Dr. John Lawrence and the Crime of Having Loyalist Kin

As discussed in a prior article, John Lawrence, Sr., was one of Monmouth County’s leading citizens before the Revolution—a lawyer, judge, surveyor, and member of New Jersey Assembly. He was supportive of the Continental Association and boycott of British goods. However, when protesting British policies shifted to declaring independence, John Sr. became an active Loyalist. 

In July, he led a bloodless insurrection against the new government in Upper Freehold.

John Sr. was arrested for "holding treasonable intercourse with the enemy" and detained in Burlington County. On July 5, the New Jersey Convention ordered that "Mr. John Lawrence, of the County of Monmouth, not to depart the house of Mr. [Rensselaer] Williams [of Trenton]; and if Mr. Lawrence should refuse…. order him confined under such guard as the Committee may deem necessary." He would remain under house arrest for nine months.

John Lawrence, Sr., had two sons. Elisha Lawrence was the Monmouth County sheriff under the Royal government. He played an active role in his father’s insurrection and led 60 Upper Freehold Loyalists to join the British Army on Sandy Hook. He would soon become Colonel of the 1st Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers, a Provincial Corps of the British Army. John Lawrence, Jr., was John’s other son, a Princeton graduate and prominent physician who owned a home at Perth Amboy but spent a great deal of time at his father’s house in Upper Freehold. There is no evidence that John Jr. (Dr. John Lawrence) was active in his father’s insurrection, but there is no evidence that he opposed it.

Actions Taken Against Dr. John Lawrence

On July 9, the New Jersey Convention took action against Dr. John Lawrence and seven other New Jerseyans from prominent Loyalist families. They were arrested and brought to Trenton. Lawrence and the others were ordered "not to depart the town of Trenton.” But later that day, the Convention reconsidered the status of Dr. John Lawrence. "Pursuant to order, Dr. John Lawrence, appeared before Congress and was permitted to return home on his parole, to attend this House whenever called upon."

But Dr. Lawrence’s final parole agreement shows that he was not allowed to return home. Instead, he was required to go to Morristown. Perth Amboy was within sight of the British Lines and Upper Freehold was simmering with Loyalist insurrectionists. If Dr. John Lawrence wanted to actively oppose the Revolution, he could cause considerable mischief in either place. Morristown, on the other hand, was 25 miles inland from British lines and thoroughly controlled by Whigs (supporters of the Revolution). Though not as dangerous as his brother or father, New Jersey authorities were not willing to let Dr. John Lawrence live where he pleased. Dr. Lawrence’s July 13 parole oath is below:

I do hereby give my parole of honor to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey that… I will return to Morristown, in Morris County, & there remain in a circle of six miles of the Court House in town, & that I will not carry on any political correspondence whatsoever on the subject of the dispute between Great Britain & the United Colonies, neither will I furnish any provisions or given any intelligence to the enemies of the Colony.

In September, Continental Army defeats in New York raised expectations that the British Army would soon invade New Jersey. Amidst the resulting panic, men were punished for the crime of having Loyalist kin; Dr. Lawrence was jailed at Trenton. On September 26, Dr. Lawrence wrote a letter of protest to Governor William Livingston:

After having complied with every requisition of the Congress - paying my proportions of the tax raised & signing the Association - I was exceedingly surprised to find myself made a prisoner by an order from Genl. Washington [George Washington] in consequence of which I have been carried to Trenton where the Provincial Congress was then sitting, and flatter myself that had I the opportunity: such a defense might have been made as would have discharged me entirely from my imprisonment - Taken from my business & put to very heavy expense. I therefore request that instead of continuing [within a circle of six miles of Morris[town], I may be removed to Allentown in Monmouth, under a parole similar to what I have given at this place, where my father's house will prevent any extraordinary charges occurring to me & where from its situation so remote from the British Army, I apprehend there can be no objection offered.

