William A. Lawrence

William Azra Lawrence (March 26, 1822 – August 12, 1890) was an American businessman, politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served as the 6th mayor of Janesville, elected in 1858; throughout his life he was a major influence on the early economic activity in the city. He represented Rock County for four years in the Wisconsin Senate (1863–1867), and for one year in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

His younger brother, Franklin S. Lawrence, also served in the Wisconsin Assembly, and was a frequent collaborator in his business and political affairs.

Biography William Lawrence was born in Windsor County, Vermont, in March 1822. He was educated in the local schools and had one term of academy education. At age 15, he began working as a clerk in a general store, and then took on the same role for a store in Springfield, Vermont.

His father went west to the Wisconsin Territory in 1844 and established a homestead in what is now the town of Rutland, Wisconsin, in Dane County. William, then 22, escorted his mother and siblings on the journey to join their father in October of that year. In 1866, he was elected to the Janesville Board of Education; he was a member of the board for the next eight years, and was president for four years. In the 1870s, Lawrence fell out with the Republican Party and, in 1874, ran for another term in state Senate as an independent; he lost that election to incumbent Republican Horatio N. Davis. Ultimately, Lawrence affiliated with the Prohibition Party in his later years.