stewards of the Lord's bounty, have used their wealth for wise and

noble purposes.

Among those entitled to this eulogy, whose names may claim a high place on the list of benefactors to the cause of education, is the late WILLIAM LAWRENCE, who, in common with his brothers Amos and Abbott, of whom we have already given some notices in this Journal, was a noble specimen of a New England merchant, and a Christian citizen and patriot. He was born at Groton, September 7, 1783, and was the third son and child of Samuel and Susan Parker Lawrence, some account of whom may be interesting as indicating the source of the strongly marked characters of their sons. The name of Lawrence dates far back in English history, and has gathered to itself honors in many successive generations. The common ancestor of the New England Lawrences, was John Lawrence, of Great St. Albans, Herefordshire, who came to this country in 1635, and settled at Watertown, where he resided many years, became the father of a numerous family, and the possessor, as the town records show, of many valuable parcels of land. In 1660, he removed to Groton, then recently erected into a plantation or township by order of the General Court, on the petition, with others, of Dean Winthrop, son of Gov. Winthrop. It received its name probably from Winthrop, who came from Groton, Suffolk County, England. Here John Lawrence soon became an honored, trusted, and influential citizen, and here some one or more families of his descendants have ever since resided, identifying the name of Lawrence with the history and character of the town.

Samuel Lawrence was the fifth generation in descent from the above mentioned John Lawrence. He was born in Groton, April, 24th, 1754, and was, therefore, in his early manhood, when our revolutionary struggle commenced. In common with all the hardy, intelligent, liberty-loving yeomanry of New England, he espoused the cause of the colonies, and devoted himself to it with a courage that never failed, a constancy that never faltered till his country had passed "from impending servitude to acknowledged independence." At work in the field, ploughing his paternal acres, when the news of the attack upon Concord, reached Groton; he immediately unloosed a horse from his team, and mounting, rode rapidly through Groton, and some of the adjoining towns, spreading the alarm, and summoning the militia to assemble. He returned in season to join his own company at the church at Groton, at 12 o'clock, where after prayer offered by the pastor of the town, they started for Concord, helped to swell that impetuous tide of resistance which drove back the invaders,

and slept that night on Cambridge Common, after a forced march of thirty miles, and hot skirmishes with the retreating foe. From that time till the peace of '83 he was " a soldier of the Revolution," and, with the exception of one or two brief visits to his family and friends at Groton, he was in actual service throughout the whole war. He rose to the rank of Major, and for a considerable period was attached to General Sullivan's Staff, as adjutant, an office for which his powerful lungs and sonorous voice, which could be heard throughout a long line of troops, peculiarly fitted him. He was in many of the severest battles of the Revolution. At Bunker Hill, where he was slightly wounded, his coat and hat were pierced with the balls of the enemy, and were preserved in the family for many years. At one time he commanded a company whose rank and file were all negroes, of whose courage, military discipline, and fidelity, he always spoke with respect. On one occasion, being out reconnoitering with this company, he got so far in advance of his command, that he was surrounded, and on the point of being made prisoner by the enemy. The "colored boys" soon discovered his peril, rushed to his rescue, and fought with the most determined bravery, till that rescue was effectually secured. He never forgot this circumstance, and ever after took especial pains to show kindness and hospitality to any individual of the colored race, who came near his dwelling.

Mr. Lawrence was married during the war, in the year 1777, to Susanna Parker, and while the marriage ceremony was in progress, the tolling of the bell summoned the minute men to assemble at the church for instant service. The moment the rite was concluded, he parted from his bride and friends and hastened to Rhode Island. He was permitted to return, however, on a brief furlough of two or three days, at the expiration of which he entered again upon active service, from which he had no respite till late in the autumn of 1778, when he visited Groton, rejoicing to find himself a father as well as a husband.

At the close of the war, Major Lawrence settled in Groton, on a beautiful farm on the outskirts of the village, where he passed the remainder of his life, honored and esteemed by his townsmen, who gladly elected him to such offices and honors as he was willing to accept. A man of strong sense, of clear judgment, of stern integrity, of ardent patriotism, and devout piety, his influence was felt, his energies exerted in everything that concerned the social, moral, and religious improvement of the town. He was deacon of the First Congregational church in Groton for more than forty years. He was one of the original founders, and for thirty-three years a Trustee of

Groton Academy, an institution which his sons have since munificently endowed. In the Shay's rebellion, and during all the troubles of 1786-87, he stood firin for the government, and was foremost in advocating the supremacy of the laws. A devout man, strict in all religious observances, firm, almost rigid in the discipline of his family, he was cheerful, joyous, benignant, "given to hospitality," and never so happy as when making happy those around him. The young loved him, and the reverence with which they gathered around him was tempered by the most confiding affection.

He lived to be present at the laying of the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill Monument in 1825; an occasion in which as one of the survivors of that most memorable and important battle of the Revolution, he felt a deep personal interest. The excitements of that week passed in Boston, brought on a paralytic attack, from which he never entirely recovered. He died Nov. 8th, 1827, aged 73.