However, Dr. Lawrence was not permitted to return to Upper Freehold. He returned to Morristown, where, while drunk, he engaged in spreading the word about the defeat of the Continental Army. On February 7, 1777, testimony was given against his conduct shortly before the British crossed into New Jersey:

One Wm. Stewart [William Stewart] an assistant to these fals harted [sic] smooth tong’d fellows, went off to the Enemy, (as I am Well inform’d) I am affraid [sic] of the Conciquence [sic]. These fellows with two Tory Prisoners at McKee’s the Night after Long Island was given up was all drunk in taken of their Joy. Capt. Canedy & one Doctor Lawrence [Dr. John Lawrence] was the Prisoners—this Club of traitors has been riding all times of night just before some expedition of the Enemy, from Morristown to Prinstown [sic] or somewhere near their, where [there] was a member of the Convention, a friend of theirs. Another of them at the same time [was] going down to Newark, to their friends, their Every one of them most active in their several departments. I have many other reasons for my present opinion of these fellows, which would make them Blush to hear of. However, these fellows & their Influence is failing & will Continew [sic] to fail with all the rest of that abandoned crew of trators [sic] to their Country.

Dr. John Lawrence at War’s End

Despite this testimony, it appears that Dr. Lawrence was permitted to live out the war as a non-participant in New Jersey. Some sources suggest that he spent parts of the war behind British lines in New York as a non-combatant Loyalist refugee. Although surviving records are incomplete, there appears to be no further evidence of bad conduct from Dr. Lawrence or punishments from the New Jersey government.

By 1783, it was clear that the British would be leaving New York. At this time, Dr. Lawrence considered his fate and whether he belonged with his brother (and three members of his extended family) behind British lines. He visited New York and may have offered himself up for a patronage position with the British government. On September 15, 1783, John Colden, a prominent New York Loyalist, wrote of Dr. Lawrence to Guy Carleton, the British commander in chief in New York and Governor of Canada:

I am informed Mr. Lawrence supports a favorable character—is pushing himself forward and bids fair to rise in his profession. He has been two or three times in New York since the cessation of hostilities but I have not seen him. He will probably be a useful man to you; he designs to settle in New York.

But it appears that this flirtation was temporary. Dr. Lawrence returned to Upper Freehold after the war, where he kept a low profile and lived out his life without incident. Outside of a night of loose talk while drunk, there is no evidence that he acted against the Continental cause. The support of his influential cousin, also named Elisha Lawrence, may have facilitated his peaceful reintegration. Cousin Elisha Lawrence was a Lt. Colonel in the militia and served in the upper house of the New Jersey legislature.

Related Historic Site: Morristown National Historical Park

Sources: Franklin Ellis, The History of Monmouth County (R.T. Peck: Philadelphia, 1885), p138 and 200-1; Peter Force, American Archives: Consisting of a Collection of Authentick Records, State Papers, Debates, and Letters and Other Notices of Publick Affairs (Washington, DC: U.S. Congress Clerk's Office, 1853), 5th Series, vol. 6, p 1638-9; Minutes of the Provincial Congress and the Council of Safety of the State of New Jersey 1775-1776 (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009) pp. 497-8; John Stillwell, Historical and Genealogical Miscellany, 4 vols, Genealogical Publishing Co, 1970, v3, p411-21; John Lawrence, New Jersey State Archives, Collective Series, Revolutionary War Documents, #4; The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 22, March 23, 1775, through October 27, 1776, ed. William B. Willcox. New Haven and London:: Yale University Press, 1982, pp. 517–518; Peter Force, American Archives: Documents of the American Revolution, 1774-6 (digitized: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/amarch/find.doc.html), v6: p 1652; New Jersey State Archives, William Livingston Papers, reel 3, September 26, 1776; NJ Council of Safety, New Jersey State Archives, box 2; The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series, vol. 8, 6 January 1777 – 27 March 1777, ed. Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, pp. 266–267; John Stillwell, Historical and Genealogical Miscellany (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1970) v3, p417; John Colden to Guy Carleton, Alfred Jones, “Letter of David Colden, Loyalist, 1783”, American Historical Review, October 1919, vol. 25, p80-6.