Chosen Families Project #33: Martha Rodman (Lambert) Schofield - RETURNED

Taken at 4 months old

Taken about 1939 at the age of 22

Hello all!

Happy new year! One of my initiatives for 2025 is to be more active when it comes to this project. I have returned back to my pile of photographs and was able to locate a photograph of Martha Rodman Lambert, taken when she was 4 months old, in 1918. It is a photograph of young baby, in what appears to be in dress for a baptism. The one clue I had besides her full name was the photograph studio, Vanderveer Studio, which was a studio based out of New Brunswick, New Jersey (based out of archives from Rutgers, New Jersey)

Using the information provided I was able to locate a woman who was our likely fit, and I reached out to a relative who is happy to have the physical copy returned to them. Here is the story of Martha Rodman Lambert.

Martha Rodman Lambert was born on the 4th of October, 1917 in New Brunswick, New Jersey to parents Frederick Charles Lambert (b.1898-1944) and Harriet Calvin Ritterson (b. 1893-1993). Her father worked as a Clerk for a Drugist Supply Factory in New Brunswick. Her parents had gotten married on the 1 Apr 1916 in Staten Island; her father Frederick was a New Brunswick native, while her mother was born in Camden, New Jersey. Martha was baptized on the 10 Feb 1918 at Church of St John the Evangelist, the photograph above most likely taken at her baptism.

She grew up in New Brunswick with her parents. On the 19 Mar 1940, she would marry her husband James Merwin Schofield (1917-2003) , from Montclair at Church of the Transfiguration in New York City. The article below from the Montclair Times details the wedding ceremony.

Her father Frederick Lambert would pass away on the 20 October 1944, at the age of 46 years old. Around the time of his death he was an Assistant Superintendent of Manufacturing. Alongside Martha, they would have one son, Frederick Charles Lambert (1924-2004). Her mother, Harriet, had remarried after her first husbands passing, and would remarry to Stephen Vinowski, who passed in 1980. Harriet had eventually resided in Tuckerton, New Jersey, before passing at the age of 14 Mar 1993 at the age of 94. I have included her obituary below as well.

Martha Schofield, like her mother would live a long life, and would pass away at the age of 95 on 27 Dec 2012. I could not locate her obituary or where she is buried at this time. I am so happy I could share her story with you, and although I do not have too much information about her, I am so happy to share her story and perserve her legacy. Her relative was very excited to recieve the photograph and shares a passion for preserving genealogical documents just like me.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me thechosenfamiliesproject@gmail.com

Thank you and remember you are loved and always welcome here!

By 1950, the couple would reside in Port Republic in Atlantic County, New Jersey. They would have one daughter during the marriage. At this time, I could not locate an obituary or burial location for Martha, but I did find an obituary for her husband James M. Schofield, who a teacher for elementary science schools. At the time of his passing, him and Martha had been married for 63 years.

Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey • Sun, Feb 23, 2003Page 28