Needham Lambert

 

American Battlefield Trust

There existed, in the (fuzzy) years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a man named Needham Lambert. The name Needham, in itself, was not a cognomen of fate in Johnston County, North Carolina. While very prominent within the families of the Bryants and Whitleys, reading early records from Franklin, Johnston and Butte, one can easily witness a variety of men with the given name  of Needham and a range of surnames. 

Needham Lambert didn't leave a wealth of information about himself, but he served in the War of 1812.

Name	Needham Lambert
State	North Carolina
County	Johnston County Regiment
Township	Eighth Company
Year	1812

Now, while the troops in the War of 1812 ranged in age from 15 to 70, most of the men were indeed young men in their early 20's. There's no record of what year Needham was born . He never appeared in a census record, there's no real gage to even narrow that number down with. However, it seems he died a young man, due to a number of other factors.

Needham Lambert served as Pvt in the War of 1812. James Lewis listed his taxes for 1 poll. Above, he is number 17, next to Jacob Avera. He seems to have had a close relationship with the Avera, or Avery family, and also with members of the Sanders family, but the relationship I am most interested in is that with John Lambert, also a resident of Johnston County, NC, and my 5th Great Grandfather. 

John appears in the 1800 and 1810 census as a young man with a growing family in Johnston County, North Carolina.. In 1800, the two names prior to his are Ethelred and Edwin Smith. The three names after his are John Jones and Matthew Jones and Matthew Jones, Sr. He is also listed near Drury Honeycutt. A Drury Honeycutt would migrate to Stanly County and live in the area where the Lambert family would take root. Same one? I'm not certain, but it's possible. 

In 1810, he's sandwiched in between Willis Hayes, William Carrell and Needham Bryan. Also nearby are William and Brittain Honeycutt. John will end up with a grandson named Needham Bryant Lambert, via his son, William. That is one reason why the name Needham Lambert is so interesting, although the Bryant family, and Needham Bryant in particular, were prestigious in the early days of Johnston County.

Only John Lambert appeared in the 1800 and 1810 census of Johnston County, North Carolina. Needham did not. In court records, John was frequently shown as an insolvent, meaning he was unable to pay his debts. As a minister of the Gospel, he relied on the Lord to provide and lived frugally and sparingly. 

In the Tax records for Johnston County, John shows up with 1 poll, himself, and in Etherled Smith's district, in 1802 - 1808. He's next to William Honeycutt in 1802 and Dr. William Jones in 1805.  I mention this because in 1809, John Lambert suddenly shows up with 110 acres of land. This was new. He was at this time in William Jones's District, near William and Brittain Honeycutt and John and Asa Austin. Two years later, the property of John Lambert has been reduced to half. 

Needham Lambert, on the other hand, first shows up in 1806, also in Ethelred Smith's District, with 110 acres and no poll. In 1812, he is listed as just 1 poll, but the unusual note is that it records "James Lewis for Needham Lambert".

Needham Lambert doesn't show up in the Tax Listings after 1812, and neither does John Lambert. The next Lambert to grace the Tax records of Johnston County is William in 1820, as 1 poll. William was the oldest known son of John Lambert, and stayed behind when the rest of the family loaded up to relocated to settle in the Mission area of what is now Stanly County near its border with Cabarrus County, NC 

William was born about 1797. He shows  in the taxables first in 1820, at the age of 23. He shows up in his first census in 1830, at age 33, when the rest of his family has migrated westward to the Piedmont and he has assumed the small farm in Johnston County.

Needham, year of birth unknown, shows up first in the 1806 List of Taxables, Aaron Smith's District. It actually appears as:

"Thomas Page       300 acres      1 poll     same for    John Page    400 acres   No poll

                                                                                Henry Chapman    0 acres  1 poll

                                                                                Needham Lambert 110 acres No poll."

I'm not certain of what significance this is, especially the "Same for", as neither John Page, Henry Chapman or Needham Lambert were in the exact same position as Thomas Page. Page is another family name that the Lamberts intermarried with after their arrival to the Stanly/Cabarrus area, so this is something to look into. Also, the fact that Needham has no poll in 1806 leads me to believe he is less than age 21 that years, despite being a land owner. 