Susan Parker Lawrence was born in Groton, where her father, William Parker, cultivated a farm, now owned by the town. He subsequently removed to Concord, where he resided several years. Susan, his youngest daughter was distinguished for quiet and gentle manners, a loving spirit, a truly feminine grace and dignity of character; with these qualities were united a nobility of soul, a lofty and indomitable energy, that made honor and reverence to mingle largely in the love borne to her by her husband and children. In illustration of her own energy, as well as of the customs of that period, it may be mentioned that while her father lived at Concord, it was no unusual thing for her to mount a horse, ride to the ferry at Charlestown, a distance of seventeen miles, go over to Boston "shopping," and return to Concord on the same day. From a hill in the rear of her father's residence, in the easterly part of the village of Concord, she saw the British troops enter that town on the morning of the 19th of April, 1776, and remained there till she saw them pass out a retreating and discomfited foe. Like most of the women of that day, she was an ardent patriot, espousing the cause of the colonies with an intense devotion, ready to endure all the trials and make all sacrifices which the interests of that cause demanded; and it may be that not a little of the courage, the perseverance, and fidelity displayed by her lover and husband, amid the perils and hardships of that long struggle for liberty and independence, is to be ascribed to her inspiring influence.

To an extraordinary energy of character, and excellent habits of industry and frugality, which enabled her to manage successfully in the absence of her husband, both the affairs of the farm and of the

II. WILLIAM LAWRENCE.

WANT teaches us value. They know best how to prize a thing, who are deprived of it, or have never been blessed with its possession. This explains the fact that education, for its wider diffusion, and its enlarged instrumentalities, is greatly indebted to the benefactions of many, who in their youth had themselves but slight participation in its advantages.

If the facilities of Commerce have been multiplied, and her gains increased by the discoveries of science and the inventions of art, commerce has repaid the debt by her rich gifts to schools and colleges, her noble endowment of institutions of learning, at which science can be studied, and art promoted, and many successive generations have the benefit of the highest intellectual and moral culture.

The history of education in all ages and countries, bears some testimony to this fact; New England especially abounds with evidences and illustrations of it. The sneer about "the Almighty Dollar," in connection with American character, is as false as it is silly, and as ungenerous as it is untrue. The New England people are undoubtedly frugal, industrious, enterprising. Like all the rest of the world they love money, they strive to get it, and commonly succeed in obtaining it. But they know how to use and enjoy it. They love it not for its own sake simply, but for what it enables them to do, and as a general remark it may be said, that they do well with it. They have devoted large portions of it, in every generation, to objects of public benefit and blessing.

New England, as regards the Anglo Saxon occupation of her soil, is but little over two hundred years old. She is not without spot or blemish, either in her present condition or her past history, but if we collect the statistics of her beneficence; if we take an inventory of her schools, colleges, hospitals, asylums, the various institutions of learning or philanthropy, which that beneficence has established, endowed, made strong and efficient; the result is honorable alike to human nature and the New England character. It teaches that wealth does not always beget a hard-hearted, selfish man; that many rich in this world's goods, have also been rich in good deeds, and as faithful VOL. II, No. 1.—3.,

stewards of the Lord's bounty, have used their wealth for wise and

noble purposes.

Among those entitled to this eulogy, whose names may claim a high place on the list of benefactors to the cause of education, is the late WILLIAM LAWRENCE, who, in common with his brothers Amos and Abbott, of whom we have already given some notices in this Journal, was a noble specimen of a New England merchant, and a Christian citizen and patriot. He was born at Groton, September 7, 1783, and was the third son and child of Samuel and Susan Parker Lawrence, some account of whom may be interesting as indicating the source of the strongly marked characters of their sons. The name of Lawrence dates far back in English history, and has gathered to itself honors in many successive generations. The common ancestor of the New England Lawrences, was John Lawrence, of Great St. Albans, Herefordshire, who came to this country in 1635, and settled at Watertown, where he resided many years, became the father of a numerous family, and the possessor, as the town records show, of many valuable parcels of land. In 1660, he removed to Groton, then recently erected into a plantation or township by order of the General Court, on the petition, with others, of Dean Winthrop, son of Gov. Winthrop. It received its name probably from Winthrop, who came from Groton, Suffolk County, England. Here John Lawrence soon became an honored, trusted, and influential citizen, and here some one or more families of his descendants have ever since resided, identifying the name of Lawrence with the history and character of the town.

Samuel Lawrence was the fifth generation in descent from the above mentioned John Lawrence. He was born in Groton, April, 24th, 1754, and was, therefore, in his early manhood, when our revolutionary struggle commenced. In common with all the hardy, intelligent, liberty-loving yeomanry of New England, he espoused the cause of the colonies, and devoted himself to it with a courage that never failed, a constancy that never faltered till his country had passed "from impending servitude to acknowledged independence." At work in the field, ploughing his paternal acres, when the news of the attack upon Concord, reached Groton; he immediately unloosed a horse from his team, and mounting, rode rapidly through Groton, and some of the adjoining towns, spreading the alarm, and summoning the militia to assemble. He returned in season to join his own company at the church at Groton, at 12 o'clock, where after prayer offered by the pastor of the town, they started for Concord, helped to swell that impetuous tide of resistance which drove back the invaders,