1850. Living with Rebecca is her 90 year old mother Priscilla Bass and Liza age 40. Liza is not daughter Catherine Elizabeth, I think she may be Elizabeth Carroll -- but it is not clear whether the Census taker intended her name to be Bass or Lamb -- but she was not listed as Carroll.

1788. Rebecca Bass was born in Wayne County, NC to Joshua and Priscilla (Turner) Bass. In some places it is said she was born 18 Dec 1788 but I believe that date was derived from her statement in an affadavit dated 18 Dec 1850 in support of her mother’s pension application in which Rebecca said she was age 62. I doubt it was exactly her 62md birthday, There is no tombstone nor church or bible record of her birth, so her exact birth date in my opinion is unknown. In the 1850 Census, she was reported as age 56 [1794 implied] but then in 1860, is was more accurately, I think, reported as age 72 [1788 implied].

That her parents were Joshua and Priscilla is confirmed by her father’s will dated 1828 in which he named his daughter Rebecca Lamb, the pension application of her mother and the fact that in the 1850 Census, Priscilla Bass, age 90, is living with Rebecca in Sampson County.

1792. This is when her family relocated from Wayne to Sampson County.

1810 Census. I believe Rebecca is still living with her parents and is the young female age 16-25 reported in the Joshua Bass household in Sampson County. She will soon marry Thomas Carroll, he also is present in the 1810 Census in Sampson County. He was no wife nor children, only 8 slaves. Joshua and Thomas were close neighbors.

1814. Sometime between 1810 and 1816 Rebecca married Thomas Carroll. I have seen a marriage date for her of 2 Dec 1814 -- to John Lamb. John was indeed Rebecca’s second husband but she did not marry him that early, so perhaps that date is supposed to refer to her marriage to Thomas Carroll or perhaps it is a total fiction, like her supposed birth date. Thomas Carroll was the brother of Jesse Carroll, Jr. and an interesting side note is that in 1832, Rebecca’s daughter Catherine Elizabeth Lamb will marry Thomas’ nephew Lewis Carroll.

20 Nov 1816. This is the earliest mention in court records mentioning that Thomas Carroll is now deceased. The court orders a committee to divide Thomas’s estate between the widow and Thomas’ minor children, later called his orphans. I have seen but not independently verified Carroll family research that says that Thomas had first married Mary Royal. I believe from the fact that the estate settlement seemed to not consider Thomas’ children as being Rebecca’s children that Thomas must have indeed been previously married. It is curious that in 1810, though, he had no wife -- she must have died by then -- nor children -- they perhaps were living with someone else better able to take care of them.

19 Aug 1817. Another court order regarding Thomas Carroll’s estate -- this one refers to his widow: Rebecca Carroll.

16 Nov 1818. The final settlement of Thomas Carroll’s estate is filed by the appointed committee. The widow is now called Rebecca Lamb -- so we can pretty well date her marriage to John Lamb as having occurred in, say, early 1818. Only one child of Thomas is named, meaning if there had been others, they died in this period. That child was Elizabeth Carroll. I believe Elizabeth was born about 1810 and that she continued to live with Rebecca throughout her second marriage and later widowhood.

When Rebecca married John Lamb, not only was she her second husband, she was his second wife. John had first married Elizabeth Hendry and by her had two children -- a son born in 1808 and a daughter born in 1812. In some published research on John Lamb it says Elizabeth died 25 Mar 1819 though the same research acknowledges that he was having children by Rebecca as early as 1816. I don’t believe either date is correct. If we can trust the court documents that name her as Rebecca Carroll in 1817 and Rebecca Lamb in 1818, my conclusion is Rebecca married John in about early 1818.

1 Nov 1818. Daughter Catherine Elizabeth Lamb was born, according to her tombstone. I believe she was the oldest child of John and Rebecca though there are published reports that suggest there had been a daughter Mariah Adeline born -- they say -- about 1816.

1820 Census. John Lamb is living in Sampson County. His wife is reported as age 45+, a mistake I believe. He is age 26-45 and she surely was too. They have a young male 10-16 (no doubt the one born to John’s first wife in 1808) and three young females all under the age of 10. I believe they were: John’s daughter born to his first wife in 1812, Elizabeth Carroll the step-daughter of John’s new wife, and Catherine Elizabeth born 1818.