Both of the next two tax listings for Needham, 1811 and 1812, in Captain H. Bryan's District are reported as 

"James Lewis for Needham Lambert" and Needham is taxed at one poll, meaning he is now over 21. No land is noted and he doesnt' appear to be present. Who is James Lewis and why is he reporting for Needham? I might have an answer for the latter part of that query. The War of 1812, which Needham served in. He was off to War. Did he even return?

North Carolina - The War of 1812

---

The First Brigade of NC Militia - 2nd Regiment - 8th Company

Detached from the Johnston Regiment of NC Militia

Lambert, Needham

Avera, Jacob

Bridges, Braswell 

Farmer, Kedar

The next time the name of Needham Lambert appears in the records of Johnston County, NC, involve his estate records. Needham was now deceased. There seemed to be quite the disagreement over whom would be responisible for the settlement of his estate. 

In a book title. "ABSTRACTS OF JOHNSTON COUNTY RECORD OF ESTATES, RECORD OF ESTATES VOL. VII NC ARCHIVES 17.56.501.7 we first find "Inv. of Est. of Needham Lambert, December 17 1812. Will Sasser Admr. " 

1812 was the last year Needham Lambert was taxed (as reported by James Lewis), and recall, he was also a soldier in the War of 1812.

"State of North Carolina 

Johnston County 

      At a County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions begun and held for the County afore said, at the Court House in Smithfield, on the Twenty third day of November, being the fourth Monday in the Month, in Thirty Seventh Year of American Independence, And in the  Year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred  and Twelve....Administration on the Estate of Needham Lambert Decd. is granted to William Sasser who came into court and entered into bond in the Sum of Two hundred pounds with Samuel G. Smith and John Sanders Jr. his Securities and Qualified agreeably to Law. Ordered that letters issue, and that said Admr. have Leave to sell agreeably to Loaw, the perishable Estate of the Deced. 

"Returned by William Sasser Administrator of the Estate of Needham Lambert Decd. an Inventory of the Estate of said Decd. which was ordered to be recorded. 

Returned by William Sasser """"""" Needham Lambert Decd. and account of sales of the Estate of said deceased amounting to the Sum of  ~L 84.19 &1/2. which was ordered to be recorded. "

22 May, 1815 "Ordered that John Sanders Jr. Ellick Sanders and Thomas Rice be appointed a Committee to settle and adjust the accounts of the Estate of Needham Lambert, decd. with the Admr. thereof and Report to Court next. "

There was no real reason to believe there may have been any relationship between any of these men and Needham Lambert, as if one was to continue reading through this session of court of beyond, their names popped up quite frequently, as in being appointed to other committees, and in the same paragraph, "Ellick Sanders to Robert H. Helme, which was duly proven by the Oath of William Sasser." It appears they were among the prominent citizens of the area. In 1810, when John Lambert is listed in Alfred Whitley's list of insolvents, meaning he could not keep up with his debts, including perhaps, his poll tax, he is listed with one poll. The very next sentence is one where the afore mentioned Ellick Sanders and William Sasser were appointed on another Committee to settle and adjust the accounts of one. Phereby Davis. It just appears to be something they did on a regular basis. 

Old Smithfield Courthouse, Johnston County, NC

'Administration Pendentilite is granted to James Durham on the Estate of Needham Lambert, decd. who came into Court and entered into Bond in the Sum of $100 with John Williams and Bryan Smith is Securities & Qfd. 

Ordered that Robert H. Helms, John Farmer, and David Turner be appointed a comittee to settle and adjust the accounts of the Estate of Needham Lambert, decd. Between John Sanders adm. of the Estate of William Sasser decd. who was Admr. of said Lambert and James Durham present administrator and report to next Court. 

Pendente lite, which I believe the above statement meant, was appointed in a Probate Court to manage an estate and probate a Will during the pendency of a dispute or until someone permanent could be appointed. It appears that William Sasser, the Administrator of Needham's estate, had himself passed away, so things were left in the air for awhile. A few years in actuality. 

