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IOWA
ITS HISTORY AND TRADITION
VOLUME III
1804-1926
J. S. LAWRENCE
In the largest and best sense of the term, the late Judge Joseph Spencer
Lawrence was distinctively one of the notable men of his day and generation in
Sioux City, and as such his life record is entitled to a conspicuous place in
the annals of his section of the state. As a public-spirited citizen he
showed a deep and effective interest in the public welfare; as a friend and
neighbor, he combined the qualities of head and heart that won confidence and
commanded respect; as an attorney, who had a comprehensive rasp upon the
philosophy of jurisprudence, he was easily the peer of his professional brethren of the bar.
Judge Lawrence was born in Brooklyn, New York, on the 12th of October, 1853,
and died at his home in Sioux City on the 8th of January, 1909, in the
fifty-sixth year of his age. He was a son of William S. and Mary (Mangum)
Lawrence, the former of whom was born in Providence, Rhode Island, while the latter was born on the Hudson, in New York state. William S. Lawrence became a wholesale flour merchant at 92 Broad street, New York city, while his home was at 675 Willoughby street, Brooklyn.
Joseph S. Lawrence attended the public schools of his native city and then
entered Colgate University, at Hamilton, New York, where he was graduated,
with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, in 1875. He then entered the law school of
New York University, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in
1877. During his law course he was employed in the law office of Henry L.
Clinton in New York, and while there had the distinction of having written the
copy of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt's will. He was admitted to the bar in
Albany, New York, in 1877, and then located at Mohawk, that state, where he
entered upon the practice of his profession. In January, 1881, Judge Lawrence
came to Sioux City, Iowa, where he soon gained recognition as a lawyer of more
than ordinary capability, and for many years was a dominant figure in the
legal circles of this part of the state. He was identified as counsel with
most of the important litigation in the courts of this and neighboring counties,
enjoying uniform success in the practice and building up a large and
representative clientele, his success being indicated by his long and praiseworthy record at the bar. He was a master of his profession, a leader among men distinguished for the high order of their legal ability, and his eminent
attainments and ripe judgement made him an authority on all matters involving a profound knowledge of jurisprudence and vexed and intricate questions of law. He was the first police judge of Sioux City, and thereafter he was known only as Judge Lawrence. The Judge took an active interest in public affairs, on which he held well defined opinions. He served two terms in the Iowa state senate during the administrations of Governors Larrabee and Boise, and made a
splendid record for his diligence and faithfulness to the interests of the people. In the affairs of his own community he could always be counted upon to support by choice and example every enterprise whereby the material, civic or moral interests of the city might be advanced.
Judge Lawrence was largely responsible for the formation of the Sioux City
Service Company, this having been one of the most important civic epochs of
Sioux City. Previous thereto its street railways were all independent lines.
Some of them had gone into bankruptcy and others were on the verge of
insolvency. Late in the '90s Judge Lawrence, in association with Abel Anderson of the Northwestern National Bank of Sioux City (now the Sioux National Bank), J. W. D. C. O'Grady, general manager of the Bank of Montreal of Chicago, and John S. Goodwin, attorney for the Bank of Montreal, bought up the roads and consolidated them, and for several years Judge Lawrence was president thereof,
as well as general counsel. Riverside Park was also a part of the holdings. Later the street car system was sold to the Armours, and the Judge was retained as general counsel for the system until his death.
On December 28, 1875, Judge Lawrence was united in marriage to Miss Imogene D. Treadway, who was born in Jordanville, Herkimer county, New York, a daughter of John Marshall and Elizabeth P. (Hammer) Treadway, both of whom also were natives of Herkimer county. Mr. Treadway, early in the history of northwestern Iowa, made heavy investments in farm land, becoming the owner of twelve hundred acres, a part of which is the present town site of Leeds, Iowa. He
also bought the Brugher place as well as other lands, which in the course of time greatly increased in value. In 1881 he bought his family to Woodbury county, Iowa, and located on the farm which is now the home of his daughter, Mrs.
Lawrence.
William B. Treadway, a younger brother, had come to Woodbury county some
years previously and homesteaded teh present home farm, and John M. Treadway furnished the money with which to stock it with shorthorn cattle, the outcome of which was that in the course of time it was developed into a noted stock ranch. William B. Treadway moved the Brugher farm and John M. located on the present Lawrence home place, where he lived up to the time of his death, which occurred March 25, 1912, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence also making their home here.
Mr. Treadway took a very active interest in civic affairs and while living
at Leeds served eight years as alderman. Some time after coming to Woodbury
county he bought five or six registered Jersey cows, which became the nucleus
of the present extensive and valuable Jersey dairy herd which has been built
up by the son, William Marshall Lawrence. To Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence was also
born a daughter, Mary L., who became the wife of George W. Avery, of the
Spalding-Avery Lumber Company, of Sioux City. They are the parents of a son,
George Lawrence Avery, who is now a senior in the University of California.
Judge Lawrence was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and
belonged to Sioux City Consistory, A. A. S. R., and Abu-Bekr Temple, A. A. O. N.
M. S. He and his wife belonged to the Baptist church, and Mrs. Lawrence is
also a member of the Altrusan Club. Judge Lawrence was a man of great
strength of character, exerting a quiet but definite influence on the lives of those
about him and standing always for the best things in life. As a man, he was
gifted, highly trained, of incorruptible integrity; as a counselor and
adviser, he was clear visioned and wise; as a friend, he was loyal and true; as a
Christian, he was humble and consistent. In brief, he was a man of whom it
might be said, "Of soul sincere, in action thoughtful, in honor clear, who
broke no promise, served no private end, who gained no title, and who lost no
friend."
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