Friday’s Photo: Kitty Hawk, North Carolina and Early Flights Found in the Baylor County Banner

First flight, December 17, 1903. Orville Wright at the controls and Wilbur Wright
running alongside to balance the machine just after releasing his hold on the wing.

“Some airplanes went over on Tuesday and another one yesterday. They did not stop or give any account of themselves. Perhaps after awhile airplanes will be so common that no mention will be necessary about them. In fact, even now some of the oil men at Ranger have purchased planes to be used in going to and from Fort Worth.”

— Baylor County Banner, 22 May 1919

Years ago, while searching the Baylor County Banner on microfilm, I came across the newspaper item transcribed above. It has remained one of my favorites because it says so much about how quickly things change. In 1919, airplanes were still unusual enough to be worth mentioning in the local paper, but before long, they became an ordinary part of life.

I remembered the little article last Friday when we took a day trip to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where we visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the museum there. It did a wonderful job of telling the story of the Wright brothers, not just the first flight, but everything that led up to it and all that followed. The first successful powered flight took place in 1903, and yet by World War I, airplanes were already being used in the war, even while horses were still important on the ground.

 

Baylor County Banner, 22 May 1919
as found on microfilm

Later, when I tried to find the Baylor County article at the Portal to Texas History, I discovered that it was not there. But while looking, I found several other Baylor County Banner articles about early flight. Since I have written very little about Baylor County and the Banner lately, I decided this was a good excuse to share some of them.

 

“Cheapest Aeroplane $7,500. New York, May 12.—The minimum price of a Wright aeroplane has been established at $7,500. But if a high speed machine, suitable for war purposes and carrying two passengers, be ordered, the aviator may raise the price to $25,000. This schedule of prices was announced last night by Orville Wright, who with his brother, Wilbur, started for Dayton, Ohio, today, after being tendered a reception here. ‘Of the sixty odd aeroplanes which we now have under construction at our Dayton plant,’ said Orville, ‘the cheapest will be $7,500. We have received orders for a number of these from individuals, and they will be delivered as rapidly as possible.”

— Baylor County Banner, 28 May 1909

“Jas. A. Russell left Monday for the Fair and said he was going up in the aeroplane with Art Smith. Hope we see our old friend alive again.”

— Baylor County Banner, 28 October 1915

“K. C. Plants and W. B. Craddick were in Haskell Tuesday to see the flying machine at the picnic there.”

— Baylor County Banner, 6 July 1916

“The prettiest sight we have seen in a great while was the airplane that passed over Monday afternoon; it was just low enough that the boys could be seen from a distance and answered our waving.”

— Baylor County Banner, 16 June 1921

“Mr. M. W. Coy came in Monday to report on his experience in going up in the airplane. He and Mrs. Coy each took a ride Sunday afternoon with Daredevil Lirette and enjoyed the experience immensely. In fact, Mr. Coy says he would not take $500 for his ride and his wife would not take $1,000 for her air ride. Mr. Coy has been living here for 30 years or more and has seen all of this country from the ground, but it was the first time he had ever seen the country from the air. He was up 2,000 feet, and the Brazos River looked like a little branch. Big farms looked like garden plots, and the court house seemed like a mere toy. Neither one of them had the least bit of fear about going up.”

— Baylor County Banner, 22 September 1921

“An airplane passed over here Saturday and Sunday, which reminds us of ‘Lady Mary’s’ remarks, that she did not understand why the airplane had not become common for passenger use in America. This will be coming before a great while. Not long ago Edward Stinson of Mineola, N. Y., who at one time did some stunt flying at Dallas, remained in the air for 26 hours, 19 minutes and 35 seconds. He and his companion would have been able to beat that if their oil pump had not broken. France evidently believes the airplane will figure largely in the next war, so she is working on the biggest plane the world has yet seen.”

— Baylor County Banner, 2 February 1922

 

The 1903 machine rests on the launching track at Big Kill Devil Hill before the December 14 trial. Four men from the Kill Devil Hills Life-Saving Station helped move it from the shed to the hill, accompanied by two small boys and a dog. This hill, where the monument now stands, was one of four massive sand dunes. The brothers climbed these dunes thousands of times while carrying out experiments in the years before their first flight.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post along with other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 28 May 1909, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library.

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), vol. 16, no. 4, ed. 1, 28 October 1910, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library.

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), vol. 16, no. 6, ed. 1, 11 November 1910, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library.

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), vol. 21, no. 6, ed. 1, 28 October 1915, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library.

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), vol. 21, no. 42, ed. 1, 6 July 1916, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library. 

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 22 May 1919, page 4, column 4, untitled item beginning “Some airplanes went over on Tuesday,” microfilm in author’s possession.

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), vol. 24, no. 38, ed. 1, 16 June 1921, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library.

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), vol. 24, no. 52, ed. 1, 22 September 1921, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library.

Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), vol. 17, no. 19, ed. 1, 2 February 1922, newspaper; digital image, The Portal to Texas History ( https://texashistory.unt.edu/ : accessed 16 April 2026); crediting Baylor County Free Library.

Diana Quinn, five color photographs of exhibits and views at Wright Brothers National Memorial and museum, Kill Devil Hills, Dare County, North Carolina, taken April 2026; privately held by Diana Quinn, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2026.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, “[1903 machine on the launching track at Big Kill Devil Hill, prior to the December 14th trial …],” photograph, 14 December 1903; digital image, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001696493/

 : accessed 16 April 2026), reproduction no. LC-DIG-ppprs-00612, call no. LC-W86-21 [P&P]; from Wright Brothers Negatives; “No known restrictions.”

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, “[First flight, 120 feet in 12 seconds, 10:35 a.m.; Kitty Hawk, North Carolina],” photograph, 17 December 1903; digital image, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (https://loc.gov/pictures/item/00652085/ : accessed 16 April 2026), reproduction no. LC-DIG-ppprs-00626, call no. LC-W86-35 (Cabinet A) [P&P]; from Wright Brothers Negatives; “No known restrictions on publication.”

Mexia Weekly Herald (Mexia, Texas), vol. 11, ed. 1, 8 December 1910, newspaper, Dode Fisk Shows advertisement; digital image, The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/  : accessed 16 April 2026).

1000 Posts: More Than Names and Dates

This is my 1,000th blog post.

I never imagined I would write this many, and I hope I still have 1,000 more in me.

When I first began researching family almost 30 years ago, I had no idea how far it would take me. What started as curiosity became something much more—a way to learn about the people who came before us, to understand their lives, and to preserve their stories so they will not be forgotten. Along the way, I discovered that I love the search as much as the finding: the puzzle, the clues, the challenge, and the satisfaction of piecing together lives that might otherwise have been lost to time.

This blog has been part of that journey.

My love of teaching, technology, and history has all found a place here. Over the years, this blog has become more than a place to record research. It has helped me connect with cousins, meet interesting people, make friends, and share what I have learned. People sometimes call a genealogy blog a “cousin magnet,” and that has certainly been true for me. Some of the best parts of this hobby have happened away from the computer, as I have traveled to visit relatives, libraries, courthouses, conferences, and family places across the country and in Ireland. Those experiences have brought new people into my life, led to new discoveries, and given me more stories to share.

Family history is about far more than collecting names and dates.

What keeps me interested is learning about the lives of each ancestor—how they lived, what they endured, what choices they made, where they traveled, what hardships they faced, and what kind of people they were. After all these years, I have only scratched the surface. There are many ancestors I may never fully identify and many stories I may never uncover. There are also many ancestors I already know about but have not yet had time to study more fully. There is never enough time for all the stories waiting to be told.

And your ancestors were definitely not boring.

Some lived lives far more dramatic than anything I could have imagined when I began. My father was orphaned at the age of nine and joined the Navy at age 19. He was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, and almost 20 years later, although he was in the Navy, he served with the Marines at the DMZ on the battlefields of Vietnam. My husband’s grandfather was heavily involved in the Irish rebellion. He fought with the old IRA, his house was burned, and he left Ireland for his own safety. 

