after 1786 [1828?]) married Sarah Emelia Payne; Chowan Co, NC?
3. Reuben Lawrence (c1754-before 1827) married Frances Ashburn (or Yates), Bertie Co, NC
4. Ann Lawrence (c1760-1834) married Richard Dillon, Barnwell, SC, then c1809 Pike Co, MS.
5. Nathaniel Lawrence, Rev. (27 Jul 1766-24 Dec 1849) m(1) Catherine Rumph, m(2) Mary A
. . Schuyler, m(3) c1811 Mary Andrews. Moved to Orangeburgh, SC; c1823 to Lowndes Co, MS. 

Ann Lawrence (c1760-1834) married by 1776 Richard Dillon (7 Oct 1745 - 7 Oct 1833)  They lived in Bertie County, North Carolina until 1789, then Barnwell District, South Carolina,  leaving there in March 1807 for "the west" and were in Amite Co, Mississippi for the 1810 census, receiving land in Marion County that year, near "Dillons Bridge," just above the Louisiana line west of Highway 27, which fell into Pike Co. when it was formed in 1815, and Walthall County in 1914.  Ann was a founding member of Bogue Chitto Baptist Church 31 Oct 1812. Family Tradition says that Richard's wife was Annys Morris, but documentation is lacking.
See Bevin Creel's exhaustive 2002 study of Richard Dillon and his descendants A Patriot's Legacy 
http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/FH6&CISOPTR=20691&REC=1&CISOSHOW=16375

1. Joanna Dillon (1778-) married Jeremiah G Smith , Pike Co, MS
2. Nancy Ann Dillon (1779-1869) married John Stallings, Pike Co, MS
3. Lawrence Dillon (1783) m(1) Martha m(2) Dicey Miller
4. Clarkson Dillon (1785) married Sarah Gill
5. Willis Dillon (1787) married Mary Jane Smith
6. Mary Dillon (1793-1876) married Salathiel Morris, then Moses Miller
7. Theophilus Dillon (1796-after 1874) m(1) Margaret Pearson, m(2) Lucy Bickham
8. Clara Dillon (1799-1886) married George N Smith, Pike Co, MS
9. Sara Dillon (1804) married Daniel Graves

Joanna Dillon (1778) m.1798 Jeremiah G Smith (1773-1843) 

Martha "Patsie" Smith (1802-1861) m.1818 Edwin Barksdale Alford

Harriet Jane Alford m.1847 Tyra Jennings Tynes

Walter Edwin Tynes (1848-1928) m.1871 Frances Mary Tate

Jeanne Marie Tynes (1878-1958) m.1913 Carson B Matthews

Frances Mary Tate Matthews (1917-2010) m.1949 Virgil Raymond Liptrap

James Matthews Liptrap (1951)

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