John Lamb 1839-1914 and Margaret Gerrard 1845-1902

Alexander Lamb's parents were John Lamb and Margaret Gerrard.

John Lamb was born on 3 June 1839 in Moorhouse, Roxburgh, Scotland (Moorhouse appears to be the name of the farm or cottage he was born in), the son of Alexander Lamb and Mary Rathie. Alexander was an agricultural labourer and the family lived in several farms in the Roxburgh area while John was growing up. Alexander died in 1857, and I suspect that Mary had died before then, but I haven't yet found a burial record for her.

Following his father's death, John moved from Roxburgh in the Scottish borders to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England, where he took a job as a police constable. He was still in this job in 1866 when, on 17 July, he married Margaret Gerrard at St John's Church.

Margaret was born in Peel Street on the northern banks of the River Tyne in Newcastle, the daughter of James Gerrard and Isabella Marshall. The family had moved to Whickham, on the south bank of the river by the 1851 census, then back into Newcastle by 1861.

The couple lived initially in the Westgate area of Newcastle, where their first two children were born. By 1871, John had left the police and was working as a street-paver, and the family had moved to the Byker area of the city. In the mid-1870s, the family left Newcastle and lived in Seaton Delaval, a mining village to the north east of Newcastle, where John worked as a miner. Although this move and profession only lasted for a couple of years, it had a major impact on John's son Alexander as it appears to be the source of his eventual introduction to his bride Martha Ann Pattison. By the late 70s the family had returned to Byker, and John to street paving, which remained his profession until old age.

Margaret died on 24 May 1902 and was buried in Byker & Heaton Cemetery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. By this time son Alexander was living in South Africa, and her second James had emigrated to Vancouver in Canada. A couple of years later, oldest daughter Isabella moved to Huntsville, Randolph, Missouri, USA. Perhaps it's not a surprise that the elderly widower John eventually decided to emigrate himself, travelling to Vancouver in 1909 with daughter Mary, just a few months after youngest son Clement had made the same journey. Isabella also moved to Vancouver from Missouri. Only one child remained in England by this time.

John died on 29 March 1914 in Vancouver, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery.

John and Margaret's children were:

Isabella Lamb 1867-1961
Alexander Lamb 1869-1907
James Lamb 1872-1960
Mary Elizabeth Lamb 1875-1942
Margaret Lamb 1878-1965
Clement Lamb 1881-1928
Ellen Rathie Lamb 1884-1890