Gertrude was the daughter of Louisa Lawson and sister of Henry. She was married three times, firstly to John Lloyd on 28 October, 1901 at Narrabri. The couple had three children and lived in New Zealand and then in Cairns where John was killed in an accidental explosion in 1909. The accident and his death were recorded in the Cairns Post 23 and 31 August 1909. Gertrude Lawson remarried in Queensland in 1910 to John Joseph O'Connor. In 1926 she was married again, this time to Frederick C. Cooper at Redfern, Sydney. Gertrude died in 1945 and is buried beside Cooper in the Presbyterian Cemetery at Kingswood, NSW.
Louisa Lawson delegated the management of The Dawn to Gertrude when she was incapacitated for ten months in 1900.
