Walker Lankford (b. abt. 1769, VA, s/o Joseph and Mary ___, m. Mary or Polly Warren in 1800, of Old Crab Orchard, Lincoln Co. VA/KY and Clay County, Indiana

RELATIONSHIP: Walker Lankford is a fourth great-grandfather, maternal line, of Sherlene Hall Bartholomew (shb, hereafter). According to my mother, Ida-Rose Langford Hall’s research, I am descended from Walker and his wife Mary Warren, their son Fielding Langford (wife Sarah Bethurum), their son James Harvey Langford, Sr. (wife Mary Carolyn Turnbaugh), their son James Harvey Langford Jr. (wife Rose Ellen Jackson), and their son Ernest Fountain Langford (wife Zina Charlotte Chlarson). –shb

NAME: I have seen it spelled Lankford, Langford, Langeford, Lankeford, Langfort, Lankfurd, Longford, and even once transcribed as “Bangford.” –shb

AN EARLIER LANKFORD/WALKER CONNECTION. As posted on Jeff Davis’ site, at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~langford/timeline.htm, as part of his Timeline Project (collecting Virginia and North Caroline Langfords), accessed 5 July 2007, by shb: “1813, May 25 NC Warren Court “Ordered that Jesse Walker pay 7 pounds 10 schillings annually for seven years for the maintenance of the child begotten on the body of Delilah Lankford, commencing from the first of June 1811 and five pounds for lying in expenses.” (Source: Warren County, North Carolina Minutes to the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1810-1813. May 25, 1813, Tuesday, Page 72. Transcribed by Ginger L. Christmas-Beattie in her Volume VII, Page 131.) –shb 5 July 2007 [Note: This Delilah may be the one who is daughter of Nicholas and Katherine Guiney–shb.]

A BROTHER IVEY? See 1800 notes, below, and Ivey’s notes, ID No. 65807. –shb 17 June 2007

ON COLLECTING LANGFORD/LANKFORD DNA. My letter to all Langfords on my list, 31 May 2007: “‘Am forwarding this comment on my blog, as posted by Jeff Davis. I don’t know if he’s one of the two Jeff Davises who came to the recent Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion [‘have since learned he was NOT at the reunion, so now we have a third Jeff Davis–shb]. I wrote back, telling him that mycousin Julie Peterson brought 50 free DNA kits to the reunion, but did not get any takers (she was very low key about it–didn’t want anyone to feel pressured).

“However, John Robert “Bob, the Colonel” Langford (of Mt. Vernon Stephen’s line) brought the kit Sorenson Molecular mailed him, and sent his mouth-swish and the accompanying documents home with me to mail (going out today, Bob). Thanks, Bob, and for your input, Jeff. We’re excited to see the results.

“Sherlene (see Jeff’s comments in DNA, below)

New comment on your post #14 “Benjamin D. Lankford (b. 1795 NC, d. bef 1860, m. Mary Ann Cherry), of Warren County, Kentucky”
Author : Jeff Davis (IP: 24.73.216.230 , rrcs-24-73-216-230.se.biz.rr.com)
Sherlene,

“Anyone actively participating in your blog may wish to take our combined research to the next level with the use of DNA. I would highly recommend this as it may lead us all out of some of the VA/NC/KY/TN Langford/Lankford soup LOL.

Gene Lankford, e-mail: genelankford@msn.com <mailto:genelankford@msn.com> is one of the administrator’s for the project and is exceptionally great at explaining the science of DNA and genealogy in our terms.

The website for this particular Langford DNA Project is: http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Langford –shb 31 May 2007

HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY. As posted at http://www.rootsweb.com/~kypulask/History/JParsonArticle.htm, accessed 13 June 2007, by shb: Article from The Somerset COMMONWEALTH-JOURNAL Tuesday, September 11, 1979, contributed by John Parsons, jparsons@cafes.net Sept 1997 – “Following the Revolutionary War, many of the early Americans found their savings were gone, their homes broken and their hopes dampened. These people were predominantly Scotch, Irish, Welsh and English, who sought a new start in life.

“The long hunters, frontiersmen who were accustomed to spending long continuous periods hunting in the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky, brought word to the colonies of a new land to the west. With this incentive, pioneers quickly started the long trek westward. Some of them brought their families and meager possessions in ox carts or by pack horse, never knowing if they would safely reach their destination. After weeks of toiling over trackless mountains, through rain and cold and with the constant fear of Indians and wild animals, these hardy men and courageous women from the ‘backwater’ section of Virginia and the Carolinas joined the hordes that streamed through Cumberland Gap into this new land.

“They came over the Wilderness Trail down to the Orchard (Crab Orchard), crossed Rockcastle River and Buck Creek into what was later to be known as ‘The Glades,’ of Pulaski County. As it was flat, swampy land and held no appeal for the emigrants, they pressed on, settling in various sections of land later known as Pulaski County.

“Pulaski County, located in the south central section of the state, was the 27th county formed in Kentucky. It was created by an act of the General Assembly, December 10, 1798 – to begin June, 1799 – out of territory belonging to Lincoln and Green counties. The act passed by the assembly read:

“‘That from and after the first day of June next, all that part of the counties of Lincoln and Green, included in the following boundary, to wit — beginning at the mouth of Rockcastle, thence up the same four miles, where reduced to a straight line, above the reserve line; thence to the dividing ridge between Skegg’s Creek and Buck Creek; thence a straight line to the Round Knobs; thence south 45 degrees west to the present line between Green and Lincoln; thence to the proposed new county east line taken from Green; thence with the said line to the state line; thence along said line so far that a north line will strike the beginning, shall be one county, and called and known by the name Pulaski and all the residue of the said counties shall retain the names Lincoln and Green.’

“The assembly named the county in honor of Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish patriot and brigadier general in the U. S. Army during the American Revolution.

“Since the creation of Pulaski County, several changes have been made to her boundary. The first change was when Wayne County was formed and part was taken from Pulaski’s territory on December 18, 1800. When Rockcastle County was created in 1810, another section was taken from it. Then on February 20, 1825, a part of Pulaski was added to Whitley. Again a part of Pulaski was added to Wayne, January 6, 1831. The last change was made when McCreary was formed from parts of Pulaski, Wayne, and Whitley. [Note: The hundred acres owned by my ancestor Walker Lankford, who married Charles’ daughter, Mary/Polly, and the adjacent land owned by Charles Warren, Sr., still lies in Pulaski County, as of 27 May 2007, when we were thrilled to visit those beautiful lands–shb.]

“Pulaski County today is bounded on the east by Rockcastle and Laurel counties, on the south by McCreary and Wayne, on the west by Russell and Casey and on the north by Lincoln. It lies in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains and is drained by the Cumberland and South Fork rivers, Pitman, White Oak, Buck, Lyne, Cold Water and Fishing creeks.

“When it was created, its southern boundary reached the Tennessee line. In the Thirteenth Biennial Report of the Commission of Agriculture, 1898-99, it was listed as the largest county in the state, with a length of 40 miles form north to south and 30 miles from east to west. Pulaski is now the third largest county in the state, having an area of 401,920 acres or 628 square miles.

“The section of the act by the General Assembly creating the county has the following provisions for the county courts:

“‘The courts of Quarter Sessions for said county shall be held on the fourth Tuesday in the months July, October, January, and March in every year, and the court of said county shall be held on the fourth Tuesday in every month in which the courts of Quarter Sessions are not hereby directed to be held.

“‘The justices to be named in the commission of the peace for said county of Pulaski, shall meet at the house of Thomas Hansford upon the first court day after the said division shall take place; and having taken the oath prescribed by law, and a sheriff begin (being) legally qualified to act, shall then proceed to fix upon a place to hold courts in said county, in such place as shall, deemed the most central and convenient to the people, and then after the county court shall proceed to erect the public buildings at such place; and until such buildings are completed the court of Quarter Sessions and county court may adjourn to such place or places as they may severally think proper.’

“The first record of this county court, according to Pulaski court record. was:

“‘At the house of Thomas Hansford, in the county of Pulaski on Tuesday, the 25th of June, 1799, a commission of the peace from his excellency James Garrard, Esquire, governor of the commonwealth aforesaid, where upon the said Samuel Gilmore, Esq., took the oath of office and the oath to support the constitution of the United States, who, then afterward administered the said oath to the other justices.’

“After the justices took oath, Samuel Newell I, took oath as first sheriff of the county, William Fox was appointed county clerk; Samuel McKee took oath as first surveyor; and Charles Neal was granted an earmark for his livestock.

“‘The first court of Quarter Sessions was held at the home of HENRY FRANCIS [may be a person of interest on my Hall line–shb] in county of Pulaski on Tuesday the 23rd day of July, 1799. A commission of the peace from his excellency, James Garrard, Esq., governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, directed to Samuel Gilmore, Joseph McAlister and John Hardgrove, appointing them justices of the court of Quarter Sessions for said county of Pulaski,’ according to Pulaski court records.

“A county court held Feb. 24, 1801, entered the following minutes, which fixed the location of the county seat.

”’The court having taken into consideration the business of fixing on the place for erecting the public buildings for this county, after mature deliberation it is ordered that the permanent seat of justice for this county is fixed on a tract of land containing 40 acres, this day conveyed by bond to the county court of this county on land given by William Dodson. He received it as part of a survey made July 25, 1799 on certificate number seven — this land lying on the waters of Sinking Creek.’

“On February 24, 1801, William Dodson, Reubin Hill and Moses Hands made bond for $1,000 to justices for Dodson, conveying the 40 acres of land to the court on or before March 1, 1812. Dodson made bond to convey all this land except one acre on which the Sinking Creek Baptist Church stood and three lots which he retained for himself. The 40 acres were to be laid off into convenient streets and lots, Dodson getting two lots first choice, the court next, and then Dodson third choice. Also, Dodson was to have the same liberty of the use of the water as other persons.’

“Somerset was selected as the name for the county seat. According to a legend, the county seat was named after Somerset, England. [I’ve heard another legend that it was named after Somerset County, in New Jersey, by pioneers moving from there–of interest to me, since Dan and I lived in Basking Ridge, Somerset County, NY, for six years–shb.] The 40 acres making up the town were divided into 80 lots, four of which were set aside for a public square. The plan for the town was not recorded, “owing to neglect.” until Jan. 16, 1820. On the designated land was a spring, the town’s water system. The path or street by which the spring was reached became the main street of Somerset – Spring Street (Vine Street).'” –shb 13 June 2007

13 June 2007

MORE HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY. As posted at http://www.rootsweb.com/~kypulask/History/Stray.htm, accessed 13 June 2007, by shb: History of Pulaski County, KY
From the Commonwealth Journal, Pulaski County, KY, October 1942:

“In connection with Kentucky’s sesqui-centennial program, George Joplin, Jr., read a paper at the weekly luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club Tuesday on the early history of Pulaski County.

“Pulaski was the twenty-seventh county created in Kentucky by an act of the General Assembly in Dec. 1798, when the State was only six years old and the United States 22 years old. The county was established out of Lincoln and Green Conties in answer to the petitions of the people living great distances from the court houses. Although she is today one of the largest conties in Kentucky. Wayne in 1800, Rockcastle in 1810 and McCreary in 1912 were created from her.

“The county’s earliest settlers, the Prathers, Jaspers, Pitmans, Newbys, Hansfords, James, Owens, McKenzies, Richardsons and Neals, were sturdy Anglo-Saxon-Celtic stock, most of them fleeing oppression in older lands.

“There were just two main routes into Kentucky, the river route and by way of Cumberland Gap. The Rev. John James, his family and friends of Virginia came over the Wilderness Road on foot and on packhorse from Cumberland Gap to London, and from London to the eastern part of this county. They had only a narrow path to travel and came through savage-infested woodlands. It was necessary for them to swim or ford the turbulent Cumberland River and cross Rockcastle River before they built their homes in the eastern part of the county. The Rev. James built his home with brick made by his slaves from clay found on his place. The home was never finished for the girl he loved married another man. The remains of this house, the four thick walls, a beutiful arched front door and curved windows are standing on Highway East 80 near Shopville.

“William Owens also built a large two-story brick house in this section. Later the Rev. James built the old stone house where Mrs. Alice Sears lives today. The Flat Lick Baptist Church was built of the same type of stone and is 143 years old, having been organized January 4, 1799. The first church in Somerset was organized by a group of members of the Flat Lick Baptist Church and called the Sinking Creek Baptist Church. This church, constructed of logs with a gallery running all the way around to seat slaves of its members, was on the hill west of the Square. The Baptist graveyard is there today but many of the markers and monuments have disappeared through the years. The church was used as a smallpox hospital during the Civil War.

“The history of the various churches in Somerset was given by the speaker and old landmarks here were enumerated. The oldest house in Somerset is said to be the Vickely hose back of the Hotel Beecher. The oldest section of the town is around the town spring on South Vine Street.

“Major William Fox, one of the leading pioneers and large landowner built a temporary log house in the rear of the present First National Bank building and it was here the first court was held in Somerset Oct 27, 1801. The first term of Pulaski Circuit Court was National Bank building and it was here the first court was held in Somerset 27 Oct 1801. The first term of Pulaski Circuit Court was held at the home of the Thomas Hansford June 25, 1799.

“The second court met at the home of HENRY FRANCIS [a person of interest on my Hall side–shb], Aug 27, 1799. The frst three indictments were for profane swearing, retaining distilled spirits, and gambling for a half pint of whiskey. The first marriage license was issued to William Wade and Sarah Allen July 15, 1799.

“The first court house, built of logs, was on Main Street, the second in the center of the Public Square. The third, consisting of two separate bildings, burned Dec. 7, 1871, destroying many valuable records and documents. The present court house was completed in 1874. The clock in the steeple was hauled by ox cart from Stanford in 1878. Jim Sandifer wound the clock and looked after it for many years. At the close of the Civil War the population of Somerset was 700 and in 1877 it was 1,200. Other interesting facts about Somerset and the county and the early settlers were mentioned by the speaker, who praised the valor and determination of the pioneers.

“Guests at the luncheon were J.H. Mitchell of Glasgow and Charles Bobbtt of Lexington. A letter from Seargent William Marshall Clark was read. He will enter an officers air corp school in the near future.

“This information is courtesy of Stray Leaves ~ A history of the James Family.” –shb 13 June 2007

WALKER LANKFORD’S PIONEER HOME, ON LINE CREEK, IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY. On Sunday, May 27, at conclusion, early evening, of the first “annual Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion,” held in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle, Kentucky, with guidance from local researcher Jeff Renner, who was the featured reunion speaker, Dan and I were joined in our rented van by my sister, Virginia, and husband, Barry Wood, and we drove about 25 minutes to find the actual land, with still-standing home chimney, where Ginger and my ancestor, Walker Lankford lived in 1830, when his son Fielding, also our ancestor, was still living at home, just before he married Sarah Bethurem. See my 1830 notes, below, for my account to our family of our adventures in Kentucky, attending this reunion. –shb 29 May 2007

LANKFORD CHARACTERISTICS: See notes of Walker Lankford’s descendant, Ida-Rose Langford Hall, my Legacy ID No. 10, included from the preface to the book she compiled, Progenitors and Descendants of Fielding Langford. –shb 5 Apr 2005

NAME: Spelled Lankford or Langford (have also seen it, regarding other Langfords, as “Landford” and “Lankfort”). The Rockcastle County, Kentucky GenWeb site gives a “Table of Events” that begins, thus: “1750 – Thomas Walker noted a rock on a mountain above Livingston that resembled a castle; 1767 – Isaac Lindsey gave the rock found by Walker the name ‘Castle Rock’; 1790 – Stephen Langford leads first settlers into county; 1 Apr 1810 Rockcastle County formed from Knox, Lincoln, Madison and Pulaski Counties.” I think there is a good chance that Walker Langford had a mother (or other relative he was named after) who was named after this early Thomas Walker. Or, he could have been named after Thomas Walker, who made the first thorough exploration of what is now Kentucky, in 1750. –shb 18 Feb 2006

LANGFORD NAME: While browsing the Internet, I found a company named “Walker Langford,” so wrote, seeking genealogical information, but got the response that the company was named when a Walker and a Langford merged interests. However, the woman who answered my note was a Langford, so I wrote, asking her if she knew about origins in England for persons with that name. This is her response of 13 Dec 2001: “Dear Sherlene: Langford was my married name – Platt is my maiden name so I do not know too much about the history. However the name is quite common – My ex-husband’s family are from Staffordshire (The Potteries) but I know , as you possibly do, that there is a village/town in the South of England called Langford, so I am sure that there is a strong possibility that the family were originally from around there. ‘Sorry that I could not be of any further help. Seasons Greetings, Margaret Platt.” –shb 13 Dec 2001

“WALKER” NAME: Excerpt from e-letter to Allen Leigh from Barry D. Wood, copied to shb, 6 Mar 2004: “Sometimes the errors committed in the little biographies in these old county history books do have a basis in a shred of truth. My guess would be that some one of the maternal lines of Fielding Langford is a Scots family; possibly the Walker line that we all think must be out there based on Walker’s given name. Walker does not appear as a given name among the descendants of Joseph Langford’s apparent brothers, so there’s no particular reason to suppose that Joseph’s mother was a Walker; more likely his wife.” –shb 6 Mar 2004

1750–THOMAS WALKER MADE THE FIRST THOROUGH EXPLORATION OF WHAT IS NOW KENTUCKY. (World Book Kentucky Timeline.) –shb

1767–DANIEL BOONE MADE HIS FIRST JOURNEY INTO KENTUCKY, ABOUT TWO YEARS BEFORE WALKER WAS BORN. (World Book Kentucky Timeline.) –shb

CAME DOWN “BOONE WAY”? Photo of the Boone Way historical marker, as attached to Walker’s media file, was forwarded to shb, 5 May 2007, by John Robert or “Bob” Langford. The marker reads: “The 96-mile stretch of road from Crab Orchard to Cumberland Gap was known as the Boone Way. Col. James Maret, an early advocate of road improvement, was responsible for cutting of roadbed and its first paving. As L&N railroad agent and telegraphy operator in Mt. Vernon, Maret developed a concern for road conditions. Highway was in use by 1918: the Boone Way became US 25. No doubt Fielding and his parents and other Langfords traveled this “Way.” –shb

WALKER A LOCAL NAME: Historical Records of Old Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, Stanford, Kentucky, compiled by Mrs. Carl W. (Lucy Kate) McGhee, of Wash. D.C.), found and searched 16 Jun 2006, by shb, at the FHL, Salt Lake City, Utah, lists some will and estate appraisal abstracts. On p. 11 is listed the estate appraisal for my ancestor, Walker’s father, Joseph Lankford. Only a few items down, same page, is listed an appraisal for the estate of Walker Daniels, who was killed by Indians in 1784. In 1793, in this same book, pp. 32, 38, and 39, are published abstracts of the appraisal for the estate of David Walker and wife Elizabeth, in Lincoln County, Kentucky, so Walker was also a local surname. Four negroes are listed as part of the estate. I know of no connection of this David Walker to our Langfords. –shb 21 Jun 2006 [On the 1790 tax list of Lincoln County, a couple of Walkers were listed–shb.]

RUTHERFORD COUNTY WALKERS IN REVOLUTIONARY WAR: History of Old Tryon and Rutherford Counties, North Carolina 1730-1936, by Clarence W. Friffin (Asheville, North Carolina: Miller Priting Company), 1937, searched at the Harold B. Lee Library, 11 Oct 2006, by shb, p. 92, 100: “After many years’ painstaking research, the following names of Rutherford County soldiers in the Revolution have been unearthed: [among these two Lankfords are named–shb], p. 96: “Lankford, Private John”; “Lankford, Robert, Sr. Died at home on Tryon Mountain, May 11, 1831, at age of about 75. (North Carolina Spectator and Western Advertiser).” [I had entered here, from the source I forgot to include, a Robert Lankford, “of Rutherford County, North Carolina,” who d. “aft 9 May 1831,” was married to “Sebla,” and had a large family–shb. ] Also named, p. 100, are a number of Walkers, including Captain Felix Walker [biographical sketch included in volume–shb], Private James Reuben Walker, Pensioner [biog. sketch], Col. John Walker, North arolina Continental Line [biog. sketch], Lt. John Walker, Jr. [biog.], Joseph Walker, Thomas Walker, Private William Walker. Pensioner [biog.]. I have no idea whether these Walkers or Langfords bear on the life of my ancestor, Walker Lankford, but insert this, in case that proves out–shb. –shb 19 Oct 2006

A DISTILLER. Sketches of the Pioneers in Burke County [North Carolina] History, by Col. Thomas George Walton (Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press), 1984, searched by shb, at the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, p. 57, has this to say about use of “ardent spirits”: “They All Liked Toddy – At this period of Burke, when a neighbor visits him, a man was thought to be wanting in hospitality unless he invited him to indulge in a ‘mint julep,’ ‘egg-nog,’ or some refreshment of which ardent spirits formed a part, and so also, when the ladies, elite of the land, called upon each other, wine and cake was invariably offered, and [p. 58] rarely refused, and the effect of the rereshment was never known in any instance to diminish the natural volubility of their tongues. I hope the ladies who read what I have written will not suppose that old age has made me morose or cynical, or I assure them that even when most men of my age are in ‘the sear and yellow leaf,’ the dulcet, sweet-toned voice of woman is to me and ever has been like beauty, a joy forever; and I ask them to remember the old saying, that (I believe to be true): ‘A man is as old as he feels; a woman as she looks.’

“Returning from this digression, I remember when a youth at the time when there was a three or four days’ meeting held in the Presbyterian Church (there being at the time no other place of worship in Morganton) a number of the ministers of that denomination were always present at my father’s, who was a member and he with others entertained them, and he invariably invited them to take a toddy of French brandy before dinner, and it was an exception when it was refused. Temperance lectures and societies were unheard of then, and drunkenness was rare among the better classes, and their children were trained to look upon it as a beastly degradation; like the Lacedemonians somewhat, who ‘trained up their children to hate drunkenness by bringing a drunken man into their company.’ But notwithstanding this, I have known in my life as many as six of the better class to die in all the demoniacal horrors of delirium tremens. It is an unpleasant and sad task to call to memory the indescribably terrific suffering of those wretched beings whose awful death I witnessed, and I have only done so with the hope that it may catch the eye of some deluded man or youth, who is walking in this broad road to disgrace and destruction in this world; and finally with a foretaste here of his doom hereafter where the tortured soul dieth not, eternally. St. Paul says, ‘No drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of Heaven.'” –shb 19 Oct 2006

MORE ON “ARDENT SPIRITS” AND TAVERN-KEEPING: A History of Buncombe County, North Carolina, by F. A Sondley, Two Volumes in One (Spartanburg, South Carolina: The Reprint Company, Publishers), 1977, searched by shb, 11 Oct 2006, at the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, p. 434: “Ardent spirits were then in almost uniersal use among the men. Every prosperous person, not excepting women and preachers, had still-houses for the manufacture of whiskey and brandy. A bar-room was shunned by no one. It was a sort of social gathering-place. The court records show licenses to retail spiritous liquors issued to the most prominent and exemplary members of society [Walker’s father-in-law, Charles Warren, was a tavern-keeper–shb] and of churches. On November 2, 1800 Bishop Francis Asbury enters in his diary as something rare enough to be recorded that, ‘Francis Alexander Ramsey pursued us to the ferry, []ranked us over and took us to his excellent mansion, a stone house; it may not be amiss to mention that our host has built his house, and takes in his harvest without the aid of whiskey.’ This was in Tennessee near the North Carolina line.” –shb

HENRY FRANCIS–A TAVERN-KEEPER IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY. From a letter to the family, am also fascinated by mention of a Henry Francis, as an early Pulaski Co.
man of some land holdings and prominence. According to census reports by her children, my
ancestor, Sarah Francis (m. Wm. Hall) was born in Kentucky. We have reason to believe that the name Henry, carried down in Sarah’s line, came from her lineage, soher father could have been a Henry. And there is a legacy of tavern keeping among descendants of William and Sarah.

“On p. 128 of Tibbals’ history, it says that “On Sept. 24, 1799 (my parents’ wedding anniversary), one of the first court orders was to ‘Henry Francis to keep a tavern at his dwelling house in the County of Pulaski with Samuel Newell as his security.’

“Taverns in those days, were where church-goers went, after services, to catch up on the news and get refreshed, after all that preaching. Tavern keepers were prominent, well-thought-of community members who hosted such central gatherings (in fact, Henry held court sessions in his home, until Pulaski County had a courthouse). I know it’s a stretch, but wouldn’t it be fabulous if this Henry turns out to be my ancestor and is the namesake for two generations of Henry Charles Halls, in my line? (I know, sigh–one more theory to get
punctured.)” –shb 16 June 2007

MORE ABOUT HENRY FRANCIS AND A LANKFORD NEIGHBOR, ON FISHING CREEK: A History of Pulaski County, Kentucky, compiled by Alma Owens Tibbals (Bagdad, Kentucky: Published by Grace Owens Moore, 1952), pp. 10-11 [underlining mine–shb], quotes first records of Pulaski County Court: “After the justices took oath, Samuel Newell I took oath as first sheriff of the county. William Fox was appointed county clerk (which office he held until he resigned in March, 1846); Samuel McKee took oath as first surveyor; Charles Neal was granted an earmark for his livestock. The court then adjourned, agreeing to meet at the next term of court in course, which came on August 27, 1799, at the house of Henry Francis. (Henry Francis was owner of considerable land, all of which lay on or near Fishing Creek–this bears out the tradition that the first courts were held southwest of Somerset.) [Next is indented to show it is quoted from the record–shb]:

The First Court of Quarter Sessions was held at the home of Henry Francis in County of Pulaski on Tuesday, the 23rd day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine. A commission of the Peace from His Excellancy, James Garrard, Esq. Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, directed to Samuel Gilmore, Joseph McAlister, and John Hardgrove, Gentlemen, appointing them justices of the Court of Quarter Sessions for said County of Pulaski, where upon they produced a certificate of their having taken necessary oaths, and thereupon the court was held for the said County: Present, the worshipful Samuel Gilmore, Joseph McAlister, and John Hardgrove, Gentleman.

“The first grand jury was as follows: Henry James (foreman), Thomas Cowan, Joseph Matthews, George Allcorn, Nicholas Alexander, Robert Henderson, Samuel Duncan, Edward Turner, George Smiley, Thomas Sugg, Malikiah Cooper, John Prather, and John Jasper. The following indictments were turned:

We of the grand jury do present Henry Francis for retailing spirits and no list of his license presented to us. We do present Wiatt Atkins for profane swearing by the name (by God) on this day at Henry Francis. We do present Ephriam Churchwell and John Trap for gambling for one half pint of whiskey. The grand jury having received their charge retired to consider their verdict.

“The retiring of the grand jury consisted of going outdoors as there was no room to meet inside.

“Both the courts of quarter sessions and county court were held at the house of Henry Francis until 1801.”

ABT 1769–BIRTH IN NORTH CAROLINA [OR VIRGINIA]? Approximate birth year for Walker Lankford was confirmed and North Carolina named as place of birth, courtesy of Shiron Wordsworth, who credits Martha Langford Green as her source. –shb 24 Jan 2006 [Note: I had his birth as “abt 1768”–close enough, though we are now thinking that Walker was probably born in Virginia–shb. The 1830 Census of Rockcastle County, Kentucky lists one male in his household age 60-70 (would have to have been Walker, since no other males are listed above age thirty), so that means he was born 1760-1770. On seeing this census page image, as forwarded by Terry Smith, Barry Wood writes: “Thanks for this beautiful census page! Of course I especially like it because it validates my adherence to the 1769 birth year for Walker.” –shb 24 Oct 2006

NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY DIVISIONS–Rutherford Co., North Carolina was created in 1779 from the larger Burke & the old Tryon County. It consisted of all the area west of the old Mecklenburge Co. and “west” to the present state boundary. In 1778, Lincoln was created from the old Tryon Co. In 1779, part of Rutherford was created from Rowan & Tryon was discon’t. In 1791, part of Buncumbe was created from, Burke & Rutherford In 1841, Cleveland was created from part of Lincoln & Rutherford In 1842, McDowell was created from part of Burke & Rutherford. In 1855, Polk was created from part of Henderson & Rutherford. So any of the following Surname’s could have been recorded in the above counties, without even having moved!

1770–A “LANKFORD WALKER” WITNESSES LUNENBURG COUNTY, VIRGINIA DEED. As posted at a DuPre family site, at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rldupree/dupre%20trail.%20vol%20I.htm, accessed 10 May 2007, by shb [underlining mine–shb]: “DEEDS, Bk. 11-375 Thomas Dupree to Richard Ingram, both of Lunenburg Co. 12 March 1770. 100 A. for 100 Lbs., land in Lunenburg Co. on branches of Conokes (?) Creek where the Church road crosses the first branch.
Witnesses : Nath’l Williams his
Gideon x Moon Thomas T Dupree (Seal)
Lankford Walker mark
Proved June 14, 1770.” –shb 10 May 2007

1820–LANKFORDS IN RUTHERFORD COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, IN 1820: Per the 1820 US Census of Rutherford, NC, these Lankfords were in the County (as near as I can tell–very hard to read, and county always at top of page–am going by page color/script/proximity. None of these are together, though they all are within six census pages of each other, it appears:

James Warren 1 _ _ 1 _ _ 1 _ 1 _ _ _ 1
John Lankford _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ 1 [his name was reversed to read “Lankford John”]
Thos West (twice)
Robert Lankford _ 1 _ 2 _ 1 1 _ _ _ 1 _ 4
Nathan Lankford 1 1 1 1 _ 1 _ _ 3 _ 1 _ 5 _ _ _ 1 _ _ 2
(3 down)
John Lankford 2 _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ 1
Thomas Lankford _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ 1
John Lankford Sr. _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ 1 _ _ _ _
James Walker 1 _ _ _ _ 1 _ 1 _ 1 _ _ _ 1 _ _ 1
Thomas Walker –shb 26 Oct 20006

DAUGHTER REPORTS HIS BIRTH AS IN “VIRGINIA.” Per the 1880 Census of the Elias Cooprider family, in Harrison, Clay, Indiana, Elias’ wife “Polly” Lankford reported that both her parents were born in Virginia. It’s hard to tell the divisions, but as near as I can tell, John Lankford Sr. and Thomas Lankford were both 20-30 years old, in this census. Nine persons before Thomas, a James Walker is named. I don’t know if Walker was named after a surname (his mother’s maiden name?), but at least we know there was a Lankford with a Walker neighbor in Rutherford County, North Carolina, in 1820. –shb 5 May 2006

SAME INFORMATION ABOUT BIRTH/MARRIAGE, BUT NEW DEATH DATE: I see on a lineage forwarded 5 Jul 2006 to shb by Norma Kirchhofer that she also places Walker Langford’s birth as “1769 in North Carolina.” However, she provides a full death date I never had before: “2. Mary Warren b: 1773 in Amherst Co., Virginia – See Notes d: 1870 in Clay Co., Indiana age 97 + [married] Walker Langford, Sr. b: 1769 in North Carolina m: September 09, 1800 in Lincoln Co., Kentucky – CD-2 10 children d: February 24, 1847 in Harrison twp., Clay Co., Indiana.” –shb 5 July 2006

PARENTS JOSEPH AND MARY? My mother, Ida-Rose Langford Hall said in her book on “Descendants of Fielding Langford” that she thinks Walker is a son of Joseph and Mary, but there is still a question mark that she hoped might be erased by discovery of conclusive documentation. –shb 10 Oct 2004

FATHER JOSEPH: Walker is listed as a child of Joseph Langford by Martha Langford Green (see her internet entry as posted in father Joseph’s notes). –shb 14 Oct 2003

LANKFORD COUNTIES AND “THE SEARCH”: From Barry D. Wood (my brother-in-law–I had asked him to review my column) letter to shb, Feb. 2006: “I almost took out the part about Thomas Walker [talking about his helping me edit a column about finding the Craig Langford slave family in Ohio–see his notes–shb], as extraneous to your theme, but ended up just shortening it. In view of Walker Langford’s assumed birth year of 1769, obviously he was named before Joseph had anything to do with Kentucky, but it is possible that the Langfords were connected with this Thomas back in Virginia. I don’t know anything about him. Virginia has so many burned counties that it’s a frustrating area in which to work! I do love Essex County, one of only 6 tidewater counties that has substantially all of its records back to the date of formation (1692 in this case). Caroline was formed from Essex (in part), but evidently the Langfords moved into Caroline after its formation, because I haven’t found a great deal of Langford material in Essex.

“At least with Caroline the order books survived. (I guess they were deemed less valuable than the wills & deed books, which perished in the effort to “protect” them from the Yankees.) By contrast, no county records whatsoever survived from King & Queen … one of the few cases where the Yankees actually did burn the courthouse w/ contents, after their beloved leader, Col. Dahlgren, was assassinated by a rebel terrorist.

“Little known fact: most tidewater counties sent their records to Richmond for “safe keeping,” where they were stored in the General Court. It was the Johnny Rebs who torched the building, as the Yankees approached Richmond, in order (in their twisted minds) to keep the Yankees from seizing records proving the particulars of the rebels’ treason. One wonders whether Southern resistance would have been as fierce had the rebels foreseen the general amnesty that followed Appomattox.

