Lankford brothers in court for gambling

Recently while perusing Greene County Georgia Superior Court records, I discovered two cases involving James Meriweather Lankford, my 3rd great grandfather, and two of his brothers, William A. Lankford and Curtis Caldwell Lankford. All three were brought before the grand jury on gambling charges. The first case involved William and James for playing Poker; the second involved Curtis, for running a gaming house and allowing people to play Seven Up. I’ve been unable to find the sentence and/or fine for the poker case.

Just another glimpse into the lives of my ancestors. 

The State vs. William A. Lankford, James M. Lankford, Robert M. Foster and Marshall B. Grady

Greene Superior Court, September Term 1856
Playing and Betting
State of Georgia, Greene County

The Grand Jurors sworn chosen and selected for the county of Greene to wit the undersigned by presentment in the name and behalf of the citizens of Georgia charge and accuse William A. Lankford, James M. Lankford, Robert M. Foster and Marshall B. Grady, of the county and state of aforesaid with the offence of playing and betting for that the said William A. Lankford, James M. Lankford, Robert M. Foster and Marshall B. Grady on the third day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty six in the county aforesaid with force and arms aid then and there play and bet for money at a game of cards called poker contrary to the laws of said state the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

September Term 1856
John C. Holtzclaw, Foreman

Thomas Miller, William A. Corry, William S. Creddill, Littleberry Jackson, Elisha Hall, Thomas Crawford, Joseph R. Parker, William Tuggle Jr., William B. Johnson, John F. Zimmerman, Robert J. Mapey, Elliot C. Bowden, John W. Kimbrough, Miles G. Broom, William A. Overton, William Terrill, Samuel D. Durham, William T. Watts, Harrison H. Watts.

September Term 1856 No Arrest
March Term 1857 Plea of guilty by all defendants
The defendants plead guilty.
W. A. Lofton, Solicitor General

The State vs. Curtis C. Lankford

Proceedings of Greene Superior Court, Georgia, Greene County, September Term 1856
Keeping a Gaming House
Witness: Joseph Davison

The Grand Jurors sworn, chosen and selected for the county of Greene to wit: John G. Holtzclaw, Foreman, Thomas Miller, William A. Corry, William S. Creddille, Littleberry Jackson, Elisha Hall, Thomas Crawford, Joseph R. Parker, William Tuggle Jr., William B. Johnson, John F. Zimmerman, Robert J. Mapey, Elliot C. Bowden, John W. Kimbrough, Miles G. Broom, William A. Overton, William Terrell, Samuel D. Durham, William T. Watts, Harrison H. Watts.

In the name and behalf of the citizens of Georgia charge and accuse Curtis C. Lankford of the county and state aforesaid with the offence of keeping a gaming house. For that the said Curtis C Lankford by himself on the twenty fifth day of March in the year eighteen hundred and fifty six in the county aforesaid did then and there unlawfully and with force and arms have and maintain a gaming house on the day and year aforesaid and on divers other days and times then knowingly did permit persons to come together and play together at a certain game of cards called Seven Up and in the said gaming house on the day and year aforesaid in the county and on divers other days and times there knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully did permit said persons to be and remain playing and betting at said unlawful game of Seven Up for divers sums of money to the evil example of all others in like cases offending contrary to the laws of said state, the good order, peace and dignity thereof.

Greene Superior Court, September Term 1856.
James Davison, Prosecutor
William A. Lofton, Sol. General

Bench Warrant, Georgia, Greene County

To all and singular the Sheriffs, Coroners, and Constables of said state, Greeting: Whereas at the September Term 1856 the Grand Jury did find a true Bill of Indictment against - Curtis C. Lankford for keeping a gaming house. These are therefore to command you take the body of said Curtis C. Lankford before me or some justice of the peace that he may be dealt with as the law directs. 

