According to various census records, George Lamp. Jr. was born in Virginia about 1791. His parents were Elizabeth and George Lamp, Sr., both supposedly born in born in Germany. His known sister was Elizabeth (married to James Hesson); his known brothers were Henry (married to Sarah Ridgeway), Jacob (married first to Susannah Snider and then to Catherine Stacher), Joseph (married to Martha Hesson) and Abraham (married first to Jane Hesson and second to Nancy (Stellar) Lamp).
George Lamp, Jr. was married in Frederick Co., Va., to Christianna Secrest, on 2 July 1811, by Christian Strait. This is in Marriage Register Book No. 1, page 102, line 13.
By the 1820 census, George and Christianna were living in Belmont Co., Ohio. Also living with them at this time were four children and one older female (45 years or older). This could possibly have been Christianna's mother, Anna Marie Secrest.
George Lamp Jr. bought 100 acres of land from a Mary Secrest on 20 Jan 1821 in Belmont Co. (Deeds, Vol. H, page 166). In this same Deed Book, pp. 541-2, Christine and George Lamp Jr. sold 29 acres of this same land to Israel Orison on 10 August 1822. At the end of this latter deed, the wife's name is spelled Christiana but she signed with her mark.
Christina Secrest Lamp died sometime before 28 June 1829, as that is the date George Lamp Jr. married Nancy Stellar in Belmont County. This marriage was performed by Eleaser Evans, J.P. For some reason, a Female old enough to be Nancy Stellar Lamp does not show up in the 1830 census but, at this time, the census does show George Lamp Jr. with seven children.
Christina Secrest Lamp's Brother, Henry Secrest, died in Frederick Co., Va., 19 July 1835, age 76 years, 11 months. Henry died leaving no wife or children, so his estate was divided between his full and half brothers and sisters, or if they were deceased, their children. Will Book 23 in Frederick Co. has several pages covering this division and settlement. Benjamin Keckley and Abraham Secrest were the administrators. Abraham Secrest turned in very good records to the court, listing each and every person on his list who received money. Unfortunately, Benjamin Keckley was to pay Christiana's children; he did not keep good records.
In 1846, Keckley alleges that he had made payments to some of the distributees, but he "has not exhibited to the commissioner the notes, they being either lost or mislaid."
He does show, however, that on 4 Oct 1837, he paid $412.50 to George Lamp for the children of the deceased half-sister, Christian Lamp. He showed he still owed these children $90.42, but said "the receipt for this share is rect. in full."
Sometime between 1860 and 1870, George and Nancy Lamp moved to White County, IL., along with his brother Abraham and Abraham's wife, Jane Hesson Lamp. The year after George's death, Nancy married, on 25 Dec 1877, his widowed brother, Abraham.
There is no death record for George Lamp Jr. in White County other than the reference in Circuit Court file box 413. There is one for Nancy. It shows that she died 12 Oct 1889 in Carmi Twp. They both were probably buried in Bruce Chapel cemetery, along with Abraham and Jane Lamp who have markers on their graves there. There are no markers or records for George or Nancy.
Our County History,written by Ben Jones for the Historical Committee of the Licking County Archaeological and Historical Society. The following sketch was provided by Stanley G. Lamp.
"Jacob Lamp was born in or near Winchester, Va., April 15, 1794. He married and settled in Belmont County, near Captina and was the father of 10 children. For some reason, to us unknown, he came to Licking County with another wife, a Catharine Stacker, in the year 1828. Spoke German fluently and was renowned for his great strength and endurance and many stories were told of his great facts of strength. He settled at what was later to be known as Amsterdam, (the post office was Melgen). He chose this hilly land instead of the more fertile and level land a couple of miles further west which he could have purchased for the same price. He had two reasons for his selection, one that he raised sheep and desired better sheep land. The other was that he operated water-power saw mills and of course water power could not be had in the level country."
Joseph and Jacob left Winchester, Virginia as young men going to Captina Creek,Belmont County, Ohio. There Jacob built a large stone house that was still standing when visited by my father in 1958.
