Lamb Reunion 2013: History, Heritage, and Legacy

By Matthew T. Patton and Linda Lamb Monticelli

Attendees of the 2013 Lamb Family Reunion

The third Lamb Family Reunion was held Oct. 11-12 in Caldwell County, with nearly 50 Lamb descendants from eleven states in attendance: Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington. Attendees were descendants of Longshore Lamb and his wife, Sarah Lee, early settlers of Caldwell County; and of Longshore’s brother, Thomas Lamb.

A Focus on Genealogy
The reunion kicked off on Friday with a gathering at the George Coon Public Library in Princeton, with many cousins meeting for the first time there. Judy Boaz, director of the library, shared the interesting and storied past of the library. After her speech, the group moved next door to the Glenn E. Martin Genealogy Library for an afternoon of research and a glimpse into its collection.

Following genealogy research at the library, Toni Watson, Caldwell County clerk, welcomed the group at the records room at the Caldwell County Courthouse where staff had graciously pulled several documents and records relating to the Lamb family. Renowned Western Kentucky genealogist and historian Brenda Joyce Jerome, a certified genealogist, was on hand to assist family members with record searches. On Friday night, nineteen attendees gathered at Adams Breezy Hill Restaurant for dinner and fellowship.

On Saturday morning, more than 40 gathered at the Lamb Cemetery at Claxton to dedicate a new tombstone for John and Mary Clayton-Lamb. In early 2013, the family gathered donations from Lamb family members across the country to erect a new stone in their memory. Their original tombstones have faded to near illegibility, so descendants decided to act to keep the flame of their memory alive through placing the new granite marker.

The marker includes the birth and death dates of John and Mary, and on the back lists all of their twelve children, as well as their children’s birth and death year. On the front, the family inscribed: “Memorial Lovingly Erected by Descendants – 2013.”

A Historic Cemetery

Marker for the Lamb Cemetery in Caldwell Co., KY

New stone for John and Mary (Clayton) Lamb (front)

New stone for John and Mary (Clayton) Lamb (back)

Because of the generosity of the donations gathered for their new stone, excess money was used toward a stone to mark this historic cemetery. It reads: “Lamb Cemetery. Since 1839. An old family graveyard on land John and Mary Clayton Lamb lived and raised their family. Erected by Lamb descendants 2013.”

The ceremony to unveil the two new stones began with musical selections on bagpipes by Paul Thompson, known as “The Town Piper.” After his renditions of songs to celebrate the lives of John and Mary, two of their descendants, Matthew T. Patton of Johns Creek, Ga., and Linda Lamb Monticelli of Plymouth, Mich., uncovered the stones for the crowd. The ceremony closed with “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes.
From there, the family moved to the Princeton Tourist Welcome Center for a Southern-style lunch and an afternoon of visiting. A 64-page booklet (including welcome letters from dignitaries like Sen. Rand Paul and Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear) was given to all attendees. On display were several documents and maps: the petition written for the Lenape Indians by the Lamb family’s ancestor Robert Longshore in 1681; accounts audited file for Longshore Lamb’s service in the Revolutionary War; the American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol in 2009 for Revolutionary War Patriot Longshore Lamb; several maps showing where the family’s ancestors lived from the 1600s through the early 1800s; and two large family tree charts showing four generations of descendants, one for Thomas Lamb and Alice Longshore, and the other for Longshore Lamb and Sarah Lee.

Guest Speaker
The guest speaker of the afternoon was Brenda Joyce Jerome, who presented a captivating talk on tombstone epitaphs. She provided examples of various epitaphs and carvings from tombstones, including cautionary passages like the one engraved on Mary Lamb’s original stone in the Lamb cemetery. It warns passers-by that they, too, should prepare to face a fate of death.

With sunny skies and comfortable weather throughout the entire weekend, the family relished reuniting with cousins across the country and sparking new friendships with cousins whom they met for the first time.

The next Lamb family reunion is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 2015.

Query: Death and Burial of Lawrence Server

I am seeking information regarding the death and burial of Lawrence Server. He died in Crittenden County between January 1922 and September 1922.

E-mail sh12353@aol.com

Rachel Catherine Tolley: 1800s Dycusburg Resident

We received this e-mail from David Sullivan of Denver, CO, detailing his great-great grandmother, Rachel Catherine Tolley. She is pictured at right. If you have any information on these families, David would appreciate hearing from you. He can be e-mailed at DSulliII@aol.com.

Born 15 Jul 1839, my GG-Grandmother, Rachel Catherine Tolley, had a son by Robert Tinsley in 1855 named John Alexander Tinsley. We don't know if they were married or not.

On 6 Nov 1859, she married Dycusburg's Nehemiah Grassham (shortly after burying the mother of his children, Mary Polly Clark, who died 20 Aug 1858). At that time, Rachel's last name was "Wells", so she must have been married to somebody by that last name. We've not found who he was or any marriage or divorce paperwork regarding them other than the marriage paperwork to Nehemiah.

On 26 Jun 1870, she married my GG-Grandfather, Isaac Sullivan. Sometime between that date and the 1880 census, Isaac and Rachel moved to Rosiclare in Hardin County Illinois. But until that time, Rachel seemed to be a Dycusburg resident.

We're not sure where she was born although we know it was SOMEWHERE near Dycusburg. She had an older brother, John L. Tolley, who was born in 1817 in Eddyville. She had a younger sister, Nancy Ann Tolley, who was born in Crittenden County on "Old Dycusburg Road." We presume that their parents, at that time, lived between Fredonia and Dycusburg.

She had an older sister, Tabitha Ann Tolley, who married William M. Hill on 23 Dec 1844 in Crittenden County in their parents' house "on old Dycusburg Road." William M. Hill, in addition to being noted as a fair groceryman, also became a Judge in that area.

William and Tabitha Hill had a son named Charles H. Hill who became very instrumental in the Baptist Church in Dycusburg.

So that's pretty much some connecting background to my GG-Grandmother, Rachel Catherine Tolley. If anybody can help us learn about her immediate family (presuming that many of the details I've provided here are hopefully correct), we'd TRULY appreciate it!

Based on her appearance in this photo, she should have been approximately 20 years old. That would be about the time that she married Nehemiah Grassham. So the date on the photo should be circa 1859ish.

We presume that it was a painting. The most likely candidate in that area at that time for her "Mr. Wells" appears to be James W. Wells, step-son of George Washington Markham (of Dycusburg). It appears as though Mr. Wells may have gone to Louisville to study art. Maybe it's possible that HE is the one who painted the picture. We don't know, but it's a possibility. James W. Wells and his Markham step-siblings moved on to San Joaquin County, California shortly after that and got written into their history books. Turns out that Wells became a Minister and Professor.

Well, Dycusburg has been crucial to the research of our family. We sprang up from there. Having no known family there any longer, and now living in Denver, Colorado, I want to tell you that I am utterly thrilled that you have taken the time to make your site available to us.

Thank you SO much. And I hope you can take advantage of this photo and that maybe it will help us to learn about our Tolley/Crider family in Crittenden County.