Given under my hand and seal this 13th September 1856.
William A. Lofton, Sol. Gen.
Robert V. Hardeman, Judge, Supr. Court

True Bill
John G. Holtzclaw, Foreman
The defendant waives a formal arraignment and pleads guilty.
March Term 1858.
William A. Lofton, Sol. General

March Term, 1858

Whereupon it is ordered considered and adjudged by the court that defendant pay a fine of fifty dollars and all costs and be imprisoned in the common jail of the county for sixty days – and upon payment of said fine of fifty dollars and all costs that he be thence discharged. March Term 1858, William A. Lofton, Sol. General.

Recorded the 29th of June 1858. D. B. Sanford for Vincent Sanford, Clerk of S.C.

The Georgia Temperance Crusader reported on Curtis’ case on March 18, 1858:

Court Week in Greenesboro’. Last week the Superior Court of this county, held its regular session. The amount of business dispatched was large; yet, at the adjournment on Saturday evening, they had not gotten through with more than half. … Quite a number of the gaming gentry were brought to an account for their misdeeds, and some of them dealt with pretty heavily. B. F. Ray, against whom several true bills were found, one for gambling with negroes, was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment, and fined $350. Curtius Lankford was sentenced to 2 months imprisonment, and fined $50. A squad of gamesters from a neighboring county were invited to contribute to the county treasury, in a manner which rendered a compliance most prudent. We think, however, that our laws against gambling can never become sufficiently terrible to offenders, until the rates of fining be raised. …

Note: click on all images to enlarge

References

• Court Week in Greenesboro’, The Georgia Temperance Crusader, Penfield, Georgia, March 18, 1858.
• Greene County, Georgia, Superior Court, Special Proceedings Records, September Term 1857 and 1858, familysearch.org.
• Poker, Cool Old Games; https://www.coololdgames.com/card-games/poker/. 
• Seven Up, Cool Old Games; https://www.coololdgames.com/card-games/trick-taking/all-fours/seven-up/.

Peter, Lucy, and Peter received into fellowship of Penfield Baptist Church

This post is part of an ongoing project to record names of enslaved people of Greene County, Georgia I find in historical records.

Extract from Penfield Baptist Church Minutes, Penfield, Greene County, Georgia:

Penfield, May 14, 1848.

The Church met in conference at the new building in Penfield for the purpose of organizing a branch of the church for the benefit of the colored people; bro. B. M. Sanders presiding as Moderator. The following members presented letters, and were received into the fellowship of the church: Peter, a male servant belonging to Rev. S. G. Hillyer, dismissed from the Church in Milledgeville; Lucy, a female servant, belonging to Thomas West, dismissed from the Church at Bethesda, Peter, a male servant, belonging to J. E. Jackson, also dismissed from Bethesda. The conference after communion, adjourned. 

Samuel Green, Clk. pro. tem. 

Reference

• Penfield Baptist Church Minutes, 1839-1892, Mercer University Libraries.

Three Church Deaths in 1895

Sometimes when researching, I find something that makes me sad. That was the case when I found the death of three family members in just under eight months—Lucinda C. Jackson Church, Josiah T. Church, and Clara R. Church. Lulie is the wife of my husband’s 2nd great-uncle, George Church. Their children would be his 1st cousins 2x removed.

Lucinda “Lulie” C. Jackson, daughter of Garrison P. Jackson and Elizabeth “Eliza” J. Lieutz, was born in Wetzel County, West Virginia on October 3, 1869. When Lulie was 17, she married George Church, son of Henry Church and Rebecca Longwell, in Wetzel County on October 31, 1886. After obtaining consent from Lulie’s father, the marriage took place at his home in a ceremony performed by W. H. Shaw, a minister of the M. E. Church. 

Church-Jackson marriage license/certificate/endorsement (click to enlarge)

Lulie and George welcomed four children between 1887 and 1894—Clyde Porter Church (1887), Clarence Benjamin Church (1891), Josiah T. Church (1892), and Clara R. Church (1894). My best guess is that Clara’s middle name is Rebecca, after her paternal grandmother.

Josiah and Clara both contracted scarlet fever and died, likely at home in Long Drain, in early 1895. Josiah’s death occurred on January 6, Clara’s on February 3. The Wetzel County register of deaths recorded Josiah’s age as 2 years, 11 months, 18 days; Clara was 1 year, 2 months, 15 days. 