1830 Census. John Lamb lives in Sampson County. He is age 40-50 as is his wife. Two males age 20-30 are present, one of them could be the son born in 1808. And three young males are present. I can account for Thomas and George W -- known sons of Rebecca and John who survived to adulthood. And three young females are present the oldest of which was age 10-15. John and Rebecca had three daughters who survived to adulthood who were no doubt those three, leaving Elizabeth Carroll unaccounted for.

1840 Census. John Lamb lives in Sampson County. He is 50-60 as is his wife. Six younger males are present who could be his sons and perhaps the husband of a married daughter and even a young son of theirs. Plus there are four younger females, his three daughters by Rebecca and perhaps Elizabeth Carroll reappearing, the younger female age 40-50. There is also a female age 80-90 present. I believe this was Rebecca’s widowed mother Priscilla Bass.

1844. John Lamb died.

1850. Living with Rebecca in Sampson County is her 90 year old mother Priscilla Bass and Liza age 40. Liza is not daughter Catherine Elizabeth, I think she may be Elizabeth Carroll -- but it is not clear whether the Census taker intended her name to be Bass or Lamb -- but she was not listed as Carroll.

1860 Census. Rebecca Lamb, reported as age 72 and occupation given as farmer lives in a separate household in Turkey District, Sampson County. Her household though immediately follows that of Lewis Carroll, her son-in-law.

Feb 1861. Rebecca has recently died. We do not know the exact date as she was buried presumably with her husband on their family farm and whatever markers were there have apparently disappeared since then. She wrote her will 6 Dec 1859, but was clearly still alive for the 1860 Census. She probably died in January 1861 or so. Her will was probated Feb 1861. She left instructions for her estate to be sold, including ”to sell all Negroes one by one, except mothers with suckling child shall be sold together.” The money raised was then to be divided equally among her five children.

The five children named were sons Thomas C Lamb and George W Lamb and daughters Cathrine E Carroll, Mariah A Chestnutt and Rebecca P Bordeaux. There was no mention of Eliza Carroll, who, remember, was not her daughter, nonetheless had Elizabeth still been alive I think there might have been some provision for her.

Another interesting family in the Lawther lineage is the Bass family. It is interesting because they are among the earliest arrivals to America (1619) of all family branches. And it is interesting because it weaves some Native American heritage into the Lawther lineage; John Basse married an Indian princess of the Nansemond Nation. The current chief of the Nansemonds is named Barry Bass. One line (not the Lawther line) of descendants of John Bass and his Indian princess married other full-blooded Nansemonds and over the years had to officially prove to the State of Virginia time and time again that they were of English and Indian heritage and not blacks or mulattoes as some accused them of being. The whole Bass line makes an interesting story.

The Lawthers are linked to the Bass line because Mary E Carroll’s mother Catherine Elizabeth Lamb, wife of Lewis Carroll, was the daughter of Rebecca Bass and John Deloit Lamb.

Rebecca Bass was born 18 Dec 1788 in Wayne County, NC and died before Feb 1861 in Sampson County. Her will was written 6 Dec 1859 and probated Feb 1861. She left instructions for her estate to be sold, including ”to sell all Negroes one by one, except mothers with sucking child shall be sold together.” The money raised was then to be divided equally among her five children including Catherine E Carroll, wife of Lewis. Here is another will that neatly ties generations and marriages together. Wills that do this are wonderful proof of relationships over several generations. Rebecca’s father was Joshua.

Another source that ties people together is the pension application and supporting documents of Priscilla Bass which refers to Joshua's will and lists daughter Rebecca who married John Lamb. Rebecca filed an affadavit in support of her mother's pension application affirming she was 62 (agrees).

Interestingly, she was John Lamb's second wife. Interestingly, John Lamb was her second husband, she had been married to Thomas Carroll earlier.

There is a source that says that she had a son Thomas Carroll Lamb by her first husband. I don't know if this is accurate. If so, he died young.

Certain dates associated with the marriages of Rebecca Bass are a little unclear and different sources have a wide range of dates. As no females are present in the household of Thomas Carroll in 1810, I believe his first wife has died and he has not yet remarried. I cannot account for the absence though of Elizabeth, said to be his daughter by his first wife.

