John Lawson Redivivus at East Carolina University

The “Adventurer” section presents thirteen texts from 1709 to 1992 and examines Lawson’s activities as an explorer and man of the world. The first item is a 3 October 1709 letter from pastor John Urmston to John Chamberlain, Secretary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, under whose auspices Urmston was being sent to North Carolina. Urmston apparently consulted Lawson, who was in London at the time, about the new territory in which he was to minister. In the letter, Urmston casually remarks that Lawson believes the assigned territory to be far too large to be served by just one man: “Mr. Lawson moreover tells me, that ‘tis impossible I should supply places so distant as Perquimens and Bath, besides the difficulty and charge of passing the rivers.” Sometimes criticized even by his contemporaries as being overly enthusiastic for North Carolina, in this case Lawson seems to have attempted to pull the rose colored glasses from the SPG. Despite his prudent advice, Lawson was not mourned by Urmston, who in the end considered him a liar. Other texts, however, such as a 27 May 1710 letter to him from Thomas Pollock, indicate a high degree of confidence in the man and his influence.

The “Entrepreneur” section presents seven texts dating from 1706 to 1713 and explores Lawson’s role in accumulating wealth from his activities. In addition to his other skills and interests, Lawson was also a surveyor, which made him a very influential man in the area. He is at least greatly responsible for the founding of Bath (where he lived), the first permanent town in North Carolina, and New Bern, the second permanent settlement. In the course of these activities, he must have accumulated some measure of worldly goods. One item in this section is the “Abstract of John Lawson’s Will,” which reads in its entirety: “Dearly beloved HANNAH SMITH--the house I now live in during her life, 2/3 my personal estate in North Carolina. My daughter ISABELLA of Bath Co., & the brother & sister which her mother HANNAH SMITH is with child & then Every Childe of hers by me--rest of my estate, when they arrive to age 21 or marry.” What this property consisted of besides the house is a mystery. It is not know if Lawson and Smith were even married. As with many other areas of his life, this will also became mired in controversy, as documented in the exhibit.

The “Naturalist” section is the one that truly breaks new ground concerning Lawson’s life. Lawson was extremely interested in eastern North Carolina flora and fauna and had grandiose intentions of documenting it all, including fish. As part of this interest, he sent plant specimens to James Petiver in London. Petiver’s collection eventually became the property of Hans Sloane, who accumulated hundreds of volumes of dried plants, the largest such collection up to that time. All of Sloane’s collection, including the plants that Lawson had originally sent Petiver, ended up in the British Museum. This section of the exhibition contains digital images in two resolutions of every plant that Lawson supplied, taken from the very books themselves, now in the Natural History Museum, London. The images may be searched by either their common names (e.g., “Solomon’s Seal”) or their taxonomic Latin name (e.g., “Cyrillaceae”). This part of the exhibition is truly unique.

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John Lawson Redivivus at East Carolina University

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John Lawson Redivivus at East Carolina University

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