Probably still grieving the death of her two children, Lulie contracted consumption (tuberculosis) that summer and died in Long Drain, Wetzel County, West Virginia on August 16, 1895, in what would have been a slow and painful death. Her husband George Church was the informant on all three death registers.

Register of Deaths, Wetzel County, West Virginia - page 1 (click to enlarge)

Register of Deaths, Wetzel County, West Virginia - page 2 (click to enlarge)

Lulie, Josiah, and Clara were all buried at Low Gap Cemetery in Knob Fork, Wetzel County, West Virginia. Lulie’s tombstone reads:

LULY C. CHURCH
WIFE OF GEORGE CHURCH
BORN OCT. 3, 1869.
DIED AUG. 16, 1895.
AGE 25 Ys, 10 Ms, & 13 Ds.

Kind friends before, as you pass by,
as you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you must be,
prepare therefore to follow me.

The first three words of her epitaph are hard to read so what I’ve transcribed may be wrong, but it’s close. Josiah’s tombstone is also hard to read but I believe the words are:

JOSHIA T., SON OF GEO. & LULY CHURCH
BORN JAN. 24, 1892
DIED JAN. 6, 1895
AGE 2 Ys, 11 Ms, 18 Ds.

 

Clara’s tombstone reads:

CLARA R.
DAUG OF GEO & LULY CHURCH
BORN NOV. 20 1894
DIED FEB. 3, 1895
AGE 1 Ys, 2 Ms, & 15 Ds. 

Tombstone photos used with permission of K. Alan Lewis, Find A Grave Member ID 46967048.

I discovered a discrepancy in the dates for Clara. If the death date on her tombstone and her age on the West Virginia Death Register (and tombstone) are correct (1 year, 2 months, 15 days), her birth would have taken place in November 1893, not 1894. Had she been born in 1894, she would have only been 2 months old when she died. Unfortunately, the West Virginia Birth Register does not contain a birth record for Clara.

References

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59679082/lucinda-c-church: accessed 01 March 2023), memorial page for Lucinda C. Jackson Church (3 Oct 1869–16 Aug 1895), Find a Grave Memorial ID 59679082, citing Low Gap Cemetery, Knob Fork, Wetzel County, West Virginia, USA; maintained by KAL (contributor 46967048).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59678870/josiah-t-church: accessed 01 March 2023), memorial page for Josiah T. Church (24 Jan 1892–6 Jan 1895), Find a Grave Memorial ID 59678870, citing Low Gap Cemetery, Knob Fork, Wetzel County, West Virginia, USA; maintained by KAL (contributor 46967048).
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59678800/clara-r-church: accessed 01 March 2023), memorial page for Clara R. Church (20 Nov 1894–3 Feb 1895), Find a Grave Memorial ID 59678800, citing Low Gap Cemetery, Knob Fork, Wetzel County, West Virginia, USA; maintained by KAL (contributor 46967048).
• George Church and Lula C. Jackson Marriage License/Certificate, Wetzel County, West Virginia, October 31, 1886.
• George Church Certificate of Death 6721, West Virginia State Department of Health, May 31, 1943.
• L. C. Jackson, General Index and Register of Births—Wetzel County, W.Va.
• Painter, Sally, What Does Dying of Consumption Mean?, Love to Know, August 3, 2020; https://dying.lovetoknow.com/death-cultures-around-world/what-does-dying-consumption-mean. 
• Register of Deaths Within the District of I.D. Morgan, Assessor, for the County of Wetzel in the Year Ending 31st December 1895.
• U.S. Federal Census, Center, Wetzel County, West Virginia, 1880. 

10 slaves named—property of William Moore

This post is part of an ongoing project to record names of enslaved people of Greene County, Georgia I find in historical records.

Temperance Crusader, Penfield, Georgia, January 12, 1856

Greene Sheriff’s Sale. 

