James Lawrence

GEDCOM Note

<p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">The following was written about James in March 2007 on the centenary of his death.</p></p><p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </strong>On 22 March 1907 Mr James Lawrence M.L.A.died at his residence, Elise Lodge, no 2 Park Road, Kimberley. The immediate cause of death was heart failure although Mr Lawrence had been in ‘indifferent’ health for some time.In January 1906 he had been involved in a motor accident at Muizenberg where he had a vacation home. This did not help his constitution and a few months prior to his death Mr Lawrence had visited Europe in the hopes that it would improve his health.</p></p><p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">Sadly it did not and neither did a very recent visit to the Coast. When it was learned that Mr Lawrence, a past mayor of Kimberley, had died flags were flown at half-mast in Kimberley and several businesses closed entirely. The funeral service was held on the afternoon of 23 March at the West End Cemetery. It was conducted by Canon C. Robson, Rector of Kimberley. Mr Lawrence was interred in the family plot. The death notice had requested that only fresh flowers be sent and no artificial wreaths in deference to the deceased’s wishes.</p></p><p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">James Lawrence had been born at George in 1852 and was educated in Cape Town and Cradock. In 1878 he came to Kimberley on horseback from Somerset East and at first assisted his uncle William Lawrence with mining claims. Two years later he started a blacksmith’s business in West End and in July 1880 married Miss Kelly of Somerset East. They had four sons and two daughters. In circa 1886 Mr Lawrence went into business as a provision merchant. His firm James Lawrence and Co. Ltd. Produce, General and Seed Merchants became one of the long established and well-respected businesses in Kimberley. Its premises were at 7 De Beers Road and in Knight Street.</p></p><p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">In 1893 Mr Lawrence stood in the elections as a representative for Kimberley in the House of Assembly. He represented the Diamond City until his death and in 1894 was the author of the motion which led to the establishment of the Kimberley School of Mines. For some yearshe served as Chief Progressive Whip in Parliament and was a friend and associate of both Cecil Rhodes and L.S. Jameson. ‘Mr Lawrence appreciated the worth of golden silence, and never spoke unless he had really (sic) something to say’. As a result the House was invariably full whenever he made a speech. He was particularly concerned with railway matters and was heavily involved in thedevelopment of the Kimberley- Bloemfontein line. In 1900 he was responsible for the appointment of a select committee to ‘inquire into certain well-grounded grievances of civil servants…’. As a result of this these were addressed and remedied.</p></p><p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">James Lawrence was elected to the Kimberley Town Council in 1882 and served on it until 1896. He was mayor in 1889 and from 1892 to 1893. He played a large part in organizing the South African and International Exhibition of 1892 and ‘was undoubtedly responsible for much of its success’. The firm of James Lawrence and Co. won a silver cup at the Exhibition for the best display of cereals grown in South Africa. In November 1892 the first Mayoral Congress in South Africa was held in Kimberley to coincide with the Exhibition. This Congress was the ‘brain-child’ of Mr Lawrence.   </p></p><p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">He was intimately connected with the Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Divisional Council. James Lawrence had the honour of having been presented to both Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. The Diamond Fields Advertiser of 23 March 1907 justifiably described him as a ‘fine specimen of the self-made man, and a colonist of the stamp that has materially helped to make the Empire’.    By Robert Hart</p></p><p style="text-align: left;" dir="ltr"> </p>