Jacob Lamp married Susannah Snyder. She was born March 27, 1794 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and died January 1, 1891 at the age of almost 97 in Hebron, West Virginia. She is said to have been a student of the Bible and was one of the founders of the First Church of Christ in Hebron in 1847.
She is buried in the church yard. She wrote her own epitaph which reads:
Jacob and Susannah had 10 children.
Jacob Lamp gave his wife Susannah $1000 and $100 for each of the children to his eldest son John to be given to each on their 21st birthday and "took off with Katherine Stecker(sp), a red-haired woman, with Katherine on one arm and the Bible under the other."
The year was 1835. Jacob and Katherine went first to Pennsylvania and then to Newark, Ohio where they had 10 children, became prominent members of the community and are buried there.
There are no records that Jacob ever divorced Susannah or that he ever married Katherine. Such was often the case in those days.
Susannah returned to Guider, West Virginia with her own 10 children. Margaret Lamp Varner told my father in 1914 that she remembered the trip back to West Virginia with her mother (Susannah) and that she also remembered that her father had built a large grist mill next to their home in Amsterdam, Ohio.
The old grist mill building was still standing and, in fact, was being used as a meeting place for the Girl Scouts when visited by my father in 1958.
For an informational side-light, the family of Jacob's brother Joseph who had gone to Ohio with Jacob when they were young men is recorded below:
Joseph Lamp married Martha "Hesson" said to have been a daughter of a Hessian soldier. They had nine children.
The above information was sent to me (Connie Lamp Richardson) by two sisters: Mrs. Wilma M. Harper, March 1, 1994 - California and Mrs. Lourene Criddle, March 17, 1994 -Washington
They are descendants to Jacob and Susannah (Snider) Lamp.
Mrs. Rozetta Harner provided a story of Jacob Lamp pioneer: "Another business at which Jacob Lamp laid his hands was that of making bricks. His plant turned out the brick for several houses, one of which was built in 1829. (Where was this one?) I do not know for certain that any of these homes are still standing. I would like to be advised along this line by anyone who might know."
"Jacob Lamp and Catherine, his wife, were the parents of 10 children who were born in Licking County. Their names being Solomon, Nimrod, Mahlon, David Delilah. Lavina, Arminda, Mary Jane, Ellen, and James who is living in West Main Street [in 1934], this city, and is called "Uncle Jim" by hundreds of his acquaintances. "Uncle Jim" is the only living representatives of his generation. The ten children have left hundreds of descendants who are now living in Licking County."
"After removing to Amsterdam Jacob Lamp purchased a farm adjacent to his home some time later, and as the forest was mighty in those days he operated a sawmill in order to clear the land for the plow and cradle. My grandmotherused to tell me about the trees along the National road, when they were being cut down preparatory to make the road wider (at that time it was nothing more than a common road) she, then a little girl, would jump from stump to stump."
"About that time a couple of men came along with an elephant and naturally enough the whole population of Amsterdam came out of their houses to gaze upon the great beast. One of the men asked great-grandmother if she would sit on the trunk of the elephant and take a ride. This she did (me thinks I should like an experience like that) but with the swaying motion of the elephant, her heart failed her for fear of being injured, and she asked on of the men in charged, that he be transferred to shank's horses."
"In those days people grew in their gardens and flower beds 'Tommytoes'(tomatoes), just for the reason that they looked nice, no one hardly dare to eat them, but some one told Jacob and his wife Catharine of some one they knew were eating 'Tommytoes' so as my great-grandparents were progressive and wanted to be up with the times, they, in time, were eating 'Tommytoes' too."
"The drying house was a necessity at most all homes at that early period (I know some of these still standing). Much fruit was dried and butters were made by the gallon. The canning of fruit at that time was but little known. However, the good news began to circulate that stewed fruit could be jugged. The people in those days did not use the name jars, or cans, but jugs."
