Henry W. Lawrence, who passed away in Manchester on the 18th of January, 1909, when in the seventy first year of his age, was a retired agriculturist who had made his home in Delaware county for nearly a half century. His birth occurred in Berea, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, on the 15th of March, 1838, his parents being William and Blanche (Friend) Lawrence, both of whom were natives of England. They emigrated to the United States with their respective parents in early life, locating in Ohio. Subsequently they took up their abode on a farm in Winnebago county, Illinois, and eventually came to Delaware county, spending the remainder of their lives in Manchester.

        Henry W. Lawrence, one of a family of ten children, was reared to manhood in Illinois and obtained his education in the schools of that state. He was married when a young man of twenty two years and subsequently removed to Linn county, Iowa. A year later he came to Delaware county, locating on a farm in Prairie township which he operated successfully throughout the remainder of his active business career. His declining years were spent on honorable retirement at Manchester, where he had erected a handsome residence at No. 901 North Franklin street.

        On September 30, 1860, in Beloit, Wisconsin, Mr. Lawrence was united in marriage to Miss Almeda E. Eilder, who was born December 21, 1844, in Lempster, New Hampshire, her parents being Allen M. and Caroline (Emison) Wilder, likewise natives of that state. In 1858 they removed to Illinois, locating on a farm in Winnebago county, where they resided for four years. On the expiration of that period they returned to the Granite state and at the end of twelve years' residence they came to Iowa. Subsequently they went to South Dakota, in which state Allen M. Wilder passed away.  Mrs. Wilder then again returned to New Hampshire, where her demise occurred a few years later.  They were the parents of seven children, two of whom survive, namely: Mrs. Almeda Lawrence and Mrs. Charles A. Gale, of Chicago. To Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence were born four children, as follows: Charles, who died young; Herbert H., who is a physician and practiced in Manchester for a number of years but is now proprietor of the Hummel Hotel, Waterloo, Iowa; Frank H. who lives on a farm in Delaware county township; and Blanches C., who gave her hand in marriage to Harry C. Austin, a mining engineer at Harvey, Monroe county, Iowa.

           The life of Henry W. Lawrence was upright and honorable in all relations and his memory is still cherished in the hearts of many who knew and loved him. Mrs. Lawrence is a devoted and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and also belongs to the Eastern Star. She is well known and highly esteemed in the county which has now been her home for a period of fifty three years, the circle of her friends being almost coextensive with the circle of her acquaintances.