Court documents shed some light. On 19 Aug 1817 she was named Rebecca Carroll and then on 16 Nov 1818 she was named the widow Rebecca Lamb. From her daughter's tombstone, I believe Catherine Lamb was born 1 Nov 1818. So she got married it would seem in late 1817 or very early 1818. So the very specific date I have seen of 2 Dec 1814 just cannot be true.

1810. Thomas Carroll lives in Sampson County, age 26-45. He has no wife nor young daughter.

Thomas Carroll is an interesting person in the Lawther ancestry. He is not a direct ancestor but plays two ancillary roles. He is a son of Jesse Carroll Sr. and thus brother of Jesse Jr. And his second wife was Rebecca Bass who married John Lamb after the death of Thomas Carroll. Rebecca Bass and John Lamb are Lawther ancestors.

All of the Carroll family write-ups say that Thomas married Mary Royal and had one daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth is said to have been born about 1807 or 1808.

This no doubt is the same Thomas Carroll who is a neighbor of John and Jesse Carroll (and Joshua Bass) in Sampson County in the 1810 Census. The problem is that no females are reported in the Thomas Carroll household.

Moreover, there is an estate document dated 16 Nov 1818 reporting on the division of the estate of Thomas Carroll deceased between his widow Rebecca Lamb and his minor daughter Elizabeth Carroll. Rebecca was awarded her one-third share.

So, I suspect that perhaps Thomas married first Mary Royal, by whom he had daughter Elizabeth. Mary died before 1810 and Elizabeth perhaps was sent to live with someone else. Then shortly after 1810, Thomas married 2nd Rebecca Bass but he died soon thereafter and Rebecca married second John Lamb -- who himself had been married previously.

1820 Census. John Lamb is living in Sampson County. His wife is reported as age 45+, a mistake I believe. He is age 26-45 and she surely was too. They have a young male 10-16 (no doubt the one born to John’s first wife in 1808) and three young females all under the age of 10. I believe they were: Elizabeth Carroll, the daughter born to his first wife in 1812 and Catherine Elizabeth born 1818.

1830 Census. John Lamb lives in Sampson County. He is age 40-50 as is his wife. Two males age 20-30 are present, one of them could be the son born in 1808. And three young males are present. I can account for Thomas and George W -- known sons of Rebecca and John who srvived to adulthood. And three young females are present the oldest of which was age 10-15. John and Rebecca had three daughters who survived to adulthood who were no doubt those three, leaving Elizabeth Carroll unaccounted for.

1840 Census. John Lamb lives in Sampson County. He is 50-60 as is his wife. Six younger males are present who could be his sons and perhaps the husband of a married daughter and even a young son of theirs. Plus there are four younger females, his three daughters by Rebecca and perhaps Elizabeth Carroll reappearing, the younger female age 40-50. There is also a female age 80-90 present. I believe this was Rebfcca’s widowed mother Priscilla Bass.

The Sampson County Heritage book says he was born about 1779.

He first married Elizabeth Henry and they had two children and then she died maybe around 1815, all according to Sampson County Heritage book.

Received 244 acres in New Hanover in 1808 as his share of his father's estate, known as Raccoon Point, according to Sampson County Heritage book. He also received 4 slaves, 12 cows, 25 hogs and $12.65.

Later he purchased another 308 acres on Cypress Creek, both plantations in Pender County.

After marriage to Rebecca Bass, he began acquiring Sampson County land, near Turkey.

Served in the War of 1812, stationed in Wilmington.

Sampson County Heritage book says he is buried "in the woods behind the old Wash Carroll house near Turkey, no markers." Another source says Black River Presbyterian Cemetery in Ivanhoe -- but we went there and he is not there. He is not listed at all in the Cemetery book of Sampson.

John Deloit Lamb was born about 1785 in then New Hanover County and died in December 1844 in Sampson County. He was buried on the Lamb Plantation near Turkey, NC. He married Rebecca Bass, who had first been married to Thomas Carroll. John had been first married to Elizabeth Hendry with whom he had several children before she died around the time of the War of 1812, in which John served. Then John married Rebecca and beginning in 1821, he began acquiring land in Sampson County which is where he lived in his later years.

John was the son of William.