The Lawson family was significant in establishing Primitive Methodism in Canada. William Lawson was a Wesleyan local preacher, class leader and steward at Brampton in Cumbria. He was contacted by James Johnson, a friend and Carlisle PM Local preacher, asked if he could preach in Brampton. For helping Johnson, the WM superintendent minister expelled Lawson, who now joined the PMs. Three years later crop failures affected his business and so on 14 April 1829 with his wife and family he sailed from Maryport for Canada, arriving on 29 May, then continuing to York (now Toronto).

In July 1829 he began preaching in the market place and found there were a number of 'Prims' who had come from Yorkshire and from this beginning a society was formed. On 21 October 1832 he preached at the opening of Bay Street Church. He moved to Brampton, Canada in 1834.

By the 1850s it was found to be very inconvenient to manage the business in Canada as an outlying dependency of the English Conference and so in 1853 he was sent to the PM Conference in England held at York to plead the case for independence. This was granted and the first Canadian Conference was held in 1854. In that year Lawson was appointed Secretary of the Conference and Secretary of the Connexional General Committee, holding the latter post until 1858.

Other members of the family included Edward Lawson, choirmaster at Bay Street and the Rev. Thomas Lawson who entered the PM ministry in 1850 but united with the WMs in 1855.

Entry written by: DCD
Category: Person
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