Alabama Day 2 - Research, Photocopies and Lions

An eleven hour day is over and while I didn't find what I was looking for, new discoveries were made. And I think more importantly, I met some really nice people!

I picked up cousin Randy from his hotel about 9 am this morning. We went to the Lauderdale County Courthouse looking for the Circuit County records from 1852. We hoped these records would provide us more information about Abner's murder. After trips to the fifth floor, fourth floor and back to the fifth, we were able to speak directly with the Circuit Court Clerk. She spent about fifteen minutes with us trying to locate the records. Unfortunately, due to some renovations for asbestos removal, all of the records have been moved to an off-site storage unit. She offered to take my phone number and contact me when she located the records. It might be a couple of weeks, but they were all so very nice and accomodating at the courthouse, I can deal with the wait.

We then went over to the library so Randy could meet Lee and take a look at the Thrasher family files. Many Thrashers married into the Lambert family so the files contained lots of great information. Randy spent the greater part of an hour making photocopies for us to read later. Meanwhile, two other volunteers in the genealogy department were very excited to learn about a murder in Lauderdale County and starting searching some additional files. We discovered that the accused murderer, Burrell Warren, was shown in the 1850 census as living in Williamson County, TN with his wife and five children. This is important because Abner and his wife were married in Williamson County. It may be possible that Abner and Burrell knew each other.

Kitty, a volunteer at the library, also helped me decipher the Probate Records I had copied on Wednesday and we figured out that Abner had died prior to October 1851, probably August or September. We also realized that the murder probably took place near Abner's property, which was actually located in the most north western part of the county, actually very close to Tennessee. Therefore, it is possible that newspapers in Savannah, TN might have mentioned the murder. We will check this theory out when we go the Hardin County Library on Saturday.

Cousin Carolyn met us at the library around 12:30 and took us on a tour of the area. We grabbed some lunch and then went to Helen Keller's birthplace at Ivy Green in Tuscumbia. It was very cool to see the little cottage where she and Anne Sullivan spent time and especially to see the water pump that changed Helen's life.

We spent some time seeing where Carolyn grew up - her church, family home and the homes of other relatives on the Hitchcock side.

We also went back to the courthouse to see if the Probate packet had any additional papers (it didn't) and went to University of Northern Alabama (UNA) campus library to look for 1851 Florence newspapers (there were none). Funniest thing - the mascot for UNA is the lion. Believe it or not, there is a lion habitat on the campus that contains a male and female lion. That's right!!! Lions on campus - so funny!!!

Carolyn headed home and Randy and I spent a little more time in the library. I was looking for some land deed records but by this point my eyes were so tired from looking at microfilm that I propbably missed it. That's okay, just another piece of the puzzle.

After a nice dinner (7 oz sirloin, baked potato and a frosty Coors Light, we met Carolyn at the local Office Depot where we proceeded to spend another hour making photocopies. Carolyn brought all of her records and we made many copies of photos, military records, newspaper articles and obituaries. Too much data to review tonight but I am sure I will enjoy reading it all later.

Tomorrow, we will head to Waterloo and the Panther Creek area where the Lambert family lived in the 1850's. We will then go to Walnut Grove, TN to met cousin Mac. Carolyn is bringing bbq pulled pork sandwiches for a picnic lunch and we will also check out some cemeteries in these areas. Carolyn has warned Randy and I that the area of Tennessee where we are heading is extremely rural, perhaps even "backward". We are also told that cell phones don't work in these hills. Oh boy - I am sure I will have stories to tell tomorrow night!! Util then...

Alabama Day 1 - Meeting Family

I have arrived in Alabama to meet distant cousins and learn more about my Lambert ancestors. I have a feeling this trip will be full of many little surprises and I am so glad I have taken this journey.

My flights were uneventful and the drive from Huntsville to Florence took about an hour. If I am being completely honest, I had certain expectations of what "the south" would look like. When in fact, my drive was no different than any other four lane "route" in New England. Okay, I saw some cotton fields and some restaurants we don't have in CT but other than that, this area is not so different at all.

I arrived to my hotel about 3:30 pm and by 4 pm I was at the Florence Lauderdale Library. The library has a wonderful genealogy department and a very nice man named Lee was incredibly helpful. I was able to make copies from microfiche of Abner's probate packet from 1852-1854 and land patent records and maps from 1850 and 1859. Lee told me that the circuit court records I am looking for are probably in storage across from the court house in "the old VA building". I will go there today with the hopes of discovering the mystery behind Abner's murder.

Last night, I met Cousin Randy for the first time and we drove to Cousin Carolyn's house across the river in Sheffield. Randy is a 5th generation descendant of Erasmus Lambert and Carolyn is 3rd generation descendant of Erasmus's (aka Raz) sister, Molly. I am a 5th generation descendant of their brother, Benjamin.

We arrived at Carolyn's about 7:15 pm and were greeted with warm hugs. Also at Carolyn's was a cousin of hers named Jane. Jane is related thru the Hitchcock side of the family. Carolyn served a "traditional" southern dinner which consisted of Roast Pork, stuffed squash, creamed corn, fried green toamtoes and rolls. For dessert we had butterscotch pie. And of course, ice tea!!

Dinner, and wonderful conversation, lasted for 2 1/2 hours. Carolyn grew up hearing stories from her Grandmother Molly and mother, Lizzie so she had many stories to share with us. She also had many old photos, news clippings and records. With her permission, I turned on the digital voice recorder I brought and so I now have a record of the stories she told us. There were so many, I would not have remembered them all!! All in all, it was a great night and I know that these next three days will be full of similar conversations.

So, today's plans include the court house and possibly a return trip to the library with Randy. Carolyn will join us around lunch time and give us a tour of Florence and the local cemeteries. Also a trip to Office Depot to make copies of some of Carolyn's photos and records.

We will also play tourist for a little while and visit Helen Keller's birthplace in nearby Tuscambia. It promises to be a great day!!

Searching my Southern Roots

On Wednesday, the adventure begins! 

I'm heading to Florence, Alabama to research the murder of my great-great-great-great grandfather Samuel Abner Lambert.  Flying in from California will be my 5th cousin Randy.  We will meet up with 4th cousin Carolyn from Sheffield, AL and 4th cousin Mac from Savannah, Tennessee.  A family reunion with people I have never met, to learn more about the ancestors I never knew.

Wednesday afternoon and Thursday will be spent in Florence at the court house and library.  We will be looking for old court records, newspaper articles and obituaries from 1852/1853.  I also hope to walk on the 50 acres that Abner purchased from the US Government in 1850.  I have copies of the land patent records signed by President Millard Filmore.  The area was known as Panther's Creek and if Google Earth is correct, currently undeveloped.  It's probably swamp land!!

On Friday, we will travel west to Waterloo, AL and then on to Savannah, TN to meet Mac and visit some area cemeteries.

Saturday's plans include a visit to the Shiloh National Park (TN), site of The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, where a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War was fought April 6–7, 1862.  Abner's son James (my great-great-great grandfather) joined Co E, 11th Illinois along with three of his brothers-in-law and fought at the battle of Shiloh. James was wounded and died on Jan 30, 1863 at the Overton Hospital in Memphis, TN, probably from complications of his wound.  No one is quite sure where he is buried.

Yes, you read that right.  At some point around 1860, eight years after Abner died, the Lambert family moved north to Illinois.  The Civil War was about to break out and apparently my ancestors were not sympathetic to the South.  Some of the men in the family fought for the Union.  And some of the family did move back to TN after the war was over.

As you can tell, my days will be busy and I will be absorbing a lot of family history over a short amount of time.  I will be bringing a digital camera, digital voice recorder and my laptop on this trip.  I hope to update this blog on a daily basis and share my discoveries with you.  I hope you enjoy the journey!

In Search of the Past

For the past four or five years, I have been working on my family's geneology.  At first, I was focusing on the Wilson side of my family.  I knew that an ancestor fought in the Revolutionary War and thought it would be pretty cool to join the Daughter's of the American Revolution (DAR).  I've learned a lot over the years, not only about my family but also about myself.  I've also met some wonderful people - some of them are distant cousins I would never have known about were it not for my geneology research.

So anyway - in the course of my research, I discovered that my great, great, great, great grandfather was murdered!  Samuel Abner Lambert was born about 1804 in Bedford County, Tennessee and died in 1852 in Lauderdale County, Alabama.  In about three weeks, I will be traveling to Alabma and Tennessee to research his story.  I hope to use this blog as a journal of my trip. 

I hope you will enjoy sharing my journey with me!