Bio-Demoss, ClaraLawrence

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Clara Alice (DeMoss) Lawrence
(1860-1937)

Clara Alice (DeMoss) Lawrence was born on Oct. 27, 1860 in Van Wert, Van Wert County, OH, the daughter of Charles W. and Eliza (Miner) DeMoss. Her husband, a prominent newspaper publisher, met a tragic and scandalous death that generated sensational headlines. Despite this setback, she maintained a role in Cleveland society in her later years.

When Clara was seven, her father, a Civil War veteran who had not fully recovered from his wartime illnesses, passed away, leaving her fatherless. She was cared for during that difficult time by her grandfather Burget Miner.

Clara's mother remarried again to William Cornwell, when Clara was age 12. Shortly thereafter, Clara and her mother, stepfather and siblings migrated westward to Nebraska, settling in Columbus, Platte County. To her mother, Clara was known as "Alice."

On March 10, 1880, at the age of 20, Clara married 28-year-old William Henry Lawrence (1852-1898), a native of Wakeman, Huron County, OH, and the youngest of 10 children of John Horatio and Sarah (Evans) Lawrence. The ceremony took place in Columbus, NE, by the hand of J.J.A. Flehartz, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

The following year, the newlyweds moved to Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, OH. The famed public square of Cleveland is seen here in a rare postcard view.

The Lawrences had six children, of whom five are known – Claude Ray "Jack" Lawrence, William Kalamazoo Lawrence, George Roland "Roll" Lawrence, Hazel Frances Tuttle Tifferman and Clara DeMoss Hayward. Son Claude was born in Lincoln, NE in 1881, while the rest were born in Ohio.

Upon returning from Nebraska, the Lawrences resided at 286 Genessee Avenue in Cleveland.

From 1872 to 1894, William and his entrepreneur-brother Mortimer J. Lawrence helped publish The Ohio Practical Farmer, sometimes just known as The Ohio Farmer, a prominent and influential newspaper that still exists today as a magazine. A complete set of hardcopies of back issues of The Ohio Farmer is held at the Ohio Historical Society's Archives/Library in Columbus.

1883 issue of the Ohio Farmer, featuring a fanciful masthead

In the first issue under family control (Jan. 4, 1873), brother M.J. made a promise to his readers:

In assuming this important trust I have simply to say that I shall endeavor to the best of my ability to make it fully worthy of the public's trust and patronage and to add to its already enviable reputation. I mean to make it a success, fully appreciating the necessity of conducting it in such a manner that its value will be seen and appreciated by its readers and patrons. He who caters to the intellectual tastes of the American people, with a hope of success, must show genuine value in his product or have his hopes blighted; for the reading people of our country today possess too much intelligence and are too critical to be expected to support anything but a first class journal...

The Lawrence brothers formed a partnership in 1886, with M.J. as editor, and William as vice president and business manager. The effort must have been lucrative, as William was wealthy enough to own a ranch in Denver, CO.

(Seen here is a rare old bird's eye view of Denver, from a postcard of that era, taken from the state capitol building.) Colorado was a popular destination for prominent Clevelanders of that era, and Standard Oil founder and billionaire John D. Rockefeller and his family are known to have vacationed there in the 1870s. In fact, M.J. himself launched business ventures in Denver -- including the People's Savings and Deposit Bank in 1888 and later the People's National Bank.

Of his work, The Ohio Farmer once wrote that he:

...was personally known to a large number of our subscribers and patrons.... While his faults were many, all of us who knew him best cherish the knowledge that his business honor, his truthfulness and loyalty to friends can never be questioned. His charity for the poor and ready assistance and sympathy for the unfortunate or afflicted, knew no bounds. He was kind and liberal to a fault and fearless to an extent that knew no danger, and in emergencies made him reckless of consequences.

Carriages on Cleveland's leafy Euclid Avenue where the Lawrences made their home

William worked until ill health forced him to resign in about 1894. The issue of Sept. 19, 1895 is the last one where he was listed as vice president of the company.

