George Washington Lankford Sr.

George Washington Lankford Sr., son of Curtis Caldwell Lankford and Nancy A. Elizabeth McCarty, was born in Penfield, Greene County, Georgia on July 15, 1863. There were 14 children born to this family—William A. Lankford, Mary A. Lankford, Irena Rebeckah H. Lankford, John R. Lankford, George Washington Lankford, Charles Moore Lankford, Wade Hamilton Lankford, Joseph Jackson Lankford, Nancy Crawford Lankford, Florence Lee Lankford, and four that did not survive. George is my 1st cousin 4x removed. Our nearest common relatives are Charles L. Lankford and Miss Moore.

On June 15, 1870, George, his parents, and six siblings lived in Penfield. His father worked as a common laborer while his mother stayed home keeping house. His 10-year-old brother John was enumerated as a farm laborer.

On June 9, 1880, an 18-year-old boarder named George Langford lived with the Burwell Brooks family in Simston, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. He worked as a farm hand and was unable to read or write. George (the subject of this sketch) was no longer living with his family in Bowling Green, Oglethorpe County, Georgia so this was most likely him. George’s last name was spelled Langford vs. Lankford in the census record which is a common thing with this surname. I noticed his father’s surname was also spelled Langford in the 1880 census record. On June 13, 1887, George’s father Curtis died at the age of 59 years following a long illness. The family buried Curtis at Bairdstown Cemetery in Bairdstown, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. Happier times came seven years later when George married Jessie (or Jesse) Burton, daughter of George W. Burton and Mattie Parham and 16 years younger than him, at Greene County, Georgia on May 2, 1894. Six children were born to this union—Owen Lankford (1898), Eva Lankford (1900), George Washington Lankford Jr. (1903), Mattie Bell Lankford (1906), William Mell Lankford (1909), and Mary Lucy Lankford (1913).

George Lankford-Jessie Burton marriage license

On June 2, 1900, George, Jessie, and their son Owen lived in a rental home in Woodville, Greene County, Georgia. The census record shows that George and Jessie had been married for six years and that both could read and write. Jessie was enumerated as having had one child who was living. George worked as a sawyer in a saw mill.

By April 19, 1910, the family had moved to Union Point, Greene County, Georgia and had grown to five children. George still worked as a sawyer in a saw mill. None of the children were attending school at the time. Owen could read but not write. It was the 1910 census record that told us there were 14 children in the Curtis Lankford family. George’s mother Nancy, who was living with daughter Florence was shown as having had 14 children, 10 of which were living. 

1910 Oglethorpe County, Georgia census record showing George's mother,
Nancy Lankford, had 14 children (click to enlarge)

By January 25, 1920, the family had moved to Hudson Avenue in Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, 32 miles from Union Point. Hopefully, they lived in a large home because there were now 11 people under one roof—George, Jessie, son Owen and wife Florrie (Owens), daughter Eva and husband Snow Gurley, sons George and William, daughters Mattie and Mary, and George’s mother-in-law Mattie (Parham Burton Drake). George continued to work in the saw mill, now as a laborer. Owen had joined his father at the saw mill. Even though she still had young children at home, Jessie now worked outside the home as a spooler in the cotton mill. Their son-in-law Snow worked as a weaver at the cotton mill, perhaps the same one as Jessie. The 1920s were hard on the Lankford family beginning on April 12, 1920 when George’s mother died. The family buried her beside George’s father at Bairdstown Cemetery. Then tragedy struck in 1922 when George Jr., only 19 years old, died following surgery for a ruptured appendix on June 16 at the Oglethorpe Infirmary in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia. A funeral service performed by Rev. M. S. Williams was held at their home the next day followed by burial at Pine Grove Cemetery in Eatonton. Probably still reeling from the death of George Jr., tragedy struck again on July 3, 1923 in what today we would call a case of road rage. George’s son Owen was driving a car when he came upon a man named Tom Carter, who was driving a lumber wagon. Mr. Carter felt crowded on the road and an altercation ensued that ended with Owen being struck in the head with an auto jack. The blow fractured Owen’s skull and he died at the hospital the next day. George Sr. took a warrant out on Mr. Carter who was charged with manslaughter and then released on bond. Owen was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Eatonton on July 5, leaving a wife and child behind. Mr. Carter claimed he acted in self-defense but I’ve been unable to find a news article detailing events after his release on bond so don’t know what the outcome was. And finally, George’s sketch ends with his death on May 10, 1927 in Eatonton at the age of 63. I’ve been unable to find a death or burial record for George but this is what his Find-A-Grave memorial shows. It’s believed he too was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Eatonton but don’t have proof of that. Years ago, a fellow researcher visited Pine Grove Cemetery to document these Lankford deaths but she didn’t find a headstone for George. She shared the following with me: “In Pine Grove, there is a plot with 5 slabs, 1 marked for Gertrude and Lucy and 1 marked for Dorothy Agnes. The other 3 unmarked have to be Owen, George Jr. and Jessie because the cemetery records have all of them listed as section 2 lot 28. William Mell and Gladys are in section 1 Div C lot 281 1/2. No space that could be George Sr.” 

Lankford family plot at Pine Grove Cemetery in Eatonton, Georgia

Of course, I’d like to have a record to confirm George’s death and burial so if anyone reading this has one, I’d love to hear from you. 

References

• Carter Out on Bond, Eatonton Messenger, Eatonton, Georgia, July 13, 1923.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129243930/george-washington-lankford: accessed 26 December 2021), memorial page for George Washington Lankford Jr. (26 Feb 1903–16 Jun 1922), Find a Grave Memorial ID 129243930, citing Pine Grove Cemetery, Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, USA; maintained by Patty Shreve (contributor 47563794).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129388747/george-washington-lankford: accessed 27 December 2021), memorial page for George Washington Lankford Sr. (15 Jul 1863–10 May 1927), Find a Grave Memorial ID 129388747, citing Pine Grove Cemetery, Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, USA; maintained by Patty Shreve (contributor 47563794).
• George W. Lankford, Eatonton Messenger, Eatonton, Georgia, June 23, 1922.
• Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certification of Death no. 21380, Owen Langford.
• Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certification of Death no. 10570, Mr. Wade H. Lankford.
• Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Standard Certification of Death no. 13929, Geo. W. Lankford Jr.
• Langford Dies as Result of Blow on Head from Carter, Eatonton Messenger, Eatonton, Georgia, July 6, 1923.
• Obituary, Mr. Kirk Langford, Oglethorpe Echo, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, June 17, 1887.
• Personal visit to Pine Grove Cemetery, P. Moon.
• U.S. Federal Census, Bowling Green, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1880.
• U.S. Federal Census, District 0127, Woodstock, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1910.
• U.S. Federal Census, Eatonton, Putnam County, Georgia, 1920.
• U.S. Federal Census, Militia District 138, Greene County, Georgia, 1870.
• U.S. Federal Census, Simston, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1880.
• U.S. Federal Census, Union Point, Greene County, Georgia, 1910.
• U.S. Federal Census, Woodville, Greene County, Georgia, 1860, 1900.