“Happy Presidents’ Day!

“BW” –shb 22 Feb 2006

POSSIBLE MIGRATION ROUTES: I wrote John Robert or “Bob” Langford, a descendant of Stephen Langford, first settler of Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle, Ketnucky, asking to know more about a photo he took and sent of a Tennessee marker, honoring early settlers, including a Joseph Kinkead (in media file of my ancestor, Capt. John Kincaid). His response: “This marker is beside U.S. Hwy 11W in Mt. Carmel, TN, about 5 miles west of Kingsport, TN. During this period of time, frontier pioneers heading for Kentucky, gathered up at The Long Island of The Holston river at what is now Kingsport, to wait for Daniel Boone to come by and guide them into the wilderness or for Capt John Donelson to take them down river on flatboats to Nashville. And, I imagine that a great many of them followed what is called The Great Indian Path, which ran from Bristol, TN/VA through Kingsport, Mt. Carmel and Church Hill down close to what is now called Bean Station, Tn before turning north toward Cumberland Gap. All of this area around here is laced with this type of history. Many, many historical figures were in this area, including Daniel Boone, Capt John Donelson, Rev. Samuel Doak, John Sevier, and later on Presidents Andrew Johnson and Andrew Jackson, etc., etc. The list is endless.” Also, another correspondent of Bob’s wrote, about the same marker: “Would loved to have seen that old house in its day. Unless I’m mistaken, my Whitakers migrated from NC through Carter Co., TN and lived there for a while before coming on to KY. I keep meaning to go there and do some research, but never have made it.” Bob’s response: “Hazel, I’ll send you a copy of an email I just sent to Sherlene about this. I guess most of the early settlers migrated south and west from Virginia and states farther north. Many of them crossed the mountains from N.C. into Tennessee through the gap at what is now Boone, N.C. All who came that way stopped at the Fort at Sycamore Shoals, present day Elizabethton, Tn, in Carter county. From there, a great many of them went on to the Long Island of the Holston, at present day Kingsport, to wait for Daniel Boone, or another guide, to take them into the wilderness. Do a google search for Sycamore Shoals. You will find it very interesting. Much history there. There is a National Park there at Sycamore Shoals with a replica of the original fort and there’s always some activities going on, especially this time of the year. I would highly recommend a visit. You’ll be glad you did. There’s also a beautiful covered bridge there in Elizabethton, as well as the Carter Mansion, the first frame house built in Tennessee. Elizabethton is located at the foothills of the mountains. Beautiful scenery. Bob” –shb 23 Oct 2006

A FIELDING WALKER AND A FIELDING LANGFORD WARREN WERE IN LINCOLN COUNTY: See notes of ID 67861 for evidence that a Fielding Walker was alive in Lincoln County, Kentucky, on 17 July 1792, when Walker Lankford would have been about twenty-three years old. I am of course wondering if there is some connection, since Walker named a son Fielding, born 1804-1807.

A WALKER MARRIES A WARREN/THEIR DESCENDANT MARRIES A LANGFORD: See my Legacy ID 67630: William Walker, Sr., b. 1640, in Hanover or New Kent Co., VA, m. Elizabeth Warren (dau. of Francis and Elizabeth Warren), b. 1644 St. Peter’s Parish, New Kent, Virginia. William and Elizabeth had a son Sylvanus Walker, b. 1686, who m. Ann Tandy abt. 1710. Their son, Tandy Walker, b. 1714, m. Judith Langford (her parents not given) abt. 1735 in New Kent County, Virginia. –shb 8 Jun 2006

BROTHERS? See Robert Lankford ID, 66367; Jay Lankford, ID 66333; Walker Lankford, ID 230; Larkin Lankford, ID 61752. –shb 6 Mar 2006

BROTHER IVEY?? In the 1810 Census, the only two Lankfords listed are “Warker” [sic–shb] and “Ivey”–see ID 66333]. Both have children age ten and under and seem to themselves be ages 26-45, so they could be brothers or cousins. –shb 6 Mar 2006 [Note: I saw a site where a researcher speculated that his relative in Pulaski County named “Ivy,” was named after neighbor, “Ivy Lankford,” so I’m not the only one who misread this (see brother Ivey’s notes, ID No. 65807)–shb.] –shb 12 Feb 2007

LOCAL LANKFORD/LANGFORD RELATIONSHIPS: From e-letter by Barry D. Wood to Sherrie Pierce, 10 Dec 2005, as copied to shb:

“Fielding, as you may know, was the son of Walker Langford/Lankford of Lincoln County, Kentucky and Clay County, Indiana. Walker was the son of the Joseph Langford who died in Lincoln County in 1785 or thereabouts, and who had owned land in Pittsylvania County, Virginia before the war. You have seen the posts of those who believe that Joseph was the son of Nicholas Langford, and I have no reason to doubt this theory. However, I have no clue as to whether Euclid Langford (b. 1757) was a brother of Joseph. If he was, Euclid was certainly much younger than Joseph, whose birth I estimate at around 1740 at the latest.

“Given that James Langford was buying land in what’s now Patrick County, Virginia (somewhat to the west of Joseph’s property) in the 1740’s, I suspect that James might have been the oldest of the family (assuming that he, too, was a son of Nicholas). If James was born, say, around 1720, then Nicholas could scarcely have been born much after 1700. Accordingly, I strongly doubt that the Nicholas Langford who was surety on the debt of Euclid Langford [see my ID 65645–shb] in that 1787 suit in Caroline County was the same person as the father of James, Joseph and Benjamin Langford (assuming that these three were in fact brothers).

“Supposedly another of this set of brothers was Nicholas Langford Jr. Do you know of any reason why Nicholas Jr. might not have been Euclid’s father? This would seem like the most reasonable construction of the available shreds of information on Euclid.

“I noticed that in a couple of places posters on the Lankford Genforum have specified Euclid’s birthplace as Sussex County, Virginia. Do you happen to know whether any contemporaneous documentation supports that notion? I wondered whether application for a pension based on his service in the Rev. War might have specified the soldier’s birthplace. The application of my 4th great granduncle John Bagby, coincidentally born the same year, gives his birthplace as Hanover County. We would have no knowledge of his Hanover roots otherwise, as Hanover is an almost thoroughly “burned” county. Sussex, if I recall correctly from my Gilliam work, has a surviving Anglican parish register, but I don’t remember seeing any Langford entries in it.” –shb 12 Dec 2005

LIVED IN PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA WHILE GROWING UP: While he was growing up, Walker’s family lived on a tract of land in Pittsylvania County, whose southern border was North Carolina. Before they lived in Pittsylvania County, their county seat was in Caroline County, Virginia, now the site of “Camp A. P. Hill. (See Barry D. Wood letter, below). –shb 4 Mar 2004

1773–FATHER JOSEPH’S LAND BORDERS THAT OF WILLIAM EAST, AS SOLD TO JOHN FARRIS, IN HALIFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA: Chronology of life of John Esom Farris (brother of Johnson, who married Jenny Lankford, daughter of Joseph and Mary), posted at http://www.genealogy.com/users/f/a/r/Elvin-E-Farris-jr/FILE/0010page.html , accessed 8 Apr 2006, by shb: “14 Sep 1773 Halifax Co. VA, DB 9, p. 128: William East and Sarah, his wife, of Antrim Parish & Halifax To John Farris of Halifax, for 40 pounds, a certain tract of land of 100 acres in Halifax on the south branches of Brush Cr., including the plantation where said East formerly lived. The tract is bounded by the lines of Dudley East, William East, Jos. Lankford, and John Farris. Signed: William (M his mark) East. Wit: John (+ his mark) Weltch, Isiam Farris (Fariss), James Faris. Rec. 16 Sep. 1773.” [Note: Since Walker would only have been four years old in 1773, I think there is a good chance that he was born in Halifax County–shb.] –shb 8 Apr 2006

GARBLED HISTORY DISPUTED BY BARRY WOOD [married my sister, Virginia, so he is not a Langford, by blood, but we certainly appreciate his insihgts–shb]:

ORPHANED/BECAME A CARPENTER/CABINET MAKER–A “GARBLED ACCOUNT”: Biography of James F. Lankford, from History of Clay County, Indiana, Volume II, by William Travis, published 1909, life sketch forwarded to shb 2 Mar 2004 by cousin Julie (Langford) Peterson (see James F. Lankford’s notes for all of this):

[Note: Be sure to read Barry D. Wood’s follow-up letter in which he severely questions the accuracy of much of this–shb]: ” . . . “On the paternal side he [speaking of James F. Lankford–shb] comes of sturdy Scotch ancestry, his great-grandfather [this would be Joseph–shb] having emigrated with his wife from Scotland to this country, settling in North Carolina, where Walker Lankford, the next in line of descent was born. Left an orphan at an early age, Walker Lankford was bound out to a wood worker, from whom he learned the trade of a carpenter and cabinet maker. In 1818, during the trouble with the Seminole Indians in Florida, he enlisted as a soldier, and served under that gallant hero, General Andrew Jackson. While in the army he formed the acquaintance of a charming Southern girl, Polly [actually, this is written “Folly” in the text–I think somebody couldn’t read the “P”–I already knew Walker’s wife was Mary Warren, and “Polly” is a common nickname for “Mary”–shb] Williams [sic–I had it as “Warren”–shb], the daughter of an Alabama planted [sic–I think this should be “planter”–shb] and slave owner. This daughter, whom he subsequently married, inherited from her father eleven slaves. Mr. and Mrs. Walker Lankford afterwards removed to Kentucky, taking with them six of these slaves, having freed five of them. In 1832 they made another removal, coming to Clay county and locating in Harrison township, where the grandfather bought land lying about one mile west of the present site of Middlebury, and established the first distillery in this part of the county. He improved a good homestead, and there resided until his death in 1848. His wife survived him a number of years. They had a large family of children, and their posterity is numerous.” –shb 2 Mar 2004 [Continuation of this narrative is in son Harvey Lankford’s notes–shb.]

BARRY D. WOOD RESPONSE TO ABOVE BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT: After I (Sherlene Hall Bartholomew)sent on the above biographical sketch, as forwarded to me by a Langford cousin, I received this response from my brother-in-law Barry D. Wood and have forwarded it on to all I sent the sketch to (I have not done enough Langford research to have known better, though I did catch a couple of probable errors and sent them on). Barry’s comments: “Thank you for disseminating the biography of Fielding Langford’s brother Harvy’s son. However, don’t you think that you should alert the recipients of your email that this account is SEVERELY garbled?

“It was, probably, William Travis who interviewed James F. Langford for this history. Travis was probably cranking out a dozen of these biographical sketches a day. Accuracy was not the prime objective — getting the subscriber’s money to buy the book in advance was.

“This is the very bio. that gave Mom decades of grief in her Langford search, as it sent her on a North Carolina wild goose chase, and described Walker in a fashion that is incompatible with the contemporaneous record in original sources in Kentucky.

“First, the proposition that James F. Lankford’s great grandfather came from Scotland is doubtful. I don’t dispute the possibility that the Lankford immigrant was Scottish, but I suspect that the immigration occurred at least a generation further back. James F.’s great grandfather would have been Joseph Lankford / Langford. Martha Green, at least, feels strongly that the Langfords had been in Virginia two generations or more in back of Joseph.

“I am very skeptical that Walker was born in North Carolina. I think this myth is the product of one or both of two things: First, when Walker was growing up, the family lived in Pittsylvania County, Virginia on a tract of land whose southern boundary was the North Carolina border. That’s clear from the land patent in the Virginia State Library & Archives. Second, the family’s seat prior to their stay in Pittsylvania County, Virginia was in Caroline County, Virginia, now the site of Camp A. P. Hill. I can easily see a reference to “Caroline” in the writer’s notes evolving to “North Carolina” when Travis (or whoever else wrote this sketch) got to penning his flowery prose.

“Walker was indeed left an orphan, though not as a baby, when his father Joseph died. In those days, you were an orphan if your father died, even if the mother was still alive. Whether he was apprenticed to a wood worker I have no idea, but it seems plausible.

“Then the author’s notes must have hit a gap or a spasm of illegibility or some other problem, because the Seminole War reference and courtship of Miss “Folly” Williams makes no sense as applied to Walker. Clearly Walker was then too old to go running off to war. As he was first taxed in 1790, we may assume that he was born no later than 1769, which would make him at least 49 years old at the time of the alleged military adventures.

“As pointed out in Mom’s book [speaking of Ida-Rose L. Hall–shb], at page 66, Walker could not have contracted his first marriage after the Seminole War, because his child Harvey Langford, in this very same bio., is shown as having been born in 1816, before the war. For that matter, Fielding Langford himself is not accounted for in this theory at all, as he was born in 1804, over a decade before his father supposedly went traipsing through the Everglades and courting the daughter of Alabama slave owners.

“Mom also demonstrated that the story of Walker bringing six slaves into Kentucky is inconsistent with the tax records, which do not show Walker owning any slaves. Frankly, I think the whole Seminole War story really belongs to someone else altogether. In other words, Travis probably had some notes about the service by a different settler of Clay County under Andrew Jackson, and it was this person rather than any Lankford who courted the fair Polly Williams. Travis evidently just mistakenly attached that sheet or card of notes to the Lankfords, and thus this disinformation shows up in the Lankford biography.

“Just as an aside, I note that the bio. is inconsistent in asserting that Harvey Lankford was born in 1816, but that he was 22 when the family came to Clay County in 1832.

“Mom also found numerous independent sources for the proposition that the wife of Walker Langford was Mary Warren, not Mary Williams. Best of all is the actual marriage bond, 9 Sept 1800, for Walker Langford and Mary Warren (Charles Warren, surety). The evidence is summarized in Mom’s book at pages 58 and 65-67.

“Now as to “Folly” Williams — that seems to be the product of someone’s scanner. In the printed biography, transcribed at page 65 of Mom’s book, it’s “Polly.”

“This is what the family needs to rely on, not some myth about Walker hunting a wife at age 50 in the plantations of Alabama.

“Hope this helps the clan keep the difference between fact and fantasy straight.

“Barry” –shb 4 Mar 2004

1774–THE FIRST PERMANENT WHITE SETTLEMENT IN KENTUCKY WAS ESTABLISHED AT HARRODSBURG BY JAMES HARROD AND COLONISTS FROM PENNSYLVANIA. (World Book Kentucky Timeline.) –shb 24 May 2007

1775-1783–FRONTIER LEADERS DEFENDED KENTUCKY SETTLEMENTS AGAINST INDIAN ATTACKS DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. (World Book Kentucky Timeline.) –shb 24 May 2007

1776–WHEN THE AMERICAN COLONIES PROCLAIMED THEIR INDEPENDENCE FROM ENGLAND, WALKER WAS ONLY ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OLD. IN THAT YEAR, KENTUCKY BECAME A COUNTY OF VIRGINIA AND MANY VIRGINIANS MOVED INTO THE KENTUCKY REGION. INDIANS, SUPPLIED WITH BRITISH WEAPONS, MADE FREQUENT ATTACKS. (See notes of father, Joseph Langford, for notes about the climate in Virginia when the Declaration of Independence was signed.) –shb 15 Sep 2006

A TRUE PIONEER: See notes of father, Joseph Lankford, for commentary published by my mother, Ida-Rose Langford Hall, on what it means for us, their descendants, to have a “Pioneering Pedigree.” –shb 24 Aug 2006

1778–GEORGE ROGERS CLARK SECURES STABILITY. According to World Book, “In 1778, George Rogers Clark led a small band of men against three important British posts outside the region. Clark captured the posts and cut off British supplies to the Indians. Indian attacks against the settlements then became less frequent.” –shb 24 May 2007

1790–ON TAX LIST, LINCOLN COUNTY, VIRGINIA (BECAME KENTUCKY): That Walker came of age by the time the Lincoln County 1790 tax list was made, is mentioned in a letter from Barry D. Wood to the rest of the family, 11 Oct 2003. –shb 12 Oct 2003

1782–STEPHEN LANGFORD (THE FIRST) LAND BORDERS THAT OF WILLIAM WHITLEY, IN LINCOLN COUNTY, KENTUCKY. WALKER AND POLLY’S SON, FIELDING, WAS BORN IN NEARBY CRAB ORCHARD, IN 1804. Letter to Langfords, accompanied by his photos, as attached to Mt. Vernon Stephen’s media file, from John Robert or “Bob” Langford, 30 Apr 2007: “Scenes around the William Whitley house at Crab Orchard (14 miles west of Mt. Vernon)

“I believe you can see the racetrack behind the monument to Sportsman’s Hill. Spectators could stand on that knoll and watch the horses as they ran around.

“Stephen Langford had a house and property that joined William Whitley when he first moved to Kentucky about 1782. [Note: Dan and I were in hurry, getting from Crab Orchard to the Louisville airport, so had to pass up signs directing us to the William Whitley farm, there in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Of interest to us is the fact that Crab Orchard is where my ancestor, Fielding Langford was born to Walker and Mary/Polly (Warren) Langford, so we know they lived close to Stephen Langford land that adjoined the William Whitley farm. We soon came to a sign for Stanford. Local Pulaski County historian, Jeff Renner, featured speaker at the Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion, in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle County, KY, held on May 27, 2007 (that we were there attending), told us he found a deed involving the widowed Mary (wife of Joseph Lankford) for land she held, near Rowland, which we were told was along our road from Crab Orchard and the Whitley farm, located farther up the road, just before Stanford (we saw no sign for Rowland, but could see it on the map). So, the fact that Joseph (Mary), Stephen, and Walker Langford held land in Lincoln County, before Walker and Stephen’s son, Benjamin, moved to Pulaski County, once more bears witness to a relationship of all these Langfords, though we have not yet been able to prove just how they connected–shb.] [In a subsequent note, Jeff said he believed he read somewhere that the widowed Mary Lankford later married a Charles Gatliff–interesting because Joseph and Mary had a daughter, Mary/Polly, who married James Gatliff. Was this James Charles’ son?–shb.]

“Whitley’s house has been restored to immaculate condition. It’s open Tues thru Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nice place to visit on Saturday before the Reunion. And, Stanford, Kentucky’s second oldest town, home of Kentucky’s first Governor, Isaac Shelby and site of the first courthouse west of the Alleghenies, is only 11 miles further west on Hwy. 150.

“Wish these pictures were clearer so you could read all of the writing on that Sportsman’s Hill monument. The light just wouldn’t cooperate.

“Bob” –shb 30 Apr 2007

CRAB ORCHARD POPULATED WITH “FASHIONABLE” VIRGINIANS. I include part of this history, as it gives the flavor surrounding settlement of Crab Orchard, where our Virginian ancestors, Walker and Mary/Polly (Warren) Lankford settled, and where their son, my ancestor, Fielding Lankford, was born in 1804. From the Stray Leaves website, with permission (from USGenWeb Archives): -“STRAY LEAVES, A JAMES FAMILY IN AMERICA SINCE 1650 – http://www.ericjames.org – JOHN M. JAMES, 1751- c.1823 ” . . . .The next year John M. James was on the payroll of the Ranging Party of Lincoln Militia, under Col. Benjamin Logan, assisting settlersentering the region. In this year his father Joseph James, the elder, died in Culepper County, Virginia. For the next ten years, sometimes
under the command of George Rogers Clark, John M. James remained in the Kentucke to settle its frontier.

“His family was first safely established at the Forks of the Elkhorn River near Frankfort. There, as Rev. John M. James, he co-founded The Forks of the Elkhorn Baptist Church. About 1785 he & Clara travelled buffalo & Indian traces to St. Asaph’s, Logan’s Fort, one mile from today’s Stanford, Lincoln county, Kentucky. There they prepared to settle permanently in Crab Orchard, a community rapidly becoming a safe settlement hub & magnate for fashionable Virginian frontier society. He traded in building materials rare on the frontier, brick & glass. His brother William James migrated from the Forks to present Woodford County, where descendants of William James bore the celebrated American outlaws Frank & Jesse James.

“John M. James hired Daniel Field in 1788 as attorney to settle all remaining debts back in Culpeper County. Since 1782 John M. James had been purchasing land on Dick’s River adjoining William Whitley’s pre-emption and William Menifee’s settlement. John & brother George James had been surveying & purchasing other lands, too. In 1802 John M. James purchased 70 acres of William Whitley’s land [adjoined land of Stephen Langford, early settler in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle, Kentucky–shb], giving Whitley the necessary funds to construct his home, the first brick residence on the Kentucky frontier, presently preserved by the State of Kentucky as a museum. John M. James followed shortly, building the second brick residence on the frontier in an area of Lincoln County which later became Pulaski County. This home also remains today.

“Abraham James, another family member, was surveying lands in Lincoln County at this time. Gen. George Washington had been investing there. On March 3, 1789, Lund Washington Sr., reported to the future President on the eve of his inauguration, that Lund Jr., Washington’s nephew, had recently visited John M. James’ granduncle, Justice John James who stated, ‘We should have a very pretty President at the head of our new government, one who had paid off his debts within the time of the War with paper money altho it had been lent to him in specie.’ A grandson of John M. James, Andrew Jackson ‘A.J.’ James, Kentucky
Attorney General and later Kentucky Secretary of State, would establish a standardized monetary system for Kentucky.

“When the State of Kentucky was formed in 1794, John M. James was appointed Commissioner to examine the Cumberland Gap Road & to audit the turnpike keeper. When he helped to cut Pulaski County out of Lincoln County and to found the new town of Somerset in 1799, he also served as the first judge & executive to administer the new county. In 1800 he became a Justice, answering citizen petitions in both Pulaski & Lincoln counties. In 1801 Governor James Garrard appointed him Justice of the Peace. . . .” –shb 12 June 2007

1792, JUNE –KENTUCKY BECAME THE FIFTEENTH STATE/COUNTY BACKGROUND /FORMATIONS: As outlined on Rootsweb, site accessed 15 Sep 2006, by shb: “Former VA Counties, now in KY . . . Kentucky Co, VA, was formed in 1776 from the “soon to become extinct” Fincastle County. In 1780, Kentucky Co itself became extinct when it was divided into three parts forming Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties. In 1785, Nelson Co was formed from Jefferson Co. In 1786, Madison and Mercer Counties were formed from Lincoln Co, AND Bourbon Co was formed from Fayette Co. In 1789, Mason Co was formed from Bourbon Co AND Woodford Co was formed from Fayette Co. There were political maneuverings and frequent proposals to split this region out from Virginia’s control. On 18 December 1789, the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act to allow Kentucky to apply for statehood, and on 1 Jun 1792, Kentucky’s nine counties became a state.

“Virginia “Re-uses” County Names – Of these nine “original” Kentucky Counties, six had their names re-used by Virginia in the formation of new counties:
* Fayette: formed in 1831, became part of WV in 1863.
* Jefferson: formed in 1801, became part of WV in 1863. [This was stompin’ grounds for my William Hall (m. Hannah Richardson) ancestor and his family–shb.]
* Madison: formed in 1792 from Culpeper Co.
* Mason: formed in 1804, became part of WV in 1863.
* Mercer: formed in 1837, became part of WV in 1863.
* Nelson: formed in 1807 from Amherst Co.

Also, Lincoln County’s name was re-used, but by WV in 1867.” –shb 15 Sep 2006

PULASKI AND ROCKCASTLE COUNTIES FORMED FROM LINCOLN COUNTY:

This, from the Pulaski County Website, accessed by shb, 10 Feb 2006,
gives some county background:

“PULASKI COUNTY. Pulaski County, the twenty-seventh county in order of formation, is located in south-central Kentucky. The county is bounded by Casey, Lincoln, Rockcastle, Laurel, McCreary, Wayne, and Russell counties and contains an area of 660 square miles. It is roughly diamond shaped and contains a wide variety of terrains, including rugged hills to the east and south and rolling farmland to the west. The dominant geographical feature is the Cumberland River, which meanders across the southern part of the county. The river is impounded by the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Wolf Creek Dam, which created Lake Cumberland in 1952 and helped to make tourism an important local industry. Despite the rapid growth of Somerset in the 1970s and 1980s, the county is mostly rural and has little fertile soil. SOMERSET is the county seat.

“Permanent settlement of the area north of the Cumberland River and west of the Rockcastle River occurred after the end of the Revolutionary War, when around 3,000 people located in the area between 1782 and 1798. Led by several Revolutionary War veterans, these citizens petitioned for the creation of a county to serve their needs. Kentucky’s legislature responded favorably to the request and proposed to divide Green and Lincoln counties to form the new county. Gov. James Garrard (1796-1804) signed the act into law on December 10, 1798.

“Since many of the early settlers were veterans, they chose to name the county after a famous Revolutionary War figure. Nicholas Jasper suggested that the county bear the name of the Polish-American patriot Casimir Pulaski, who was killed at Savannah in 1779. On June 24, 1801, the commissioners directed that the county seat be called Somerset, located on forty acres donated by William Dodson for that purpose.

“Because of the lack of good roads, Pulaski County was isolated and grew slowly. In spite of slow population growth-from 3,000 in 1800 to just over 17,000 in 1860-numerous businesses and industries developed in the antebellum period. Pioneer merchant Cyrenius Wait moved to Pulaski County from New England and developed a saltworks, operated a wharf on the river at Waitsboro, and planted mulberry trees in hopes of creating a silk industry. Along with Tunstall Quarles, a local politician and U.S. congressman (1817-20), he helped pioneer both the banking and insurance industries in the county.

“By the mid-nineteenth century, the county’s economic mainstays included farming, cattle, and coal. In 1870 Pulaski ranked sixth among livestock-producing counties in the state. During the years before and after the Civil War, twelve mines in eastern Pulaski County produced coal that was transported to Nashville by barge. In 1878 eighteen of these barges carrying 100,000 bushels of coal sank in the treacherous waters of Smith’s Shoals above Burnside. The industry never fully recovered.

“At the beginning of the Civil War, fewer than 10 percent of Pulaski County’s population consisted of black slaves. Many county residents were Southern sympathizers, but the majority of the population supported the Union. Two important Civil War battles, Mill Springs and Dutton’s Hill, took place within the county’s boundaries. Neither was especially destructive to life or property. Somerset was occupied by a Union garrison for a portion of the war and was raided by Confederate Gen. John Hunt Morgan and his cavalry. Toward the end of the war, engineers and surveyors from the Union army visited Pulaski to map out a roadbed for a military railroad, and their survey reached as far as Point Isabel on the Cumberland River. Point Isabel was renamed Burnside in honor of the Union general. In 1866 the U.S. War Department established a permanent national cemetery in western Pulaski County near the site of the Civil War engagement of Mill Springs, where over six hundred Union dead were buried. Less than a mile to the south is a Confederate cemetery, near where Confederate Gen. Felix Zollicoffer fell during the Battle of Mill Springs.

“In the years after the Civil War, Pulaski County became a political bastion of the Republican party. Thomas Z. Morrow, of Somerset, was one of the founders of Kentucky’s Grand Old Party. In its history, only three Democrats-Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, and Woodrow Wilson-have carried Pulaski County in a presidential contest. From Lincoln’s second election in 1864, the Republican majority for president has exceeded 60 percent in almost every election. County residents in the twentieth century have also voted Republican in state and local elections.

“In 1877 the Cincinnati & Southern (now Norfolk Southern) Railway came to Pulaski County, which led to rapid growth in Somerset, Ferguson, Burnside, and other towns along the right-of-way, and to virtual abandonment of many of the county’s smaller hamlets. Afterward came large logging and sawmill operations. The period of industrial activity peaked when the Cincinnati & Southern (“Queen and Crescent”) opened its Ferguson repair yard. For over a generation, the railroad and the shops were an economic mainstay. A sleepy county seat with only 587 people in 1870, Somerset swelled to be a regional metropolis by 1900 with almost 6,000 people.” –shb 10 Feb 2006 [Note: For a deliniation of what counties should be searched to cover the “Old Crab Orchard,” Lincoln County Virginia/Kentucky roots, see notes of Walker’s father, Joseph Lankford–shb.]

WALKER IS AN EARLY “ORPHAN”/APPRENTICED AS A CARPENTER/PARENT POSSIBILITIES. E-letter of 10 June 2007, from Barry D. Wood to Jeff Renner and Sherlene Bartholomew, after we attended the Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion, in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky: “This is very nice to have. Thanks, Jeff, for sharing the document copies [three from Jeff that I forwarded, proving that the Mary/Polly who married John Warren was the daughter of Mt. Vernon Stephen–shb]. I’m using my wife’s email [cut for reasons of privacy–shb] for a reason to obscure to explain here, but if you should respond, please do so to [cut].

“Sherlene, note that if the Mary Langford who married James Gatliff was Joseph’s daughter (which is in doubt, especially if the statement that she was a widow at the time of her marriage is correct), then the Mary Langford who married John Warren could not have been Walker’s sister. Also, from the fact that the Mary Langford who md John Warren was under age in 1808, she could not have been Joseph’s daughter even if we didn’t have the explicit consent from Stephen proving that she was Stephen’s daughter.

“Jeff, while I have your attention (perhaps), I’m wondering whether I ever answered your question at the reunion about our reasons for believing that Walker Langford was the son of Joseph.

“Maybe the following is something I wrote to you already, or maybe it’s just in my head from having thought about it driving east through Cumberland Gap….. and I’m too lazy to check ‘sent mail’ to see. If the former, I hope you will forgive my repetition.

“In any event, one of the key pieces of evidence for Walker being Joseph’s son is the statement on page 196 of Travis’s History of Clay County Indiana that Walker was orphaned ‘at an early age’ and bound out to a woodworker & carpenter. It doesn’t say just HOW young, but if Walker was born in about 1769, as there are some indications that he was, this would make him 15 or 16 when Joseph died. I don’t know about you, but if I were that age when my father died, especially in a new, barely settled country, it would feel like I had been orphaned at an early age.

“To modern ears, the idea of someone being ‘orphaned’ when his mother was still alive sounds strange, but as you know in the 18th century a minor was considered an ‘orphan’ when his father died, regardless whether his mother survived.

“Also, I understand that Walker’s first known appearance on a tax list (1790, Lincoln County) is next to Joseph’s widow…but I haven’t seen the original list, and therefore don’t know whether it was arranged by neighborhood or alphabetically (or haphazardly). I say ‘known,’ because it’s possible that if the woodworker was in another county, Walker could have been taxable before that but not in Lincoln County. I don’t know whether bound apprentices were considered tithable or not, but I wonder. thought that in Virginia (and presumably Kentucky) at this time, a boy was considered tithable at 16, so it seems strange that Walker wasn’t taxed before 1790 (that we know of).

“That said, I suppose that there’s still a chance that Walker’s father was not Joseph, but rather, say, a brother of Joseph who died prior to 1785, and Joseph took Walker to raise. Certainly Walker’s father was not ‘Rockcastle’ Stephen Langford, as Walker was more than fully grown before Stephen died. I also have to note here that the Travis account has some obvious errors, including the statement that Walker’s wife was ‘Polly Williams.’ We know for sure that Walker’s wife was Mary (Polly) Warren, of course, so that ‘Williams’ reference is bogus. Also, the item in Travis’s History says that Walker fought under Gen. Jackson in the Seminole Wars in 1818, which is dubious as he would have been pushing 50 by then. I could go on, but as this is tangential to the Line Creek folk of interest to you, I’ll stop with that.

“It’s too bad that the Lincoln County apprenticeship papers have not survived, or we might at least know the name of the carpenter & woodworker to whom Walker was supposedly bound out. One wonders whether said carpenter was the same man who built Langford Station….

“Always more mysteries to consider.

