Farmer, railroad worker, constable, Justice of the Peace (Muskogee County 1934-1936), Southern Baptist.
Son of John Martin Lawrence and Dora Clem Lawrence.
Father of seven boys (Albert "Pat", Cecil, Claude, Jeffery, Harry, Harlin, Glenn and one girl (Dora).

The 1910 US Census shows the spelling of the last name as "Larrence" and that her husband reported his name as "Thomas" verses the normal use of William. They were living at this time in the Harris Township of Stone County, Arkansas. The following family members were shown as living in the home at that time:
Thomas Laurrence Head M 31 Arkansas
Sarah N Laurrence Wife F 24 Arkansas
Albert J Laurrence Son M 6 Arkansas
Dora Laurrence Dau F 4 Arkansas
Cecil Laurrence Son M 2 Arkansas
Albert F Laurrence Bro M 27 Arkansas

The family is found in the 1920 US Census as living in the Mill Creek Township, Izard County, Arkansas. This census shows Bucks' first name as William.
William T Laurence Head M 41 Arkansas
Nettie Laurence Wife F 35 Arkansas
Albert J Laurence Son M 15 Arkansas
Dora Laurence Daughter F 14 Arkansas
Cecil R Laurence Son M 12 Arkansas
Claude Laurence Son M 8 Arkansas
Jeffery Laurence Son M 6 Arkansas
Harry Laurence Son M 3 Arkansas

The 1930 US Census shows Buck and Nettie now living in Wiley's Cove in Searcy County, Arkansas. Buck is once again listed as "Thomas. Their oldest son Albert J. Lawrence and second oldest Cecil Ray Lawrence are now out of the home. Daughter Dora has passed away by this time. The members of the household are as follows:
Thomas Lawrence Head M 51 Arkansas
Nettie R Lawrence Wife F 45 Arkansas
Claude E Lawrence Son M 18 Arkansas
Jeff E Lawrence Son M 17 Arkansas
Harry G Lawrence Son M 14 Arkansas
Harlan J Lawrence Son M 9 Arkansas
Glen E Lawrence Son M 5 Arkansas

The family lived in the Izard County, Arkansas area prior to around 1924 when they temporarily came to Oklahoma. They returned to Arkansas and moved again to Oklahoma, this time permanently, settling around Muskogee in 1929 per family history. However, the 1930 US Census shows they were living at Wiley's Cove, Searcy, Arkansas, in 1930 so apparently they must have moved to Oklahoma sometime the year the census was taken. They remained in the Webber Falls/Warner/Porum area of Muskogee County the rest of their lives.

The family moved to several different home places during the 1930's and 1940's. Regardless of that, they were well regarded in the Warner/Webber Falls area and Buck was twice elected to the position of Justice of the Peace in 1934 and 1936. The majority of the time his duties were marrying couples or issuing marriage licenses. There was at least one occasion where he had to locate a man and arrest him on a warrant. The man reportedly offered no resistance. Buck was known as a quiet man of high continence who hummed a great deal, was slow to anger, and loved to eat black walnuts. It is told that the greatest sorrow the man suffered was the death of his daughter Dora, the apple of his eye, and who is buried in Larkin, Izard County, Arkansas. He did not like her being so far away where he could not put flowers on her grave. His son Glenn tells of a time when he hand Buck were coming back from Muskogee, Oklahoma, and upon their arrival home, Buck discovered he had lost his Railroad watch he had received when he retired from the railroad in Izard County. He remembered having the watch during a rest stop on their way home and they searched all day for his watch without finding it.

Buck's grandfather, William Martin "Bill" Lawrence, served in Freeman's Regiment, 1st Missouri Cavalry, a Partisan Ranger unit, in the Confederate Army. During the course of the war, he became friends with a another Ranger from another unit by the name of Frank James, the older brother of Jesse James. There friendship extended past the war and up until Bill's death in 1896 when James returned to Bill's home and paid his respects at his grave in the Lawrence Family Cemetery. Buck also had a brush with an outlaw legend. He became briefly acquainted with a man named Charles Arthur "Chock" Floyd, AKA "Pretty Boy" Floyd. They met when Buck and his wife Nettie, along with their two youngest sons Harlin and Glenn, were returning by wagon from Muskogee, Oklahoma, to their home in Warner (or Porum). The family had stopped to rest the mules when three rough men came upon them. The family had some food for their trip and shared it with the men and after they had finished eating it seemed that two of the three were intent on robbing the family. But the third man, who seemed to be the leader of the three, said no and left them unmolested. That third man was Pretty Boy Floyd. He and Buck would see each other one other time on a more casual basis than the incident along the road and they conversed about that meeting. When Floyd was killed by the FBI in East Liverpool, Ohio, and brought back to Akins, Oklahoma for burial, Buck went to the funeral. He told his family that there looked to be several thousand people at the graveside service and that cameras were being smashed at the base of a tree by friends of the Floyd family to keep them from photographing the Floyd family or his body. Buck never was able to see the casket or the grave due to the crowd so he left and returned home and wondered if it really was "Chock" Floyd that was being buried.