Emily Outhouse was born on 26 Aug 1840 in Croton Lake, Westchester County, New York, the first of nine children born to Jacob Outhouse and Elizabeth Losee. Not much is known about her early years. She was born 57 years after the American Revolution ended. Barely a generation had passed since the United States was born. The new country was at war in Florida with the Native American Nation of Seminoles and, when Emily was 6 years old, the Mexican-American War began.
When Emily was 21, she married a farmer named Jacob Lamb, probably at the Reformed Dutch Church of Cortlandtown. They were just starting out in their married life together when the Civil War began. Her husband doesn't appear to have fought in the war. There are some indications that he was sickly or had a physical ailment which may have prevented his joining. Over the next 15 years, Emily would give birth to four children, three sons and one daughter. The country was undergoing enormous changes in its social and economic structure. During this time, the transcontinental railroad was completed, Susan B. Anthony was leading women's sufferage, and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone while Thomas Edison invented the phonograph.
Emily was widowed in 1901 and briefly lived with her youngest son, Stewart. By 1910, when she was almost 70, Emily Lamb, began a career as a housekeeper for an immigrant German family. The head of the household was a widower, and she continued to work for this family well into her late 80s. It was then she apparently became ill and moved in with her son, Stewart and his family, for the remainder of her life.
Emily was a strong woman used to the hard demanding work common to housewives during the late 19th century. She had grown up on a farm and then raised four children. She helped work the farm they rented and kept house during a time when housework was harsh physical labor. Then, when most people are retiring, she continued to work as a housekeeper, and was a member of the Ladies Aid Society, often hostessing their meetings. One of the stories I grew up hearing was how Emily lost all the fingers of her left hand. As the story goes, Emily was in the home of the family for whom she kept house. One of the sons was cleaning his gun. Emily continually cautioned him about "taking care" with the loaded weapon. One day, after she had warned the son, his gun misfired and struck her in the palm of her left hand. She lost all the fingers on that hand. This accident apparently didn't prevent her from continuing to work as a housekeeper.
Emily was 92 years old when she died on 22 Oct 1932. She was survived by all four of her children, and left a legacy in 23 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. Emily rests beside her husband in the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Montrose. She lived her entire life within a few miles of Montrose, New York.
Jacob Lamb (b. 6 Oct 1840; d. 8 Mar 1901) and Emily Ann Outhouse (b. 26 Aug 1840; d. 22 Oct 1932) had the following children:
1. Winfield S. Lamb – born abt. 1863 and died bet. 1932-1940; married Alida Boyce;
2. Alonzo Lamb – born 30 Jun 1870 and died 12 Feb. 1943; married Caroline Baisley;
3. Jeanette Lamb – born 6 Oct 1873 and died 6 Oct 1954; married 1st Jacob Baisley and 2nd James Baisley;
4. Stewart Lamb – born 5 Nov 1880 and died 23 Jan 1968; married Kathleen Terhune.
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