Thomas Lawrence (Governor of Maryland) explained

Honorific-Prefix:Sir
Thomas Lawrence
Honorific-Suffix:Bt
Office:2nd and 6th Royal Governor of Maryland
Term Start:1693
Term End:1693
Predecessor:Lionel Copley
Successor:Edmund Andros
Term Start2:1694
Term End2:1694
Predecessor2:Edmund Andros
Successor2:Francis Nicholson
Monarch2:William III
Birth Place:Chelsea, Middlesex, England
Death Place:London, England
Nationality:British
Profession:Official

Sir Thomas Lawrence, 3rd Baronet ( - 1714) was the 2nd Royal Governor of Maryland in 1693, elected by the Governor's Council following the death of Sir Lionel Copley, (1648-1693). He governed the colony for only a few weeks before the new royally appointed governor, Edmund Andros, (1637-1714), arrived from his trans-Atlantic trip to take over control of the colony. He was briefly the 6th Royal Governor of Maryland a second time when Andros then left the colony in 1694 (later also served as governor in the Dominion of New England and Virginia). Lawrence's successor was Francis Nicholson.

Early life

Thomas Lawrence was born in 1645 in Chelsea, Middlesex, England. He was the eldest son of Sir John Lawrence, 2nd Baronet and Mary Hempson.[1] [2] He emigrated in 1692 in Province of Maryland, settling in Mary's City (St. Mary's County) and Annapolis, while his family probably stayed in England.[1]

Career

In 1693 he was President of the Council and acting Royal Governor of Province of Maryland.[3] He governed Maryland for a few weeks and was replaced by Edmund Andros. Lawrence returned to England in 1705/6.

Death

Lawrence died on April 25, 1714, in London.[1] At his death, the baronetcy became extinct.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Archives of Maryland Online: A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 . 519 . Maryland State Archives.
  2. Burke, John, and Burke, Bernard "A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England" pg. 300
  3. John Bennett Boddie. Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia: A history of the County of Isle of Wight Virginia. Volume 2. Page 491.