After his resignation, William traveled "through the south and west," said the Cleveland Plain Dealer, while his wife and five children remained in Cleveland. It's thought that his traveling companion was the troubled but "exceedingly beautiful" Florence (Chisholm) Richardson, "at one time a member of Cleveland's demimonde." Florence was divorced, and had once been arrested for robbing a musician in Cleveland. She also was "an expert rifle shot, having received instructions in handling the weapon from [William] and having won [a] championship cup..."

In April 1898, William went to the ranch in Denver and took Florence with him. In September of that year, they registered for a room at the Oxford Hotel in Denver. There, they got into a dispute, and William threatened that he was leaving her to return to his family.

On Friday, Sept. 9, the fiercely jealous Florence got her grisly revenge. She pulled out a .38 caliber revolver, took aim, and fired at William. The shot hit him "in the lung..., and the ball passed through his body," said the Plain Dealer. "Immediately after shooting [him] she turned the weapon upon herself with fatal results. She died immediately."

Seriously wounded, William was taken from the hotel to St. Luke's Hospital in Denver, where he held on for two days. Telegrams were sent to his wife and brother M.J. in Cleveland. One telegram said he "was improving and on the strength of it his wife was preparing to go to his bedside. She was just about to leave her home to take the train for Denver when the telegram announcing his death was received."

The sensational story made headlines in the Plain Dealer. William's nephew Lyman Lawrence went to Denver to bring the body back to Cleveland. The funeral was held at William's home. Burial was in Cleveland's prestigious Lake View Cemetery.

With "extreme sadness," The Ohio Farmer published the following eulogy:

The grief that attends his untimely death is deepened by the memory of his many manly qualities. These we shall always cherish, while we cover his faults with the mantle of charity. All of the many old employes of The Farmer sincerely mourn his sad ending and deeply sympathize with his wife and children in their bereavement and sorrow.

The Lake View Cemetery is seen here in a rare old postcard photograph circa 1906. Among other notable Americans, the Rockefellers and assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield also are buried at Lake View.

Clara thus was widowed unexpectedly at age 38. The eldest of her five sons was 17 years old at the time. Little is known about the rest of her life. Fortunately, she inherited her husband's wealth and was able to live comfortably off the proceeds.

Circa 1900, when the federal census was enumerated, Clara and her children Hazel, George and Clara resided on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland.

When Clara's grandfather, Burget Miner was old and inform, he came to Cleveland in about 1902 to reside in her home. He died there on March 31, 1909, and his body was returned to Van Wert for burial.

For 35 years Clara resided at 13613 Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland. Among her Euclid neighbors -- many blocks away -- were the Rockefellers. "Local boosters had ... tagged Euclid Avenue 'the most beautiful street in the world,' with homes that lavishly mirrored the local fortunes in oil, iron, banking, timber, railroads and real estate," writes Ron Chernow in his national bestseller, Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr. "All of the town's new opulence was reflected in this street of massive houses."

In 1910, Clara is believed to have paid for a biographical profile of her grandfather Burget Miner to be published in the book, A History of Cleveland, Ohio. Compiled by Samuel P. Orth and printed by S.J. Clarke Publishing Company, the book features Burget in Volume III, pages 912-913. His bio begins with a bold untruth -- "Burget Minor was a native of Connecticut, but after leaving New England went to Maryland..." -- contradicted by the man's death certificate that Clara herself signed a few years earlier. Since Burget only lived in Cleveland for just seven years at the end of his life, it is odd that there would have been any reason for him to be featured in this work. While purely speculation by this website's founder, Clara may have done this to cover up the fact that Burget was German, at a time when there was much anti-German sentiment in the United States just a few years before the outbreak of World War I. Through the lie that he was from Connecticut, she may have been trying to enhance her own standing among her society friends by creating the perception that she was from the prominent English family of Miner-Minor that had been in New England since the 1600s. The actual facts behind this strange occurrence may never been known.

