Lawrence (Amos A.) is born in Boston.

The son of Amos and Sarah (Richards) Lawrence, Amos Lawrence attends Harvard College, is asked to leave after gunpowder is found in his room, but is subsequently allowed to return and graduate. He marries Sarah Appleton in 1842,* and moves to 1 Rollins Place in 1843. With Robert Mason, he founds Mason & Lawrence, and invests primarily in the Ipswich Mills. A moderate on the slavery issue, he supports the Compromise of 1850, but backs the effort to promote Kansas as a Free State in 1854.* Lawrence moves to Brookline in 1851 engages in philanthropy, and is an unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1860. He dies in Nahant on August 22, 1886, and is buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery.