Surname Saturday ~ LAMBERT of Boston

LAMBERT / LOMBARD / LAMPORT / LAMPERT / LUMBARD

Lambert family, probably of Boston, is one of my biggest brickwall mysteries in my family tree.  My 5^th great grandmother, Elizabeth Lambert (about 1775 – 1834) was described as a Boston debutante by her grandson, Governor John Owen Dominis of Hawaii.  However, I am unable to find out anything about her LAMBERT family except for one tantalizing clue.  She had a possible sister, Sarah, who married a John DARKE/DARGUE in 1796.   Elizabeth named her eldest daughter, Sarah Dargue Jones (about 1794 – 1875) after this sister. 

Elizabeth and Sarah Lambert would have been born in Boston around the time of the Boston military occupation by British troops prior to 1775. They probably were not even born in Boston at all.  Civilians fled Boston during the occupation.  In 1768 the British had deployed two regiments, or 2,000 soldiers, to restore order.   A fleet of British war ships crowded the harbor, which was closed.  Then, in 1775, the British retreated from the battles of Lexington and Concord to Boston, which was held under Seige by militas and the Continental Army.  Most civilians fled, or at least sent their wives and children out of the city.  Most of those left behind were Loyalists.  If the Lamberts were here before or during the military occupation and the Seige, where did they go during the conflict?  This might be where Elizabeth and Sarah were born, or where their parents married. 

Bostonians reclaimed Boston after “Evacuation Day” on 17 March 1775 when the British fleet departed Boston Harbor with troops and Loyalists aboard.   Citizens returned to Boston to rebuild the city, which had been ransacked.   The population of Boston in 1765 had been about 15,000 people.   The number of people in Boston fell by 2/3 during the 1770s to a low of less than 6,000. 

In 1793 Elizabeth Lambert married Owen Jones, the son of a British customs official.  Were they loyalists? I have no proof one way or another.  They had eight children, six daughters who all married well, and two sons who died young.  One son died as a young child, the other died unmarried at sea.  My Lambert lineage daughters out, and my 4^th great grandmother was Catherine Plummer Jones (1799 – 1828) who also died young after giving five children to her mariner husband, Levi Younger, of Gloucester.

The Lamberts and the Joneses lived in Boston’s North End neighborhood.   Owen Jones lived on Ship Street,  Hanover Street, and Tileston Street.   Records were found in the New North North church and at the 2^nd Baptist Church. 

Interestingly, Elizabeth (Lambert) Jones’s obituary was carried in the Nantucket Inquirer on 11 February 1834.  Did she have relatives on the island of Nantucket?  

Unfortunately, It is difficult to find vital records or any other type of information on Boston families during and before the Revolutionary War.  And LAMBERT and all its spelling variations were very common.  There were many LAMBERT families in Boston and other parts of Massachusetts.  I have had some luck searching church records, newspapers, and other sources. 

If anyone has a clue as to the identity of this LAMBERT family, please leave a comment or email vrojomit@gmail.com

My LAMBERT genealogy:

Generation 1:   Unknown Lambert; married and had two daughter (probably more children)  1.) Elizabeth 2.) Sarah Lambert born about 1776 and died 3 September 1796, married on 1 Dec 1793 to John Darke/Dargue

Generation 2:  Elizabeth Lambert, born about 1775, died 6 February 1834 in Boston; married on 11 May 1793 at the 2^nd Baptist Church, Boston, Massachusetts to Owen Jones, son of Owen Jones and Ann Unknown.  He was born about 1678 in Wales, and died 22 April 2850 in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  Eight children.

Generation 3:  Catherine Plummer Jones, born about 1799, died 2 May 1828; married on 23 October 1816 in Gloucester, Massachusetts to Levi Younger as his first wife.  He also married Jane Unknown, who died 26 November 1845 in Boston;  and Margaret Unknown, who died 21 February 1895. Five chidren.

Generation 4:  Mary Esther Younger, born 17 Feb 1826 and died 7 January 1913 in Boston.  Eight children.

Generation 5:  Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 6:  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 7:  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~  LAMBERT of Boston", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 21, 2017,  ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/01/surname-saturday-lambert-of-boston.html: accessed [access date]).