"An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties." Interstate Publishing Company, 1906. p. 775. ALFRED J. LAWSON is one of the prosperous farmers of the Fravel region of Skagit county, his place being but half a mile from the town. Here, by energy and business ability, he has within a few years accumulated a small fortune and he still continues to increase his substance. Mr. Lawson was born in Henry County, Illinois, February 19, 1862, the seventh of the ten children of Charles and Annie C. (Wiren) Lawson, natives of Sweden, who came to the United States in early life and became prosperous farmers in Illinois. The elder Lawson came to Washington six years ago and is living in Seattle, where four of his daughters reside. He also has a son at La Conner. Alfred J. Lawson remained at home in Illinois until his marriage, then rented a farm for two years. On coming to Washington he spent a few months in Seattle, then bought seventy-five acres of timber land, a portion of which he cleared during the five years of his residence upon it. He came to La Conner in 1895 and leased six hundred and forty acres of land, two hundred and forty of which were under cultivation. He continued there until January 1, 1904, then bought the one hundred and fourteen acres where he now lives, all of which is in cultivation, his specialty being hay and oats. In 1888 Mr. Lawson married Miss Emily Peterson, a native of Illinois, daughter of John and Margaret (Johnson) Peterson, who were born in Sweden, but came to this country and settled in Moline, Illinois, where Mr. Peterson operated a wagon shop until his death in 1871. Mrs. Lawson is the youngest of five living children, her four brothers being now residents of Seattle. Mr. and Mrs. Lawson have six children: Minnie M., Ruth M. A., George B., Maurice W., David J. and Willard A. In politics Mr. Lawson is a Prohibitionist. He is serving at present as a member of the school board. The family are adherents of the Methodist faith, of which church Mrs. Lawson is a member of the aid society. While putting his greatest efforts in the direction of raising hay and oats, Mr. Lawson has considerable live stock, which includes ten head of horses, four of which are of Hambletonian stock and the remainder largely Percherons. Mr. Lawson is a man of energy and force of character, highly respected by all who know him, of recognized integrity, successful in business and a commanding figure in his community. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in November 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.