Page:One of a thousand.djvu/377

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LAMBERT. LAMBERT. 363 army, who remained in active service dur- ing the war ; after the declaration of inde- pendence they remained and settled in the states. Mr. Laforme joined the Massachusetts volunteer militia in 1841, and was an active member thereof, with the rank of sergeant, until 1S48. In 1858 he became a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, al- ways taking an active interest in its affairs, "X VINCENT LAFORME. holding during his membership various im- portant offices, and has served the com- pany in the post of treasurer and paymas- ter since 1875. He was appointed May 6, 1889, by Mayor Hart, one of the three commissioners of public institutions, and confirmed by the board of aldermen May 13th. As a citizen of Boston, Mr. Laforme has always been deeply interested in public matters. Although a Democrat in politics, he has ever been independent in action outside of national affairs, fearlessly con- demning, and actively opposing, whatever he considered mischievous or evil in local politics. LAMBERT, THOMAS RlCKER, son of William and Abigail (Ricker) Lambert, was born in South Berwick, York county, Me., July 2, 1809. He is of the seventh generation of his family in Massachusetts, of which Francis Lambert, of Rowley, ("freeman" in 1640), was the first. He was prepared at the South Berwick and the Exeter academies for entrance at Dartmouth College. His father was gradu- ated by the same alma mater in 1798. Receiving an appointment to a cadet- ship at West Point at this time, his collegi- ate course was exchanged for a military education. Before graduation, ill health compelled him to leave, and he entered upon the study of law in the office of Judge Levi Woodbury, at Portsmouth, N. H. He was admitted to the bar in 1832. Success at the bar did not deter him from regarding the advice of friends who urged him to the church. He became a candidate for orders, and was ordained by Bishop Griswold in 1836. Previous to this he had been in 1834 appointed by Secretary Woodbury a chaplain in the navy, in which he served on board the frigates " Brandywine," " Constitu- tion " and " Columbia," under Commo- dores Wadsworth and Rousseau, and Cap- tain Wilkinson. While on a vacation, he instituted the parish of St. Thomas at Dover, N. H. On another leave of absence, he was invited to the rectorship of Grace church, New Bedford, which he accepted and where he remained four years. Returning in 1845 to the chaplaincy, he served at the Navy Yard, Charlestown, with Commodore John Downs. In 1855 he resigned the chap- laincy and became rector of St. John's church, Charlestown, where he remained twenty-eight years. In 1845 he received the degree of A. M., honoris causa, from Brown University, and in 1852 the same degree from Trinity College ; in 1863 Columbia College conferred upon him the degree of S. T. D. For thirty years Dr. Lambert has been a member of the standing committee of the diocese of Massachusetts. His promi- nence in the church and the navy, his extended acquaintance with public men for half a century, and his social qualities — for the indulgence of which Dr. Lambert was not only rarely qualified, but also possessed of ample means for their gratifi- cation — rendered his delightful home at the rectory the resort of visiting clergy from every part of the country, of travelers from abroad, and of the scholars and literary men of the vicinity. In 1884, when nearly seventy-five years of age, Dr. Lambert resigned his rector- ship and passed into retirement, save only