Will be sold, before the Court House door in the town of Greenesboro’, Greene county, on the first Tuesday in March next, within the legal hours of sale, the following property, to wit:

Ten likely young NEGROES, viz: Patrick, a man about 80 years old; Ross, about 20 years old; Henry, about 18 years old; Ruth, a woman about 25 years old; Lucenie, a girl about 15 years old; Emeline, a girl 15 years old; Feribee, a woman 80 years; Lively, a woman 30 years old; Jef, a boy 10 years old; Minta, a girl 9 years old—levied on as the property of William Moore, to satisfy one mortgage fi. Fa. From Greene Inferior Court in favor of Guynn Allison vs. William Moore. Property pointed out in said fi. Fa.

T. F. FOSTER, Sheriff

Jan. 12

Ollie C. Rhinehart

Ollie C. Rhinehart, daughter of William Dearnald Rhinehart and Roda Elizabeth Sneed was born August 1888 in Tennessee, most likely Sevier County. She was the second child of five—Sarah “Malonia” Rhinehart, Ollie C. Rhinehart, James (Jim) Daniel Rhinehart, Arlie Mack Rhinehart, and Hattie Jane Rhinehart. She is my 2nd great-aunt with our nearest common relatives being her parents, my 2nd great-grandparents. Her sister Hattie is my great-grandmother.

The Rhinehart family. Ollie is probably the young woman on the left in the back row.

On June 11, 1900, Ollie and her family lived in Civil District 13 of Sevier County, Tennessee. Her parents had been married 14 years. Her mother was enumerated as having had five children, all of which were living. Her father was a farmer and her brother James (10), a farm laborer. Ollie and her sister Malonia, enumerated as Sarah M., could both read but not write. James was unable to read or write. 

Ollie lost her father William when she was 19 years old and he 44. His death occurred on April 19, 1908 in Sevierville, Sevier County, Tennessee. William was buried at Catons Chapel Cemetery in Sevierville. 

On April 29, 1910, Ollie (21), lived in a rented farm in Civil District 13 of Sevier County with her widowed mother, brothers James (20) and Arlie (17, enumerated as Arley), sister Hattie (16), and Hattie’s husband James “Stewart” Shields (18). Hattie and Stewart were newlyweds, married for one year. Ollie’s mother was enumerated as a farmer on a general farm, Ollie and James as farm laborers on a home farm, and Arlie and Stewart as farm laborers working out (I assume that means working outside of their farm). Hattie was the only person in the home not working. Except for Ollie, everyone in the home could read and write. Ollie’s sister Malonia, enumerated as Lona, lived next door with her husband Ashley Sutton and their infant daughter Georgia. 

Ollie was married to George Walter “Tobe” Matthews, son of John Henry Matthews and Margaret J “Peggy” Sutton. I have been unable to find a marriage record but it probably took place sometime between August 1910 and 1911. I am able to document five children born to this couple—Melvin Matthews, William Arley Matthews, John Leonard Matthews, Hattie Lee Mathews, and Robert Matthews. Ollie gave two of her children Rhinehart family names—Arley, probably after her brother Arlie Mack Rhinehart, and Hattie, after her sister named earlier. Melvin, William, John, and Hattie were born fairly close together, between 1912 and 1918. There was a 10-year age difference between Hattie and Robert with Hattie’s birth occurring in 1918 and Robert’s in 1928.

About 1914, Ollie’s sister Malonia and her family moved to Whitfield County, Georgia. It is believed that Malonia had cancer of some sort and was very sick. The move was made so family in Georgia could help take care of her, but sadly, Malonia died on November 25, 1916. She was buried at Deep Springs Baptist Church Cemetery in Dalton, Whitfield County, Georgia at the age of 29.

On January 9, 1920, Ollie, husband Tobe, and children Melvin (8), William (6), John (4 3/12), and Hattie (2 5/12) lived in Civil District 13, District 152, of Sevier County. Her husband was enumerated as Tobe Mathes, working as a farmer on a general farm. Neither Tobe or Ollie could read or write. None of the children attended school at the time.

