The Lawton's

James Lawton, is born in County Cork in 1809

In Edward MacLysaght's book, "The Surnames of Ireland", the surname 'Lawton' is described as "A well-known English name used in Co. Cork as an anglicized form of O Lachtnain." Another anglicized form is 'Loughnane'. We can trace our Lawton ancestors back to James Lawton and his father, Edward Lawton, of Killeagh, County Cork.

In the year 1809, our ancestor James Lawton, was born in the small post-town of Killeagh, County Cork. James' father, Edward Lawton, was born in the late 1700's. James, would die a widower at age 70, in Killeagh, on May 2, 1879. The cause of James' death was 'congestion of the lungs'

The Penal Days

The year of James' birth, 1809, was the last year of Thomas Jefferson's presidency. It was also the year Abraham Lincoln and Edgar Allen Poe were born in the United States. Lincoln entered politics and was elected President of the United States. Boston born Poe was a writer whose fame came to him long after his death.

James Lawton's 1809 birth, occurred in the midst of the era known as the Penal Days, which lasted from 1695 to 1829. Those years were framed by the enactment by the British of laws against the Irish Catholics, which made the Catholics outlaws in their own country.

Seamus MacCall, in his book 'A Little History of Ireland', Dublin, The Dolmen Press 1973, gives us the best summary of those dreadful days:

By means of Penal Laws passed during the reigns of William III and his successors, Anne and George II, the Irish at home who declined to be made 'English' were condemned to poverty, ignorance and economic serfdom. And so far as English domination in Ireland was concerned, these penal laws -- described by Edmund Burke as 'an elaborate contrivance for the oppression, impoverishment and degradation of a people and the debasement in them of human nature itself' -- achieved a measure of success. Between 1703 and 1788, countless Roman Catholic land-owners changed their religion, largely anglicized their names and gained prosperity and protection as a part of the Protestant 'ascendancy'. High posts in Church and State, however, continued to be filled by Englishmen. And, while the landlords grew rich and tyrannical, their tenants -- both Catholics and 'Dissenters' -- sank into serfdom; and the great mass of the landless Irish were forced further and further into hopelessness of poverty and despair which so aroused the indignation of Dean Swift. Homeless refugees now roamed the countryside; scores of thousands died of starvation; and more than a million others abandoned the struggle and emigrated to the North American Colonies. Among the latter were the volunteer Protestant defenders of Derry who, betrayed by those they had served, emigrated en masse to America, and founded Londonderry, New Hampshire.

An example of a penal law passed in the Parliament held in Ireland in 1704, made it a crime to be a popish (Catholic) priest, to profess the popish religion, to marry protestants, to vote in elections, to be the guardian of an orphan child or to practice 'the superstitions of popery'. This is the world into which James Lawton was born.

Catholic (papist or popish) baptism in Ireland was referred to as 'Baiste urlair' (the baptismal resting place of a wild animal), because the religious ritual was performed by outlawed priests on earthen cabin floors. Many poor popish Irish could not afford beds. James Lawton, was probably born and baptized in a similar manner.

In 1844 and 1845, New Yorker Asenath Nicholson, travelled Ireland on foot for the purpose of personally investigating the conditions of the poor. The diaries of her Irish journey were published by Baker and Scribner in 1847. Her book entitled 'Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger', is a unique snapshot of how our ancestors were living at the time. All of our ancestors were living in the villages that Nicholson visited.

Set out below are a few paragraphs from Chapter two of her book. A few chosen lines reference the animals that were cared for within the cabins of the peasant Irish. This necessary peasant practice allowed members of the Anglo-Irish ruling class to take great comfort in referring to James Lawton's baptism as 'Baiste urlair':

I had always heard the Irish were celebrated for giving the pig an eminent berth in their cabins, and was a little disappointed to find that though it was really so, yet there was some nicety of arrangement in all this; for in two cabins I found a pig in a corner snugly cribbed, with a lattice work around him, a bed of clean straw under him, and a pot of food standing near the door of his house, to which he might go out and in at option. And in both these huts, though the floors were nothing but the ground, yet these were well swept; a peat fire was smouldering on clean hearths, and the delft was tastefully arranged upon the rude shelves.

Another cabin attracted us by the tidy white aprons upon two little girls who were standing at the door, and their nicely attired mother, with clean cap, and handkerchief, who welcomed me heartily to Ireland. On my commending her for her cleanliness, she said, "Plas God, poor folks should be a little tidy who have nothing else to set em off."

**Returned from this lane much gratified by the cleanliness, simplicity, and comfort of this humble people, for I had ever associated a mud wall, a thatched roof, and a pig as an inmate, with all that was wretched in the extreme; and I had, so far as this lane could speak, abundant evidence that a very little will make the Irish content, and even happy. **

The History Behind The Irish Suffering

Daniel Corkery, in his book, 'The Hidden Ireland', published by Gill and Macmillan, records the desolation that fell upon Ireland and upon the Province of Munster in particular in the eighteenth century.

Three rival European kings -- the Protestant King, William III or William of Orange; the Catholic King, James II and Louis XIV, all struggled for control of England and Ireland. The new king, William of Orange and his military forces, overcame James II and his 25,000 men, at the Battle of the Boyne, in July of 1690.

Battles of Boyne and Aughrim

Although James II fled to France after his loss at the Battle of the Boyne, Irish Catholic resistance continued for over a year. At Aughrim, in County Galway, on July 12, 1691, the final battle between the Williamite forces and those loyal to King James was fought. The battle was one of Europe's most historic and one that would change the course of Irish history forever. That date is still commemorated annually by Ulster Protestants. The Jacobite Army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield, formally surrendered by signing the Treaty of Limerick, on October 3, 1691, marking the final collapse of Gaelic resistance to English rule in Ireland.

The followers of King James were referred to as Jacobites (Jacobus, is the Latin version of James). Patrick Sarsfield and thousands of his Irish soldiers, fled to France after the Treaty of Limerick was signed. Several members of the Lawton family fled to France with Sarsfield. The Lawton's settled in the Bordeaux region of France. Over three hundred years later, the Lawton's are active in the wine-making industry in Bordeaux. Today, those families who fled Ireland in 1691 are referred to as "The Wild Geese".

The Wild Geese

In 1787, the first American ambassador to France (under President Goerge Washington), Thomas Jefferson, met a descendent of 'The Wild Geese'. Abraham Lawton, who at the time was the most influential wine broker in Bordeaux, was sought out by Jefferson. Ambassador Jefferson, was seeking advice on wine purchases for fellow Virginian, George Washington. The President's lips soon tasted wine selected by a descendent of 'The Wild Geese'. Although it has not been possible to establish a direct lineal connection between the Lawton's of 'The Wild Geese' and those members of our Lawton family who may someday read this family history, it adds great flavor to the telling of our story.

The victory at Aughrim in 1691 by William III, was followed by the passage of the Penal Laws in 1695 and the confiscation of Irish Catholic land holdings in 1702. Even after the Williamite confiscation Catholics still owned about 14% of Irish land. Within a short time, a system was devised by acts passed by the British Parliament in 1704 and 1709 which forbade Catholics to buy land at all or take leases for longer than 31 years so that by 1778 scarcely 5% of Irish land was left in Catholic hands.

The mass of the Catholic peasantry was reduced to poverty and wretchedness. The eighteenth century witnessed a fall in the standard of living due to rising population and ever higher land rents. Trade restrictions, lack of mineral wealth and no capital investment, condemned the bulk of the Catholic population, including our Cashman, Lawton, Twohig, O'Leary, Clifford, Burke, Kehoe and Kaylor ancestors, to depend on agriculture for a living, and to depend more and more on the potato for food.

Tenant farmers

After James Lawton's birth in 1809 and during his childhood, his family were tenants of the most prominent aristocratic landlord in the Killeagh area, Sir Arthur de Capell Brooke. The Brookes' had been granted title to the land in and around Killeagh, in the year 1172.

Ahadoe House, in Killeagh, the residence of Sir Arthur, was the principal seat of his holdings.

Samuel Lewis, in his 1837 two volume work entitled The Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published by the Genealogical Publishing Company, in his description of Killeagh, County Cork, notes that Sir Arthur's holdings were "called by the peasantry 'the Maiden Estate', to distinguish it from the numerous forfeited properties in its vicinity." The members of the Lawton Family were obviously of the peasant class.

A condensed version of Samuel Lewis' 1837 description of Killeagh is set out below:

KILLEAGH, a post-town and parish, in the barony of Imokilly, county of Cork, sand province of Munster, 10 miles (W.) from Youghal and 114 (s.w. by s.) from Dublin, on the road from Cork to Youghal; containing 2785 inhabitants, of which number 698 are in the town. A nunnery is said to have been founded here in the 7^th century by St. Abban, near the spot now occupied by the parish church. The town consists of one regular street, comprising 112 houses, and is neatly built,...Fairs are held on June 1^st and Nov. 1^st, at which a great quantity of live stock is sold...The water of the small river Dissour, which passes by the town, is in high repute for its bleaching properties; and near a bridge which crosses it is a boulting-mill...Sea-sand and sea-weed are used as manure, and there is abundance of limestone, brown-stone, and inferior slate. The principal seat is Ahadoe House, the residence of Sir Arthur de Capell Brooke, Bart., not more remarkable for its natural beauties than for its having remained in the same family more than 600 years, while nearly all the other estates in the South of Ireland have been confiscated. It was granted in 1172 to Philip de Capell, lineal ancestor of the present baronet, and is called by the peasantry "the Maiden Estate," to distinguish it from the numerous forfeited properties in its vicinity. From its elevated situation it commands beautiful views of the distant ocean, while the deep wood of Glenbower, which is one of the few remnants of the ancient forests, lies stretched below.

James Lawton, his brother, Maurice and their father, Edward Lawton, leased their small thatched-roofed home and surrounding farmland from Sir Arthur, situated within the Killeagh townlands of Garrenjames and Ballyquirk.

James Lawton, also worked as a mason in a quarry in the town of Dungourney, a few miles northwest of the village of Killeagh. There he cut common red stone. James, also cut and delivered turf for fuel to

A. Ormsby, Esquire and his wife, wealthy landowners of Dungourney, who allowed the peasant Irish to stay on their extensive landholdings as tenant-farmers.

The Dungourney area is where James Lawton would meet a young Irish girl named Johanna Callaghan, of the townland of Couragh, Dungourney. They would marry in 1841, inside the farmhouse with its earthen floor that the Callaghan's rented in Couragh, Dungourney.

Johanna Callaghan of Dungourney

As described by Samuel Lewis in 1837, the Ormsby Estate in Dungourney, was called Brookdale. An agricultural school, in connection with the Protestant Agricultural Society of Cork, was established at Brookdale, "under the patronage of Mr. Ormsby, for the instruction of 30 Protestant boys in the practical knowledge of agriculture, combined with a useful and religious education." Mr. and Mrs. Ormsby also ran a school for young Protestant females.

Young Johanna Callaghan, was educated at the Catholic school run by the Roman Catholic Parish in Dungourney. The school could accommodate up to 170 papist children. A papist was a term disparagingly used by the Protestants to describe anyone who was 'loyal to the Pope'. James Lawton, received his education, if he received any at all, in his village of Killeagh, a few miles southeast of Dungourney.

Killeagh, County Cork

The Lawton Family had resided in Killeagh since at least the early 1600's and probably well before that time. Killeagh is situated 10 miles from Youghal, on the road from Cork City to Youghal. It is also a few miles southeast of the town of Dungourney.

Killeagh has only one road running through it. The river Dissour also runs through the town and through the ancient forest called Glenbower, also spelled locally as Glaunbour. The forest gets its name from the fury of the Dissour River. Glaunbour means 'Deafening Valley.'

James and Johanna marry in 1841

It must have been a cold Saturday afternoon, on February 22, 1841, when 32 year old James Lawton, married 20 year old Johanna Callaghan, inside the Callaghan farmhouse in the town of Dungourney, Parish of Mogealy (also spelled Mogeely and often referred to as Imogeely). Robert Lee, sponsored James Lawton. Frances Callaghan, sponsored Johanna Callaghan.

Johanna Callaghan, gave birth to four children. Edward Lawton,

our ancestor, was born on April 17, 1842, in Killeagh. James Lawton, was born on April 15, 1844, in Killeagh. John Lawton, also known as William Lawton, was born on March 1, 1846, in Killeagh; and, Maurice J. Lawton, was born on October 20, 1848 in Killeagh.

The Famine: 'The Great Hunger'

The potato arrived in Europe about 1565 and flourished in Ireland, where wet weather and soil conditions made it the staple crop. Half of the eight million Irish population in 1842 subsisted on potatoes and buttermilk.

Beginning in 1845 and lasting for seven years, a fungus destroyed the potato crop throughout Ireland. The spores of the fungus that caused the blight, apparently originated in Mexico's central highlands. The spores spread across New England, then to Flanders and Belgium. Wet, gloomy weather, unusual even for wet, gloomy Ireland, propagated the blight with stunning effect, and the starvation was on.

The late syndicated Boston Globe columnist, David Nyhan, in his last column, wrote, "The thing I'll miss most is the chance to shine a little flashlight on a dark corner, where a wrong was done to a powerless peon". Nyhan, chose "The Great Hunger" of 1845, as a favorite topic. Some of his commentary on "The Great Hunger" is set out below:

For every square mile of Irish sod, 30 peasants lay buried, weakened by starvation, finished off by what was collectively known as famine fever -- louse-borne relapsing fever and especially louse-borne typhus, whose victims give off a characteristic, awful smell in the last stages before they die.....The Great Hunger of 1845 lasted seven years, killed 1 million Irish people, prompted another million and a half to flee in the notorious 'coffin ships'. Ireland is the only country in Europe to have fewer people today than it had 150 years ago.....the fungus 'Phytophthora infestans' caused the blight of the potato in Ireland, but it was the injustice that caused the famine.....The British government allowed merchants to continue exporting food from Ireland to paying customers elsewhere even as thousands perished from want. The powerful grain merchants' lobby persuaded Parliament to ban the import of grain to help the Irish.....The Irish wouldn't have commandeered Boston the way they did, or captured the politics of New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, had it not been for the tiny fungus spores that made their way from this country to the Auld Sod in the dank hold of a potato-bearing sailing ship. Jack Kennedy might have been naught but a Dublin publican's son, or an Irish dandy coaxing favors out of the Bloomsbury set, were it not for the migrate-or-die imperative spawned by a spore.

The Lawton family saw their friends, neighbors and family members die during "The Great Hunger", or, as the Lawton's would have referred to it as in their native tongue -- 'An Gorta Mor'. The Lawton children were born during this period of time and somehow survived.

Was it Famine or Genocide

David Nyhan, of the Boston Globe was correct when he stated that, "it was the injustice that caused the Famine". The Public Record Office in London, has records that indicate the names and locations in Ireland of the British Army's "food removal regiments". British troops forcibly removed and seized from Ireland's producers, tens of millions of head of livestock; tens of millions of tons of flour, grains, meat, poultry and dairy products, enough it is estimated to sustain 18 million people - at the same time the blight was hitting the Irish potato crop.

The reasons for this seizure of food from the starving Irish was twofold. First, blight had also hit the English potato crop. They too were overly dependent upon the potato. They had to import vast amounts of alternative food. The British Army didn't merely grab Ireland's surplus food; or enough Irish food to save England. It seized more, for profit and to exterminate the people of Ireland. Queen Victoria's economist, Nassau Senior, expressed his fear that existing policies, "will not kill more than one million Irish in 1848 and that will scarcely be enough to do much good".

The Public Record Office in London, has records that show the names and locations in Ireland of the "food removal regiments".

The Lawton's and Heaphy's of Killeagh, County Cork, could not muster the resistence necessary to prevent the British Army's 67^th Regiment, who were deployed nearby in Midleton and the 3^rd Hussars, who were deployed near Youghal, from taking their flour, grains, poultry and dairy products. The British warship, the Dragon, did the rest by transporting those goods to feed the British population.

All of our ancestors fled Ireland to come to America. They never would have flourished in America but for "the migrate-or-die imperative spawned by a spore" -- and the British Army.

Johanna (Callaghan) Lawton dies at age 28

During the Famine, tragedy struke the Lawton's of Killeagh, townland of Ballyquirk. Johanna (Callaghan) Lawton, died in 1849 at age 28.

In an Irish civil record referred as the 'House Books' or 'Valuation Books', records that were initiated in 1830 and which recorded details of the living conditions of the Irish, including the dimensions and type of buildings that the papist Irish rented from their aristocratic landlords, it was noted that in March of 1849 the Lawton stable which was 13 feet by 21 feet and 7 feet 6 inches in height, was leveled.

Could Johanna (Callaghan ) Lawton, have died in a fire in March of 1849 that leveled that stable? Could the 28 year old mother of four sons have died in childbirth? She had given birth in 1842, 1844, 1846, and, her son, Maurice Lawton, was born in October of 1848. Was her death during the time of the Famine caused by famine fever?

Whatever the cause of her death, James Lawton, became a widower at age 40, having to raise four children by himself. His oldest son, Edward, our ancestor, was only seven years of age. His youngest child, Maurice, was only a year old.

Widower James Lawton would soon relinquish his leased farmland in Ballyquirk, consisting of an outbuilding and house to James Ryall and his family. It was the Ryall family who relinquished the Ballyquirk holdings to the present day Kelley family of Ballyquirk.

When James Lawton, left Ballyquirk, he and his small children moved to the Killeagh townland of Burgess Lower and resided in the house believed to be occupied by his mother, Mary Lawton. It was in Burgess Lower that James and his family became acquainted with the Daniel Heaphy family. Daniel Heaphy's brother, James Heaphy, lived in Mullarie townland, near Burgess. This association was a significant one for James Lawton's oldest son, Edward Lawton, our ancestor.