“BW” –shb 10 June 2007

1790 TAX LIST–“WALKER LANKFORD IS NAMED, ALONG WITH OTHER LANKFORDS, AS LIVING IN LINCOLN COUNTY, KENTUCKY (STILL VIRGINIA, ACTUALLY, UNTIL 1792). Historical Records of Harrodsburg (Mercer County), Formerly Known as Old Crab Orchard, Lincoln County, Stanford, Kentucky, by Mrs. Carl W. McGhee, of Washington D.C., searched 22 June 2006 at the FHL, Salt Lake City, Utah, by shb (Call No. 976.9485/H2m), page 7-x, Page B, names these Lankfords that I identify as follows: “Benja Lankford,” [I think this is the Benjamin Lankford who was b. 1765 (s/o Stephen and his first wife), d. aft. 1833, married and divorced Nancy Peyton]; “Mary Lankford” [This is Mary ___, my ancestor Walker Lankford’s mother, widow of Joseph Lankford (who died in 1785, five years before this census was taken)–shb]; “Stephen Lankford” [father of Benjamin (b. 1765), who was born abt. 1748 and died Feb-May 1811–shb] and “Walker Lankford” [b. 1769, ancestor of shb–he was the son of Joseph, b. abt. 1728-1729 and Mary ___–wish I knew how Joseph is related to Stephen (and his son, Benjamin)–shb]. –shb 23 Jun 2006

AGE TWENTY-ONE ON 1790 TAX LIST? “Progenitors of Arlie Ethel Caldwell Thompson (Fielding Langford History),” p. 144, scan of page, as forwarded by Dave Hull, of Canada, to shb, 23 Jan 2007, in short synopsis about the life of Walker and Mary (Warren) Langford: “Walker was 21 when he appeared on the tax lists in 1790.” I know they had to be at least 21 to appear on the tax records, but I have not seen the original and do not know if it actually says he was age 21. It is possible that Walker’s approximate birth year as “1769” is based on this assumption, so would like to see the evidence–shb. –shb 23 Jan 2007

WALKER LANGFORD PROBABLY STAYED PUT: Considering the above-explained county history, we might conclude that because Walker Lankford shows up on Rockcastle County tax lists does not necessarily mean he moved–what was once Lincoln County became Rockcastle County (also, part of Pulaski County was taken to form Rockcastle County, in 1810). –shb

ABOUT ROCKCASTLE COUNTY: Rockcastle County was formed in 1810, primarily from Lincoln and Madison Counties, though a small area on the east was formed from Knox County. Laurel County, in 1825, and Jackson County, in 1858, were formed from portions of Rockcastle County. About a quarter of the county is considered as part of the Daniel Boone National Forest, per information posted on GenWeb. –shb

1797-1798–JOHN FARRIS APPOINTED “SALLY” LANGFORD’S GUARDIAN: E-letter, 29 Jan 2006, from Shiron Wordsworth to shb: “This past weekened, I was in touch with a gentleman researching original tax records and land grants in what was once Lincoln County, Kentucky. This gentleman assured me there is evidence that Mary Langford, Joseph’s wife, died about 1797 or 98. In 1798, John Farris was appointed the legal guardian of Sally Langford, who was a child of Joseph and Mary Langford. John Farris was married to Jenny Langford, another daughter of Joseph and Mary. The logical conclusion to be drawn from that guardianship is that Jenny and John assumed responsibility for the minor child of Jenny’s parents, at her mother’s death.” –shb 30 Nov 2006

1797, OCTOBER 10–WERE WALKER AND MARY/POLLY (WARREN) IN COURT THAT DAY? [See 1797 notes of Stephen Lankford, Sally (dau. of my ancestors Joseph and Mary Lankford), Sally’s sister Jenny Lankford (m. Johnson Farris, whom Sally chose as her guardian that day), and my ancestor, Charles Warren, Sr., who also was in court that same day for details of the court recordings–shb.]

WAS WALKER THEN LIVING IN CRAB ORCHARD, LINCOLN, KENTUCKY? SOME IMAGININGS: Here is an excerpt from a letter to our Langfords, 11 July 2006, that tells a little about the layout of towns

“. . . . Attached [also to Walker’s media file–shb] is a drawing of the Logan Fort site, where the original Lincoln County courthouse was built in 1786 (the case involving Sally’s guardianship and mention of Charles and Stephen took place eleven years later, on 10 Oct
1797). This drawing was posted at <http://www.lincolnky.com/tourism/historical.htm,&gt;
with this label: ‘Original courthouse on this site was in 1786. Records contained in this
building date back in 1779, some written on sheepskin. The Fiscal Court room contains some
of the finest portraits of Lincoln County judges.’ [You might want to go to the site to see
the drawing, as it did not copy over very well–shb.]

“Stanford was named for Benjamin Logan, a hero among early settlers for successfully
fighting off Indian attacks. Logans Fort was located near the existing Stanford downtown
district, and Stanford became the County seat. Crab Orchard is a small town in eastern
Lincoln County, located about ten miles southeast of Stanford. Several sites say that Crab Orchard was probably named for a stand of crab apple trees, which delights me, since Dan and I unknowingly planted a crab apple in our front yard 10-15 years ago that is a source of delight in spring for it’s lovely, fragrant pink blooms and, in fall, for it’s bright-colored leaves. (However, it’s a royal pain, otherwise, to have to clean up mounds of tiny fallen tiny apples that attract deer to our front yard in winter, if we don’t get every single one up before the snows fall). Anybody have a good crab-apple pickle recipe or other good use for this miniature fruit?

“My Langford mother also had a crab apple tree in her yard, but I think she took it out because she got tired of cleaning up the fallen fruit. Perhaps on first planting it, she knew its historical significance.

“Crab Orchard was at the end of Logan’s Trace of the Wilderness Road and was an early pioneer station. There are several mineral springs in the area, and from 1827 until 1922 taverns and hotels were located at Crab Orchard Springs. Charles Warren was granted a license to keep a tavern on 18 Oct 1796, nearly a year before this 1797session where Sally chose her guardian. I’m wondering if his tavern was in Crab Orchard, since his daughter Mary Polly married our Walker Lankford, who hailed from there.

“I like to think that Stephen came down the Wilderness road that day with a carriage drawn by fine Kentucky horses, attended by one of his slaves. Perhaps along the way he picked up the rest (including, perhaps, Walker, son of Joseph), Walker’s sisters Sally and Jenny, and Jenny’s husband, John[son] Farris. Did Charles Warren join them, since his name was also mentioned, on a road matter, in court that day? (His daughter Mary/Polly, age 13-17 at
the time, married Walker nearly three years later).

“How long do you think it took a horse and carriage to travel ten miles on an October day? I can see them returning to Crab Orchard for a Kentucky chicken picnic near a stand of red-leafed crab applie trees–perhaps staying to visit longer and lodge with their Crab Orchard relatives.

“Sherlene” –shb 11 July 2006

1798-1799–THE KENTUCKY AND VIRGINIA RESOLUTIONS DECLARED THE FEDERAL ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. –shb 24 May 2007

1799, MAY 27–“WALKER LANGFORT” HAS LAND IN GREEN COUNTY, KENTUCKY. Green County, Kentucky Land Entries 1796-1834, [abstracts–shb] compiled by Randolph N. Smith (Burkesville, Kentucky: R. N. Smith and Laura Lee Butler), 1975 (Call No. US/CAN 976.9695/R2s), searched at the FHL by shb, 23 June 2007, p. 110 [underlinings in quotes from Smith’s book are mine–shb]: “188 pg. May 27, 1799. JOHN EMERSON assignee of James Chism 200 acres second rate land begining [sic–shb] at a white oak & hickory binding on Walker Langfort’s [sic–shb] N. line running thence N for quantity.” –shb 27 June 2007

[Note: In the introduction of Smith’s book, he explains that “Green County, Kentucky was formed in 1792 from Lincoln and Nelson counties. Part or all of the following counties were taken from the area that was once Green county – Adair, Barren, Clinton, Cumberland, Hart, McCreary, Metcalfe, Monroe, Pulaski, Russell, Taylor and Wayne.

“There are a few entries that the surveyor copied from Nelson and Jefferson county records that date back to 1780. The great bulk of the records are ‘South of Green River’ entries of 1798 and 1799. Most of the later entries were granted by the Green County Court and date to 1 January 1834, when a new book was started.

“This is not a Survey Book with plats of land surveyed, but is a record of certificates that locate the land and usually gives the names of other settlers that own land the survey joins. The records are written without punctuation and no attempt has been made to correct spelling. Some editing has been done in the index.”] –shb 27 June 2007′

JAMES WARREN HAD LAND IN GREEN COUNTY. Green County, Kentucky Land Entries 1796-1834, [abstracts–shb] compiled by Randolph N. Smith (Burkesville, Kentucky: R. N. Smith and Laura Lee Butler), 1975 (Call No. US/CAN 976.9695/R2s), searched at the FHL by shb, 23 June 2007, p. 112: “No. 1348 [no date given–shb]. JAMES WARREN 200 acres second rate land on the head waters of Goose Creek beginning in a conditional line made between him & William Thompson running thence with said conditional line so far that a straight line at right angles will strike Martin Warrens corner & run with his line so far as to include the quantity & his improvement.” [Note: This James Warren may be the brother of my ancestor, John Warren (m. Susanna Christian), both sons of James Warren. James and John owned a copper mine together (quite a story there). John’s son was Charles Warren, Sr., the tavern keeper (I do not know his wife’s name–another lost ancestral mother). All I know about James Jr. is that he was “of Lincoln Co. KY” and died aft. 8 Jul 1805. I have no idea who this Martin Warren is–shb.]

[next item]

“May 28. No. 1290 WILLIAM THOMPSON 200 acres second rate land on the head waters of Goose Creek begining [sic–shb] about 40 poles from his improvement & in a conditional line of Isaac Crosses thence to extend SE to a conditional line between him & James Warren thence with the same conditional line & off from the same W so as to include his improvement for quantity.”

Smith, p. 113: No. 1347. JOHN DUNBAR 100 acres second rate land on the head waters of Goose Creek begining at 2 black oaks on the top of a ridge running thence N40E, N50W, S36W thence to the begining so as to incude his improvement for quantity.”

[next item]:

Smith, p. 113: “No. 1351. MARTIN WARREN 200 acres second rate land on the dividing ridge between Goose Creek & Wolf Creek begining at a white oak & white walnut about 15 poles above the mouth of his spring branch running thence S88E 179 poles thence N2E 150 poles to Ruben Dunbar’s line thence with said line 50 poles thence N88W 148 poles thence to the begining for quantity including his improvement.”

1799, MAY 28–JOHN BEARD IS AN ASSIGNEE OF “WALKER LANGFORD”: [next entry, after that of Martin Warren, Smith, p. 113]: “Pg. 193, May 28, 1799. No. 408. JOHN BEARD assignee of Walker Langford 200 acres second rate land on the waters of Spring Creek begining on a conditional line between said Langford & Dudley Farris & at the NE end of said line thence up & binding on the foot of the knobs so far that a line from thence will include the quantity & to include the improvement.”

[next item, Smith p. 113]: “No. 1281. JOSIAH WILLSON 2090 acres second rate land on the waters of Goose Creek & begining 34 poles from Dunbar’s branch & on the west side of the same thence running E with a conditional line between him & John Stone crossing the same branch below a remarkable fall & from his line to a conditional line between his & Thomas Crow and with said Crow’s line W so as to include his improvement for quantity.

[Next, Smith p. 113]: “RUBEN DUNBAR 200 acres second rate land on the dividing ridge between Goose Creek & Wolf Creek where the county line crosses said ridge beginning at a white oak & dogwood in William Stone’s line running thence N59W 179 poles thence S31W 179 poles thence S59E 179 poles thence to the begining for quantity including his improvement.”

[earlier entry, page No. cut off, involving William Thompson]: “No. 517 . . . . WILLIAM THOMPSON is entitled to 200 acres of second rate land . . . . on the south side of Green River & on the south side of Russles Creek and on the SW side of Richard Yate’s survey & at said Yate’s N.W. corner on elm, hickory & ash trees running thence with Yate’s line S55E 258 poles thence S35W & thence from the begining running with Jarret Breckey’s line out for quantity & to be laid off in a square as near as the interfering claims will admit of by joining them the improvement is near the begining.”

Smith [page cut off photocopy]: 1799, “June 14th. No. 597, DUDLEY FARRIS 200 acres second rate land on Smiths Creek begining at a white oak, walnut & ash begining corner of Campbell’s claim & to run with a conditional line made between said Campbell & said Farris for compliment to include his improvement near the SW side of his claim.”

Smith, p. 120 “No. 902. BENJAMINE CAMPBELL 200 acres second rate land on Smiths Creek begining at a white oak, walnut & ash on a conditional line made between said Campbell & Dudley Farris to run N15E & with said Farris conditional line N41W for compliment to include his improvement nearly centerable in his claim.” –shb 27 June 2007

TERRY SMITH RELATED TO SOME OF ABOVE WALKER’S GREEN COUNTY NEIGHBORS. On being copied to the above information about mention of Walker Lankford in Green County records, Terry Smith (connected to Langfords through her Damrons) writes shb, 28 June 2007: “Interesting…I saw two other connections to my family in your attachment: Reuben Dunbar (Venia Dunbar was my great grandmother, her father was James, and James’ father was Reuben) and John Stone (Mary Stone was my great grandmother, her father was Wilson, and Wilson’s father was John Stone).” –shb 28 June 2007

WALKER’S GREEN COUNTY LAND NOT SAME AS WHAT HE HAD IN PULASKI–GREEN COUNTY LAND PROBABLY A SPECULATIVE VENTURE. I sent the above notes about Walker having land in Green County to fellow Langford researchers, wondering out loud if when Pulaski was formed, it took in Walker’s same Green County land, then was taxed in Pulaski. We were blessed by this response from Pulaski County researcher Jeff Renner, 28 June 2007: “No, it would not be the same land. Green donated just a small piece of land to Pulaski’s formation in the southwestern edge of the county. Walker’s Line Creek property was in the far eastern part, solidly in the Lincoln County section.

“I would caution anyone from reading too much into someone having land in multiple places. That was common and was used as potential investment/speculation property. Stephen also had several tracts of land far away from his home in what would be Rockcastle County. Nelson only contributed a small amount of land to Green in 1792, about the northern
sixth or so.

“There is no grant to Walker in Green and we know he didn’t settle on the land. So it’s likely he had the land surveyed and then sold/assigned it to someone else. This would exactly follow the investment strategy. Jeff” –shb 28 June 2007

WALKER’S GREEN COUNTY LAND PROBABLY IN TODAY’S CLINTON COUNTY. Letter to shb from my brother-in-law, Barry D. Wood, 30 June 2007: “Subject: Re: Walker Lankford had land in Green Co. KY!

“Sherlene — I believe that this land was in the eastern part of present-day Clinton County, Kentucky. The whole eastern section of this county drains into Spring Creek, which hits the Cumberland River near the Tennessee line. Spring Creek is formed by the junction of Smith Creek (heading north) and Hays Creek (heading east). Walker did not own land on Spring Creek proper, but almost surely on or near the tributary called Smith Creek.

“Note the reference to ‘the knobs’ in the land description that you found. There are no knobs near the lower section of the Creek, where it’s called Spring Creek rather than Smith Creek. But follow Smith Creek up from where it empties into Spring Creek to where it’s roughly two and a half miles east by northeast from the center of Albany, Ky. You’ll see a series of knobs on the east side of the creek, opposite the hamlet of Smith Chapel. I think this was approximately the location of the land Walker assigned to Dudley Farris.

“I don’t know whether this URL will work or not after I close topozone out, but you could try it [it did work for me, so I forwarded his letter to all in the family and all our Langford researchers and hope they can see it there, as well, though I could not the image over to place in Walker’s media file–shb]:

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=36.70326&lon=-85.08751&size=l&u=4&datum=nad27&layer=DRG

“If that doesn’t work, just go to the main topozone.com site and enter a search for Smith Chapel, Ky., and when the table of search results pops up, click on the blue “Smith Chapel” name in the left hand column.

“(Incidentally, you could clue your ward members into Topozone for one of your “tips” [as part of my LDS church call, as a ward family history consultant, I have been writing a weekly “tip” that is formatted by our coordinator, and then we insert it in our Sunday program (and I’ve been forwarding it to everybody I know who is interested in genealogy, with some other wards also using it in their congregations–shb]. Note that Topozone shows practically every little rural cemetery.)

“I would have been confused about this, and would have suspected that the reference to the knobs was maybe to to Copperas Knob and another one, near the headwaters of Hays Creeek (southeastern Clinton County). However, the allusion to Smith Creek in the land entry for Dudley Farris is a pretty clear indication that Dudley & Walker were pioneering on upper Smith Creek.

“Regardless, judging from the topo maps I would say that this is a very scenice section of Kentucky, save for the destruction wrought by strip mining. (The strip mined areas show up in purple on the moutains that form the eastern boundary of Clinton County.)

“I wonder whether Walker was trying his hand at prospecting in this deal (shades of Tracy Jr.). It seems like a long way to go from Crab Orchard just to find some dirt to till.

“Barry” –shb 30 June 2007

1799–FIRST IMPROVEMENTS MADE ON WALKER LANKFORD PROPERTY, ON LINE CREEK, IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY. From e-letter by Jeff Renner to shb, 31 May 2007: “I’ve been thinking a little more about Walker perhaps building that old house on Line Creek and, while I’m not ready to lay odds, I’d say it’s very reasonable. I really hadn’t given it much thought before. Walker lived on/owned that property for 30 years–from 1806/07 until he sold it to my 4th great-grandfather Isaac Mize in 1836. And while there was some improvement done on the property as early as 1799, it may not have been a proper (log) house like the one later. (See entire text of Jeff’s letter, below.) –shb 31 May 2007

1800, SEPTEMBER 9–WALKER MARRIES MARY OR POLLY WARREN, IN LINCOLN COUNTY, KENTUCKY. (See information tabbed, “SAME INFORMATION . . . above, by Norma Kirchhofer.) –shb 4 Oct 2006

1800, NOVEMBER 15–STEPHEN LANGFORD [2 OR “FLINTLOCK STEPHEN,” AS WE ALL HIM–SHB] SELLS LAND TO MARY/POLLY’S BROTHER, CHARLES WARREN JR., THAT CROSSES DICK’S RIVER, IN LINCOLN COUNTY, KENTUCKY. Notes, Lincoln County, Kentucky Deed Books, LDS Film #0192238-41, transcription included in response by Diane Warren Snaidauf (her e-address in Charles Sr.’s blind file), 14 May 2007, to Blog Post #2 of Sherlene Hall Bartholomew [underlining mine–shb]: “Notes Lincoln Co. KY Deed Books LDS film # 0192238 -41 –

“Vol. B 1800 – 01 Danville office? another un index volume not included in master index for county

“Page 216 15 November 1800 Stephen Langford to Charles Warren Jr. for 100 pounds 200 acres part of a survey of 1500 acres and patent bearing the date of June 8 1799. “Beginning at Ash and Walnut tree at Rawls corner and starting on the river bank thence North 62ºeast 76poles to a stake on Rawl’s line then South 40ºeast 200 poles to a stake on Troutmann’s line then with his line South 33ºwest 70 poles to a stake on Thomas Hutchinson’s line where the two lines cross, thence South 65ºwest 30 poles crossing the Dick’s river to a stake where the said Hutchinson’s line comes nearest to the first bend of the river below where the line crosses the river thence northward running down the river with the different meanders thence to the beginning so that a line from the beginning South 11ºwest 40 poles shall include 2 acres of land in the bend of the river on the west side of the same everything included witnesses Thomas Hutchinson, Daniel Owsley and Henry Owsley.
Filed 13 Jan 1801”

“Book D
P. 164 2 Nov. 1799 Joseph Turner of Pulaski Co. to George Sheeks of Lincoln co. for 200 pounds 1000 acres on Buck Creek witnesses Charles Warren, John Combs David Sheeks.

“Book E
Page 191 This indenture made 13 October 1802 Between Stephen Langford of the county of Lincoln and the commonwealth of Kentucky of the first part and Charles Warren Jr. of the aforesaid said county and commonwealth of the other part Witnessest that the said Steven Landford for and in consideration of the sum of pounds currency of the sate the receipt whereof the said JOHN Langford doth hereby acknowledge hath granted Bargained sold aliened and confirmed unto the said Charles Warren his heirs and assignees forever one certain tract or parcel of land containing 50 acres and part of a survey of acres lying and being in the county of Lincoln and adjoining the land of the said Charles Warren and John Davis and bounded as follows to wit beginning at 3 dogwood corner of William Pearl , Charles Warren and John Davis thence with the said Warren line North 15ºeast 80 poles to a Maypole and said line thence east 100 poles to a buckeye and hickory near to the bank of the
Lick river lick creek thence south 100º 80 poles to John Davis’s line to a white oak thence with Davis’s line 100 poles that line turning west to the beginning . To have and to Hold the said 50 acres of land with all and every appurtenance unto the said Charles Warren and his heirs and the said Stephen Langford for himself and his heirs doth covenant and agree with the said Charles Warren and with his heirs that the said Langford doth warrant and forever defend the above described tract of land for himself and his heirs forever witness wherefore the said Stephen Langford hath herewith set his hand and seal the above written day and year.
signed sealed and delivered in the presence of

“Burriss Warren
Charles Warren
James Davis (or Reed?)
John Warren
State of Kentucky Lincoln County this on the 12 day September 1805 this indenture of bargain and sale was proved by the oaths of the within named Charles Warren and Burris Warren on the 8 day of July 1804 by the oath of James Reed where upon I admitted the same to award witness Thomas Montgomery county clerk of Lincoln County, Kentucky” –shb 15 May 2007

PULASKI COUNTY TAX LIST INCLUDES WALKER LANKFORD: As compiled and posted by Jeff Renner, on his genealogy site, accessed 10 Feb 2006, by shb, Walker Langford first shows up in 1806 and is listed in successive years, along with his neighbors:

“Tax List of Line Creek, 1800-1830 [I have in brackets inserted events in Walker Lankford’s life, along his taxed way–shb]:

“Following is a table containing those individuals listed on Pulaski and Rockcastle County tax lists from 1800 through 1830 with taxable property which can be placed on Line Creek (watercourse designations varied between Line Creek and the Rockcastle River). Individuals from the Rockcastle County lists are noted with ‘(R)’. I have corrected the name spellings to the best of my knowledge.

“Instead of a long explanatory discussion here, please click on the underlined links throughout the listings to get more information on an item or individual. I’ll add more information about the individuals listed as I can.

“Year Name Acres Entered
Surveyed Granted
1800 Moleston Pettyjohn 100 George Sanders same
George Sanders 100 George Sanders same

[1800, SEPTEMBER 9–WALKER MARRIES MARY OR “POLLY” WARREN, DAUGHTER OF CHARLES, IN LINCOLN COUNTY, KENTUCKY. See notes of Stephen Langford, RIN 33735. –shb 18 Oct 2001]

[MARRIAGE CONFIRMED: Marriages Index 1781-1800, Lincoln County, Kentucky, copied by Jewell McWilliams, Circuit Court Clerk, contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Frank Gruber, as posted at http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/lincoln/vitals/marriages/mar . . . , accessed 23 Jun 2006, by shb: “Walker Lankford – Mary Warren, Sept. 9, 1800.”]

1800–WALKER HAS A RELATIVE/BROTHER [?], IVEY, WHO ALSO LIVES IN PULASKI COUNTY, SO IS ON 1800 TAX LIST, AS HAVING FOUR HUNDRED ACRES, ON FISHING CREEK. My letter to Langfords on my list, including fellow researchers, 16 June 2007: ” . . . I stayed on [at the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, 15 June 2007] and looked up a reference I had been wondering about, that was somehow lost to me. It took four hours, but I found it (along with lots of other stuff). A History of Pulaski County, Kentucky, compiled by Alma Owens Tibbals (Bagdad, Kentucky: Published by Grace Owens Moore, 1952), p. 27, names some of the larger landowners in Pulaski County, shown by tax lists in 1799-1806.

“Tibbals notes that when the first tax list of Pulaski County settlers was taken in 1799, there ‘are listed 383 white males twenty-one years of age and over, 121 slaves, and 886 horses.’

“Rockcastle County was not formed from Pulaski County until 1810 . . .[Note: About this, Jeff Renner writes: “”Pulaski only contributed a very small part to Rockcastle. It was mostly Lincoln, with about a quarter/third Madison. Jeff” –shb 17 June 2007] Back to Sherlene’s letter:

“Anyway, only one Langford was listed by Tibbels as being a prominent Pulaski County land owner, as noted on the 1800 tax list (Walker was in Pulaski by then, but only had 100 acres): “Jocy Langford” had 400 acres on Fishing Creek, in 1800 [that’s the reference I was looking for, bolding and italics of his first name, mine–shb]. Only two other large land owners on Fishing Creek are named–Sherad Reynolds (346 acres), also in 1800, and William Durham (800 acres), in 1804.

“I brought up and enlarged Jeff Renner’s map showing the distance between Line Creek, where Walker lived in 1830, and Lick Creek, where Stephen2 was that year. I got out my magnifiers, but my feeble eyes couldn’t find a Fishing Creek, where Ivy was, on that map.

“Jeff, do you know who this Jocy Langford is, with 400 acres, on Fishing Creek, in 1800? I used to think this was the clerk’s shorthand for “Joseph.” Now I am wondering if the transcriber made the mistake I did, in reverse, and mistook an “I” for a “J,” and this should read “Ivey Langford” (I first thought it was “Jay,” in the Census). We think this Ivey was Walker’s brother–he was the only other Langford besides Walker and ‘Flintlock’ Stephen (the 2nd), in Pulaski County, in 1830.” Jeff’s response, same day: “Probably a mistranscription for Ivey Langford. He had land on Fishing Creek. It’s in a different section of the county (north/northwest/west).” –shb 17 June 2007

[Note: John Robert or “Bob” Langford (a descendant of Stephen1 and Stephen2) addresses this, e-note of 17 June 2007: “Sherlene, Fishing Creek empties into Lake Cumberland about 5 miles due west of Somerset in Pulaski County. If you look at a map of Pulaski and Lincoln counties, you will see that its headwaters are near Hall’s Gap, which is about 5 miles west of the William Whitley house near Crab Orchard. And remember that Stephen 1 first settled on land adjoining Whitley’s property. So, I’m betting this 400 acres was in that vicinity, maybe even adjoining Stephen’s property. That is another close connection between the two families. Bob” –shb 18 June 2007]

ABT. 1769–WALKER LANKFORD’S BIRTH: This estimate from letter of Barry D. Wood to the family, 12 Oct 2003. –shb 12 Oct 2003

IVY CONNECTED TO GARRARD/GARRETT LANGFORD? (See 1812 note, below.) –shb 17 June 2007

1801 Moleston Pettyjohn 100 George Sanders same

[1801–WALKER’S DAUGHTER, MATILDA LANGFORD, IS BORN? I had Matilda as a daughter of Walker and Mary/Polly, but a letter from Deanna Bennett says she has evidence that Matilda’s mother was named “Nancy,” so I have moved Matilda over, as a daughter of Walker’s brother [?] Benjamin and his wife, Nancy (Peyton), pending additional verification. –shb 15 Oct 2005]

1802 John Funk 55 George Sanders same
Jacob Myers 55 George Sanders same
Moleston Pettyjohn 125 George Sanders same

[1802–A SON THOMAS BORN TO WALKER AND POLLY? See my Legacy ID 67543. In the 1800 Census of Washington, Marion, Indiana, this Thomas is lsted as age 78, born in Virginia, both of his parents born in Virginia. –shb 27 May 2006]

1803 Moleston Pettyjohn 100 George Sanders same

1804 none

1805 Moleston Pettyjohn 100 George Sanders same

[1806–WALKER FIRST SHOWS UP ON PULASKI COUNTY TAX LIST, ALONG WITH CHARLES WARREN, SR.]

1806 Richard Brush 100 R. Brush
John Edwards 50
Drury Elkins 100 Pettyjohn
Barnet Houseman 60
Walker Langford 40
Frederick Ott 100 Daniel McClure [Note: Frederick Ott Jr. converted to Mormonism, along with Walker Langford’s son, Fielding, after they moved to Illinois. I did not remember that their parents were neighbors in Pulaski County, KY, until I reviewed these notes–shb.] Charles Warren 100 [This is Charles Sr., Walker Langford’s father-in-law–shb]

[Jeff Renner has made a link of Walker Langford’s name, as it here first appears–shb.]

1806–FIRST LANKFORD TO SETTLE ON LINE-CREEK. Per land grant survey map on Jeff Renner’s site, Walker settled on Line-Creek in 1806, though he could not yet purchase it. This makes him the earliest Lankford to settle on Line Creek. –shb 19 Oct 2006

“Richard Brush, Walker Langford, Charles Warren Sr. – The appearance of Richard Brush, Walker Langford and Charles Warren on the 1806 Pulaski tax list marks the arrival of perhaps the most important extended family on Line Creek. Richard married Nancy Warren, and Walker married Mary Warren, both daughters of Charles.

“Richard’s land here is part of what was ultimately patented to John Warren, son of Charles (see Grant F, 1799-1825 Line Creek Land Grants). Walker’s land is the same as 1802 Funk & Myers. Charles’ land is part of his later grant (see Grant G.)

“Frederick Ott, Henry Ott, Daniel McClure

“This land is represented by Grant A, 1799-1825 Line Creek Land Grants. The grant process was started by Daniel McClure, who later assigned the warrant to Henry Ott (son of Frederick). Henry assigned it to Andrew Baker in 1816. It was ultimately patented to Josiah Evans in 1822.

“Daniel McClure was probably connected to the family of Holbert McClure and the rest of the Rockcastle McClures. He married Betsy Ott 2 Jun 1803 in Lincoln County; Betsy was probably Frederick Ott Sr’s daughter.

“Frederick Ott Sr was born about 1754 what would become Montgomery County, VA; Henry was born in Montgomery County about 1779. Another son, Isaac, was born in Wythe County, VA, in 1792. It’s very likely the Frederick Ott and Jacob Renner families knew each other in Wythe County and possible that they moved to the Line Creek area together around 1800. Frederick Ott Jr later owned land and lived on Skeggs Creek.

“Frederick died about 1818; around the same time Henry moved to IN.” –shb 10 Feb 2006

1807 Richard Brush 100 R. Brush same
Drury Elkins 100 M. Pettyjohn same
John Edwards 50 J. Edwards
Walker Langford 110
Frederick Ott 100 D. McClure
Samuel Stogsdill 40 J. Edwards S. Stogsdill
Charles Warren Sr 175 C. Warren C. Warren

1808 Drury Elkins 100 Pettyjohn
John Edwards 50 J. Edwards
Nathan Gentry 105 R. Brush
Walker Langford 110 G. Sanders
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren C. Warren
John Warren 75 R. Brush same [son of Charles Warren, Sr., per Jeff Renner, but Charles Warren’s father, John Warren, was still alive, so another possibility–shb]

[1808–MARRIAGE OF ID 58793, POLLY LANGFORD TO ID 58794, JOHN WARREN: Is this a case of Langford siblings marrying Warren siblings? (No. Jeff Warren forwarded documents proving that Polly was a daughter of Mt. Vernon Stephen Langford–shb.) –shb 10 Oct 2004, June 2007]

1809 none

[1810–PART OF PULASKI COUNTY WAS TAKEN TO FORM ROCKCASTLE COUNTY, KENTUCKY] –shb 13 June 2007 [Note: I wonder if records for that part of Pulaski County went to the Rockcastle County courthouse or stayed in Pulaski County. Was the land on which Mt. Vernon Stephen Langford settled once part of Pulaski County?–shb.]

[Sherlene inserting here: 1810 CENSUS–“WARKER” [SIC] LANKFORD IS LISTED AS AGE AGE 26-44, LIVING WITH WIFE [MARY/POLLY WARREN–shb] AGE 26-44, IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY. THEY HAVE FIVE CHILDREN AGED TEN AND UNDER. HeritageQuest on-line image, accessed 6 Mar 2006, by shb:

No township listed, Pulaski County, Kentucky (cover page also calls it Rockcastle Co.)
Series M252, Roll 8, Page 145:

Males: 2 age ten and under [one would be Fielding, b. 1804, the other could be his proposed brother, Thomas, b. 1802, but then what about Larkin, b. 1808? Maybe either Larkin or Thomas doesn’t belong–or the census taker could have missed one–shb], 1 age 26-45 [Walker–shb].
Females: 3 age ten and under [one would be Cynthia, b. 1806–shb] 1 age 26-45 [Mary/Polly]
None upwards of 45
No blacks.

On previous page 144 is listed Jay Lankford [I don’t see Jay on tax lists, though–shb]
Males: 2 age ten and under, 1 age 26-44 [Jay, so he was b. 1766-1784–shb]
Females: 1 age 16-25, 1 age 26-44
None over age 45
4 blacks. –shb 6 Mar 2006

[Note: See notes of father Joseph for detail of proximity (at least in same county) in this 1810 Census of the Walker, Benjamin, and Stephen Langford families. I think this is good indication that they were closely related. HeritageQuest only indexes four Lankfords (heads of households), living in Kentucky, in 1810–Walker, of Pulaski County, Kentucky (see above); Larkin Lankford, of Lawrenceburg, Franklin, Kentucky; Thomas Lankford, North Middleton, Bourbon, Kentucky; and Benjamin D., of Martinsville, Warren, Kentucky (this is Jeff Davis’ ancestor). I did not see other Lankfords or recognizable relatives in surrounding names on any of these. HeritageQuest indexes six more, with the name spelled “Langford”: John M., of Livingston County, Kentucky; Margaret, Gerrard County; Nancey, Rockcastle; Nathan, Warren; Polly, Warren; and Stephen, of Rockcastle County, Kentucky. –shb] –shb 22 Oct 2006

[Continuing with Pulaski tax list]:

1810 Henry Ott 100 D. McClure Frederick Ott
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same
John Warren 80 R. Brush same

1811 Drury Elkins 50 Pettyjohn
Arthur Floyd Sr 85 Mark Whitaker
Walker Langford 110 G. Sanders
Frederick Ott 50 John Edwards same
Henry Ott 100 John Edwards same
John Warren 180 R. Brush same

[Note that in 1810, John Warren, son (or father?) of Charles Warren, Sr., had 80 acres, but in 1811 no Charles Warren is listed, and John has 180 acres–had his father, who did not die until after 30 July 1831, moved away, devising John 100 acres? Apparently daughters got nothing, as Walker Langford is taxed for 110 acres both years–however, there’s a good chance Walker got his land from Charles Warren, in earlier years–shb.]

