Quakers who moved to Maryland in the early 1640's established communities in Calvert
and Anne Arundel Counties. These counties are located in the Southern part of Maryland. Prior
to that time families belonging to the Lawrence clan came from England and settled in the
Accoma County of Virginia. In 1659/1660, Virginia passed a law requiring Quakers in the
colony to convert to Anglicanism or leave the colony. A group of Virginian Quakers petitioned
Lord Baltimore in 1661 to allow them to migrate to Somerset County, Maryland. With
Baltimore's approval, they moved to Somerset and then went on to establish a community first in
Calvert, and then in Anne Arundel County. It is believed that John and Margaret Lawrence, the
parents of George Lawrence, belonged to this Lawrence clan.
Not much is known about John Lawrence (1660-1698) and his wife Margaret. Many
genealogists refer to Benjamin and Elizabeth (Talbot) Lawrence as the parents of John. This
would make Benjamin (1652-1685) and Elizabeth (1656-1690) less than ten years old when John was born. Highly unlikely. What we do know is John Lawrence was born in 1660 in Calvert,
Maryland and died in Calvert in 1698. He married a woman named Margaret and they had a son named George Washington Lawrence.