Born in Virginia in 1747, Benjamin Lawrence married Rachel Weems on March 5, 1783, after a move to South Carolina. There he served as a Lieutenant of the Anderson (South Carolina) Mounted Militia in the Revolutionary War. He was noted for his expertise as a scout for Gen. Andrew Pickens.
Lawrence is purportedly buried on the land that was granted him by the U.S. government for his Revolutionary War service—this is the same land found within the Clemson Experimental Forest, approximately 2 ½ miles north of Clemson.
In 1962, a veteran’s memorial stone was placed at his grave at a ceremony that marked Lt. Benjamin Lawrence’s burial place. However, a marker at the Lawrence Family Cemetery site approximately three miles away states that Lawrence and his wife Rachel rest in unmarked graves at that site.
A visual survey conducted by Preservation South of the Lt. Benjamin Lawrence gravesite location shows multiple field stones present. These are most likely representations of graves.
GPR work conducted on Aug. 25, 2021, indicated 107 potential burials at this location—though exactly who these persons are is a mystery yet to be revealed.
(Anyone who has information about graves on Clemson property or questions about the sites is asked to contact Clemson at: cugravesites@clemson.edu ).
Sources for Lt. Benjamin Lawrence facts: Lynne R. Beeson, In the Face Of Change: An Interpretive Prospectus For The Clemson Experimental Forest, 1977. Prepared by the Dept of Recreation and Park Administration College of Forest and Recreation Resources, Clemson Univ. 88pp; cef_cultural_inv.pdf (clemson.edu) ; Robert T. Sorrells, The Clemson Experimental Forest: Its First 50 Years.
