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.
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.
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.
This will be one of many posts on my ancestor, Rev. John Lambert, born circa 1772, who died in Stanly County, North Carolina, as my research is continuing and information on him is vague and hard to come by.
The most information I have on him comes from the one and only census record he appeared in in Stanly County, NC, the 1850 census.
This census tells us that John was born about 1772 in North Carolina, and his wife, Phida, about 1774 in North Carolina. He is actually the first household enumerated in Furr District. His profession is given as "Baptist Minister". Dwelling houses numbered in order of visitation was 519 and families numbered in order of visitation was 520.
These numbers were significant because also in "Dwelling House 519", but family number 521, was the family of Jonathan Lambert. Either Rev. John was living with Jonathan or vice versa, either in the same house, or either two separate houses on the same property.
The neighbors were pretty important as well. In 520/522 was Pleasant Almond, 51 and his 17 year old son Ervin. Pleasant Almond was the son-in-law of Rev. John Lambert. He married John's oldest daughter Rebecca. Rebecca was living apart and separate from her husband Pleasant at this point, with some of their children together. They have their own story to tell. The reason was probably the person living right next to Pleasant and Ervin, Barbary Honeycutt, age 50.
Ervin would grow up to marry a granddaughter of Rev. John Lambert, Piety Caroline Lambert, not to be confused with his daughter, Piety C. Lambert Page, wife of John Calvin Page. Ervin, of Irvin, as he is sometimes seen was Nelson Ervin Almond. He was a Civil War soldier. His first wife Piety died after giving him 4 children. He would remarry in 1871 to Nancy Ellen Reeves, daughter of Joseph J and Lilly Reeves of Cabarrus County, who had been born in Orange County, NC and lived in Guilford County for awhile before her widowed mother arrived in Cabarrus. The Reeves family would migrate to Abbeville, Lafayette County, Mississippi and Ervin would follow. In 1880, his children were living in amongst their Lambert relatives, but the older two, Phillip Levi Almond (Allman) and Mary Almond Romans, would remove to Mississippi with their stepmother's people.
Nelson Ervin Almond would return to Stanly County and was buried with the Lamberts. Piety was not his cousin as Rebecca was not his mother. On his marriage license to Ellen Reeves, his parents are listed as Pleasant Almond and Barbary Pliler while hers are "Jos and Lilly Reaves". This usually indicated that the parents of the individual were not married, as the woman had a different surname. Now, in the "The Stanly County Marriages Book I" published by the Stanly County Genealogical Society, his parents have been transcribed as "Pleasant and Barbary Almond", however, by viewing the actual document online, for his mother, it clearly lists "Barbary Pliler". Barbary was the nickname for Barbara and this Barbara was Barbara Pliler Honeycutt who lived next door to Pleasant Almond.
She had married Isham Honeycutt in Cabarrus County in 1821, a veteran of the War of 1812 with a penchant for wanderlust who left her for adventures in Tennesee and Arkansas, who married twice more, without, no doubt going through the trouble of divorce. But that's another story.
So, sometimes the online entries are more helpful, and other times, the books are more helpful. So back to the book. While Rev. John Lambert's household was the first entry in District 5, the Furr District, the very last household in District 5, the Almond District, was Nathan Lambert. Nathan, also age 30, was in Household 518/519, right next to Rev. John Lambert and Jonathan Lambert, in 519/520. So therefore, the Lamberts must have lived on the Almond/Furr line, with the line going straight between the property's of Nathan, John and Jonathan.
Almond Township was full of Honeycutt's, Pages, Furrs, Eudy's, Morgan's, Blackwelders, Hatley's, Almonds, Cassel's, Bowers, Burlesons, Springers, Motley's, Herrin/Herrings, Mortons, Whitley's and in particular, Needham Whitley, both Sr. and Jr., whom I feel may play a very important part in the John Lambert story. These names, these families, would all marry into the Lambert family at sometime or another and add to that West Stanly genepool.
