Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence (1791-1861)

He was a Quaker and began his career in the firm of Hicks, Lawrence & Co., New York - "the great dry goods auctioneering firm of their day" - retiring before it went bankrupt in 1837. He served in Congress (1833-34) as a Jacksonian Democrat from New York before being elected the 62nd Mayor of New York City (1834-37). He was President of the Bank of the State of New York for more than 20 years and Collector of the Port of New York (1845-49). He was described as being, "of large size and very fond of champagne... he had the ice cream and strawberries of everything in life - in commerce, in politics, in wives, in finances, and in religion. He lived for a long time up Broadway, near the Old Tabernacle. He had a peculiar way of carrying his spectacles in his hand, behind his back, while he looked at all the pretty girls he met. One of them led him a sad dance. Mr. Lawrence, the most respected man in the city, was led into an ambuscade (ambush) and made the victim of a plot. It was a sad business, lost the old gentleman a great amount of money, and caused him any quantity of mental misery." It transpired that when he fourteen he had indulged in gambling and a dalliance with a girl of ill repute, and to keep his past quiet he was blackmailed (by A. Brown, a Deputy U.S. Marshall of New York) into paying $100,000. He was married three times but died without grandchildren.