Lawrence Hartshorne

Lawrence Hartshorne (July 1, 1755 – March 10, 1822) was a Canadian merchant and political figure based in Nova Scotia.

He represented Halifax County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1793 to 1799.

He was a Quaker who was the chief assistant of abolitionist John Clarkson in helping Black Nova Scotian settlers emigrate to Sierra Leone in 1792 [1] He is recorded in the Book of Negroes for having freed four slaves.

[2] He was born in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the son of John Hartshorne and Lucy Saltar, and came to Nova Scotia during the American Revolution as a loyalist in 1783.

The home Lawrence's son built in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in 1837 is a protected heritage property.