In or before 1697 Wilfrid Lawson 2nd Baronet (age 32) and Elizabeth Preston were married. They had three sons; Wilfrid, William who died a bachelor; and John, an army officer, accidentally killed during a review at Dublin, when struck by a ball aimed towards a fellow officer. Their eldest daughter Elizabeth also met an unfortunate death, falling from a horse whilst riding in the park at Castle Howard, Yorkshire. Reports suggest that she lost her life owing to an over-excess of modesty. For as her servant tried to disentangle her petticoat from the saddle she screamed, frightening the horse, which kicked her.