Lambert Lands, Gallia County, Ohio

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Morgan Township, Gallia County, Ohio
Surnames/tags: Black_Heritage Ohio

Lambert Lands

Last enslaver: Charles Lambert (1754-1839), see Slaves of Charles Lambert, Virginia
Settlement Location: Lambert Lands, Morgan Township, Gallia County, Ohio
Date of Manumission: 1839

In 1839, Charles Lambert, Jr. of Bedford County, Virginia willed that all 30 of his slaves were to be freed upon his death and he died in late 1839.^[1][2] In November 1843, three parcels of land with a total of 265.5 acres in Morgan Township, Gallia County, Ohio were bought for the former slaves.^[3]

The names of the original slaves are:

Aggie Lambert, Albert Lambert, Albin Lambert, Alice Lambert, Amy Lambert, Ben Lambert, Billy Lambert, Bob Lambert, Calohill Lambert, Caroline Lambert, David Lambert, Francis Lambert, Frank Lambert, Isham Lambert, James Lambert, Jordan Lambert, Lewis Lambert, Lucinda Lambert, Martha Lambert, Mary Ann Lambert, Matilda Lambert, Milla Lambert, Milla Lambert, Nancy Lambert, Parthena Lambert, Peter Lambert, Randolph Lambert, Randolph Lambert, Jr., Spotswood Lambert, and Watson Lambert.

In a short time, many changed their last names to Burk, Jones, Leftwich, Miller, Minnis, Randolph, Reed, Sales, and Winfield.

Descendants of the original settlers continued to live on the Lambert Lands for two or three generations. By 1960 most had moved away, and the real estate taxes became delinquent. As a result, the county sold the communal property at a public auction on the Courthouse steps in 1969. That was the end of the real estate which had existed in the Lambert name for 126 years.

Resources:

• "Lambert Lands," The Emancipation Proclamation Celebration, https://emancipation-day.com/lambert-lands/ : accessed 9 Oct 2023.
• "Gallia County African American Census Records"
• Morgan-Bethel Cemetery at Find A Grave
• Pine Street Colored Cemetery at Find A Grave
• "Notable African Americans of Southeastern Ohio"
• "Free African Americans of Virginia and North Carolina"
• "The African-American Experience in Ohio"

Sources

1. ↑ Virginia Bedford County, Will records, volume 10, pages 150-151, Charles Lambert will, signed 1 Mar 1839, probated 23 Dec 1839; image copy, FamilySearch, film #7645301, image 327 of 487 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99P6-2ZYM?i=326 : accessed 9 Oct 2023). See transcription.
2. ↑ Virginia Bedford County, Will records, volume 10, pages 160-162, appraisement of Charles Lambert estate, 1 Jan 1840; image copy, FamilySearch, film #7645301, images 332-333 of 487 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99P6-2ZTT?i=331 : accessed 9 Oct 2023). See transcription.
3. ↑ Gallia County, Ohio, Deed Records, volume 18, pages 210-213, three deeds with grantees Frank Lambert et al, 13 Nov 1843; image copy, FamilySearch, film #8193268, images 434-435 of 663 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLX-295K-V?i=433 : accessed 9 Oct 2023). Includes:
   
   • pages 210-211, Gideon and Sarah Searles to Frank Lambert et al, 131 acres in N 1/2 sec 32, Morgan Twp, Gallia County, Ohio, 13 Nov 1843; FamilySearch image 434
     
   • pages 211-212, David and Eliza Summers to Frank Lambert et al, 57.25 acres in SE corner sec 32, Morgan Twp, Gallia County, Ohio, 13 Nov 1843; FamilySearch images 434-5
     
   • pages 212-213, William L. and Harriett M. Gardner to Frank Lambert et al, 77.25 acres in SW 1/4 sec 32, Morgan Twp, Gallia County, Ohio, 13 Nov 1843;FamilySearch image 435