1812 Drury Elkins 100 Pettyjohn same
Jacob Isaacs 50 John Edwards
Walker Langford 110 G. Sanders [Apparently not in War of 1812 at age 43–shb]
Henry Ott 100 John Edwards same
Thomas Ping 100 George Sanders same
John Warren 180 R. Brush J. Warren

[1812–TUNSTALL QUARLES GATHERED TROOPS FROM PULASKI COUNTY TO FIGHT IN THE WAR OF 1812. (See 1818 note, below.) A Garrard or Garrett Langford served in a third Pulaski County militia, in this war, who may have been associated with Ivey Lankford, presumed to be Walker’s brother (see 1800 notes, above). –shb 12 June 2007]

[A GARRARD OR GARRETT LANGFORD SERVES IN A THIRD PULASKI COUNTY MILITIA, WAR OF 1812. When I asked Jeff Renner, along with other family researchers, if any had heard of a soldier from Pulaski County named Garrard (or Garrett) Langford, who served in the War of 1812 (Tibbals, p. 206), he replied: “I think the name is Garrett Langford. I don’t know who he is, but he could be associated with Ivey. I’ve never come across him in eastern Pulaski or Rockcastle.” –shb 17 June 2007]

[Note: Jeff Davis kindly checked the Ancestry.com Index for 1812 War Pensions and Warrants for Lankford/Langfords, and only found the one for Stephen2 (widow Catharine), the image attached to Stephen’s file. Jeff writes, 19 June 2007: “Walker, Sr. is too old. I tried multiple spellings for Garrett. There is nothing even close. Is that Stephen related or associated somehow to you?” (I explained the hoped-for connection, and Jeff ended up ordering the entire file, himself, along with others, with promise to share the results with Bob and me!–shb.]

[Note: I am placing toward the end of these notes, for future study, information about Langfords in the War of 1812 and also Langford land grant/deed information, kindly gleaned by Terry Smith and Jeff Davis, and forwarded to shb, 19 June 2007.]

1813 Drury Elkins 100 G. Sanders Pettyjohn
Walker Langford 110 G. Sanders
Henry Ott 100 Daniel McClure Frederick Ott
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same
John Warren 180 R. Brush same J. Warren

1814 Drury Elkins 100 M. Pettyjohn same
John Keziah 50 J. Edwards same
Walker Langford 100 G. Sanders J. Funk same
Henry Ott 100 Ott
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same
John Warren 180 R. Brush same J. Warren

[1815–THE ENTERPRISE, THE FIRST STEAMBOAT TO TRAVEL UP THE MISSISSIPPI AND KENTUCKY RIVERS, REACHED LOUISVILLE FROM NEW ORLEANS. (World Book Kentucky Timeline.)]

1815 Drury Elkins 100 D. Elkins
Walker Langford 110 E. Williams J. Funk same
Daniel McClure 50 D. McClure same
Henry Ott 100 D. McClure same
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same same
John Warren 185 R. Brush same J. Warren

1816 Andrew Baker 100 D. McClure H. Ott
Walker Langford 110 E. Williams J. Funk same
Daniel McClure 50 J. Edwards J. Keziah
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same same
John Warren 185 R. Brush same J. Warren

1817 Andrew Baker 100 D. McClure H. Ott
Larkin Baker 50 J. Edwards J. Keziah
Andrew Baker 100 H. Ott
Drury Elkins 50 Pettyjohn same
Walker Langford 110 J. Funk same same
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same same
John Warren 180 R. Brush same J. Warren

1818 Andrew Baker 50 Pettyjohn same
Andrew Baker 100 H. Ott
Larkin Baker 50 J. Edwards J. Keziah
Drury Elkins 50 Pettyjohn same
Walker Langford 110 J. Funk W. Langford
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same same
John Warren 180 R. Brush same J. Warren” –shb 10 Feb 2006

1818–FIRST BANK IN PULASKI COUNTY: From biographical sketch posted for Andrew Jackson James, accessed 12 June 2007, by shb: “A possible catalyst for the career of A.J. James was Tunstall Quarles who organized and established the first bank in Pulaski
County, Farmers Bank, in 1818. Just prior to the War of 1812, Quarles organized a large calvary troop at his own expense, that served in the war under his command. Quarles was both a State Senator & Representative at Frankfort. A.J. not only followed Quarles’ lead into state politics, A.J. also was appointed to the bank’s board of directors under Quarles, succeeding president Cyrenius Waite. As the banking profession traversed a turbulent period up to and through the Civil War, the bank faithfully issued a 5% return to investors.” –shb 12 June 2007

[1818–WALKER ENLISTS AS SOLDIER IN INDIAN WARS–FIGHTS UNDER GEN. ANDREW JACKSON: (See above excerpt about Walker from biographical sketch of James F. Lankford.) –shb 2 Mar 2004] Continuing with Jeff Renner’s compiled tax list, as posted:

“1819 James Acton 90 J. Keziah same same
Andrew Baker 100 D. McClure H. Ott
Larkin Baker 50 J. Edwards J. Keziah
Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Drury Elkins 50 G. Sanders Pettyjohn
Walker Langford 110 E. Williams
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same same
Mathew Warren 50 G. Sanders Pettyjohn [I believe this is Charles Warren Sr.’s grandson, the Rev. Matthew Warren–shb.]

1820 Andrew Baker 100 D. McClure H. Ott
Larkin Baker 50 J. Edwards J. Keziah
Drury Elkins 50 Pettyjohn same
Walker Langford 110
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same same
Mathew Warren 50 Pettyjohn same

[Inserting 1820 US CENSUS–WALKER AND MARY/POLLY HAVE FOUR SONS AND SIX DAUGHTERS [?]. HE IS AGE FIFTY-ONE: HeritageQuest on-line census image, accessed 16 May 2007, by shb, from home, via Provo, Utah Public Library:

Pulaski County, Kentucky (no township named)
Series M33, Roll 27, Page 67
Taken 1820 (not grouped by letter, so can tell neighbors):

Henry Waddle
Solomon Griffin
Wm Moore
Henry James [?]
Wm. Vaught or Naught 3 _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ / [rest clear–shb]
Walker Lankford 2 2 _ _ _ 1 3 2 1 _ 1 _ _ / [rest clear] I take this to mean:

In the 1820 household of Walker Lankford, as best I can tell, are:
two free white males under age 10 [Walker, age 5, James Harvey, 4]
two free white males ages 10-15 [Larkin is age 12; Fielding, 16; and Thomas, 18, so there should have been two listed in the 16-18 category and one less in 10-15]
one free white male age 45 or above [fits–Walker was age 51, in 1820]
three free white females age ten and under [Melinda, 3; Mary/Polly, 8; and Frankie, 9]
two free white females ages 10-15 [Cynthia, 14; I have a dau. Susan with no dates, could fit here–shb]
one free white female age 16-25 [could be Susan, but still there is a missing female child, IF the census is correct]
one free white female age 45 years and over [this may be a census error, as Mary/Polly was born 1780-1784, so would have fit in the 26-44 years of age category]. I see no other numbers in the right column.

[Neighbors listed after the Walker Lankfords in this census]:

Ben Harris [?Bray?–hard to read] 2 1 _ _ 1 _ 2 1 _ _ _ _ _ / [rest clear of numbers]
Rob Modrei
Peter Sidebottom

On the previous page is listed Abram Floyd _ _ 1 1 _ 1 _ 1 _ _ 1 _ _ / [rest clear] This Abram is probably related to Catharine or “Cally” Floyd/Floid, daughter of Matthew Floyd, who married Charles Warren, Jr. –shb 17 May 2007

1820 CENSUS–A JOSEPH LANKFORD IS IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA. HeritageQuest on-line census image, accessed 16 May 2007, by shb, from home, via Provo, Utah Public Library:

Fairfield County, South Carolina (no township listed)
Series M33, Roll 118, Page 245
Taken 1820 (not grouped by letter, so can tell the neighbor lineup):

[Previous neighbors to Joseph Lankford]:
John Childers
John Gwinn
Thomas Wilson 1 2 1 2 _ 1 1 1 2 1 _ _ / 5 _ _ _ 1 _ _ 1 1 _ _
Allen Lyles
Robert Coleman
Terance [?] Foy [Hoy?] 3 _ _ _ 1 _ 1 _ _ 1 _ _ / 3 _ _ _ 1 _ _ 1 1 _ _

Joseph Lankford 1 _ _ _ _ 1 _ 2 _ 1 _ _ / _ _ 1 [rest blank] I read this as:

In the Joseph Lankford household is one free white male under age 10
one free white male age 45 or over
two free white females ages 10-15
one free white female age 26-44
one person engaged in commerce
[Note: Joseph, son of Joseph and Mary, is thought to have been born about 1781, so in 1820, he would have been age thirty-nine, six years off–so this census listing probably refers to a different Joseph–shb.]

[Next neighbors to Joseph Lankford]:

James Yonger [?] 3 1 _ _ 1 _ 2 _ _ 1 _ _ / 1 1 _ _ 2 1 2 [rest blank]
James Anderson _ _ _ _ _ 1 4 1 _ 1 _ _ / [rest blank]
Hugh Rorborough
William Beuchamp
James McMaster
David Johnston
William Jones

1820 CENSUS–THREE LANKFORDS IN JACKSON COUNTY, TENNESSEE. HeritageQuest on-line images, accessed and transcribed, 17 May 2007, by shb, from home, via Provo, Utah Public Library:

Jackson County, Tennessee (no township named)
Series M33, Roll 123, Page 80
Taken in 1820 (no month, day given)

Lankford, Martin _ _ _ _ 1 _ 1 1 _ 1 / 3 [I read this to mean that]”

In the Martin Lankford household, there is one free white male, age 26-44 (this would be Martin); one free white female under age 10; one free white female, age 10-15; one free white female age 26-44; and three foreign persons not naturalized.

Lankford, James 1 _ _ 1 _ 1 _ _ 1 _ / 2 [I read this to mean that]:
In the James Lankford household there is one free white male under age 10; one free white male age 16-25; and one free white male age 45 years or older (this would be James); one free white female age 16-25 (I hope a daughter); and 2 foreign persons not naturalized.

Lankford, Stephen 3 _ _ _ 1 _ 1 _ _ 1 / 2 [I read this to mean that]:
In the Stephen Lankford household are three free white males under age 10; one free white male age 26-44 (Stephen); one free white female under age 10; one free white female age 26-44 (Stephen’s wife).

1820 CENSUS–LANKFORDS IN SMITH COUNTY, TENNESSEE. HeritageQuest on-line census image, accessed and transcribed, 25 May 2007, by shb, from home, via Provo, Utah Public Library:

No township listed, Smith County, Tennessee
Series M33, Roll 125, Page 81
Taken in 1820 (no month, day)
(Names lumped under letter “L,” so cannot tell neighbor lineup):

1200 Lankford, James 1 _ _ _ 1 _ _ _ _ 1 _ / 1 (rest blank)

1204 Lankford, Jesse 1 _ _ _ 1 _ 1 _ _ _ _ / 1 (rest blank)

Variables for 1820 Census (left to right):
number of free white males under ten years of age
number of free white males 10-15 years of age
number of free white males 16-18 years of age
number of free white males 16-25 years of age
number of free white males 26-44 years of age
number of free white males 45 years of age and over
number of free white females under ten years of age
number of free white females 10-15 years of age
number of free white females 16-25 years of age
number of free white females 26-44 years of age
number of free white females 45 years of age and over
number of foreign persons not naturalized
number of persons engaged in agriculture
number of persons engaged in commerce
number of persons engaged in manufacturing –shb 17 May 2007

[Returning to tax list]:

1821 Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray same
Henry Burke 100
Jesse Church (R) 75 Reid same same
Drury Elkins 50 G. Sanders same
Josiah Evans 50 J. Edwards
Walker Langford 110 Sanders J. Funk
Charles Warren 175 C. Warren same

1822 Benjamin Bray 50 unreadable unreadable unreadable
Henry Burke 100 H. Ott same
Drury Elkins 50 G. Sanders Pettyjohn
Josiah Evans 50 J. Keziah same
Walker Langford 110 Williams same
John McKinney 50 McKinney
Charles Warren Sr 175 C. Warren same [I believe that until the tax agent specifically names a Charles Jr., any reference to Charles Warren means my ancestor, Charles Warren, Sr. (Walker Langford’s father-in-law)–shb.]

1823 Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Henry Burke 100 D. McClure J. Evans J. Evans
William Cotton 50 W. Evans Cotton
John Evans 50 W. Evans
Josiah Evans 50 J. Keziah same
Walker Langford 110 Funk & Myers
Lewis Rapier 50 G. Sanders same
Charles Warren 110 Williams same same
Mathew Warren 50 G. Sanders

[Note: Mathew Warren was Mary/Polly Warren Lankford’s nephew, who was a Baptist preacher and lived not far from the Walker Lankford’s, along Line Creek, in Pulaski County, Kentucky. I’m wondering if the Walker Lankfords attended church where Mathew preached (see Mathew’s notes for a history of the Line Creek Baptist Church)–shb.]

1824 Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Charles Brush (R) 50 Brush same same
Henry Burke 100 D. McClure H. Ott J. Evans
Elisha Camper 100
Jesse Church (R) 100
Josiah Evans 50 J. Keziah same
Walker Langford 110
John McKinney (R) 50 McKinney same same
Lewis Rapier 50 Sanders same
Charles Warren 175 Williams same same
Mathew Warren 50 G. Sanders

1825 Larkin Baker (R) 100 Baker same same
Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Charles Brush (R) 50 Brush same same
Henry Burke 100 H. Ott same J. Evans
Jesse Church (R) 100 Church same same
William Cotton 50 W. Evans same
Josiah Evans 50 J. Keziah same
osiah Evans 75 J. Reed
Wilson Evans 50 W. Evans same
Walker Langford 110 Williams Funk & Myers
Charles Warren Jr 175 C. Warren same same [This is the first reference to Charles Warren Jr., the father of the Rev. Matthew Warren (Charles Jr. is m. in 1825 to his fourth wife, Levicy King. He has apparently moved, so his land is next to his son Matthew, who is next listed. I believe Charles is called “Jr.” because the only other Charles Warren around is my ancestor, Charles Warren, Sr. (m. Ann Graves).]
Mathew Warren 50 G. Sanders

1826 Larkin Baker 100 G. Sander
Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Charles Brush (R) 50 Brush same same
Henry Burke 100 H. Ott same J. Evans
Jesse Church (R) 100 Church same same
William Cotton 50 W. Cotton same same
Josiah Evans 50 J. Keziah same
Josiah Evans 75 J. Reed
Wilson Evans 50 W. Evans same
Walker Langford 110 G. Sanders same Funk & Myers
John McKinney 50 McKinney same same
James Pointer 50 Pointer same
Jesse Pointer 100 L. Baker same
Jacob Renner (R) 150 Renner same same
Charles Warren 275 C. Warren same same [Note that Charles Warren, Jr. and son Matthew are not listed this tax year, though Jeff Renner tells me this may have been an oversight, as Matthew never left Line Creek. In 1826, Matthew and wife Martha Baker named a son, “Fielden(ing) Langford Warren” (see discussion of this name in notes of my ancestor, Fielding Lankford, son of Walker and Mary/Polly Warren) –shb.]

1827 Larkin Baker 100 G. Sanders same
Bejamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Charles Brush (R) 50 Brush same same
Henry Burke Jr 100 H. Ott same same
Henry Burke Jr 50 same same
William Cotton 50 W. Cotton same same
Josiah Evans 100 Reed
Walker Langford 110 Williams Funk Myers [Walker is age 58–shb.]
James Pointer 50 Pointer same
Jesse Pointer 100 L. Baker same
Jacob Renner (R) 150 J. Renner
Charles Warren Jr 175 Warren same same [Now Charles Jr. and son Matthew are back (if they ever left), but where is Charles Sr.?–shb.]
Mathew Warren 50 same same

1828 Larkin Baker (R) 100 same same same
Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Henry Burke 150 H. Ott same J. Evans
Jesse Church (R) 100
William Cotton 50 W. Cotton same same
Josiah Evans 50 J. Evans same same
Josiah Evans 100 J. Reed same same
Walker Langford 110 Myers same same
James Pointer 50 Pointer same
Morris Stogsdill 50 Stogsdill
Mathew Warren 50 M. Warren same same [Now both Charles Sr. and Charles Jr. are gone from the tax list–have they moved, or have they moved in with their sons, who pay the taxes?–shb.]

1829 Benjamin Bray 50 B. Bray
Charles Brush 50 unknown
Richard Brush (R) 50 Brush
Henry Burke Sr 150 H. Ott same J. Evans
Jesse Church (R) 150 Reed same same
William Cotton 50 W. Cotton same same
Josiah Evans 50 J. Evans same same
Josiah Evans 100 John Reed same same
Jacob Fredericks 55 Fredericks
Walker Langford 110 Williams
James Pointer 50 Pointer same
Morris Stogsdill 50 Stogsdill
Mathew Warren 50 Warren

1830 Pulaski doesn’t exist
Larkin Baker (R) 100 self same same
Richard Brush (R) 50 C. Brush same same
Jesse Church (R) 100 Brush same same” –shb 10 Feb 2006

1830–WALKER’S NAMESAKE GRANDSON, “WALKER CHURCH,” IS BORN TO DAUGHTER “CYNTHA” AND HUSBAND, JOEL CHURCH, IN INDIANA.

1830 CENSUS–WALKER AND STEPHEN LANGFORD ARE IN SOMERSET, PULASKI, KENTUCKY. On forwarding the two 1830 Census pages (see below) to Bob Langford, a descendant of Stephen, who has lived there in Pulaski County, and so is familiar with the area, he wrote shb, 24 Oct 2006: “Sherlene, Judging by the names, it appears to me that this census page, or at least a part of it, is for residents of the city of Somerset in Pulaski county, which is about 20 miles west of the Line Creek/ Rockcastle river area. Uncle Whoops” [So maybe it is not so unlikely that my ancestor James Harvey Lankford, son of Fielding (son of Walker) was born in Somerset–maybe boundaries of Somerset, at that time, extended to Lie Creek–shb.] –shb 24 Oct 2006

[WE VISITED THE ACTUAL LAND ON WHICH WALKER LIVED AND SAW THE STILL-STANDING, LARGE CHIMNEY THAT WALKER PROBABLY BUILT HIMSELF! See account of our (my sister, Virginia, and her husband, Barry Wood, joining us Bartholomews–Dan and me, Sherlene) visiting the home lot where Walker and Polly (Warren) and their family lived in the 1810, 1820, and 1830 Pulaski County censuses. We drove there after attending the Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion, in Mt. Vernon, on 27 May 2007, so don’t miss reading all about that, as well, in an account added to end of Walker’s notes–see below).]

1830 CENSUS–“WAKER LANGFORD” AND “STEPHEN LANGFORD” ARE LISTED NEXT TO EACH OTHER, IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY CENSUS. HeritageQuest did not have the 1830 image, and when I mentioned that in a letter, Terry Smith replied, 24 Oct 2006, “Ancestry.Com has Walker listed as ‘Wker Langford’ in their 1830 index. A copy of the image is attached [now in Walker’s media file–shb]. This clearly tell us that in 1830, “Waker” and “Stephen” Langford are listed next to each other [I believe this Stephen living next to Walker is Bob’s ancestor, “Flintlock Stephen,” son of Benjamin, son of Stephen Lankford, the original settler of Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle, Kentucky–shb]. This census image clearly reads that:

“Waker Langford” had these males in his household: 1 [of age 10 and under age 15], 1 [15-20], 1 [20-30], and 1 [60-70–this would be Walker]; females: 1 [of age 10 and under age 15], 2 [15-20], 1 [40-50], 2 [50-60].

[next]

“Stephen Langford” had these males in his household: 1 [under age 5–this would be Reuben, b. 1825], 3 [of age 10 and under 15–Jonathan Jince was age 11, Benjamin J., Bob’s ancestor, was age 12, and Solomon was age 10], 1 [age 40-50–this would be Stephen, b. abt. 1788, so age 42 in 1830].

Females in Stephen’s household: 1 [under age 5–could be either Frances or Katherine, I do not have their dates], 1 [of age 5 and under 10–Levinah was age 7], 1 [15-20–probably Rachel, b. 1816, though she was age 14, but none listed in that age category] and 1 [30-40–this would be Caty Windham, b. abt. 1793, so age 37 in 1830–shb].

I do not know who the males are in Walker and Mary/Polly’s household who are ages 10-15 and 15-20. The one age 20-30 could have been my ancestor, Fielding, who married Sarah Bethurem in 1830. It could have been his supposed brother Thomas, abt. age 28, but it could not have been Larkin, abt. age 22, as he had moved to Indiana by 1830. Walkers age, as the male age 60-70, fits for the birth I have for him as “abt. 1769.”

Terry Smith graciously also forwarded the former census page, so I could take a look at neighbors on the other side of Walker and Stephen, so that we now have this lineup of neighbors on both sides, as I can best read them: George H. Cooper, Free Solomon Drue, John Griffin, Sarah Bartham [Bethurem?–maybe she was staying with neighbors, as Walker’s son Fielding (my ancestor) married Sarah Bethurem in 1830, so could be the son aged 20-30 listed with Walker and wife Mary/Polly (Warren) in the 1830 Pulaski County Census], Supan Langdon, Christophr Gilliland, Walker Langford, Stephen Langford, do not know neighbors of Walker and Stephen on the other side. After Walker and Stephen, these neighbors are listed: William Dicker [?], Josiah Evans, Bennet Williams, John Evans, Charles Colier, John Porterfield, Samuel Burton, David Stringe, David Warren [probably related to Mary/Polly–he and his wife are both aged 40-50, and they have three sons and three daughters in 1810], and Isaac Gresham [living alone with his wife, both aged 70-80]. –shb 24 Oct 2006

1830 CENSUS–STEPHEN’S AND WALKER’S LAND IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY IS MAPPED BY JEFF RENNER. After both attending the first annual Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion, held in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle County, Kentucky, on 27 May 2007, Bob Langford (a descendant of Stephen2) and Sherlene Hall Bartholomew (of Walker Lankford) asked local historian, Jeff Renner, to tell us how far apart their properties actually were, as Stephen and Walker were listed next to each other in the 1830 Census (Jeff, though, had warned that this did not necessarily mean they were next door neighbors, as plantations were so far apart). Jeff’s response was to send a map, 31 May 2007, as now attached to Stephen’s media file. He writes: “Attached is a map of roughly the eastern half of Pulaski County. The red circle is where y’all took the pics at the old chimney on Walker’s former property. The blue circle is the mouth of Lick Creek on the Rockcastle River. It’s seven miles between the two, straight line. By water (down Line Creek to its mouth at the Rockcastle River, where the Warren land was, to the mouth of Lick Creek) it’s 12 miles. By road today, although I don’t think all of the route is navigatable in a regular vehicle, it’s 13 miles. Jeff.” –shb 31 May 2007

1830–WALKER HAS THREE SLAVES/NEIGHBOR STEPHEN HAS TWO: I imposed on Terry Smith, once again, and asked if she could forward the slave schedule that was included in the 1830 Census listings she already sent. Then, when she did send it (as it turns out, it is a continuation, over the page, of the regular 1830 Census schedule), I couldn’t decipher it, so Terry kindly sent her analysis, 25 Oct 2006, included in this letter I sent all the family and fellow Langford researchers:

“Terry did it again! Where were we blessed enough to find a non-Lankford to make these kinds of contributions to our family history (and who can READ, no less–I was looking
over at the right in the 1830 for the slaves, where everything was blank). PLEASE, Terry, don’t ever go away!

“This kind of info. is invaluable, even though it kills my theory that Walker might have been an early abolitionist, since he seemed to be the only Langford around who had no slaves in
1810 (though we knew his father, Joseph, had slaves). Apparently Walker was saving and aspiring.

“This slave schedule was included with the 1830 Pulaski County, Kentucky census listings Terry also forwarded yesterday that showed Walker and “Flintlock” Stephen as next-door neighbors.

“My ancestor, Walker’s son Fielding, married Sarah Bethurem in 1830, at age 26, and was apparently still in the household with his parents and siblings, when the census was taken. I think it’s safe to say that my Fielding grew up with slaves as part of his culture, which brings the effects of slavery on us descendants one generation closer than we previously thought.

“Now my task is to name each person listed in Walker’s household–at last view, I don’t have them all (IF the census taker got his marks in the right columns).

“Sherlene (See Terry’s note, below–I’ve done a little cut and pasting here, in order to give you the slavery schedule attachment, so you can get the full picture):

“I took a gander and the census page that Walker & Stephen are on is numbered 55, and the Slave page 56, and the numbers add up.

“Page 55 indicates that there are 10 white members of Walker’s household and page 56 indicates that Walker owned 3 slaves (1 male age 36-55, 1 female under 10, and 1 female aged 10-24), for a total of 13 members in the household.

“Page 55 indicates that there are 9 white members of Stephen’s household and page 56 indicates that Stephen owned 2 slaves (two males, one 10-24 and one 24-35), for a total of 11 members in the household.

“The next line shows 6 white members in the household, with one slave, for a total of 7, etc.

“It appears to me that page 56 is a continuation of the household data contained on page 55.

“Terry” –shb 25 Oct 2006

NEIGHBOR STEPHEN’S DESCENDANT TELLS ABOUT SLAVES IN HIS FAMILY: On being copied to the above letter from Terry Smith, John Robert “Bob” Langford, Flintlock Stephen’s descendant, writes, with copy to shb, 25 Oct 2006:

“Terry,

“When you have a moment, would you mind sending me a copy of that slave schedule showing Stephen Langford’s two slaves. [I resent him both pages, with copy to Terry to make sure he had them–I think our letters crossed–shb]. (I am his g.g. Grandson.)

“Grandpa John Will Langford said their names were Aaron and Charles. Aaron was so unruly they had to sell him and the last they heard, he was in Arkansas.

“Charles lived on the farm with Grandpa John Will and his father Benjamin J. Langford(Stephen’s son) Grandpa remembers that Charles always ate with them when they had fish. He said Charles dearly loved fish.

“Charles outlived his ‘woman’ by many years and when he was freed in 1865, he didn’t want to leave the farm because he was so old. Benjamin agreed that he could stay on in the little cabin, just up the creek from the Langford house and they would take care of him. He requested to be buried beside his dear master, Stephen, and some say that Benjamin carried out his last request. I hope that is true, but I have no proof.

“Thanks for your help.

“Bob Langford” –shb 25 Oct 2006

WHY WERE WALKER AND STEPHEN2 LISTED NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN THE CENSUS, WHEN LINE CREEK AND LICK CREEK WERE SO FAR APART? From e-letter by Jeff Renner, 2 June 2007: “Line Creek is not a navigatible watercourse–too small and inconsistent. And the Rockcastle River gets very rough and rugged not far downstream from the mouth of Line Creek. There are Class IV and V rapids for thrill-seekers today. So I doubt if much water commerce in form of shipping went on around there. [I had wondered whether Walker sent products of his still down Line Creek for Stephen2 to distribute, or whatever–and also wondered whether that’s how the census taker got to Stephen2’s homestead, so that they ended up being enumerated right next to each other–shb.]

“As to proximity in the census, I can quickly see three explanations. First is that Stephen2 was living on the Warren land that adjoined, or was close to, Walker’s. Second is that Stephen2 was living on Lick Creek but there were no other people between his place and Walker’s. Third is that the there was a break in the continuity of the enumeration and it’s just coincidence Stephen2 and Walker are listed together. I don’t know which is most likely.
We have no record of Stephen2 living on the former Warren land, just of him buying it from Charles Warren in 1818. By 1830 Stephen2 had several tracts of land down in that general area, spread over several miles, not all connecting. The only specific place where we can establish Stephen2 being at this time is on/near Lick Creek.

“Not sure which cemetery you mean–probably the Whitaker Cemetery on Line Creek. It’s on the old Warren land but again, there’s nothing which indicates Stephen2 lived (or buried anyone) on it. His son Reuben did, though, and some burials of his children from the 1850s are the oldest marked graves in the cemetery. For what it’s worth, one of those children (a three-month old son who died 7 Jan 1852) was named Walker P. Langford [Shi Wordsworth had brought the same fact to my notice, and in fact my letter saying so crossed with Jeff’s at about the same instant, which was fun–shb.]

“That brings up another issue: We are missing the graves of many early Line Creek residents, including several of the Warrens (Charles1, 2 & 3, Mathew, John, Alfred and etc.) and Deckers and Isaacs, among others. None of the existing cemeteries really have enough unmarked graves to account for the missing ones. I believe there is a lost cemetery somewhere down there that was attached to the early Line Creek Baptist Church (where Mathew pastored) or to the Warren family. I’ve spent six years looking for it; I’ve yet to find it (if it does indeed exist), even though I’ve found four small ones that were left out of various cemetery books published over the years. There has been extensive coal stripping done in much of the area and I’m beginning to think those activities have destroyed some cemeteries. I have been able to confirm those operations destroyed a well-known geographic landmark–a rockhouse structure known as the Ivy Rock–which was used as a corner in several area surveys.

“Jeff” –shb 11 June 2007

LAND RECORDS AS A RESOURCE: This sent shb, 2 Nov 2002, from bro.-in-law Barry D. Wood, for when I get ready to dive into the Langford/Warren/Bethurum research:

“Land records

“All early property in Kentucky was historically under Virginia’s jurisdiction. In May 1779, Virginia passed an act which divided its western lands including Kentucky County, which consisted of all of the present-day state. Just eighteen months later, Kentucky County was discontinued, and Fayette, Lincoln, and Jefferson counties were organized from it. The only extant land entries for this time are those in Land Entry Books of Jefferson and Lincoln counties, but these include some Kentucky County records. Originals are kept by the county clerk of Jefferson County and are entitled ‘Land Entry Book No. A.’ Lincoln County records are at the Kentucky Land Office, Frankfort.

“Like many other colonies prior to the Revolutionary War, Virginia had plenty of land, but little money. After the French and Indian War ended in 1763, Virginia found it necessary to pay the troops in bounty-land warrants. Military warrants were issued for military service and treasury warrants could be purchased. Warrants were issued authorizing surveys of property. The procedure was ineffective for it did not require a survey of the land prior to the issuance of the warrant. Instead, Virginia law required the person locate his land wherever he chose and then survey the property at his own cost. Unfortunately, the surveys were not reliable as most were not adept at surveying, and their attempts to do so sometimes resulted in conflicts in title and loss of the land.

“Original surveys, patents, warrants and grants as well as indexes are filed in the Secretary of State’s Office, Room 148, Capitol Building, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601. The Kentucky Historical Society and Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives have microfilm copies of these records.

“Land and property records for Kentucky include deeds, entries, warrants, surveys, mortgages, and indexes to these documents. Under the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which served as a court of record, deed books were maintained beginning in 1796. The first twenty-six books are designated as books A through Z for the period 1796 to 1835, although earlier deeds and documents, some dated as early as 1775, are recorded therein.

“Within these twenty-six volumes are documents for residents of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Louisiana, as well as some foreign countries. Books A through C comprise, for the most part, documents relating to the period 1775 through 1796, but other books also include early records.

“When the Green River country opened, a law enacted in 1795 provided that each head of household would receive the maximum of 200 acres at the rate of $30 per hundred acres. The “In Fee Simple” title to the property was not to be given to the landholder until the price of the land was completely paid.

“Once county jurisdiction was established, land was to be surveyed and recorded at the county clerk’s office. In most cases, original county land and property records are maintained by the respective county clerk’s office, but microfilm copies are available at the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, the University of Kentucky Library, Kentucky Historical Society, Filson Club Library, and the FHL. Some published land records are available in local, regional, historical. or genealogical society collections or libraries.”

“James M. Bagby
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LINE CREEK LAND PLOTTED ON SURVEY MAP. I had visited Jeff Renner’s informative site before, but do not remember this survey map (as attached to Walker’s media file), as referred to me, 9 Oct 2006, by Terry Smith (she is a Dameron–married into the Lankfords). She writes:

“Sherlene,

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been out to Jeff Renner’s website, but he does a marvelous job of documenting some of our Kentucky ancestors. Some of your Langfords are mentioned at:

“<http://jeffrenner.net/genealogy/map_linecreek1799.htm&gt;

“Langfords are mentions for plats D-G (click on Map Index to Individuals)
and <http://jeffrenner.net/genealogy/map_linecreeklandgrants.htm&gt;, plats C, F, H, I, and J.
and you might also want to check other items available at his site.” –shb 13 Oct 2006

Jeff Renner introduces the map with this explanation:

“Line Creek Land Grants, 1799-1825

“Map Index to Individuals (A new browser window will open showing the names of people mentioned in the grant information.)

“The blue areas on the map below represent the land grants issued on Line Creek from 1799 to 1825, excluding the Buckner grant. Click on the blue areas for information about the grants; a new browser window will appear, please close it before selecting another grant. Grants were patented to the person who had the survey made unless noted otherwise.