Wednesday morning, August 26, 1818, "Ordered that Robert H. Helme, David Turner and John Farmer be appointed a Committee to settle and adjust the accounts of the Estate of Needham Lambert, decd. Between John Sanders, Jr. Admr. of William Sasser, decd. who was admr. of said Lambert decd. and James Durham the present administrator and report to next court.

There were other statements within the Courts of 1812 to 1818, repeating the sames names, although perhaps in a different order, but repetitive and giving no additional information, so I will forego the redundancy of those. 

One of the most telling and interesting reports within these Court records for me, was the Sales of the Estate of Needham Lambert, with William Sasser, Admr., dated December 17, 1812. There is no doubt that Needham Lambert passed away in 1812.

Buyers in other Estate Sales I've read or been privy to, wherein I was much more familiar with the names and how they related to the deceased, were shown to be primarily family members, friends and neighbors, people who were actually connected to the deceased in some way, who had known them. Below is the list of Buyers from the Estate of Needham Lambert.

James Lewis    Thomas Jones    Daniel Dees    Kedar Farmer    'Nicy' Lambert     John 'Sambert'

John Avera    Jacob Avera    David Avera    Jonathan Britt    Reddin Britt    Hardy Bryan

Braswell Bridgers    John Farmer    William Rivers    John Allen    William Sasser    Henry Barnes

Green Parker    Samuel Wilder    Samuel Frost.

Some of the names, like Farmer and William Sasser, are those included in the Estate Settlement itself as bondsmen or Administrators. The Avera or Avery family, is mentioned in beaucoups of records, and were also among the neighbors of my Lambert family in the census records. or taxed in the same District as either John or Needham Lambert. James Lewis listed a poll tax 'for Needham Lambert' in 1812. I wondered about the relationship between James Lewis and Needham. Time for a closer look. 

Wondering about the transcription of the records in the book, I ordered the actual documents from the State Archives, and waited. 

I have received the first of 4 documents, (if they are to be found) that I am waiting on from the NC Archives. The only thing new that I discovered from them was that "Sambert" was indeed incorrectly transcribed, and should have been "Lambert". 

Name	Nancy Lambert
Enumeration Date	7 Aug 1820
Home in 1820 (City, County, State)	Johnston, North Carolina, USA
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10	1
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44	1
Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over	1
Free White Persons - Under 16	1
Free White Persons - Over 25	2
Total Free White Persons	3
Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other	3

Needham was married to a lady named Nicey or Nancy. I believe, after recieving his estate papers from NC Archives, that her name was Nancy and Nicey was a transcription error found in a book of records for Johnston County. A Nancy Lambert appears in the 1820 census for Johnston County. Nancy heads a household of 3 females. There is one lady over 45, another between 26 and 44 and a little girl under 10. Was this Needham Lambert's widow, her mother, and possibly a daughter? There's no way to know at this point. 

I found no more of Needham, Nancy (or Nicey) Lambert. They lived and breathed, that I know. They lived and breathed at the same time and the same place, bearing the same surname as my ancestor, Rev. John Lambert. That is why I am curious as to who they were. Was there a connection? 

By 1830, John Lambert Jr. and Frederick "Fred" Lambert, were settled and enumerated in the Western part of Montgomery County, the part which would in a little over a decade be renamed "Stanly". Older brother, William, who had remained back east, had married his first wife, Louisa Young, in Wake County in 1819, was living near his in-laws. Rebecca, the oldest daughter, was married to Pleasant Almond and living next door to her brother, John Jr. Rev. John, the itenerant minister, was not enumerated until he was an septugenarian in 1850, yet the ancient records of Baptist Churches like Meadow Creek and Bear Creek inform us that he was there in the early years of the 1820's and acting as an 'Elder', or minister, and attending Primitive Baptist Conferences. 

My next step, while waiting on more records, is to look into the persons named in the scant records of Needham's existence. A few of those who made purchases of his estate served with him in the militia, Kedar Farmer, Braswell Bridges, Jacob Avera. James Lewis, who reported his taxes for him in his absence, is shown in the 1810 census and also served in the War of 1812, according to a pension requested by his wife, Sarah. 

