One of two extistant Lawrence Family Cemeteries, the other being at 216th Street in Bayside (a third was located at Ditmars Boulevard and 37th Street in Astoria, but that one has been obliterated, and is now gone).

A private cemetery holding the remains of this country's great patriots should be considered as much a Landmark as are certain buildings designated because of their distinguished owners and distinguished history.

The Lawrence Family Cemetery is important, primarily because of the history connected with those who are buried there. It is also notable due to the beauty of its handsome grounds. This half-acre plot has 89 graves, enclosed by a low stone wall topped by an iron fence at its entrance side. The other three sides are simply enclosed by a brick wall with iron fence above. The entrance originally abutted on the Old Bowery Bay Road of which no vestige remains. Today the plot lies in the center of a residential block.

Historically, the Lawrence Family cemetery dates from 1703, when Major Thomas Lawrence was the first to be buried there. Miss Ruth Lawrence, the last member of the Lawrence family to live in Astoria, was the last member of the family to be buried there in 1956.

The roster of family notables who have been interred there includes 12 high ranking military officers, whose service to their country ranges from the time of Dutch rule in New York to the Civil War. It also includes seven members of the family who served in major government posts in New York.

Outstanding among the many notable members of this family was Major Jonathan Lawrence, who lived from 1737 to 1812. He was a distinguished soldier, wise statesman and self-sacrificing patriot. He took part in several military expeditions and cooperated with General Washington in obtaining additional forces for the Revolutionary Army at Brooklyn.

Excerpt from the 1966 NYCLPC Landmark Designation Report.