My Daddy's People - Rowena

I inherited my love of history and genealogy from both sides of my family, but being raised with my mother's family, and living with my maternal grandparents for awhile during my formative years, I identify the most with my mother's side of the family.



But my Dad is very much interested in family history, too, and has done quite a bit of his own research. He didn't have the convenience of online archives and scanned newspapers to aid him in his search, however. He did the legwork (old cemetaries, pouring through old courthouse records) and the earwork (listening to the recollections of the oldest relatives, which can be a little off-according to whom is talking).  Most of what I found he had for the youngest of generations-his grandparents and great- grandparents, ring true. But I'm finding some of the information for the generations beyond that to be a little off, either easily seen as incorrect, or we have the wrong Mary or John. Not really his fault, too many people named their kids the same old names as everyone else and in the area of the county where his paternal lines originated, there was a great deal of intermarriage between a small number of families.  While his maternal lines were from another county and more unique in the their naming patterns, his paternal lines were straight off of Stony Run Creek in Western Stanly County, North Carolina where multiple Burris and Honeycutt marriages took place, with a few Whitley, Efird, Hatley, Bowers thrown in for good measure.




My Grandfather's mother was Rowena Burris Lambert, and this was the most evident Burris line we knew of.  She was born on April 16, 1873, in Stanly County and died on April 4, 1915 in Cabarrus County. She had a death certificate which clearly named her parents, David Burris and Ellen Honeycutt. It also gave her exact age, 41 years, 11 months and 9 days. My grandfather, her youngest child, was was born March 3, 1915. His mother died one month and one day after his birth. She died from a poisonous infection that occurred late in pregnancy, or just after childbirth and caused her kidneys to shut down: Uremic eclampsia, they called it, causing renal failure, acute nephritis.

Name:	Roena Burris
Age:	6
Birth Date:	Abt 1874
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1880:	Big Lick, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Dwelling Number:	47
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Daughter
Marital Status:	Single
Father's name:	David T. Burris
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's name:	Ellan Burris
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age David T. Burris 28 Ellan Burris 24 Roena Burris 6 Leeny Burris 4 Mac Burris 3 Duncon Burris 9/12

Rowena (often misspelled as Roena) only appeared in two censuses, the 1880 as a small child, oldest daughter of David and Ellen, and then again in 1900, as a young mother of 4 children with 4 living, having been married only 5 years.

Name:	Rauanna Lambeth [Ponanna Lambeth]
Age:	25
Birth Date:	Apr 1875
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1900:	Almond, Stanly, North Carolina
Sheet Number:	4B
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	64
Family Number:	65
Race:	White
Gender:	Female
Relation to Head of House:	Wife
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Elias Lambeth
Marriage Year:	1895
Years Married:	5
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother: number of living children:	4
Mother: How many children:	4
Can Read:	No
Can Write:	No
Can Speak English:	Yes
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age Elias Lambeth 24 Rauanna Lambeth 25 William Lambeth 4 Bulah Lambeth 3 Ray L Lambeth 1

Although alive during the 1910 census, somehow the family fell under the wire that year and did not get enumerated. I am not sure why it only shows three children in the 1900 census. That is the year Roby was born, but it clearly states she was the mother of 4 children and that all four were alive. Roby only lived to be 2 years old and his tombstone at Bear Creek Primitive Baptist Church, where a number of the family are buried, clearly states that he was the son of E. M. and R. L. Lambert. I belived little Roby was actually a Robert and his tombstone gives Rowena's middle initial, although I do not know what it stands for.  Perhaps he was living with another relative at the time, since Rowena had several small children already.


Rowena, in her short life, would become the mother of 11 children.

1) William Rufus Lambert born July 7 1895 - Sept 11 1974 Married Nellie McQueen

2) Beulah Ellen Lambert born Feb 3, 1897 - June 7, 1979 Married Jesse Lee (Talbert) Burris (9 Aug 1914) Married Monroe David Sides (Sept 24, 1924), Married Charlie Maxwell Brown (Dec. 24, 1945).

3) Roy Lee Lambert born Oct 18 1898 - June 16, 1974) Married Lila Tucker

4) Roby Lambert born 1900 - 1902 Died as a toddler

5) Cheldy David Lambert March 7 1901 - April 5, 1959 Married Cordia Lee

6) Mathew Maron Lambert Dec 5 1904 - Feb 12 1986 Married Anna Belle Burleson

7) Claude Duncan Lambert April 11 - 1907 - July 4, 1975 Married Annie Mae Burris

Claude Duncan Burris

8) Toffey Lambert  January 1, 1908 - January 17 1912 Died at age 4.

9) Fred Lee Lambert July 27, 1911 - August 28, 1965 Married Carrie Helen Humphries

10) Lucille Lambert April 16 1913 - March 27, 1978 Married Charlie Sides

11) Burley Melvin Lambert March 3, 1915 - July 15 1986 Married Bertha V. Lemmons

Burley, Bertha and my Dad circa 1940

My Grandfather was such a young child when his mother passed away, that he was sent to live with his Aunt Mettie, Rowena's younger sister. Mettie had married a Smith, and when Burley shows up in his first census in 1920 as "Burley Smith, nephew, age 5, living on Depot Street in Albemarle. The family had moved from Cottonville in Southern Stanly County to Albemarle to work in the textile mills. Rowena and Eli had already moved to Cabarrus County to work in the Concord textile mills when Burley was born there in 1915.

Name:	Burlie Smith
Age:	5
Birth Year:	abt 1915
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Home in 1920:	Albemarle, Stanly, North Carolina
Street:	Depot St
Residence Date:	1920
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Relation to Head of House:	Nephew
Marital Status:	Single
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Able to Read:	No
Able to Write:	No
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age H H Smith 35 Mallie Smith 35 Albert Smith 14 Delphia Smith 11 Samuel Smith 9 Mallie Smith 3 Burlie Smith 5 Mary Hatley 22 Essie Lambard 19 Ethel Lambard 17

As a teen, they had moved back to Cottonville and Burley was living with his Aunt Mettie, who was now widowed.

Name:	Burley Lambert
Birth Year:	abt 1915
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Birthplace:	North Carolina
Marital Status:	Single
Relation to Head of House:	Adopted Son
Home in 1930:	Tyson, Stanly, North Carolina, USA
Map of Home:	View Map
Street address:	Cottonville Norwood Improved Road
Dwelling Number:	179
Family Number:	179
Attended School:	Yes
Able to Read and Write:	Yes
Father's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Mother's Birthplace:	North Carolina
Able to Speak English:	Yes
Household Members:	Name Age Mattie Smith 42 Albert Smith 23 Rosa Smith 24 Mallie Smith 13 Burley Lambert 15 Estell Lambert 1

They lived along the Cottonville to Norwood Road. My Dad has pointed the house out to me many times. It sits up on a hill and is still standing and occupied. 

Burley as an infant with Mettie Burris Smith

After Rowena died, Eli married a young widow, Emma Fairybell Honeycutt Eury, daughter of Tillman Franklin Honeycutt and Lucy Burris, and of course with names in her family of Honeycutt and Burris, she was a multi-layed relative of Rowena. Emma had married James William Eury who died in 1916 and left her with 3 children: Walter, Rosetta and Eziella.