Name	James Lewis
Residence Date	6 Aug 1810
Residence Place	Johnston, North Carolina, USA
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10	1
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25	1
Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over	1
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10	1
Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44	1
Number of Household Members Under 16	2
Number of Household Members Over 25	2
Number of Household Members	5

Name	James Lewis
Gender	Male
Spouse	Sarah Crawford
Spouse Gender	Female
Bond date	15 Dec 1804
Bond #	000068792
Level Info	North Carolina Marriage Bonds, 1741-1868
ImageNum	001842
County	Johnston
Record #	01 134
Bondsman	William Giles
Witness	R Sanders

Soldier	James Lewis
Widow	Sarah Lewis
Military Service Location	North Carolina
Pension Number - #1	Wid Orig 10335
Roll number	57
Archive Publication Number	M313

I find no more on James. He must have died before 1820. Were they friends, neighbors, brother-in-laws? 

More research into these associates, not the prominent men who served in the same capacity to settle the many estates of the young men who seem to perish around the same time as Needham Lambert, perhaps from the service in the militia during the War years, but those like James Lewis, who seem to have known him well. 

I leave with these ideas concerning Needham Lambert;

I believe he died a young man, less than 21 in 1806, but 21 by 1811. I believe he may have died in the War of 1812. I know he died in 1812. He was married to a girl named Nicey or Nancy. He may or may not have had a daughter. He never appeared in a census, and should have been in one in 1810, at least, in Johnston County, so he was living in someone else's household. He was somehow, in some way, connected to my ancestor, Rev. John Lambert and lived in the same county during the same period. 

Rest in Peace Needham Lambert. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. 

Smithfield

When I began blogging, several years ago now, I was not only chronicling my research journey, but also, my literal, physical journey. As my net was cast wider, it spread out to other states both north and south, and I stopped counting the courthouses, history centers and libraries I had visited.

But yesterday I visited a new county I just have to blog about.

Smithfield is located in Johnston County, North Carolina. A small town beautifully located along the Neuse River, my fifth Great Grandfather, Rev. John Lambert, once lived here. 

A quintessential old Carolina town, Smithfield boasts it's historic section, with handsomely maintained Victorian era houses, balanced with it's mandatory hustle and bustle side along the outskirts, with the repetitive retail outlets of every other burg. 

There's beautiful marshy creeks, backwash from the river, weaving around and among the hotels and retail strips, remenicent of the Intracoastal waterways of South Carolina beaches.

I met some of the truly, truly, nicest people you'd ever want to meet, from the polite librarians, to the knowledgeable and helpful staff at the History Center, to the wonderful biker couple at the picturesque bar perched above the river, who gave me directions on how to access the riverwalk, to the friendly employees of the pizza 🍕 place across the street from the Ava Gardner Museum.

Ava Gardner is the town's local celebrity and claim to fame. 

She grew up there and is buried there. Great nieces and degrees of cousins of hers still live there.

Yearly plays and programs on her life are proudly held there. They are not ashamed to boast this famed Hollywood beauty of yesteryear as their hometown girl.

I wasn't able to visit the Ava Gardner Museum while it was open, because my goal was to gather as much genealogical information as possible in the time given before everything closed at 5. 

Copying everything  pertaining to my targeted search, I've brought home a large packet of information to sort through. With limited time, I didn't peruse it all, just copied the names, hoping to piece together the puzzle this is the early years of the life of Rev. John Lambert.

One thing that struck me is the number of names of people who you find in the early records of Stanly and Montgomery Counties, identical to the names of people in the Johnston and Franklin County records. Some, like Seth Mabry, I believe, is the self-same person. Others, may be a predecessor of their Stanly County namesake. Still others, like Needham Whitley, you find a cornhusk full of, as son's, and grandsons, nephews and siblings, all named children after an original Needham. This family line DID come from Johnston County and migrate to Stanly.

One could probably stop any individual on the street of Smithfield and ask them, "Were you born here?", and "Were any of your grandparents or great grandparents from here?" If the answer was 'Yes', and you get an affirmative to someone you met at the Dollar General in Red Cross, Stanly County, NC, you would probably be able to DNA test the two people and get a match.

So many families from Piedmont North Carolina,  had either drifted down from Virginia, or west from the coast, and eventually ended up right here, sloughing along the way. By that, I mean, in each place where the family paused for a generation or two, or even a decade or so, one or two would be left behind.