Over the years, I have uncovered stories of courage, hardship, mistakes, scandal, loss, determination, and survival. Some of those stories I have written about here. Some I will never reveal.

That, to me, is what family history really is. It is not just names on a chart. It is people and their stories. It is a way of understanding that the people behind us were real and complicated and that, in one way or another, their lives shaped ours.

So this 1,000th post is for all of you—family, friends, readers, those I know personally, those I have met through research, those still distant, and those not yet born. Maybe one of you will someday pick up where I leave off. I hope you do.

There are still many stories waiting to be found

Diana

© 2026

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #12 Charles A. Lamb, Husband of Martha J. Nash

Charles A. Lamb - Photo was taken in 1893 at a reunion of
Battery "A" First Illinois Light Artillery Volunteers

I could not ignore Charles A. Lamb when writing about Martha J. Nash Lamb earlier this month. In many of Martha’s biographies, he is mentioned only by name or, sometimes, as a cabinetmaker, but nothing more. The records suggest he was much more than that. It did not surprise me to learn that he was an older man, ambitious, already established in business, and active in his community before Martha married him.

“Cabinet Furniture,” Maumee City Express
(Maumee City, Ohio), 15 September 1838,
p. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com

Charles A. Lamb married Martha J. Nash on 8 September 1852 in Plainfield,
Massachusetts. He was twice widowed and a father of five. He appears in records as a cabinetmaker, furniture dealer, census taker, town clerk, member of the Lucas and Fulton Agricultural Society, an active member of the Whig Party, and a man active in community affairs, as shown by his service as a juror and his involvement in probate matters.

According to the 1893 memorial sketch printed in the History of Battery "A" First Illinois Light Artillery Volunteers, Charles A. Lamb was born in Salisbury, Connecticut, on 21 August 1815. As a young man, he went to Albany, New York, where he learned the cabinetmaker’s trade. He later moved west to Maumee, Ohio, where he established himself in the furniture business. The sketch describes him as a successful businessman who maintained a comfortable home and employed a number of men.

 

Charles was in Ohio as early as 1837. He married Caroline Benedict on 11 September 1837 at Sharon, Connecticut. The marriage record identifies him as “of Maumee City" at the time of the marriage. Charles and Caroline had one son, George A. Lamb. 

He next married Frances Reed on 27 July 1842 in Waterville, Lucas County, Ohio, very near his home in Maumee City. With Frances, Charles had four known children: Frederick C. Lamb, 1843-1844; Frederick Reed Lamb, 1845-1918; Anna Canfield Lamb, 1846-1930; and Fannie Lamb, 1849-1862. 

Soon after Charles and Martha's marriage in 1852, the family moved to nearby Toledo, where he opened a store but in only a few years, he was financially ruined when an uninsured cargo of furniture he had purchased was lost. By 1858, Charles, Martha, and three children were living in Chicago, where he took a sales job with a furniture company.

On 19 April 1861, Charles A. Lamb enlisted in the Union army, where he served as an artificer in Battery "A" First Illinois Light Artillery Volunteers. During those war years, Battery “A” traveled widely, serving in Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. During his time, his 13-year-old daughter, Fanny, died on 7 February 1862 in Chicago.

Charles mustered out on 23 July 1864 and returned to sales in Chicago. In May  1866, Martha left Chicago and returned home to Massachusetts, where she taught for about a year before moving to New York City. 

In May 1870, Charles went to Omaha, Nebraska, to manage a branch establishment for Thayer & Tobey Furniture Company. His daughter, Anna, was in New York City, living with her stepmother, Martha. Frederick remained in Chicago, and George was a farmer in Connecticut.

Charles returned to Chicago early in 1872 and took a position with A. L. Hale & Bro. Later that year, he filed for a divorce from Martha. On 25 November 1874, Charles married Matilda Benedict, the younger sister of Charles' first wife, Caroline. They moved to Michigan, where he later retired. 

Charles A. Lamb died on 23 September 1893 in Albion, Calhoun County, Michigan. He is buried in Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the Salisbury Cemetery along with Charles' parents, his wife's family, and his son, George. 