On April 21, 1930, Ollie and her family lived in Sevierville. The census enumerator noted that Ollie was 21 and Tobe 20 when they married. Tobe and their 19-year-old son William were laborers on a farm; Ollie was not working. Three other children lived in the home—John (14), Hattie, enumerated as Lee (12), and Robert (2 4/12). Tragically, Ollie died four years later, in Sevierville on July 24, 1934. The doctor, who last saw her on July 19, recorded pellagra of the bowels as cause of death. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “pellagra is a disease caused by a deficiency of niacin, otherwise known as vitamin B3” and is a “form of malnutrition.” Her brother James Rhinehart, was the informant on her death certificate. Ollie was buried at Catons Chapel Cemetery in Sevierville on July 25. She was 45 years old and had spent her adult life as a housewife and mother. Her youngest child, Robert, was only 6 years old.

References

• Allie Matthews, Tennessee, Deaths and Burials Index, 1874-1955, Ancestry.com.
• John H. Mathes and Margaret J. Sutton, Tennessee, U.S., Marriage Records, 1780-2002.
• Mrs. Ollie Matthews Certificate of Death 16503, State of Tennessee, State Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics.
• Pellagra, Overview, What is pellagra?, Cleveland Clinic; https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23905-pellagra. 
• Personal memories via email from Carol Defore to Jennifer Roberts, June 8, 2001.
• U.S. Federal Census, Civil District 13, Sevier County, Tennessee, 1900, 1910, 1920.
• U.S. Federal Census, District 4, Sevier County, Tennessee, 1930.
• William Matthews Certificate of Death 32125, State of Tennessee, State Department of Health, Division of Vital Statistics. 

Frank, a runaway

This post is part of an ongoing project to record names of enslaved people of Greene County, Georgia I find in historical records.

The Georgia Journal, Milledgeville, Georgia, September 22, 1818

NOTICE—Runaway from the subscriber living in Greene county, on the 24th August last, a negro man named FRANK; about twenty-five years of age, about six feet high, very black, a little knockneed, & of an African descent, his teeth have the appearance of being sharpened; he had on when he went off, a cambric shirt, striped homesun pantaloons, merseilles vest with brown holland back. Ten dollars reward will be given for his delivery to me at Hodge’s Ferry, or for confining him in any Jail so that I get him again.

JOHN HODGE
September 3

  

Quinby and Simpson Bentley

Quinby Bentley and Simpson Bentley, twin sons of Minnie Lee Hazlett and McAlpin A. Bentley Jr., were born in Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia on December 2, 1921. They were the first-born children of Minnie and McAlpin and are my 2nd cousins 1x removed. Our nearest common relatives are James C. Lankford and Mary Ann Wilson, my 2nd great-grandparents. Their grandparents were Julia Lee Lankford (daughter of James and Mary) and John Dawson Hazlett.

Tragically, the twins were born premature and only survived one day; both died in Washington on December 3. Quinby and Simpson were buried at Resthaven Cemetery in Washington on December 4.

Quinby and Simpson Bentley's grave (photo used with permission,
Kate Orr Messer, Find A Grave ID 47451562)

Baby Boys Bentley grave marker (photo used with permission,
Gary Williams, Find A Grave ID 47679332)

Minnie and McAlpin would go on to have two more sons, William E. Bentley in 1926, and McAlpin “Mack” A. Bentley III in 1940.

References

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45370152/infant-twin_sons-bentley: accessed 15 February 2023), memorial page for Infant Twin Sons Bentley (2 Dec 1921–3 Dec 1921), Find a Grave Memorial ID 45370152, citing Resthaven Cemetery, Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia, USA; maintained by Gathering Roots (contributor 47213048).
• Infant Twins Bentley grave photo, Kate Orr Messer, Find A Grave ID 47451562.
• Infant Twins Bentley marker photo, Gary Williams, Find A Grave ID 47679332.
• Mack A. Bentley Certificate of Death 68 014526, Board of Health, State of South Carolina, September 1968.
• Quinby Bentley Standard Certificate of Death 32385, Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, December 1921.
• Simpson Bentley Standard Certificate of Death 32386, Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, December 1921.
• U.S. Federal Census, Aiken, Aiken County, South Carolina, 1950.
• U.S. Federal Census, Washington, Wilkes County, Georgia, 1930.