The older brother might take over the business, or farm, maybe the two oldest brothers. Or perhaps it was the youngest brother or sister who stayed behind to look after dear old Mom. Or maybe a married sister had a husband who was nicely situated where they were. But others trekked westward and southward.

This was the story of my Solomon line. Their names are in the records of Franklin and Johnston counties. William Solomon Sr., who married Diana Gordon, died there, his will is on record there. Three of his son's came and settled near the Pee Dee River in what is now Stanly County. Still, they seem to have taken all of their legal business to Cabarrus County, to avoid crossing the river. 

William Jr., Goodwin, and Bennett Solomon settled here. Most of the next generation would remove to Tennessee. But they left a few behind. Bennett left his oldest son, William, behind to maintain the church and ministry, as both were Baptist Preachers.

He also left a married daughter, who married into the Russell family. And thus went the sloughing of genes through the westward march.

Rev. John Lambert left his oldest son, William in Johnston County. William settled in Johnston, swung into Wake and Cumberland Counties for a spell, but returned to the home of his son, William H. Lambert, back in Johnston, to live out his last days.

William's son, Thomas, an attorney, is the ribbon 🎀 that ties the Johnston County Lambert's and the Stanly County Lambert's together. He traveled around in his early years, having his younger brother, William H. Lambert, also an attorney, living with him at one point. 

He finally settled in Stanly County, near his aunts and uncles. It was Thomas Lambert who gathered together some of the scattered family land transactions and deeds, many predating the creation of the County, and had them proved in court, during the 1880's. He didn't get them all, because there's not a deed of Rev. John Lambert receiving or purchasing any land

in or near Stanly County, however, he did own some, and paid taxes on it.

Thomas is buried in the old Bear Creek Primitive Baptist Church cemetery alongside his people, many Lamberts and other associated families. Why did he come here? I believe someone in the family asked him to, possibly his Uncles. As an attorney, they needed his legal expertise. And here he stayed. 

The rest of William Lambert's family, son of Rev. John,  stayed east. As luck would have it, I found a Lambert Family tree in the Family files at the Johnston County History Center, from William, through his son, William H. ( it is thought the H stood for Henry), down the tree to a gentleman born the exact same year as I. 

Not only that, but as providence would have it, the historian tasked that day with running the third floor records lab, was familiar with this distant cousin of mine. I left my information and family connection, in case any of the Johnston County Lambert's wanted to share information. What was cool about this lineage was a long generation of surveyors, perhaps 6 or 7 generations of them.

Today, it's not only the presence and actions of Thomas in Stanly County that anchor the two branches of Lamberts to the same tree, we now have DNA proof.

A few years ago, when my brother took the Y-DNA test that links father's and sons genetically for generations, we discovered that we (he, but we as we share the same father,) are descended from Richard Pace and wife, Isabella Smythe Pace, who had migrated from England to Jamestown, Virginia and settled a section of land across the bay from the village called 'Paces Paines'. 

Autosomally, from my own DNA, I had discovered we are related to the Southside Virginia Lamberts, specifically, three brothers named John, William and Hugh.

So, our Rev. John was genetically descended from the Lamberts of Brunswick County, Virginia, most probably.

However, down the father's line, he was of Pace descent. This is the brunt of my research and the reason for my journey. The Pace DNA research, which has been carried on for a very long time by a group of very competent people, break the Pace descendants further down into smaller, more closely related subgroups. The subgroup my brother fell in are descended from a William Pace who married a Ruth Lambert.

There were more than one Lambert in this group, and one Lambeth. By contacting the individuals managing the DNA by email, I was able to discover that one was descended from Frederick Lambert of Mississippi. Frederick can be found in land, census and court records of Montgomery/ Stanly County, NC. He was a son of Rev. John Lambert.

One was a descendant of William Lambert of Johnston County, the oldest son Rev. John had left off. 

