Hugh B. Lawrence

LAWRENCE, SCOVILLE

Posted By: Emmet County IAGenWeb Coordinator (email)
Date: 2/21/2011 at 16:12:29

Hugh B. Lawrence is proprietor of the leading clothing store of Estherville--an establishment which would be a credit to a city of much larger size, for he carries a complete and well selected stock of clothing and his store is tastefully appointed, neatly arranged and systematically conducted. Mr. Lawrence has been proprietor of this establishment since 1907 and in the intervening years his business, as the result of his careful management and enterprise, has constantly expanded. Iowa numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred at Lawler in 1883, his parents being William and Pauline Lawrence, natives of Maryland and of Michigan respectfully. They became residents of Iowa in childhood days and after attaining his majority the father engaged in the harness and implement business at Lawler, where he became known as a representative citizen and business man. To him and his wife were born four children: Nellie, the wife of H. G. Graaf; Cora, the wife of L. S. Kucker; Mary, the wife of G. E. Ridley; and Hugh B., of this review.

In the attainment of his education Hugh B. Lawrence completed a course in the high school at Lawler and later attended the Nora Springs Seminary. He has been identified with commercial interests in Estherville since 1899, at which time he accepted a clerkship in the Graaf clothing store, where he remained for seven years, gaining comprehensive knowledge of the business and wide experience during that period. He afterward conducted business along the same line on his own account in Parker, South Dakota, for a year, but in 1907 returned to Estherville and purchased the store of Mr. Graaf. Since then he has successfully conducted and managed the business, handling a large and well selected stock, making a specialty of the Hart Schaffner & Maxx clothing, the Walkover shoes and the Stetson hats--all standard goods.

In August, 1904, Mr. Lawrence was united in marriage to Miss Marybelle Scoville, a daughter Of George and Bertha Scoville, of Grundy Center, Iowa. The mother passed away and was laid to rest in the cemetery at Vinton, Iowa, while the father is now a resident of Conrad, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence have one son, George, who was born in 1909.

Mr. Lawrence is identified with all the different Masonic bodies and with the Eastern Star and he likewise has membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a republican with independent tendencies, for while he is a believer in the principles of the party, he does not consider himself bound by party ties and at local elections considers the capability of a candidate rather than his party affiliation. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and they occupy a prominent social position in Estherville, where they have an extensive circle of warm friends.

Source: History of Emmet County and Dickinson County Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, The Pioneer Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois, 1917.