In October of 1857, Margaret Heaphy, our ancestor, was born to James Heaphy and Mary (Keeffe) Heaphy, of Mullarie townland. Twenty-four years later, on January 18, 1881, in Lynn, Massachusetts, 24 year old Margaret Heaphy would marry 38 year old Edward Lawton, at St. Mary's Church, in Lynn. The Irish couple who had both emigrated to America from Killeagh, County Cork, would be married in their new homeland by Fr. Patrick Strain.

Edward Lawton emigrates to America in 1862

At the age of twenty, Edward Lawton, walked southward from his village of Killeagh, through the towns of Midleton and Carigtohill toward the port city of Queenstown, today called Cobh (pronounced Cove). His destination was America. He arrived in the Port of Boston in 1862. In America, he would become a shoemaker.

The Port of Boston

Despite deep colonial roots, Boston was not the port of choice for immigrants. For those immigrants who did arrive in Boston, their shortage of money prevented them from traveling too far, so most immigrants remained in the Boston area.

In 1845, a Customs House was constructed on Long Wharf at the terminus of State Street and this facility was used as an immigration processing station until the early 20^th century. Only immigrants who needed to be detained due to paperwork or further examination were held at the station. Most immigrants were processed on the docks. It's fair to say that all the Burke's, Clifford's, Daylor's, O'Leary's, Twohig's, Lawton's and Heaphy's, received their processing on the dock at Long Wharf.

By the early 20^th century, a new facility was needed as the Long Wharf facility was deemed a fire hazard. The new processing station called the East Boston Immigration Station and referred to as "Boston's Ellis Island", opened in 1920 and operated until 1954.

In 1872, Edward's younger brother, Maurice Lawton, would also make the same walk to Queenstown. He too would take a ship to America. He too would come through the immigrant processing station at Long Wharf before he reached South Boston, where he settled and became a shoemaker like his older brother, Edward.

An oath of disallegiance to the Crown

On December 1, 1877, Edward Lawton, appeared before the Circuit Court of the United States in Boston to receive his citizenship. He stated in his citizenship application that his ship arrived in the port of Boston in April of 1862. Edward, was only 20 years of age when he arrived in Boston, Massachusetts.

The citizenship petition that was signed by Edward Lawton, in December of 1877, was significant in light of the years of oppression he and his ancestors suffered at the hands of the English and the Anglo-Irish hereditary ruling class in Ireland. Edward's two friends, Jeremiah Hearley and Patrick Reddy, stood with Edward that day as his witnesses. They both witnessed Edward raise his right hand and state:

"I, Edward Lawton, do solemnly swear, that I do absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every Foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty whatsoever, - particularly to Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, whose subject I have heretofore been; and that I will support the Constitution of the United States of America, - so help me God." And, that he proudly did.

Lynn, Massachusetts

In America, Edward Lawton, would become a 'shoe laster'. He plied his trade in the City of Lynn, Massachusetts. His duties entailed operating a variety of machines to join, decorate, reinforce and finish shoes and shoe parts. Lynn was a city where he would experience as much oppression as he experienced in County Cork, Ireland.

Lynn, Massachusetts, where Edward Lawton, chose to settle, was a city bursting with economic opportunity for European immigrants. Before Edward Lawton's arrival in Lynn, shoemaking had become an important part of the city's economic base. With the opening of the Eastern Railroad Boston to Salem line in 1838 and the development of the shoe sewing machine in 1848, the shoe industry was revolutionized.

There were two events that impacted Edward Lawton's future, the 1869 fire that destroyed central Lynn and the famous Shoemakers Strike in 1860, just 2 years before Edward's arrival. In the 1860 strike, 20,000 shoeworkers participated. The strike lasted six weeks. The strike began when Lynn shoeworkers marched through the streets to their workplaces and handed in their tools. Boston police and the state militia were brought in to halt the 1860 strike. Those same workers, along with Edward Lawton, struck again in 1870. Each strike was precipitated by shoeworker's demanding a standardized wage system and employers rejecting their demands. The shoeworker's along with Edward Lawton, struke again in 1890.

Historian Alan Dawley, writes that "Lynn children grew up seeing their mothers and fathers parading against industrial oppression and fighting with police." During the 1860 strike, Abraham Lincoln, who was campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, came out in support of the walkout. Lincoln declared that the strike was a demonstration of the freedom that slavery denied.

Edward Lawton and Margaret Heaphy marry

After Edward Lawton settled in Lynn, Margaret Heaphy, 15 years his junior and whose family had lived only a few hundred yards from the Lawton farmhouse in Killeagh, herself arrived in Lynn. Margaret had immigrated to America in 1875.

On January 18, 1881, 39 year old shoemaker Edward Lawton, married 24 year old Margaret Heaphy. They married at St. Mary's Church, located on South Common Street in Lynn. The Rev. Patrick Strain performed the ceremony. For many years, Fr. Strain would ride horseback between Saugus and Lynn to minister to the poor papist Irish.

Margaret (Heaphy) Lawton, gave birth to 12 children. They are: James Francis Lawton, who was born on January 31, 1881, at

66 Sagamore Street, Lynn; John Lawton, who was born on February 28, 1886, at 66 Sagamore Street, Lynn; Edward James Lawton, who was born on July 15, 1888, at 5 Sumner Street, Quincy, Mass.; Maurice Joseph Lawton, who was born on August 17, 1890, at 5 Sumner Street, Quincy; Daniel J. Lawton, who was born on August 20, 1892, at 5 Sumner Street, Quincy; Frederick Henry Lawton, our ancestor, who was born on October 17, 1893, at 5 Sumner Street, Quincy; John Joseph Lawton, who was born on September 24, 1895, at 21 1/2 Union Street, Quincy; Mary Josephine Lawton, who was born on September 7, 1896, at 21 1/2 Union Street, Quincy; Richard Lawton, who was born on September 3, 1897, at 21 1/2 Union Street, Quincy; and, Mathew Lawrence Lawton, who was born on November 13, 1899, at 21 1/2 Union Street, Quincy. Margaret, also lost two children during childbirth.

The 'Go-Betweens'

Inside the Ellis Island Museum in New York, the immigrant experience is on display very vividly. Various dimensions of that experience are also talked about. An interesting dimension involves that of immigrant children and the children of immigrants. They were referred to as the 'Go-Betweens'. They were children who had to walk a fine line between two opposing cultures. On the one side there were centuries of ethnic traditions. On the other side, there were new friends and a new culture that frowned on foreign ways. The children of Edward and Margaret (Heaphy) Lawton, were 'Go-Betweens'.

Also inside the Ellis Island Museum, exhibits document the expanding percentage of the population taken up by European immigrants. "By 1910, 75% of the residents of New York, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland and Boston, were immigrants or the children of immigrants. They generally lived in the poorest sections of the cities, in little Italy's, Chinatown's, and other ethnic enclaves, where they could speak their own language and find refuge from the demands of American society". Our ancestors lived in "two different worlds".

The Lawton's move to Brockton, Massachusetts

After the turn of the century the large Lawton Family moved from their last Quincy address at 238 Main Street in Quincy, to Brockton, Massachusetts, then known as the 'Shoe Capital of the World'. They ultimately purchased a small home at 230 Winter Street, Brockton, on June 6, 1912. The home was sold in 1934 after the death of 89 year old patriarch Edward Lawton. Their long presence at that address and the many well-known tragedies that the Lawton's had suffered while living at that address, caused the City of Brockton to name a side street off of Winter Street after the Lawton Family -- Lawton Avenue.

Brockton, Massachusetts, was and is the only city in Plymouth County. Until 1874, it was known as North Bridgewater. In 1870 there were only 8,007 inhabitants. By 1900 Brockton's population had grown to more than 40,000. By 1900 Brockton had become one of the leading shoemaking centers in the country. Our ancestors, The Lawton's, Twohig's, Poudrier's, Clifford's, Burke's, O'Leary's and Daylor's, all came to Brockton to find employment in what became known as the "Shoe City."

Edward Lawton and eventually the entire Lawton Family found employment in the shoe industry. Young Fred Lawton, our ancestor, upon arriving in Brockton, attended Grammar School at the Cary Hill School on the top of Cary Hill, on Brockton's East Side. He later graduated from Brockton High School. Before and after his military commitment during WWI, Fred also worked as a shoemaker.

Shortly after the start of 'The Great War' in June of 1914, Fred Lawton, joined the 10^th Coastal Artillery Company of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. He was assigned to Fort Warren from 1915 to 1918. His job was to operate the large 10-inch and 12-inch Breech Loading Guns mounted on disappearing carriages to cover the approaches to Boston Harbor.

Fort Warren, located on George's Island in Boston Harbor, was the place where important military and political prisoners of the Confederacy were imprisoned during the Civil War. The Fort was named after Dr. Joseph Warren, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War, on June 17, 1775.

Fred and Christine Lawton

In 1906, a six year old Irish immigrant from Cork City, Christine Twohig, arrived in America on board a passenger ship, carrying only her violin. Christine emigrated to America with her parents, Tom Twohig and Kate (Long) Twohig and her seven siblings: Katherine "Kit", Susan, Margaret, Emily, Nathaniel, Thomas, Jr. and Winifred.

In 1918, Christine Twohig's older sister, Katherine Twohig, known as 'Kit', introduced the ashblonde and artistic Christine Twohig, to the six foot tall, blue-eyed, 24 year old Army Sargeant Fred Lawton, of Winter Street in Brockton. The Twohig's were then residing at 455 North Main Street in Brockton.

Almost immediately, the young Army Sargeant asked 49 year old, Tom Twohig, for his daughter Christine's hand in marriage. Permission was granted.

On June 30, 1920, Fred and Christine were married at St. Edward's Church located on East Main Street, in the Montello section of Brockton. The Rev. Thomas F. Brannan, performed the ceremony. Fred's best friend, Brockton City Councilman John J. O'Donnell and Cathleen Kavanaugh were the witnesses.

St. Edward's Church, where the Lawton's were married in June of 1920, was founded in 1915. In 2003, the church merged with two other area parishes. The combined parish was renamed St. Edith Stein.

The newly married couple, Fred and Christine Lawton, first resided at 32 Martland Avenue, in Brockton, where their oldest child, Marguerite Lawton, would be born on July 13, 1921. The Lawton's soon moved to 30 East Battles Street and then to 50 Cherry Street. Cherry Street would be the last address where Fred and Christine would reside together with their six children: Marguerite (DOB: July 13, 1921), Frederick (DOB: April 11, 1923), Thomas (DOB: August 13, 1924), James, our ancestor (DOB: October 20, 1925), Mary (DOB: January 28, 1928), Sheila (DOB: October 30, 1929) and Richard (DOB: August 22, 1931).

February 15, 1931

February 15, 1931, was a day that would change the fortunes of the entire Lawton Family forever. After a visit to the Lawton apartment on the first floor of 50 Cherry Street, Mrs. William Cayan, of 74 Ellis Street, was escorted home by Fred Lawton, who only moments earlier had finished tutoring Mrs. Cayan's son with his arithmetic lesson.

At 8:55pm, Fred Lawton was 100 feet north of Prospect Street, in Brockton, while crossing North Warren Avenue, from east to west. As Fred was assisting Mrs. Cayan from behind onto the west curbing, a speeding auto traveling southerly on North Warren Avenue without its headlights on, hit Fred, hurling him into the air. The shouts of Mrs. Cayan brought neighbors hurrying from their houses. The police ambulance with Officers Delaney and Getchell hurried to the scene and placed Fred's mangled body onto a stretcher. He would die two hours later at the Brockton Hospital. Fred Lawton, was 38 years of age.

The front page of the Brockton Enterprise on February 17, 1931, carried the headline, 'Father of Six Killed; Driver of Car Escapes'. One of the two front page stories carrying the headline, 'Every Policeman Seeking Killer', detailed the state of emergency the City of Brockton was in after the killing:

The Brockton police department as a unit moved forward to-day in far-reaching attempt to locate and bring to justice the driver of the automobile which struck and caused the death of Fred Lawton. While Sgt. Leary is officially assigned to the investigation, every member of the department has been detailed to close observation of automobiles in general, as well as garages, repair shops and other places where it might be reasonably suspected the hit-and-run motorist might take his car. A few good clues were run down promptly this forenoon and City Marshall Boyden at noon declared he was almost satisfied that an arrest would be made by night.

Fred Lawton, only 38 years of age, with six children and a wife pregnant with a seventh child, was waked in their small first floor apartment, located at 50 Cherry Street, on Brockton's North side, called Montello, within St. Edward's Parish.

Fred Lawton's dad, Edward Lawton, sat in a prominent place near his son's casket. Those who came to pay their respects to Fred Lawton's family, especially the veterans of the Great War, the Legionnaires as they were referred to, all stopped to console the retired 88 year old shoemaker.

A February 22, 1931, Brockton Enterprise story entitled 'Death Ends Fears', captured the sorrow that enveloped the whole Lawton Family. The Enterprise story is set out below:

Death Ends Fears

For years it has been the cherished ambition of Edward Lawton, Winter Street, to have his six sons serve as bearers at his funeral. Not that the venerable man expects soon to heed the call of the Grim Reaper, but he thought it would be a fitting mark of respect. On numerous occasions he had mentioned it to his boys. One there was among them who demurred; not in the presence of his dad, perhaps, but to his brothers to whom he confided that it would be almost unbearable. He never will carry out the request; the combination has been broken.

Last Sunday night an automobile killed Frederick H. Lawton, one of the sons, the car operated by a 'hit and run driver'. It was Fred to whom the thought of serving as a bearer was distasteful, occasioned more, his closest friends aver, by the ordeal of saying farewell forever to his beloved and respected father.

Strikingly pathetic is the passing of this devoted father and husband whose life was centered in his family on Cherry Street. Less than a week ago he was discussing the veterans compensation measure and unhesitatingly he took sides. "I'll never ask for a loan on it as long as I have two hands." He replied with emphasis; "that stays right there for the little wife and kiddies." He never will realize on the certificate; his promise came true.

While his heartbroken wife lay sobbing on a coach in the home where they had been so happy, just a few feet from all that was mortal of the man whom she loved with a devotion that was almost heavenly, these hushed words of intended comfort drifted to her ears: "How I wish that cruel auto driver could be found.

"Why do they say that?" was her reply. "I pray that they never will identify him. If they do another mother or wife's heart will be broken. God will take care of me and mine, I know."

Full military rites for Fred Lawton

The Brockton Enterprise news story that ran on the front page the day after Fred Lawton's burial was very moving. It described the American Legion Bugle and drum Corps forming up at the Memorial Building on West Elm Street in Brockton and marching to the Lawton home on Cherry Street. Fred Lawton, ironically was to have been installed as an executive officer of the American Legion on the very day of his burial at Calvary Cemetery on Brockton's East Side.

The most captivating portion of the news coverage described the reaction of the Lawton children to the ongoing tragedy:

As the body was being borne from the house to the waiting hearse, and with scores standing nearby with bowed heads, four of his younger children were observed peering from a window in their little home, seemingly unaware of the terrible tragedy that had entered their lives. They appeared to be more impressed with the uniforms of their late father's comrades than with the fact that they were losing their father forever.

Those little children peering out of the window were: Frederick (age 8), Thomas (age 6), James (age 5) and one of the Ward Family children. Christine Lawton, asked Mr. and Mrs. Ward who lived on the second floor at 50 Cherry Street to allow her boys to stay with them temporarily so that she could wake her husband in their first floor living room.

Christine, asked her best friend, Molly (Monahan) Hamlin, to watch her three daughters: Marguerite (age 9), Mary (age 3) and Sheila (age 1), during the wake and funeral. Molly, herself had been widowed in August of 1920, when her husband, Jim Burke, died at the age of 24 from injuries suffered a few years earlier during "The Great War", now known as World War I. Molly, later married a second time to a Mr. Hamlin and had two sons.

The Brockton public assists the Lawton's

Within weeks of Fred Lawton's death, a committee of family, friends, former soldiers, associates from the American Legion and fellow shoeworkers, came together to raise money to assist the pregnant Christine Lawton and her six children. The Lawton family had no

money and no income.

Two months is all it took for the 'General Committee of the Frederick H. Lawton Fund', to raise $4,900.00. Three of Fred Lawton's closest friends: Former Brockton Mayor William L. Gleason, Atty. William T. Shinnick and former Brockton City Councilor John J. O'Donnell, became trustees of a Trust that purchased the modest 7-room home once owned by the late Horace and Frances Packard, located at 118 Summer Street, on Brockton's East Side. The Trust paid $3,300.00 for the Summer Street property using money raised by the committee.

The Declaration of Trust, filed with the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds, on June 18, 1931, stated that the property to be held in trust for the benefit of the Lawton Family, would be turned over to Christine Lawton and her family within 10 years. The Trust also declared that the balance of $1,600.00 would be distributed to the family as needed.

The Brockton public was generous with its financial support. Christine, however, who was due with her seventh child in August, needed help and assistance raising her large family. In July of 1931, her parents, Tom Twohig and Kate (Long) Twohig, moved into her 118 Summer Street home to help with the children.

The suffering of another mother

Christine Lawton's life would never be the same after the tragic death of her husband, Frederick. Frederick Lawton's mother, Margaret (Heaphy) Lawton, suffered many losses as well.