“There is one grant missing from this map: an 1825, 100-acre grant issued to Larkin Baker. It was in both Pulaski and Rockcastle Counties and at least one of its lines crossed Line Creek from east to west. However, I haven’t yet been able to satisfactorily place the grant, so it’s not represented here.” Here are his explanations about each lettered area, with each click, accessed by shb, 13 Oct 2006:

“A – Survey Date: 27 Nov 1813
For: Henry Ott
Acreage: 100
Chainmen: Henry Ott, Frederick Ott Jr [Note: Frederick Ott, Jr. joined with “the Mormons,” after 1835, along with my ancestor, Fielding Lankford, when they both lived in Clay County, Indiana (see Fielding’s notes, for source of this information)–shb.]
Marker: Frederick Ott Sr
History:
placement of this grant is somewhat uncertain
the survey was assigned to Henry Ott by Daniel McClure, who had evidently begun the patenting process several years before
Ott assigned it to Andrew Baker, 29 Mar 1816
Baker assigned it to Josiah Evans, who was issued a patent 30 Jul 1822
its beginning (northwest) corner was “on the west bank of said creek [Line Creek]…about twenty poles above John McGinnis’s improvement.” John McGinnis was married to Rebecca Linville, daughter of William
Frederick Ott was living on the land in 1806
Jacob Isaacs and Henry Ott were living on the land (or a piece adjacent to it) in 1812
Daniel McClure and Henry Ott were living on it in 1815
Andrew Baker was living on it in 1820
Henry Burk lived on it from 1821 through at least 1829
if the placement is correct, then most of this grant was later owned by Andrew Warren”
——————-
“B – Survey Date: 15 Jul 1799
For: Moleston Pettyjohn
Acreage: 100
Chainmen: Jeremiah Vardeman, George Sanders
Marker: Moleston Pettyjohn
Notes: This survey was never patented. Drury Elkins lived on the land from 1806 until about 1822, Mathew Warren lived there from 1818 until he bought a grant which included this property in 1834.
———————
“C – Survey Date: 31 Mar 1823
For: Wilson Evans
Acreage: 50
Chainmen: Mathew Warren
Marker: William Cotton
History:
referenced in bordering land surveys as the “Cotton survey” for many years
Cotton lived on or very near this land, as the “Cotton improvements” are mentioned on the survey
shingled several times
east boundary called for the “old reserve line”
perhaps constituted part of the “Drury Harper farm”
Harper Cemetery may be on this survey”
———————–
“D – Survey Date: 26 Jul 1799
For: George Sanders
Acreage: 110
Chainmen: Moleston Pettyjohn, George Sanders
Marker: Jeremiah Vardeman
History:
patented to John Funk & Jacob Myers
Pettyjohn lived on this land in 1803 and 1805
sold to Walker Langford when patented, 24 Dec 1811
Langford lived on this land beginning in 1806 [as tracked in 1810-1830 censuses–shb]
sold to Isaac Mize, 24 Nov 1836
sold to Tilman Duncan, 6 Oct 1840
given to James Cooper, 2 Aug 1854
leased mineral rights to G.H. Galbraith of PA, 2 Jun 1865
included in Cooper heirs’ division to Sarah Cooper, 4 Feb 1890
sold at auction by the National Bank of London to C.C. Randolph, 21 Apr 1930
—————–
“E – Survey Date: 15 Mar 1823
For: Benjamin Bray
Acreage: 50
Chainmen: Moses Adams, Isaac Langford
Marker: Benjamin Bray
History:
this land is very hard to track early; may have been sold in Rockcastle, as Bray moved there
evidently owned by Andrew Warren in 1845
may have once been owned by Moses Adams and later by Zachariah McIntire
——————-
“F – Survey Date: 26 Oct 1807
For: Richard Brush
Acreage: 180
Chainmen: John Warren, Richard Brush
Marker: Charles Warren
History:
patented to John Warren
sold to Charles Warren Jr, 22 Dec 1812
sold to Stephen Langford, 6 Oct 1818 [this is Stephen2–Stephen1 died earlier–shb]
shingled by William F. Evans (Mills Whitaker) grant, 1 May 1849
at least part sold to Mills Whitaker at some point
part interest sold or given to Reuben Langford and sold to James Cooper, 15 Dec 1874
part interest aquired by Cooper at auction of Mills Whitaker lands, 28 Apr 1885; the land was involved in a lawsuit between plaintiff William Taylor against “Giles Whitaker & c, defendents”; James Whitaker was the one to actually make a deed to Cooper, which included James’s undivided 1/9th interest in five tracts of Mills’s land”
——————-
“G – Survey Date: 30 May 1807
For: Charles Warren Sr
Acreage: 175
Chainmen: Charles Warren Jr & John Warren
Marker: Charles Warren Sr
History:
included mouth of Line Creek and future Whitaker Cemetery
land can be viewed from the north side of the Highway 80 bridge over the Rockcastle River
sold to Charles Warren Jr, who lived on it in 1818
sold to Stephen Langford
later sold to James Cooper” –shb 13 Oct 2006
——————
NEXT SURVEY MAP ON JEFF RENNER’S SITE–LINE CREEK LAND GRANT SURVEYS 1826-1844: After enjoying this presentation by Jeff Renner, I also forwarded this

Langfords mentioned on this land grant map (1826-1844) are (surveys C, F, and I) Harvey Langford, who in all three cases, dated 10 and 11 Mar 1836, was the “chainman,” (carried chains to help the surveyor mark the property). Harvey, b. 1816, son of Walker and Mary/Polly Warren, was age 20. He married Delilah Cooprider, and they divorced before he
was killed in the Civil War. Walker Lankford’s land was not sold until 1836, though one history says he went to Clay County, Indiana in 1832 (he died in 1848). If he did go to Indiana that early, then Walker was not there when Flintlock Stephen’s land (J. tract on the map) was surveyed, 22 Jan 1833. The fact that Walker was there before Stephen bought land nearby certainly bodes well for a close connection of some sort between the two men.

If you click on “J” on the map, an insert pops up that includes this: “History – One of Stephen Langford’s many grants; he was the largest landowner of the time in eastern Pulaski County. This grant, along with much of Langford’s land, was ultimately sold to James Cooper.” Since “RockcastleStephen” died in 1811, this landowner would have to have been Bob’s ancestor,”Flintlock Stephen,” as I see it. A chainman for the survey of Stephen’s 100 acres was William Langford. I think this has to be Flintlock Stephen’s nephew William, b. 1815, (son of Robert), who would have been age 18 at the time (chain carriers were often teens or younger men). Any other ideas? [Note: Shi Wordsworth wrote to say there is some evidence that this William, b. 1815, might have been a son of Robert, rather than Stephen–shb.]

DIRECTIONS FOR GETTING TO WARREN AND LANKFORD LAND ALONG LINE CREEK, IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY: Response, 7 Mar 2007, to letter from shb, by Jeff Renner: First my letter, also of March 7, then his prompt response: Sherlene: “Hello!

“I hope I have found the e-address of the Jeff Renner who posts such marvelous genealogy material about Pulaski County, Kentucky and environs and who will be featured speaker at the upcoming Langford Family Reunion, in Mt. Vernon. I have a cousin, Julie Peterson, who is bringing her father, Ernest Fount Langford, to the reunion (also from Utah) and said she couldn’t miss this if THE researcher, Jeff Renner, was speaking. Amen to that!

“If you are that Jeff, then I believe we corresponded once, when I was so excited about your post showing early land surveys and cemetery information. I have been very grateful for your research and today booked flights so my husband Dan and I can also attend the reunion.

“I may have mentioned that in the 1840 Pulaski Co. Census, my ancestor, Walker Lankford is listed next [Jeff has since made it clear that though listed next to each other, their proximity was hardly next-door–shb] to Stephen Lankford (an ancestor of John Robert Lankford and Shi Wordsworth, with whom you are probably acquainted, as they are helping organize the reunion). This Stephen of Pulaski Co. was, as I understand it, a descendant of the Stephen who first settled Rockcastle Co.

“We think my Walker’s father was Joseph Lankford, and we think Joseph may have been an uncle of Stephen of Rockcastle, but for that I have found no documentation. We are quite sure Joseph was the father of Walker, but even that has a question mark after it, with only circumstantial evidence and nothing concrete.

“In that 1840 Census, Walker’s son Fielding, also my ancestor, was about age 26 and still living at home, but later that year married Sarah Bethurem. They moved to Indiana, there joined with ‘The Mormons,’ gathered with them to Nauvoo, and from there crossed the plains with other pioneers to what is now Utah and Idaho. After surviving all that, Sarah (my ancestor) died from the bite of a black widow spider shortly after their arrival.

“Sarah Bethurem was the daughter of David Porter Bethurem (s/o Benjamin and wife ___ Porter) and Sarah Margaret or ‘Peggy’ Kinkaid. Sarah Kinkaid was b. 1785 in Harrodsburg, Mercer, Kentucky, and d. about 1851, in Kentucky. Her parents were Capt. James “Jim” Kinkaid, who served in the Rev. War, and Sarah Wilson, thought to have been a niece of the signer of the Decl. of Independence.

“Sarah’s husband, David Porter Bethurem, was b. abt. 1785 in Yorktown, York, PA, and died about 1864, in Rockcastle County.

“Attached is a photo of my Fielding in his old age, with children by his second wife, Christina Bocher, of Sweden, who was much younger than he.

“My sister, Virginia, and her husband, Barry (an attorney and avid genealogist– fortunately also on his wife’s lines) are driving the ten hours from their home near Wash. D.C.–with a couple of side trips) to attend the reunion. They have agreed to help us nose out some ancestral sites and sort of lead our branch of the family and anybody else who wants to join, in a caravan to these places (probably before and after the reunion, as most of us won’t arrive until Saturday evening).

“Do you have some suggestions that might help us get especially to that plot of land where Stephen and Walker lived next door to each other in 1840? Are there other Bethurem/Lankford or historical places you might suggest that we find outside of plans for the reunion itself?

“I hope to get to the Family History Library and do a little more research before the reunion, hoping to find that elusive link between my Joseph and Rockcastle Stephen.

“Which reminds me–do you, by chance, have an idea where I might find a signature of Stephen of Rockcastle? A cousin, Terry Smith, sent me a document that has the
signature that for sure is of the Stephen who is a son of Benjamin Langford of Virginia’s General Assembly (we call him ‘Pitt Ben,’ because he was of Pittsylvania County). I am tomorrow sending copies of that Stephen’s signature (with Pitt Ben’s on the same page) to Bob, Shi, and a few other cousins and am hoping we can spread the hope to find Rockcastle Stephen’s signature, as well.

“My idea with this is that if we can compare Rockcastle Stephen’s signature with that of Pitt Ben’s son, and they match, then we can be more sure that they are one and the same Stephen.

I don’t recall that you are a Langford, but if, for the reunion’s sake, you could use a copy
of that signature, I would be pleased to include you in the mailing please send a snail-mail
address, as I could not get scans to work).

“Any others getting this who want that signature, please let me know.

“Actually it was a dear hope of mine to accomplish that comparison as a surprise for
Stephen’s branch of the family, but had interruptions to my quest and am hoping that
by now distributing the signature I have, perhaps one of us can make that comparison
before the reunion is here. I will still be looking at the FHL for it, in the meantime.

“With much appreciation and warm regard,

“Sherlene Hall Bartholomew” [Jeff’s response]:

“Sherlene,

“It is I, but I don’t know that I deserve the all the credit you give me.

“Thanks for the Langford photo. Very interesting. [I sent him one of my 3rd ggf Fielding Langford, with children by his second marriage–shb.]

“I can tell/show you exactly where Walker lived. Go to the following page on my Web site: <http://jeffrenner.net/genealogy/map_linecreek1799.htm&gt; Walker’s land was Grant D. There may be some other maps on the site that might help. If you need more direction, please ask.

“To get there from Mt. Vernon, turn onto Hwy 1249 in Mt. Vernon (1249 and US25/150 intersect at the only stop light in town) and go about 13 miles. Turn right onto a gravel road at the Buffalo Baptist Church. This gravel road is Buffalo Branch Road and runs a little more than two miles to Lower Line Creek Road. That intersection is about the center of Grant D (Buffalo Branch Road is the road that comes into the grant from the northeast, at the sharp point). There used to be a house across from the intersection. It was owned by the Coopers and was probably James Cooper’s house. It may also have been Walker’s house. Walker sold this property to Isaac Mize in 1836 and my g-g-grandparents were married there in 1838.

[Note: I subsequently wrote and said I’d also like to visit my ancestor Charles Warren Sr.’s land, that is southeast of Walker’s, in parcels F and G. I asked if there was a landmark that could let us know when we are on Charles’ land, while traveling there from Walker’s, when we attend the Langford reunion in a couple of days. He responds, 25 May 2007: “No, there’s no landmark or anything that could be used as an exact property line. But there’s an old schoolhouse on the west side of the road (it’s a block building, sits off the road a little), that’s in the general vicinity. To get to the eastern part of the Warren land, you have to turn onto Whitaker Cemetery Road, which is gravel and goes through the creek (which should be dry or very low). I look forward to seeing all of y’all. Jeff”]

“Walker and Stephen living ‘next to’ each other in 1830 (not 1840) might not be accurate, in the sense that we think of close neighbors. It’s so hard to know the order and distance between the families in those early censuses. Later in life, Stephen lived several miles to the south, but in 1830 it’s possible he was further north, either on Grant F or G. He owned both at the time (bought from the Warrens). Based on the people living around Walker and
Stephen in 1830, I’d say he was somewhere in that general area. But I don’t know for sure one way or the other.

“This Stephen was the son of Benjamin, who was the son of Stephen of Mt. Vernon.

“Your Joseph and Stephen of Mt. Vernon were of the same generation, best we can tell. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean Joseph couldn’t have been Stephen’s uncle.

“I’ve looked hard and long (and others have, too) without finding anything that connect Joseph’s family with Stephen’s family in the Kentucky records. There’s certainly nothing in Rockcastle, since Joseph was never there and the county wasn’t created until 1810, plus the courthouse fire wiped out all the good early records. I’ve not found anything in Lincoln, either.

“I found a signature of Stephen’s and sent a copy to Shiron Wordsworth. She’s looking at the handwriting stuff, too [I had shared my idea with her, but she had not yet told me Jeff sent her a signature, so that was great news–shb], trying to make a connection. You should ask her what she’s come up with. It’s possible there may be a signature on a document in Lincoln County that I’m going to try to get in the next couple of weeks. [Note: Later Shi forwarded to everybody the signature Jeff sent her, and when compared with the signature I had from Terry Smith of the signature of Pitt Ben’s son, Stephen, it was unanimously agreed that these signatures could not have come from the same hand. Ironically, the signature of the supposedly more educated Stephen, son of Pitt Ben, was much more rough than that the more distinguished signature of Mt. Vernon Stephen–shb.]

“I’m not related to the Langfords, at least in any way I know.

“Feel free to email if you need anything else or have questions about finding locations.

“I look forward to seeing y’all at the reunion.

“Jeff” –shb 22 May 2007

JEFF RENNER COMMENTARY ABOUT WALKER AND STEPHEN LANKFORD2 AS NEXT TO EACH OTHER, IN THE CENSUS. E-letter to shb, 8 Mar 2007: “Sherlene, The Warrens lived all around down on Line Creek. Those two grants I mentioned were where they moved to when they left Lincoln County. Interestingly enough, at least part of their Lincoln County land was bought by Stephen Langford (of Mt. Vernon).

“In my opinion (and that’s all it is), I think there is nothing to be made of the fact that Walker and Stephen2 lived very near each other in 1830. I don’t think it speaks at all to their potential relationship. Stephen2 had a considerable amount of land down in there, and the Warrens’ land wasn’t his first, although he may have lived on it. I believe those were timely purchases for him from a family who he was aquainted with, and who knew him. Stephen2 had lived down on the Rockcastle River almost his whole life (a few miles away near presnt-day Livington, was his childhood home), so returning to the river area after his War of 1812 service wouldn’t be surprising.

“Especially going to a place where very few people were living, where he could cheaply accumulate land. There was a ferry near the property and the road from Somerset to the salt works near Manchester went through there.

“Walker was living on the best tract of land in that area. It’s the flattest and was the only 2nd-rate land on Line Creek, according to the tax lists (the remainder was 3rd). It had a house of sorts on it at least by 1799. And it was near the main road and ferry.

“Walker and Stephen also arrived at considerably different times, Walker being first by several years.

“Ivey/Ivy Langford was the guy’s name. I’ve never seen it Jay but I’ve never researched him in-depth. But I have seen several original records and the name is Ivey/Ivy. I also assumed he was son of Joseph and brother to Walker; I have nothing proving it.

“Jeff” –shb 22 May 2007 [I thought I had saved this in these notes, but retrieved it from my e-box for Walker’s notes–Dan and I are excited to hear Jeff, as featured speaker, at the Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion, to be held this coming Sunday, May 27, 2007, in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle, Kentucky–shb.]

1836, NOVEMBER 24–WALKER SELLS HIS LAND TO JEFF RENNER’S ANCESTOR, ISAAC MIZE. Correcting my misperception that 100 acres of Pulaski County Land Lick Creek “Flintlock” Stephen Langford (the 2nd) was granted was Walker’s 100 acres, Jeff writes, 16 June 2007: “Sherlene, Walker’s land didn’t get sold to Stephen. It was sold to Isaac Mize 24 Nov 1836. It was the Warren land below Walker’s property that Stephen got part (all?) of later on.

“That survey info you pulled from the land records are grants to Stephen having nothing to do with Walker. Those are land grants issued by the county/state and not purchases/sales from individuals.

“On the map showing Walker’s land on my Web site, you can click on the land tracts and it will show you the partial history of each tract [as I have copied over, above–you’d think I’d remember all that–shb]. Jeff” –shb 17 June 2007

WE ATTENDED THE STEPHEN LANGFORD MEMORIAL REUNION, IN MOUNT VERNON, ROCKCASTLE, KENTUCKY AND VISITED WALKER’S LAND AND REMAINS OF HIS CABIN! Here is an account of our adventures that I sent our family, 29 May 2007, interspersed with responses and clarifications that came in a response letter, courtesy of my brother-in-law, Barry Wood.

“Dear family (and other Langfords and researchers on my list),

“We just got back from the first Stephen Langford Memorial Reunion, held this Sunday, May 27, 2007, as organized by Shi Wordsworth and Bob Langford, with support of other descendants of Mt. Vernon Stephen. They were kind to invite us descendants of Joseph, even though we have not yet been able to prove our relationship. We had a marvelous time, with events we won’t want to forget. There was so much excitement, I hardly know what parts to tell–‘guess I’ll start at the beginning.

“We arrived at Louisville airport, Saturday afternoon, thinking how my Kentucky ancestor, Fielding Lankford, would have marveled at our speed, flying there from Salt Lake City, as compared with his long trek west, with the Mormon pioneers. Dan also recalled that his ancestor, General Joseph Bartholomew, first settled near Louisville, before moving up to Clarke County, Indiana, so we were excited to already be where his ancestors walked.

“We wanted to send postcards to our grandchildren, so stopped at a local P.O. to get stamps. We parked next to a man in a pickup truck named Jim Massie, a former parole officer, who gave us directions to Crestwood, so we could see our temple there. We had quite a conversation, as he, a Catholic, has long been a student of Mormonism and told us all about his visits to Utah, doing research for a book he’s writing. By the time we got out of the post office, he said he wanted to go out there with us, so we just followed him on out for a good drive and our first experience with Kentucky hospitality. Not content with what he had already done to help us, he insisted on gifting us with binoculars and some nifty combination pocket-knives he had in his truck that he thought might be useful on our trip. [After reading my whole review of our Kentucky reunion experience, my brother-in-law, Barry Wood, wrote his additions/clarifications, which I have interspersed with my comments, to try and give the whole picture–shb.]

Barry: “This is an excellent account, Sherlene. Thanks. I have just been thinking that I should reduce my memories of the trip to writing before they start to fade. The encounter with Jim Massie was pretty amazing; hard to dismiss that as coincidence. I wish we had had a chance to meet him, too; maybe on a future trip to Kaintuck.”

Sherlene: “My sister, Virginia, her husband, Barry Wood, and their two sons, Christian and Roland, got a late start leaving from their home in Arlington, Virginia, but still managed (at speeds that escaped police) to beat us to Hall’s on the River, at Winchester (near Lexington), which Bob Langford recommended as a good way to experience southern cooking.”

Barry: “Our route across West Va. was full of lush mountain scenery. We had driven Highway 55 from the end of I-66 at Strasburg, Va. to Elkins previously, but that was before Sen. Byrd tapped a vein of taxpayer funds to level mountains and span gorges to make a big chunk of it very fast.

“That portion beyond Elkins (to Buckhannon on US 33 and thence to Charleston and Huntington on interstates) was all new to all of us. These roads, in terms of driving pleasure, were incomparably superior to our local interstate highways that are mostly eight to twelve lanes wide and isolated from their surroundings by tall sound barriers. I-64 across eastern Kentucky is also a delightful road, and not congested in the slightest.”

Sherlene: “Meanwhile, we got lost, on what was supposed to be a ninety-minute drive, going to meet and bring our niece and her family to meet them at Hall’s. (Erin is my sis. Liz’s daughter, who met her Kentuckian husband, Jason Bylund, at BYU–he’s now finishing up his medical residency, there in Lexington). We chose a good place to get lost, as the scenery, driving toward Lexington was incredible, with miles and miles of neat brown-fencing of handsome horses, on neatly-mowed farms. I told Dan he could talk me into living in Kentucky.

“Their children met us at the door, still jubilant, though no doubt taxed by our lateness. Adorable, effervescent four year-old Maren Elizabeth stole our hearts, as she introduced her sweet brother as “a good toddler,” along with her darling baby brother. By the time we got to Hall’s they had an hour and a half waiting line, so we ended up down the street at a place on the river that looked like a shanty, but purportedly had good food, including frog legs (I resisted).

“The atmosphere was not appetizing, to say the least (the nearby river stank, mosquitos were rampant, and they did not even put cloths on grimy-looking tables). It was, though, approaching the children’s bedtime, we were starved, and too far from anywhere else, so we stuck it out.

“What saved the day was live music, on their back patio where we ate, by an incredible banjo/singer who got Maren and Joshua dancing, to our delight and that of other guests. The food was not bad! And I don’t doubt that the children had more fun than they would have at Hall’s. We left feeling like we’d had a good southern experience, along with the welcome chance to visit with lovely Erin and her family. Erin thought she might meet us, next day, for the reunion, but has her hands full with those three, when Jason is ‘on call,’ so didn’t make it.”

Barry: “Outdoors on the deck at the second-choice restaurant, I didn’t notice the lack of tablecloths until you commented on it in your email. With small children, it was probably just as well.

“It’s impossible to overstate the charms of great-niece Maren Elizabeth Bylund. Shirley Temple had nothing at all on this child, and Maren is definitely prettier. I can only hope that her good looks won’t spoil her naturally sweet personality as she gets older. Most children of her age, that far past their bedtime, would be cranky, but she was angelic the whole time. Her bro. Joshua also was a very good sport. Watching them bounce, dance, twirl and spin at full tilt to the banjo player’s bluegrass fandango was a crackup.

“The lack of rainfall in recent weeks had reduced the Kentucky River to a low, standing pool. I’m sure that normally it has enough current to avoid any stagnation problem. The lack of flow was a small tradeoff for our not getting rained on at any point in the entire trip until the last hour, Monday night. Although I couldn’t miss the aroma of the stagnant river when we parked at the second choice restaurant, it didn’t bother me once we were settled on the restaurant deck. Also, I would say that the mosquito count shouldn’t be exaggerated. I didn’t get bit at all. All in all, it was a magical evening. [So, Barry doesn’t taste so good as some of the rest of us–especially Christian who must have lost a pint. I do agree that once the food was served and the music started, other concerns vanished. –shb.]

Sherlene: “We Woods and Bartholomews then stopped to buy food fixins to bring to the reunion and then drove to Mt. Vernon to the Singing Hills Inn, owned and managed by Jim and Ruth Masten.

“There we met with our cousin, Julie Peterson, who also came from Utah for the reunion, along with her father, 81 yr.-old Uncle Ernie Langford, and Julie’s son Brad and his girlfriend, Bonnie Roberts. It was a lovely place, and we had a ball there together–especially around the breakfast table, where we got Uncle Ernie to tell old family stories, including news-to-me of how his grandfather, James Harvey Langford, Jr., used to make whiskey out of cacti, when they lived in the Mexican colonies. Uncle Ernie says James Jr. did not drink, as did his Kentucky fathers, but cacti whiskey was a good cash crop that helped get them through other family needs.

“The Mastens could not have been more gracious with their hosting at the Inn and her scrumptious country breakfasts. ‘Course the Mt. Vernon water went out, so we ended up taking sponge baths, both nights, but we took it in stride and got along on spring water, otherwise.”

Barry: “The B&B was the Singing Hills Inn, on the north side of Renfro Valley, Ky. (two miles north of Mt Vernon). This was about the cleanest B&B we have ever stayed in, and you’re right that the hosts were amazing. The interruptions to the water supply didn’t really affect me, as I had plenty of water whenever needed. No doubt this was only a temporary inconvenience, the product of work on the system by the city.

“You forgot to mention that Renfro Valley is the home of the Renfro Valley Barn Dance, which must really rip on a Saturday night. I didn’t realize how big a deal this was until I saw the 20 acre parking lot, log cabin shops surrounding it, etc. Another event to catch on the next trip.” [Julie and family went to the Barn Dance, which is a show–not a dance, as we expected. They thought it was very entertaining, so I’m hoping she’ll write and tell us more about it–shb.]

Sherlene: “Sunday morning we went to Sunday School and the following worship service at Mt. Vernon’s Bible Baptist Church (the reunion was held in their pavilion and on their grounds). We Mormons from Utah took up a whole bench and then some. Their choir was good, and their minister welcomed us warmly, telling us he has a Mormon sister, so is familiar with our beliefs. He said he appreciated our support, coming to worship services while on vacation.

“He and all members there certainly went out of their way to make us feel at home, and we were glad we went. His sermon emphasized some of our similarities (such as baptism by immersion) and centered on a patriotic theme of appreciating what our soldiers and veterans have done, (in honor of our Memorial Day observance). He invited all to stand and for those who served in past wars to stay seated. Uncle Ernie, who served in WW II and has stood at ground zero (long after the fact), was of course among those who remained seated, while the rest of us, as invited, went around and thanked him and those others who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom. It was much less formal than our services, with lots of such action among congregants.

“The service included an excellent number by their choir and a solo by a local singer who accompanied himself with a banjo. At the end, the minister invited sinners in the audience to take this ‘last chance’ to come before the congregation, confess Jesus, and be born again and saved. There were no takers, but he tried. I guess our biggest surprise was that there was no taking of the sacrament, in remembrance of Jesus, as we do in our services–I thought Baptists did that. All of us felt the services were worthwhile, the people good-hearted and welcoming, and the experience meaningful. We were glad we went.

“We thought we’d see all our Baptist Langford relatives there, but Bob had a funeral to attend and others had flight delays and were probably getting ready for the reunion, so we first met them there, after the services.”

Barry: “I was pleased that we made the effort to attend the Bible Baptist Church on Sunday morning. The style and content of Mr. Ford, the Sunday School teacher, were scarcely indistinguishable from those of a typical LDS Gospel Doctrine teacher, except that I have never heard one of the latter excoriate ‘liberals, if only for a moment. (As one who thinks that liberal philosophy is taking America straight to hell, I appreciated his candor.)

“His topic was ‘giving,’ including the merits of ‘offerings’ as well as tithes. The prophet Malachi was quoted to exactly the same effect as we have heard routinely over pulpits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perhaps the only thing that was missing was the LDS emphasis on the importance of the giver’s exercise of his free agency — as contrasted with his being taxed by government mandate and thereby FORCED to accomplish the good deed of helping the poor.

“Nevertheless, I believe that Bro. Ford understands that element instinctively, even without the LDS detail on the issue that led to Lucifer’s fall from heaven, taking a third of the host with him.

“Your description of the worship service is apt. The preaching of Rev. Stayton was bold and on-point. Would that more of our speakers in LDS Sacrament Meeting were as eloquent. For me, the highlight was Ethan Eversole’s self-accompanied ‘He Leadeth Me,’ an Appalachian paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm. I’m partial to the banjo anyway, and it did not surprise me to find out later that Ethan is a professional, frequently performing at Renfro Valley. I didn’t catch the name of the main guitarist, but obviously he’s also a pro.

“It would not have surprised me to have encountered some hostility from the Baptists of Mt. Vernon, what with all the negative propaganda, half truths and outright lies that have been circulated about Mormons by our enemies over the years. But in point of fact the welcome from this sweet congregation was as warm as one could imagine. Indeed, I would say that the Bible Baptist Church put us to shame in terms of the haphazard way we often treat visitors.”

Sherlene: “Turnout at the reunion, held at 1 p.m., was impressive. We were amazed at how great food just kept coming in, without seeming coordination. Bob said it would always comes together that way. Family members also brought handouts, photo displays, and other precious records to show and share.

“I was fascinated by Jeff Renner’s presentation and his take on some of my favorite family tales (in other words, he punctured some of our favorite myths). Do I have it straight that Jeff does not doubt that the first Stephen lived in the impressive, white-pillared and porched colonial home featured in two paintings won in drawings, at the reunion, and in a photo my parents once took, while they were in Mt. Vernon? Jeff discounts that Stephen1 was the first settler of Mt. Vernon and also does not think his house was the same place as Langford Station, as I recall. I think I even heard him mention that of the three parties involved in suits over Stephen’s land, one surfaced as feeble minded, another as perpetually drunk, and our relative, Stephen, as a CROOK! (I’m glad Barry pointed out that this was all as recorded from one of those OTHER points of view!)”

Barry: “The exact location of Langford Station is debatable. Jeff made it clear to me afterward that he doesn’t denounce the idea of Stephen Langford’s home place in Mt. Vernon as being identical with Langford Station. However, he feels as though the low-lying location of Stephen’s lots (now occupied, sadly, by the auto parts store) would have rendered Langford Station vulnerable to Indian attacks, if it had been located there. I can see Jeff’s point, but I also think that the location of gunports in the log walls, attested to by many witnesses, suggests that the building really did see service at a time when the fate of Kentucky’s Indians was still an open question.

[I here insert John Robert “Bob” Langford’s response, 2 Jun 2007, to getting these notes of ours about the reunion, as he corrects our misunderstanding about the location of Stephen Langford’s home: “Barry and Sherlene, I finally got a chance to read your accounts of your Kentucky experience and I must say that those accounts made my day. I can tell from your diaries that you guys really had fun traipsing over land that our forefathers trod.

“It’s too bad that you weren’t able to get into Hall’s on the River. I guess I should have advised you to make reservations but I haven’t been there in years and didn’t realize that it would be so crowded. [We did call for reservations, but they would not make them for parties with less than 12 persons, so we only had eleven, including the baby–shb.]

“Organizing the reunion was a long hard slog that took 9 months from conception to finish, the last 5 months being pretty intense. But again, let me say that your enthusiasm made it all worth while, and I’m sure Shiron feels the same.

“Just a couple of corrections; The big white house with the columns where the NAPA auto parts store now stands, was Tip Langford’s house. He was Stephen’s grandson. I agree with Barry that it was a likely candidate to have been the original Langford Station, because in the photo of it’s demolition, you can tell that it was originally log that had been added onto and all covered with ship lap siding.

“Believe is or not, I never did get to see the painting you ended up with so I don’t know if it is Stephen’s house or Tip’s. (I think she did one of each) [In later correspondence, where I described the painting in detail, Bob confirmed that I have one of Stephen’s place–shb.]

“Just an aside concerning Walker and Lick Creek Stephen’s slaves: Stephen’s slaves were named Aaron and Charles. Charles had a wife, but I don’t know her name. Grandpa John Will said Aaron was so unruly that the family had to sell him. Last they heard of him, he was a ‘Boss Nigger’ on a big farm in Arkansas.

“When they freed the slaves, Charles was so old he didn’t want to leave the Langford farm. I think his wife had already died by that time. They lived up the holler in a little cabin on a patch of land where we grew potatoes when I was a little boy, the cabin being long gone.

“Charles lived long enough that Grandpa John Will remembered him well. He said they invited Charles to eat with the family regularly. After all, his father, Benjamin, had grown up with Charles and I’ll bet Charles wife was nursemaid to those kids. He said Charles loved fish and always ate with them when they had fish.

“Family legend says that Charles loved Stephen and requested to be buried next to his old master. It is told that the family carried out Charles’ wishes when he died. I don’t know if that’s true or not. I’m a little skeptical because that would have been a difficult 10 mile round trip by wagon and it just would have made more sense to bury him there on Whetstone Creek next to his wife.

“But, I know that Benjamin was an honorable man and if he made Charles that promise he would have carried it out. And then too, there’s no marker or anything to indicate that he was buried on Whetstone, so I guess we’ll have to stick with the Family Legend.

“Bob” –shb 4 Jun 2007]

[Getting back to Barry D. Wood’s response]:

“Jeff had an excellent map to illustrate the conflicts over which a Mr. Harmon sued Stephen Langford and others, lasting until it became the suit of Harmon’s Heirs v. Langford’s Heirs. There are seemingly no limits to what people will say when title to 2000 acres is at stake, so that’s why I put no store in the statement of a deponent from the Harmon side of the dispute that Stephen Langford would cheat anyone, given a chance (or something like that). This is not a characteristic of the later generations of Langfords, so why would we credit biased testimony to that effect about Stephen1?”

