-------------------------------
biography from Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
Rebecca Lawrance, of Richland Township, was born in Union County, Ohio, April 19, 1821, and came to Iowa and settled in this county in the year 1845. April 12, 1848, she was united in marriage with William Lawrance, who died in this county June 21, 1874. They became the parents of eight children: Charles is deceased; Cora, the wife of James Samuels, lives in Richland Township; Emma is at home; Eliza, the wife of Phillip Apple, is a resident of this township; Caroline is deceased; Amelia, the wife of William Evans, lives in Granville, Iowa; William is a resident of this township; Melissa is the wife of Thomas Canine, and is a resident of Adams County, Iowa. The old homestead where Mrs. Lawrance now resides has been her contiuous home for forty years. There was little else than bleak prairie in Richland Township when they settled there, and neighbors were few and far between. One might in those days cast the sight in any direction, and for miles on either side of him, the residence of no friend or neighbor obstructed the view. Around the little home that she and her husband built and occupied in that early day, is now a comparatively dense population, and the handsomest portion of the entire county. Her husband was quite a prominent man in the township during his lifetime, held many of its important offices, and enjoyed the confidence and regard of all his acquaintances. His widow is an acceptable member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a lady greatly esteemed for the Christian graces that adorn her noble womanhood.
Portrait & Biographical Album of Mahaska Co., Iowa, 1887
Mahaska County, Iowa Genealogy