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In many Eastern Connecticut eighteen-century burying grounds, especially those in New London county, there are many stones that are very different from the predominately gray granites, the blue and green slates, and the Connecticut valley sandstones. These stones are usually yellowish to pink to russet red and of relatively soft material. They unfortunately frequently have a tendency to shale or flake off and sometimes form a reticulated mass of surface cracks almost as though they were made of dried sunbaked mud. These stones were made by a Norwich carver named David Lamb and his son. There are a number of probate records that established this; however, only a single signed stone is known, that for Hopstill Tyler (1762) in Preston City. This stone, incidentally, has been repaired and now rests in situ in a glass frame. Lamb stones are easily recognized by the close set eyes, downturned mouths, and the elliptical down-tapered face of the cherubim, which often end in a pointed chin. The border panels most frequently consist of a central stem with short curving side branches coming from it. The wings are curved to the base, often in a formal diagonal line.
Lamb was considerably influenced by the work of John Stevens II, and often the style of Lamb’s stones appears to be derived from elaborate Stevens’ motifs. He worked at the same time as the Mannings but his stones shows surprisingly little influence from them or in fact from the Wheeler-Collins-Hartshorne tradition. It is true that in the Norwich Oak Street graveyard the Elizabeth Backus (1765) stone is remarkable in being carved on Lamb-type stone with a typical Manning cherub but with equally typical Lamb wings and border panels. Whether this stone was a joint effort (Rockwell Manning was working in Norwich at that time), or was a stone in which Lamb demonstrated that he could use the Manning style if his clients so desired, is now impossible to know.
David Lamb II (1750-1788)
No quantitative studies has yet been undertaken to separate the stones carved by David Lamb, Sr., from those of his son. There is, however, probate evidence that his son was also a stonecarver. (Caulfield 1966, pp. 24-29) Be this as it may, there is a second type of Lamb stone that is quite distinct, and examples of these latter stones exist with dates after the death of David Lamb, Sr. This second type of Lamb stone is, for the moment at least, attributable to David Lamb II. They are found from 1760 to 1775 and most are dated after 1769. They have cherubim with very broad foreheads. The eyes are widely separated and have a distinctly oriental look. The borders tend to be simple and with a swirling type of floral design and the mouth is turned up rather than down. The double stone for William Williams, Jr., and his wife Eunice (1770) in the Williams burying ground at North Stonington is a good example and is probate recorded to David Lamb Jr.
From: Slater, James A. The Colonial Burying Grounds of
Eastern Connecticut and the Men Who Made Them. Memoirs of the
Connecticut Academy of Arts & Sciences, vol. 21. Hamden,
Connecticut: Archon Books, 1987.
*Homer Babbidge Library call number f/Q/11/C85/v.21