Gawen Lawrie | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Deputy Governor of East New Jersey | |
| In office 1683–1686 | |
| Governor | Robert Barclay |
| Preceded by | Thomas Rudyard |
| Succeeded by | Lord Neill Campbell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | England |
| Died | c. 1687 Middlesex County,New Jersey |
| Spouse | Mary |
| Children | James Lawrie,Mary Lawrie,Rebecca Lawrie |
| Signature |  |
Gawen Lawrie was a deputy governor of the American province of East Jersey from 1683 to 1686.
Of Scottish ancestry,Lawrie was born in England and was a resident and merchant in London for many years.
Along with William Penn and Nicholas Lucas,Gawen Lawrie was a trustee for the legally bankrupt Edward Byllynge from 1675 to 1683. On 1 July 1676,Lawrie was one of the signers of the Quintipartite Deed that split New Jersey into West and East Jersey. [1]
In 1682 Lawrie became involved in East New Jersey as a trustee for the children of Arent Sonmans,one of the Proprietors. Thomas Rudyard was deputy governor under Governor Robert Barclay. The Proprietors and Rudyard had a policy disagreement as to the granting of land,and,on 27 July 1683,appointed Gawen Lawrie deputy governor,replacing Rudyard. [2]
Thomas Rudyard's land dealings resurfaced when,on 28 February 1684/85,he received a grant of 1,038 acres (420 ha) on Raritan Bay in Monmouth County;Lawrie received a grant of 1,000 acres (405 ha). This resulted in Gov. Barclay and the Proprietors issuing instructions to Deputy Governor Lawrie on the laying out of land. Section 7 directly addressed the questionable activity of Rudyard and Lawrie in their taking up of land. [3]
The Proprietors in England were concerned about the secretive dealings of the Lawrie Administration and they instructed the East New Jersey Board of Proprietors to investigate the state of affairs,including an audit of the finances. In March 1686 the Proprietors appointed Andrew Hamilton to oversee the investigation.
During Gawen Lawrie's tenure the Proprietors in England drafted a new constitution for East New Jersey,the Fundamental Constitutions for the Province of East New Jersey. [4] This document,drafted in 1683,was intended to supersede the Concession and Agreement of 1665. Lawrie introduced the new constitution in Council on 12 April 1686;the Council voted "that the same Did not agree with the (constitution) of these American parts--",but nonetheless sent it to the General Assembly for reading. [5] On 16 April,in response to Lawrie's inquiry as to the Assembly's action on the constitution,the lower house reported "That they apprehended the same Did not agree with the (constitution) of this province and that they understood that the same were noe wise bindeing Except past into a Lawe by the Generall Assembly--". [6] With both houses concurring,the Fundamental Constitutions was defeated,and the Concession and Agreement would remain the East Jersey constitution until the surrender to The Crown in 1702.
In September 1686 the decision was made to remove Lawrie from office,and on 5 October Lord Neill Campbell presented his commission from Gov. Barclay as deputy governor to the East New Jersey Provincial Council,who confirmed and recognized the appointment. Lawrie was then commissioned a member of the council. Lord Campbell,having urgent business in Britain,nominated Councillor Andrew Hamilton as Deputy Governor on 10 December 1686;the next day Lawrie was the only councillor to register a protest and vote against confirming Hamilton. [7] On 5 May 1687 Gov. Barclay and the Proprietors issued a directive to Deputy Governor Hamilton and the Council revoking all powers and authority held by Lawrie. [8] Later in 1687 he died.
Robert Barclay was a Scottish Quaker,one of the most eminent writers belonging to the Religious Society of Friends and a member of the Clan Barclay. He was a son of Col. David Barclay,Laird of Urie,and his wife,Lady Katherine Barclay. Although he himself never lived there,Barclay was titular governor of the East Jersey colony in North America through most of the 1680s.
The Province of East Jersey,along with the Province of West Jersey,between 1674 and 1702 in accordance with the Quintipartite Deed,were two distinct political divisions of the Province of New Jersey,which became the U.S. state of New Jersey. The two provinces were amalgamated in 1702. East Jersey's capital was located at Perth Amboy. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute.
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form,as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947,the Legislature consists of two houses:the General Assembly and the Senate. The Legislature meets in the New Jersey State House,in the state capital of Trenton.
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664,becoming a proprietary colony. The English renamed the province after the island of Jersey in the English Channel. The Dutch Republic reasserted control for a brief period in 1673–1674. After that it consisted of two political divisions,East Jersey and West Jersey,until they were united as a royal colony in 1702. The original boundaries of the province were slightly larger than the current state,extending into a part of the present state of New York,until the border was finalized in 1773.
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Scottish colonisation of the Americas comprised a number of failed or abandoned Scottish settlements in North America;a colony at Darien on the Isthmus of Panama;and a number of wholly or largely Scottish settlements made after the Acts of Union 1707,and those made by the enforced resettlement after the Battle of Culloden and the Highland Clearances.
The Quintipartite Deed was a legal document that split the Province of New Jersey,dividing it into the Province of West Jersey and the Province of East Jersey from 1674 until 1702.
Thomas Rudyard was a Quaker lawyer in London before moving to America and being appointed deputy governor of East Jersey and the first Attorney General of the English Province of New York,the predecessor position to the Attorney General of New York State and the successor position to an analogous office under the Dutch colonial government of New Netherlands.
The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania was a proto-constitution for the Province of Pennsylvania,a proprietary colony granted to William Penn by Charles II of England. The Frame of Government has lasting historical importance as an important step in the development of American and world democracy.
Originally,the state of New Jersey was a single British colony,the Province of New Jersey. After the English Civil War,Charles II assigned New Jersey as a proprietary colony to be held jointly by Sir George Carteret and John Berkeley,1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton. Eventually,the collection of land fees,or quit-rents,from colonists proved inadequate for colonial profitability. Sir George Carteret sold his share of the colony to the Quakers in 1673. Following the sale,the land was divided into East and West Jersey. In 1681,West Jersey adopted a constitution. In 1683,East Jersey adopted one as well. In 1702,the colonies were united again under Anne,Queen of Great Britain,and adopted a constitution in 1776.
Lord Neill Campbell was a Scottish nobleman who served as Deputy Governor of East New Jersey during 1686,succeeding Gawen Lawrie.
A tenth was used to divide the former American Province of West Jersey into smaller administrative divisions. Despite seemingly related names,tenths are not directly related to hundreds,other than both being administrative divisions.
The New Jersey Provincial Council was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under colonial rule until it was replaced by the New Jersey Legislative Council under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776.
Captain Andrew Bowne was an American colonial politician and jurist,who served in various capacities in both New York and New Jersey.
John Skene was the third deputy governor of West Jersey,part of the American Province of New Jersey,serving from October 1684 to April 1692.
The East New Jersey Provincial Council or Governor's Council was the upper house of the East New Jersey Legislature under proprietary rule until the surrender of the right of government to The Crown,and Queen Anne's acceptance.
John Barclay was a Scottish Quaker,younger brother of Robert Barclay and a member of Clan Barclay. He held several government positions the East Jersey colony in North America and was a member of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1704 to 1706.
Gawen is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to:
Holmes v. Walton was a case decided by the Supreme Court of New Jersey in 1780,thought to be the first decision in which an American court held a statute unconstitutional. It is considered a landmark in the American law of judicial review. In an apparently unreported opinion,Justice David Brearley held that a conviction entered by a six-person jury under a 1775 statute was void,because the Constitution of New Jersey required a jury of twelve.