The Lambeth branch was descended from a George of Iredell County. George Lambert, son of Rev. John, is also found here in Stanly in early records. He's seen as Lambert in the earliest records of his arrival in Iredell, and as Lambert and Lambeth interchangeably after that. As there was an existing Lambeth family in Iredell County before he arrived, descendants of an early Rowan County family, his name was altered, locally,to Lambeth, but some of his descendants had already figured out he was George Lambert of Montgomery/Stanly County.

The one that I was not able to get ahold of was a gentleman who had listed as his oldest known paternal ancestor, John Lambert, Jr., my own line, another son of Rev. John. One of the administrators of the DNA study informed they believe this Mr.  Lambert had passed away. But he's ours, from the same son.

Since that time, another Stanly County Lambert who actually doubted me, took the Y-DNA test. Guess where he ended up at? In the same group of Pace descendants with the rest of the descendants of Rev. John Lambert.

So the reason for my trip, and the focus of my research, was to find anything I could on John, his son William, on the Paces in these two counties, Johnston and Franklin, and also on the early Lamberts.

John Lambert first appears in Franklin County. I believe he was probably born there. We do know he was born in North Carolina, and not Virginia. This area was part of Bute County the year John was born. 

John later appears in Johnston County, where his oldest son stayed, while he and the rest of the family migrated to Bear Creek, Stanly County, in the early 1820's.

Before I left, the Historian let it slip that he knew exactly where the Lambert family homestead had been, near the intersection of Hwy 210 and I 40, near Benson and the Pine Level area.

He kindly drew me a map and the area  was west of Smithfield, on my path home. The old Rehoboth church marks the spot, as the Lamberts, ( later than John), had some involvement with the Byrd family.

Tobacco fields and Pecan trees abound, pecan groves marking places homesteads once existed. I saw the biggest magnolia tree I believe I have ever seen.

 Sadly, everywhere, everywhere, rows of personality-less Ticky-tack houses were popping up in the sandy soil in place of and among the soybean fields.

I stood on the old family property and breathed in the air of heritage. I choked, it didn't smell too good. Then I looked further and saw I was being watched by a pair of bay mares. Blaming the foul odor on them, I returned to my car to bid ado to Johnston County. Just a short jaunt down the road, a warning sign informed that I was in the vicinity of the largest hog farm in the state. I offered my apologies to the mares.

Street signs and business signs still reflect the names in the 1700 and 1800 deeds and court records. Whitley welding, Lambert Auction Center, Honeycutt Farms. One might think they were back in Stanly County. 

30 Mothers in 30 Days: Piety

My 5th Great Grandmother, Piety Lambert, appears only in one census record, the 1850.

Name:	Phida Lambert
Gender:	Female
Age:	76
Birth Year:	abt 1774
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1850:	Furrs, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Cannot Read, Write:	Y
Line Number:	2
Dwelling Number:	519
Family Number:	520
Household Members:	Name Age John Lambert 78 Phida Lambert 76

For years, we referred to her as "Phida", due to a census error. Now, after reading the theories of a very observant and consistent researcher, I am in agreement. She was not "Phida", she was Piety, the honored matriarch that a daughter, Piety Caroline Lambert Page and mulitple granddaughters were named for.

In this census, she is next to her beloved husband, labeled "John Lambert Sr Baptist Minister".
All this census tells us is that Piety Lambert was born in North Carolina in 1774 and that she was living in a section of Stanly County called "Furrs".


By looking at the census, she is surrounded by a multitude of her children and grandchildren, Lamberts, Almond grandchildren of her daughter, Rebecca, etc. This was the area of West Stanly that would come to be known as the Community called "Lambert", all beginning with Piety and her husband John, the first Lambert to settle in Stanly County.

Even into my teenaged years there was a place called "Lambert Dance Hall" there, and the building still stands, a tribute to a town that is no more, but an area of land and a collection of houses that carry a name.

There is are three old cemeteries in the area that carry the names, "Lambert Cemetery 1, 2 and 3. In cemetery # 3, is a grave labeled "J L. D 1860" This is thought to be the grave of Rev. John Lambert.
The only other legible grave is "L. McLure Died 1886". This is the grave of Levina Almond McLure, a granddaughter of John and Piety via their daughter, Rebecca Lambert who married Pleasant Almond. Levina Almond then married James Boley McLure.

