Lawson, Martin Emert

Martin Emert Lawson (1867-1956), American judge, was born on May 15, 1867 near Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. When he was four, his family moved to a new home near Ellisville, Illinois. Three years later, the family moved to Osborn, Missouri.

At twenty, Lawson attended Gem City Business College in Quincy, Illinois. After graduation he moved to Kansas City and worked in a grocery store, where he was introduced to the Grand Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Eventually he studied law, passed the Missouri bar in 1890, and joined a law office as a partner. In the meantime, Lawson became active in his local church. He served as Sunday School superintendent for thirty years.

In the Missouri Conference, he served as member and eventual president of the Board of Church Extension, and was a member of the Board of Education and Board of Missions.

On October 20, 1894, he married Kate Riley. Kate died on October 30, 1949. They had two children, James E. and Nancy.

Lawson was active in the general church in both the annual conference and general conference levels. He was instrumental in drawing up plans for the 1939 merger for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

Lawson helped form the Judicial Council, known originally in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, as the Court of Appeals. He was an initial member of the Court and helped to shape what later became the Judicial Council's policies in both the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and Methodist Church.

Lawson died on January 1, 1956 in Liberty, Missouri.