Sherlene: “We had so much fun getting to know those we had previously only ‘met’ via e-mail and getting to know various members in the family. At reunion’s end was a drawing for some impressive and creative gifts. As mentioned, two of the gifts were oil paintings of the colonial home of Stephen Langford. Wouldn’t you know it was our Joseph Langford branch of the family that won more than our fair share of the draws and chose those! I philosophized that those should go to Stephen’s descendants, but changed my mind when I rummaged around in my luggage before leaving the Inn and found that Ginger had hidden the painting she won in there, with excuse that it was a ‘belated birthday’ gift. I on the spot adopted myself as a Stephen Langford descendant and will forever cherish that painting, by Gloria R. Van Horn, of Texas! (Besides, I hope to soon prove exactly how we are closely related and that our Lankfords no doubt spent many happy hours visiting with Stephen’s family in that place.)

[I here insert a note by Shi Wordsworth, written 3 Jun 2007, after she finally got back home, after the reunion]: “You have one of Gloria’s wonderful paintings of Stephen’s “dwelling house.” That’s how his residence is referred to in the Kentucky Gazette in 1796. She did two paintings of this house. One I gave to Jeff. You have the other one. She decided to depict the house as it might have looked originally. It’s the same house your mother took a photo of many years ago, and the house bought by the McFerron family although I’m not sure when the house was purchased by them. Supposedly this house was a station on the Underground Railroad.

“Gloria is a precious person. She’s such a sweetheart. She offered to do these paintings when she heard about the reunion and Bob’s idea for door prizes. She is a member of my church, and one of my all time favorite people. She’s one of God’s children with a generous heart for sure.

“If I remember correctly, Julie got the painting of Tip’s house.”] [Bob has since told me that Julie’s painting is also of Mt. Vernon Stephen’s home–shb.]

[Now I’m inserting a note, in response to this, from John Robert “Bob” Langford, 4 Jun 2007: “Shi is mistaken, maybe for the first time ever, but mistaken nevertheless. This painting, in the nice gold frame, is the one Rose Cranston did of Stephen’s house as she envisioned it might have looked in 1790 something.

“Rose did another one of Tip’s house, that is similar, but she added a portico on the left side. Why, I cannot say. Bob.” –shb 4 Jun 2007]

Sherlene’s account, continued: “If not by document, we may soon know we are related, by comparing DNA profiles. At reunion’s end, Bob Langford, alias ‘The Colonel,’ and descendant of both the first and second Stephens, pulled out the DNA kit I had Sorenson’s Molecular mail him. While we counted seconds, he swirled the mouthwash-like substance in the kit in his mouth for forty-five seconds, signed the consent form, enclosed his pedigree charts, and told me to bring it with me back to Utah and see that Sorensons gets it. It was worth going to the reunion just for that!”

Barry: “Turning to the reunion itself, you covered most of it. Virginia and I add our thanks to the principal organizers, Col Bob Langford and Shiron Woodsworth. I was impressed with their attention to such detail as setting up a mike, so all could hear, elegant printed programs, the innumerable creative door prizes and the voice of Shi’s sister Shannon, who favored the group with a couple of solos.

“Jeff Renner was right to note that Stephen Langford (first generation, probably brother of Walker’s father Joseph Langford) was not the absolute first white inhabitant of what’s now Mt. Vernon, but he did point out that Stephen was the one who platted the town and more than anyone else was responsible for getting it going as a viable settlement.

“Also, I appreciated Jeff’s information about Stephen’s contribution in creating a new route through Rockcastle County for travelers to use between Cumberland Gap and the Bluegrass Region. [In a later note, Barry suggested that Walker, who was much younger and, therefore, probably stronger, may have done much actual forging of that path–shb.]

“After Jeff’s lecture, he and I got talking. He asked me why we thought that Walker Langford was Joseph’s son. I mostly just mentioned the Lincoln County records, where Walker pops up on the tax lists when of age, next to Joseph’s widow Mary. On the spot, I didn’t have the presence of mind to recount the clues from that item in the History of Clay County, Indiana, where it states that Walker was orphaned at an early age. Inasmuch as Stephen1 survived until about 1812, when Walker would have been about 43 years old, I don’t see him as a son of Stephen….. Joseph, who died when Walker was still a minor, is a much better candidate. And then there’s the matter of the court papers that name Stephen’s heirs (that list not including Walker), as well as the will of Benjamin Langford over in Pittsylvania County, Va., again not naming Walker Langford as a child of Pitt Ben. Accordingly, all the evidence points to Joseph as Walker Langford’s father.”

Sherlene: “Saturday evening Barry, Ginger, Dan and I visited the spot where Mt. Vernon Stephen’s home once stood. As I may have mentioned, my parents, Ida-Rose L. and Tracy Hall, once visited Mt. Vernon, doing Langford research, and took a photo of his home, while it was still standing. I knew it had been leveled, but actually seeing that place now covered with a NAPA auto-parts store and asphalt parking lot was distressing, to say the least. We also visited Stephen’s grave, appropriately decorated for the reunion and Memorial Day by Stephen’s descendants (Shi Wordsworth told in a letter that she was ordering the flowers). Because someone had thought to flour the letters, we had no trouble discerning the name ‘Stephen Langford’ on the flat stone marker (placed along the line of the NAPA store roof on the bluff of the Elmwood Cemetery, above Stephen’s home lot). I see that Bob has forwarded a photo he took of Stephen’s grave and the flowers, that I’ll be sending along. We also took lots of photos I want to share, but I have to wait until Dan comes home from work and gets a chance to show me how to get photos from my camera, to the computer, to you.

“Bob, have you found the land where your ancestor, Stephen2 lived, along Line Creek? [I was confused, here, as Bob later explained that Stephen was at Lick Creek–not Line Creek, in 1830–shb.] Have you found the foundation for his home? (I wrote him earlier, asking if he knew where the boundary was between his and Walker’s land, but he did not.) I would be interested to learn the distance between his and Walker’s homes.”

[Bob’s response: “Sherlene, I will read this on the weekend but I did glance through it and noticed your question about Lick Creek Stephen’s homestead. The only one I’ve seen is farther on down the Rockcastle river. (I hope you got to see the Rockcastle, either at Livingston or over by Line Creek.) The front door step stone and some of the foundation stones are still visible as well as the foundation stones for the old grist mill. Also, you can still see evidence of the dam he had to build across the Rockcastle annually, during the dry season, in order to divert the water into the sluice to run the mill. The dam would have washed out every year when the Rockcastle flooded. (No wonder his sons discontinued mill operations, huh) Bob.”] Later in the day came this, also from Bob:

[“Sherlene, The Rockcastle, from the Line Creek area, (where old Hwy 80 crosses) down river to Bee Rock, at the headwaters of the Cumberland Lake (where Hwy 192 crosses it) is a Ky Wild River. It would only be navigable by flatboat, raft or canoe. I’ve never been down it and I would have to dig up some maps to see exactly how far it is. Jeff will probably know off the top of his head, so I’m asking him. I’d like to know also. Bob”]

[Jeff Renner, bless him, mapped their locations, as attached to Walker’s media file, in response to our questions, 31 May 2007. He writes: “Attached is a map of roughly the eastern half of Pulaski conty. The red circle is where y’all took the pics at the old chimney on Walker’s former property (see, as also attached to Walker’s media file–shb). The blue circle is the mouth of Lick Creek on the Rockcastle River. It’s seven miles between the two, straight line. By water (down Line Creek to its mouth at the Rockcastle River, where the Warren land was, to the mouth of Lick Creek) it’s 12 miles. By road today, although I don’t think all of the route is navigatable in a regular vehicle, it’s 13 miles. Jeff.”]

[Sherlene: I wrote Jeff, 2 June 2007, and mentioned the fact that Reuben, son of Stephen Langford2, named a son, “Walker P.,” only a few years after my ancestor, Walker, died in 1847, so asked where the Whitaker Cemetery, where Walker P. was buried (on land Stephen2 bought from Charles Warren), is located, especially in relationship to my ancestor Walker’s land (where the chimney is still standing, that we visited last weekend. Here is part of Jeff’s response, same day]:

“I’m going to refer you to my Web site for much of this.

“<http://jeffrenner.net/genealogy/map_linecreek1799.htm&gt; shows Walker’s land (grant D), John’s (E) and Charles Sr’s (F). Click on the grants to get the details [I copied these over to my notes, above, while describing these grants, as mapped by Jeff–shb]. Most of both E and F ended up with Stephen2 at some point (as did a huge chunk of the land that lay to the south).

“<http://jeffrenner.net/genealogy/map_homelocations.htm&gt; shows the same area, plus quite a bit more. The area we’re talking about it almost at the bottom of the page (Lick Creek is not on this map; it’s to the south). The Whitaker Cemetery on Line Creek is marked with a red cross, as are the general locations of John and Charles (those marks for them are not meant to say that that’s where their houses were or anything specific).

“On the same map you can see the red square with the names Isaac Mize, Westerfield Renner, Tilman Duncan and James Cooper. It should also have Walker Langford listed, since this is the location where the old chimney is that you visited last weekend. The Cooper Cemetery is just above it.

“This should help.

“In case you’re wondering: I began all my land research with Walker’s property, although I didn’t know anything about Walker at the time. All I knew was that it was where Westerfield Renner and Maranda Mize (my 3rd greatgrandparents) were married and I was looking for documentation to prove Westerfield’s father. One thing led to another and another and another and… Anyway, my initial interest in the Langford’s arose from encountering Stephen2 and Robert so often in the research.

“Jeff” –shb 2 Jun 2007

Sherlene: “We Woods and Bartholomews had a hard time dragging ourselves away from talking with the last remnants of those at the reunion, but managed before dark, with good directions from Jeff, to make the trek from downtown Mt. Vernon to Walker Lankford’s land, in what is now Pulaski County–about a 25 minute drive in our rented van, down a very curvy, sometimes scary route. Barry said Jeff told him (and he’s convinced) that he’s 95% sure that the tall, gold-brown fieldstone chimney that is still standing on the property, on the right side of the road, across from a red barn [actually, I see from the pics that it’s an old brown barn, with an orange/red roof–shb], is an original remnant of the small home Walker and his family lived in on his choice piece of one hundred-acre land (I have forgotten the name of the road, so invite Barry to send more detailed directions, so those reading this can trace the route themselves, at future times).

“Barry tried to pace off the size of the foundation–there was one room around the fireplace/chimney that was perhaps twenty feet by fifteen (do I remember right, Barry?), and then there was a small, second room that was apparently an add-on. Deteriorating cement steps for a porch were added later and are still standing. None of the original wood part of the cabin still stands [Jeff told, in a later letter, that a fire quite recently demolished the updated cabin–shb.] It was built between two springs, one of which (on your left, facing the chimney) still flows under the road and pools to feed animals, near the barn now standing there–probably the same arrangement that was there when Walker owned the property. I was moved, thinking that Walker and his sons probably built that chimney, but am told there was an owner previous to Walker.”

[Regarding my last sentence, Jeff Renner responds, 31 May 2007: “Sherlene, I’ve been thinking a little more about Walker perhaps building that old house on Line Creek and, while I’m not ready to lay odds, I’d say it’s very reasonable. I really hadn’t given it much thought before.

“Walker lived on/owned that property for 30 years–from 1806/07 until he sold it to my 4th great-grandfather Isaac Mize in 1836. And while there was some improvement done on the property as early as 1799, it may not have been a proper (log) house like the one later.

“Also, someone with the means to have bought the property, as Mize and later Tilman Duncan had, would probably not have built a new log house on the land; rather they would have built a more conventional frame dwelling since there were sawmills and such in the area by then. Certainly James Cooper would not have built a log structure. But any of those parties could and probably would have added onto/made improvement to an existing log house.

“So I’d say it’s likely Walker built the original version of the remains you visited, and others, probably mainly Cooper, added and improved it over the years. I can’t remember exactly when it burned down, but it was in fairly recent times. I’ve seen a photo (though I don’t have a copy) of the house as it was in the 1920s or 1930s and it was typical of many older homes that were originally log and had been built over (like the McFerron and McCall/Tip Langford houses in Mt. Vernon).

“Jeff” –shb 31 May 2007]

Barry: “I love Jeff Renner for his encyclopedic knowledge of the local history, and mainly for having made it so easy for us to locate Walker Langford’s farm and chimney. This was probably the highlight of the trip.

“The 95% probability figure you mention is my number, not Jeff’s. It reflects my very strong feeling, after having seen the site, that Walker would have definitely lived in that house. My reasoning is that this is the natural site for a homestead, AND that we found no trace of any foundation for any other sizable antebellum structure on the property. Walker had to have lived SOMEWHERE during the decades when he lived on Line Creek. If not at the ochre chimney, then where?

“To my sense, the remains of the house, mainly including the rough stone foundation and the hearthstones, testify of a structure that had been built by 1830 if not two decades earlier. In its heyday, it likely resembled very closely the Peter Whitmer cabin at Fayette, New York, except that judging by the chimney, the latter may have been a bit shorter. Also the Whitmer cabin lacked the ‘ell’ on the back that we found stones for at Walker’s place.

[Sherlene: In a subsequent e-note, I reminded the family about how many children Walker and Mary/Polly raised in the walls of their small log cabin: In the 1810 Census, Walker (and Polly, of course) is listed with five children, age ten and under–two males (one our ancestor, Fielding, b. 1804, so age six) and three females; in 1820, Walker would have been age fifty-one, and they are listed with ten children, four sons (including Fielding, age 16) and six daughters; in 1830, six children, including son Fielding, abt. age 26, are still at home–Fielding married Sarah Bethurem later that year).]

“Whether Walker built the house on Line Creek himself, or simply moved into a structure that had been built by the prior owner, is anyone’s guess. Possibly more research about the unusual stone used for the chimney may throw more light on that question. I took it for some kind of sandstone, one that was easily fashioned into brick-like pieces that gave the chimney the structural strength that has allowed it to endure for nearly two centuries.” [Whatever the fieldstone was, it was very heavy–shb.]

Sherlene: “Walker is listed as having three slaves in 1830, while Stephen2, listed next to him in this census, is listed as having two. We saw some old wooden sheds on Walker’s property, so I wondered whether they are built on the same places where the slaves then lived.

“I brought home a large rock from what had crumbled to the base of the impressive, tall chimney, still standing on Walker’s property (it weighed down my luggage so much, I was afraid I exceeded the 50 lb. limit, but somehow it got through security and will end up in my flower garden). [Barry and Virginia forwarded a picture the took of me lifting up that rock, by the chimney, as now attached to Walker’s media file–shb.]

“Jeff, when we continued down that curved road, in the same direction we came from Mt. Vernon, past Walker’s land and the chimney on the right, we soon came to a highway. We guessed that highway probably marked the end of Charles Warren’s land that adjoined Walker’s. Is that how you see it? (Jeff already told me there is no landmark that can tell us where Walker’s land ended and Charles’ began.) You descendants will remember that Walker married Charles’ daughter, Mary/Polly Warren. We are descended from their son, Fielding, who lived there, with his parents, when the 1830 Census was taken, and married Sarah Bethurum, later that same year. Early in their married life, they moved to Clay County, Indiana, where they became Mormon converts.

“We explored the Cooper cemetery, up above Walker’s former cabin, and kept sinking into gopher tunnels up there. As Jeff forewarned, we did not find any of our family markers there, though there were some old, weathered stones that could not be read and could have marked graves of Langford or Warren family members.

“Then we drove down the gravel path to the left of the red barn, across the street from Walker’s chimney, for a space, crossing over Line Creek (which was very low, due to a drought). I was thinking that those cows we saw to our left probably grazed where Walker’s did. Farther down the road, Line Creek was much more, if not completely dry.

“Driving back to Mount Vernon, I imagined what a long ride that was for Fielding, by horse and carriage, while he was courting Sarah. We saw a street marker in Mt. Vernon marked ‘Bethrum’ (or some strange spelling like that, though we don’t doubt it refers to our Bethurems). Barry and Ginger said they’d drive back and get a picture of that street sign before they left). I wonder if that’s where Sarah might have lived. Maybe Fielding met Sarah, while coming into town to sell produce or whiskey–or maybe they met at church? Who knows.

“We had a wonderful trip back to the airport, Monday, taking a different route back, while tracing a map and instructions Jim and Ruth kindly made out for us. We stopped at a garage sale in Crab Orchard (after you turn the corner) that, by the way, is next to a cafe (left side of the road) that was closed. We were told it has old area photos and all over the walls and is a must-see for people who have roots in Crab Orchard.

“I told those doing the sale that my ancestor, Walker Lankford, lived in the Crab Orchard area before he moved to Pulaski County and that his son Fielding, my ancestor, was born in Crab Orchard in 1804. I asked if they had anything ancient I could take home, as remembrance of the place–any old maps, documents, or photos? They were hard pressed to come up with anything like that, but one of them showed me an old, hand-crafted bowl made of clay–about the color of Walker’s chimney, that was of porous, hardened clay on the outside, but was glazed dark brown on the inside. A woman there said that was the kind of bowl the early pioneers ate from and she’d ‘give it away’ for $5. She had a taker. She also sold me an old Kerr bottle cap that still had the ceramic liner in it and then another man at the sale brought out a figure of an early hillbilly moonshiner, stoned to the gills, training his rifle on some squirrel, or whatever. I thought that was reminiscent of what I had heard about Walker and his sons and their stills, along with their propensity for dipping into its product, so also bagged this hillbilly as part of my loot. This moonshiner’s rifle will also bring to remembrance Bob’s rifle, on display at the reunion. We all wanted our pictures taken with this impressive family artifact, smithed by Stephen2, himself (a blacksmith and gunsmith), and passed on down in the family.

“We stopped and took some photos in the Crab Orchard area and also of a lovely lake or reservoir, on the left side of the road, but never saw a sign indicating the town Rowland, near where Jeff Renner found a deed for land the widowed Mary, wife of Joseph Lankford, held (on the map it looked like it might be three miles to the right of Rt. 150, on which we traveled, located along the way, just before getting to Stanford). Unfortunately, we saw the Stanford sign before we got photos of the area just previous to it, where Mary must have lived. I will, though, not soon forget those green, rolling hills, along our route. I thought the scenery was especially lovely, just before we got to Stanford, but we did not stop, fearing we’d miss our flight. Some day I want to go back and find that piece of land.

“Seeing how close Mary lived to Crab Orchard reinforces Mom’s belief that Joseph was Walker’s father, though I sure would like to verify that with concrete evidence.

[I here insert an e-letter from Shiron Wordsworth, 3 Jun 2007, written after she made the two-day drive home, following all her hard work to make the reunion a success]: “Hi! The best thing about the reunion for me was the chance to meet you all! Thanks for coming to the reunion!

“You all made it special. I don’t have the email address for all those who attended as part of your group, so please forward my thanks and appreciation to them.

“I’m so glad that Kentucky gave you a warm welcome, and particularly glad that Bible Baptist Church was as gracious as God’s children should be at all times. I’m so thrilled that you had a good time back ‘home’ in the Bluiegrass. It was great to have your impressions of your trip. Thanks for sending them!

“What we need to do is hold a reunion that lasts about three days at least. Then we can do caravan tours of the area with walkie-talkies on board and stop here and there to see the sights.

“On the way back to Louisville, my family stopped in Danville. That’s where the Harpes were imprisoned after killing Thomas Lankford. I took a photo or two, but since I had only a throw away camera, my nephew used up the majority of the pictures. If I got a good photo of the old jail, I’ll forward it.

“Crab Orchard amazes me. It was such an important stop for early settlers coming to Kentucky, and it’s so unassuming today. “Meet at the Crab Orchard” was a common theme for those pioneers, and several roads into various parts of Kentucky crossed at that spot.

“Isn’t Route 150 a lovely road! My mother insisted that I take that route when I drove to Mt. Vernon on the Saturday before the reunion. I’m glad she did. I had forgotten how pretty the drive is. By the way, those cabins at Renfro Valley have been brought there from various spots in Rockcastle County, so they are the genuine thing.

“It was wonderful to get to hug your necks and spend time with you. I’m just sad it wasn’t more time. We’ll have to do it again. But first I have to get the laundry done. 😉 Shi” –shb 4 Jun 2007

Sherlene, again, and continuing: “I don’t think I took more than a half hour with my garage saling and picture-taking (while Dan chewed nails, worrying about the time, but humored me). As it turned out, that did throw us over the edge, especially when we went the wrong way at the airport exit, so had to double back. We missed our flight, so did not get home until 1 a.m. this morning. I’m just hoping most of this makes sense, as I’m feeling even more numb-brained than usual.

“One interesting thing. Had we caught our plane, we would have barely made it and been out of the airport in a hurry. Since we had time before they got us on the next flight, I perused books for sale in the shops there. After buying that hillbilly figure at the garage sale, a book titled, ‘Kentucky Moonshine,’ by David W. Maurer, caught my eye. On the back cover is this statement:

“‘When the first American tax on distilled spirits was established in 1791, violence broke out in Pennsylvania. The resulting Whiskey Rebellion sent hundreds of families down the Ohio River by flatboat, stills on board, to settle anew in the fertile bottomlands of Kentucky. Here they used cold limestone spring water to make bourbon and found that corn produced even better yields of whiskey than rye.’

“That brought Walker’s Kentucky still to mind. I also remembered Barry’s comment at Walker’s property about the evident whitewash of local limestone on his land. In weeks before the reunion, I transcribed censuses on the oldest Langfords indexed for various states where our Lankfords/Langfords might have lived. I dismissed several, with family names, who said their parents were from Pennsylvania. Now I’m going to go back and check that out more carefully. Walker was already on the tax list in Virginia (later Kentucky) in 1790, so a bit early for the Whiskey rebellion. However, that doesn’t mean he or his father or other relatives could not have brought their stills from Pennsylvania, using that same route. I know–just one more theory to shoot down, but it’s what I’m chewing on right now.

“Meanwhile, I’m cooking up my first batch of Kentucky moonshine, based on easy directions in this book. I have such a hangover today from all the late hours, I might as well get one the fun way, as well! 🙂

“This account does not at all do justice to the great Kentucky experience we just had, but I know writing some memories now will help keep it alive in the future. Maybe it will inspire some of the rest of you to attend Langford reunions to come. My sincere thanks to Bob, Shi, Jeff, and all the rest who helped make this reunion a success.

“Sherlene” –shb 29 May 2007

PIONEER LIFE IN EARLY PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY. A History of Pulaski County, Kentucky, compiled by Alma Owens Tibbals (Bagdad, Kentucky: Published by Grace Owens Moore, 1952), accessed by shb, 15 June 2007, at the Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, pp. 2-5, part of which I retype here, as it will better help us understand the lives of our ancestors, in early Kentucky: ” . . . . Those who came to the bluffs overlooking the Cumberland River stopped and viewed the scene below and it suited them. They thought this was the most fertile land they had yet seen. Undaunted by the trackless hills and tangled growth, these men, who had faced the fire of battle and had so recently crossed the Alleghenies, cut grave vines, tied them to their ox carts and, giving a hitch around trees, let their precious belongings over the bluff. It look days and days to cut through the cane brakes; but here and on some of the high points they took up lands, which were grants from the Governor of Virginia for their services in the Revolution.

“Tradition and history agree that this territory was only a part of the Indian hunting ground through which the redskins passed from north to south, leaving trails marked with beds of flint showing where arrowheads were made . . . . In May, 1788, a party of Indians stole some horses near Crab Orchard [then tells about how Nathan McClure was mortally wounded in the ensuing battle–shb]. . . .

“Among the early settlers were, according to Collins’ History of Kentucky, John Newby, William Owens, Thomas Hansford, Samuel Newell, Charles Neal, Jesse Richardson, the Prathers, Pitmans, and Nicholas Jasper.

“The first concern of these people was to establish homes. They made clearings, felled trees, hewed logs, and built one-room cabins. As time went by they added another room, leaving a space between called the ‘dog-trot,’ though the ‘breezeway’ probably would have been more applicable. It was used as a shelter for sheep whose flesh was so necessary for meat and whose wool provided clothing.

“Wild animals abounded. Bear, deer, and wild turkey were all used for meat, their skins for clothing, and feathers for clothing and bedding. There was wood a-plenty for the huge fireplace, which was long enough for the children to stand in and keep warm without crowding the family circle.

“The baby was rocked in a hollowed-out log, with one end left open for the warmth from the fire to keep the little one warm [I’m wondering, here, if Polly (Warren) Lankford had such a cradle for our ancestor, Fielding–shb]. The older children slept in the trundle bed. To conserve room, the quilting frames were attached to pulleys and drawn up to the ceiling when not in use.

“The women performed the household duties; the men cleared and cultivated the land and hunted the game to supply the family with meat. Every family raised flax from which their linen was made, and every farm had its patch of cotton which was carded and spun into cloth.

“The spinning wheel whirred and the loom creaked day and night. Sewing was all done by hand and with homespun thread. It was not until after the Civil War that the first sewing machine was brought into the country. . . . It was late, too, before the first cook stove, hauled from Louisville (no date), attracted the curious who gathered to see it ‘blow up’ when the first fire was built in it.

“Food had to be stored for winter use, as there were no fruit jars for canning, no frozen food lockers, no home deep-freezers, no trucks bringing fresh fruits and vegetables. Cabbage, turnips, and potatoes were buried; applies, beans, and pumpkin–which was cut in circles and placed on sticks–rested on the rafters for drying. In addition there were eggs, butter, and famous Kentucky corn bread baked in an iron oven on the hearthstones.

“Although limited in variety, the food of the pioneers was wholesome and nutritious. Upon this diet they thrived, being stalwart, robust, and long-lived men. One man, Elijah Denny, a Revolutionary soldier, was 115 years old in 1855 and still active, working on his farm. He drank only one cup of coffee in his lifetime and that was late in 1848. A strict member of the Baptist church, he rode six miles to every service. His grave is on the county line between Pulaski and Rockcastle.

[Note: On reading this, fellow researcher Terry Smith wrote shb, 17 June 2007: “Elijah Denny mentioned in your attached article, was related to Elizabeth Damron’s husband, Milford Denny. Milford Denny and Elizabeth Damron Denny provided a home to Elizabeth’s mother, Sarah, once she was widowed, along with James Damron, my g-g-grandfather (1860 Census) and James’ son James Harvy Damron (1880 Census).”]

“One of the most urgent needs of the settlers was salt. Before they could produce it themselves, men rode horseback or in crude wagons to Middlesboro, a distance of seventy-five miles, and brought back enough to last a community for weeks or perhaps months. They often rode a great distance to the gristmill to have their corn ground.

“Their soap was made from the entrails of hogs. These they cleaned and dried when the hog was butchered and then boiled in lye to produce a strong, soft soap. The lye was made by pouring water over wood ashes in a V-shaped receptacle, called an ash hopper.

“The social life of the community in the early days was entirely dependent on the individual and what he could do to entertain himself. It usually took the form of making pleasure in going to the places and doing the things necessary to the everyday life and needs of the people. This may seem very simple to modern children, but it provided human companionship, and, as the early homes were isolated, the great need was to see and know people.

“The men had log-rollings, house-raisings, barn-coverings, and corn-shuckings; their wives had apple-peelings, bean-hullings, rag-tackings, and quilting parties. The young people were always ready for a candy-pulling, or to be at a ‘stirring-off’ when sorghum was made. These often eded with the evening spent dancing to the whine of a fiddle played by the neighborhood Negro fiddler.

“During their long trek westward and the first years of their settlement these pioneers endured hardships and suffered untold privations. Contemplation of their sturdy qualities and unswerving integrity inspires us to guard their heritage. The study of their lives–their comings and goings as they pushed back primitive civilization for an ordered life–tends to increase one’s self-respect and to inspire one to press on to higher goals. Indeed they were goodly, God-fearing people, who knew from whence they came and what they were trying to do.” –shb 16 June 2007

RECIPE FOR PIONEER CORNBREAD. After reading the above account of life in Pulaski County, I typed it up for these notes, forwarded it to other Langfords on my list, and added a note that I recently purchased some beautiful cornmeal, thinking to make it part of our breakfast fare, and wondered if one of them had an original Langford recipe that I might use, in honor of what this history said was standard (and famous) fare, in Kentucky. I got back this, 17 June 2007, from Terry Smith (her connection to Langfords is through her Damrons):

“Oh, you’re going to love this! This comes from a Damron Family Cookbook:

“Parched Corn Bread

“Corn
Water
2 Rocks

“Beat corn until powder. Place water into large kettle. Heat kettle on open fire. Bring water to boil. Drop corn into boiling water, boil until soupy. Can be wrapped in strips of leather and carried on hunting trips.

“This is an old Indian recipe, possibly used by our own ancestors. As in past, some of our relatives were Indian.” –shb 17 June 2007

On receiving the above recipe, Fielding Langford site webmaster, Allen Leigh, forwarded, 19 June 2007, to shb his copyrighted recipe for “Molunny,” as displayed on his own site, at <http://www.mormonsite.org/molunny.html&gt; and included here, with his authorization:

“Molunny

“I was raised in Southern Utah, the great-grandson of James Harvey Langford who came from Kentucky. Two of the staples that I was raised on were corn bread and sorghum molasses. Our sorghum came from Hurricane and St. George, the two main cities at that time in Utah’s ‘Dixie’.

“For a number of years after leaving Utah, I was able to find sorghum in the stores, but finally, it disappeared from the stores and from my diet. I recently decided that if I ‘can’t go to Rome’, I’ll have ‘Rome come to me’, and I invented a sorghum substitute which my daughter Tova and I have named ‘Molunny’, a mixture of molasses and honey (or as Pooh would say, ‘hunny’). It sorta tastes like sorghum and is great on my whole wheat waffles, pancakes, and muffins. It’s nutritious too, because molasses is full of iron!

Mix 3 parts honey and 1 part molasses. Stir well and enjoy! Too strong or too mild? No problem, just vary the ratio to suit your tastes.© Copyright Allen Leigh 1999, 2007 [With this, Allen forwarded a link for ordering the real-thing, at http://springhillmerchant.com/Products/Department.php?ID=30 [Note: This site makes a point of explaining that, “Some people believe that sorghum and molasses are the same product but they are entirely different. Sorghum is made from the sorghum cane while molasses is made from the sugar cane. Check out this site for great Sorghum Recipes.”] –shb 19 June 2007

PURE CORN. The best part about searching for dead Langfords is getting to know live ones, involved in the same quest. We have so much fun in all this,as you will see by the following correspondence: I guess this thread started with my e-letter of 19 June 2007: Subject: Cornpone Something to Cry About:

“Attached is biographical account and notes about Elias Cooprider, husband of Mary/Polly Lankford (d/o Walker and Mary/Polly Warren Lankford). I came across Elias’ notes, while checking through this old “Encyclopedic Directory of Clay County, Indiana” I found over at BYU–can’t find a date on the whole thing, but they manage to tell how much persons listed were worth, how far away they lived from the County Seat and P.O., what year they were born, what year they came to the County, township now lived in, county where born, political party, and religion–pretty nifty, though I still can’t place some of the Langfords and Coopriders listed here (only by initials).

“This Elias was an impressive character–very devoted to his religion, that this directory identifies as “Regular Baptist.” So, if you’re not a regular Baptist, does that make you Irregular? (Some of you Baptists in the family care to delineate types of Baptists?)

“His wife, Mary/Polly was my Fielding’s younger sister by eight years. Of course what especially caught my eye, in light of my quest for the perfect old cornbread recipe, was the fact that Elias’ mother (I think that’s who they meant) burst into tears when she learned Elias’ wheat crop had failed and she was going to have to continue eating cornpone. Apparently she was more happy when they had better access to a mill and could have cornmeal to make into cornbread. So, my question is: what’s the difference between cornpone and cornbread–anybody know? I’m glad we’re finally getting down to the nitty-gritty of what’s important in our research. 🙂 Sherlene

On 6/20/07, Shiron Wordsworth wrote:

“Hi! For some reason this computer is working tonight. And that’s a fact that calls for a Baptist revival! Speaking of Baptists, there are Baptists of the Regular, Foot-Washing, American, Southern, and about a zillion other varieties. Foot-Washing Baptists do just that. American Baptists are more liberal. Southern Baptists would run screaming into the night should someone ever speak in tongues. Regular Baptists just think they are normal. All Baptists are Irregular someway, but that’s true of Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Moslems, and Hindus.

“Now…Elias’ mother wanted bread she could slice, bread that didn’t have a hint of cornmeal anywhere near it, bread that was made of wheat, bread that, even if it wasn’t storebought, would look storebought. His mama wanted ‘neat’ bread. She was just tired to death of the ‘messy’ kind.

“The difference between cornbread and cornpone is that you bake cornbread and you fry cornpone. And if you ain’t got any real sugar, then you just cover either variety, baked or fried, with long sweetenin’, which being translated means molasses or ‘lasses’ for short. And some folks call ‘lasses’ sorghum. See? The distinctions are easy!

“Cornbread and cornpone can be eaten as finger foods with just butter as a topping, but if you use long sweetenin’, you gotta have a fork or a knife to spear that puppy with. Otherwise your fingers will stick together until it’s time for your Saturday night bath.

