THE LAWRENCE FAMILY
    

some notes by P John Partington



MOSES LAZARUS LAWRENCE  (c. 1796 - 1865)

Moses Lazarus (‘Moss’) Lawrence was born in the City of London in about 1796;  his father was apparently Jacob.  On 18 January 1826 he married Rayner da Costa Andrade, and had seven children:  John born in 1825/6, Julia in 1827/8, Benjamin in 1829, Phineas in 1831, Lawrence in 1832/3, Rachel in 1833/4, and Sarah in 1841/2 (see below).  In 1841 Moses & Andrade were at 4 Castle Street, Aldersgate – there is no sign of the family.  Ten years later they were living in Paddington, with  Lawrence, Rachel & Sarah L; with Moses being recorded as a ‘merchant’;  a ‘visitor’, Philip Lawrence, was with them.  By 1861 Moses seems to have changed his name to ‘John’, and the census that year recorded him with Rayner, Rachel & Sarah at 41 Clifton Gardens, Paddington;  Moses (‘John’) was an ‘agent’.  He died on 28 February 1865;  Rayner died in 1870/1, in Kensington.

THE CHILDREN OF MOSES LAZARUS  (c. 1796 - 1865)

Moses’ first child, John Moss, was born in 1825/6.  In 1841 he was at boarding school in Fore Street, Edmonton with Ben & Phineas.  He married Emily (surname unknown), with whom he had at least nine children:  Laurie born in 1857/8, Arthur Moss in 1859/60, Reina Emily in 1860/1, Esther E in 1862/3, Clara B in 1864/5, Alice L in 1866/7, Harry W in 1868/9, Amy L in 1871/2, and Gerald L in 1872/3 (further details below).  The oldest seven children were born in the United States, and the youngest two in London.  In 1881 the family were at 37 Belsize Avenue in Hampstead;  John was a ‘various merchant’;  there were six servants in the household.  He died on 19 October 1888.

Moses’ second child, Julia, was born in London in 1827/8.  In 1841 she seems to have been boarding out, with David & Caroline Gideon in Soho. Ten years later the census recorded her living with her family in Paddington.  On 28 February 1856 she married a widower, Benjamin Julius Jonas, by whom she had at least four children – Philip Julius born in 1856/7, Samuel Laurie in 1858/9, Caroline in 1859/60 and Rayner H in 1861/2.  In 1861 the family were at Bowdon Road, Bowdon:  Benjamin was a “Commission Merchant”.  Ten years later they were living at 29 Springfield Place, Bradford;  Benjamin was working as “Manager of Bradford [..?] Goods Export [..?]”.  In 1881 Benjamin returned to Hamburg, where he died on 10 October 1882.  The shock gave Julia a stroke, so that she too remained in Hamburg:  she “never walked again”, and died on 29 March 1888.

Moses’ third child, Benjamin, was born in London on 18 August 1829.  In 1841 he was at boarding school in Fore Street, Edmonton, with John & Phineas.

Moses’ fourth child, Phineas, was born in 1831.  Ten years later he was at boarding school in Fore Street, Edmonton, with John & Ben.  He is presumably the Phineas recorded in 1901 at 12 Denbigh Road, Ealing – an “importer of machinery”, married to a wife thirty-eight years younger than him, Alice R.  He died in 1917/8.

Moses’ fifth child, Lawrence, was born in the City of London in 1832/3.  In 1851 he was living at home in Paddington with his parents.

Moses’ sixth child, Rachel, was born in the City of London in 1833/4;  and his seventh, Sarah L, in 1841/2.  In 1851 they were living at home in Paddington with their parents, and ten years later were still there, unmarried, at 41 Clifton Gardens.

THE CHILDREN OF JOHN MOSS  (c. 1826 - 1888) 

John’s first child, Laurie, was born in New York in 1857/8.  In 1881 he was living with his family at 37 Belsize Avenue, Hampstead, studying medicine.

John’s second child, Arthur Moss, was born in New York in 1859/60.  In 1881 he was living at 37 Belsize Avenue, Hampstead, studying law.  He married in 1891.

John’s third child, Reina Emily, was born in New York in 1860/1.  In 1881 she was living at 37 Belsize Avenue, Hampstead, with her family – a ‘scholar’.  She studied law, obtaining an LLB at University College, London, in 1893 – one of the first women to do so.  Between 1906 and 1909 she served as a councillor for Camden Borough, the first woman in London to be elected to such a post (further details here).

John’s next four children were all born in New York:  his fourth, Esther E, in 1862/3, his fifth, Clara B, in 1864/5, his sixth, Alice L, in 1866/7, and his seventh, Harry W, in 1868/9.  In 1881 they were living at 37 Belsize Avenue, Hampstead, all ‘scholars’.

John’s two youngest children were both born in London:  Amy Lilian in 1871/2, and Gerald Leslie in 1873.  In 1881 they too were living at 37 Belsize Avenue, Hampstead, both ‘scholars’.

Other Lawrence Sites       Other Genealogical Sites

John & Liz’s Family History         John & Liz’s welcome page