Lew Lamb, Sr. was born to Hiram and Sarah (Emery) Lamb on August 16, 1874 in Clarke County, Iowa. He was the 6th and last child. Lew had 4 sisters, Margaret Malinda ("Linnie"), Happa, Dora, and Iva and 1 brother, Clarence. He lived in Murray, Clarke County, Iowa with his parents during his youth.
In 1893, at the age of 19, Lew married Katherine Fivecoat, daughter of J. W. Fivecoat. The couple had 1 son, Claude Leon Lamb, Sr. who was born in 1895. They lived in Murray, Clarke County, Iowa until about 1912 when they moved to Perry, Iowa, and then to Creston, Iowa in 1914 and later to Omaha, Nebraska. Katherine passed away in March 1919 from complications from a serious operation in Omaha. She was brought back to Murray, Iowa for burial. [1]
On August 13, 1926, at the age of 52, he married Cleona Effie Smith, age 21, in Ringgold County, Iowa. The couple had 8 children. The first was a stillborn male born and died on 1 May 1927 in Viola, Mercer County, Illinois. [4] The remaining children were born in Union County, Iowa. The children were: Betty L. (b. 1928, d. 2007), Clarence E. (b. 1929, d. 2015), Maude "Irene" (b. 1931, d. 1978), Doris J. (b. 1932, d. 1996), Lew W. (b. 1936, d. 2019), a daughter [b. 1939, still living], and Donald E. (b. 1944, d. 2009). The children were baptized in the Saint Paul Episcopal Church on Christmas day in 1939, except for Donald, who was baptized on July 8, 1945.
Lew worked as a painter and was often hired to paint tall structures, such as church steeples and water towers, as heights did not seem to bother him. [2] He also worked as a brakeman for the C. B. & Q Railroad until 1914 when two fingers on his right hand were smashed while attempting to couple some railroad cars. One finger had to be amputated. [2,3]
He was a staunch Democrat. In the 1940's people relied on radio to hear to news and for entertainment. If President F. D. Roosevelt was scheduled to address the nation, Lew's son, Clarence, had the responsibility of making sure the radio battery was charged. This involved loading the battery into the Radio Flyer wagon and taking it to the gas station for charging, which took a couple days to charge. He would then fetch it back home in plenty of time for the president's address. [2]
Lew also keep a vegetable garden. In order to prevent compacting the soil while weeding or harvesting, he would put down a wood plank between the rows of vegetables to walk on. [2]
Numerous newspaper articles reveal that Lew had a bit of a problem with alcohol resulting in brawls and brushes with the law. Case in point, in December 1909, he was arrested and was sentenced to serve 15 days for assaulting the marshal and intoxication. However, he was released from custody on the condition that he sign a pledge to "not touch a drop of liquor for a year." [5] I do not know if he fulfilled that pledge but he continued to have problems with excessive drinking.
The day before his 71st birthday, on 15 August, 1945, Lew passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage. [6] Leaving his wife to raise 7 children ages 1 - 17 years. He was buried in the Murray Cemetery, Clarke County, Iowa on 17 August 1945.
Additional information for Lew's life and family can be found at:
[1] The Osceola Sentinel; Osceola, Iowa; 27 March 1919 [http://osceola.advantage-preservation.com]
[2] Interview with Clarence E. Lamb
[3] The Perry Advertiser; Perry, Iowa; 18 January 1914; Page 5
[4] Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 [Ancestry.com]
[5] Osceola Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Thursday, December 16, 1909, Page 1 [http://osceola.advantage-preservation.com]
[6] Death certificate