John Lambert, Jr. lived in Almond Township, next to his son William "Buck" Lambert, my line and his sister, Rebecca Lambert Almond. On the other side of him was the Starnes, another family line in my tree I've been trying to figure out. There was Nathan T. Starnes and David Starnes, either brothers or uncles of my Frederick Fincher Starnes, whose Great Granddaughter would marry a descendant of John Lambert, Jr. and Sr., to become my Grandparents.
The first Lamberts arrived in Stanly County, or possibly Cabarrus first, in the mid 1820's. At this time Stanly County was a part of Montgomery County. They appear to have landed in the exact same place they would later be found, on the Almond/Furr Township line near Cabarrus County.
On Thursday, April 21st 1825 in Cabarrus County Pleas and Quarters Sessions the following entries are found:
"State vs Frederick Lambert, Sheriff of Montgomery County amerced nisi $100 for failing to make a return of capias vs Frederick Lambert Sci Fa. ordered."
The year before that, in the Orders of 1824 are found:
"State vs Frederick Lambert, Capias issued to Montgomery County for Lambert".
The year after Frederick skips court, on February 23, 1826, Nathan Lambert married Dolly Goodman, with George Goodman as bondsman. Dolly was the widow of a Michael Goodman, having married him in 1812 as Dolly Scott, with John Scott as bondsman.
In 1830, two of the Lambert brothers show up as Heads of Household in Montgomery (now Stanly) County.
Frederick "Fred Lambert" shows up with a household of 4. Two of his neighbors were Dempsey Hathcock and Dempsey Springer.
Name:
Fred Lambert [Ford Lambert]
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
West Side Pee Dee River, Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5:
1 John
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19:
1 Frederick
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5:
1 Rebecca
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29:
1 Nancy Huneycutt Lambert
Free White Persons - Under 20:
3
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:
1
Total Free White Persons:
4
He would have been the male between 15 and 19. He evidentally married very early. His wife was a tad older, as she was counted as being at least 20. Rebecca would have been a year and a half old while John would have been an infant approaching his first birthday.
Name:
John Lambert
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Montgomery, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9:
1 Buck
Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 14:
1 Nathan
Free White Persons - Males - 15 thru 19:
1 ? Either John or John's missing
Free White Persons - Females - Under 5:
1 Jane aka "Jincy"
Free White Persons - Females - 5 thru 9:
2 Elizabeth and Piety Caroline
Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29:
1 Mary
Free White Persons - Under 20:
6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:
1
Total Free White Persons:
7
The other Lambert family in the 1830 census was that of John Lambert, and this was a young family, not an older one, so it would be John Lambert, Jr.
While Nathan the first was married in 1826, his wife, who had to be considerably older than him, is back to her widows name and alone in 1830.
Name:
Dolly Goodman
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Cabarrus, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Females - 40 thru 49:
1
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:
1
Total Free White Persons:
1
Total - All Persons (Free White, Slaves, Free Colored):
1
Nathan may have been this Nathan in Randolph County, NC, but not neccessarily so.
Name:
Nathan Lambert
Home in 1830 (City, County, State):
Regiment 1, Randolph, North Carolina
Free White Persons - Males - Under 5:
3
Free White Persons - Males - 5 thru 9:
2
Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39:
1
Free White Persons - Females - 10 thru 14:
1
Free White Persons - Females - 30 thru 39:
1
Free White Persons - Under 20:
6
Free White Persons - 20 thru 49:
2
Total Free White Persons:
8
Rev. John's daughter, the older Piety, was in the area by 1834, because on August 16, 1834, Piety marries John Calvin Page in Cabarrus County, with John Jr.'s neighbor, Dempsey Hathcock as Bondsman.
A list of Subscribers names to be attached to a petition for a division of Montgomery County for district No 14
John Little Capt Jonathan Morgan
Labon Little Morris Smith
Jacob W. Little Esqr. Drewry Morgan
Joshua L. hinson Benjamin (x) Penyon
Christopher (x) Yow Tobin Lamburt
Sampson (x) Watts Duncan Tucker
James (L or S)ittle Senr Hudson Vickers
M S l____ George Smith
John Brooks James Hartsel
Lewis (x) Springer Nathan L. (x) Starnes
John M (x) hinson George W. (x) Lambert
_ichman (x) Page T. W. ___________
Geo H Honneycutt Michael Garmon Jur.
