To the editor:
The Ledger recently published an article about a movement by local historians to erect a memorial to U.S. Navy Captain James Lawrence, the War of 1812 hero for whom the township was renamed in 1816. As the article pointed out, the township was originally named Maidenhead because many of the first settlers came from the town of Maidenhyth in England. This change was pushed by the Rev. Isaac van Arsdale Brown, founder of what would become the Lawrenceville School. His motive was apparently inspired by his prudish discomfort with one of the definitions of the word maidenhead.
I want to put forth an alternative proposal, that we reverse the former name change and rename the township Maidenhead once again. My reasons are two-fold:
- Other than sharing the same name, Captain Lawrence had no connection at all with our township. I don’t believe he ever even visited it. Continuing to call the township Lawrence, and even erecting a memorial to Capt. Lawrence, causes people to believe that he was one of our own. That’s just bad history! Even the Ledger article didn’t bother to make that known! Believe me, I have had many conversations with neighbors who think he was a resident of this town. One resident even tried to convince me that he was buried in the Princessville Cemetery.
- My other reason is that Lawrence is such a common name. There are 22 towns and cities in the US named Lawrence, such as Lawrence, Kansas, for example. There are another 12 cities and towns in the US named Lawrenceville, as in Lawrenceville, Georgia. There is nothing unique or special about that name.
As far as I can ascertain, the only town or city in the world named Maidenhead is the one in England, for which ours was christened. We could even have a sister town if we made the switch. Maidenhead is a distinct name that isn’t objectionable, as it may have been in past times. Many businesses and places in town already use the name and I know of no public complaints that it’s too racy.
So let’s stop encouraging bad history! Rename the township Maidenhead and set the record straight. An appropriate memorial could be designed that would actually educate the public about the true history of their township and won’t mislead them into ignorance. And if the township needs to be named after a historical figure, then name it after someone who actually lived here, like one of the Brearleys for instance.
Jack Hagan
Lawrence