Family Origins

The family history appears to descend from slaves that were taken or sold to west Tennessee to work on cotton plantations in Fayette and Hardeman Counties. Indications are the slaves came from Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama to work on plantations established in the 1820s on the fertile grounds of west Tennessee as the cotton business boomed.  After the Civil War, many former slaves remained on the property of their former masters and worked as sharecroppers.  General William Tecumseh Sherman and the U.S. government had promised “40 acres and a mule” to every freedman but that’s a promise African-Americans are still waiting on.

William Lambert – Virginia Origin

William and Mariah Lambert first show up on the 1870 U.S, Census for District 15 of Fayette County, Tennessee. taken on August 11, 1870.  William is listed as age 40 which would make his birth date sometime in 1830 but that is an estimate as records were not exact.  Census and DNA records indicate that William may have been the son of a Black woman, Margaret (Peggy) Lambert and a white man that was probably her owner, Julius Edmund Lambert of Mecklenburg County, Virginia.  It is not known how William Lambert ended up in Tennessee but he was probably sold away by Julius.  Peggy had many children and DNA records indicate that Julius was the father of at least a few.  As far as we can determine, William came to Tennessee without any other siblings. Many Lambert cousins remained in Virginia. Primarily Lunenburg County where Peggy lived until her death as a free women in 1880.

1820 U.S. Federal Census, Mecklenburg VA

Mariah Lambert

1870 U. S. CENSUS – FAYETTE COUNTY, TENN

Children listed on the 1870 Census are William H., age 10 and indicates he attended school but he is also listed as a farm laborer.  Other children were John age 8 (b. 1862), Edward (Adamon) age 6 (b. 1864) and Robert H. age 4 (b. 1866).  Neither of the younger boys are listed as attending school.  The whole family is listed as born in Tennessee but as we will see later, the federal census takers were not always reliable in recording the right data and sometimes that may have been because our ancestors did not always know the year or day they were born and even sometimes the state.  Particularly those that were born in slavery or who could not read nor write.

1880 U.S. CENSUS – FAYETTE COUNTY, TENN

By the time of the 1880 U.S. Federal Census, the remainder of the children of William and Mariah had been born.  The census below states that in addition to William H.,  John C., Edward and Robert H., we now see Alice age 10 (b. 1870), Martha age 8 (b. 1872), Nancy age 3 (b. 1877) and Junious 4 months (b. 1880).   There is also a nephew listed in the household named W. Anthony but I am not sure whose nephew he is.  This time only William Sr., is listed as Mulatto and Mariah is listed as born in Virginia.  Every one else is listed as “Black”.

Below is a copy of Mariah’s death certificate.  The death certificate issued from Fayette County list her at age 75 (b. 1843 – see I told you!) when she died on Sep 23, 1918.  It says she was widowed and died of “old age”.   Her mother was listed as Alice Turner and her father was “unknown” and likely was a white slave owner too.  She is listed as born in Virginia not Tennessee like the 1870 Census states.

DEATH CERTIFICATE – MARIAH LAMBERT

Mariah was laid to rest in Old Jones Chapel Cemetery  on September 25, 1918.  Click on the link to see her memorial. I do not currently have a death certificate for William Lambert.

It is from these folks, all of us are descended.