Sion (x) Page L___s Honneycutt
Mathias Furror Frederick (x) Lambert
F. K. Honneycutt Dempsey (x) Honneycutt
A H Honeycutt Josiah Barbee
____ Honeycutt Benj Barbee
Ely (x) Honneycutt John E. ________
A (x) Honneycutt J. W. Craton
K Shinn M Williams
Solomon Hartsel John Shew
Jacob (x) Tucker David (x) Shew
James Tucker Pleasant Almond
Pleasant Tucker Caleb Osborne
Daniel Hartsell Cla______ F. Reed
Thomas (x) Pinyon Garrott Pless
Joseph K Honneycutt Charles Pless
James Little Jur James Hathcock
George Stogner George (x) Honeycutt
Peter Pless John Stansill
David Harky John Hagler
Hyram (x) Barba Leonard Hartsell
Isaac Harky Uriah (x) Page
Henry (x) Yow Moses (x)Kizor
Jonah Love *
Frederick was in this area until at least 1838 when he shows up on a Petition for the Division of Montgomery County by the use of the Pee Dee River, due to the danger and inconvenience of persons on the west side of the river, trying to get to the Courthouse in Lawrenceville, the County Seat.
In District 14 we find Frederick Lambert next to neighbor Dempsy Honeycutt, who was probably his father-in-law. Pleasant Almond, his wayward brother-in-law is on there as well as his brother, George W. Lambert, who also moved away, next to Nathan T. Starnes, who was a neighbor to John Jr., but oddly, John Jr. nor John Sr. are on the Petition, nor Nathan, but there is a Tobin Lambert, whom I've never seen mention of anywhere else. I wonder if that is a bad translation of Nathan, but that doesn't make much sense.
Two Lamberts also show up in the 1840 census, John and Nathan. Nathan, of course was the son of John Sr. , not the son of John Jr., who would only have been 10. And the John was John Jr. not John Sr., because of the age.
It is likely John Sr. was in the county by then, because John Jr was noted as "Junior" to differentiate him from a "Senior" John Lambert who was somewhere, but probably living in another household.
There were a few other places to look to see when the Lamberts and Rev. John, in particular, first arrived in the Stanly County area.
In the book "Abstracts of the Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Stanly County 1841-1850" Abstracted and Edited by Helen Lefler Garner, the earliest court appearances from the establishment of Stanly County in 1841, to the 1850 census, is covered. The Lamberts made a few quiet appearances.
Frederick Lambert is not listed. He doesn't appear anywhere in the 1840
George W. Lambert makes one appearance:
November Session 1843
Michael Cook vs. George W. Lambert : Judgement granted against George W. Lambert and his securit Jonathan Lambert for $14.16 to be discharged on payment of $6.95, interest and cost and cost of this shift.
Note: Frederick and George W. Lambert descendants are verified by FT DNA Y-testing to tie into our family. So the Pace to Lambert change was before their generation.
Jonathan is mentioned one more time, serving as a juror in 1849.
Nathan registers his ear mark in 1847 and serves as a juror 4 times. This is probably the younger Nathan, son of John Jr., as the older Nathan has already moved.
One of the John Lamberts proves a deed of Frederick Pages' in 1841. Sometimes they designate whether it's Sr. or Jr. and sometimes they did not. This was probably Jr. In 1842, "just John" was appointed to Superintend and manage the election in his District for members of the General Assembly along with Mathias Furr and Andrew Honeycutt.
In the December 1842 Session, Sheriff Eben Hearne listed lands he proposed selling for taxes owed in 1840 and 1841. On the list is John Lambert Sr. who owed .77 cents for taxes on his 66 acres on Running Branch. So, although I can not find any land deeds for the Lamberts in Montgomery County prior to the Division of Stanly, John Lambert Sr.,had recieved or purchased 66 acres prior to 1841.
