Lamping Family papers

The papers of the Lamping Family include materials created by the family of William Lamping (1815-February 23, 1882) and Rebecca Lamping (1817-1890) of Baltimore, Maryland. William Lamping was born in Bremen, Germany; Rebecca and both of her parents were born in Maryland. William worked as a commission merchant and owned William Lamping and Co., a tobacco sales operation located at Light Street Wharf from at least 1842 to 1858 and at 89 S. Charles Street from 1858-1880. In 1881, the firm changed names to Lamping and Benninghaus and added the partner C.M. Benninghaus. By 1860, William and Rebecca's son Clemens was working as a clerk for the business, and in 1873 their son Frank also began serving as a clerk.

William co-founded the Baltimore Tobacco Works, incorporated in 1862. William served on the board of directors for the National Farmers and Planters' Bank from 1853 to 1857 at least 1870 to 1878; also on the board at this time was Enoch Pratt, the established Baltimore businessman and philanthropist. William also served on the board of directors of the Savings Bank of Baltimore, where he was elected in 1867.

William and Rebecca lived in a variety of locations in Baltimore, including on Conway St in 1842, at 114 Sharp Street from around 1847 to before 1851, on Pascault's Row from 1851 to before 1865, at 342 Madison Avenue from 1867 to before 1873 Avenue, at 194 W. Townsend Street from around 1873 to around 1879,at 77 Cathedral Street from 1879 to about 1881, and at 154 Bolton Street starting in 1882.

In 1883, Rebecca is listed as a widow, living at 28 Second Street and in 1890 she lived at 33 E. Second St.

The Lampings had eight children: Clemens (1842-1902), Emma (b. 1843), William F. (b. 1845), Clara (b. 1849), Laura V. (1850-1907), Frank W. (1851-1927), Lizette, also referred to as Ellie, (1855-1939), and Helen (b. 1857).

Clemens Lamping married Helen Starr Lamping (1848-1930). Helen’s father was Robert Starr, who is buried in Baltimore’s Green Mount Cemetery. Helen’s grandfather, William Starr, served in the First Regiment Artillery of the Maryland Militia in the War of 1812. Clemens and Helen had five children: William (1869-1895), Frances (1871-1948), Helen (1873-1965), Edith (1875-1918), and Emily R. (1878-1957). Clemens followed his father into the tobacco merchant business, working first for his father and then for his father-in-law, but later served as Secretary of the State Normal School for Colored Pupils (1898-1901), a Baltimore college that educated African American teachers. Clemens was inducted as a member of the Maryland Historical Society in 1894 and served until his death in 1902. Clemens was also a founding member of the Maryland Soldiers' Relief Association in 1864.

Frances married William R. Martin and lived in Easton . R.H. Phipps married one of Helen Starr Lamping's sisters, who is referred to as "Mini".

Frank W. Lamping, William and Rebecca's youngest son, married Fannie C. Lamping (1856-1926), from Kentucky, in 1878 and the couple had two children: Ethel (b. 1882) and Frank W., Jr. (b. 1884), a bank teller at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Frank worked as an insurance salesman and he and his family lived in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. Laura, Lizette, and Helen Lamping continued to live in Baltimore; in 1892 they shared a home at 33 East 21st Street. Laura worked as a librarian and Lizette as a teacher. Further information about the Lamping siblings is unknown. There is evidence that Helen may have married a correspondent of Frank Lamping, William Clay; Clara may have married a correspondent of Frank Lamping, William Clay; it is also possible that after Clara’s death Clay married her sister Emma. William Clay may also have served as the Lamping family’s accountant.