An immigrant from what is now Austria, Lawrence became a window washer at Bellevue Hospital in New York City until he was taken inside the Manhattan mental institution for being "loud, boisterous, singing, shouting, praying, claiming to hear the voice of God."
He was sent to Willard in 1918, where he lived for 50 years, eventually becoming the facility's gravedigger since he worked best alone. At his death, he was buried in the very land he tended for decades.
He was known only as Mr. Lawrence. Or worse: 14956. Only a number marked his grave but that is also gone - the actual location is unknown.
Lawrence's story, and those of similar patients, was originally told in a 2004 exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany, an exhibit that attracted more than 600,000 visitors. It has been retooled to travel, paired with a website, www.suitcaseexhibit.org.
The exhibit includes 20 free-standing panels of information and photos about the patients, as well as two display cases full of their belongings, including Lawrence's shaving kit and shoes.
The website also includes biographies of the "suitcase patients," how they ended up at the state hospital, plus first-person accounts from people who worked at Willard.
There was also a book published: "The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic" by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny with photographs by Lisa Rinzler, published by Bellevue Literary Press, New York in 2008.
Lawrence's story was given headline stature in a front page article by Dan Barry in The New York Times on Fri, Nov 28, 2014. It tells of the efforts of volunteers to identify and give names to the forgotten inmates buried in the Willard Cemetery.
Original bio info for this entry was provided by Findagrave contributors Beca, and Sandy Vandertol. Assistance provided by Findagrave contributor Diane L Medvitz.
He was sent to Willard in 1918, where he lived for 50 years, eventually becoming the facility's gravedigger since he worked best alone. At his death, he was buried in the very land he tended for decades.
He was known only as Mr. Lawrence. Or worse: 14956. Only a number marked his grave but that is also gone - the actual location is unknown.
Lawrence's story, and those of similar patients, was originally told in a 2004 exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany, an exhibit that attracted more than 600,000 visitors. It has been retooled to travel, paired with a website, www.suitcaseexhibit.org.
The exhibit includes 20 free-standing panels of information and photos about the patients, as well as two display cases full of their belongings, including Lawrence's shaving kit and shoes.
The website also includes biographies of the "suitcase patients," how they ended up at the state hospital, plus first-person accounts from people who worked at Willard.
There was also a book published: "The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic" by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny with photographs by Lisa Rinzler, published by Bellevue Literary Press, New York in 2008.
Lawrence's story was given headline stature in a front page article by Dan Barry in The New York Times on Fri, Nov 28, 2014. It tells of the efforts of volunteers to identify and give names to the forgotten inmates buried in the Willard Cemetery.
Original bio info for this entry was provided by Findagrave contributors Beca, and Sandy Vandertol. Assistance provided by Findagrave contributor Diane L Medvitz.
An immigrant from what is now Austria, Lawrence became a window washer at Bellevue Hospital in New York City until he was taken inside the Manhattan mental institution for being "loud, boisterous, singing, shouting, praying, claiming to hear the voice of God."
He was sent to Willard in 1918, where he lived for 50 years, eventually becoming the facility's gravedigger since he worked best alone. At his death, he was buried in the very land he tended for decades.
He was known only as Mr. Lawrence. Or worse: 14956. Only a number marked his grave but that is also gone - the actual location is unknown.
Lawrence's story, and those of similar patients, was originally told in a 2004 exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany, an exhibit that attracted more than 600,000 visitors. It has been retooled to travel, paired with a website, www.suitcaseexhibit.org.
The exhibit includes 20 free-standing panels of information and photos about the patients, as well as two display cases full of their belongings, including Lawrence's shaving kit and shoes.
The website also includes biographies of the "suitcase patients," how they ended up at the state hospital, plus first-person accounts from people who worked at Willard.
There was also a book published: "The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic" by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny with photographs by Lisa Rinzler, published by Bellevue Literary Press, New York in 2008.
Lawrence's story was given headline stature in a front page article by Dan Barry in The New York Times on Fri, Nov 28, 2014. It tells of the efforts of volunteers to identify and give names to the forgotten inmates buried in the Willard Cemetery.
Original bio info for this entry was provided by Findagrave contributors Beca, and Sandy Vandertol. Assistance provided by Findagrave contributor Diane L Medvitz.
He was sent to Willard in 1918, where he lived for 50 years, eventually becoming the facility's gravedigger since he worked best alone. At his death, he was buried in the very land he tended for decades.
He was known only as Mr. Lawrence. Or worse: 14956. Only a number marked his grave but that is also gone - the actual location is unknown.
Lawrence's story, and those of similar patients, was originally told in a 2004 exhibit at the New York State Museum in Albany, an exhibit that attracted more than 600,000 visitors. It has been retooled to travel, paired with a website, www.suitcaseexhibit.org.
The exhibit includes 20 free-standing panels of information and photos about the patients, as well as two display cases full of their belongings, including Lawrence's shaving kit and shoes.
The website also includes biographies of the "suitcase patients," how they ended up at the state hospital, plus first-person accounts from people who worked at Willard.
There was also a book published: "The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic" by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny with photographs by Lisa Rinzler, published by Bellevue Literary Press, New York in 2008.
Lawrence's story was given headline stature in a front page article by Dan Barry in The New York Times on Fri, Nov 28, 2014. It tells of the efforts of volunteers to identify and give names to the forgotten inmates buried in the Willard Cemetery.
Original bio info for this entry was provided by Findagrave contributors Beca, and Sandy Vandertol. Assistance provided by Findagrave contributor Diane L Medvitz.
