Lawrence Tutors

About Lawrence

Lawrence tutors began their career in the University of Kansas in 1866. When the University opened there were only 55 students that first year. However the University wasn’t always meant to be in Lawrence. There were a few strong contenders to host the institution including Lawrence, Manhattan and Emporia.

Kansas officially became the 34th state into the Union in 1861 six years after the first talks began about opening a university in the region. Lawrence on a smaller scale discussed the option of possibly opening The University of Lawrence to provide further education for the areas scholars, but it never gained any traction. When Kansas ‘state’ became official, the new constitution included a budget for a state university. This charter granted by the Kansas State Legislature reignited interest in the possibility of a University in Lawrence. Residents and officials of Lawrence came together to petition that their town be the location for the new Kansas University.

A long debate ensued which stretched out over a two-year period. The three possible locations all had their pros and cons. In 1863 Manhattan became the site of the state’s land-grant college, which made them ineligible to be the site of the Kansas University. This left just two possible locations Lawrence and Emporia. A sizeable donation from Amos Adams Lawrence (whom the town is named after) swayed the decision in Lawrence’s favor. They won the vote, but only just.

Like his father before him Amos Adams Lawrence was a philanthropist. As well as financing the founding of the University of Kansas, he also contributed large sums of money to Harvard and the Episcopal Theological School. Lawrence tutors familiar with the history of Boston, Lawrence’s hometown, know that the farm on which he previously resided in Boston became the campus for Boston College. He was a devout member of the Episcopal Church in Boston, and his son William Lawrence went on to become the long-time Bishop of Massachusetts. His father Amos Lawrence made the family fortune. A respectable family with his father an officer in the Revolutionary War, Amos began his career as a humble clerk at the county store. He was promoted quickly and given the opportunity to show his good work ethic. In time he had saved up enough money to rent his own shop. He went into business with his brother Abbott. This firm called A. & A. Lawrence went on to become the greatest wholesale mercantile house in the United States. Lawrence, Massachusetts is named in honor of Abbott Lawrence, Amos Adams Lawrence’s uncle.