William M. Lawrence excerpt from Ministers of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, 1707-1872

William Mangam Lawrence: b. May 11, 1848, Washington, D.C.; d. Apr. 10, 1934, Hamilton, N.Y.; . . . converted in early youth; “at the age of nine he entered the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute,” where he studied Greek and Latin; . . . studied at Amherst College, Mass., two years before having to . . . leave off due to illness; he worked with his father in business for a year before entering Colgate University, where he grad. B.Ph. 1870, M.A., 1874; . . . received a unanimous call as pastor, First Baptist, Amsterdam, N.Y., (ord. Aug. 5,) 1871-1872, Spring Garden Baptist, Phila., Oct. 1 (began active labors, Nov. 1), 1872-Sept. 10, 1880, during which time 367 members were added to the church; Second Baptist, Chicago, Ill., Oct. 1880-1905, while also lecturer on preaching and pastoral work, Hamilton Theological Seminary, 1890, and lecturer of homiletics, Chicago Theological Seminary, 1903, pastor, North Orange, N.J., 1905-1912, when he retired from pastoral ministry; lecturer on Christian ethics, Colgate University, 1912-1927, where he was also professor pro tempore of Pastoral Theology, 1915, and acting professor of Homiletics and Pastoral Theology, 1919-1927. Lawrence was the author of “Historical Address. Colgate University—October 10, 1919,” published in The Colgate University Centennial Celebration, 1819-1919 (Hamilton, N.Y.: Colgate University, 1920), 45-117. With Benjamin Shepard he edited Hymns of the Centuries (New York, 1911), republished as The New Baptist Praise Book, or Hymns of the Centuries (Phila., 1914), which passed through a number of subsequent editions. “His sermons and occasional contributions to religious journals give evidence of an observing and thoughtful mind. His systematic methods enable him to accomplish a vast amount of pastoral work, and to render valuable service to other denominational interests with which he has become connected”—Cathcart’s Baptist Encyclopedia.