Name/Title
AU Harris, Daniel Alfred - 1980-11-09 letter to Mary Elizabeth 'Bette' (Lambert) KnappEntry/Object ID
2004.1.9Context
November 9, 1980
Dear Bette:
This letter was returned to me from Tulsa. I'll try again at your Naples address.
Daniel A. Harris
5840 S. W. 48th St.
Miami, Florida 33155
May 21, 1980
Dear Bette:
I am sorry to be so late in answering your nice letter, written in March.(!) I presume you have already returned to Oklahoma, so I shall send this letter there.
Do you know about the interesting book, written by Malcolm L. Smith, one of the ten children of Grace Selby Smith, who was the daughter of Sam Selby and Eva Lambert Selby, the daughter of Daniel and Deborah Lambert? It is really very interesting, and contains some genealogical material. His address is Malcolm L. Smith, P.O. Box 6712, Washington, D. C., 20020.
I am taking the liberty of enclosing a copy of a letter which I am to all of the Lambert cousins whom I can locate. I do not want you to feel under any pressure to contribute, but I thought you would like to know about it.
I was in Ft. Myers for Mother's Day. Aletha's sister, Mrs. Eva Ward, lives there, and their mother, Mrs. Florence Stacey is 103, - will be 104 in July, - and is living in a rest home as she has to have constant care. We had her out for the day, and her mind is clear, although her memory is not good, neither is mine. I just celebrated my 77th birthday. I continue to teach privately, and I enjoy my work. Some weeks ago I drove up to Barefoot Bay, near Sebastian, and had a visit with the Webners.
When you come back this fall I will try to do better about getting in touch with you when I am in Fort Myers. Miami has quieted down pretty well after a rather violent weekend.
I do hope you will forgive my delay in writing. I am not a very good correspondent. Aletha used to do all of the writing.
With warmest greetings to you and George,
As ever,
Dan Harris
November 9, 1980
P. S. My sister-in-law Eva, (Mrs. John Ward) has moved to a new retirement center in Fort Myers., Her address is 1896 Park Meadow Drive, Fort Myers, Fla. 33907. Her phone is 813-936-8319.
[End of Page 1]
5840 S. W. 48th Street
Miami, Florida 33155
November 9, 1980
Dear Lambert cousins:
We are all grandchildren, or great-grandchildren, of Daniel Webster Lambert and Deborah Vernon Lambert, and through their ten children we are cousins. I happen to be on of the two surviving sons of Rev. Joseph H. Harris and Bertha Lambert Harris. My brother Richard lives in Worthington, Ohio, north of Columbus, Ohio.
It has occurred to me that we should in some way recognize the significant contribution of Daniel and Deborah Lambert to the quality of life which we enjoy. He was a self taught preacher and circuit rider for the United Brethren Church in the hills of southern Ohio. She, of Quaker background, was dismissed from her own church because of marrying outside the fold. In their home they held up the highest ideals before the children, and urged them to prepare themselves for greater usefulness. They moved to Westerville, where some of their children attended Otterbein College, and in the following years many of their grandchildren and great-grandchildren went to school there.
To come to the point, I am now suggesting that we combine our efforts to establish a memorial of some sort at Otterbein, and I will be happy to start the ball rolling by contributing $1,000. I am not interested in knowing how much you may care to contribute, but I sincerely hope that you will want to have a part in this project. I doubt whether we could accumulate enough money to establish a scholarship fund, but I do believe that we can raise a memorial fund, perhaps $5,000, the income to be used for the purchase of books for the Otterbein College Library. Such a fund could serve to keep alive the names of these two remarkable pioneers.
As a child it was my pleasure on one occasion to ride the circuit with grandfather Lambert in southern Ohio. We stopped at a creek and took off our shoes and stockings and went wading together. Grandmother Lambert made her home with my parents in Columbus, Ohio during her later years. Only in retrospect do I appreciate what strong, admirable people they were.
If you care to write to me I will ask the promotion office of Otterbein College to get in touch with you. Or if you prefer, you may write directly to Mr. Franklin D. Fite, Vice President for Development, Otterbein College, Westerville, Ohio, 43081. Checks should be marked, Daniel and Deborah Lambert Memorial Book Fund.
My best wishes go to all of you. Thanks for listening.
Sincerely and cordially,
Daniel A. Harris