“The night before I left Kentucky, my Daddy got home late from work, too late to eat lasagna with the rest of us. But he wasn’t sorry at all. He likes lasagna about like the devil enjoys a Baptist revival. So…my Mama made him his own supper. She fixed him fried cornbread, sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, some beans, and some fried sausage. He was so happy he didn’t have to eat lasagna, he was near about in tears. He ate everything up except for about 1/4 of that fried cornbread (cornpone). I was glad he was so happy, and we talked while he ate my Mama’s supper. (Remember! In the South you eat dinner at noon and supper is the evening meal.) I enjoyed that talk, for sure, for sure. It was late. I had to get up early to head back to Texas so’s I could be here in time for that tornado and my black eye. My Mama didn’t want to wash Daddy’s plate so late at night, so she set that plate on the kitchen counter. Daddy didn’t put no long sweetenin’ on his cornpone when he ate it that night, just butter.

“Well…I went to get me some Diet Coke before bed (as one does), and I spied what my Daddy left on his plate. I haven’t had cornpone in 28 years. I live where tortillas rule the roost. I don’t know what made me pick up that leftover cornpone unless it was inspiration from God himself. But pick it up I did, and I took me a nibble. I tell you what! It was a spiritual experience. I took one nibble, and years fell away. I thought to myself, ‘Girlfriend, you have rediscovered manna!’ You got to fry cornpone in some sort of grease, and when you put butter on top once it leaves the greasy iron skillet, you have to be careful how you handle that gift from God, or you will lose it in all the excitement.

“I can promise you one thing. I was very careful with that cornpone. I would near about have died had it slipped out of my fingers. I won’t say I would have eaten it off the floor, but I might have. God, however, has promised us that he won’t tempt us beyond what we are able to bear. I didn’t drop my cornpone. God was very near. My Mama came back to the kitchen and found me with grease running down my fingers and spread all over my face. I was talking to God, too. I was even speaking in tongues, a fact which would get me excommunicated in some Baptist circles. ‘Umm! Oohh! Aahh! Yes, Jesus!’ I even hummed the chorus of ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’ too! I tried to talk around the grease and the butter and the taste of heaven so I could tell my Mama what I was experiencing, but it was hard,

“My Mama just looked at me like I had lost what little mind God gave me originally. I tried to tell her that it had been 28 years since I had tasted cornpone. But she taught me never to talk with my mouth full, so I just kept on ooing and aahing, and she just kept on staring.

“Finally she said, ‘Well, child, if I had known you wanted fried cornbread, I would have fixed it for you every day!’

“You fry cornpone nowdays in a small iron skillet. It looks like a pancake only it’s so much better than a pancake, it ain’t even funny! Pancakes need syrup to be really good, and because of that, they require forks. Cornpone just needs grease, some optional butter, and five willing fingers. It’s wise to have a napkin somewhere near though. At least modern folks need napkins or Bounty towels or some such what with the skillet grease and the butter and all. I’m told that the Wilderness Road settlers just used to wipe their fingers and/or forks on their buckskins cause that extra grease helped to keep the leather supple. Don’t you know it did! It’s a certified truth.

“If you haven’t had cornpone, you haven’t really lived. I lived once again before leaving Kentucky. And I need to get back there soon! Just writing about this has made me an Irregular Baptist, and I’ve started gnawing on my fingers.

“It’splumbhardtotypeandgnawatthesametime!doesn’tleavenofingerfreeforthespacebar…”

[To which John Robert or “Bob” Langford, alias “The Colonel” objects]:

“That Shiron! She’s so citified it ain’t even funny.

“South of the Mason-Dixon line, we just call it fried cornbread.

“And ya hafta eat it with pan fried chicken, cooked real slow. Why, my Aunt Zula used to fry her chicken for 2 hours or more on her little gas stove, with the flame turned down real low. She would cover that old black cast iron skillet, bout half full of Crisco and just let that chicken simmer ’til the salt and pepper and whatever other spices she put on it, had cooked through and through.

“And you’d better believe she always had a jar of ‘lasses’ on the table. I can taste it now!

“Col Langford” [Now you can bet Shi didn’t take THAT sitting down, so was back one split second later, she snorts]:

“Here it is the very first night my computer has even tried to work right, and what do I get? Insults! That’s what!!!

“Who chased the cows out of the barn, Colonel, looking for Doc Langford’s grave while you sat in the cool of the van? Uh…let’s see. That would be…me!

“Who’s not afraid of chiggers? Uh…that would be…me!

“I tell you what! I hate that citified nonsense. And my computer is working tonight. There’s a good chance it will work tomorrow night, too. Maybe. You have had entirely too much time without me to nag at you, but just to remind you, I’m now a certified eye-blackened tornado survivor. If I stood in the middle of that wind and whistled Dixie, what are the chances I’m gonna lay low and let you blow all over the place without any sass back? Those chances are so low they could crawl under a snake’s belly!

“Citified my left hind leg! Nancy Peyton Langford’s great-granddaughter is about to row across the Rockcastle one more time, only she’s not looking for sugar from Uriah Gresham this time round! She’s about to fry her some Kentucky Colonel and serve him between two pieces of cornpone!

“Hang on, Pat. I’m writing to you soon. This old computer! It has been possessed since I got back from Kentucky! Aunt Dessie would NOT have enjoyed that storm I’m talking about!!

“Hug her neck for me! I thought of her in the middle of that storm. For sure!

“Citified!

“Rowdy Langford, over and out!” [After I quit laughing, I wiped my eyes and pulled myself together enough to write Shi and ask for her mother’s recipe, so I can fry me some genuine Kentucky cornpone. Let’s see if I hear back.] –shb 20 June 2007 [Then I for the first time got a letter, June 21, from “Hh,” whoever that is]:

“Well, what’s the definition of “Corn Fritter?” I always thought fried cornbread was a corn fritter. Hh ” [To which Bob, blabs]:

“You know, there’s so many of those old names that I get ’em mixed up. A corn fritter may be fried cream corn. These names like Hocake, Johnnycake, cornpone and fried cornbread may all refer to the same thing.

“What’s that thing called where you take left over mashed potatoes and fry them like cornfritters? Tatercakes?” [To which Hazel Whitaker (alias “Hh” straight-faces]:

“You’re right. I looked it up and there’s all kinds of great sounding recipes on line. Just type “Corn Fritters” in your browser. Tatercakes is correct also. Now we need some possum cooked on an open fire, some poke salad to make it go down slick and a fruit salad composed of paw paws, muskidines, (What’s the difference in wild grapes and muskidines?) and persimmons. Yum Yum. Hh” [Shi’s reply]:

“When’s the picnic? somebody better bring a club for that possum. They play dead, you know. All we need is for one of us to try to skin that possum while he’s pretending, and World War III will commence.

“To think of it, I bet that the cornpone I ate when I was back home is more likely than not the thing that gave me courage to cut off all my hair. I figure it’s what put the curl back in it, too! And I could probably save me a ton of muney if I would just use the grease from the cornpone on my hair instead of that fancy hair gel.” [To which Bob

I think we all need to move to Mt. Vernon and re-open Langford Station.
Our menu will consist of Possum, fixed any way you like it. Fried, baked,
stewed, barbequed or Possum & Dumplins.
We’ll serve it with Fried Green Tomatoes, Corn Fritters, Tatercakes, Hocakes,
Johnnycakes or Fried Cornbread. Condiments will include salt, pepper, lasses
and Clover Honey.
You can wash it all down with Homebrew, Corn Whiskey, Dark Ale, black coffee
or Sasparilla.
An Inn like that is bound to succeed. What do you think?
Col Langford

1832–WALKER SUPPOSEDLY REMOVED TO CLAY COUNTY–ESTABLISHED FIRST DISTILLERY THERE. Per a biographical sketch about Walker’s grandson, James F. Lankford (son of Walker the younger), included in History of Clay County, Indiana, Vol. II, by William Travis (1909), ” . . . . Walker Lankford, the next in the line of descent [Travus says he was born in NC, which sent my mother, Ida-Rose L. Hall, on a fruitless goose-chase–shb] was left “an orphan at an early age [and] bound out to a wood worker, from whom he learned the trade of a carpenter and cabinet maker. . . .In 1832 they made another removal, coming to Clay county and locating in Harrison township, where the grandfather [meaning Walker the older–shb] bought land lying about one mile west of the present site of Middlebury and established the first distillery in this part of the country. He improved a good homestead and there resided until his death in 1848. His wife survived him a number of years. They had a large family of children, and their postrity is numerous.” –shb 4 Oct 2006

1838–“FLINTLOCK” STEPHEN LANGFORD (THE 2ND) IS GRANTED LAND IN PULASKI COUNTY THAT WAS NEAR, BUT NOT THE SAME LAND AS WAS ONCE OWNED BY WALKER LANKFORD AND HIS FATHER-IN-LAW, CHARLES WARREN. As posted by the Kentucky Secretary of State – Land Office – County Court Orders, at http://apps.sos.ky.gov/land/nonmilitary/patentseries/cocourtorders/ccoadvsearch2.asp?searchby=county&searchstrg=PUL&show=25&sortby=&order=&page=4&keywordtype=AND&within=&oldsearch= , a site forwarded to shb, 16 June 2007 (I could not bring the images up, though eight images were indicated for the two parcels of land). I at first thought the 93.) patent for 100 acres was Walker’s land, but was corrected by Jeff Renner, who says this 100 acre parcel

93.) Patent #: 00655 (3 Images) Grantee: Langford, Stephen
Grant Book & Pg: 3 1 Acreage: 100
County: Pulaski WaterCourse: Line Cr.
Survey Name: Langford, Stephen Survey Date: 02/01/1838
Grant Date: 12/15/1838
Warrant #1: 28

94.) Patent #: 00656 (5 Images) Grantee: Langford, Stephen
Grant Book & Pg: 3 2 Acreage: 300
County: Pulaski WaterCourse: Lick Cr. Big Clifty Cr.
Survey Name: Langford, Stephen Survey Date: 01/31/1838
Grant Date: 12/15/1838
Warrant #1: 28

I mistakenly thought the 100 acres listed above was Walker’s hundred acres, but am corrected in this by Jeff Renner, who writes, June 16, 2007: “The Warren land wasn’t being granted to Stephen. Those entries you sent [the two Nos. 93 and 94, above–shb] were completely different tracts of land from the Warren property. Stephen bought the Warren land (deeds are in the courthouse). Stephen2/Lick Creek Stephen/Flintlock Stephen had several thousand acres of land in mainly Pulaski and Laurel Counties, all of which he got from 1818 onward, mostly from land grants, although he did purchase some property. Jeff” –shb 17 June 2007

1840–LANGFORD/WARREN LAND IN PULASKI COUNTY, KENTUCKY ON DUNCAN DEED: As posted on the internet and searched by shb: “Duncans in Pulaski Co. KY” [caps mine–shb]
10-277: 24 July 1839, Daniel Duncan and wife Sarah (+) of Pulaski Co. KY to Daniel Coomer of same, $800, 3 tracts; (1) 273 acres on waters of White Oak Creek; (2) 150 acres adj. Hugh Lambs corner, conditional line between said Duncan & William Tarter; (3) 45 acres by survey adj. William Duncan’s corner on Daniel Duncan’s line, John Duncan’s line, Wilkerson’s line; no wit. (FHL film 804,640 item 2)
11-67: 6 Oct. 1840, Isaac Mize to Tilman Duncan, all Pulaski Co. KY, $600, 2 tracts (1) 110 acres by survey on waters of Line Creek, above the improvement on the point of a ridge, on side of a large ridge; (2) 50 acres by survey on waters of Line Creek ADJ. WALKER LANGFORD’S OLD CORNER AND LINE, WARREN’S CORNER; /s/ Isaac Mize, Polly Mize; no wit. (FHL film 804,641, faded)
12-687: 26 May 1846, for $3.50, Finch Shipplet of Pulaski Co. KY sold and mortgaged to Tilmon Duncan of same, portion of property as security for the payment of which said Duncan holds my note, being one sorrel mare and mule colt as a bay mare & colt, two cows, (farm animals), one cupboard, 2 beds & furniture, 3 bee hives; wit. Charles Wassan [could this be Warren?–shb] (no due date) (MAD: typed index had “Filmore Duncan”) (FHL film 804,600)
15-328: 19 March 1851, James (X) Henley and Elizabeth Duncan appoint J.M. Duck of Pulaski Co. KY to sell our interest in real and personal estates in KY and TX. Wit. G.A. Parsons. Recorded Cole Co. MO. (FHL film 804,602)
16-423: 2 Aug. 1854, Tillman Duncan of Pulaski Co. KY for love to James Cooper, a son of my wife, 300 acres, comprising the farm I now live on, on Line Creek, waters of Rockcastle River, part of which was conveyed to me in two several parcels from Isaac Maze & wife by deed 6 Oct. 1840, the other part I located by land warrants in my name; provided that James Cooper shall live with his mother on the farm and maintain and support her for life, then he to have the land. No wit. (FHL film 804,603).” –shb 11 Dec 2001 [Note: Next item of 21 May 1855, mentions ” . . . .200 acre survey which was patented to said Charles Warren decd and sold to Shuepard Evans by said Warren and said widow never relinquished her right of dower . . . .” (See notes of Walker’s brother-in-law, Charles Warren, Jr., for full text.) –shb 5 Jul 2006]

LAND NOTE: Excerpt from e-note to shb from brother-in-law Barry D. Wood of 8 Jan 2002, regarding some Langford material forwarded on to Barry, as sent me by nephew Robert Langford Hall: “Next time you’re in Salt Lake you might see what happened to Joseph Langford’s land in Pittsylvania County, Va. The fact that it’s on the N.C. border is, in my surmise, the reason family tradition said Joseph Langford came from N.C. You can download the state land patent from the Va. state library site, but of course the deed of sale would have been a county record and therefore is not available that way. Barry.” –shb 9 Jan 2002

ANOTHER NOTE: E-note to shb from Barry D. Wood of 10 Jan 2002: “Thanks, Sherlene. It sounds, from the references to ridge and creek, as though a denizen of those parts might be able to find Walker’s property from this clue and from the deeds whereby Walker bought the land (and I presume sold it when he went to Indiana). I assumed that Mom researched those deeds decades ago. However, I don’t remember her talking about going to the locus in quo exactly, so I’d bet that she lacked the time on her trip(s) to Kentucky to find that. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the time to drive up to Kentucky and poke around for this?

“I got the impression that the Langfords bought and sold in the thousands of acres in Rockcastle, but maybe there was a ‘home place’ that they held onto and lived on for decades.

“It’s not surprising that Walker’s place as mentioned in this deed was adjacent to a Warren farm. Seems pretty typical, in fact. But since the Warren-Langford relationship is known, I’m somewhat more interested in the (unknown) earlier generations. Wonder if the next door neighbors back in Pittsylvania were also relatives!?! Barry” –shb 10 Jan 2002

ANOTHER: E-letter from Barry D. Wood to Allen Leigh, master of our Langford website, that he set up, sent 8 Oct 2003, with copy to shb: “Allen — Your email to Shiron [Wordsworth–, also a Langford descendant, though we have not yet proved the connection to our Langford line–shb] is generally accurate, but I would say that Walker Langford definitely came to Kentucky with his family. At least they all show up in Kentucky about the same time. The only way in which he logically would not have gone with the whole family would have been that perhaps Joseph went to Kentucky a few months or a year before his wife and children to set things up for them there, and didn’t return to Pittsylvania County, Virginia to help them with the move. But I think that’s unlikely. Walker was still a teenager when this was going on.

“Item #2 — In my view, the idea that Walker Langford was born in North Carolina is probably a fractured fairy tale, so to speak. There is no trace of his immediate family ever living in North Carolina in terms of any contemporary record. An account written many decades later, well after his death, said that he was a native of North Carolina. That is quoted in my mother in law’s book. However, those county history-type sketches are notoriously unreliable on such matters. (One such account, of my father’s great granduncle Peter Bell, said that his grandfather was a “native of Holland” when in fact the ancestor in question was born in New Jersey of parents whose only connection with Holland was that they had floated down the Rhine from Neuwied, Germany, and gotten on a transatlantic vessel at Rotterdam.)

“I consider the reference to Walker’s supposed North Carolina birth to be a confused echo of the fact that the family’s farm at the time — in Pittsylvania County, Virginia –was adjacent to the North Carolina line. Walker Langford was probably born within a stone’s throw of North Carolina. When people in Kentucky or Indiana asked where the family had come from, the older generation probably said “Virginia, right on the North Carolina border,” and the next generation just remembered the North Carolina part.

“That said, Joseph Langford did have at least one probable brother, James (as well as possibly two more — John and Thomas) who lived in Stokes County, North Carolina, then part of Surry County.

“This would have been somewhat to the west of Pittsylvania County as well as south, so it wasn’t adjacent to Joseph’s place. I see no reason to assume that Joseph & Mary Lankford would have left their Virginia land to hang out at James’ place when Walker was expected. It’s possible, but if we try to find evidence of Walker’s father in the records of North Carolina from 1769 and thereabouts, we are likely to be disappointed. My mother in law tried and tried, and was never able to come up with anything.

“Maybe I didn’t make this clear in the material I sent you last month, but I thought I had gotten into it to some extent.

“Also, Walker’s siblings definitely came to Kentucky with the rest of the family because they show up on the tax lists there as soon as they came of age (for the boys) and their marriage bonds are of record there.

“Why did they go to Kentucky? Cheap land, and lots of it. Joseph Langford’s tract in Pittsylvania County was adequate to support one family, but if he had divided it among all of his many children, the resulting plots would have been so small that they might have all starved.

“Elisha Wallen and others of the “longhunters” journeyed to North Carolina prior to permanent white settlement and brought back to the southern Virginia / northern North Carolina area stories of the fertility of the land there. Daniel Boone, now more famous, also spread the word about Kentucky in this same region. The Langford family’s move to Kentucky was part of a general and very large migration from SW Virginia over the mountains in the period immediately following the Revolution.

“This information is offered in the interest of amplifying understanding of the lives your forebears led, and not as criticism. I hope you find it’s helpful.

“Again, I appreciate what you’re doing with the web site very much.

“Barry Wood” –shb 11 Oct 2003

WAS WALKER LANGFORD EVER IN “OLD CRAB ORCHARD” KENTUCKY? See letter on this subject by Shiron Wordsworth, of 2 July 2006, in response to Bob Langford and Sherlene Bartholomew correspondence, that is now stored in the notes of Walker’s father, Joseph Langford. According to our family records, my 3rd ggf, Fielding Langford was born to Walker and Mary/Polly (Warren) Lankford, in Crab Orchard so Walker and Polly must have lived there at some point, if this record is correct. –shb 3 July 2006

CHRISTMAS ALONG WHETSTONE CREEK: These memories were forwarded to shb, 16 ‘Dec 2006, by John Robert or “Bob” Langford, whose ancestor, Stephen “‘Flintlock” Stephen is listed in the 1830 Census next to my ancestor, Walker Lankford. Whetstone Creek was not far from Line Creek (Bob once told me the specifics, but they elude me right now). Anyway, this was a Kentucky Christmas probably not unlike what my branch of the family enjoyed:

“Except for Christmas music coming from the stereo, the house is all quiet this evening. It’s Christmas Eve and everyone is out doing their last minute shopping. I’m just sitting here by the fire, sipping on a cup of hot cider and reminiscing about Christmases past. I’ve got me a kettle of Winter Stew simmering on the stove and the aroma is threatening to bring me back to reality.

“Through the front window, the glow of the street light illuminates big, flakes of snow as they drift lazily down to earth to join their fallen comrades in blanketing the front lawn. There is a hushed silence that comes with the fallen snow. It’s almost as if God is saying “Hush, be still, enjoy the quietness of this white miracle”.

“I’m remembering Christmases of my childhood. Christmases long past, happier times, quieter times, gentler times, times when friends and family came together to say “I love you, I’ve missed you and I’m sooo glad to see you”. I think I’ll write a letter to my grandchildren. I’d like to tell them what Christmas was like when I was a little boy, more than half a century ago. I want to tell them about Christmas on Whetstone Creek where I grew up.

“Dear Grandchildren:

“After Thanksgiving dinner, Momma would say “Bee, you and Bobby go cut a Christmas tree and Judy and I will get out the Christmas decorations and string some popcorn”.

“Daddy would grab an axe from the woodshed and off we would go…. Lassie leading the way, and old Shep trailing along behind. Cross the creek by the Springhouse and up the hillside, past the old apple orchard, where Great Grandpa Benjamin’s log house stood and then on through the pasture until we reached the Cedar thicket. There on the north hillside, just up from the Sugar Maples, a nice, fat Cedar would make the ultimate sacrifice.

“Back at the woodshed, Daddy would make a straight cut across the base of the Cedar and nail a wide board to it, so the tree would stand upright. By that time Mom and Judy would have the strings of garland, strings of popcorn and Christmas ornaments ready to hang on the tree. We also had a round fleece thing that fit around the base of the tree. No strings of lights in those days but we would hang tinsel all over the tree, which would sparkle in the light from the kerosene lamp, and we thought it was the most lovely Christmas tree in the world.

“Over the next few days and weeks, gifts would start to show up at the train station in Somerset from our Aunts, Nonia, Nan and Mattie, Daddy’s sisters in California. Daddy and I would go to the depot and pick up big burlap bags of English Walnuts, dates and other goodies that they shipped to Grandpa on the train. Daddy also made sure that we had an abundance of apples and oranges at Christmas time.

“I always had a hard time getting to sleep on Christmas Eve but I knew that I had to be fast asleep before Santa could come down the chimney, into the living room, to leave us our presents. Sometimes, we would leave him a glass of milk and some cookies because we knew he would be hungry and thirsty from delivering presents all over the world.

“Momma had a coal stove in her bedroom where we would all huddle up to stay warm until time for bed. She would heat a pan of milk on the stove to make hot chocolate and then she would read us a story about three Wise Men who followed a star to bring presents to the baby Jesus. After a bedtime prayer, she would rock us until we were good and sleepy before sending us off to bed.
”
Christmas morning came early at the Langford household. I would try to be the first one up but Mommy and Daddy always got the jump on me. Daddy would be getting in from milking the cow and Momma would be fixing breakfast. Presents would be spread under the tree and stockings would be hung on the mantle filled with an apple, an orange, some English Walnuts, some hard candy and maybe a pack of gum. If it snowed during the night, Christmas morning would be all the more magical.

“When we were ready to open the presents, everyone would gather round and Momma would say “be careful with the wrapping paper.” We had to be careful and not tear the paper because Momma would fold it up and put it away with the Christmas decorations to be used again next Christmas.

“Santa always brought me and Judy some kind of toy but the presents were mostly new clothes. Somehow, as if by magic, he always knew exactly what I wanted for Christmas. My favorite Christmas present was a Roy Rogers outfit. It had a Roy Rogers hat, Vest, two six-shooters, gunbelt and holsters with rawhide ties.

“Boy, that Santa Claus sure was smart! Sure miss that old Rascal coming around every year. I could visualize him sucking his belly in and squeezing down that big stone chimney but I never did figure out how he made those reindeer fly. Hhhmm?

“Think I’ll stay up for a while this Christmas Eve and see if I can catch a glimpse of that ole jolly, fat man in the red suit. There’s four little kid critters on my cul-de-sac, so he’s sure to come around here some time before the night is over. Yep, that’s what I’m gonna do… stay up and watch for Santa and see if I can figure out how those reindeer fly.

“If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll hear him exclaim, ere he drives out of sight……………………

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

1847, FEBRUARY 24–DEATH IN HARRISON, CLAY, INDIANA, AT ABOUT AGE SEVENTY-EIGHT. I had Walker’s death as “Aft. 1790,” so appreciated getting at least a year, 1848, for his death, and the place as Harrison, Clay, Indiana, from a biographical sketch of James F. Lankford (see excerpt, given above, under tag “ORPHANED YOUNG”). –shb 2 Mar 2004 [Note: Full date of “24 Feb 1847 in Harrison Twp., Clay County, Indiana” is provided in lineage forwarded 5 Jul 2006 to shb, by Norma Kirchhofer.]

1851–A NAMESAKE GRAND-NEPHEW BORN? Reuben, son of Stephen2 (Walker’s brother?) named a son “Walker P.,” born 1851, who died in 1852 (his grave marker in the Whitaker Cemetery, on land bought by Stephen2 from a Warren). Since Walker died several years earlier and is the only other Walker in the family I know of, I am thinking that Reuben may have named this son after my ancestor, Walker, my Legacy ID No. 230. –shb 2 Jun 2007

1853, APRIL–NAMESAKE GRANDSON, JOHN WALKER COOPRIDER IS BORN TO DAUGHTER MARY/POLLY AND HUSBAND, ELIAS COOPRIDER, IN INDIANA. [See 1830 notes for a grandson named “Walker,” son of Walker’s daughter Cyntha and husband, Joel Church, so named while Walker still lived–shb.]

1861-1865–KENTUCKY STAYED IN THE UNION IN THE CIVIL WAR. (World Book Kentucky Timeline.) According to World Book, “Kentucky Section,” p. 230e, “The Civil War began in 1861. Kentucky hoped to stay neutral. The state had social, economic, and political ties with both the North and the South. But Confederate troops invaded western Kentucky in the summer of 1861. Then Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant occupied Paducah. In September 1861, the Kentucky legislature created a military force to drive the Confederates out and preserve the state’s neutrality. This action placed Kentucky on the Union side. But many Kentuckians favored the South. Members of some families fought each other in battle. About 75,000 Kentuckians fought for the Union, and about 35,000 for the Confederacy.

“On Jan. 19, 1862, Union troops won an important victory at Mill Springs in southern Kentucky. This victory opened Eastern Tennessee to the Union forces. In August, 1862, the Confederates won a battle at Richmond, Ky. Both sides suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Perryville in October 1862. The Confederate troops finally retreated from Perryville into Tennessee.

“After the Civil War ended in 1865, Kentucky became strongly sympathetic toward the South. There were several reasons for this attitude. The government freed slaves without paying their owners. Soldiers remained in the state longer than the people thought necessary. Black troops were sent to sections that had supported the South. Kentuckians began to feel as though they had lost the war, rather than helped win it.” –shb 24 May 2007

1860s–SON AND TWO GRANDSONS DIE IN CIVIL WAR: WALKER DIED EARLIER, BUT POLLY DID NOT DIE UNTIL 1870, SO EXPERIENCED THE GRIEF OF LOSING THEIR SON, HARVEY, AS WELL AS TWO GRANDSONS (SONS OF MARY/POLLY) IN THE CIVIL WAR. –shb 4 Oct 2006

DESCENDANTS FOUND? CLUE TO CONNECTION TO STEPHEN LANGFORD THE FIRST? (We have fun in “The Search,” as demonstrated by this string of correspondence, with Shiron Wordsworth, much of which I forwarded on to the rest of my Langford family):

“This is REALLY fun stuff, Shi! I hope you can get some sleep, because I won’t, now. But what a way to go (staying wide awake, nights, mind swirling).

“THANK YOU, THANK YOU! (See, below, what Shi has come up with, now. My mother would go bananas over this one–then again, maybe she laid down the peel).

” . . . . And I may have found a connection tying Joseph, at least by suggestion, to the original Stephen’s family. Stephen2 had a son named Reuben. Two [there are actually three–see below–shb] of Reuben’s children are buried in the Whitaker Cemetery in Pulaski County. One is a daughter named Elizabeth. The other child is a son named Walker. Where have we heard that name before?

“Here’s the info on those children: [Note: I have since found the Whitaker Cemetery site and find that Reuben and Sarah also buried a third infant there, named Mary Langford, and that this cemetery is built on Warren land bought by Stephen Langford2–shb.]

“‘Elizabeth Langford
Dau of Reuben Langford
B. 11-20-1850
D. 11-30-1850’

“‘Walker P. Langford
Son of Reuben Langford
b. 10-11-1851 D. 1-7-1852’ [Note: we now know that Walker died in 1847, so it is my supposition that Walker P., b. 1851, was named by Reuben after him–shb.]

“Is this interesting, or what?

[My response]: **WOW!!!!!!! THANK YOU! Shi” –shb 8 Feb 2006

“Thanks so much, Jeff. ‘Sorry for asking questions already posted on your site, but your clarifications will help us all better find Walker’s land on your mapping. I’ll go back and get myself better familiarized, so that doesn’t happen again.

“‘Am forwarding your letter to all and am so glad for the fact that your ancestors bought Walker’s land or we might never have so benefitted from all your research. Many, many thanks, once again!

“Sherlene” (see Jeff Renner’s note, below):

—– Original Message —–
From: Sherlene H. Bartholomew T
Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2007 3:12 PM
Subject: Walker P., of Reuben, named after my ancestor, Walker.

“Hi, Jeff (with copy to Langfords on my list),

“I just found my notes about the Whitaker Cemetery, in which I’m reminded that it was Stephen2 who bought Warren land that included that cemetery. I don’t know that the Warren involved was Charles Warren, Sr.–do you know, Jeff?

“Unless Charles Warren had other land I don’t know about, this opens up the possibility that that Stephen2 (“Flintlock Stephen,” Bob’s ancestor) may have lived on that once-Warren land and may have had a homestead closer to Walker’s land than his (later or earlier?) residence on Lick Creek.

“I still don’t have a feel for where the Whitaker Cemetery is in relation to Walker’s land, so I could be way off in this thinking.

“What is significant is a discovery Shi made some time ago, writing me that buried there in the Whitaker Cemetery are children of Reuben Langford, son of Stephen2, one of whom was named Walker! [We crossed letters, with Jeff’s providing that same information!–shb]

“Here’s the info on those children: [Note: I have since found Jeff Renner’s site, detailing info. and a picture of the Whitaker Cemetery, and find that Reuben and Sarah also buried a third infant there, named Mary Langford.] Shi writes:

“‘Elizabeth Langford
Dau of Reuben Langford
B. 11-20-1850
D. 11-30-1850’

“‘Walker P. Langford
Son of Reuben Langford
b. 10-11-1851 D. 1-7-1852’

“Is this interesting, or what?” –shb 8 Feb 2006

We now know that my ancestor Walker Lankford died 24 Feb 1847, so the timing seems to fit that Reuben, son of Stephen2 named this son after my recently-deceased Walker. This would certainly seem to indicate a positive relationship between Stephen2 and Walker and that they are related–Langfords often named children after brothers or uncles. Going over the Whitaker cemetery records, as posted by Jeff, I found another daughter for Reuben, Mary, who was born and died in 1855 (to lose three infants, so close together, must have been a severe trial).

This Mary could have been named after Reuben’s wife Sarah Randall’s mother, Polly Sloan (I have no dates for her). Another possibility is that the infant Mary might have been named after Mary, wife of Joseph (I also have no dates for Mary, except that she died after 1801, so knowing her death date would help, here).

Well, enough thinking out loud on these matters, but thought I’d see if Jeff or any of you others can shed light on some of this.

