W. H. Lawrence (industrialist)

Washington Herbert Lawrence (January 17, 1840 – November 23, 1900) was a pioneer in the manufacture of electrical and carbon products who organized and served as the first president of the National Carbon Company, one of the founding members of the Union Carbide & Carbon Corporation.

Born on January 17, 1840, in Olmsted, Ohio, to Joel B. Lawrence, a farmer and miller, of Pepperill, Massachusetts, and Catherine (Harris) Lawrence (April 9, 1793 – 1853) of Little Rest, Dateless County, New York. This branch of the Lawrence family are said to be direct lineal descendants of Robert Lawrence, of Lancashire, England, who was knighted by Richard Coeur de Lion, as Sir Robert of Ashton Hall, for bravery displayed at the Siege of Acre (1189–1191). John Lawrence, the ancestor of the American branch of the family, came from England in 1635, and settled in Wolverton, Massachusetts. In 1833, Joel B. Lawrence up-rooted his family from the East and was one of the early settlers in the Western Reserve at what came to be Olmstead, Ohio. Here he took up a tract of land, established a mill, and reared his family (consisting of Washington and at least two other sons). Joel B Lawrence died in 1851 and his wife Catherine died two years later in 1853, leaving Washington an orphan at the age of thirteen.

As a teenager, Washington Lawrence attended Olmsted common schools and worked as clerk in a store in Berea, Ohio. He later attended classes at Baldwin University (now Baldwin-Wallace University). While at the university, he was befriended by both Milton Baldwin and his father, the namesake of the university, the Honorable John Baldwin. After a short time, Milton and Washington were sent by John Baldwin to Kansas manage a large milling construction project along with a substantial and real-estate interest, with the plan that Milton and Washington would oversee operations when the mills were completed. Milton Baldwin died before the mills were completed, but Washington was still entrusted to perform the job. Washington Lawrence proved to be a successful manager, despite his age.

In 1859, at the age of nineteen, he left Kansas to go into business with his brother in a general store in Hannibal, Missouri. There, his business carried him over Kansas and Missouri, and he saw much of frontier life. He remained there until 1861, when his brother joined the Union army and they closed up their business. In 1861, Washington returned to Ohio and formed a partnership with another brother, in the management of the family mills and farm at Olmsted. He continued in the town for several years, living at the old home his father had built. He married in 1863 and in 1864, he came to Cleveland to settle permanently.

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