Lankford Family Bible

For the first post of 2024, I share a family treasure I received this past October. Over the summer, my sister-in-law texted to let me know my brother planned to give me the Bible that once belonged to our paternal grandparents, Carroll Harvey Lankford (Grandpa) and Floria Mae Burnette Lankford (Grandma) on our next trip to Atlanta. Of course, as the family genealogist, I was thrilled.

Now in my possession, I can tell you the Bible is large, 11.5” x 9” and 1.5” thick. Unfortunately, the book spine is damaged and has been repaired with duct tape. Some other sort of tape was also used on both the outer and inner binding, along with a small piece of scotch tape that is still in place on the inner binding. 

The pages are somewhat yellowed and aged around the edges. Some of them are separating from the spine.

Daddy wrote a message on the title page that reads “To my Mother and Father this 8th of April 1957” so the Bible is 66 years old. You can see he signed the message.

Unlike my Granny’s Bible that I blogged about on January 6, 2023, there are no markings on the pages. But, thank goodness, someone entered names and dates on the two pages set aside for family history. Is it Grandma’s handwriting? I wish I knew, but whoever recorded the information, they included the following:

Name: Carroll H. Lankford and Floria Mae Burnette, married March 12, 1922 in Penfield, Georgia.

Father’s grandparents: This section was left blank. 

Mother’s grandparents: 

Samuel Pride Burnette: This is one of two documents we have that lists his middle name as “Pride.” All others only list his middle initial, so I was happy to see this written out.

Virginia Overton Burnette: Her given name was Millicent Virginia Overton.

Henry Claborn Jones: Most records only list his middle initial, so this confirms his middle name, although I usually see it spelled “Clayborn.”

Elizabeth Tuck Jones: Her given name was Sarah Elizabeth Tuck.

Grandparents: 

Alice Callaway: This would be Grandpa’s mother, Alice Beman Lankford, not his grandmother. Because he was illegitimate, no father is listed. I have published several blogs detailing speculation of his birth and how DNA connects me to the family that was rumored to be his father’s. If you search his name on this blog, you will find several posts.

Parents: This section lists Grandpa and Grandma, rather than their parents, Thomas Terrell Burnette and Elizabeth Jones.

Children: All eight of their children are listed, along with their birthdates. There are a few marriage dates but they are incomplete and perhaps even wrong.

Grandchildren: There are 26 of their 28 grandchildren recorded, along with their birthdates. Two more were born five years after the last child was recorded. 

For privacy’s sake, I am not posting a photo showing their children (one still alive at 95 years of age) or grandchildren. It was interesting to see the list of grandchildren. I have never counted them so was surprised by the number, although I knew there were quite a few. I was number 13—my lucky number!

Several items were found between the pages of the Bible:

• Grandma’s obituary from an unknown newspaper
• One dried flower that looks like a rose, pressed in plastic
• A green envelope with the words “To Dad” written on it
• A piece of paper marking Luke 6:46-49 and Luke 7:1-50

  

 

My paternal grandparents, Carroll and Floria (Burnette) Lankford

I am grateful my brother gave this family treasure to me, and it now rests with the other family Bibles in our collection.