A letter from the author (August 15, 1997): Hello, I would like to welcome you to "The Realm of Lawton". This page is designed to provide genealogical information to members of the Lawton family and to all others who have an interest in the Lawton bloodline. Before I go any further, I would like to give a little information about myself. My name is Matthew Frederick Lawton. I am a 12th generation Lawton in America and I am currently living in California. I am the great-great-grandson of Frederick Brown Lawton, a known Lawton family genealogist from Ohio. I, along with my grandfather Frederick William Lawton, possess all of his research and writings on our branch of the Lawton family. My grandfather has spent over half a century compiling and expanding the work of F. B. Lawton. His efforts culminated in 1982 with the distribution of the book Lawton Ancestral Lines. Although the book was only available to a limited number of close family members, it was the completion of a grand vision held by my great-great-grandfather over a hundred years before. Recently I have come to realize that the Lawton Ancestral Lines is far from complete, or actually that it never will be truly complete. It is an ongoing process where new information is always being discovered and old or inaccurate information is constantly being revised. Currently I am working on transcribing the typewritten pages to digital format so that the information will be preserved and it can be more easily accessable to others. I have also obtained a scanner to digitize the marvelous photos that are included in this family history. I hope to be able to share more of this work with you in the coming months. I am fortunate that in this amazing age of instant information, it is easier than ever to find genealogical information and people who are also searching and sharing what they have to offer. My purposes for creating this webpage are: The information presented on this page comes from a variety of sources, which I will strive to preserve in order to give credit to the appropriate contributors. Since this page is in its infancy, I would greatly appreciate any and all input about information presented on this page (i.e., comments, corrections, etc.). I also welcome any related information about the people, places, and times presented herein. In the process of building this page and transcribing my great-great-grandfather's works, I discovered that this is a mammoth task for any one person to undertake, especially as a part-time hobby. That is why I am hoping this will become an open forum for family members and others whom are interested in becoming involved in preserving and sharing the Lawton family legacy. If you have information that you feel should be presented on this page, then please contact me by e-mail at: <e-mail currently unavailable>. Sincerely, Matthew Frederick Lawton P.S. I would like to thank three people that provided help and information that will greatly enhance the effectiveness of this webpage, Frederick William Lawton, Stephen Thomas Lawton and Togin (Lawton) Cassell. Togin is a new found member of my bloodline that helped me transcribe a good portion of my great-great-grandfather's writings. Stephen is the creator of the "Lawton Ledger", a Lawton family genealogical publication. I soon hope to provide some more information about the "Lawton Ledger" and how those who are interested can obtain a subscription. Frederick is my grandfather and has spent the past 50 years compiling and expanding the work of my great-great-grandfather, Frederick Brown Lawton. He also ignited my interest in genealogy and family history. Without Frederick Wm. Lawton, none of this would be possible. |