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Wilmer O. Lankford III papers

3 boxes (2.25 linear feet)

(1894 – 2008)

bulk 1984-2002

Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury, University, Salisbury, Maryland

Identifier 1984.011
Creator(s) See Nabb Center Staff
Acquisition

The Wilmer O. Lankford III papers were donated to the Nabb Research Center in 1984.
Language(s) English
Use Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use."
Preferred Citation "Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland."
Attribution Finding aid written by Kenneth Forest, October 2017.
Related Materials

Lankford Family photographs (1860 – 1947)

Wilson Family photographs (1897 – 1920)

Freedom Ainsworth papers (1766 – 1999)

Lankford Family papers (1683 – 1975)
Separated Materials

Overzise materials have been removed to the Nabb Research Center's Flat File System. Memories of Steamboats, Campmeetings, Skipjacks and Islands of the Chesapeake by Ben Evans and Bermuda Settlers of the 17th Century by Julia Mercer have been cataloged and added to the Nabb Research Center’s non-circulating collection.
Abstract

The papers of Wilmer O. Lankford III encompass his research materials and original manuscripts of his four-volume book, They Lived in Somerset; including Lankford family documents such as Wilmer’s Western Maryland College scrapbook, as well as facsimiles and transcripts of church records, from Somerset County, Maryland, 1894-2008. Additional components include Rev. William Colbert’s account of his travels in Somerset County from 1801-1807, and the diary of Ida Marshall Lankford that reflects the lynching of Isaac Kemp for the murder of Constable Ned Carver.

Biographical History

Wilmer Ogden Lankford, III was born on May 20, 1920 in Princess Anne, Maryland. He was the son of Wilmer Ogden Jr. and Evelyn Walter Lankford. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in business from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and a Master’s degree in history from Salisbury State College, now Salisbury University. He studied at the Harvard Business School, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and worked as an export manager and treasurer for L.D. Caulk & Company. Mr. Lankford authored and published books on genealogy. He was a member of the Somerset County Historical Society, President of the Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society and Treasurer of Manokin Presbyterian Church. He was married first to Louise Dickens and second to Doris Montgomery. Mr. Lankford died on March 2, 2002.

Wilmer Ogden Lankford, Jr. was born on November 13, 1893 in Princess Anne, Maryland. He was the son of Wilmer Ogden and Marion Lankford. Educated at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College, he served in the U.S. Army during World War I. He worked for W.O. Lankford Company, a department store in Princess Anne owned by his father, and for J.C. Penney Company in Oregon. He opened and managed J.C. Penney’s first store in Delaware in 1929. He was married to Evelyn Walter. Mr. Lankford retired in 1953 and died on June 1, 1970.

Arrangement Statement

Folders are listed by their location in each box; any given subject may be dispersed throughout the entirety of the collection.

Subject Terms

  • Topical Terms
    • Education
    • Genealogy
    • Lynching
    • Methodism
    • Presbyterianism
  • Corporate Names
    • Manokin Presbyterian Church
    • Western Maryland College
  • Personal Names
    • Lankford, Ida Marshall (1854-1943)
    • Lankford, Wilmer O. III (1920-2002)
    • Lankford, Wilmer O. Jr. (1893-1970)
  • Location Terms
    • Somerset County (Md.)

Inventory List

The inventory list for this item is hidden due to its length. Click the button below to view it.

Box 1

1.      Notes on land tracts in Somerset County, Md., edited by Dr. G. Ray Thompson, 2008

2.      Transcript, 1777 Oaths of Allegiance and Fidelity, Somerset County, Md., undated

3.      Transcript, 1781-1782 Tax Collections in Kind, Somerset County, Md., undated

4.      Transcript, 1678 Tobacco List for Dorchester County, Md., undated

5.      Notes from 1795-1829 Probate Records for Dorchester County, Md., undated

6.      Notes from History of Talbot County, Maryland by Oswald Tilghman, undated

7.      Edited manuscript, They Lived in Somerset: 17th Century Marylanders, 1990, with permission to reproduce, 1997

8.      Draft manuscript, They Lived in Somerset County, Maryland 1726-1750, 1992

9.      Edited manuscript, They Lived in Somerset County, Maryland 1726-1750, 1992

10.    Draft manuscript, They Lived in Somerset Volume IV: 1751-1775, 2002

11.    Transcript, 1730-1736 Session Minutes for Dalry Parish Church, Dalry, Scotland, 2001

12.    Transcript, A Journal of the Travels of William Colbert, undated

13.    Pamphlet, “Family Folklore,” 1976

14.    Photocopy, Application for compensation of service of slave, Robert Lankford, 1864,” undated

15.    Photocopy, 1883 Resignation of Principal William H. Dashiell, , undated

16.    Diary and Transcript, Ida Marshall Lankford, 1894

Box 2

1.      Bound photocopies, Session Minutes and Records for Manokin Presbyterian Church, 1747-1881, Princess Anne, Md., 1987

2.      Correspondence, Wilmer O. Lankford III, 1990, 1992

3.      Draft Manuscript, Early Ancestors of the American Chancellors, undated

4.      Research Notes, Somerset County, Md., undated

5.      Newsletter, Old Somersett, 1985 April

6.      Surname Index, Lower Delmarva Genealogical Society, 1991

7.      Newsletter, Maryland Heritage News, 1983 Summer

8.      Flyer and Brochure, Teackle Mansion, Princess Anne, Md., 1995

9.      Flyer, Old Victorian Store, Pittsville, Md., undated

10.    Program, “A Peak at Pepys,” 1984 May 19

11.    Booklet, Baltimore’s Wards, 1797-1978 A Guide, William LeFurgy, 1980

12.    Booklet, Tracing the History of the Baltimore Structure, Richard Cox, 1980

Box 3

1.      Scrapbook, “Memory and Fellowship Book,” Wilmer O. Lankford, Jr., Western Maryland College Class of 1913, 1909-1967

Oversize

 1.      Newspaper clippings, 1989, 1992

 

 

Artifacts

See Nabb Center Staff

Attachments

None