These records did not answer every question about Charles A. Lamb, but they do show that he was much more than the brief references in Martha’s biographies.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post along with other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

“1860 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7667/4213430_00067/37130394 : accessed 14 April 2026), Martha Nash Lamb, Chicago Ward 1, Cook County, Illinois.

“1870 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7163/4274989_00242/33327502 : accessed 14 April 2026), Martha Nash Lamb, New York Ward 18, District 3, New York City, New York; Anna Lamb living in the household.

“1870 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry  (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/15848855  : accessed 15 April 2026), Fred R. Lamb, age 24, Chicago Ward 1, Cook County, Illinois; born about 1846 in Ohio; occupation “clerk in store.”

“1870 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/13986734  : accessed 15 April 2026), entry for George Lamb, Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut, dwelling 455.

“Cabinet Furniture,” Maumee City Express (Maumee City, Ohio), 15 September 1838, p. 2; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/maumee-city-express-charles-a-lamb-cab/195601819/  : accessed 15 April 2026).

Charles B. Kimbell, History of Battery “A,” First Illinois Light Artillery Volunteers (Chicago: Cushing Printing Co., 1899), 185; digital images, FamilySearch  (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53LV-M885?view=fullText  : accessed 9 April 2026), image 102 of 177; Photograph of Charlies A. Lamb, page 202  and biographical sketch, pages 185-187. 

Clark Waggoner, History of the City of Toledo and Lucas County, Ohio (New York and Toledo: Munsell & Company, 1888), digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyofcityoft00wagg  : accessed 4 April 2026).

Diana Bryan Quinn, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #11 Martha J. Lamb, an Accomplished Woman,” Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog, 2 April 2026 (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-11-martha-j.html  : accessed 15 April 2026).

“Died. In this city, Feb. 7, Fanny A. Lamb, aged 13 years and six months; daughter of Chas. A. and Martha J. Lamb,” Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 8 February 1862, p. 4; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-death-of-fanny-a-lamb/194362873/  : accessed 4 April 2026), clipping, “Death of Fanny A Lamb,” posted by dewquinn.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/228887559/anna-lamb: accessed April 14, 2026), memorial page for Anna Canfield Lamb (1846–1930), Find a Grave Memorial ID 228887559, citing Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, USA; Maintained by Meredith (contributor 50679338).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23784442/charles_a-lamb: accessed April 14, 2026), memorial page for Charles A Lamb (21 Aug 1815–23 Sep 1893), Find a Grave Memorial ID 23784442, citing Salisbury Cemetery, Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA; Maintained by Jan Franco (contributor 46625834).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193908140/frederick_c-lamb : accessed April 14, 2026), memorial page for Frederick C. Lamb (1837–1 Jul 1844), Find a Grave Memorial ID 193908140, citing Riverside Cemetery, Maumee, Lucas County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by Bob (contributor 47155955).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184015587/george-lamb: accessed April 15, 2026), memorial page for George Lamb (1839–1930), Find a Grave Memorial ID 184015587, citing Salisbury Cemetery, Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA; Maintained by James Bianco (contributor 47745493).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23784456/matilda_a-lamb: accessed April 15, 2026), memorial page for Matilda A Lamb (26 Oct 1836–6 May 1907), Find a Grave Memorial ID 23784456, citing Salisbury Cemetery, Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA; Maintained by Jan Franco (contributor 46625834).

Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life, 1893, GoogleBooks  (https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Woman_of_the_Century/zXEEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en : accessed 1 September 2024), pages 444 - 445, images 455-456).

“Judge Gary yesterday divorced Charles A. and Martha J. Lamb, and Helen M. and Wilson S. Segman,” Chicago Daily Tribune (Chicago, Illinois), 12 February 1873, p. 3; digital image, GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2:1693A43C9D787BE1@GB3NEWS-17D1F22BC66F3641@2405202-17CFBA82560C1FBA@2-17CFBA82560C1FBA : accessed 14 April 2026)

Mary Collins, “The History of Martha J. Lamb: Her Origin, Rise, and Progress” (2020), in CUNY Academic Works (https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3545  : accessed 13 July 2024).

“Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840–1915,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2511/41262_B139024-00025/15319546 : accessed 29 March 2026), marriage record for Martha Joanna Nash and Charles A. Lamb, 8 September 1852, Plainfield, Massachusetts. 

“Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867–1952,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/: accessed 15 April 2026), Chas A. Lamb and Matilda M. Benedict, 25 November 1874, Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, record no. 2376.

“Salisbury Cemetery,” Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1794615/salisbury-cemetery

 : accessed 15 April 2026), cemetery page for Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, Find a Grave cemetery ID 1794615.

Friday’s Photo: Karl Wimberly and Helen Estelle Barker: Getting Karl’s Name Right

Karl Bryan Wimberly was the third child of John Lawson Jr. and Alice Martha Bryan. He was born in Bienville Parish on 18 May 1890. Helen Estelle Barker, born 19 Oct 1894, was the daughter of Wellington Maxwell "Mackey" Barker and Sarah "Sallie" Elizabeth Gilliland. Karl and Helen were married in 1915. They had four children and lived near Ringgold, where Karl farmed. Karl died in 1953 and Helen in 1984. Karl, Helen, and many family members are buried in the Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish. 

In a previous post that included photos of a younger Karl, I wrote his name as Karl Bryant Wimberly, unlike today's post, where it is Karl Bryan Wimberly. I found "Karl Bryant Wimberly's" short biography on page 270 of the Wimberly Family History, but on earlier pages, in the index, and under a family photo in that same book, he was listed as "Karl Bryan Wimberly."  

Because his mother’s maiden name was Bryan, Bryan seemed more likely to me than Bryant. My own maiden name was Bryan, and I know from experience how often people added a “t” to it. Still, I wanted proof.

Karl’s headstone, obituary, and death record all give his middle name as Bryant. Those records were likely based on information provided by the same person after his death. Earlier records tell a different story. Many simply show him as Karl B. Wimberly, but the Social Security Application and Claims Index, his World War II draft registration card, his daughter’s birth record, and his World War I draft registration card all give his name as Karl Bryan Wimberly.

That would have been enough evidence on its own, but the clearest proof was Karl’s own signature on his World War I draft registration card: “Karl Bryan Wimberly.” For me, that settles the question.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page , where I share each post along with other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Diana Bryan Quinn, “Friday’s Photo: Karl Bryant Wimberly,” blog post, Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2023/02/fridays-photo-karl-bryant-wimberly.html  :  posted 3 February 2023; accessed 3 April 2026).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90292434/karl_bryant-wimberly: accessed April 3, 2026), memorial page for Karl Bryant Wimberly (18 May 1890–25 Feb 1953), Find a Grave Memorial ID 90292434, citing Wimberly Cemetery, Bienville, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by A Footstep In Time (contributor 47345816).

Karl and Helen Barker Wimberly, photograph, n.d.; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of Mary V. Smith, Alaska, 2004.

"Louisiana, Deaths, 1850-1875, 1894-1960", FamilySearch  (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3MD-749 : accessed 2 April 2026), Entry for Karl Bryant Wimberly and J I Wimberly, 25 Feb 1953.

“Louisiana, U.S., State Birth Records, 1911–1923,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com  : accessed 3 April 2026), entry for Wilbur Wimberly, born 7 March 1923, Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, certificate no. 4186; naming Karl Bryan Wimberly as father.

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston, Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), 271-273.

“U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com  : accessed 3 April 2026), entry for Karl Bryan Wimberly; citing Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007.

"United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ8C-JBP : accessed 2 April 2026), Karl Bryan Wimberly, 1917-1918.

"United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X596-CJX : accessed 2 April 2026), Entry for Karl Bryan Wimberly, 1942.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #11 Martha J. Lamb, an Accomplished Woman

In 1858, John Adams Vinton, in The Vinton Memorial, Comprising a Genealogy of the Descendants of John Vinton of Lynn, 1648, described Martha Joanna Nash Lamb as “an accomplished woman.” At the time, she was the wife of Charles A. Lamb and living in Maumee City, Ohio. Still, she was only at the beginning of her life’s work, and neither Vinton nor his readers could have known just how accomplished she would become.

