James M. Lankford, the horse doctor

This week, I’d like to share three news articles I found that help tell the story of James Meriweather Lankford, my 3rd great grandfather. James wore many hats. In addition to being a son, husband, father, and grandfather, James was a farmer, soldier, constable, realtor, and merchant, selling groceries, household supplies, toiletries, and medicines. He spent much of his life dealing with horses—he was a stock trader; he owned and ran both a livery stable and a daily hack service that transported passengers to and from the train in Greensboro, Greene County, Georgia. And he was a horse doctor. James ran the following article in The Greensboro Herald mid- to late 1873 and early 1874.

Everybody! Look Here, The Greensboro Herald, Greensboro, Georgia, July 24, 1873.

To Farmers and Friends Generally. I have moved from Penfield to within one mile of Scull Shoals, Ga., where I propose to cure Horses diseased with Fistula, Polk-evil, Swinny, Big-head, weak eyes, Set-fast on the back, Founder; also to castrate Colts. No cure, I charge nothing for my trouble.

Having had twenty years experience in handling Horses, if I take your horse in hand it will cost you nothing unless I cure. I argue that 99 out of every 100 horses go blind or get disabled from the above diseases and the want of proper treatment.

My address will be SCULL SHOALS, Ga.

James M. Langford.

May 29, 1873

The Greensboro Herald, Greensboro, Georgia, July 24, 1873

He seemed pretty confident in his ability to heal horses, didn’t he? James was so serious about being a horse doctor, he wrote a book about it. I found an August 3, 1883 article in the Georgia Home Journal advertising the book A Treatise on the Horse and His Various Diseases! 

A Treatise on the Horse and His Various Diseases!

By J. M. Lankford, of Greene County

Receipes [sic] for all diseases, nils and complaints peculiar to horses, mules, etc., by a man of many years experience. This book is endorsed by some of the most prominent men in Middle Georgia. State and county rights for the sale of this book can be purchased from J. M. LANKFORD.

July 27th, 1883.

Georgia Home Journal, August 3, 1883

Of course, I had to see if the book existed and found copies of it for sale on several websites. However, the book shows the author as B. J. Kendall, not James. I finally found a digital copy on the Internet Archive website listing Burney James Kendall as the author of the book published in 1879, four years before James’ advertisement. I have no clue what was going on with James in 1883, but he did in fact publish a book that year. On January 25, 2016, the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) Blog featured Lankford’s Horse Book as the “book of the month.” The book, published in Atlanta in 1883, was written by James M. Lankford of Penfield, Georgia. But was this the same book as Kendall’s? The BPL Blog shared a sample remedy to cure colic from James’ book, so I checked Kendall’s book to see if the Treatise book had the same remedy. On page 8 of the Treatise book, there was a treatment for colic that’s very different from what the BPL Blog shared from Lankford’s Horse Book. So, they must be different books but not having a copy of Lankford’s Horse Book, I can’t confirm that. According to the Southern History Department (Birmingham Public Library System) Facebook page, “BPL is the only library in the world that owns Lankford’s Horse Book, and it is part of our rare book collection.” If interested, you can read the BPL Blog here: Southern History Book of the Month: Lankford’s Horse Book. You’ll find a copy of Kendall’s book here: A Treatise on the Horse and His Diseases. 

Image used with permission: Southern History Department, Birmingham Public Library System

Another interesting article was disturbing but did confirm James was a horse doctor. This article was published in the Georgia Home Journal in Greensboro on August 13, 1886. 

Georgia Home Journal, Greensboro, Georgia, August 13, 1886.—J. M. Langford, a horse doctor of Greene county, and well known in Augusta, was assaulted and robbed of $200 Saturday night. The robbers thought he was dead and threw his body into a creek. He crawled out and still lives.

I love to find these types of articles. They add substance to writing my ancestor’s life story.

References

• A Treatise on the Horse and His Various Diseases!, Georgia Home Journal, Greensboro, Georgia, August 3, 1883.
• Daily Chronicle and Sentinel, Augusta, Georgia, February 4, 1852.
• Everybody! Look Here, The Greensboro Herald, Greensboro, Georgia, July 24, 1873.
• Georgia Home Journal, Greensboro, Georgia, August 13, 1886.
• Kendall, Burney James, A Treatise on the Horse and His Diseases, 1879, Internet Archive; https://archive.org/details/treatiseonhorseh01kend/mode/2up. 
• Southern History Book of the Month: Lankford’s Horse Book, Birmingham Public Library Blog, January 25, 2016.
• Temperance Crusader, Penfield, Georgia, January 12, 1856.
• Temperance Crusader, Penfield, Georgia, November 29, 1856.
• The Georgia Temperance Crusader, Penfield, Georgia, February 4, 1858.
• The Temperance Banner, Penfield, Georgia, December 1, 1855.
• The Temperance Banner, Penfield, Georgia, June 10, 1854.