On January 9th, 1843 10 of those 66 acres were sold, belonging to John Lambert Sr.
John Jr. served as a juror a couple of times and then served again as a manager of an eletion for Governor.
William Lambert, son of John Jr. was the most popular jurist in the bunch, serving a total of 7 times, beginning in 1850, when he was 24. He was called first in 1847, at age 21, but then dismissed.
No real revelations there, with the exception that John Lambert Sr. owned land before 1841.
Knowing that Rev. John Lambert was a member of the Primitive Baptist faith, I decided to look in the available records of those churchs in the County.
Sandy Creek Primitive Baptist Church circa 1802. Photo courtesy of Randolph County Historic Landmark Preservation Association
Our branch of the Primitive Baptists fell under the Sand Creek Baptist Association. Sandy Creek was located in Randolph County, North Carolina, near the town of Liberty. Rev. Shubal Stearnes was a minister there and was a very crucial part of the founding of the Association in 1758. In it's Hey Day, the Association covered a large territory from Southern Virginia to the Potomac River in Georgia. There were 7 North Carolina churches and 2 Virginia churches involved at it's inception, those including Little River in Montgomery County and Abbott's Creek in Davidson County.
I searched through the book, "A History of the Sandy Creek Baptist Association" by George Purifoy and also the online archives of Church Minutes for Meadow Creek, Bear Creek and Liberty Hill, which were located in Stanly County.
In the 1840's and 1850's I found the following men representing the following churches
Brush Creek - Randolph - Henry Bray
Love's Creek - Chatham - John Lambert, Daniel Hackney, Duncan Murchinson
Now, I've seen many Family Trees having my Rev. John Lambert purported to be the John Lambert who married Mary, the daughter of Henry Bray. It was a little surprising to see that these men were representatives of the Primitive Baptist Churches. There was also a John Lambert in Randolph County as well as Chatham. This fact tends to lead creedence to that theory, but in another post, I will explore these two men more closely and present my conclusions then.
By the early 1800's, two locals churches had joined the Associaton:
Fork of the Little River, near Troy NC, was represented by Francis Jordan and Benjamin Simmons, two men from very old and deeply rooted Montgomery County (East Pee Dee) families.
Current Forks of Little River Baptist Church, Ether area, near Troy, NC
Mouth of the Uwharrie, a church close to my heart and dna was listed in 1811, represented by Burwell Coggins and John Wilson. This congregation was known to be active before 1780. Located first on the West Side of the River, across from where the Uwharrie meets the Yadkin to form the Pee Dee River, it was near the defunct town town of Tindallsville, within the confines of what is now Morrow Mtn State Park. It later relocated to the east side of the River to the town of Henderson, on the banks of the Uwharrie. My ancestor Rev. William McGregor ministered there. He was ordained in Franklin County, NC and lived in what is now the preserved Kron House at Morrow Mtn. He sold the property to Dr. Kron, a physician and botatnist from Prussia, whose French wife, Mary Catherine was the niece of Henry Delamothe, a wealthy French prospector and land baron who had fought with Lafayette.
His daughter Ava married Bennett Solomon. The Solomons, along with the McGregors and Huckabee's came to this area from Franklin County. I mention this because at this point in time, I believe Rev. John Lambert could have been born in Bute or Franklin County, NC in 1772. Was he influenced or recruited by this group of Baptists?
McGregor Gravesite
In 1811 the Mouth of the Uwharrie Baptist Church was represented by Elder Bennett Solomon, my ancestor and son-in-law of Rev. William McGregor, John Mabry and Isaac Calloway. The Mabry's were also from the same area. Just recently in examing Franklin County records, I kept seeing the names Seth Mabry and Jesse Mabry. I can not be certain if this is the same Seth Mabry and Jesse Mabry we find later in Montgomery/Stanly County records, or a younger generation, but the chances of them being one or the other are fairly good. Isaac Calloway is another ancestor of mine. From his son Job Calloway to granddaughter Vashti Calloway, leads to another Minister in my family line, Rev. Samuel P. Morton, who married Vashti Calloway. He preached in many of the local churches and Isaac ended up at Ebenezer, which became Badin Baptist.
