Name/Title
AU Harris, Paul Joseph Jr. - 1989-10-02 letter to Malcolm Lambert SmithEntry/Object ID
1991.2.7Context
3923 Seeley Avenue
Downers Grove, IL 60515
October 2, 1989
Mr. Malcolm.L. Smith
Box 6712
Washington, DC 20020
Dear Cousin Malcolm,
I can't begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed your book that you sent me. Naturally, the references to the Lambert family and their ancestry is of particular interest to me, but I have found the whole book fascinating in the way it paints a living picture of your family. I can't thank you enough for your contribution to our family.
I admit to my delinquency in following up on our first contact this sumer. It seems that I am more tied down in the summer because my children come over from Michigan to visit on my days off. Now that they are back in school I hope to be able to do some traveling on my days off during the week to fulfill some long promised visits.
I really look forward to meeting you and sharing what information I have on the family. I have quite a bit of Joseph Harris and Bertha Lambert's original work on the family history. In fact, I am overwhelmed with the amount of information I have found and am at a loss on where to start working on it.
I am a bit confused by your ancestor chart on the Stanton line with the entry of the second Robert Stanton, indicated to be the immigrant ancestor. As I read "Our Ancestors The Stantons" I see where Robert, son of Robert and Avis, immigrated together. However, their son, Robert, does not appear to be our ancestor. John, another son of Robert and Avis, born in Newport, Rhode Island is our oldest ancestor born in America. It appears to me that the Robert you show between John and Robert and Avis is not an ancestor, but the brother of our ancestor John who married Mary Clarke. Perhaps you have information which I am unaware of concerning this. That is why I look forward to going over some of this with you.
Two other items jumped out at me reading the book. Your errata sheet indicated a change in Bertha Lambert's birth year on page 170 from 1872 to 1873. I am interested in your reason for this change since everything I have on my grandmother, Bertha, including her autobiography, indicates she was born 16 OCT 1872, Plantsville, Athens, OH. I am also curious about your entry on the same page regarding Bertha Lambert's brother, William Otterbein Lambert having been married four times. This is the first I had heard of this!
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The only marriage I have recorded for him is to Loretta Adams in 1900.
I have not gotten around to any serious work on trying to connect the two John Lamberts across the ocean yet. I would be interested in the work you and Betty Knapp have done on this already so I don't bark up too many wrong trees. Betty recently sent me a list of some cousins and their current addresses. One of them, Mary Frances
(Lambert) Shepherd, lives only about three miles from me. I called her last weekend and found she is seventy-five and widowed. She was leaving the next day for a two week cruise and we are planning to get together when she gets back.
I noticed in your book that a lot of your family descendants still live in Illinois. I would be curious to know their addresses and if any of them are nearby or are they all living in southern Illinois? I was also pleased to see the picture of Sam Selby and Mary Lambert. This is the first picture I had ever seen of Sam and the youngest one I have seen of Mary Lambert. I also have one of the original prints of the four generations, Daniel and Deborah, Mary Eva, Grace, and Philip. It is a wonderful picture of your family and my great grandparents.
Again, I am looking forward to meeting you and learning more about our family. I'll call soon to arrange a visit. In the mean time, I hope all is well with you.
Sincerely,
