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21 Park Street |
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21 Park Street |
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The Lawrence Funeral Home in Canton is still regarded today as the
second-oldest funeral establishment in New York State. Through
five generations of family operation, Lawrence Funeral Home is highly
regarded for its warm and inviting atmosphere, caring attention to
detail, complete service offerings and a staff of knowledgeable
professionals with years of experience.
In 1845, Lorenzo Lawrence established the family business which has been handed down for several generations. The funeral home has been located at 21 Park Street in Canton since 1915. Lorenzo began his business as an undertaker and cabinetmaker, a common combination in trade during the 19th century, as many undertakers often built the caskets they sold. Lawrence also obtained a large Civil War-era wicker basket, commonly used in those days for carrying away a corpse. The use of such baskets spawned the term "basket case" to refer to someone who was incapacitated or inoperative. The funeral home still has the basket today. Millard Dwight Lawrence operated the Lawrence Funeral Home from 1890 until his death in 1926. His obituary in a local newspaper said Millard was believed to be the first person to own an automobile in St. Lawrence County. He was the first undertaker in the county to stock pre-made caskets, and was the first to have a device for lowering caskets into the ground. |
Russell Lawrence, Sr., was one of the charter members of the St.
Lawrence County Funeral Directors Association. He is remembered by
many Canton and North Country residents for his team of sled dogs.
Lawrence traveled
all over the state with the team. He offered rides around the town
to local children and
participated in the annual dog sled races on the streets in Canton in
the 1930's and 1940's. During sled dog events, the roads in Canton were closed. Canton schools
often closed as well, as many of Canton's young students skipped classes for the event. Russell Lawrence, Jr., is credited with being primarily responsible for development of the modern Lawrence Ambulance Service. In the mid 1970's, he purchased the first true ambulance on the same day the State of New York announced brand new regulations pertaining to ambulance services. In earlier days, the Lawrence vehicles were used as a combination hearse and ambulance. Russell Lawrence III became a St. Lawrence County Coroner in 1981 and funeral director in 1982. In addition to becoming the fifth generation of Lawrences to operate the family business, he served eight years on the Canton town council. He is the current owner-operator of the Lawrence Funeral Home in Canton and is proud to continue the tradition of maintaining a very personable, locally-owned and family-operated business into the 21st century.  |
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© Copyright 2006, Lawrence Funeral Home & CommunitySights.com. |
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