James Lawson, W.S., lived at No. 4 from about 1846 to 1853. He was born about 1795, son of Peter Lawson, a seedsman in Edinburgh. He was a legal apprentice to James Laidlaw, and admitted W.S. on 19 June 1818. He died on 27 February 1864.
In april 1826, James Lawson married Margaret Clark, youngest daughter of John Clark in Edinburgh. She was born about 1796, and was recorded at No. 4 Malta Terrace in the 1851 census. Also recorded were their son Peter Campbell Lawson, a medical student (born 3 July 1828), daughter Jane Lawson (born c.1832), and eleven-month old grandson Isaac Mathew D’Olier, son of John Rutherford D’Olier and Helen Campbell Lawson.