George Van Eman Lawrence

George Van Eman Lawrence (November 13, 1818 – October 2, 1904) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served multiple terms in Congress between 1865 and 1885. A prominent nineteenth-century Pennsylvania politician, he held a succession of legislative offices at both the state and federal levels and was active in public life over the course of more than fifty years.

Lawrence was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, the son of Joseph Lawrence. He was educated in the common schools of the area and later attended Washington College (now Washington & Jefferson College) in Washington, Pennsylvania. After his formal schooling, he engaged in agricultural pursuits, establishing himself as a farmer. His background in agriculture and his roots in Washington County helped shape his understanding of the interests and concerns of his largely rural constituency and informed his later legislative work.

Lawrence began his political career in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He was first elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1844 and returned to that body in 1847, 1858, and 1859. Between these House terms, he advanced to the Pennsylvania State Senate, where he served from 1849 to 1851. His early legislative service coincided with a period of economic growth and sectional tension in the United States, and he became an experienced state legislator well before the outbreak of the Civil War.

During the Civil War era, Lawrence continued to play an important role in state politics. He again served in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1861 to 1863, a critical period in which the Commonwealth supported the Union war effort. In 1863 he presided over the State Senate, reflecting the confidence of his colleagues in his leadership and parliamentary ability. His prominence in state government during the war years helped position him for national office as the conflict drew to a close.

Lawrence entered national politics as a member of the Republican Party and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, serving from 1865 to 1869. His service in Congress thus occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the immediate aftermath of the Civil War and the early years of Reconstruction. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated in the democratic process, contributed to the legislative work of Reconstruction, and represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1868, returning instead to state-level responsibilities.

After his initial period in Congress, Lawrence remained active in public affairs. He served as a delegate to the Pennsylvania constitutional convention in 1872, which drafted a new state constitution that reshaped the structure and powers of state government. Under this new constitution, he again became a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, serving in that body in 1875, 1876, and 1878. His repeated elections to both houses of the state legislature underscored his continuing influence in Pennsylvania politics and his reputation as an experienced lawmaker.

Lawrence returned to the national stage when he was again elected as a Republican to the Forty-eighth Congress, serving another term in the U.S. House of Representatives during the early 1880s. In total, he served three terms in Congress between 1865 and 1885, contributing to the legislative process over a span that bridged the Reconstruction and post-Reconstruction eras. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1884. Even after his final service in Congress, he continued his legislative career at the state level, once more serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1893 to 1896, extending his record of public service into the final decade of the nineteenth century.

In his later years, Lawrence remained in southwestern Pennsylvania. He died in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, on October 2, 1904, at the age of 85. He was interred in the City Cemetery in Monongahela. His long career, spanning service in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the Pennsylvania State Senate, and multiple terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, marked him as a significant Republican figure in Pennsylvania’s political history during the mid- and late nineteenth century.