1760 Log House - The Lawrence Homestead

Family of politicians

1760loghouse — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 13:48:22 +0000

As I do more research into what happened to the children of Joseph Lawrence (who were probably born in this house!) and update the Lawrence family portion of the site accordingly, I’m finding that all 3 of his sons were politicians at either the state or federal level. Some of their sons and/or grandsons went on to become politicians, lawyers or judges as well. Very interesting! Pictured below is George Van Eman Lawrence, son of Joseph Lawrence II and grandson of Joseph Lawrence who built and owned the house.

According to FindAGrave.com:

Birth: Nov. 13, 1818

Death: Oct. 2, 1904

US Congressman. Elected to represent Pennsylvania’s 24th District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1865 to 1869, and 1883 to 1885. He also served as a Member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1844, Member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1850 to 1851, 1861 to 1863, and 1876 to 1882, and Delegate to the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention in 1872. (bio by: K)

I have to wonder how closely George Van Eman Lawrence resembled his grandfather Joseph as well as his great grandfather John. His father, Joseph Lawrence II (probably born in this house!) was also a US Congressman. Here is his bio listed on the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress:

Member of the State house of representatives 1818-1824 and served as speaker 1820-1822; elected as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth and Twentieth Congresses (March 4, 1825-March 3, 1829); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1828 to the Twenty-first Congress; again a member of the state house of representatives 1834-1836; state treasurer in 1837; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1838 to the Twenty-sixth Congress; elected as a Whig to the Twenty-seventh Congress and served from March 4, 1841, until his death in Washington, D.C., April 17, 1842; chairman, Committee on Roads and Canals (Twenty-seventh Congress); interment in the Congressional Cemetery.

There seem to be plenty more in addition to the 3 sons and grandsons, but I’m only going to research so much as it can become overwhelming.

Unveiling more logs

1760loghouse — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:13:28 +0000

These pictures were taken back in November 2006, when we had decided we would attempt to start renovating the foyer (which as of this date, is still a work-in-progress!). We started stripping the steps and exposing the right-hand wall, which would have been the exterior of what is most likely the original building before it was added on. The ceiling was also exposed -

One of the logs had a signature written over the paint. “A.N. ?

Unfortunately, I don’t think the pictures convey what a HUGE mess this was. In addition to the obvious horsehair plaster and dust, there was a mixture of bedding, POOP, dead things, fur, and nuts within the ceiling because, at some point, creatures had managed to work their way into the house for a period of time. The dust settled in the house for weeks.

Goodbye barn!

1760loghouse — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:36:32 +0000

The dismantling of the barn across the street is part of the reason I was stirred to continue research the history of the house. It was no longer tied to this piece of property, and the owner had sold it. The barn has actually been down for more than a week, but a flatbed truck was finally loaded yesterday with all of the huge logs used to fashion the barn, which I can only assume was as old as our house. It is a shame, but from what I was told the wood will be used to make new houses, among other things. It’s certainly a better scenario than the barn continuing to remain abandoned and fall into further disrepair. A couple from California flew out to personally oversee sections that were to be used for their own house. Now the only thing that remains is the foundation, which will probably be dismantled at some point as well. I will miss it.

The above pic was taken in 2010. Here are some other pictures, most were taken from an iPhone, including some of the interior.

Some pics from when we moved in!

1760loghouse — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:30:33 +0000

We moved into our house in 2005, I’ll try and post pictures of some of the work we have done but as a baseline, these are some pics from before we officially purchased the place. The finished log room is what sold it! We’ve uncovered some of the logs and I’ll post that soon Unfortunately, restoring an old house is not always fun, but it can be fascinating.

1775 British King George III Halfpenny

1760loghouse — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 04:48:16 +0000

Found in 2009 during the HVAC installation along with various other items, scanned after it was cleaned:

Hello and welcome!

1760loghouse — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 19:09:15 +0000

Well, I guess this is the first post on the website!! I created it to help us keep track of the information we find relating to our house, which is constructed mostly of logs and has a cornerstone of 1760. Also included would be anything interesting about its previous occupants, anything relating to the restoration of it, or anything interesting that we happen to find!!

(Image: some items found during installation of our HVAC system back in 2009.)

I had already been compiling my information in a small binder, as well as on my computer, but this way we can share with the world all the fascinating things that happen or we may discover while living in a house which was built before the United States was formed.

Birth:	Nov. 13, 1818
Death:	Oct. 2, 1904
US Congressman. Elected to represent Pennsylvania’s 24th District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1865 to 1869, and 1883 to 1885. He also served as a Member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1844, Member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1850 to 1851, 1861 to 1863, and 1876 to 1882, and Delegate to the Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention in 1872. (bio by: K)