George P. Lawrence

George Pelton Lawrence
George P. Lawrence circa 1908
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st district
In office November 2, 1897 – March 3, 1913
Preceded by	Ashley B. Wright
Succeeded by	Allen T. Treadway
President of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1896 – 1897
Preceded by	William M. Butler
Succeeded by	Geroge E. Smith
Member of the Massachusetts Senate
In office 1895–1897
Judge of the District Court of North Berkshire
In office 1885–1894
Personal details
Born	(1859-05-19)May 19, 1859 Adams, Massachusetts
Died	November 21, 1917(1917-11-21) (aged 58) New York City, New York
Political party	Republican

George Pelton Lawrence (May 19, 1859 – November 21, 1917) was a United States Representative from Massachusetts.

Born in Adams, Massachusetts, Lawrence graduated from Drury Academy in 1876 and from Amherst College in 1880. He studied law at the Columbia Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1883 and commenced practice in North Adams. Lawrence was appointed judge of the judicial district of northern Berkshire, County in 1885. Lawrence resigned his judgeship in 1894 upon being elected to the Massachusetts Senate. He served in the senate from 1895 to 1897 and was its President, in 1896 and 1897.

Congressional service

Lawrence was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Ashley B. Wright; he was reelected to the Fifty-sixth and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from November 2, 1897, to March 3, 1913. While in Congress Lawrence was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of War (Fifty-ninth through Sixty-first Congresses).

Post Congressional career

Lawrence was not a candidate for renomination in 1912, and from July 1 to September 17, 1913 was a member of the Massachusetts Public Service Commission.

Death

Lawrence jumped from an eighth-floor window and fell to his death, at the Belmont Hotel, New York, New York; interment was in Hillside Cemetery, North Adams.

Bibliography

• Who's who in State Politics, 1908 Practical Politics (1908) p. 15.
• George P. Lawrence at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Preceded by William M. Butler	President of the Massachusetts Senate January, 1896— January, 1897	Succeeded by George E. Smith
Preceded by Ashley B. Wright	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 1st congressional district November 2, 1897 – March 3, 1913	Succeeded by Allen T. Treadway