Alice Elinor Lambert (1886 – 1981) was an American

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Biography

Lambert was born in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

, in 1886. Her father, Charles Edward Lambert, was born in Ireland in 1843. He came to the United States prior to the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and enlisted to be a Union Soldier. After the war, he became a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

. In 1876, he married Ella Amelia Northrup in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( ) is a city in and is the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Lafayette ...

. Her father,

Samuel Lathrop Samuel Lathrop (May 1, 1772 – July 11, 1846) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Biography Samuel Lathrop was born on May 1, 1772, on the West Springfield, Massachusetts, western side of ...

, was the first Methodist missionary bishop in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

. After living and teaching in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, they moved to

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

where he was the president of

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

. In 1886 he became a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

minister in Yaquina City, Oregon. There were six other children in the family with Alice being the middle child. In 1896, they moved to

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

and later to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. In 1904, she enjoyed a brief summer romance with Canadian

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

Tom Thomson Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877July 8, 1917) was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas. His wo ...

. Thomson was quiet, but Lambert would later write, "We knew without words that we loved each other. We had ESP, hardly needing words, and I know he felt the same towards me." Despite this, she laughingly rejected his marriage proposal. Lambert later became a writer; in her 1934 self-published novel, ''Woman Are Like That'', she describes a young girl who refuses an artist's proposal and later regrets her decision. Specifically, the main character, Miss Juliet Delany, remembers, Reports conflict about whether or not Lambert ever married. David Silcox and Harold Town wrote that she never married, while

Roy MacGregor Roy MacGregor (born 1948) is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction. Career Roy MacGregor was born in Whitney, Ontario in 1948 and grew up in Huntsville, Ontario. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Laurentian U ...

wrote that she married a man and had two daughters with him. She died in

Marysville, Washington Marysville is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city is located north of Seattle, adjacent to Everett on the north side of the Snohomish River delta. It is the second-largest ci ...

, in 1981, aged 95.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Alice Elinor 1886 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American novelists American romantic fiction writers American women novelists American women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American women writers