The 1910 census shows Clara heading the household on Euclid Avenue, with sons Claude, William and George in the household, as well as widowed daughter Hazel Tuttle, age 24. Also living under the family roof was Clara's coachman, Lucius Smith. By 1920, she was living alone.

At some point in time, date unknown, Clara's younger half brother Archie B. DeMoss traveled from his home in Kansas to Cleveland to see her. The only reference to this is a letter from a Cornwell cousin to Archie's son, stating that Clara "was so elderly at the time of your father's visit."

The 1930 census shows Clara and divorced son Claude living in the Euclid Avenue home. Despite the Great Depression having crippled the American economy, Clara claimed an estate valued at $80,000 at the time.

When she became ill later in life, Clara sold her Euclid Avenue home to the Joseph J. Margowsky Funeral Co.

Clara passed away at the age of 76 on Jan. 21, 1937 in Cleveland City Hospital. She had suffered from diabetes and hardening of the arteries, as well as dementia. She was buried beside her husband, after nearly four decades as a widow. Her brief obituary was published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

~ Son Claude Ray Lawrence ~

Son Claude Ray Lawrence (1881-1943) was born on Feb. 22, 1881 in Lincoln, NE. He was of medium build and height, with blue eyes and light hair.

In 1910, at the age of 29, he lived with his widowed mother in Cleveland and had no occupation.

He married Evelyn M. (?) in about 1916, at the age of 35. When Claude registered for the military draft during World War I, in September 1918, he lived in Dayton, Montgomery County, OH, where he was a manager with the Fiske Rubber Company.

Sadly, by 1930, he was divorced. When the 1930 census was taken, when Claude was 49, he was employed as a real estate salesman and made his home with his widowed mother. Later, in his early 60s, he resided at 7722 Linwood Avenue in Cleveland.

Claude suffered from lung cancer, and died of its effects at the age of 62, on Sept. 6, 1943, at the McGillis Sanitarium in Cleveland. Burial was in Lakeview Cemetery.

~ Son William Kalamazoo Lawrence ~

Son William Kalamazoo Lawrence (1884-1953) was born on Sept. 6, 1884. He was of medium height and build, with blue eyes and light hair.

At the age of 26, in 1910, he lived with his widowed mother in Cleveland, and had no occupation. The following year, on Oct. 11, 1911, William married Charlotte A. Clark ( ? - ? ), the daughter of Jerry and Eva S. (Sivella) Clark, and a native of Dayton, Montgomery County. At the time, William gave his occupation as "real estate" and his address as 13325 Euclid Avenue. Rev. J.C. Jagar performed the nuptials.

In September 1918,.as World War I was drawing to a close, William was required to register for the military draft. He stated his occupation as advertising manager for the Cleveland Telephone Company. He was married, and they lived at 12704 Irvington in Cleveland.

He later married Lulu (?) and resided in Los Angeles, where he died on Jan. 16, 1953.

~ Son George Roland "Roland" or "Roll" Lawrence ~

Son George Roland "Roll" Lawrence (1889-1965) was born on April 28, 1889 in Cleveland. As an adult, he was tall and of medium build, with blue eyes and brown hair.

George was employed as a clerk in Cleveland in 1910. At the age of 26, on April 5, 1916, he married 26-year-old Loretta Mary Henderson (1889-1951), the daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Altmayer) Henderson, and a native of Sharpsburg, near Pittsburgh, PA. The nuptials were solemnized by Rev. John F. Keene in Cuyahoga County. At the time, Roland was a salesman, and lived at 13325 Euclid Avenue, while Loretta resided in Cleveland at 823 East 149th Street.

By June 1917, when he registered for the military draft during World War I, Roland was employed as a collector for the Crowell Publishing Company in Cleveland, located at 1118 Schofield Building. He made his home in 1917 at 651 East 118th Street in Cleveland.