By the time Margaret Lawton, turned 43 years of age at the turn of the century she had already lost 5 of her 12 children. Two of her children were lost in childbirth. Other losses that befell Margaret are: her seven year old son, John, was crushed to death in Quincy by a horse drawn stone cart. Her daughter, Mary Josephine, died at home in Quincy, when she was only two months of age. Her son, Richard, a shoemaker, died of pneumonia in April of 1926, at the age of 28. Her son, Frederick, died violently in February of 1931, leaving seven children behind with no source of income. Her 32 year old son, Matthew, a shoe worker at Diamond Shoe in Brockton, was crushed to death on June 25, 1932, in a violent automobile accident not unlike his brother Fred's death just sixteen months earlier.

Just four months before her youngest child Matthew's death, Margaret herself would die tragically from "multiple burns of 1st and 2nd degree and shock" when her clothing caught fire after accidently touching the top of a kerosene lamp. Margaret's gruesome death came just one year and one day after her son Fred's violent death.

The front page of the Brockton Enterprise on February 17, 1932, carried the headline: 'Mrs. Lawton Victim of Fire From Lamp'. The front page of the Enterprise story is set out below:

FLAMES BURN ALL CLOTHING OFF HER BODY. Survives Son, Hit-and Run Victim, by One Year. After having become a veritable human torch when her sleeve was ignited from the flame of a kerosene lamp, Mrs. Margaret Lawton, 79, died Tuesday evening at the Brockton Hospital from terrible burns, just one year and a day from the cruel death of her son, Frederick, at the hands of a hit and run auto driver. Death came mercifully to the aged woman at 10 Tuesday night.

Page two of the Brockton Enterprise captured the graphic detail of her death:

Screaming in anguish, she ran from the house to the plaza, but before help could arrive the wind had fanned the flames to a frenzy which destroyed her clothing even to her shoes and stockings and which burned her completely, exposing the scalp.

Across the street from the Lawton home, John O'Donnell, 203 Winter Street, glanced out of the window and horrified, saw the woman wrapped in a curling sheet of flame. Instantly, he grabbed an overcoat and ran to the woman's aid. On reaching her side he immediately wrapped the heavy garment about her and succeeded in smothering the flames, but too late to save her from terrific burns which hospital authorities later said covered every inch of the elderly woman's body.

With fortitude almost unbelievable in one of her advanced years Mrs. Lawton never once lost consciousness, bravely keeping her senses despite the agonizing burns she had suffered. She was guided indoors by her husband, Edward Lawton, who had been upstairs in the home at the time of the incident. There still conscious, she awaited the arrival of the ambulance. Physicians and hospital authorities there marveled at the woman's stoical fortitude, for she fought bravely against the inevitable every minute up to the time of her death.

Five years after Margaret's horrific death, Edward Lawton, died at his son Maurice Lawton's home located at 52 Milton Street, Brockton. The date was June 6, 1937. He was 95 years of age. Edward, had moved in with his son, Maurice, also known as 'Mull', to be cared for in the last year of his life. The home that Edward purchased on June 6, 1912, at 230 Winter Street in Brockton, was sold by his surviving children after his death.

Some would say that Edward lived too long. He saw eight of his twelve children predecease him. He watched in horror as his wife, Margaret, burned to death in front of their Winter Street home. His Catholic faith never wavered, however. Until months before his death, Edward Lawton, attempted to make the walk every day to attend Mass at St. Edward's Church in Brockton. Edward's own stoical fortitude had sustained him.

Fred and Christine Lawton's children

With the financial help of the greater Brockton community and with the daily assistance of Twohig family members, Christine (Twohig) Lawton's task of raising seven children, one a newborn, was made much easier. Christine sent all of her children, with the exception of her son, Jimmy Lawton, to St. Patrick's Grammar School in downtown Brockton. St. Patrick's was taught by the Sisters of Charity. Jim Lawton, couldn't enroll in the first grade at St. Patrick's Grammar School as there was no room to accommodate him. Jim instead attended the public Sprague School located near the Lawton home on Summer Street in Brockton.

All the Lawton children were expected to work to help their mother. Brothers Fred and Thomas Lawton, built wooden shoeshine kits and worked daily after school on busy Main Street in Brockton, shining shoes. Young impersonator, Jimmy Lawton, was already earning a little money entertaining people at the Brockton Fair and at vaudeville shows in the Brockton region and throughout New England with a group called 'Youth on Parade'.

St. Patrick's school, in addition to their grammar school, had a high school for girls but not boys. Marguerite, Mary and Sheila Lawton, all graduated from St. Patrick's High School. The boys all attended Brockton High School. Thomas attended Coyle High School in Taunton, Massachusetts, for his senior year. Coyle was taught by the Holy Cross Brothers. It was the Congregation of Holy Cross that would later play a significant role in the life of young Thomas Lawton. The Congregation of Holy Cross also impacted the entire Lawton Family and thousands of other families in Massachusetts who were touched by Tom Lawton's priestly ministry.

Christine (Twohig) Lawton

After she lost her husband in 1931, Christine (Twohig) Lawton, stayed busy. Christine, whose artistic talent was recognized as a young child in Ireland, used that talent to paint the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the bottom of pottery, ceramicware, tin-glazed earthenware or as the Irish would refer to it as -- Delftware or simply Delft. In addition, the Irish of Brockton and the surrounding towns, would deliver to Christine's Summer Street Brockton home, their family's watches, mostly pocket watches, for her to delicately paint on the face of each watch -- the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Christine (Twohig) Lawton, the widowed Irish immigrant mother of seven, lost her own life at the age of 49. She died of a brain aneurysm. Christine, passed away at the 19 Wall Street, Quincy home of her older sister, Sue (Twohig) Graffam, who was caring for her after surgery in Boston.

Marguerite R. Lawton

Marguerite R. Lawton, commonly known as Margy, who was born on July 13,1921, was Fred and Christine Lawton's oldest child. Margy, was born inside the family home located at 23 Martland Avenue, in Brockton. Nine years later, in February of 1931, she would be enlisted to help her mother raise her six younger siblings after her father's unexpected death.

It was this family tragedy early at age nine that defined her lifetime of service to others. That tragedy also helped define the lifetime of service for which her younger siblings would also become known.

Marguerite, graduated from St. Patrick's High School in Brockton and soon after was fortunate to find a position with the telephone company. She learned skills at the telephone company that were of great value to her when she joined the war effort in 1943, serving with the United States Marine Corp at Camp Pendleton in California. Corporal Lawton, was a Marine from August 4, 1943 to November 7, 1945.

Marguerite, was honored on November 13, 2015, at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the 240th birthday of the United States Marine Corp, as being one of the oldest surviving members of the Corp in the United States.

After the war, Christine Lawton, encouraged her oldest child, Marguerite, to attend design school in Boston - The Modern School of Design, located on Boylston Street. After graduating from design school, Marguerite taught there for seven years before joining Carter's of Needham Heights. She later became the chief designer of children's clothing for Carters.

Aunt Margy's skills benefited members of her family. In May of 1974, her nephew Mark Lawton, son of Jim and Jeanne Lawton, proposed to Patty O'Leary. Within a short time, Margy, was helping design and create Patty's wedding dress. Mark and Patty, married at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, on April 19, 1975.

For forty years, Margy, was a devoted volunteer at the Holy Cross Father's Retreat House in North Easton, Massachusetts. Her younger brother, Fr. Tom Lawton, was the Executive Director at the Retreat House until shortly before his death in 2002.

In 1967, Marguerite married Lester Doucette. They were only married for two years until Lester's untimely death. Marguerite, always remained close to the Doucette Family, even residing with Lester's daughter and son-in-law later in her life -- Joni (Doucette) Mullane and Dr. David Mullane.

On October 23, 1976, Marguerite married Joseph Ofria. They would be married for thirty years, until Joseph's death in 2006.

Marguerite, died on February 20, 2018, after she fell at the home of Joni and Dr. David Mullane, in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts. She was 96 years of age.

Frederick H. Lawton

Frederick H. Lawton, commonly known as Fred, who was born in 1923, was the second oldest of Fred and Christine's seven children. Fred was only seven years of age when his father was killed in February of 1931. Even though civic leaders and shoe workers throughout the city helped raise funds to purchase a home on Summer Street for the family to live in, finances were still an issue. Fred, pitched in by shining shoes on bustling Main Street in downtown Brockton -- along with many other young boys who were also trying to help out at home.

In December of 1937, an estimated fifty Brockton boys ranging in age from ten to eighteen, engaged in a dramatic labor strike, referred to as the "Shoe Shine Boys Strike". The strike was precipitated by the Brockton City Council considering the passage of a proposed city ordinance prohibiting the practice of anyone offering the service of a shoe shine in downtown Brockton.

The only people offering the shoe shine service were young Brockton boys, including Fred Lawton and his younger brother, Thomas, sons of Christine Lawton and the late Fred Lawton. The Lawton boys built their own shoe shine kits from scraps of wood they had collected from their East Side neighborhood. Young Fred Lawton, in December of 1937, helped organize and direct the labor strike when it appeared that Brockton City government would criminalize their attempts to help their families financially.

The proposed ordinance was pushed by Main Street businesses who didn't want their patrons and customers being bothered by the young and hungry shoe shine boys. Fred Lawton and the shoe shine boys won. The proposed ordinance failed to pass. Fred and the other shoe shine boys went on to fight for their country in World War II. They would become "The Greatest Generation".

Fred, never married. After attending St. Patrick's Grammar School, Fred attended Brockton High School from which he graduated in 1941. He then attended Brockton Business School, graduating in 1942.

In 1942, Fred secured a position with the Massachusetts State Police before joining the United States Army on June 15, 1943. Upon his honorable discharge on February 21, 1946, Fred returned to the State Police.

Fred Lawton, was devoted to his parish church of St. Colman's on the East Side of Brockton. He was a lifetime member of the St. Colman's Holy Name Society. In the 1990's, the Diocese of Boston changed the name of the church to Christ the King.

Fred, was a great help to his younger brother, Father Thomas E. Lawton, after Thomas became the Executive Director of the Holy Cross Father's Retreat House, in Easton, Massachusetts.

Fred was diagnosed with Erythro Leukemia on Christmas Day in 1979. Fr. Tom, asked Fred to come to the Retreat Hose to be cared for by himself and their younger sister, Sheila (Lawton) Stewart. Fred died at the Retreat House on September 11, 1980.

After leading the shoe shine boys in a victorious labor strike at the age of fourteen and joining the United States Army to help liberate Europe at the age of twenty, Fred lost his life at the age of fifty-seven.

Thomas E. Lawton

Thomas E. Lawton, commonly known as Tom, who was born in 1924, was the third oldest among the Lawton siblings. Thomas, attended Brockton Public Schools until his senior year in high school. He attended Coyle High School in Taunton, Massachusetts, during his senior year. Coyle was a high school run by the Congregation of the Holy Cross.

During his senior year at Coyle, Tom, would meet Fr. George Benaglia, of the Holy Cross Fathers who convinced him to enter the priesthood. Fr. Tom always referred to this being the first of many occasions when he learned "to surrender to the invading presence of God" in his daily life.

Tom Lawton, graduated from the University of Notre Dame, a university run by the Congregation of the Holy Cross. The commencement speaker at Tom's graduation from Notre Dame was a little known and youthful congressman from Massachusetts, who was also a disabled World War II veteran, by the name of John F. Kennedy. Kennedy would soon become a friend of Tom's younger brother, Jimmy Lawton.

Tom, was ordained a priest in Fall River on June 7, 1952. He was now known until the time of his death in 2002, as Fr. Tom. He served as assistant principal at Father Baker High School in Buffalo, New York. In 1957, Fr. Tom became the first principal at Notre Dame High School in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Fr. Tom's impact at Notre Dame High School was immense. His services were in high demand.

In 1963, Richard Cardinal Cushing asked Fr. Tom, to begin the planning of a new Catholic high school in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The school was to be named St. Peter's. Many months later, the Congregation of Holy Cross Fathers prevailed upon Cardinal Cushing to allow Fr. Tom to create and operate the Holy Cross Father's Retreat House, in North Easton, Massachusetts. The Retreat House was located on the campus of Stonehill College, a sister school to the University of Notre Dame, of South Bend, Indiana. Fr. Tom, was the director of the Retreat House for 39 years.

The Retreat House under Fr. Tom's direction influenced the lives of thousands of men and women. He developed almost a cult-like following. The Cursillo movement throughout New England grew in popularity because of Fr. Tom Lawton.

There are not enough pages to capture the extent to which Fr. Tom's ministry influenced and touched people. Just one example will be mentioned here.

In the late 1980's, Jim and Terry Orcutt, founded 'My Brother's Keeper' in southeastern Massachusetts. The organization was founded to deliver beds, furniture and food to people in need. The organization grew so large that they had to buy a building on West Chestnut Street in Brockton. At the dedication of the building on May 3, 1995, 400 people appeared to celebrate Mass, along with fifteen priests and two deacons. The new facility of service was dedicated in the name of Rev. Thomas E. Lawton.

The Orcutt's were inspired to Christian service after having lived Cursillo, at the Holy Cross Fathers Retreat House, in 1986. In dedicating the ministries' new home in the name of Fr. Tom, the Orcutt's said: "We see the fruits of Father Tom's work for Christ not only in My Brother's Keeper, but in countless good works performed by the thousands who have been led to Christ through Cursillo in Father Tom's thirty years at the Retreat House and his many other apostolic works over the forty-three years of his priesthood."

On June 3, 2002, on the occasion of Fr. Tom's 50th anniversary of his ordination as a Catholic priest, hundreds of guests gathered at the Sally Blair Ames Field House on the Stonehill College campus to help celebrate and honor Fr. Tom's priestly ministry.

Fr. Tom Lawton, on that June evening, was only 11 weeks from his death as he spoke to the 575 people assembled to honor him at Stonehill College. Fr. Tom, was renowned far and wide as a homilist. A portion of his remarks that evening are set out below:

I've been working here on the Stonehill campus since 1963, so it's special to be here tonight. Certainly, this is an outstanding evening seeing we have 575 guests here this evening. I'll be 78 years old on August 11^th and tonight I'm celebrating 50 years in the priesthood, so this is a very special time for me. I'd like to take a moment on this occasion to mention a few things that should be important to all of us.

First of all, I'd like to talk about the role that we all have in this world -- each one of us has a unique role to play. Each of us is part of a plan -- it's God's plan. If there were no plan, this universe and all that we have would be unnecessary. Secondly, we must have faith. Faith, very simply is a surrender on your part and on my part. It's a surrender to the invading presence of God in our daily lives. Having been sick these past few months, I've given more thought to my own faith and to the unique gift that my faith is to me.

My own faith begain in a very special way in 1931. I was only in the first grade. I had five brothers and sisters. Tragically in an auto accident my Dad's life was taken from him and from us just one block from our home in Brockton. It left my mother with no husband, six children and with a new baby in her womb. My brother Richard would be born four and one half months later. Then there were seven of us. All I can remember my mother saying was, "God is in charge. He is in charge. He's the Man with the power and everything will be okay.

So, in spite of the clouds and darkness, I learned at a very young age to surrender to the invading presence of God in my daily life. We all need to have in our lives that spark of faith - that great gift of faith...My friends, this is what our lives are all about. We are asked to recognize the unique role we play in God's plan. We are all offered the gift of faith. We're all asked to stand ready when called upon. This has been my life. It really does make sense to me now. The Opus for me is all the people I've touched and who've touched me. I've received so many gifts. I thank God for His guidance and His touch. I thank Him for having invaded my life with his presence. I thank those who helped Him invade my life. And, for this, tonight, my Opus, with some 575 people and guests here, I'm touched and moved. I thank you. I love you.....Have A Safe Journey.

Fr. Tom's homilies were memorable. The last Easter homily delivered by Fr. Tom, at the Retreat House was in 2000. He reminded family and friends present "that the world-redeeming act that Jesus had promised us during his public ministry, took place on that first Easter - his rising from the dead. His kingdom had not come at the end of time but within our time." Fr. Tom, reminded us that people like his "mother, Christine (Twohig) Lawton, shared that Christian belief and knew how history would turn out. She lived differently as a result. She knew that death does not have the final word in human history."

Christine's words in the days after her husband's killing, reflected this belief. It was a belief that had been gifted to her from a prior generation; and, a belief that she knew would be gifted to others by her son, Thomas. Her son didn't disappoint.

The impact Fr. Tom Lawton had on thousands of people was immeasurable. He had a similar impact on his family, especially his nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews. They all helped at various times at the Retreat House. They attended every Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinner at the Retreat House. They also attended every Mass to celebrate the Eucharist on those occasions. They were moved by every homily he delivered on those occasions. He constantly reminded them that, "We are the extension of God's hands and heart in this world." Fr. Tom Lawton, was a universally celebrated priest and a wonderful and unique human being.

Fr. Tom, was diagnosed with lung cancer in November of 2001. He died at St. Joseph's Manor Nursing Home, in Brockton, on August 25, 2002, at the age of 78.

James Robert 'Jimmy' Lawton

James R. Lawton, commonly known as Jimmy or Jim, was born on October 20, 1925, inside the Lawton family apartment located at 30 East Battles Street, Brockton. He was the fourth oldest of the seven Lawton siblings.

The book, 'The Brockton Irish, volume II, From the Tip to the Bush...And BACK!', by Robert A. Kane, captures the tragedy of Fred Lawton's death and the public's response to it. The author also recounts how in spite of this tragic loss and the hardships of the depression years, Fred and Christine Lawton's young son, Jimmy Lawton, started to exhibit talents that would capture the attention of people everywhere.

In Chapter Five of his book, Robert Kane writes:

At the age of 14 young 'Jimmy' Lawton discovered that he had the talent for mimicry and was able to imitate the voices of the well-known personalities of the time: President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Mae West, Herman Bing, W.C. Fields, Ned Sparks, C. Aubrey Smith, Basil Rathbone, Montague Love, Charles Laughton, Zazu Pitts, Walter Winchell and Hitler.

