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William "Bill" Lawrence was born in 1859 in County Langford, Ireland. At the age of 21 he sailed across the Atlantic, and then travelled to the United States by train. He came to New Westminster in June 1883, and came to Langley and stayed with his sister Margaret, who was married to James Scroggy Gray. William worked with his brother-in-law framing barns for a time. He also spent time working in various loggig camps, and it was at one of these camps that he met William Abercrombie. Through this friendship, William met Abercrombie's sister Mary, and he married her on December 29, 1894. She was also from Ireland. The couple bought Hudson's Bay Company land in the late 1800s, and they raised four children together, including a son named Robert. William Lawrence was a Councillor in 1895-1897, 1911, and 1922 -1928, a School Trustee for fourteen years, and was the Chairman of the School Board from 1932 - 1933. He was also a police commissioner for one term, as he had been a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary before coming to Canada. William Lawrence died on September 18, 1935.
Term Source: HPC Record (LOGGI-3/379); HPC Record (FLCEM-3/196)