A note says that this grouping met at "Marshalls Meeting House" in Anson. This was no doubt the James/Henry Marshall family near the Rocky River and Anson/Stanly border. Rocky River Church, where Samuel P. Morton would preach, organized from this congregation.
There's note in the minutes that "Rev. Bennett Solomon was appointed to Yadkin". Was this the Yadkin River Circuit, a new congregation or another name for the existing church?
1814 Mouth of Uwharrie was represented again by Elder Bennett Solomon, Burwell Coggins and Bartlett McGregor, son of Rev. William, who was now deceased and buried on a hill behind the Kron House.
The McGregor/Kron house before restoration
It is believed that the congregation of Mouth of the Uwharried Baptist Church became the congregation of Stony Hill Church, which is Methodist, located originally in the Tindallsville area near the old Kron place and now located off of Valley Drive, a few miles away from the original site,and others, who remained in the Baptist faith, relocated to Ebenezer Church, which became Badin Baptist, but which existed long before the town of Badin was concieved.
Other arms of the Primitive Baptists in the Sandy Creek Circuit were formed. Meadow Creek, one of the oldest, was formed in 1768. Eventually an 'arm' of Meadow Creek, which is located just outside of Locust, in Stanly County, was formed called "Bear Creek". This old church is located on a hill following the Stanly/Cabarrus line north. It served the Bear Creek area families.
At the 1833 Association meeting, Bear Creek was reprensented by Hezikiah Herrin, Ezekial Morton, Hasten Hatley and John Whitley. Hezekiah Herrin and Ezekial Morton's children would marry into the Lambert family.
In 1834, something changed that caught my eye. The churches represented were: Bear Creek, Freedom, Meadow Creek, Piney Woods, Jerusalem, Coldwater, Cedar Creek, and "Littles on Bethany". Bear Creek was represented by the following party: Malachi Harwood, William Eudy, Jesse Coley and John Lambert! Was this John Jr or Sr? It doesn't say. But Jr. was never a minister.
The next year, John Lambert did not show up. Bear Creek was represented by emissaries Henry Wiggins, Hezekiah Herrin and William Whitley. John did not show back up until 1837 with Hardy Wiggins and John Morton. Lawyer's Springs joined that year and Cedar Creek was disolved and joined the Bethany congregation.
Over the next 5 years, Bear Creek was represented by the following parties:
1838, the year Bethlehem and Grove Springs (in Anson) joined: John Lamber, Hasten Hatley and Allen Almond
1839, John Lambert, Hasten Hatley, Allen Almond
1840, Hasten Hatley, John Morton, Allen Almond
1841 Hasten Hatley, William Whitley, Allen Almond
1842 John Lambert, William Whitley, Allen Almond.
By this time I am pretty sure this is Rev. John Lambert who is making the meetings. A couple of things happen this year.
"Article 13: The Pineywoods Church having failed to represent herselp in the present violation. Appointed John Lambert, Isham Coley and Ruben Honeycutt to said church and report at hext Association."
These individuals were from different congregations. The Coley's, I know, were involved in Freedom Church, which was located above Long Creek, off of the current St. Martin Road, about 10 miles southwest of Albemarle.
1842 -1843 was the year that Elder John Lambert was called upon to minister at Meadow Creek Church for a period of 12 months.
In 1843 Pineywoods joined the Abbott's Creek Association and in 1844, Groves Creek was back and Lane's Creek joined the association. Bear Creek was again represented by "Elder John Lambert, Jesse Coley and Neeham Whitley. This had to be Needham Whitley Jr. Needham Whitley Sr., also apart of this congregation, was from Johnston County, North Carolina, a fact I found interesting. 1845, from Bear Creek again came "Elder John Lambert, William Eudy, and John Morton." Meadow Creek was represented by Solomon Burris.
1846 was also an interesting year: Bear Creek was represented by "Elder John Lambert" and Malachi Harwood, but two new churches were added to the Association:
High Hill, in Union County represented by a party of Helms and Liberty Hill Church, represented by L. K. Huneycutt and Solomon Burris.