It all began when a salesman with a Scotch accent came to the Lawton home. While the man was talking to Jimmy's aunt, Jimmy became so fascinated by the man's accent he began to imitate him. His aunt severely reprimanded him but Jimmy realized that he could mimic other people's voices and was on his way to becoming an entertainer.

Small for his age, 'Jimmy' possessed a winning personality and began to win acclaim for his imitations. Rather than memorize passages for each of the people he imitated, he made up his own words as he went along. An embarrassing experience in forgetting "well prepared" speeches convinced him to use his own lines.

Among his best imitations were Walter Winchell, Zazu Pitts, C. Aubrey Smith and Charles Laughton. In doing these impersonations he assumed as nearly as possible the facial expressions of the subjects themselves.

As he gained more poise and confidence he assumed the role of master of ceremonies, and was in great demand for the various functions in the city. World War II broke out and Lawton went into the service, came back a disabled veteran, and entered politics.

The call for military service

Like so many American families at the time that provided sons and daughters to join the war effort, the Lawton Family did the same. Fred Lawton, joined the United States Army and was sent to Camp Bowie, Texas as part of the U.S. Army's Signal Corps, 67th Battalion. Fred served for 15 months in both European and Pacific Theatres of Operation.

The oldest of the seven Lawton children, Marguerite Lawton, joined the Marines. She served from August 4, 1943 until November 7, 1945, in communications at Camp Pendleton, in California. At age 94, on November 13, 2015, Marguerite (Lawton Doucet) Ofria, was honored at the United States Marine Corps' 240^th birthday celebration luncheon at the Boston Convention Center, as one of the oldest surviving Marines in the United States.

Younger brother, Jim Lawton, also joined the war effort. Jimmy Lawton, was an eighteen year old Brockton High School senior when he dropped out of school in January of 1944 and enlisted in the United States Army. He didn't graduate from Brockton High School until August 22, 1947, after he returned from Bristol, England, where he underwent several operations on his lower body to address injuries he had suffered in Germany.

After his enlistment, Jimmy Lawton, was assigned to Company I of the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division of the United States Army. He did his basic training and jump school at Ft. Benning, in Columbus, Georgia.

Jim's highest rank in the United States Army was a Pfc. The 5'11", 145 pound, blue-eyed Jimmy Lawton's military occupational specialty was 'Light Machine Gunner'.

Operation Varsity

In January of 1945, Jim Lawton and Company I found themselves in Le Havre and then Chaniers, France, readying for combat. Two months later, on March 24, 1945, Jim and Company I joined up with the British Airborne for the largest single-day military airborne operation in history, known as Operation Varsity.

On the night of March 23^rd, British ground troops crossed the Rhine and launched an intense assault near Weisel, Germany, securing nine small bridgeheads. In the early morning hours of March 24, 1945, Jim Lawton, as part of the joint forces, parachuted into Weisel, Germany.

A huge armada consisting of more than 1,500 American aircraft and gliders carrying more than 9,000 soldiers, rendezvoused with the British airborne armada of 1,200 aircraft and gliders carrying 8,000 soldiers. They met in the skies near Brussels, Belgium, and formed a column two-and-a-half hours long.

After landing, the allied forces marched toward Munster, Germany, to engage the German Army at Munster, while clearing out the Germany Army along the way. In the afternoon of March 30, 1945, Jim Lawton and Company I, were entering Munster, Germany, going house to house looking for German soldiers. Before entering a house in pursuit of the Germans, a German tank shell exploded near Jim, tossing him a good distance and causing a traumatic injury to his upper thigh.

Stephen Puleo's Due to Enemy Action (Guilford, Connecticut: The Lyons Press, 2005), dedicated chapter 8 of his book in describing the military action that took place on March 30, 1945:

Four thousand miles east of Kenneth Knowles's Secret Room and three thousand miles east of the U.S.-bound U-853, nineteen-year-old parachute infantryman James Lawton lay bleeding in a pile of rubble, convinced he was about to die. He was barely conscious after a shell from a German tank exploded against the building he was about to enter, but he was aware enough to know that something terrible had happened to his leg. Through the haze of semi-consciousness, he watched while a medic worked on him feverishly, shooting him full of morphine, wrapping a tourniquet near his hip, and treating his leg wound with sulfa packs to prevent infection. He heard the chatter of heavy gunfire all around him, but he couldn't move to find cover. He could barely move his head, for that matter; all he could do was grit his teeth in response to the pain that seemed to be devouring what was left of his shredded right leg.

Lawton and his unit, the 513^th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 17^th Airborne Division, had jumped behind enemy lines on the morning of March 24, 1945, in what would be the final airborne invasion of Germany and the largest of the war, part of an enormous air armada to support the U.S. 9^th and British 2^nd armies as they crossed the Rhine, with the goal of capturing the Ruhr region, Germany's industrial heartland. If they were successful, the German war machine would collapse, and the Allies would have a clear shot to Berlin. The airborne invasion, code-named "Operation Varsity", consisted of a massive assemblage of nearly 4,000 airplanes and gliders -- troop carriers, transport planes, and fighters -- from the U.S. 17^th Airborne and the 6^th British Airborne divisions.

For six days, Lawton had been part of small infantry teams that went house to house, "cleaning out" the Wehrmacht (most of whom surrendered after a few shots were fired through open windows), and rounding up prisoners. "You couldn't turn your back on anyone," he recalled later. The German Army was in dire straits, being squeezed by British and American forces in the west, and overrun by the Russians, who were advancing relentlessly upon Berlin, from the east. The 513^th was responsible for making sure that advancing British soldiers did not become the targets of German sniper attacks.

Six weeks after the start of Operation Varsity, the war was over. Nazi Germany formally surrendered on May 7, 1945.

Jim, survived those injuries but underwent multiple surgeries both in Europe and the United States. When he finally returned from Europe it would be time to physically heal, renew his entertainment career and begin what would be considered by all as a very successful political career.

In spite of Jim's limited mobility, the demands made upon him by the public because of his popularity and stage talent increased dramatically. In addition to his entertainment schedule, his plate was full with other commitments. He had to finish at Brockton High School from which he dropped out because of America's war effort during WWII. He also started his two year undergraduate commitment at Boston's Suffolk University. Jim's most important commitment was to his new girlfriend, Jeanne Gloria Cashman, of 36 Galen Street, Brockton.

Jim Lawton, the politician

In 1947, Jimmy Lawton ran for an at-large seat on the Brockton City Council. He was elected at age 22, becoming the youngest councilor ever elected in Brockton's history, until 2015, when 18 year old Jack Lally, was elected from Ward 6. Two years later, in 1949, running for re-election, the popular disabled war veteran Jimmy Lawton not only topped the ticket but ran 1,000 votes ahead of the two candidates running for Mayor of Brockton. Similar electoral results were achieved once again in Jimmy's 1951 re-election campaign.

Jim Lawton, 22 year old Brockton City Councilor and 20 year old Jeanne Cashman were married on October 16, 1948, at St. Colman's Church, 54 Lyman Street, Brockton. The church has since been renamed Christ the King. The Rev. John W. Morrissey, officiated. Fred Lawton, older brother to Jim, was the best man and Geneva Cashman, older sister to Jeanne, was the maid of honor.

The Lawton wedding reception was held at The West Bridgewater Inn, located on the corner of Matfield Street and North Main Street, West Bridgewater. The reception was attended by 300 friends and relatives. Jim and Jeanne honeymooned in New York and Washington, D.C.

Although Jeanne's parents, John and Beatrice Cashman, were present for the marital ceremonies, Jim's parents were not. Fred Lawton had been killed in February of 1931 when Jim was only 5 years of age. Jim's mother, Christine (Twohig) Lawton, had died from a brain aneurysm, on September 1, 1947, only 13 months earlier.

After a brief honeymoon, the young couple moved into their 3rd floor apartment at 10 Turner Street in Brockton. Their oldest son, Mark Edward Lawton, was born on July 26, 1949, while residing on Turner Street.

1950 and 1951 were busy ones for the Lawton Family. Not only was Jimmy Lawton, busy with municipal issues affecting a busy post-WWII Brockton, he was busy entertaining and picking up every master-of-ceremonies engagement that came his way. He was finishing up at Suffolk University and moving to 25 Cary Street in Brockton, where second son, Thomas David would be born on August 20, 1950. Third son, Richard James Lawton, who was born on March 5, 1956, was also born at 25 Cary Street.

In 1952, Lawton was elected to his first of five terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, becoming, at that time, one of the youngest ever elected to that body. He was also one of only a few Democrats from Plymouth County to serve on Beacon Hill at that time.

Jim's ability to entertain was always on display. During his ten years in the Massachusetts House, Jimmy was always asked to be the star performer at the annual dinner of the Massachusetts Legislators Association. On one such occasion, United States Senator Leverett Saltonstall and Massachusetts Governor Christian Herter, both Republicans, were in attendance. The Boston Globe reported the next day that: Representative Jim Lawton of Brockton did a take-off on the dialogue between the two. They both laughed so hard they had to be carried out.

1952 would also be the year that young Irish disabled war veteran, Jim Lawton, who was running for a seat in the Massachusetts House, would meet another young Irish disabled war veteran running for a seat in the United State Senate, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Kennedy loved humor, especially Irish humor. Kennedy saw young Jim Lawton perform during that 1952 campaign and a friendship began that didn't end until John F. Kennedy's November 22, 1963 assassination as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza, in Dallas Texas. Jack Kennedy, who had been elected President of the United States in November of 1960, was only 46 years of age.

In 1957 when Jeanne Lawton found out that she was pregnant with a fourth child, she knew there was no more room at 25 Cary Street. She located a single family home in Brockton's Ward Two section, at 398 Ash Street. Fourth son, Robert Sean Lawton, was born on October 14, 1958, just three months after moving to Ash Street. The youngest of the five Lawton sons, Paul Matthew, was born on December 13, 1963.

In 1966, Jim and Jeanne Lawton, purchased a lot of land in Brockton, from Charlie Dunnington, on the corner of Rockland Street and Rock Meadow Drive in Ward One. Jim's friend, Joe Lorusso, of Walpole, Massachusetts, built the home that his young family would live in until their deaths.

Jim Lawton runs for state-wide political office

The political forces around the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had been pulling Jim Lawton to run for state-wide office. Jim, came close to running for Lt. Governor in 1960, the year of the Jack Kennedy presidential victory. In 1962, however, Jim Lawton decided on a state-wide run. The office he sought was the office of Massachusetts Attorney General.

At the Democratic State Convention in Springfield, Massachusetts, in June of 1962, the most talented and popular candidates for state-wide office assembled for their Democratic Party's nomination. Former Harvard All-American football player Endicott 'Chub' Peabody, received his Party's nod for Governor. In a party where the Boston Irish had dominated Massachusetts politics for several years, the endorsement of a New England Yankee like 'Chub' Peabody was "bucking tradition". Peabody was the grandson and namesake of the founder of Groton School, which Franklin D. Roosevelt attended. Peabody would also become 'Jimmy' Lawton's closest friend and would nominate 'Jim' for a Massachusetts Trial Court judgeship in October of 1964.

Quincy attorney, Francis X. Bellotti, was nominated for Lt. Governor. Kevin White, who eventually became Mayor of Boston, was nominated for Secretary of State. Twenty-nine year old Ted Kennedy, received the convention's endorsement over incumbent Attorney General Edward McCormack for the open Massachusetts seat in the United States Senate. Edward McCormack was the nephew of John McCormack of South Boston, the Speaker of the United State House of Representatives. Ted Kennedy's brother, Jack Kennedy, had held the U.S. Senate seat until his November 1960 election to the White House.

Jim Lawton's Democratic Convention victory for Attorney General was a hotly contested one. Boston State Senator Mario Umana ran against Jim Lawton at the state convention. The popular Joe Ward, a former State Senator and former Secretary of State, from Fitchburg, who was the Democratic nominee for Governor in 1960, ran a spirited convention campaign against Lawton. Lawton won.

On June 10, 1962, The Brockton Enterprise, carried the story of Jim Lawton's Democratic Convention victory. The headlines read: Lawton Win is Popular....Delegates Stick With Jimmy.

Although Ted Kennedy would win the U.S. Senate seat in 1962, Jim Lawton would lose the September 1962 Democratic Primary Election to the former Lt. Governor and former Attorney General Francis Kelley, of Boston. Kelley eventually lost the 1962 final election to Edward Brooke, who had beaten Elliot Richardson in the Republican primary for Attorney General.

Elliot Richardson went on to become the U.S. Attorney General under President Richard Nixon. Richardson, was subsequently fired by President Nixon, when Richardson refused to dismiss Special Prosecutor, Archibald Cox, who was charged with investigating the Watergate scandal.

Edward Brooke, was elected to the United States Senate in 1966, becoming the first popularly elected African American to serve in the U.S. Senate.

After losing the fight for Attorney General, the newly elected governor, Endicott 'Chub' Peabody, asked Jim Lawton to be his legislative secretary. Lawton served in that capacity until the following year, when Peabody appointed Jim Lawton as the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, the seventh Registrar in Massachusetts history.

Jim Lawton, the jurist

Jim Lawton changed jobs again in October of 1964, when Governor Peabody nominated and appointed him a justice of the Probate and Family Court for Plymouth County. Jim, was only 39 years of age, then one of the youngest judges ever appointed in Massachusetts.

During his judicial tenure, Judge Lawton was an active force in legislative reforms in the area of adoption, foster care and child support - changes that have benefited and improved the lives of children and families throughout the Commonwealth. Jim was also one of the founders of the Massachusetts Judge's Conference. He would serve on the Massachusetts Trial Court for 31 years, serving most of that time as First Justice of the Probate Court. Jim retired in October of 1995 at the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Judge Jim Lawton, found himself involved in a controversial child custody case just months before his retirement. The "Twins Case", as it came to be known, was front-page news in the United States and Europe. In the case, Judge Lawton privately consulted with the 11 year old twins in his lobby, referred to as an 'in camera hearing', as he had done in hundreds of prior custody cases involving children old enough to express their own opinion. Each child expressed a very strong desire to stay with a different parent. Judge Lawton accommodated their wishes, even keeping them in the same school. Judge Lawton's February 1995 decision to "separate the twins" exploded in the media all over the world. Judge Lawton stated to a Brockton Enterprise reporter at the time, "What better witness is there in a custody case than the person whose custody is at stake?"

Jim Lawton, Chairman of the Board

In 1908, a law school was started in Boston, Massachusetts. It became the only law school in America established exclusively for women. In 1966, a young Massachusetts Trial Court Judge became a trustee of the board of trustees, eventually becoming the board chairman. His name was Jim Lawton.

Philip K. Hamilton, in his 2008 book entitled, the "New England School of Law", published on the 100^th anniversary of the law school, praised Jim Lawton for bringing the law school into national prominence. Author Philip Hamilton states, "He became chairman of the board of trustees in 1969. During the 38 years of his chairmanship, he had supported the law school through the most significant changes in its history, changes that transformed it from the small, local school that he had attended to a large, respected law school with a national reach."

On May 26, 2006, at Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center, Jim Lawton, handed his oldest grandchild, Patrick O'Leary Lawton, his Juris Doctor degree, just as he had done previously for four of his five sons. That was the last commencement exercise he would attend. Judge Jim Lawton, died on March 19, 2007. He fell at his Brockton, Massachusetts home on February 3, 2007, fracturing his hip. He never recovered.

The day after Jim Lawton's death on March 19, 2007, the Quincy Patriot Ledger and Brockton Enterprise, ran stories entitled, 'Brockton judge blazed trail in politics and law.'

A story that appeared in the Boston Herald on March 21, 2007, written by columnist Joe Fitzgerald, described the loss that the five Lawton sons felt upon losing their father. In the article, eldest son, Mark Lawton, spoke of that loss. The Fitzgerald article, entitled 'Son bids farewell to beloved, inspiring patriarch', is set out below:

It had been only 12 hours since he watched his father draw his final breath, and now Mark Lawton was busy making calls, getting ready to escort his mother to the Conley Funeral Home in Brockton.

A suit had to be delivered, and decisions had to be made, after which they would meet with priests to select the readings and plan the service.

"To tell you the truth," the 56-year-old jurist confided yesterday morning, "I'm feeling a little guilty right now, as if I'm too busy, as if I should be grieving more. But there's stuff that has to be done, so I'm doing what I have to do, telling myself my father would like that".

Lawton, who presides over Taunton Juvenile Court, was the eldest of Judge James R. Lawton's five sons.

"Over at the courthouse I'm known as the judge," he said. "But this morning I'm just one of Jimmy Lawton's kids, which is what I'll always be.

Jim Lawton, who was 81 when he died Monday night, had a resume that bristled with success: at 22, the youngest city councilor in Brockton history; a five term member of the Massachusetts

Legislature; the Registrar of Motor Vehicles; a trial judge for 31 years.

So when four of his five sons became lawyers, too, it would have been easy to conclude they were simply following the old man's footsteps.

"He was everything to all of us," Mark acknowledged. "He was my

father, my friend and my mentor, and it's obvious I've modeled much of my life after his. But we can only imagine the things he experienced earlier in his life. Those were the chapters that gave him such a great appreciation of the things that really matter".

As he sat alongside his father's bed, maintaining a vigil Monday night, Mark marveled again over the journey this man had made.

"We all took turns staying with him, though I know he never felt alone because of his deep faith," he said. "I just happened to be the one who was with him at the end, which was a privilege".

