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Alexander George “Lawrie” Lawrence
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Naturalist.
Born at Cardiff, Wales on 24 April 1888, of Scottish parents, he spent his early years in Scotland and England where he developed interests in ornithology, botany and geology. He continued these interests after coming to Canada in 1910 and settling at Winnipeg the next year. He worked for 40 years as secretary of the City of Winnipeg’s Department of Health, retiring in 1951.
He wrote a weekly natural history column, “Chickadee Notes” for the Winnipeg Free Press over a period of 34 years, broken only for three weeks during his honeymoon. His Bird Migration Calendar, published annually in the Free Press, chronicled the arrival of birds as they migrated through Manitoba. He was a founder and president of the Natural History Society of Manitoba (1934-1946), a founder and President of the Manitoba Museums Association, President of the Winnipeg Cine Club, and a member of the Scientific Club of Winnipeg and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
On 30 April 1923, he married Selina Wallace (c1897-1977) at Winnipeg and they had two children: Alexander Morrey Lawrence (1924-2020) and Gerdine Lawrence (wife of Colin Edward Henry Crawford and Gordon Samuel Strong).
He died at the Misericordia Hospital on 25 August 1961.
“Society,” Winnipeg Tribune, 2 April 1923, page 6.
Marriage registration [Alexander George Lawrence, Silvia Wallace], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Reception for Gerdine Lawrence,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 December 1954, page 11.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 August 1961.
“Chickadee Notes No. 346: Alexander George Lawrence” by Harold Mossop, Winnipeg Free Press, 2 September 1961, page 22.
“In memoriam: Alexander George Lawrence, 1888-1961” by C. Stuart Houston, The Blue Jay, December 1961.
Obituary [Selina Lawrence], Winnipeg Free Press, 14 April 1977, page 53.
Obituary [Colin Edward Henry Crawford], Winnipeg Free Press, 20 March 2010.
Obituary [Gordon Samuel Strong], Winnipeg Free Press, 5 May 2018.
Obituary [Alexander Morrey Lawrence], Drury Funeral Centre.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 17 February 2017
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