Mary, property of Benjamin E. Spencer of Penfield

Temperance Crusader, Penfield, Georgia, October 25, 1856

Greene Sheriff’s Sale.

Will be sold before the Court House door in the city of Greenesboro, on the first Tuesday in December next, within the legal hours of sale, the following property to-wit:

One negro woman by the name of Mary, of black complexion, about forty years old, one house and lot in Penfield, occupied by B. E. Spencer, and one store house, on main street, in Penfield, adjoining the store of McWhorter & Armstrong. Levied on as the property of Benj. E. Spencer to satisfy a fi fa from Greene Superior Court in favor of C. C. Norton, cs. Benj. E. Spencer, and S. D. English & J. N. English security. Property pointed out by the securities.

T. F. FOSTER, D. Sheriff.

Oct 22 

Reference

• Greene Sheriff's Sale, Temperance Crusader, Penfield, Georgia, October 25, 1856.

Susan Elizabeth Brook

This blog post is another in a series connecting the dots in my tree to the souls buried at Bairdstown Cemetery in Bairdstown, Oglethorpe County, Georgia. 

Susan Elizabeth Brook, daughter of Silas M. Brook and Lebertha (or Lebitha) Mickelberry, was born in Georgia on April 4, 1838. There were at least three children in the Brook family—John Brook, Sarah Brook, and Susan Elizabeth Brook. She is the wife of my 4th great-uncle, Robert Chester Lankford, the brother of my 3rd great-grandfather, James Meriweather Lankford. We have no common relative. She went by Susie.

Susan’s father died in Oglethorpe County in 1841 when she was just three years old.

On August 6, 1850, Susan lived with her widowed mother Lebertha and siblings in the 66th Division of Oglethorpe County. Lebertha had real estate valued at $500. Susan’s brother John worked as a farmer. An Armstrong family lived in the home with Susan’s family consisting of Lucinda (age 45, farmer), Joseph (age 20), Rebecca (age 18), William (age 16, farmer), and Mary (age 11). I have no clue what the connection is to Susan’s family, but wonder if perhaps Labertha and Lucinda are sisters. I can’t find any records to help figure that out at this point.

Susan married Robert Chester Lankford, son of Charles L. Lankford and Miss Moore, in Oglethorpe County on December 10, 1854, in a ceremony performed by John R. Young, a Baptist clergyman. 

Marriage record for Susan Brooks and Robert Lankford (click to enlarge)

The Temperance Banner of Penfield, Georgia published the following on January 6, 1855:

Married, … On Sunday morning, the 10th ult., by Rev. J. R. Young, Mr. Robert C. Lankford to Miss Susan E. Brooke, all of Oglethorpe county, Ga.

Marriage announcement published in The Temperance Banner on January 6, 1855 (click to enlarge)

As best I can tell, this couple had four children together—Elizabeth Susan Lankford, Edward James Lankford, Charles F. Lankford, and Robert S. Lankford. The book Cemeteries of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, Second Edition, published in 2002 by Historic Oglethorpe County, Inc., records a child named Elizabeth as the daughter of R. C. and Elizabeth Lankford. The name BROOK is noted in the book as well. Elizabeth was born September 10, 1852, and died December 2, 1854. The book The History of Oglethorpe County, Georgia by Mrs. Florrie Carter Smith published in 1970 states that a daughter named Elizabeth died in infancy but does not specify who the mother was. Assuming the birth date in the book is correct, this means she was born out of wedlock since Susan and Robert did not marry until December 10, 1854, eight days after Elizabeth’s death. Son Edward James Lankford was born December 1855 in Oglethorpe County. A second son, Charles F. Lankford, was born April 1857, most likely in Oglethorpe County. The fourth child, Robert S. Lankford, was born April 22, 1858, again, most likely Oglethorpe County. Sadly, Susan, just 21-years-old, died in Oglethorpe County on May 24, 1859. Her infant son Robert died on June 17, 1859, less than a month after his mother. The Daily Constitutionalist published the following on July 14, 1859:

Obituary. Died, in Oglethorpe county, Ga., on the 24th day of May last, Susan E. Lankford, wife of Robert C. Lankford, and youngest child of Silas and Lebertha Brook, aged twenty-one years.