"I'd put water on his lips and tell him I loved him, which we don't say as often as we should when everyone's healthy.

"My father was a remarkable man.

"His own father was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 1931, leaving my Irish immigrant grandmother with seven kids. There was no welfare then, no social security disability. She had to farm out her children because she couldn't afford to feed them. Everyone was poor in those days, but they were the poorest of the poor. My father was 5.

"He became a professional entertainer, great at impersonating people like Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Ethel Barrymore and W.C. Fields, good enough to join 'Youth on Parade', a CBS radio show heard coast to coast.

"That's how he helped support his mother, and that ability to entertain would hone what became his political skills.

"But World War II came before that. At 19, as a paratrooper with the 17th Airborne Division, he was badly injured and scarred forever when he landed behind the German lines in Munster.

"So I'm sitting in that chair at the Brockton Hospital, listening as his breathing becomes more labored, and it's hitting me again how much I admired him, coming from where he did to become the man he was. He survived it all and lived so damn well. My father's life was the American story".

Mark had to stop at that point because he had many things to do.

"I've been crying all night", he said. "I'm devastated. And I guess that's why I'm feeling a little guilty, wishing I could take the time to stop and honor him now".

Your Honor, you just did.

The New England School of Law, Alumni Newsletter published in the Fall of 2007 and which was dedicated to Jim Lawton, contained 28 pages of tributes to their Chairman of the Board. Two paragraphs from that booklet are set out below:

Judge Jim Lawton, was the sum of many parts. He was a young boy who tragically lost his dad, a popular teenage entertainer, a disabled American soldier, a successful politician, a respected jurist, a proud husband, father and grandfather and long-term Chairman of the Board. Judge Jim Lawton belonged to all of us.

"Judge Jim Lawton will be missed more than you'll ever know," said Dean John O'Brien. "There'll never be anyone quite like him -- ever. Judge Lawton was my boss, but he was also the best friend I ever had." Judge Lawton's son, Richard J. Lawton, a 2006 gubernatorial appointee to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees, said: "My dad's passing reminds me of a great quote, 'The worst misfortune that can happen to an ordinary man is to have an extraordinary father,' and our dad was extraordinary.'" Indeed he was."

Those who remember Jimmy Lawton, remember his humor. They remember his joke telling and his impersonations. All of his jokes would be told with either an Italian, Swedish, Jewish or Irish accent. One joke is set out below, only because it would be lost to history if not preserved here. Reading it, imagine it being told in a thick Irish brogue or accent used by Jim, when telling his Irish jokes. The joke is entitled: The Sexton:

In a small village in Ireland, Catholic Mass was said every morning at 8 a.m. The parish was presided over by an elderly monsignor, who had become ill and infirm. The monsignor, was assisted by an elderly sexton who was a man of few words.

On this particular morning the church was filled at 8 a.m. The monsignor however, hadn't appeared. The congregation became restless. The elderly sexton dashed over to the rectory next to the church. He then rushed upstairs to the monsignor's bedroom. Sure enough, the monsignor was in bed.

The monsignor raised himself up on his elbows and said to the sexton: 'I want you to go back to the church and tell the people, the pastor is sick, there'll be no Mass today, but there'll be no sin on your part. That's what I want you to do.'

The sexton was a wreck. He had never before stood before a group of parishioners to make an announcement. He had rarely spoken at all in many years working at the parish church. The sexton told the elderly monsignor that he 'wouldn't do it.'

The monsignor raised himself up on his elbows once again and said, 'My man, I'm not long for this world. You'll make the announcement, I'll tell you that.'

The sexton stood there and shook all over. The monsignor once again said, 'All you have to do is stand up in front of the congregation and say, 'The pastor is sick. There'll be no Mass today, but there'll be no sin on your part. That's all you have to say. Now, you should be able to do that.'

Well, the sexton headed for the door. The monsignor called for him to stop and said, 'While you're up there on your feet, you might as well tell them that there'll be confessions next Thursday here in the church for the First Friday of the month;

'And while you're still on your feet, I want you to tell them that next Sunday there'll be a special collection for the Holy Father, the Pope;

'And while you're still on your feet, I want you to tell them that the bands of marriage are announced this day for the wedding next Saturday of Peggy O'Donnell and Patrick O'Flaherty;

'And while you're still on your feet, I want you to tell them that Wednesday is the Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul.'

As the sexton began to leave, the monsignor said, 'And one last thing, while you're standing on your feet, you might also tell them that last Sunday someone left a big brown package all wrapped up in the rear pew of the church and it can be picked up over at the rectory any old time.'

The sexton dashed over to the church and out onto the altar. He stood before the congregation and said, 'The pastor is sick. There'll be no Mass today, but there'll be no sin on your part.'

'Also, next Sunday, the Pope himself will be here to take up a special collection;

'Also, Thursday is the First Friday of the month';

'Also, Wednesday is the Feast Day of Peggy O'Donnell and Patrick O'Flaherty;

'And, on Thursday, Saints Peter and Paul will be married right here in this very church;

'And, if you have any questions you'll find them all wrapped up in a big brown package at the rear of the church.'

Jeanne Gloria (Cashman) Lawton

Jeanne Gloria (Cashman) Lawton, was born on October 9, 1927, in the first floor bedroom at 36 Galen Street, Brockton, daughter of Brockton firefighter John Henry Cashman and Beatrice (Poudrier) Cashman. She was the fifth oldest of the seven Cashman children.

It was at the front door of the Cashman home, located at 36 Galen Street, that fifteen year old, Jeanne Cashman and her mother, Beatrice (Poudrier) Cashman, received word of the death of Jeanne's 22-year-old brother, U.S. Army Lt. John Henry Cashman. 'Henry', as he was known, was the oldest of the seven Cashman siblings. He was killed by a German tank shell, on April 30, 1943, in Tunisia, North Africa.

It was two years later, in 1945, that Jeanne would meet a young disabled World War II veteran, Jim Lawton. Jim had just returned to the United States for a continuation of his medical treatment made necessary because of injuries received behind enemy lines while fighting the German Army.

In 1945, Jeanne graduated from Brockton High School. She began dating Jim Lawton, in 1946. Jim, a young and popular entertainer, would run successfully for Brockton City Councilor in 1947. Jim Lawton, age 22 and 20-year-old Jeanne Cashman, married on October 16, 1948.

In addition to raising her five sons, Jeanne worked tirelessly on her husband's campaigns. It was after Jim's 1962 defeat for Attorney General and his appointment by Governor Peabody as the Commonwealth's Registrar of Motor Vehicles, that Jim had the occasion to do something that has since become part of family folk lore. Upon learning from sons Richard and Robert that their "mother was speeding in the car", Jim Lawton immediately revoked his wife's license to operate a motor vehicle. However, within a few days she was driving again. During a time when political events were looked at more playfully by the media, the Boston press had great fun with the story.

While living on busy Cary Street in Brockton, around the corner from the old Sylvester Grammar School on Court Street, sons Thomas and Mark, remember their mother inviting children who looked hungry into their kitchen for a quick bowl of cereal. "We never knew the last names of the kids that ate with us. We never asked them. We only knew them by their first names. They were all family to our mother", recalls Mark Lawton. "She taught us to think of others and she'd scold us if we didn't" recounted the second oldest of the five sons, Tom Lawton.

In 1958, the Lawton's moved from 25 Cary Street on the East Side, to 398 Ash Street, on Brockton's West Side. In July of 1966, the family moved to 4 Rock Meadow Drive, off of Rockland Street. On Rockland Street lived a woman who would become Jeanne Lawton's best friend, Elinor Sorgman. Elinor, a talented neighborhood poet, prepared many a poem for use at Lawton family functions. On the occasion of Jeanne's 60th birthday celebration, on October 9, 1987, at Christo's Restaurant, in Brockton, Elinor prepared the poem entitled, 'The Eyes and Ears of Rockland Street', only part of which is set out below:

When she gets up in the morning, she and that bird begin to sing

She gazes out the window and then my phone starts to ring.

I stagger to the telephone, my eyes stuck like glue

She says 'It's corner one here - is this corner two?'

We sound just like a police radio, Jean and I

We have to sound professional, we can't just say 'hi'.

Corner one to corner two...will you be home today?'

'That's affirmative, corner one, I'll watch while you're away.'

'There's the Sullivan's taking a walk again, they do it every day

And Sally sold her house, you know, she bought another down

the way

Wait...someone's swimming in Richman's pool...I just heard a

splash. The Richman's had a party last night, did you see all the

bottles in the trash?

There's new neighbors moving in right now just across the street

Let's bake a cake tomorrow so we can go over and meet.

I can't quite see everything, but the children look well fed

And the parents must get along...they just carried in a double bed.

How dull my life would be without her daily call

Now I don't miss anything, even if I'm shopping at the mall.

And although she knows I'm teasing her, what I've said is all true

It's just too bad you won't hear us tomorrow, when we talk about

all of you!

The bird referred to in Elinor's poem was 'Danny-Boy', Jeanne's pet parrot, a Yellow-Fronted Amazon. Mark and Patty Lawton, gave the parrot to Jeanne in July of 1978. 'Danny-Boy', died of cancer in 2015. 'Danny-Boy', sounded just like Jeanne when he spoke, which was often. He sang opera but was also known to use some inappropriate language. He was Jeanne's constant companion and best friend after Jim's death in March of 2007.

Jeanne (Cashman) Lawton, fell in her home and fractured her femur. She died several weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2010, at the Life Care Center of West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, three years and ten months after her husband Jim's death. Jim and Jeanne Lawton were married for almost 60 years.

On November 27, 2010, Jeanne's obituary appeared in the Brockton Enterprise newspaper. In that obituary, Jeanne's youngest son, Paul Lawton, stated of his mother, "Our mom's view of life was extraordinarily simple, love and care for your family and try to include as many people into that definition as possible."

Fred and Christine Lawton's grandchildren

Unfortunately, neither Fred nor Christine would ever experience the joy of having grandchildren. Fred died in 1931 at the age of 38. Christine, would die in 1947 at the age of 49. The first of their thirteen (13) grandchildren, Mark Edward Lawton, wouldn't even be born until July of 1949.

Marguerite Lawton (born in 1921), Fred Lawton (born in 1923), Thomas Lawton (born in 1924) and Richard Lawton (born in 1931), never had children.

In addition to the five (5) children that would be born to Jim Lawton and Jeanne (Cashman) Lawton, eight (8) additional grandchildren would be born to Fred and Christine Lawton, for a total of 13 grandchildren.

Mary T. Lawton, would marry, Peter J. O'Malley, on January 12, 1952. They would have 5 children: Peter C. O'Malley, DOB: December 13, 1952; Michael O'Malley, DOB: July 21, 1954; Timothy J. O'Malley, DOB: July 5, 1956; Naureen O'Malley, DOB: August 10, 1957; and Thomas O'Malley, DOB: October 10, 1960.

Fred and Christine's youngest daughter, Sheila W., would marry Kenneth Stewart, on October 8, 1955. They would have 3 children:

Kenneth Stewart, DOB: November 28, 1956; Chris Ann, DOB: September 15, 1959; and, Paul Stewart, DOB: September 7, 1961.

Children of Jim Lawton and Jeanne (Cashman) Lawton

Jim and Jeanne Lawton, who were married at St. Colman's in Brockton, on October 16, 1948, had five children: Mark Edward, Thomas Davis, Richard James, Robert Sean and Paul Matthew.

Mark Lawton and Patricia (O'Leary) Lawton

The oldest of Jim and Jeanne Lawton's five boys, was Mark Edward Lawton, who was born in Boston, on July 26, 1949. Mark attended Brockton Public Schools, before graduating from Coyle High School, in Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1967. He graduated from Stonehill College, in 1971 and the New England School of Law, in Boston, in 1974.

While at Stonehill College, Mark started the school's first cross-country team, winning its first cross-country race, crossing the finish line with friend Richard Ashodian. Rich, was a key member of the Brockton High School team that had captured the Massachusetts and New England high school cross-country championships the previous year.

During his senior year at Stonehill, Mark was elected Vice-President of the student body. His friend, Christy Mihos, was elected President. Eighteen years later, Christy Mihos was President of Christy's Markets. It was at Christy's Markets corporate headquarters, on December 8, 1988, that the Brockton Boys and Girls Club was incorporated. The club, which was Lawton's initiative, benefited greatly from Mihos' financial support. Many years later, in 2006, Mihos ran as an independent candidate for Governor of Massachusetts.

The most satisfying of Mark's college year accomplishments was the planning, designing and building of Brother Mike's -- an on-campus bar that served liquor, keeping students safe and off the roadways of Southeastern Massachusetts. The Catholic Order of the Holy Cross, under whose aegis the college was incorporated in the 1940's, assigned Brother Michael Massaro to lead the project. In 1970, Brother Mike, Mark Lawton and fellow students Jim Livesey from New Jersey and Joe Catalano of Connecticut, built the popular student gathering venue. Lawton's childhood friend, Gerry Parker, did the creative art work that adorned the walls of the venue which is still known as Brother Mike's.

Mark started law school in Boston in 1971. His second year of law school began in September of 1972. That October, Mark had the opportunity to take Patty O'Leary, of Brockton, to the Harvard-Brown football game in Cambridge. The football tickets were provided by a Lawton neighbor, Dorothy Dale. This would be the couple's first date.

Patty at the time was a student at Emmanuel College in Boston. Their date, which was a blind date, started with the Harvard game and ended at an Irish bar in Cambridge, 'The Plough and Stars'. It was also the start of a courtship that would culminate in their marriage on April 19, 1975.

Mark entered electoral politics in 1974, only one week after his law

school graduation. He followed in his father's footsteps by running for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Mark won a decisive victory on September 10^th of that year by besting fourteen year incumbent, Paul Maurice Murphy. Mark, would be elected to four more

terms to the Massachusetts House, the same as his father, Jimmy Lawton.

The perfect storm

Mark's campaign in 1974, was not without significant opposition. His opponent, incumbent Representative Paul Murphy, was close to the Massachusetts House Speaker David Bartley, D-Holyoke and former House member Gerry Doherty, of Charlestown. Former All-American football player at Holy Cross, Chet Millett, was chairman of the Murphy campaign.

Bartley, Doherty and Millett, spent the summer of 1974 trying to assist Murphy against the much younger Lawton. House Speaker Bartley sent numerous members of his State House staff to work the streets of Brockton that summer. Gerry Doherty, provided Murphy with technical assistance and support.

Gerry Doherty's influence in Massachusetts politics was legendary. Kevin Cullen, in a November 7, 2010 Boston Globe article published after the death of United States Senator Ted Kennedy, wrote of Gerry Doherty:

In fact, he would go on to work for all the Kennedy brothers -- Jack, Bobby, and Teddy. Doherty, then a state rep, delivered campaign literature and, more important, votes for Jack when Jack ran for reelection to the Senate. His ability to understand the street component of politics convinced President Kennedy that Doherty should be steering Teddy's maiden Senate campaign in 1962.

Doherty prepared an analysis of Teddy's chances, with some blunt advice. Jack Kennedy had Doherty fly down to the White House. Jack was going through it, point by point, when a helicopter landed on the South Lawn and he had to excuse himself to greet the British prime minister.

"Can you stay over and see Bobby tomorrow?" the president asked Doherty.

Bobby Kennedy, the attorney general, went through the analysis.

"You'll run the convention," Bobby Kennedy said.

Teddy won the Senate seat. Jack was assassinated. And then Bobby decided to run for Senate in New York, and he asked Gerry Doherty to work for him.

The Lawton campaign was waged with the help and assistance of long-term friend and campaign manager, Richard Ashodian; Mark's girlfriend and future wife, Patricia O'Leary, who herself would enjoy great political success; Mark's four younger brothers: Tom, Rick, Bob and Paul; and, a long list of volunteers, all very young and full of energy.

It was stated by some political observers that "it was unusual for a bunch of young kids" to have a chance against a long-term, well-connected, well-financed incumbent like Murphy", but it was the perfect storm for Murphy. Judge Jimmy Lawton, was still at the peak of his popularity and there was a strong anti-incumbent fervor nationally because of the fall of President Richard Nixon. President Nixon, had resigned office in disgrace on August 9, 1974 in the face of certain impeachment. Nixon's resignation was the culmination of the Watergate scandal. President Gerald Ford, pardoned Nixon on September 8, 1974, just two days before the Primary Election of September 10, 1974.

One of those "young kids" who worked hard for Lawton that summer, was Claire McLaughlin of Moraine Street in Brockton. She, along with her sisters, Geri and Joan McLaughlin, knocked on every door in Ward Two, a key Ward which Lawton won handily. In 2012, Claire (McLaughlin) Cronin, would herself be elected to her first term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In February of 2021, she was chosen by the Speaker of the Massachusetts House to become the first woman to ever serve as Majority Leader in the House. A few months later, President Joe Biden, appointed Claire (McLaughlin) Cronin, as United States Ambassador to Ireland.

The results on September 10, 1974 were not favorable to Murphy. Out of the twelve precincts in the 12^th Plymouth District, Lawton won every one. And, he won handily. The Brockton Enterprise front page story on September 11, 1974, stated: It was expected before the start of the campaign that Murphy would be in for the roughest fight of his life, but the landslide victory Lawton scored came as a complete surprise to most observers of the Brockton political scene.

The headlines on September 11th read: Lawton, Creedon Win in Upsets.

Also in September of 1974, Patty O'Leary, started her first teaching job as a sixth grade teacher at the Hancock Elementary School in Brockton. Mark, started studying for the Massachusetts Bar Exam which was to be held in February of 1975, only one month after he began his first term in the Massachusetts House. Patty and Mark were also planning their wedding to be held in April of 1975. They were also trying to find an apartment to rent after their wedding. The two of them were busy.