By 1930, Roland and Loretta lived on East 124th Street in Cleveland, where he was employed as a "credit man" for a sewing machine company.

Sadly, Loretta died in Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland on Feb. 3, 1951. She was cremated and laid to rest in Highland Cemetery in Cleveland.

Roland spent the remaining 14 years of his life as a widower. He passed away at the age of 76 in Cleveland on Jan. 22, 1965.

~ Daughter Hazel Frances (Lawrence) Tuttle Dickey Mellert Tifferman ~

Daughter Hazel Lawrence (1888-1970) was married at least four times.

Her first husband was (?) Tuttle. Tragically, he died after only a year or two of marriage. Hazel moved back into her mother's home on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, living there as of 1910.

She then married (?) Dickey. The marriage did not last, and a divorce was issued by the Cuyahoga County Clerk (case #5405).

On Nov. 26, 1919, at the age of 30, Hazel wed 30-year-old Fred J. Mellert (1888- ? ), of 2604 Barber Avenue. Rev. W.W. Bustard and Rev. Dan F. Bradley performed the nuptials. Born in Cleveland, the son of Vincent and Catherine (Delzer) Mellert, Fred was employed as a "Trimmer." At the time, she lived at 13613 Euclid Avenue.

Hazel and Fred made their home on Carnegie Avenue in Cleveland's ZZ Ward, where they appear in the 1920 federal census. His occupation was given as "window cleaner" for buildings. Boarding in their home were three lodgers -- laborers Joseph Spitzer and Earnest Seibert and interior wallpaper hanger Joseph Kulke.

Later, she wed (?) Tifferman and resided in or near Parma, Cuyahoga County.

She died on Sept. 23, 1970, at age 82.

~ Daughter Clara DeMoss (Lawrence) Hawley Hayward ~

Daughter Clara DeMoss Lawrence (1890-1966) was born in 1890 in Cleveland. At age 19, she married 28-year-old Lee Carroll Hawley (1881- ? ), a native of Nevada County, CA, and employed in Cleveland as a foreman. He was the son of O.F. and Anna (Carroll) Hawley. The ceremony, held on Nov. 15, 1909, was led by Rev. McFadden of Euclid Avenue, and possibly also by Rev. John H. Blackburn.

They had three known children -- Louise C. Hawley, Helen J. Hawley and Jack F. Hawley, all born in Ohio.

When the 1910 census was taken, the Hawleys made their residence in Lakewood, Cuyahoga County. Lee continued his work as a foreman in a carbon manufacturing plant.

Sometime between 1915 and 1920, Clara and Lee moved to Southern California, settling in Santa Paula, Ventura County. Their home in 1920 was on North Eighth Street. Lee apparently had given up his industrial profession, and considered himself as a farmer.

The Hawleys' marriage fell apart during the 1920s. In about 1928, Lee married again, to Miriam (?) (1904- ? ), who was 23 years younger than he.

Clara wed James R. Hayward (1880?- ? ), a native of Illinois. They resided in 1930 on South Spalding Drive in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County. Clara's children Helen and Jack lived in their home that year, while another offspring, James' "step-daughter" Maxine and her husband Max Kunz, also resided under their roof. James' occupation in 1930 was as a manager of a retail groceery.

In 1937, Clara lived at 7722 Linwood Avenue in Cleveland. Later, she returned to California, and made her home in Ventura. She died on Jan. 24, 1966, at the age of 76.

Daughter Louise C. Hawley (1911- ? )

Daughter Helen J. Hawley (1913- ? )

Son Jack F. Hawley (1914- ? ) was born on June 21, 1914, in Cuyahoga County. He is believed to have died in Santa Paula, Ventura County, CA on July 3, 1988.

~ More on the Lawrences ~

William's brother Mortimer J. Lawrence also founded the Michigan Farmer and Pennsylvania Farmer publications, and sold them along with the Ohio Farmer to Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas circa 1921.

For more information on the genealogy of the Lawrence family, contact Audrey (Landreth) Le Mieux.