[2] He was also President of the Stone Cutters' Union, Vice-President of the Hamilton Trades and Labour Council, and leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) party in the Ontario legislature as well as Ontario CCF president in the early 1940s[3][4] Born in the Somerset village of Norton-sub-Hamdon to William Lawrence and Ann Geard on 16 August 1879, Sam was the fourth child in a family of 5 boys and 5 girls and he attended school from the age of 3 to 10.

[5] Lawrence went to London at 17 and joined the Friendly Society of Operative Stonemasons of England, Ireland and Wales in Battersea and was shop steward at the age of 18.

[5] Whilst serving in the Coldstream Guards during the Boer War, a young recruit by the name of Knobby Taylor loaned Lawrence "Looking Backward" by Edward Bellamy.

[5] In 1906, the then 27-year-old trade unionist and war veteran stood in an abortive election campaign for the Battersea Borough Council and, six years later, decided to follow three of his brothers and two sisters who had already gone to Canada.

Lawrence then served for a time as president of the local Industrial Union Council, and subsequently regained his seat on the Board of Control and kept it for six years.

Despite pressure from the federal and provincial governments, he refused to call in police or the military against the illegal strike, and thus helped ensure its victory.

During 1990 to 1994, Sam Lawrence Park underwent a major upgrading that included repairing the stone walls, installing new walkways, site lighting, site furniture, and the redevelopment of the major rock gardens.When the (Ontario) Workers Arts and Heritage Centre purchased the historic Custom House on Stuart Street in the north end of Hamilton in 1996, they began hosting an annual Sam Lawrence Dinner[10] after their November AGM.