On April 19, 1975, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brockton, Mark E. Lawton married Patricia A. O'Leary. Patricia, known as 'Patty', was the daughter of famed Brockton Police Officer, Joseph Francis 'Snub' O'Leary and Marie (Clifford) O'Leary.

The Rev. Thomas Lawton, Mark's paternal uncle, performed the marriage on April 19, 1975. Richard Lawton, Mark's brother and Ellen Conlon, Patty's college roommate, were the witnesses. The church was filled that day with wedding invitees and between sixty and seventy students and their parents from the Hancock Elementary School, in Brockton, where Patty taught the sixth grade. She was an extremely popular teacher.

Mark and Patty Lawton, first resided in a second floor apartment at 103 Belcher Avenue in Brockton. They later moved to a second floor apartment on Morse Avenue, before finally purchasing their first home, a small Dutch Colonial, at 67 Winnifred Road in Brockton. All three addresses were within 300 yards of one another.

Three children would be born to Mark and Patty Lawton. The children would be all born while the family was residing at their 67 Winnifred Road address. Patrick O'Leary Lawton, was born at the Brockton Hospital, on October 6, 1979. Timothy Clifford Lawton, was born at the Brockton Hospital on July 30, 1981 and Molly Burke Lawton, was born at the Brockton Hospital, on May 17, 1984. Only months after Molly's birth, the Lawton Family moved to their last Brockton address at 19 Thorny Lea Terrace in Brockton.

Mark Lawton's tenure in the Massachusetts House was known for his defense of Governor Edward J. King and his legislative initiatives. After King was defeated by former Governor Michael Dukakis, in the September 1982 Democratic Primary, Governor King became a lame-duck governor.

Although there was pressure on Governor King to appoint several legislative leaders to various state positions, Mark Lawton, was the only legislator to receive a gubernatorial appointment. Governor King appointed Mark as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court. In January of 1983, Mark was sworn in as a new Associate Justice only two days after being sworn in to his fifth term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and only minutes before Governor Edward King walked out of the State House to be replaced by the incoming governor, Michael Dukakis. Mike Dukakis, in 1988 would become the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

Mark and his father, Jim Lawton, now formed the only father-son

combination on the Massachusetts Trial Court.

The Boys & Girls Club

The 1980's in America was a turbulent time in many American cities as crime enjoyed an upward swing in many poor urban neighborhoods. Boston was no exception. The number of murders involving juveniles was especially troublesome. Every neighborhood and community was diminished every time a teenager died or was charged with a violent crime.

There was a general recognition by some that the urban violence was born at the intersection of poverty, the absence of opportunity and idleness, with poverty born of the absence of opportunity. Boston Mayor Ray Flynn and his former colleague from the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Mark Lawton, who was sitting as an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Trial Court in Boston, collaborated with many others, to address those causes.

In August of 1987, Mark Lawton, walked into the Torrey Street, Brockton offices of Joe McDonald, the Northeast Service Director of the Boys and Girls Club of America, Inc. He introduced himself as a Brocktonian interested in creating a Boys and Girls Club in the City of Brockton.

In October of 1987, Lawton, called together the first public meeting of those interested in seeing a Boys and Girls Club being established in Brockton. The meeting was held at the Messiah Baptist Church on Legion Parkway in Brockton. In the months that followed, Lawton, Jack Shields, Steve Bernard, Bob Richards and others, put together a strategy to combat strong resistance from Mayor Carl Pitaro and the executive directors of The United Way and the Old Colony YMCA.

The Lawton group, in a great example of chutzpa and without any authority to do so, created 'The Mayor's Commission on Services to Children and Youth'. They then proceeded to hold two public hearings to create public support.

The first public hearing was held at East Junior High School, on July 26, 1988. A month later, the 'Commission' held its second public hearing -- at North Junior High School. It was a defining moment for the idea of a Boys and Girls Club in the largest city in Massachusetts without one. Lawton, invited his friend, Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, to make a presentation supporting a Boys and Girls Club in Brockton. Mayor Flynn, had spent his youth at the Boys and Girls Club in South Boston. Flynn, was passionate in his presentation at North Junior High School, so was the publicity generated from his appearance.

On December 8, 1988, local community activists gathered at the corporate headquarters of Christ's Markets, then located on Christy Way, to incorporate the Boys and Girls Club of Brockton, Inc. On June 6, 1989, the Brockton School Committee, voted to allow the new Boys and Girls Club to lease the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Armory on Brockton's Warren Avenue. The armory had been built during WWI. On March 3, 1990, the first public fundraiser to benefit the club was held at Christo's II, then located on Crescent Street in Brockton. On September 22, 1990, the club held it's opening day ceremony. In 2019, the Brockton Boys and Girls Club, merged with the Taunton Boys and Girls Club. The merger now allows the Boys and Girls Club to cover a large swarth of Southeastern Massachusetts. Thousands of young men and women have benefited.

The passing of a great leader

In 2011, Mark, retired from the Trial Court and re-entered the practice of law with his brothers, Rick and Tom. They practiced out of the 1860's era building owned by Rick Lawton, which was located at 157 Belmont Street in Brockton. The office was located diagonally across the street from the 210 Belmont Street two family house where their maternal grandparents -- John Henry Cashman and Beatrice (Poudrier) Cashman, resided after they married in April of 1920. From the Spring of 2013 until the morning of July 3, 2019, the law office became the 'Bill Carpenter for Mayor' headquarters.

On Saturday, May 21, 2011, Mark and Patty Lawton, judged a 'spelling bee' for seventh grade students from around Brockton. The contest was held at the 'Little Red School House' on the Brockton High School campus. The third judge was Brockton School Committeeman Bill Carpenter. That day started a relationship between the Lawton and Carpenter families that would forever benefit the City of Brockton. It was a relationship and a bond that remained strong until July 3, 2019.

With the Lawton/Carpenter family relationship in place, it didn't take long for the Lawton's to gear up their political engines once again. In January of 2013, Patty, Rick and Mark Lawton, began engineering the successful mayoral campaign of Bill Carpenter. Carpenter, ran a spirited campaign, beating the incumbent, Linda Balzotti, on November 5, 2013, by only 55 votes out of 15,000 cast. It was referred to as the "Carpenter Landslide'.

For the people of Brockton, Bill's election was a fortuitous turning point for the city. Bill, hired Lawton friend, Bob Hayden, as his first Chief of Police. Bob Hayden, had previously served as Massachusetts Governor Paul Celluci's Deputy Secretary of Public Safety, Chief of Police in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as well as 'a Boston cop from Dorchester'.

The number one issue in Brockton was crime. Hayden and Carpenter, cobbled together state, local, county and federal law enforcement agencies to reverse crime's upward trajectory. Public and private investment as well as economic expansion were soon to follow.

On July 2, 2019, Mayor Bill Carpenter, visited 157 Belmont Street and the Lawton brothers for the last time. Shortly after 7:00 am, on July 3, 2019, while delivering his grandson, Cameron Carpenter, to the Dr. William Arnone Grammar School situated next to the law office on Belmont Street, everything changed. Bill Carpenter, the 48^th mayor in Brockton's history, died suddenly of a heart attack.

Upon hearing of Bill's death, Mark Lawton, drove to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton. Upon entering the emergency room, Mark was directed to a side room where the late Mayor's body, lying on a gurney, was surrounded by his six children. The room was silent. It was as though his family wanted their dad to take a short rest. Mark, moved toward Bill's head, leaned over and kissed his friend on the forehead. He told his friend's children that he had "never known anyone like their dad." Few people had.

The main headline in the Brockton Enterprise on Thursday, July 4, 2019 read, "City in Mourning, Mayor Bill Carpenter dies at age 62". One of the stories on the front page that day was entitled, 'Billy died for his city'. Indeed he did.

On Friday, July 12, 2019, the afternoon of Bill's funeral service, Mark Lawton, decided to wage a quixotic campaign to finish Bill Carpenter's fourth and last campaign for mayor; and, to do so only in a matter of weeks. As Mark stated on multiple occasions during those ensuing weeks, "we have to finish the re-election campaign that Bill Carpenter had started." Mark, who never expected to run for office again, rented an apartment just three days after the funeral service, registered to vote at city hall and took out papers to run for the office of mayor. As expected, the main issue was Mark's residency. As a result, Mark Lawton, failed to win the primary election on September 17, 2019.

Two weeks after the primary election, Mark, mailed and emailed a letter to his supporters. The letter read as follows:

I apologize for not emailing this sooner. It's not that easy to find an expression of gratitude that doesn't seem wanting after you've expressed it. This is one of those occasions.

Our campaign was a short one but we accomplished a lot. It was a great privilege to attempt to fill the void left by Bill's passing. As Carol Stapleton, so aptly put it on Primary night, "This campaign was a wonderful opportunity to help us all grieve his loss".

We've become a family. We always will be family. The excitement we shared on Brockton street corners every Tuesday evening; the pride that I felt looking down from the stage at Brockton High School; the pride that I saw staring me back. We all gave Brockton one more push forward.

It was a lot of fun. I love you all. Gratefully, and then some. Mark

Patty (O'Leary) Lawton

Mark Lawton, was famous for saying about his wife, Patricia (O'Leary) Lawton, that, "Patty is the best politician in the family." In spite of an unspoken bias that women had to overcome in gaining elective office, Patty had great political success.

In 1988, Patty, ran for the office of Plymouth County Commissioner. She ran against a plethora of well-known men, as well as a long time incumbent, Matthew Striggles. In November of 1988, she became only the second woman to become a county commissioner in Plymouth County, which at that time had been in existence for 303 years.

Plymouth County was created by an act of the colonial legislature on June 2, 1685, when the colony of New Plymouth was divided into three counties: Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable.

1n 1992, Patty ran for re-election as a Plymouth County Commissioner. Sadly, a central issue in her campaign for re-election was her new residence. In January of 1992, Patty and her family moved from their Thorny Lea Terrace address in Brockton, to 225 Grange Park in Bridgewater. The Brockton Enterprise newspaper actually ran a front page story in 1992, entitled, 'Politically active couple to move from Brockton.'

A Massachusetts state statute prohibited more than one of the three county commissioners from residing in the same town. Patty, had been elected with a Brockton address in 1988. Now she was living in Bridgewater which was also where incumbent Matt Striggles resided. Patty, would have to top the ticket in order for her to retain her seat. She did just that.

Not only did she top the ticket, she garnered more votes than anyone who had ever run for that office. She did so while handily defeating the popular John R. Buckley, Jr., of Brockton. Patty, came in first with 94,708 votes, to John Buckley's 73,622 votes, to 72,040 votes for Matt Striggles, one of the three incumbents. The Republican, Larry Novak, received 49,382 votes.

Beating the popular John Buckley, Jr., was not underestimated by political observers. John's father, John R. Buckley, Sr. (1932-2020), was Secretary of Administration and Finance for Governor Michael S. Dukakis and then helped engineer Dukakis' successful Democratic Presidential Convention victory in Atlanta in 1986. Dukakis, eventually lost the presidential election to Vice President George H.W. Bush. John's grandfather, Thomas H. Buckley, was the elected Massachusetts State Auditor for many years.

One of Patty's initiatives and achievements as Plymouth County Commissioner was construction of the new Plymouth County Correctional facility in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The cost of construction was $110 million. It was a 1,140 bed prison complex that housed federal, state and county prisoners.

In 1996, Patty, embarked into an area where no woman had every gone before in Massachusetts politics -- the office of Sheriff. Her candidacy received a lot of media attention. Her primary election victory on September 16, 1996, was a resounding success. On September 17, 1996, newspapers throughout southeastern Massachusetts and elsewhere carried headlines similar to the one that appeared in her hometown newspaper, 'The Bridgewater Independent' -- 'Lawton in a Landslide'.

Patty Lawton, took 66.1% of the Plymouth County vote on the way to defeating her Democratic primary election opponent, Charles Lincoln, for the Democratic nomination for the office of Sheriff of Plymouth County. 'Patty', became the first female in Massachusetts history to be nominated by any political party for the office of Sheriff.

Patty, was favored to beat incumbent Sheriff Peter Forman in the 1996 November final election. Peter Forman won a narrow victory. Patty Lawton, ran a memorable campaign.

In addition to being a political trailblazer for women, her other accomplishments were varied if not eclectic. Having earned her B.A. degree at Emmanuel College, in Boston, she taught 6^th grade in the Brockton Public School System before she left to give birth to her three children: Patrick, Timothy and Molly. In 1998, she went back to education, but not the classroom. Between 1998 and 2003, Patty, was Supervisor of Attendance for the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School System. Patty, helped found BI2 Technologies in 2004, a company that develops and sells biometric systems. In 2010, after her husband, Mark, left the bench, she developed a lobbying group, called 'The Lawton Group'.

Patty Lawton's community involvement was legendary. From 1981 to 1983, she was Chairman of the Cardinal Spellman High School Development Fund Drive. From 1984 to 1989, she served as a Trustee for Brockton Hospital. With her husband, Mark, she helped found the Brockton Boys and Girls Club, working on the project between 1988 and 1991. The club opened for business in 1991.

Patty, was a Trustee of the Advisory Council for the Massachusetts Hospital Association, from 1993 to 1994. She was Chairman of the Board at the Cranberry Specialty Hospital from 1993 to 1996. For many years, Patty drove to the Marshfield offices of TIC (Talking Information Center), to read newspapers and books over the radio to listeners who were hearing-impaired.

For most of her adult life, Patty was a volunteer and fundraiser for the Guild of Catholic Charities Food Pantry, later called the Brockton Charity Guild. In September of 2018 she was elected President of the Brockton Charity Guild and spearheaded fundraising efforts to feed the hungry.

As of 2016, she was a member of the Steering Committee for the Capital Campaign for a new Cancer Center at the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, in addition to serving on the Foundation Board of Governors for the Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital, Inc.

On September 20, 2016, Governor Charles D. Baker, swore 'Patty' in as a member of the Plymouth, Massachusetts 400^th Anniversary Commission. The year-long festivities planned by the 400^th Anniversary Commission, were unfortunately interrupted by the National Emergency caused by the appearance and the global spread of COVID-19.

In addition to her own political success, Patty contributed to the success of others. After helping engineer her husband's successful House campaign in 1974, she and Mark helped engineer the successful Congressional campaign of Dorchester's Brian Donnelly in 1978. Brian, was House Speaker Thomas 'Tip' O'Neill's favorite member of the Massachusetts delegation. After seven terms in the House, Brian was appointed by President Bill Clinton as ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago.

Her most consequential campaigning was spent on behalf of Bill Carpenter in 2013 when Bill ran for Mayor of Brockton. Bill's upset victory helped save and transform the city at the most crucial time in its history.

Patty's political influence was felt for years to come

On June 11, 2023, the front page of the Brockton Enterprise was dominated by the commencement address delivered by John Della Volpe, to Stonehill College's graduating class of 2023. Della Volpe, at the time, was director of polling at Harvard's Institute of Politics.

Della Volpe, told his audience that he got his first start in politics in Brockton. The article by journalist Christopher Butler, read: Even before high school, his six-grade teacher Patricia Lawton, who came from a very active political family in Brockton, first sparked his love for politics with her 'experimental classroom' at the Hancock Elementary School. Stated Della Volpe, 'Having that proximity to politics is really important in someone's life.'

Patty Lawton, inspired John Della Volpe. He was just one of many.

Patrick O'Leary Lawton

Mark and Patty's children: Patrick, Timothy and Molly, all started school at Sacred Heart School, which was located on Court Street in Brockton. Sacred Heart was a French school attended by their paternal great grandmother, Beatrice Poudrier and her siblings after they arrived in Brockton in 1911. After the Lawton's moved to Bridgewater in 1992, Patrick Lawton stayed at Sacred Heart to finish the 8^th grade, while Timothy and Molly transferred to Bridgewater Public Schools.

Patrick O'Leary Lawton, was born at the Brockton Hospital, on October 6, 1979. Dr. Arthur J. Hassett, Jr., delivered Patrick. He was baptized at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brockton, on November 11, 1979. His paternal great uncle, Fr. Thomas Lawton, performed the baptism. Uncle Tom Lawton and Ellen Conlon, were his baptismal sponsors.

Patrick, graduated from Coyle-Cassidy High School in Taunton, Massachusetts. At Coyle, Patrick played fullback on the football team. He also won a national powerlifting championship in the 185 pound division, in Chicago, Illinois, during the summer after his 1998 graduation. After his junior year, Patrick finished third nationally in the National Power Lifting Championships held in St. Louis, Missouri.

After graduating from Coyle in 1998, Patrick, attended Stonehill College, graduating in 2002. He majored in Political Science.

In the Fall of 2002, Patrick, began his legal education at the New England School of Law in Boston. He graduated in June of 2005. He'd eventually help run his father, Mark Lawton's law office after Mark left the Massachusetts Trial Court. In the words of his father, "Patrick, did it all".

The three years that Patrick and his father practiced law together were the most fulfilling years for his father. "I always wondered what it would be like to practice law with a child whose diapers I used to change", stated Mark Lawton, about his oldest child.

There were many memorable cases that Mark and Patrick handled successfully, aside from the routine land-lord tenant, divorce or administrative law case. Those cases changed the lives for those involved. The return of a six year old to her maternal grandmother after she was abruptly taken by the 'Department of Children and Families', based upon Patrick's case strategy, was as satisfying an outcome as it ever gets for a lawyer. The two year case preparation for a trial before a three-judge panel in Boston involving the misconduct of a fellow attorney, "Was one of the best pieces of legal scholarship and preparation I've ever seen", observed Mark Lawton, of son Patrick.