Martha was the daughter of Arvin Nash and Lucinda Vinton. Her paternal
grandparents were Jacob Nash and Joanna Reed. Joanna is #11 in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series, where I am documenting the Reed family and related lines on my mother’s maternal side. Martha's father, Arvin, is #10.

Her name was sometimes written as 
Martha Joanna Reade Nash Lamb
or Martha J. R. N. Lamb

According to the family register shared in my last post, Martha Joanna Nash was born on 13 August 1826 in Plainfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Her childhood was marked by both loss and change. Her older brother died when she was still very young, and in 1835, she lost her mother, Lucinda. In the years that followed, her father married and was widowed two more times, and the household grew into a large blended family with half-siblings, step-relations, and other family members living in the home.

Martha was well educated. In her early school years, she attended a school near her home in Goshen, and later studied at Williston Academy in Easthampton and at Northampton High School in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Marriage and Life in Chicago

Martha taught mathematics at a school in Newark, New Jersey, before accepting a teaching position in Maumee, Ohio, where she met her future husband. In 1852, she married Charles A. Lamb at the Congregational Church in Plainfield, Massachusetts. Charles, twice widowed and with five children, lived in Maumee, where he owned a furniture business.

Within a few years of their marriage, Charles’s business failed, and by 1860, Martha, her husband, and three of his children were living in Chicago. Charles supported the family through a sales position before joining the Union army. Martha’s years in Chicago were important. She was credited as a principal founder of the Home for the Friendless and Half Orphan and served as secretary of the Ladies’ Relief Society. She was also named secretary of the Great Sanitary Fair, placing her in the middle of one of Chicago’s most important Civil War relief efforts. 

This tribute to Martha J. Lamb appeared
in numerous newspapers nationwide. This
example was published in The Lansing Journal
and was found at Newspapers.com.

New York City: Building a Career and a Legacy

Martha left her husband in May of 1866. She returned to Massachusetts, where she taught mathematics for about a year at the Pollock Institute in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, before making her way to New York City.

Martha built a new life in New York City. There, she wrote children’s books, stories, and magazine articles before turning more fully to history. Her greatest work, History of the City of New York, established her as a serious historian and brought her wide recognition. In 1883, she became owner and editor of the Magazine of American History, a position that gave her a leading role in historical writing and publishing in the late 1800s.

Martha Lamb was well known in New York social circles. She belonged to many historical and patriotic societies and was the first woman member of the New York Historical Society. In this society, her paper on Mrs. Edward Livingston was the first by a woman presented at a Society meeting in 1871. In 1878, she became the first woman known to read her own work before the Society.

Her reputation extended beyond New York society. In 1886, President Grover Cleveland honored Martha at a White House dinner. In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison recognized her work for the centennial celebration of Washington’s inauguration.

The description below of Martha J. Lamb was written shortly before her death in A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life.

“She has earned her reputation of the leading woman historian of the nineteenth century. She is a middle-aged woman, a good talker and a most industrious worker in the historic and literary field. Recognition of her genius has been prompt and full. She has been elected to honorary membership in twenty-seven historical and learned societies in this country and Europe, and she is a life-member of the American Historical Association and a fellow of the Clarendon Historical Association of Edinburgh, Scotland.”

Martha J. Lamb died in New York on 2 January 1893 and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Florence, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. She was a writer, editor, historian, and an accomplished member of the Reed family line.

More to Come

I am not finished writing about Martha J. Lamb. I have read some of her papers from Smith College and the New York Historical Society, but there are still family letters and photographs I have not yet accessed that may tell more of her story. When I began looking into Martha, I had hoped to find more about the Reed family in those collections, but so far, I have found little beyond the family’s awareness of a Mayflower connection through Martha’s grandmother, Joanna Reed. Even so, Martha’s life and papers seem well worth further study. Below are some of the resources I found most interesting while researching Martha J. Lamb. The full list of sources is at the end of the post. 