Two articles addressed at this Association meeting caught my attention.
No 4 - Extended an invitation to churches desirous to unite with the Liberty Hill church, newly constructed in Stanly County....letter of Admittance document delivered by delegate Levi K. Huneycutt accepted by the moderator. No 16 - Called on Presbytery to report. Elder John Lambert reports himself and William Rushing was (sic) called to and formed a Presbytery and constructed a church in Stanly County called Liberty Hill."
Note: In 1842, in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, W. Frederick Lambert, son of Rev. John Lambert, is also in association with a William Rushing, opening a tavern and being appointed County Treasurer. Coincidence? I doubt it.
1847- Bear Creek is represented by Elder John Lambert, John Morton and William Eudy
Liberty Hill is represented by Solomon Burris, Levi Huneycutt and "Jeremiah" Burris. I believe he 'Jeremiah' is an error, as I've not seen any other reference to anyone who could have been Jeremiah Burris and also, because of the next year's entry.
1848 - Bear Creek was represented soley by John Lambert and Liberty Hill was represented by Solomon Burris, Levi Huneycutt and Jeremiah Hinson. I beleive the 1847 Jeremiah was probably Jeremiah Hinson.
Liberty Hill Primitive Baptist Church
Another interesting article appeared this year: 13 - Brother William Rushing and Elder John Lambert ordained Levi Huneycutt deacon of Liberty Hill.
In 1849, the 18th anniversary of the Association was held at Liberty Hill. There was no mention of John Lambert. In 1860, William Rushing was ordained as minister of Liberty Hill. The last mention of John Lambert had been in 1848. He was in his late 70's in the 1850 census.
There are three abandoned Lambert cemeteries in Stanly County. All are located in the West Stanly District.
Lambert Cemetery Number 1 is located on Mission Church Road. My Dad was one of the people who surveyed this cemetery back in the 70's. There's about 30 to 40 graves there. The most prominent names are Lambert, of course, Almond and Eudy. Civil War Vet, John Quincy Lambert, son of John Jr., is buried there. Many people like to attribute the middle name of "Quincy" to John Jr., so although John Quincy was sometimes later referred to as a Junior, after his grandfather had passed and his father was the elder of the John Lamberts, I've never once seen any indication that John Jr bore the middle name 'Quincy'. Erwin/Irvin Almond, son of Pleasant Almond and husband of John Quincy's sister Piety Carolina Lambert Almond, is also buried there.
Lambert Cemetery Number 2 is also located on Mission Church Road, near it's intersection with Coley's Store Road. It's an abandoned family cemetery near an "old homeplace". Nathan Lambert, son of John Jr. is buried there with about 29 other graves. It appears to have been in use from from the late 1870's through 1890's.
The oldest of the Lambert cemeteries is Number 3, resting place of Rev. John Lambert. It's located in a pasture across the street from Lambert cemetery Number 2, near the Mission Church Rd/Coley Store Road intersection. These two cemeteries are not far from Running Creek Church and the Lambert Community, which is basically the area where Millingport Road, Mission Church Road, Substation Road, Running Creek Church Road, Rowland Road and Coley's Store Road all come together. There are about 50 graves here, but only two of the stones are legible:
L. McLure died 1886. This is Levina Almond McLure, daughter of Rebecca Lambert Almond.
J. L Died 1860. This is believed to be the grave of Rev. John Lambert, grandfather of Levina Almond McLure.
Whitley's Mill Red Cross area
There is an unincorporated community in Stanly County called "Lambert". This is the area where primarily, the descendants of John Lambert Jr. lived, farmed and grew. It's near areas now known and Ridgecrest, Red Cross and Frog Pond. Lambert is now no more than a collection of homes and farms. The building of the Lambert Dance Hall still stands but has long been out of usage, but has been in use during my lifetime.
Rev. John Lambert was the patriarch of a large, diverse and expansive family. His paternal ancestors were not Lamberts, however, but Pace's. His maternal ancestors may have been, and probably were, Lamberts.