The most important contribution by Patrick, however, was to his father. It consisted simply of advice that his father had to start to

"Thinking again as a lawyer and not a judge...and, start charging people more for your services." Declared Mark Lawton, "Pat was always a businessman."

Patrick, also worked as an Inspector for Brockton's Board of Health. Patrick, was placed in charge of preparing search warrants for the 'Mayor's Neighborhood Revitalization Taskforce'. The warrants allowed the city to enter abandoned housing in an effort to revitalize Brockton's old neighborhoods, the same neighborhoods where generations of his ancestors -- the O'Leary's, Clifford's, Burke's, Lawton's, Cashman's, Poudrier's and Twohig's lived and worked.

In July of 2017, while running for re-election, Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter, stated in a speech to the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, "In order to turn Brockton around we started with our neighborhoods. My 'Neighborhood Revitalization Taskforce' is the key to that effort. We've adopted the 'broken windows theory', popularized by criminologist, George Kelling, in 1982. The theory is premised on the assumption that even one unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares in a community and that such neglect leads to unbridled disorder and then an increase in crime. Because crime is clearly our number one concern -- we have to fix the broken windows".

Carpenter continued, "Patrick Lawton, has been one of the keys to that taskforce. That strategy has paid off". In spite of decades of decline, neglect and dwindling revenues, Brockton started it's comeback. Neighborhoods were revitalized and crime came down. Private investment rocketed upward. It was a great municipal transformation.

Timothy Clifford Lawton

Timothy Clifford Lawton, was born at the Brockton Hospital, on July 30, 1981. He too was delivered by Dr. Arthur J. Hassett, Jr. Timothy, was baptized on September 13, 1981, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brockton. His great uncle, Fr. Thomas Lawton, performed the baptism. Uncle Richard Lawton and close family friend Claudia Moses, were his baptismal sponsors.

Tim, graduated from Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School. Tim, captained the school's baseball team and helped lead the football team to its first Super Bowl championship by beating Brockton High School in December of 1998.

In August of 1999, Tim enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point. For the next four years, Tim, spent time between academic classes and military training preparing for service in the U.S. Army.

As part of summer training during those 4 years, Tim, did the equivalent of a military internship by shadowing a platoon leader in an Army unit in Germany. He completed Air Assault school and performed summer duties as a cadre member for the training of incoming West Point cadets.

In addition to academics and military training, Tim, was a member of the Army Rugby team - 'The Brothers'. In four years the team went to four straight national Final Four appearances. Unfortunately, they never won the national tournament. On one occasion, they were ranked as the 3^rd best Division One collegiate rugby team in the United States.

In September of 2001, during Tim's junior year, America was attacked by the international terrorist group -- Al Qaeda. At that moment, the future of many Americans Tim's age changed forever.

Upon graduation, Tim, would be deployed to fight in America's latest war.

In the Fall of Tim's senior year, Tim was obliged to submit his branch preferences (Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery, etc.). His class rank allowed him his first choice of Infantry. In the Spring of his senior year, he was allowed to select the Army installation and unit he would serve in during his first few years of service. Tim, chose Savannah, Georgia and the 3^rd Infantry Division.

Upon graduation in May of 2003, like all newly minted second lieutenants, he was required to go to Officer Basic Training for his specific branch of service. As an infantry officer, Tim went straight to Fort Benning, Georgia, the home of the infantry branch. There he completed 16 weeks of Infantry Officer Basic Course, followed by the Mechanized Leader Course for motorized infantry. He started Army Ranger school in January of 2004.

After completing Ranger school, Tim left Fort Benning for Fort Stewart, in Georgia, near Savannah. He was assigned to the First Brigade Combat Team, 2^nd Battalion, 7^th Infantry Regiment, 3^rd Infantry Division -- the "Cottonbalers". Tim, was immediately assigned as 3^rd Platoon leader in Bravo Company, 2/7 IN.

The "Cottonbalers", flew to Iraq during the first week of January 2005. They trained for two weeks in Kuwait before traveling 5 days on Highway 1 for Bayji, Iraq, where they would spend the next 12 months.

During his year in Iraq, Tim's platoon was involved in hundreds of combat missions. Many of his soldiers were wounded while engaging the enemy. Five men under his command were killed. Those brave soldiers were: Staff Sergeant Steven Bayow, Sergeant Dan Torres, Specialist Ken Rojas, Corporal Josh Kynoch and Private Travis Anderson.

It was during his year in Iraq that Tim decided to pursue a greater challenge in more complex combat situations. He applied for a position within the 75^th Ranger Regiment, a Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), direct action unit.

Tim, was accepted into the Ranger Regiment, earning an assignment to the 1^st Ranger Battalion, also located in Savannah, Georgia. His platoon's mission with the 3^rd Infantry Division was complete in Bayji and the replacing unit had taken over. Tim headed back to America.

On Christmas Eve 2005, Tim, surprised his parents by arriving home earlier than planned. He called his siblings, Patrick and Molly, to pick him up at Boston's Logan Airport. The three Lawton children walked into the kitchen as their parents were exiting to attend Christmas Mass at St. Thomas Acquinas in Bridgewater. It was a welcome surprise.

In January of 2006, Tim, returned to Fort Benning in Georgia to complete the Ranger Orientation Program (ROP), followed by the mandatory Airborne School. After completion of these training programs he was officially assigned to the 1^st Ranger Battalion.

Tim, arrived back at the Hunter Army Airfield in March of 2006 and was assigned as 3^rd Platoon Leader, Bravo Company. The 'operational tempo' for the Ranger Regiment was a three month deployment and six months back training stateside. Over the next three years he would see three more combat deployments -- two to Afghanistan and another trip to Iraq in 2008.

In 2007, Tim realized he wanted to pursue an MBA degree. During his final deployment in Iraq in 2008 he learned of his acceptance to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management to start in the Fall of 2008 -- a full-time two year program.

Tim's timing was always a topic of conversation. America invaded Afghanistan and started the longest war in American history while he was in his third year at West Point. America had just invaded Iraq when he was about to graduate from West Point. During his first week of classes at MIT Sloan in September of 2008, one of the biggest financial collapses and economic recessions in United States history unfolded.

In spite of the global meltdown, Tim, pursued his interests in the finance industry. He secured an internship with Barclay's Capital, a global investment bank, while still at Sloan. Upon graduation he accepted a full-time offer to start as an associate level investment banker.

For the next five years, Tim, worked on "Wall Street". He spent three years at Barclay's Capital and two more years at UBS Securities, the Swiss bank, before deciding to start his own company. With a close friend he started a data analytics company, located in New York City.

The most significant change in Tim's life occurred on November 21, 2019 -- it was his first date with Dawn Giel. They said goodbye to one another after that first date, on the corner of West 12^th and West 4^th in New York City. They both knew then that they were meant for one another. It was at same spot on Sunday afternoon, December 19, 2021, that Tim proposed to "Auntie Dawn". They married in Tim's favorite State of Montana, on October 22, 2022.

The October wedding on took place at 4:00 pm at the Rainbow Ranch, a lodge located along Highway 191, in the Big Sky section of Montana. Sean King, who grew up with Dawn in New Jersey, performed the ceremony. Caitlin Burke and Dawn's sister, Dayna Giel, stood up for Dawn. Patrick Lawton and Molly (Lawton) Kaylor, stood up for their brother. Tim's nieces, five year-old Vivian Kaylor and three year-old Quinn Kaylor, performed as 'flower girls'. They carried rose petals in baskets made by Tim's mother -- Patty Lawton.

Many of the wedding invitees arrived several days prior to wedding day. The weather was dry and reasonable in the days prior to the wedding event. At midnight before the ceremony, reasonable became seasonable. Several inches of snow fell. As Tim reminded everyone during the wedding ceremony -- "Welcome to Montana".

There was one person who was not in attendance -- Dawn Giel's mother. On March 16, 2022, Prudence Ann Giel, succumbed after a long illness. Fortunately, 'Pru', as she was known, had a few months to savor news of her daughter's engagement.

On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at the Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, the newest member of the Giel/Moore/O'Leary/Lawton Family was born. His name -- River Cillian Lawton; 7.9 pounds and almost 21 inches tall. River, became the youngest cousin to the 2^nd President of the United States, John Adams; the youngest descendant of 'Winthrop's Fleet' which established the City of Boston in 1630; and, the youngest descendant of tenant-famers from County Cork, Ireland.

Molly Burke Lawton

Molly Burke Lawton, the third and youngest of Mark and Patricia's three children, was born at 8:27 am on May 17, 1984, at the Brockton Hospital. Molly, like her two older brothers, was delivered by Dr. Arthur J. Hassett, Jr.. Great uncle, Fr. Thomas Lawton, the Executive Director of the Holy Cross Father's Retreat House, baptized Molly, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brockton. Uncle Bob Lawton and Aunt Michelle Lawton, were her baptismal sponsors.

Molly, like her two older brothers, was born while the family was residing at 67 Winnifred Road in Brockton. Shortly after her birth the family moved to 19 Thorny Lea Terrace in Brockton.

The Brockton Enterprise newspaper ran an article written by Ann Margos, on May 21, 1984, under her weekly byline, 'People in the news'. The first paragraph of the article read: Molly Burke Lawton's arrival on Thursday not only brought joy but made history. It marked only the second generation since 1809 in which a girl has been born in the Lawton family.

The article continued to detail the genesis of her name. Molly's paternal great grandmother's best friend, Molly Monahan, married her maternal great great uncle, James Burke. Molly Monahan, became Molly Burke - the link between the Clifford/Burke Families and the Lawton/Twohig Families.

After the Lawton's moved from Brockton to Bridgewater in January of 1992, Molly attended the 4^th grade at the William Elementary School in Bridgewater. She graduated from Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School in June of 2002. While at the high school, Molly was inducted into their Hall of Fame for three sports: cross-country, in-door track and outdoor track. She also was elected to be class president for three of her four years at the school.

On June 1, 2002, Senior Class President Molly Lawton, spoke to her fellow graduates and families who gathered on the high school's football field that day. A local newspaper on June 13, 2002, The Raynham Journal, quoted from Molly's speech. Quoting Ghandi, Lawton stated, "Generations will not only be held accountable for what they do, but what they failed to do."

Molly's time home after her graduation was short. On June 28, 2002 she had to report to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis for 'Plebe Summer', the name given to the academy's 'boot camp'.

Molly, spent two years at the Naval Academy. She participated in four sports while there: cross-country, indoor track , outdoor track and club lacrosse. During her 3^rd Class year, which is Navy nomenclature for sophomore year, the lacrosse team went undefeated. They went undefeated until their decisive loss in the national title game in Missouri.

During the Summer of 2004, after her sophomore year, she worked in Washington D.C., at the White House's Office of Communication. In September of 2004, Molly, transferred to Boston University's School of Business and Management. She graduated from Boston University in June of 2006.

The next few years found Molly working for several companies. John Hancock in Boston, Goldman Sachs in Chicago and Morgan Stanley in Massachusetts. She moved to New York City in June of 2009.

In 2013, Molly, began to date Travis Manning Kaylor, an agent with the United States Secret Service. Travis, a graduate of Marist College, was the son of the late Brian John Kaylor and Aileen (Kehoe) Kaylor, of Connecticut.

On May 16, 2014, Travis Kaylor, proposed to Molly, in Charleston, South Carolina. Molly, turned thirty the following day.

On June 15, 2015, Molly and Travis, married on the Island of Nantucket, at St. Mary Our Lady of the Isle Catholic Church. Family friend, Fr. Jim Chichetto, of the Order of the Holy Cross Fathers, performed the marriage. Tim Lawton, Molly's brother, performed the duties as Man of Honor. Brendan Kaylor, Travis' brother, performed the duties as Best Man.

The ushers that day were: Jon Gonthier, Rob Niederpruem, Tim Kearcher and Patrick Lawton. The bridesmaids were: Jessica (Rawlins) Roy, Sarah Beaulieu, Brooke (Kaylor) Niederpruem, Elizabeth Jeanne Lawton, Ellen Sanderson, Tara Moran and Ashley Marie Kaylor.

Travis and Molly, resided in Hoboken, New Jersey, after their

wedding. Molly, worked for Avon and Unilever. Travis, worked out of

the New York City Office of the United States Secret Service.

Travis, who graduated from Marist in May of 2001, entered the

Secret Service in June of 2002. While working out of the New York City

Office of the Secret Service, he worked the Secret Service detail of

former President Bill Clinton. During the 2016 Presidential campaign,

he traveled with Bill and Hillary Clinton, as the Clinton's campaigned

together. It was one of the most contentious presidential campaigns in

American history, resulting in a close election defeat for Hillary Clinton

and a stunning Electoral College victory for Donald Trump.

On Monday, August 14, 2017, at 2:19 pm, at Sinai West Hospital, in Manhattan, Molly (Lawton) Kaylor, gave birth to Vivian Oakes Kaylor, on what would have been her paternal grandfather Brian John Kaylor's 70^th birthday. A wonderful birthday present.

In October of 2018, Travis, Molly and Vivian Kaylor, moved to

Massachusetts. They moved into their new home at 117 Wadsworth

Road, in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January of 2019. Their second

child, Quinn Frances Kaylor, was born at 2:43 am on Tuesday, May

14, 2019, at the South Shore Hospital, located in Weymouth,

Massachusetts. Quinn, weighed 8 lbs and measured 21 inches long.

Thomas David Lawton

The second son born to Jim and Jeanne Lawton, was Thomas David Lawton, who was born on August 20, 1950. He was born months after the family moved from their third floor apartment at 10 Turner Street to 25 Cary Street in Brockton.

Tom, attended the Sylvester School on Court Street in Brockton, the Whitman School on Gifford Street, in Brockton, West Junior High School, Coyle High School, in Taunton, Massachusetts and North Adams State College. Tom's ultimate goal was to gain admission to law school.

Tom, was a basketball player for Coyle High School. He was always proud of the fact that he was "only one of the five Lawton boys who could dunk the basketball".

During his college years at North Adams State, Tom lived what his parents called "the hippie life" during the school year. During the summer months, Tom, ran his own painting contracting business. His crew consisted of his brother Mark and professional artist, Gerry Parker.

During the summer days, Tom and his work crew painted Brockton "three-deckers", using staging and 40-foot ladders. At night, Tom treated the crew to a relaxing time at the 'Plough & Stars' in Cambridge, an Irish Bar on Massachusetts Avenue outside of Harvard Square. Tom's 1957 Volkswagen Beetle, with questionable brakes, provided the transportation in and out of Cambridge.

After graduating from North Adams State College in 1972, Tom worked for the Department of Public Welfare as a social worker. In 1975, he applied for admission to law school, was accepted and began a four year night program in 1975, graduating in 1979. Upon graduation, Plymouth County District Attorney William O'Malley, appointed Tom as an Assistant District Attorney for the County of Plymouth. By the time he left the District Attorney's office, Tom was recognized as one of the top prosecutors in all of southeastern Massachusetts.

The 1980's were times of rapid change for Tom. In 1982, Tom left the District Attorney's office and entered the private practice of law with his oldest brother, Mark Lawton. In less than a year, Massachusetts Governor Edward King appointed Mark to a judgeship in Boston. Younger brother, Richard James Lawton, passed the Massachusetts Bar Exam and took over Mark's office. Tom, his brother Rick Lawton and fellow lawyers, Ben Albanese and Luke Sweeney, purchased a Civil War era building at 157 Belmont Street in Brockton, for their law offices. The Lawton brothers were busy.

There were few lawyers that could try a criminal case like Tom Lawton. Whether it was a jury trial or a jury-waived trial, he had few equals. His courtroom personality and ability to regale a jury were traits inherited from his father, Jim Lawton.

1n 1982, Tom Lawton, decided to enter political life as his father and brother had before him. At the time, Tom was living in the Town of Kingston, Massachusetts, a town contiguous to historic Plymouth. He decided to run against incumbent Kingston Selectman William Martin.

The election was hotly contested. The central issue was Tom Lawton's brother, Mark Lawton, who at the time was serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Mark had been leading legislative efforts to enhance Brockton's control over its main source of drinking water -- called Silver Lake. The large reservoir of water just happened to be located in the Town of Kingston.

Martin, the incumbent Kingston selectman, questioned challenger Tom Lawton's loyalty to the Town of Kingston given his brother Mark's advocacy to diminish the town's oversight of Silver Lake. Mark Lawton, had filed legislation to give the City of Brockton the right to purchase the land in Kingston surrounding Silver Lake.

On election day, May 8, 1982, in the Brockton Enterprise, Tom Lawton was quoted: "He (Martin) alludes at times to Rep. Lawton. It's no mystery who he is. I'm quite proud to say he's my brother Mark."

The Brockton Enterprise on Sunday, May 9, 1982, carried the headline: 'Lawton upsets Martin.'

Paul Bloom, a columnist for the Brockton Enterprise, wrote a column on May 15, 1982, only the first three paragraphs of which are set out below. The column which appeared one week after Tom Lawton's upset victory was entitled, 'Water: The Hatfields and the McCoys.'

I wonder if the Lawton brothers did a lot of fighting and arguing when they were kids, because if they did, that might help explain what happened this week.

Brother Mark, of course, is now a Democratic state representative from Brockton and a leading figure in the city's life and death struggle to continue to provide an adequate water supply. Brother Tom was elected just last week as a member of the Board of Selectmen in Kingston.

And Brother Tom didn't waste a heck of a lot of time serving up a first class poke in the nose in Brother Mark's direction over the issue of water, specifically Brockton's pumping of water from the Kelleher property in Kingston to replenish its supply at nearby Silver Lake.

