Caroline B. Hobbs Lankford—new death information

One of my brick walls has been the burial location of my 3rd great grandparents, James Meriweather Lankford and his wife Caroline B. (Hobbs) Lankford. I know a lot about their lives, but not that piece of information. Recently, while scrolling through the Family Search web site of unindexed images, I came across a record that provides a clue, in this case for Caroline. I knew she died on January 8, 1906 in Baldwin County, Georgia thanks to an Application for Pension Due to a Deceased Pensioner filed on February 14, 1906 in Greene County, Georgia by her son James C. Lankford. James declared that Caroline was on the Widow’s Indigent Pension Roll of Greene County at the time of her death and that an unpaid pension of $60 was due to her at that time. I’ve often wondered why her death occurred in Baldwin County vs. Greene County since she spent her entire life in Greene County. 

This new record is an Indigent Widows Roll for Greene County. You can see Caroline listed on the third line on the first page. 

Indigent Widows Roll, page 1 (click to enlarge)

On page two, Caroline is the line that begins with “6 mos State Militia” and at the end of that line, it reads asylum > Dead. 

Indigent Widows Roll, page 2 (click to enlarge)

I hadn’t thought about why Caroline would have been in Baldwin County but when I googled “asylum” and “Baldwin County,” the first hit was Abandoned Georgia Asylum Has Hopes for the Future which tells the story of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. Growing up in Atlanta, when you heard “Milledgeville,” your first thought was “insane asylum.” You didn’t even think about it being a city. 

Central State Hospital ca. 1937, public domain (see references for citation).

So, what I learn from this is that Caroline may have been suffering from mental illness at the time of her death. The website goes on say there are three cemeteries on the grounds with many people buried in unmarked graves or marked with just a number. Is this where Caroline is buried? I’m thinking it’s a good possibility. I found images of Central State Hospital burials on the Family Search site but don’t find Caroline listed. My hope is that someday the patient records will be released so I can find out for sure.

References

• Gomez, Kelly, Abandoned Georgia Asylum Has Hopes for the Future, Antebellum, Georgia, Hospitals & Asylums, The Forgotten South, National Register Historic Sites; https://theforgottensouth.com/central-state-hospital-milledgeville-georgia/. 
• Greene, Government Pension Records 1861–1864, Military Records 1861–1864, Public Records 1856–1896.
• Historic American Buildings Survey L. D. Andrew, Photograph Jan. 3, 1937 VIEW OF FRONT - Milledgeville State Hospital, Central Building, Milledgeville, Baldwin County, GA, see page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historic_American_Buildings_Survey_L._D._Andrew,_Photograph_Jan._3,_1937_VIEW_OF_FRONT_-_Milledgeville_State_Hospital,_Central_Building,_Milledgeville,_Baldwin_County,_GA_HABS_GA,5-MILG,9-1.tif.
• Milledgeville. Cemetery Records 1880–1951, Family Search; https://www.familysearch.org/records/images/image-details?page=3&place=392367&rmsId=TH-909-87768-35170-71&imageIndex=5&singleView=true.