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Emma Jane (Martin) Lamberd was born on Oct. 4, 1862 in Preston County, WV, the daughter of James K. and Margaret (Minerd) Martin.

On Feb. 3, 1883, at the age of 20, Emma married 21-year-old John A. Lamberd (1861-1939), the son of Peter Lamberd, and a resident of Preston County. The ceremony was performed at the home of Amos Metheny and officiated by D. Flanagan.

The Lamberds produced four children -- William M. Lambert, Albert R. Lamberd, James H. Lamberd and Cora Merrill DeBerry. They also raised a granddaughter, Merrill F. Lambert, born in 1910.

When the federal census enumeration was made in 1900, the family lived in the Grant District of Preston County, with all of the children attending school. Their next door neighbors were William and Georgia Walls and William and Rachel Gooding.

The U.S. Census record of 1910 shows the family now making its home on a farm in Preston County's Pleasant District, with the eldest two sons William and Albert providing labor on the farm. That year, the Lamberds marked their 27th wedding anniversary.

The family remained in Preston County during the decade of the 1910s and were still there in 1920. Unmarried son James (age 32) was in the household in 1920, as were married son William and his wife and a granddaughter.

They resided in Albright in 1927, near the Valley Point community. The Preston County Journal said that John was a "prominent resident of that section" of the county. During their later lives, the family name was alternatively spelled "Lamberd" and the more common "Lambert."

Emma passed away on Feb. 5, 1927, at the age of 64, after suffering from chronic nephritis. She was laid to rest at the Mt. Moriah United Methodist Church cemetery, following the funeral at the nearby church, along what is now Route 26 near Valley Point. The Preston County Journal said she "had been sick for several weeks prior to her death."

John outlived his wife and son James by a dozen years. He continued to make his home with his married son William and family in Preston County's Pleasant District.

As he aged, he was admitted to the Walnut Crest Lodge of the Preston County Home. 

He died of myocarditis on Dec. 21, 1939, at the age of 78, and was buried beside his wife. The Preston County Journal called him "a life-long resident of Preston County" and noted that "Funeral services were conducted Saturday afternoon in the Moriah church..."

~ Son William M. Lambert ~

Son William M. Lambert (1882-1957) was born in February 1882 at Valley Point. 

In about 1919, when he would have been age 37, he married 27-year-old Mary Leota Metheny (1892- ? ).

They made their residence with William's parents in or near Albright, Preston County, and later in Terra Alta, Preston County.

They were the parents of five children -- James Lambert, Donald Lambert, Raymond Lambert, Naomi Lambert and Mary Burge, the latter a foster daughter. 

In 1930, when the U.S. Census was enumerated, the Lamberts were in Pleasant District of Preston County, with William's widowed father and 26-year-old niece Merle "Merrill" Lambert in the household.

Bird's eye view of Albright, WV

William passed away in Weston, Lewis County, at the age of 75, on  May 7, 1957. Following a funeral held at the Pentecostal Church of Valley Point, led by Rev. Bernard Wendell, he was laid to rest in Sugar Valley Cemetery. His obituary was published in the Preston County Journal. Their burial records are noted in the book, In Remembrance, Tombstone Readings of Preston County, West Virginia, Volume 1, authored by historian and genealogist Janice Cale Sisler.

Son James Lambert (1923- ? ) was born in about 1923 in Preston County. He lived in Finksburg, MD in 1957. 

Son Donald Lambert (1925- ? ) was born in about 1925. He resided in the 1950s in Valley Point.

Son Raymond Lambert ( ? - ? ) served in the U.S. Army circa 1957 and was stationed at Greenville, SC. 

Daughter Naomi Lambert ( ? - ? ) made her home in Valley Point.

Foster daughter Mary Burge ( ? - ? ) lived in Baltimore, MD as an adult.

~ Son James H. Lamberd ~

Son James H. Lamberd (1887-1927) was born on March 2, 1887. 

He was a farmer and never married. At the age of 40, he resided at Valley Point near Albright, Preston County. 