On April 2, 1988, Tom Lawton, married Mary Beth Gilbert, of Hartford, Connecticut, at the office of Lawton & Lawton, located at 157 Belmont Street, Brockton. Tom's brother, Judge Mark Lawton, performed the marital ceremonies. It was a ceremony that perfectly fit Tom's unique personality, right down to the Chinese food.

Tom and Mary Beth, had two children: McKenzie Ann Lawton, who was born at the Brockton Hospital on May 22, 1990 and Ryan David Lawton, who was born at the Brockton Hospital on April 26, 1991. Tom, Mary Beth and their two children, resided at 20 Brookside Drive in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. McKenzie and Ryan would be the youngest of Jim and Jeanne Lawton's seven grandchildren.

McKenzie, attended Bridgewater Public Schools and Coyle-Cassidy High School in Taunton, Massachusetts. After attaining honor roll status in high school, she applied to and attended the prestigious Emerson College in Boston. She graduated with a BA degree in Business Administration. Thereafter, McKenzie worked for several years in a Manhattan, New York advertising firm.

Ryan Lawton, the youngest of Jim and Jeanne Lawton's seven grandchildren, attended Bridgewater Public Schools before attending Southeastern Regional High School in Easton, Massachusetts. He thereafter attended and graduated from Cape Cod Community College in 2024, majoring in 'Aircraft Repair'. Since 2025 he's been employed at the Groton/New London Airport in Groton, Connecticut.

On December 10, 2019, the Plymouth County Bar Association, one of the oldest Bar Associations in America, handed out their annual awards. It was their 152nd annual meeting. Tom Lawton, was selected to receive the Chief Justice Allan M. Hale Award, given to a member of the Bar who "provided outstanding legal services in Massachusetts through his/her entire legal career as an attorney, be recognized as a mentor to other attorneys, have participated and supported Plymouth County Bar Association activities.... and be nearing retirement or be retired." There couldn't have been a better selection.

Richard James Lawton

Richard James Lawton, the third son born to Jim and Jeanne Lawton, was born on March 5, 1956. At the time, the Lawton's were residing at 25 Cary Street in Brockton. They wouldn't move to 398 Ash Street until 1958 when Jeanne Lawton, was pregnant with Robert Sean Lawton.

Rick or Ricky, as he would be known throughout his lifetime, attended the Whitman Grammar School on Manomet Street in Brockton, St. Colman's Grammar School, West Junior High School on West Street and Brockton High School. He graduated from Brockton High in 1974.

Rick, graduated from Stonehill College in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Four years later, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the New England School of Law in Boston.

On August 22, 1982, Rick married Michelle A. Harty, at the Chapel of St. Mary, located on the campus of Stonehill College. Rick's uncle, Fr. Tom Lawton, performed the ceremony. Bob Lawton performed the duties of 'best man' and Karen Prince, performed the duties of 'maid of honor'. Two year old Patrick O'Leary Lawton, was the ring bearer that day.

In 1983, Rick, was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar, as well as to the U.S. District Court and the U.S. District Court of Appeals. He immediately moved into the Torrey Street, Brockton law office with his brother Tom Lawton, who had entered the private practice of law in 1982 after leaving the Plymouth County District Attorney's office. Oldest brother Mark Lawton, had just left the law office because of his appointment by Governor Edward King to the Massachusetts Trial Court.

Few resumes read like Rick Lawton's. Rick, joined the New England School of Law's Board of Trustees in 1994. He became a member of the law school's Board of Incorporators in 1999. He was elected Vice President of the law school's Corporation in 2004 and Chairman of the law school's Committee on Development in 2007.

It always helps to know a Governor. Rick's friendship with Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, led to Rick's appointment to the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees on September 1, 2006, for a term of five years, from 2006 to 2011. Governor Romney, also appointed Rick to the University of Massachusetts Building Authority on October 26, 2006, for a term of five years. The board members of the UMass Building Authority later elected Rick as Vice Chairman of the Board.

Rick's proudest achievement as a UMass Board Trustee was being named Chairman of the Nuclear Science and Technology Task Force. His tenure as Chairman led to the securing of a grant from the Department of Energy to support research at the UMass Radiation Center located at the UMass Lowell campus.

Governor Mitt Romney, received the nomination for the Presidency of the United States at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, on August 30, 2012. Romney's campaign came to an end on November 6, 2012, losing to incumbent President Barack Obama. Romney received 47.2% of the popular vote. Romney, was later elected to the United State Senate from Utah, in 2018.

Rick and Michelle had two children: Daniel James Lawton, commonly known as 'D.J.', was born on June 9, 1986. Elizabeth Jeanne Lawton, was born on August 13, 1988. Both 'D.J.' and Elizabeth, graduated from Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts.

They both were honored being elected as President of their respective classes while at Thayer. They excelled in sports as well, Liz, winning the Massachusetts and New England prep-school cross country championships.

Elizabeth Jeanne's athletic influence was felt on a national level as well. While competing for the University of Chicago, from which she graduated in 2011, Liz won the NCAA Track and Field National Championships in both the 10,000m and 5,000m runs.

Robert Sean Lawton

Robert Sean Lawton, commonly known as Bob, was born in Brockton, on October 14, 1958, the fourth son of Jim and Jeanne Lawton. Bob was born shortly after his family moved to their 398 Ash Street, Brockton home.

Of the five Lawton sons, Bob Lawton, was the closet embodiment of 'Jimmy Lawton the entertainer'. Bob was always ready to offer a joke or a humorous insight into family or even national affairs. There was also no one who was as popular amongst his peers than he.

Bob Lawton, was hired by Plymouth County Sheriff Peter Y. Flynn, as a corrections officer in February of 1983. His career in Corrections moved along swiftly after that. After attending the Barnstable County Police Academy to be trained as a Deputy Sheriff, he was appointed in 1984 as a Deputy Sheriff Transportation Officer by Sheriff Flynn. In 1988, Bob was appointed to the position of Assistant Transportation Supervisor.

The year 1983, was also the year Bob purchased his first home, a two family home located at 406 Rockland Street in Brockton, only 150 yards away from his parent's home on the corner of Rockland Street and Rock Meadow Drive. Bob would own that home for several decades.

Plymouth County was created by an act of the colonial legislature on June 2, 1685, when the colony of New Plymouth was divided into three counties: Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable. Plymouth County developed their jail system immediately thereafter. Not much changed over the next 300 plus years.

The Old Plymouth County jail was built to house 113 prisoners but they regularly housed close to 200 prisoners. In 1990, Plymouth County added modular units to their facility and the prison population exploded to 550 prisoners. Something had to give. The federal government finally ordered the county to come up with a housing alternative to address the problem.

Bob's sister-in-law, Patricia (O'Leary) Lawton, was one of the three Plymouth County Commissioners, having been elected in November of 1988. Under the leadership of Sheriff Peter Y. Flynn, approval was sought and granted by the Massachusetts House and Senate for a corporation to be formed with the statutory authority to sell municipal bonds to fund a large capital project -- the construction of the new Plymouth County Correctional Facility. It was the first time that such a unique approach had been attempted. Patty Lawton, who was chairperson of the Plymouth County Commissioners, became the President of the corporation.

The new correctional facility, located on Long Pond Road in Plymouth, was designed to house 1,140 prisoners. The inmates would consist of county inmates, federal prisoners awaiting trial, youthful juvenile offenders, as well as 200 to 300 State Prison inmates for whom there was no room within the Massachusetts State Prison system.

In June of 1994, Bob was promoted to the rank of Deputy Captain at the new facility. In 1995, Bob was again promoted, this time to the rank of Deputy Major and Deputy Superintendent. Bob, retired in February of 2015, exactly 32 years after his appointment by Sheriff Peter Y. Flynn.

Anyone who was involved with corrections or the courts during the 32 years Bob Lawton worked in that industry will attest that there was no more popular employee or friend than Bob Lawton. Because of his infectious personality and willingness to help anyone in need, he was known and admired throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

In December of 2001, Bob, started dating Jeanne Ellis. Bob, met Jeanne, when he would patronize Staples Office Supply on Samoset Street in Plymouth. Jeanne, was the store manager.

On June 15, 2002, Bob Lawton married Jeanne Ellis, at the home of Wayne and Martha DaSilva, in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Jeanne, was one of the six children born to Michael Ellis and Edna (O'Brien) Ellis.

Paul Matthew Lawton

The youngest of Jim and Jeanne Lawton's five sons, Paul Matthew Lawton, was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, on December 13, 1963. Paul graduated from Brockton High School in 1981, Stonehill College in 1986 and the New England School of Law/Boston in 1989.

Paul's many public accomplishments after he graduated from law school have been recognized and applauded by many throughout the United States. Some of those accomplishments will be discussed within this family history. His most significant accomplishments were his day to day acts of loyalty to both family and friends.

To Paul's seven nieces and nephews: Patrick, Timothy, Molly, Daniel, Elizabeth, McKenzie and Ryan Lawton, he was always a great source of entertainment at family gatherings. His backyard demonstrations of his newest 'spudzooka' -- bazooka-like potato launchers and the setting off of fireworks on the beaches of East Falmouth, always held their attention.

There was only one area of interest outside of his family and his research that held Paul Lawton's attention and that was politics. The most memorable of Paul's political campaigns was the 2004 campaign that Paul managed for then Assistant Plymouth County District Attorney, Joseph McDonald. McDonald defeated incumbent Plymouth County Sheriff, Joseph McDonough, in a razor-thin victory.

Military and maritime history had always held great interest for Paul. That interest was equaled by his dedication to the research of historical military and naval events that had mysterious and unresolved questions surrounding them.

Paul Lawton's research has been featured on the 'History Channel' as well as in a PBS documentary mini-series. Numerous books have been either partially or largely based upon Paul's research. The Last Battle of the Atlantic: The Sinking of the U-853, written by Captain Bill Palmer, is one of those books. Another is Lamar Underwood's, The Greatest Stories Ever Told: Dive! Dive! Dive! Fourteen Unforgettable Stories from the Deep. There are many other books as well as numerous articles and magazines that have featured Paul and his revelatory research.

One of the many naval moments that captured Paul Lawton's interest was the mysterious sinking of the American warship, USS Eagle 56 (PE-56), off the coast of Portland, Maine, on April 23, 1945, during the final week of World War II. Paul's research forced the Department of Defense to correct the historical record. What had been officially described by the United States government as an "accidental boiler explosion" in the last days of the last world war, was finally and officially listed as "enemy action" by the German U-boat U-853.

As a result of this unprecedented historical correction, 51 Purple Heart Medals (49 posthumously) were awarded to the USS Eagle 56 casualties. President George W. Bush, was to have awarded those medals himself during a White House Rose Garden ceremony. However, the attack by Islamic terrorists in New York City on 9-11-01, prevented him from doing so. The President's Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, who had served with Mark Lawton in the Massachusetts House of Representatives several years earlier, communicated President Bush's desire for Paul Lawton, to personally deliver the Purple Heart Medals to the few recipients still alive and the surviving family members of deceased recipients. Paul, did so during a ceremony aboard the USS Salem, which was docked at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts, in June of 2002. It was an event that never would have occurred but for the relentlessness of Paul Lawton.

On April 23, 2015, the 70^th anniversary of the German attack on the Eagle 56, an appropriate plaque was dedicated to the American sailors who lost their lives in April of 1945. The plaque is located at Fort Williams, on Cape Elizabeth, in South Portland, Maine

Stephen Puleo's book, Due to Enemy Action, dramatically tells the story of the sinking of the Eagle 56, the last American warship sunk by a German U-boat. Author Puleo, proudly gave Paul Lawton, credit for his research which led to the writing of his book. Said Puleo, "It is the account of how one man, Paul M. Lawton, embarked on an unrelenting quest for the truth and changed naval history."

In the book, author Puleo, quotes Bernard F. Cavalkante, the Senior Archivist for the U.S. Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., who was effusive in giving Paul Lawton credit for the correction of United States naval history. Cavalkante said, "I never had a son, but if I did I would want him to have the same dedication to the truth as Paul Lawton."

Twelve months later, in November of 2019, Paul Lawton's book entitled The Sinking of the U.S.S. Eagle PE-56, Silent Victim of the U-853, Great Life Press, was published. At the same time, Paul's second book was also published, Hitler's Raketen U-Boote (Rocket Submarine), The True Story of the Steinhoff Brothers and the Nazi's First Submarine Launched Missiles, Great Life Press.

Fred and Christine Lawton's great grandchildren

Fifteen (15) great grandchildren would be born to Fred and Christine (Twohig) Lawton.

Fred and Christine Lawton's oldest grandchild, Mark Edward Lawton, would marry Patricia Ann (O'Leary) Lawton, on April 19, 1975. They would have three children: Patrick O'Leary Lawton, born on October 6, 1979; Timothy Clifford Lawton, born on July 30, 1981; and, Molly Burke Lawton, born on May 17, 1984.

Thomas David Lawton, would marry Mary Beth Gilbert, on April 2, 1988. They would have two children: McKenzie Ann Lawton, born on May 22, 1990; and, Ryan David Lawton, born on April 26, 1991.

Richard James Lawton, would marry Michelle A. Harty, on August 22, 1982. They would have two children: Daniel James Lawton, born on June 9, 1986; and, Elizabeth Jeanne Lawton, born on August 13, 1988.

Peter C. O'Malley, would marry Sidney Jean Stromsdorfer, on November 22, 1981. They would have one child: Niall Gerard O'Malley, born on April 29, 1993.

Timothy J. O'Malley, would marry Ani Trilling, on May 28, 1983. They would have one child: Eric Trilling O'Malley, born on September 30, 1986.

Kenneth Stewart, would marry Mary Ann Holden, on May 14, 1983. They would have three children: Patrick Daniel Stewart, born on September 2, 1987; Caitlin Elizabeth Stewart, born on September 27, 1990; and, Timothy Ryan Stewart, born on July 29, 1992.

Chris Ann Stewart, would marry Michael K. O'Neil, on September 15, 1985. They would have one child: Kevin Stewart O'Neil, born on May 11, 1991.

Paul Stewart, would marry Debra Gundersen, on November 11, 1989. They would have two children: Kelsey Marie Stewart, born on May 10, 1991; and, Courtney Ann Stewart, born on July 21, 1995.

Those great grandchildren would also be the great, great, great, grandchildren of James Lawton and his wife Johanna (Callaghan) Lawton, of Killeagh, County Cork; James Heaphy and his wife Mary (Keeffe) Heaphy, of Killeagh, County Cork; Thomas Patrick Twohig and his wife Margaret (Riordan) Twohig, of Cork City, County Cork; and, Nathaniel Long and his wife Susan (Goodman) Long, of Cork City, County Cork.

The Maurice Lawton Family of Killeagh and South Boston

Edward Lawton, was the oldest of the four sons born to James Lawton and Johanna (Callaghan) Lawton, of Killeagh, County Cork. The youngest of the four sons was Maurice Lawton, who was born in Killeagh, on October 20, 1848. When Maurice, was only two years of age his mother died. She was only twenty-eight years of age.

At the age of twenty-three, Maurice, walked southward from his village of Killeagh, through the towns of Midleton and Carigtohill toward the port city of Queenstown, today called Cobh (pronounced Cove). His destination was America. He arrived in the Port of Boston in 1872. In America, he would become a shoemaker like his oldest brother, Edward Lawton, our ancestor.

On January 28, 1877, the 31 year old Maurice Lawton, married the 25 year old Catherine 'Kate' Spillane, in Boston. The Rev. D. O'Callaghan, performed the ceremony. 'Kate', who was born in Ireland in 1860, was the daughter of John Spillane and Ellen (O'Brien) Spillane.

Maurice and 'Kate', had six children: Anna 'Annie' Rosalie Lawton (born on September 30, 1878); James Lawton (born on August 13, 1880); John Joseph Lawton (born on August 16, 1882); Mary Ellen Lawton (born on April 16, 1886); Maurice A. Lawton (born on February 8, 1888); and, Catherine F. Lawton (born on February 4, 1890). The Lawton Family resided for many years at 883 Broadway and then East Third Street in South Boston.

'Kate' (Spillane) Lawton, died at her 883 Broadway residence on November 18, 1913, at the age of 53. Maurice Lawton, the shoemaker from Killeagh, was widowed for the next 29 years, until his death on April 17,1942. 'Kate' and Maurice, are interred at New Calvary Cemetery, on Harvard Street in Mattapan, Massachusetts.

Lawton Family Reunions

On September 11, 1988, at the Sons of Italy Park in Brockton, Massachusetts, over one hundred descendants of Edward Lawton and Maurice Lawton, gathered for the first of two Lawton Family Reunions. Judge Jim Lawton and his son, Mark Edward Lawton, started planning for the reunions after their August 1983 trip to their ancestral village of

Killeagh, County Cork. In 1989, the second Lawton Family Reunion

was held at the Holy Cross Father's Retreat House, located on the

Stonehill College campus in North Easton, Massachusetts.

Edward Lawton and his family's legacy

On March 28, 1982, the author, Mark Edward Lawton, spent an afternoon with 82 year old Katherine Lindsay, of 11 Morgan Street, Brockton. Katherine had many memories as a child growing up on Morgan Street, not far from the home where the Lawton Family resided on the corner of Winter Street and Lawton Avenue. She remembered the reddish tint to Edward Lawton's white hair. She remembered Edward walking to Mass many times during the week with friends, Patrick McGrail and Sylvester Mahar, all speaking with their thick Irish brogues. "McGrails you could cut with a knife", recounts Katherine. Mostly, Katherine remembered "the many tragedies that had befallen the Lawton Family and how gracefully they all seemed to accept their suffering without complaint. They were a wonderful family"