Name/Title
AU Smith, Malcolm Lambert - 1980-11-05 letter to Lambert CousinsEntry/Object ID
1990.1.515Context
P.O. Box 6712
Washington, D.C. 80020
November 5, 1980
Dear Lambert Cousins:
I address you this way because, as cousin Dan Harris says, “we are all grandchildren or great-grandchildren of Daniel Webster Lambert and Deborah Vernon Lambert, and through their ten children we are cousins? My maternal grandmother was Mary Eva Lambert Selby and my mother was Grace Selby Smith.
Dan sent the enclosed letter earlier this year. His idea of establishing a Memorial Book Fund at Otterbein College in honor of these Lambert grandparents seems most appropriate to me. When I offered to help in writing, so we might reach as many of the cousins as we now know about, he suggested that I write to the Ida Harris grandchildren, the Eva Selby grandchildren and the Alva Lambert grandchildren. He also gave more specifics of his plan, as follows:
"---I was in Westerville for the Otterbein commencement, and talked with Frank Fite, Vice President in charge of Development, and have since had some correspondence with him. He has approved the idea of a Memorial Book Fund, and has sent me a list of the Lambert cousins who attended Otterbein. He also sent me a copy of a survey of the Lambert family at Otterbein, prepared by Pauline Lambert Warfel....I am not interested in how much individuals may contribute, but I hope that the idea will be welcomed by many of the cousins. Checks should be made payable to Otterbein College, and marked "Daniel and Deborah Lambert Memorial Book Fund". They should be sent to Franklin D. Fite, Vice President in charge of Development, Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio, 43081.
It will soon be a full century since our pioneer grandparents dream of helping young people go to Otterbein for higher education first began to be realized; over the years a large number of their descendants have attended. For example, my mother was a student there in l898-99, while living with her grandparents, and she never forgot the experience, as I noted in my book on the family.
My purpose in this letter is to make you aware of the project and to express the hope you will want to be a part of it. I hope each of you will also tell other Lambert relatives and friends, including your children, if any, of this Memorial Fund and how they may participate. We all share in a rich family heritage. We are not seeking a large sum from anyone but would like all to have an opportunity to express appreciation in this simple way by contributing for one or more good books.
While it is not essential, I think it would be nice to tell Dan Harris how many of the family do participate; or if you want to let me know, I will send him word. My best wishes to all of you and families.
Sincerely,
{Malcolm}
Malcolm Lambert Smith