Just a month and a half after his mother's death, James died unexpectedly on March 19, 1927, from pneumonia and influenza, compounded by his asthma condition. He had gone in early March to visit his cousin, Roy Armstrong, who was residing in the Northview section of Clarksburg, Harrison County, WV. 

Said the Preston County Journal, he "was taken sick only a few days before his death." There was a slight delay in making funeral arrangements, said the Clarksburg Telegram, because "Owing to wire trouble no communication could be made with the father yesterday evening."

But by the following day, his father was informed, and the son's remains shipped from the Carl Hamilton Funeral Home in Clarksburg to Albright for burial. Said the Journal: "Interment was made in the Mt. Moriah cemetery beside his mother who died but a few weeks ago." It is not yet known if cousin Armstrong was related on the Lamberd or Martin sides of the family.

~ Daughter Cora Merrill (Lamberd) DeBerry ~

Daughter Cora Merrill Lamberd (1885-1961) was born on Oct. 4, 1885 at Clifton Mills, Preston County.

On Oct. 12, 1908, at the age of 23, Cora married 30-year-old Charles Allen DeBerry (1878-1954), the son of Archibald and Rebecca (Graham) DeBerry of Albright. Rev. George B. Dever of the Baptist Church in Kingwood officiated.

Charles was a longtime coal miner in the Preston County area. 

They had eight children -- Hazel McNear, Lucy Gerken, Hary Hornick, Arletta Bernobei, William Henry DeBerry, Charles Deberry Jr., James Oliver DeBerry and Albert Ray DeBerry. 

Charles Sr. passed away at home at age 76 on Oct. 5, 1954, caused by heart illness (ventricular fibrillation). He was laid to rest at the Mt. Moriah Cemetery Church cemetery. At his death, said the Preston County Journal, Charles had 22 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 

Cora lived another seven years, in Clarksburg, Harrison County. She died on Oct. 6, 1961 in Monongalia County, WV. A number of individuals named DeBerry also are buried at Mt. Moriah, and may be their descendants.

Daughter Hazel Belle DeBerry (1909- ? ) was born in about 1909 in Preston County. On April 12, 1926, at the age of 17, she married 20-year-old Marshall C. McNear ( ? - ? ) of Larew, Preston County. The ceremony was performed by Rev. H.A. St. Clair of the Baptist church in Kingwood.

Daughter Lucy E. DeBerry (1910) was born in about 1910 in Preston County and as an adult resided in Rowlesburg. At the age of 33, on April 27, 1943, she wed 43-year-old divorcee James Edward Gerken (1900-1966), son of Joseph J. and Ida A. Gerken. Officiating was Rev. S.E. Ryan. James died in Kingwood on June 17, 1966.

Son William Henry DeBerry (1911- ? ) was born in about 1911 in Preston County. When in his early 20s, he lived in Albright, Preston County. On New Year's Eve 1936, at age 25, he was united in matrimony with 18-year-old Shirel Victoria Spiker ( ? - ? ), daughter of D.C. and Laura Spiker. Rev. Chester A. Thomas, of the Church of the Brethren, led the nuptials held at the bride's home in Preston County.

Son James Oliver DeBerry (1917- ? ) was born in about 1917 in Preston County. When he was 21 years old, living in Albright, he wed 21-year-old Rosa Sylvia Spiker ( ? - ? ). She was the daughter of Jacob G. and Mary M. Spiker of Hazelton, Preston County. The wedding was held in Albright on Oct. 8, 1938, by the hand of Rev. Joseph VanSickle of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Son Albert Ray DeBerry (1924- ? ) was born on Oct. 8, 1924 at Albright, Preston County. When he was age 21, on June 1, 1946, he married 19-year-old Lexie Jeanelle Cole ( ? - ? ), daughter of Clarence and Gladys Cole of Worthington, Marion County. WV. Rev. Orin D. Curtis led the nuptials at Mannington, WV. Albert died in Fairmont on Nov. 20, 1968.

~ Son Albert R. Lambert ~

Son Albert R. Lambert (1892- ? ) was born on Oct. 6, 1892 in the Grant District of Preston County.

He resided circa 1957 in Somer's Point, NJ.

Copyright © 2006, 2010, 2015, 2018 Mark A. Miner