This Tribute, found in issue 29 of The
Magazine of American History confirmed
that Martha J. Lamb was a founder of the 
Society of Colonial Dames of America.

The Magazine of American history v.29 1893 has many nice tributes to Martha J. Lamb in this issue.  

A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life - Read the biographical sketch for Martha J. Lamb on page 444. Many interesting sketches for others are in this book, published in 1893. 

Mary Collins’s “The History of Martha J. Lamb: Her Origin, Rise, and Progress” was one of the most interesting and detailed resources I found.

The finding aid for the Martha J. Lamb Papers, 1838–1969, at Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, Massachusetts, is a wonderful resource. It offers a clear overview of what is available, including some digital items found by clicking here.

Diana

© 2026

Resources

“1860 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7667/4213430_00067/37130394  : accessed 3 March 2026), Martha Nash Lamb, Chicago Ward 1, Cook County, Illinois. 

Charles B. Kimbell, History of Battery “A,” First Illinois Light Artillery Volunteers (Chicago: Cushing Printing Company, 1899), contains biographical sketch of Charles A. Lamb; digital images, “Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States records,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53LV-M885?view=fullText  : accessed 24 March 2026), image 102 of 177; Image Group Number 008885819.

“Diana’s Bryan-Quinn Family,” Ancestry Member Trees, tree no. 45260559, person profile for Martha Joanna Nash, person no. 412759456469, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/45260559/person/412759456469/facts : accessed 25 March 2026). 

“Family Register of Mr. Arvin Nash,” images 478–481, in “Massachusetts, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-13RK-YFQ2?view=fullText : accessed 19 March 2026); citing Daughters of the American Revolution (Massachusetts), Image Group Number 008977924.

Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life, 1893, GoogleBooks  (https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Woman_of_the_Century/zXEEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en : accessed 1 September 2024), pages 444 - 445, images 455-456). 

“Guide to the Martha J. Lamb Papers, 1756–1892 (bulk 1876–1892), MS 362,” finding aid, New York Historical, NYU Special Collections Finding Aids (https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/nyhs/ms362_martha_lamb/ : accessed 3 March 2026).

John Adams Vinton, The Vinton Memorial, Comprising a Genealogy of the Descendants of John Vinton of Lynn, 1648: Also, Genealogical Sketches of Several Allied Families ... with an Appendix Containing a History of the Braintree Iron Works, and Other Historical Matter (Boston: S. K. Whipple and Co., 1858), digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/vintonmemorialco00vint  : accessed 3 March 2026).

Martha J. Lamb, History of the City of New York: its origin, rise, and progress Vol 1, 1877, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/01001942/ : accessed 1 September 2024).

Martha J. Lamb, The Magazine of American History,1888, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/magazineofamericv20n6stev : accessed 1 September 2024). 

“Martha J. Lamb Papers, 1838–1969: Finding Aid,” Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, Massachusetts (https://findingaids.smith.edu/repositories/2/resources/785 : accessed 3 March 2026).

“Martha Lamb: New-York Historical Society Pioneer,” New-York Historical Society Blog, 18 March 2020 (https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/martha-lamb-new-york-historical-society-pioneer : accessed 22 March 2026).

Mary Collins, “The History of Martha J. Lamb: Her Origin, Rise, and Progress” (2020), in CUNY Academic Works (https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3545  : accessed 13 July 2024).

 

Mrs. [Martha] Lamb, “A Poem: Addressed to the Members of Mathematical Department of the Pollack Institute,” 4 February 1867, Martha J. Lamb Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.

“New York, New York, Death Index, 1862–1948,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9131/records/452527 : accessed 3 March 2026), entry for Martha J. Lamb, death 1893, New York, New York. 

The Lansing Journal, February 6, 1893, Page  6. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-lansing-journal-martha-j-lamb-trib/194306813/ : accessed March 27, 2026), clip page for Martha J Lamb - tribute by user dewquinn.

The Magazine of American History, vol. 29 (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1893), digital images, HathiTrust Digital Library (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924065789988: accessed 29 March 2026).