Jesse P. Lawrence
Family
Jesse P. Lawrence (or Laurence)
was the third son of Richard Lawrence and his wife,
Nancy. Jesse was born in Kentucky, possibly in Knox or
Wayne Counties, and died in Clinton County in 1901 at
the age of 80. Like his father, Jesse was a stonemason
as a young man; after the Civil War, he identified his
occupation as "laborer."
Jesse was married three times. He first married Dulcena
Wray, the daughter of Solomon Wray and his wife Sarah,
probably in late 1850 in Clinton County, Kentucky.
(Another researcher has identified Sarah as Sarah
Chapman, but we have not yet been able to confirm this.)
Jesse and Dulcena had two children before Dulcena died
some weeks after giving birth to their daughter, Sarah
Eliza.
Jesse then married Sarah Emily Dickerson on 20 September
1853 in Clinton County. According to census records and
Jesse's pension application, they had five sons, three of
whom survived to adulthood. After Emily's death in 1890,
Jesse married a third time to Mahala Guffey Payne, a widow.
We do not yet know the parents of either Emily or Mahala.
Jesse served in the Civil War in the 5th Kentucky Cavalry.
Jesse was evidently something of a hard-luck case during
his military service. He broke his ankle while on patrol
when his horse slipped and fell. After recovering and
rejoining his unit, he then suffered a reaction to a
smallpox vaccination in 1864 and was hospitalized for a
while. He rejoined his unit yet again, and then was injured
at camp while campaigning in Georgia when hot coffee
splashed in his eyes. After trying for a number of years,
Jesse finally was granted an invalid pension in 1879; his
multiple applications provided a host of details about his
ailments and post-war life.
Jesse P.
Lawrence (or Laurence) (b. 1821, Kentucky - d. 11 Nov 1901,
Clinton, KY)
m1. ca 1850,
probably Clinton Co Kentucky
Dulcena Wray (b.1833, Virginia - d. 18 Oct 1852,
Clinton, KY)
Children:
i. Louis C.
Lawrence (b. 6 July
1851, Clinton, KY - d 4 January 1931, Clinton, KY);
married Nancy L.
Wallace
ii. Sarah Eliza
Lawrence (b. 4 Sep
1852, Clinton, KY - d. after 1900); married
George Branham
m2. 20
September 1853, Clinton, KY
Sarah Emily
Dickerson (b. 1832,
North Carolina - d. 6 June 1890, Clinton, KY)
Children:
i. Charles Lawrence
(b. Jun 1854, Clinton KY - d.
9 Sep 1855, Clinton, KY)
ii. Richard W.
Lawrence (b. 6 May
1856, Clinton, KY - d. after 1900);
iii. Jasper N.
Lawrence (b. 18
January 1860, Clinton, KY - d. after 1900); m. Sarah (last
name unknown)
iv. Samuel C.
Lawrence (b. 16
January 1867, Clinton, KY- d. after 1900);
v. James Lawrence
(b. 1873, Clinton, KY - d.
between 1880/1898, possibly Clinton Co KY)
m3.18
October 1895, Clinton, KY
Mahala Guffey
Payne (b. June 1824,
Kentucky - d. after 1900); no issue