Name:	John Sambart [John Lambart]
Home in 1800 (City, County, State):	Johnston, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 10:	1 William
Free White Persons - Males - 16 thru 25:	1 John Sr.
Free White Persons - Females - Under 10:	1 Rebecca
Free White Persons - Females - 16 thru 25:	1 Piety
Number of Household Members Under 16:	2
Number of Household Members:	4

John Lambert, we believe, was born in either Franklin or Johnston Counties in North Carolina. He first shows up in Johnston County in 1800, and probably married Piety there about 1790-1794.  Research is ongoing. Piety's maiden name is unknown, but John began his ministry there.






John Lamberts origins before 1800 is as foggy as those of Piety's. Three things can be determied; he was poor, he began his ministry there, and he was involved with a miniter named Whitley there. A number of Whitleys also  came to Stanly County. Being that Whitleys were the only family in Johnston County that I could find Rev. John Lambert with a connection to, it is my belief he married into the family. Huneycutts were also heavily found in Johnston County as well as Stanly County. So Piety was likely a Huneycutt if not a Whitley.

All of Rev. John and Piety's children came to Stanly County except for their oldest son, William. In talking to his descendants, whom DNA connects us to, William married first to an Angelican, and that fact may have caused the division between William, his parents and siblings. Williams sons were better educated than their Stanly County cousins, perhaps because William tended to stay around populous and more civilized areas while the rest of them were "in the country".






Y-DNA testing of a growing number of Rev.John and Piety's straight male-line descendants have proven that Rev. John was not a Lambert by male descent, but a Pace, a descendant of Richard Pace and Isabella Smyth Pace of Jamestown, Virginia. There are several Lamberts and Lambeths who end up matching the Pace descendants and all are descendants of Rev. John and Piety. It appears that Rev. John was a descendant of a particular Pace named William who married a Ruth Lambert. The couple were married in 1771. John was born in 1772. How he ended up a Lambert instead of a Pace is unknown, we may never know, but I do know there is not room for another generation in there. He was the son of William Pace. This does not mean he was the son of Ruth Lambert, only her husband.

As for Piety, most remains yet unknown. What I do know is for all the people trying to merge her into Mary Bray, daughter of Henry Bray of Chatham, you are wrong. Mary was Mary and Piety is Piety. Mary did marry John Lambert of Chatham, but he is not our John. The Chatham Lamberts were wealthy land owners. Our John Lambert was an intenerant minister for much of his career and was not wealth and never acquired more than 60 acres of land, that I can determine. The children of the Chatham Lamberts migrated to Randolph County, ours to Stanly. Two people can not be in two places at one time, and they were not  Mary is never seen as anything but Mary. She is not ours.








I don't know much about Piety, but what I do know is that she was not a daughter of Henry Bray of Chatham.

Piety was the mother of a large family, a dynasty, really, and dna is changing some of my earlier research.  The sons are pretty set, and I started a separate tree just to evaluate and look at my Lambert roots and theri descendants more closely. However, I need to clean up my standard family tree, because in my research and in family folders started by others, I had seen the name of a Susan Lambert Misenheimer thought to be a daughter of Rev. John Lambert. I couldn't find any record of her connection, or even existence, on paper however, except those of her descendants. She is not mentined in any deeds, etc. with a Lambert connection. DNA, however, says otherwise. Descendants of Susan have her hooked her up to our train and they match. So Susan may be an otherwise unknown (to me) daughter.

Known children of Rev. John Lambert and Piety were:

1795 Rebecca (married Pleasant Almond)
1797 William (remained in Johnston/Cumberland Counties. His son Thomas moved here later)
1802  George W. (moved to Iredell. Some took name Lambeth)
1802  John Jr. (My Line)
1806  Frederick (mentioned here, but moved to Mississippi)
1808  Nathan
1814  Piety Caroline (married Calvin Page)
1820 Jonathan (possible grandson instead of son. Appears to be a son.

Grandma Piety, if you are listening, I need some help here. Help us to make you whole, and figure out who you were. Happy Mother's Day.


https://www.thesnaponline.com/2018/09/20/siblings-from-across-the-pond-find-each-other-after-55-years/