Sherlene

LANGFORD/LANKFORD WAR OF 1812 AND LAND GRANT INFORMATION, GLEANED BY TERRY SMITH (forwarded to shb, 19 June 2007):

Sherlene,

A quick review of Langfords in the war of 1812 on ancestry.com revealed the attached. I also did a quick review of KY Land Grants for Langford. Results are below:

Data Source: Kentucky Land Grants
—————————————————————————-

View Record Grantee Acres Book Survey Date County WaterCourse

View Record Langford, Stephen 1,500 12 3-15-1795 Lincoln Dicks R
View Record Langford, Stephen 273 15 9-18-1798 Madison S Fk Ky R
View Record Langford, Stephen 660 15 9-18-1798 Madison S Fk Ky R
View Record Langford, Stephen 600 15 9-19-1798 Madison S Fk Ky R
View Record Langford, Stephen 370 16 11-11-1797 Lincoln Negro Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 140 16 11-10-1797 Lincoln Round Stone Fk
View Record Langford, Ivy 200 10 2-12-1799 Lincoln Kings Cr
View Record Langford, Ivey 37 23 2-25-1816 Pulaski Fishing Cr
View Record Langford, Ivey 200 24 9- 8-1807 Pulaski King Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 24 11-15-1819 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 100 24 8-28-1818 Rockcastle Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 28 1-20-1834 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 300 29 1-20-1834 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 600 29 1-31-1818 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Johnathan 50 D 5-12-1818 Rockcastle Blg Rockcastle

View Record Langford, Larkin 150 E 12-19-1819 Shelby & Franklin Crooked
Cr
View Record Langford, Ivey 13 J 4-13-1821 Pulaski Fishing Cr
View Record Langford, Robert 100 L 1-15-1823 Rockcastle E Fk Skeggs Cr
View Record Langford, Robert 100 L 1-15-1823 Rockcastle E Fk Skeggs Cr
View Record langford, Stephen 50 M 7-25-1822 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 M 3-25-1822 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 M 11-16-1822 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 M 7- 4-1822 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Robert 150 N 6-30-1823 Rockcastle & Clay Rockcastle
R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 Q 10- 7-1824 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 Q 5-27-1824 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 S 8-23-1825 Whitley & Pulaski Rockcastle
R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 S 8-24-1825 Whitley Cane Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 S 8-23-1825 Whitley Br Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 T 5- 3-1826 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 T 5- 3-1826 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 T 5- 3-1826 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 T 8-23-1825 Whitley Pine Island Br
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 U 5-27-1824 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 U 6- 1-1825 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 U 6- 1-1825 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 U 6- 3-1825 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 U 12-16-1826 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 U 12-16-1826 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 U 12-18-1826 Pulaskl & Laurel
Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 200 V 1- 3-1827 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 V 6- 3-1825 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 V 1-17-1827 Pulaski Main Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Robert 50 V 4-13-1827 Rockcastle E Fk Skaggs Cr
View Record Langford, Robert 35 V 4-16-1827 Rockcastle Skaggs Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 Y 3- 1-1828 Laurel & Rockcastel & Pulaski
Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 150 Z 6-29-1830 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Robert 100 B-2 6-23-1832 Rockcastle & Laurel
Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Ivey 50 B-2 4-22-1825 Pulaski White Oak Cr
View Record Langford, Robert 300 C-2 1-23-1833 Pulaski & Laurel
Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 C-2 1-22-1833 Pulaski Line Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 C-2 1-24-1833 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 200 C-2 1-23-1833 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 D-2 3-24-1834 Pulaski & Laurel None
View Record Langford, Stephen 200 D-2 2-20-1834 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 300 D-2 1-20-1834 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Robert 50 D-2 7-29-1835 Rockcastle Roundstone Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 E-2 3-28-1834 Laurel & Pulaski
Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Robert 800 E-2 5-26-1834 Pulaski & Lawrence
Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 200 E-2 3-28-1834 Laurel Lick Br
View Record Langford, Ivey 65 E-2 8-19-1834 Russell Cumberland R
View Record Langford, Stephen 350 L-2 4-11-1837 Laurel Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Evin F 500 4 3-22-1847 Jackson Knob & Dry Crs
View Record Langford, R 400 2 12- 5-1835 Rockcastle Skeggs Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 3 2- 1-1838 Pulaski Line Cr
View Record Langford, Stpehen 300 3 1-31-1838 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 1,000 7 8- 7-1840 Laurel Cane Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 200 8 11-31-1840 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 11 6- 9-1842 Pulaski Big Clifty Cr
View Record Langford, Jerry 50 13 4-23-1842 Wayne Lick Log Br Cumberland

View Record Langford, Stephen 100 16 1-23-1845 Pulaski Big Clifty
View Record Langford, Joseph 200 16 2-17-1845 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Owen 100 18 3-30-1837 Rockcastle Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Robt 200 24 3-26-1847 Rockcastle Rockeastle R
View Record Langford, Stephens 100 25 4-29-1846 Pulaski Big Clifty
View Record Langford, Jonathan 100 25 4-30-1846 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 20 25 4-29-1846 Pulaski Linee Cr
View Record Langford, Benj 100 25 4-30-1846 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Benj 50 25 4-30-1846 Pulaski Whitstone Valley
View Record Langford, Benj 150 25 4-29-1846 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Langford, Benj 50 25 4-30-1846 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Langford, Sol 300 26 6- 9-1847 Pulaski Rockeastle R
View Record Langford, Jonathan 100 26 1-14-1848 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 50 26 6- 9-1847 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Stephens 100 26 6- 9-1847 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Elias 25 28 12-30-1848 Wayne Cumberland R
View Record Langford, Solomon 300 28 10- 2-1848 Pulaski Brush Cr
View Record Langford, Solomon 100 29 10-20-1848 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Langford, Robt 100 31 10-14-1848 Laurel Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 160 32 10- 1-1848 Pulaski Whetstone Valley
Br
View Record Langford, Soloman 300 32 11-26-1848 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 750 33 10-27-1849 Laurel Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Stephen 100 33 10-27-1849 Laurel Laurel R
View Record Langford, Stephen 35 33 8-21-1848 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 200 33 9-20-1849 Pulaski Beach Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 450 33 9-29-1849 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Robt 1,100 33 12-20-1850 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Elias 200 36 3-26-1851 Russell Cumberland R
View Record Langford & Meece 50 40 3-22-1853 Pulaski Pittsmans Cr
View Record Langford, Stephen 150 42 2-10-1852 Pulaski Turkey Cr
View Record Langford, & Meece 50 42 11-22-1853 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 150 42 3-28-1852 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 700 42 3-23-1853 Pulaski Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Liberty 4 44 12-29-1854 Rockcastle None
View Record Langford, Liberty 85 44 12-29-1854 Rockcastle Roundstone Cr
View Record Langford, Liberty 100 61 1-31-1861 Rockcastle Roundstone Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 200 64 9- 4-1863 Pulaski Big Clifty
View Record Langford, Jonathan 200 64 3-29-1862 Pulaski Big Clifty Cr
View Record Langford, Johnathan 200 67 4-11-1865 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, James 125 67 10-15-1865 Laurel Big Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Jonathan 150 69 10-16-1865 Pulaski Rockcastle R
View Record Langford, Jonathan 200 70 8- 2-1866 Pulaski Bengamon Fk Lick
Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 200 70 8- 2-1866 Pulaski Fk Lick Cr
View Record Langford, Jonathan 200 76 3- 3-1869 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Langford, James H 336 77 4- 5-1870 Rockcastle E Fk Skeggs Cr

View Record Langford, Liberty 13 79 6- 7-1870 Rockcastle Round Stone Cr
View Record Langford, Liberty 3 xxx 79 6—-1870 Rockcastle Round Stone
Cr
View Record Langford, Mary Ann 42 79 6-16-1870 Rockcastle Round Stone Cr

View Record Langford, Moses 6 97 4-15-1877 Rockcastle Roundstone Cr
View Record Langford, Reuben 12 97 2-27-1877 Pulaski Buck & Pitman
View Record Langford, Moses 16 3/10 112 7- 5-1889 Rockcastle Brush Cr
View Record Langford, J W 10 120 7- 6-1903 Pulaski Whet Stone
View Record Langford, Ben J F 15 120 7- 6-1903 Pulaski Whetstone Cr
View Record Langford, R E 150 123 5- 6-1908 Harlsn Barbe & Mill Br
View Record Meece, & Langford 50 40 3-22-1853 Pulaski Pittsmans Cr
View Record Meece & Langford 50 42 11-22-1853 Pulaski Buck Cr
View Record Smith & Langford 850 2 4-11-1837 Laurel White Oak Cr
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Kentucky Land Grants [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The
Generations Network, Inc., 1997. Original data: Jillson, Willard Rouse. The
Kentucky Land Grants. Vol. I-II. Louisville, KY, USA: Filson Club
Publications, 1925.
Description:
This database contains the records of the Kentucky Land Office from 1782 to
1924. The work is intended as a source book for historical workers,
genealogists, and others who need a complete and chronological index to the
early documentary land records and history of Kentucky.” –shb 21 June 2007

FIRST STEPHEN LANGFORD MEMORIAL REUNION IS INSPIRATION FOR “FAMILY HISTORY TIP.” Each week, as part of my church call as a ward family history consultant, I work up a tip that fits twice on a page, so we can slice it in half and insert it in our Sunday program. Our hope is to inspire members to stay involved in strengthening families through family history involvement, and I’ve been pleased that other friends are now using the tips in their wards. Fresh back from attending the first Mt. Vernon Stephen Langford reunion, I wrote this, as my tip #29:

“FAMILY–It’s About Reunion Time [I’ve spread out the margins to save space]

“Is your family spread out all over the country? Want to bring them together in unforgettable ways?

“Plan a reunion in a new territory, where some of your ancestors lived. This doesn’t have to be in the summer–one family with Amish origins gathered for Thanksgiving dinner around a Lancaster, Pensylvania table that featured only colonial fare.

“Be sure to invite distant cousins you’ve only previously met online, while sharing genealogy ‘finds.’ If you search local directories, ahead of time, you might even find and meet ‘native’ cousins your ancestors left behind. You’ll be surprised how many of them join the fun, bringing family records, photos, documents, maps, heirlooms, and other enrichments.

“Invite a local historian to your family picnic and to afterwards share insights about the lives and times of pioneers in that place. (You might schedule extra days for research at local archives.)

“While there, you will want to visit sites where your ancestors actually lived. There’s nothing quite like walking where ancestors walked, viewing the same paths, rivers, flowered meadows, and perhaps even ‘warming your heart’ before an ancestor’s hearthstone (notice picture in the background). [Chris surprised me and inserted a photo I sent her, after my return, of my sister Virginia and me beside Walker’s fireplace–shb.]

“You will return with refreshed understanding and appreciation–not only for those who have gone before, but for those of their living descendants who joined in such fun!” –shb 2 June 2007

SUBJECT OF COLUMN: I wrote this column about some of what I learned, researching this branch of Langfords, with help from Shiron and my brother-in-law, Barry Wood, who has done some Langford research. I did submit this column, and my editor said she did want to use it, but wanted me to cut it by about one-third. By then, I was tired, and since Shi then told me she objected to the part about Langford temper and possible abuse of slaves and children (all she has heard is about good relationships with slaves and has not seen a history of temper and abuse, at least within Langford families, in her line), and also because there are still so many unanswered questions, I decided to shelve the article, rather than revamp it. Still, there is enough good and factual info. here, I have decided to include it, hoping we can build on that and clear up some of the questions. Here is the MS, as submitted (and then rejected):

TURNING HEARTS

By Sherlene Hall Bartholomew

Slavery and Redemption
on Every Family Tree

[Note: This version was rejected by Meridianmagazine.com editors as too long. So I cut it by over 1,000 words (though also added and revised some) and divided it into two parts. They published the shorter version on-line, March 1, 2006. I am keeping the longer version here, as it has more information. The version that was actually published is in notes of Walker’s son, Fielding. The photos in this article are attached to my mother Ida-Rose L. Langford’s media file, where the published version is also included in her notes. The text, with photos, can be found in Meridian’s “Turning Hearts” column archive. Google also picks up my columns, so it can also probably be accessed there–shb.]

My genealogist mother, Ida-Rose Langford Hall, died almost a year ago. Since then, there’s little doubt but that she and her gregarious clan are tending the unusually bounteous harvest that has since ripened on her family tree. The problem is that we have gleaned some tantalizing fruit, but lack the facility to safely “can it.”

The Rockcastle County, Kentucky courthouse burned down in 1873. According to the County GenWeb site, “virtually all local records-marriage, estate, court, land-were destroyed.” This has made researching in Rockcastle very challenging, though we have faith that God has provided alternative information-we just need to find it. We have gathered stray facts here and there over the years, but it remains difficult to document early Langford family connections.

My ancestor Walker Langford (or Lankford) left Kentucky for Indiana in 1830. There, his son Fielding Langford (1804-1882) joined the LDS Church and soon moved west. After some 175 years our branch has connected with Shiron Wordsworth, a descendant of those who stayed in Rockcastle. Her tales about Langfords in Kentucky have quickened more than one of my Meridian columns. Daniel Boone is her (several times) great-uncle, but she claims “he’s not even remotely as much fun as the Langfords. Certainly I’m proud of him, but there’s not much mystery to his escapades. It’s the unknowns that make our Langfords so much fun.”

Of unknowns there are plenty. Both of us believe that our respective “first settler” Langford ancestors in Rockcastle County – Joseph and Stephen – were brothers, though we have yet to cinch that link. Still, the probability that we are cousins is high, fortified by family resemblance that stares back from family photos from each branch. So Shi and I share our harvests, worms and all, picking through the heap to sort out truth from tall tales.

Langford Liberties

Shi recently renewed my curiosity about a family legend that her third great-grandfather, Liberty Langford, fathered children by one of his slaves. A cousin in Cincinnati told her that he “fathered two daughters (at least) by a slave named Fanny. They migrated to western Ohio somewhere between the years 1855 and 1860 . . . . The girls were named Nancy (b. 1852) and Ann (b. 7 Nov 1853).”

The family has thought that Liberty descended from Stephen Langford, the pioneer who led first settlers into the County in 1790. Though Stephen owned much land and the proverbial southern white mansion, Shiron tells me that in 1810 he only had nine slaves, before he died the next year. As Shi explains: “Rockcastle County never was a plantation society. Its hills don’t prosper such cash crops as cotton and tobacco that required much slave labor. The Langfords farmed, and they did have substantial land holdings. But they prospered from enterprises such as milling, horse trading, timbering, and quarrying.

“For a time there,” she continues, “if my source is correct, Liberty ran Langford Station, their stop in the Underground Railroad, as a type of hotel, probably catering to the stagecoaches passing through the county. So, while the Langfords did lose the monetary value placed on their slaves, prior to the Civil War, their economic welfare was not tied totally to the comparatively few slaves they owned. This may account for their Republican sympathies. They did not stand to lose everything, if their slaves were freed. In fact, after the war, their problems were with Klan warfare in the county. You may remember that Liberty’s son, James H. Langford, was finally killed by the KKK. James’ oldest son Liberty, named after his grandfather, was also murdered in the County, though we don’t know for sure that we can hold the Klan responsible for that one.”

[Insert Photo #1 – Caption]:

Photo in collection of Ida-Rose L. Hall that she labeled as the “old Stephen Langford house,” on the Wilderness Road, in Mt. Vernon, Rockcastle, Kentucky.

Secret Trap Doors

Writes Shiron, “In the book Rockcastle County, Kentucky and its People, 1992, Langford Station is pictured. It’s obviously the same house as the one in the photo your mother took” (as pictured above).

Shi’s grandmother knew Ruth McFerron Leach, who by account in this book, “bought the house in later years . . . had the house taken down . . . and discovered that it had been used as part of the Underground Railroad. This was the way slaves were transported from the South to the North to freedom. The house had many secret trap doors throughout. It had a big cellar used to hide the slaves.”

Jokes Shiron: “Were the Langfords simply lecherous masters making babies with their helpless slave girls? Were they secret, yet principled participants in the cause for abolition? Did they continue to keep slaves during the 1850s as a ‘front’ for the illegal activities on the Underground Railroad? Or were they simply schizophrenic, feeling one way Monday and another, Tuesday, so that they sent their personal slaves to work in the fields, during daylight hours, while helping other people’s slaves to freedom at midnight? Go figure!

“Exaggerated humor aside, there are some missing pieces of the puzzle concerning the Langfords and their relationship with their personal slaves, in particular, and the institution of slavery, in general. James H. Langford’s life was saved, before the Klan finally got him, by a former slave named Uncle Alf. One dark night in Rockcastle County, long after the Civil War was over, the Klan was hot on the trail of that Langford, but this vulnerable ex-slave refused to disclose James’ hiding place. Uncle Alf was roughed up because of his pretended ignorance as to where James had gone to ground. I have to wonder what precipitated such courage and loyalty on the part of Uncle Alf. There’s something more to this story. I just haven’t found it yet.”

[Insert Photo #2 – Caption]:

Side view, home of James Steven or “Tip” Langford, also in Mt. Vernon, Rock Castle’s county seat. Tip was sheriff of Rockcastle County, Kentucky, in the 1920s. He was the son of James H. and Liberty Langford’s grandson. Report is that his home was a stone’s throw from settler Stephen Langford’s original mansion. Neither home survives. (Photo courtesy of Shiron Wordsworth.)

First Name Census Index Searches

Thinking on all this, I once again felt Mom urging from beyond the veil, as I lay awake, wondering how we might find slave Fanny and her two daughters supposedly sired by Liberty Langford. Then I remembered that I could do an on-line census first-name-only search. So I typed spelling variations of “Fanny” in the first-name field for the entire state of Ohio and spent several hours checking the family of every one who came up in the census index. (I was checking HeritageQuest on-line indexed census images.)

I had no luck finding a Fanny with daughters Ann and Nancy, which was quite a disappointment, after all that effort. Then it occurred to me that maybe she kept her Langford name after she was freed. I did a search for all Langfords in Ohio, in the 1860 Census (just typed “Langford” in the surname field), and as the alphabetized list came up, I found her as “Frances,” at first click on “Craig Langford”! What a thrill! (You might have seen me levitate at this point, without any help from deceased Langfords!)

Sensing the Census

I learned that Frances was living in Wayne, Butler, Ohio, in 1860. She was age thirty-one, “keeping house” for head of the family, Craig Langford, who was eleven years her senior. (In two subsequent censuses, she is named as “Fanny” and “Fannie.”) The census taker listed eight children in their 1860 household, including Nancy and Ann, of ages to match the dates Shiron shared from her cousin, as found in county vital statistics (we have not yet seen these records, so cannot confirm that their father really is named as “Liberty,” though that was the report). A William Langford is listed last and is the right age to be Craig’s brother, though he could have been another slave from the plantation (Rockcastle County slaves, like many others, carried their masters’ names). Here is my transcription of that census:

139/129 Craig Langford 42M[ale] B[lack] Farmer 400 200 [b. in ] Kentucky, can’t read or write
Frances 31 F ditto can’t read or write Kentucky
Mary C. 15 F ditto attended school in year Kentucky
Americus 13 M ditto attended school in year Kentucky
Robert 12 M ditto attendedschool in year Kentucky
Walter 10 M ditto attended school in year Kentucky
Nancy 9 F ditto attended school in year Kentucky
Ann E. 7 F ditto attended school in year Kentucky
Isaac 5 M ditto attended school in year Kentucky
Stephen 1 M ditto Ohio
Wm. Langford 31 M ditto Farm Hand can’t read or write Kentucky

(Source: HeritageQuest on-line image, accessed 3 Feb 2006, by shb, via Godfrey Memorial Library: Wayne Township, Butler County, Ohio, Series M653, Roll 941, Page 278, census taken 9 June 1860.)

A four year break in ages of the last two children, Isaac (age five, born in Kentucky, and Stephen, age one, in Ohio) sent us looking for another possible child, who might have been left behind in Kentucky. We may have found one. In earlier notes, I found this listing for Liberty’s family, in 1870:

“370. LANGFORD, Liberty 60 M W Farmer 2500 1000 Kentucky
Sallie 60 F W Keeping House Kentucky
.Mary F. 25 F W At Home Kentucky
Peter 14 M B Works on Farm Kentucky
Robert 7 M M [so b. 1863–shb] Kentucky

(Source: Kentucky 1870 Census, Vol. 29 (1-357 A), film 593, Roll 497, p. 58, by Shirley Cummins (Mt. Vernon, Kentucky 40456: Rockcastle County Historical Society, Inc., P.O. Box 930), 1985, searched at the FHL, Salt Lake City, Utah, by shb.)

This listing indicates that a Peter, born about 1856, may have been born of Fanny. Since Fanny was in Ohio by 1860, it is likely that Robert, listed as age 7 and a mulatto, was born of another slave (this record did give us additional pause about Liberty’s liberties). Perhaps one reason Craig and Fanny kept their Langford name, after obtaining freedom, was so that Peter, still living in Kentucky, with Liberty and Shi’s ancestor (his legal, white wife) Sallie could someday find them (if he was, indeed, Liberty’s offspring).

Everyone in the 1860 Ohio household of Craig and Frances Langford was listed as black, with no ‘M’ to indicate ‘mulatto’, though white clerks often listed “B” for any person of mixed racial identity (then again, skin color does not always reflect actual degrees of mix). We can’t discern which children, if any, were born of Craig, since they carried prominent Langford first names instead of names like “Mingo” that were often given to slaves.

Scheduling slaves

Now let’s look at slave schedules found and forwarded by Shiron to see if any listed there could have ended up in the Ohio Craig Langford household [I have added my comments in brackets, like these]:

Writes Shi, “I looked at the slave schedules for 1850 and 1860. Liberty Langford in 1850 had the following slaves;

“1 Black Female age 23
1 Black Female age 5
1 Black Female age 3
1 Black Male age 1

[In the 1860 Census of Wayne, Butler, Ohio, Mary C., age 15, Americus or America, age 13, and Robert, age 12, are the first three listed children, in the family of Craig and Frances Langford–so, comparing ages with the 1850 slave
schedule, above, this does look like a fit. Was Frances the black female, age 23, in this 1850 slave schedule? (She is listed as age 31 ten years later, in the 1860 Census, but census ages are often off by a year or two.) Then Fanny apparently continued, after 1850, having the additional five children listed in Ohio: Nancy (9, in Ohio in 1860), Ann E. (7), Isaac (5), and Stephen (1).]

“In 1860 he [Liberty] had the following slaves:

“1 Black Male age 22
Number of slave houses: 1

[Note that the female slave and the three children shown in the 1850 Census are no longer listed. A probable reason for this will be explained later.]

“Now look at this. I have the slave schedule for Robert Langford from 1850. He has the following slaves:

“1 Black Female age 50
1 Black Male age 31 [Craig Langford was 42 in the Ohio 1860–close enough.]
1 Black Male age 25
1 Black Male age 23 [William Langford was 31 in the Ohio 1860–could fit.]
1 Black Female age 20 [Frances or “Fanny” was age 31 in the Ohio 1860-could she have migrated between households and been scheduled twice?]

[Shi provides good evidence that a Robert Langford (wife Frances Head) was Liberty’s father, though we still lack that paper trail documentation Shi wisely requires.]

Shiron suggests that these records at least open the possibility that Robert could have fathered Fanny’s children, despite the legend Shi heard from her Cincinnati cousin that it was Liberty.

Then there is the chance that Fanny’s children, as listed in the Ohio 1860 Census, had more than one white father. It is also possible that these children in Ohio could have been born in Kentucky to more than one slave mother (perhaps the two females listed in households of Liberty and Robert in 1850 were different persons). Since all the Craig Langford family children in Ohio were listed as “black,” we might also learn that Craig, while working as a Langford slave in Kentucky, fathered them all (except Nancy and Ann, perhaps). It is also, of course, possible that not all of Craig’s children were born of the same mother-especially after their master claimed Fanny as his mistress. The complexities, trying to compile family group records for former slaves, can boggle the mind.

There is, however, a grain of truth in most family legends. Shi and I resolved to find all the documentation we can to either strengthen or dismiss this family tale about a white Langford having children by his slave.

DNA Dilemma

I began to think that DNA testing might be the only sure way to place children listed with Craig Langford in Ohio. This hope was fortified by Part II of the PBS special, “African American Life” that traced the DNA of famous black persons like Oprah to specific locales!

However, cousin Delight Heckelman pointed me to an article titled “In Our Blood,” in the Feb. 6, 2006 Newsweek. An insert on page 54 states: “Did Thomas Jefferson father as many as six children with his slave Sally Hemings? In 1998, scientists tracing the Y chromosome from father to son said, ‘Yes, Jefferson was the most likely candidate–at least for one of Hemings’s children.’ But the controversy continues because DNA evidence can’t absolutely prove it; another male Jefferson could have been the culprit.”

Shiron wrote that we may never prove who fathered Fanny’s children. In some cases all we can do is take a combination of facts, common sense, and DNA evidence while continuing the search for better documentation.

In the meantime, I wonder how I should for now enter these children who are listed with Craig and Frances Langford, in the 1860 Ohio Census. I certainly don’t want to lose track of them. For now, I have placed them all in my Craig Langford family group, with accompanying notes about evidence of a potential biological white Langford father.

Rioting in Rockcastle

After all the excitement of finding Fanny in Ohio, I wanted to learn all I could about life in Rockcastle County, just before the 1860 Census. At BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library, I found the history of a bordering county: Madison County: 200 Years in Retrospect,” by William E. Ellis, H. E. Everman, and Richard D. Sears (published by the Madison County Historical Society). This volume, at pp. 123-153, brought alive the rioting, threats of violence, and arson perpetrated by area pro-slavery factions. In one case, John G. Fee, an abolitionist minister, was forcibly removed from his pulpit and marched over ten miles, from Rockcastle County to nearby Crab Orchard. For a while there in Rockcastle, communicants at churches with abolitionist ministers were mainly women, while their men stood in surrounding woods, guns aimed at would-be arsonists, who did succeed in turning one Rockcastle church to ashes. On another occasion, they succeeded in burning down the home of an abolitionist whose young family narrowly escaped the flames.

Jesse Keeps the Peace

In 1860, a pro-slavery Kentucky legislature passed a law that any citizen freeing slaves had to immediately get them out of the state. No freed slaves could enter the state. I googled “Craig Langford,” without expecting to find much. Up came the link to a page about the Underground Railroad. Of all things, this information brought my father’s kin and my mother’s Langfords together in a story fraught with irony–long before my parents met!

Here I learned about Levi Coffin, a member of the Society of Friends (“Quaker”) and reputed president of the Underground Railroad. His home had a hidden door behind a bed and a covered inside well. With the support of his wife Catharine, he helped over 2,000 slaves find their way to freedom! [Click on “Levi Coffin,” above, for photos of their home arrangements for hiding slaves and other detail.] [Please make a link of “Levi Coffin,” first line of this paragraph to <http://www.waynet.org/nonprofit/coffin.htm&gt; — wonderful photos of what I have just described and also of Levi and his wife.]

Levi and I are both descended from Tristram Coffin, born in 1609, in Plymouth, England. He crossed the ocean to become a founding father of Nantucket. The Coffins were very independent, active, principled people, qualities passed down to Levi. Levi was also a distant cousin of Mormon pioneer Heber C. Kimball.

Levi Coffin recorded a visit with the Stubbs family in West Elkton, Indiana, in their joint endeavors to free slaves. The “Squire Stubbs” he stayed with on one stop was probably Jesse Stubbs, then Justice of the Peace. [Please make a link of the word “journal” in the first line to <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/2064/undrgrd.htm&gt; ]

Jesse advanced most of the $5,062 needed to free an entire slave family. Then he traveled to Rockcastle County to redeem the Craig Langford slave family! (More levitation, without help, on finding that sentence!) I reviewed my notes of the 1870 Census that lists Craig and Fanny and children, in Ohio. Look at the name of their last child:

60/60 Langford, Craig 52M B Farmer 1100 Kentucky
, Fanny 43F B Keep House Kentucky
, Robert 22M B Farm Laborer Kentucky
, Walter 20M B Farm Laborer Kentucky
, Annie 16F B At Home Kentucky
, Isaac 15M B At Home Kentucky
, Stephen 11M B At Home Kentucky [1860 says Ohio]
, Jesse S. 9M B Kentucky

(Source: HeritageQuest on-line image: P.O. Jacksonsborough, Wayne Township, Butler County, Ohio – Series M593, Roll 1177, Page 490, taken 4 June 1870.)

Craig and family prospered in Ohio and managed to pay back most of what Jesse Stubbs and his neighbors raised to free them.

Better than Fiction

Shi and I have a long way to go before we have answered our many questions with adequate documentation. Nevertheless, it appears that my father’s relatives helped redeem a family owned by my mother’s! History sometimes reads better than fiction.

[Insert Photo #3, caption]:

The author’s family in 1976: Back L-R Sherlene, H. Tracy, Jr., Elizabeth, David R; Front L-R Virginia, Charlotte, H. Tracy, Sr. (sustained that day as an LDS bishop), Ida-Rose (Langford), and Nancy Hall.

One thing we soon learn, doing this research: each answer we get only raises more questions. For example, now that I know Jesse Stubbs and his friends purchased freedom for the Craig Langfords, I have sent off letters, trying to find answers to such questions as:

1) Is there a receipt book stating to whom Jesse paid the $5,062?
2) Do you know how the Ohio Quakers found out about this Langford slave family?
3) Why was this particular slave family chosen?
4) How did Jesse get the family safely out of Kentucky in 1858? Did he
perhaps make use of the Langford Underground Railroad that is also legend in our family? Is it possible that Jesse knew that money would go to strengthen the abolitionist cause in Kentucky?
5) Do Society of Friends archives include correspondence from
children of Craig and Fanny? (Early censuses record that the parents could not read or write.)
6) Is there a record of how the Craig Langfords paid off their freedom debt? In what increments, at what times, and by whom and to whom was this repaid?
7) Is there any record of what happened to any descendants of Craig and Fanny? (I have traced several in the censuses, trying to learn more.)

While compiling these questions, I thought that perhaps Jesse knew the Langfords would use that money to fortify abolitionist efforts, there in Kentucky. There has to be a reason why Craig and Fanny named a son “Stephen,” born in Ohio, shortly after their escape. It would hardly make sense that a slave who hated his white master would give his child an important name in his master’s line! I later learned that these same thoughts also occurred to Shi-in fact, our letters crossed, with some of this same speculation. Obviously, Langford ghosts are still alive and well.)

Speculations aside, we’re hoping to soon get answers to our questions, though sometimes the more we learn, the more we don’t know, if you see what I mean. Part of enjoying genealogy and family history is learning to live with a certain level of ambiguity, without getting so discouraged, we stop asking those important questions. That way, we can get answers that invite even more questions.

Anguish at “The Tree”

There are those who never ask questions for fear of what they might learn. To remain in such ignorance is itself a form of self-enslavement. Others very well know the facts, but prefer to sweep them under that already-bulging rug, caring little how their children might fall, tripping over what they cannot see.

We all need to overcome insecurities that make us afraid to know who we really are. Nothing we ever find can override the fact that we are all created in the image of our Savior, who said: “. . . If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples, indeed. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” [John 8:31-32] Then He went on to explain what His fellow Jews might have learned from their Abrahamic genealogy (and what we might also learn from ours).

Abolitionist Langfords in Nauvoo

As noted above, I descend from Walker Lankford (m. Mary or “Polly” Warren), of Lincoln County, Kentucky and Clay County, Indiana. According to a GenWeb “Table of Events” in Rockcastle County, in 1750, a “Thomas Walker noted a rock on a mountain above Livingston that resembled a castle,” the eventual source of the county’s name. Assuming that my Walker was related to Thomas, I tell Shi my people got there and named Rockcastle before her Stephen even knew it existed.

In 1830, Fielding married Sarah Bethurem (b. 1809, in Rockcastle County, to David P. and Margaret [Kincaid] Bethurem). The young couple soon moved to Indiana. They converted to the “Mormon” faith in 1843 and gathered to Nauvoo, Illinois, in time to join the trek across Iowa to Council Bluffs. In 1850, they were living in Platte County, Missouri, but in 1852 migrated to the Salt Lake Valley.

After surviving all that, Sarah died in 1863 from the bite of a black widow spider. I yearn to find a picture of my Sarah, but perhaps she died too soon. We do have one of Fielding in his old age, posing with children by his next wife, Carolyn Christina Bocker (they married in 1865, in Salt Lake City). She, however, is not in the picture. By then she had divorced him, purportedly for his whiskey habit and the proverbial Langford temper. It probably also did not help that Fielding was Swedish-born Carolyn’s senior by forty-three years!

[Insert Photo #4 caption]:

Fielding Langford (1804-1882) and his children by 2nd wife, Carolyn Christina Bocker (from an old tin-type taken about 1880-82). L-R: Joseph, Fielding, Wm. Henry, Anna Caroline, Cynthia Elizabeth, and Malinda Melvina Langford.

Whatever his faults, I love and honor Fielding for having the courage and stamina to join a new and different religion, pioneer the West, and produce a clan that gave me a phenomenal Langford mother. My Fielding missed all the civil rights excitement in Kentucky, but saw plenty of his own in the form of persecution against the concentrated “Mormon” population in Nauvoo.

Find an ancestor–find yourself!

I feel inspired, learning more about my paternal-line Quakers who, as noted on the above-mentioned site, did not just wink at injustice that for many had become a way of life. They did more about it than complain or write a letter to the editor. Taking action, they slowly changed opinions and altered customs — often at significant personal cost.

I also have empathy for slaveholders who stayed, entrenched as they were, in this system. Can you imagine the psychological effect on also their legitimate children, as they saw what measures their fathers took to control slaves–some of whom quite obviously were half brothers and sisters? One study tracked child abuse among descendants of slave-holding families. It followed that children of slave owners often afflicted their own children, as they saw their fathers punish slaves, long after slavery was abolished.

Some of us don’t like learning that our ancestors were alcoholics or had slaves, much less that they bred additional “property” with them. On the other hand, knowing more about family history helps us better comprehend why we feel and act the way we do and to better guard against what may be inherited weakness.

Speaking for myself, these recent discoveries have fortified my resolve to look at my environment with less complacency–to do what I can to not only change evils in society, but also to adjust attitudes and practices I now see more clearly as part of my own personal legacy. We all might hope, as well, to build on accompanying virtues evident in every family line. God seems inclined to reveal a fair share of both the negative and positive in each of us, both to keep us humble and extend encouragement.

Right now, though, I’m especially grateful for the leveling hand of such a family tree shaker as Levi Coffin. I am also anxious to go back and learn all I can about our new-found relatives Ann and Nancy Langford. I hope that they surmounted all that their mother and stepfather suffered, and appreciated the freedom purchased for them.

I also hope that our black and mixed-blood Langfords value the good-sense practicality, creative adapting, wilderness surviving, hard-work thriftiness, gregarious sharing, leadership and spontaneous hilarity that, along with the bad, were part of the heritage attached to the Langford name.

Magnificent wonder!

At varying times, some branches on our family tree seem more straight and true than others. All, however, produce fruit that, unless tended well, attracts spoil and canker. We stretch to pick the best and try to ignore the bad. We find soft spots in the past, but excise them for our future, with help from the Master Chef. The result is a fresh pie so divinely aromatic, vibrantly colorful and flavorful that we who taste of it can hardly wait to prepare tables and share it.

The magnificent wonder is that our Father in Heaven, in His great love, invites us, His children all, into His vineyard to help cultivate our inheritance with faith. There each of us not only discovers vital root, but by virtue of our Lord’s tender mercies, becomes more strong, more resilient, and more trusting, as we enjoy His redeeming bounty.

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Submitted to Meridian Magazine, February 18, 2006
Copyright 2006, by Sherlene Hall Bartholomew