Deceased was the subject of affliction for several years, which she bore with Christian resignation. She embraced religion when but a girl, and united with the Baptist Church at Baird’s, Oglethorpe county, and lived a devoted Christian until her death. She left an infant child which only lived eight weeks, and two other children, husband, and widowed mother to mourn her loss. For several days previous to her death she gave the brightest and strongest evidence of her acceptance with God. She exhorted husband and friends to meet her in Heaven. Her illness, though short, was severe and painful; but the God whom she loved stood by and supported her in the hour of her trials, and calmly and peacefully she fell asleep in Jesus. J.H.M. 

Susan's obituary published in The Daily Constitutionalist on July 14, 1859

According to the book Cemeteries of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, Second Edition published by Historic Oglethorpe County, Inc. in 2002, Susan was buried at the Lankford Cemetery in Oglethorpe County. This cemetery is “located on ridge top about 60 yards west of County Road 253, 0.7 miles northwest of its intersection with County Road 108.” Susan, and the two children who died, are recorded on page 215.

For many years, I thought Susan was buried at Bairdstown Cemetery in Bairdstown, Oglethorpe County, Georgia because her name, birth and death dates are engraved on one side of her husband’s obelisk. It reads:

Susie E. Lankford

Born Apr. 4, 1838,

Died May 24, 1859.

Susan’s cenotaph (top photo) on Robert’s obelisk (bottom photo)

Even though Susan is not actually buried at Bairdstown Cemetery, I am including her in my list of connections buried there because of the cenotaph on Robert’s obelisk.

References

• Cemeteries of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, Second Edition, Historic Oglethorpe County, Inc., 2002.
• E. S. Brook and R. C. Lankford, Georgia, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1828-1978.
• Edward James Lankford, Standard Certificate of Death no. 12033, Georgia State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
• Personal visit to Bairdstown Cemetery, Bairdstown, Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
• Robert C. Lankford to Miss Susan E. Brooke, The Temperance Banner, Penfield, Georgia, January 6, 1855.
• Silas Brook and Lebitha Mickelberry, Georgia, Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1828-1978.
• Silas Brook, Georgia, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1742-1992.
• Smith, Mrs. Florrie Carter, The History of Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1970.
• Susan E. Lankford, Obituary, The Daily Constitutionalist, Augusta, Georgia, July 14, 1859.
• U.S. Federal Census, Bairdstown, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1860.
• U.S. Federal Census, Division 66, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 1850. 

45 slaves and 7 infants of Thomas C. Grimes

This post is part of an ongoing project to record names of enslaved people of Greene County, Georgia I find in historical records.

The Temperance Banner, Penfield, Georgia, October 22, 1853

Fifty-two Negroes for Sale.

Will be sold by order of the Ordinary of Greene county, for the benefit of the heirs and creditors of Thomas C. Grimes, deceased, at the Court House in the town of Greenesboro’, on the first Tuesday in December next, Fifty-two Negroes: to wit, Joshua 48; Sam 48; Daniel 46; Wyatt 34; Bill 21, Kinchen 20; Simon 18; Anderson 16; Hepee 16; Thornton 16; Ed 15; Little Bob 15; Will 16; Alfred 14; Isham 13; Aaron 10; Levin 11; William 9; Humphrey 40; Westley 2; Big John 17; Lizy 60; Rhet 55; Caroline and infant 32; Elza and infant 30; Chaney 35; Maria and infant 25; Lucinda and infant 25; Dorcas and infant 24; Nelly 20; Gresey and infant 27; Little Maria and infant 25; Charity 18; Frances 20; Susan 18; Sarah 17; Little Caroline 15; Feraby 16; Angeline 15; Martha 15; Little Martha 14; Tamar 13; Jane 16; Melinda 12; Easter 4. All good claims upon the Estate will be received.

FRANCES A. GRIMES, Ad’x.

Greenesboro’ Oct 22, 1853. 43td

Reference

• Fifty-two Negroes for Sale, The Temperance Banner, Penfield, Georgia, October 22, 1853