William Lawrence

William Lawrence (May 30, 1850 – November 6, 1941) was elected as the 7th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts (1893–1927). Lawrence was the son of the notable textile industrialist Amos Adams Lawrence and a member of the influential Boston family, founded by his great-grandfather and American revolutionary, Samuel Lawrence. His grandfather was the famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence.

Early life Lawrence was born on May 30, 1850, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Sarah Elizabeth Appleton (1822–1891) and Amos Adams Lawrence (1814–1886), a notable textile industrialist, and a member of the influential Boston family, founded by his great-grandfather and American revolutionary, Samuel Lawrence. His grandfather was the famed philanthropist Amos Lawrence. The financier J. P. Morgan, Jr. served as treasurer of the Church Pension Fund from its founding in 1918.

While bishop emeritus, Lawrence was involved in an effort to proposition a new Book of Common Prayer to the Church of England. Also, while in retirement, he realized the need for a chapel at Massachusetts General Hospital and in the late 1930s, as the White Building was under construction, convinced of the importance of faith and spirit in healing, he sent letters to friends of the hospital asking for their support "in this bit of pioneer hospital work." Over eight hundred people of all faiths responded.

He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1899. In 1926, Lawrence published his autobiography, Memories of a Happy Life. Several of his sons, following in his footsteps, also became bishops of the Episcopal Church.

In 1913 he founded a boy's summer camp in Gloucester Massachusetts, serving as its first director. In 1926 the William Lawrence Camp moved to Center Tuftonboro New Hampshire where it continues to operate today.

Famous quote The "banker bishop" is quoted as having said, "In the long run it is only to the man of morality that wealth comes... We, like the Psalmists, occasionally see the wicked prosper, but only occasionally. Godliness is in league with riches."

Legacy Lawrence was married to Julia Cunningham (1853–1927), the daughter of Frederic Cunningham and Sarah Maria (née Parker) Cunningham. and married Bishop Charles Lewis Slattery (1867–1930) in 1923. Ruth Lawrence (1886–1973), who married Lansing P. Reed William Appleton Lawrence (1889–1968), who was elected 3rd Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts (1925–41). Elinor Lawrence (1894–1963), who married Lewis Hunt Mills (1892–1953) Frederic Cunningham Lawrence (1899–1989), who was elected suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts (1956–68).

Lawrence died on November 6, 1941, at the age of 91 in Milton, Massachusetts.

Works

A Life of Roger Wolcott, Governor of Massachusetts (1902)