"Jacob Lamp set off for the vicinity of Brownsville to make a purchase of fruit jars, as he had been told that there was a pottery there, so he purchased one dozen of fruit jugs as a tryout. Suffice to say that those jugs were neither glazed inside nor out and when he returned home his wife wanted to know what they were to do for lids for those small mouthed jugs. She was told that there was nothing at the pottery to use for lids so it was up to Jacob to find a way out of their dilemma. He made corks for each jug out of wood, and as he was keeper of a great many hives of bees, he suggested that they sue beeswax to seal the fruit with. He complained to his wife that she sealed the fruit while it was too hot, and that it made the beeswax so soft that it ran down into the cans (jugs).
"As this was a new experience, he thought that his guess was as good as his wife's, so he concluded to seal one his way, hence the fruit was stewed and left to get cold or nearly so, then it sealed. We were never told how the fruit did keep under canning conditions, but I dare say that when winter came Jacob was eating Catherine's fruit and not Catherine eating Jacob's fruit."
"One time James, (now the Rev. Lamp) then a small boy, and one of his brothers climbed up to the attic in their home, through the man-hole, to store walnuts, and while up in the attic they began to explore, as boys will sometimes do. They found a gallon crock full of gold and silver coins. They shouted down through the man-hole of their rich find but their father Jacob heard them and with a stern voice he said, "come down off of there." The walnuts came down with them. That was their father's private bank."
"There is one house still standing that Jacob Lamp made the brick for, he also supervised the laying of it. The carpenters are unknown to us."
"Owing to a blunder in rebuilding the National road, two years or more ago, the face of this grand old two-story house is hidden from the view of the passerby. Adam Linn(for whom Linnville was named), had this house built for his own residence."
"As far as we know, this old brick is the only structure still standing, showing any part of the handiwork of Jacob Lamp. He was a busy man with his farm, saw-mills, beeskeeping and brick- making. He also operated a cider press in his later days. He was pleasant to his neighbors, most kind to his family, he raised a splendid crop of boys, his daughters have passed to the great beyond and need no comment from my pen."
Two families of this name [Lamp]settled well up on McKim creek in 1835, both of the same ancestry. They have been traced back to Belmont county, Ohio, and probably migrated there from Pennsylvania. Joseph and Martha (Hesson) Lamp settled at the mouth of Cave Run, where he built a saw and grist mill. His wife is said to have decended from the Hessians who had been brought from Germany to aid King George in the Revolution. Nine of their ten children grew to maturity and married. They were Abram, married to Mary Hanes; David, to Hannah Moore; Isaac, to Martha Ward; Serena, to Greenberry Jones; Jane, to John Morgan; Rebecca, to Daniel Fetty; Elizabeth, to Simeon Jones; Christina, to Ralph Hanes, and Jacob, to Nancy Odell. Born 16 Feb 1799 per Jack Glen, 1994.
Date Unknown, found at Newark Public Library June 1994 by Connie (Lamp) Richardson
Abraham and Jane lived near his parents. In 1838 George Lamp, Sr. and Elizabeth deeded their land to Abraham in return for his care of them. So there is no estate record.
Abraham followed his father's ways. In 1891 he deeded his land to his grandson Cephas Bingman. So there is no estate record for his either.
Abraham and his family migrated to White county, Illinois sometime between 1850 and 1860. In 1856 there is a record of Abraham buying land inWhite County.
Abraham and Jane had seven children. The four children who stayed in White County but it is not certain that he lived there. It is said that Asa migrated to Arkansas and Mathias to Minnesota.
Abraham's first wife died and on Christmas Day 1877 he married his brother George's widow, Nancy Stellar Lamp.
Abraham died 17 June 1893. His obituary in "The Carmi Courier" Tuesday, 22 June 1893 is as follows:
"Mr. Abraham Lamp who died at his home in this township on Friday last, was one of the oldest and most highly respected citizens of the county, being in his ninetieth year. The funeral on Saturday was attended by a large gathering of friends and relatives."
Abraham was a member of the Christian Church and is buried in Bruce Chapel Cementary.
Submitted by Ann Adams - November 8, 1993.
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