William B. Lambert, 1843-1908 [RG3854.AM]

NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID

RG3854.AM:  William B. Lambert, 1843-1908

Papers:  1856-1903

Neligh, Antelope County, Neb.:  Land agent; legislator

Size:  2.5 cu.ft.; 5 boxes

BACKGROUND NOTE

William B. Lambert, born in 1843, was one of the early settlers of Neligh in Antelope County, Nebraska. He built and ran the first store in Neligh. He served as Receiver of Public Moneys and Disbursing Agent and was in 1876, the first man from Antelope County to be elected to the state legislature.

Note:  For more information about William B. Lambert, see the publication, History of the State of Nebraska by A.T. Andreas.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The material in the Lambert collection consists of five boxes arranged in seven series: (1) Correspondence, 1850-1904 and undated; (2) Legal papers, 1862-1895; (3) Financial material, 1853-1903; (4) Printed matter, 1868-1900; (5) Manuscripts; (6) Newspapers and clippings about 1860-1890; and (7) Miscellaneous. The bulk of the material in the William B. Lambert collection relates to financial and legal business of the land office. There is also a great deal of material related to the history of Neligh and its municipal functions. Correspondents includes Jonas, Henry, and P.H. Beckman, who seem to be, respectively, brothers and father to Lambert. Also included are Schuyler, Jonas, John, and Julian Lambert. Other correspondence comes from Alvin Saunders, A.S. Paddock, E.S. Butler, Zachariah and Thomas A. Stratton. There is a separate folder of correspondence and material on Gates College at Neligh.

DESCRIPTION

Series 1 – Correspondence, 1850-1903

Box 1

Folder

1. 1. 1850-1879: Jonas Beckman, Henry Beckman, Solomon Wolfinger (comments on election of 1876), William B. Lambert, Jonas Lambert

1. 1. 1880-1886: A.S. Paddock from C. Bayha and Lambert removal of land office to Neligh, Lambert’s commission as land agent, Alvin Saunders, notification of Lambert’s appointment as trustee of Gates College, account of a flood at Norfolk, E.S. Butler

1. 1. 1887-1894: Uriah Brewer, P.H. Beckman, and John Lambert

1. 1. 1894-1902: Schuyler L. Lambert, Julian Lambert, Stratton file

1. 1. 1873-1904: [Stratton file]

1. 1. 1886-1896: Gates College file (includes financial reports, and business correspondence)

1. 1. Undated Miscellaneous correspondence, unsigned – includes: a brief history of Antelope County, material probably related to Lambert’s store, notices from the Old Gloria Republican Club, other material mostly of a political nature

1. 1. 1882-1888: Official correspondence of the land office – includes abstract of original homestead entries for April 1880

Series 2 – Legal papers, 1862-1895

Box 2

Folder

1. 1. 1862-1895: Probate settlement, Lambert vs. Galloway, contracts for labor; leases; divorce appeal; deeds; summons; notices

1. 1. 1876-1881: Concerning land claims – final proof of Alfred Grant; Petitions – Crawford vs. Galloway, 1883; Yenglin vs. Rock, 1879; Shadduck vs. Horner; Pollock & Co. vs. Galloway, 1876; Hobel vs. Hammon, 1880; Perry vs. Mack, 1881; Saunders vs. Redman, 1878; Fleener vs. Freeland, 1881; Perry vs. Frank

1. 1. 1868-1894: Notices: #729-782 indicated moving of land offices; #866-884 indicate change of boundaries of land districts; #910-969 indicate closings of land offices

Series 3 – Financial material, 1853-1903

1. 1. 1885-1886: Receipts to Lambert from Sioux National Bank of Sioux City, Iowa

1. 1. 1853-1902: Miscellaneous receipts, mostly to T.A. Stratton, Henry Beckman, and William B. Lambert

1. 1. 1876-1902: Mostly receipts from Lancaster County Treasurer’s Office to T.A. Stratton, Zachariah Stratton

Box 3

Folder

4. 4. 1889-1896: Hitchcock County Treasurer’s receipts to Thomas A. Stratton and Rebecca Stratton
      
      1886-1903: Antelope County Treasurer’s receipts, mostly to Henry Beckman and William B. Lambert

4. 4. 1880-1885: Financial reports of William B. Lambert, receiver and disburser of public funds

4. 4. Miscellaneous personal records and municipal records of Neligh

Series 4 – Printed matter, 1868-1900

1. 1. 1890-1900: Pamphlets promoting emigration to Idaho, Washington, Florida, Virginia, Colorado, and the Dakotas from the Christian Colony Association of Ripon, Wisconsin

1. 1. 1868-1898: Pamphlets – A history of Neligh, 1872-1880
      
      The Defender, published by The American Protective Tariff League, 1898
      
      Annual report of the Columbia Lying-In Asylum and Hospital for Women, 1877
      
      U.S. Weather Bureau of questionnaire circular
      
      Report of Special Committee on Lawlessness and Violence in Texas, 1868
      
      The Eclectic and Peacemaker monthly, 1876 (a socialist publication)
      
      The Industrial Co-Operator, published 1881 by the “Co-Operative Colony Assoc.,” a socialist organization

1. 1. 1874-1886: Speeches – On monetary issues
      
      On post-office appropriations
      
      Attack on Pres. Arthur’s reform policies
      
      Extracts from speeches by James A. Garfield
      
      Relations between legislative and executive departments
      
      Puerto Rico
      
      Counting electoral votes
      
      Efficiency of the military; appeal for constitutional guarantees
      
      John M. Thayer’s message to the 21st session of the Nebraska legislature

1. 1. 1870-1898: Periodicals – The Travelers Record
      
      Agricultural Epitomist
      
      Appleton’s Journal
      
      American Sentinel
      
      Y.M.C.A. bulletin

1. 1. Miscellaneous advertisings and public notices

1. 1. Pictures, mostly removed from books and magazines

1. 1. Maps – Area between Baja California and Mexico; copy showing former British settlements in North America
      
      Street map of Chicago

Series 5 – Manuscripts

1. 1. A Visit to Erwinna Cemetery by W.B. Lambert (1859)
      
      Arguments Against the Doctrine of the Supreme Deity of Christ, unsigned, undated
      
      School Composition Musical History, undated, signed Grace
      
      A history of Missouri, unsigned, undated

Series 6 – Newspapers and Clippings, 1860-1890

Box 4

Five folders, not arranged, including some material on the Civil War and on Indian uprisings in Minnesota

Series 7 – Miscellaneous

Box 5

1. 1. Political material including sample ballots, list of names, notes, biographical material on Nebraska and East Coast politicians

1. 1. Small biographical sketches of Nebraska and East Coast political figures

1. 1. Small biographical sketches of Nebraska and East Coast political figures

1. 1. Small biographical sketches of Nebraska and East Coast political figures

1. 1. Small biographical sketches of Nebraska and East Coast political figures

 

ADDED ENTRIES:

Antelope County (Neb.) — History

Butler, Edward S., 1831-

Colleges and universities — Nebraska

Gates College (Neligh, Neb.)

Lambert, William B., 1843-1908

Land offices — Nebraska

Neligh (Neb.) — History

Norfolk College (Norfolk, Neb.)

Paddock, Algernon Sidney, 1830-1897

Public lands — Nebraska

Republic Party — Nebraska

Saunders, Alvin, 1817-1899

Stratton, Thomas A.

United States. General Land Office — Nebraska — Neligh

 

HEK/cs   06-02-1965

Encoded TMM   05-26-2010