As a young man, Lawson was enslaved by Tom Davidson of Springfield in Livingston Parish. Like many formerly enslaved individuals, his early life was defined by forced labor and limited autonomy. After emancipation, he remained in the region, building a life in the same communities where he had once been held in bondage.
Over the years, Lawson became a familiar presence in and around Amite. He worked for local employers, including a period as a groundskeeper for the Gullett Gin Company, where he was responsible for maintaining the property and its surroundings. His work, like that of many Black laborers of his generation, was essential yet often underrecognized.
In his later years, Lawson lived in Reid’s Quarter, a Black neighborhood in Amite. Though his health declined during his final year, he remained known among residents across the town and surrounding countryside. Prior to 1910, no record of a name for the school for African-American in Kentwood. It was stateted that Esaw Lawson was the head of the first School. The school, which ws the first Training School for African Americans in Tangipahoa Parish. Esaw Lawson was asked to suggest a principal for the school and he submitted the name of Oliver Wendell Dillion
His funeral drew a large crowd, an indication of the connections he formed over decades in the area. He was laid to rest in Butler Town Cemetery, closing a life that stretched from slavery into the modern age.
Citation
The Roseland Herald (Roseland), 23 June 1933, p. 1, obituary of Esau Lawson; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/854092121/ : accessed 27 April 2026).
