I 've located my Great Grandparents' Robert and Charlotta Lankford's marriage record. Charlotta's parents, Isaac and Frances Dade were witnesses to the wedding. I was surprised when I saw their names on the record.
While I was searching for my Lankford connections, I came across a Miss Annie LANKFORD and a Mr. Westley JOHNSON. They married on Sept 17, 1871. I thought, maybe Annie could have been related to my Lankford family connections.
I began to search for Annie / Anna Lankford - Johnson. I found info on her on the 1880 census in Lewis County. She was listed with her husband, Wesley and their children.
On the 1880 census; Wesley Johnson was about 32, Anna about 30, Richard about 8, Susan about 6, Birdie about 5, Edward about 3, Joseph about 1, and Emma Johnson about 5 months . They were living in La Grange, Lewis, Missouri. I searched the Missouri birth and death records. And I found one more Johnson child. Her name was Mary Rivera / Ruslia Johnson. She was still born on Dec 8, 1884. She was the 8th child. It appeared that the 1880 census record was the ended of my search on the Johnsons. At that time, I couldn't find anything else on Wesley or Anna Johnson for years. I hit a brick wall. It wasn't until June 18, 2014, I began to search for the Johnson again. I thought to search for the Johnson children one by one. And I came up with some new leads. I can't recall how I started my search. But, I ended up searching old newspaper online. I typed in the Johnson children's names one by one. I came across some very interesting things. I type in Lena Johnson. I had discovered that she was married to Tugg Wilson. I came across their wedding announcement in Iowa newspaper. This lead me to other amazing findings. All along on my journey, I believed that Annie / Anna Lankford - Johnson were some how connected to Robert Louis Lankford. I couldn't make the connections. I started searching more in the newspapers. I discovered a R L. Lankfard placed an advertisement of his business which was located in St. Joseph, Missouri in the Iowa newspaper. This ad was in the paper for about 3 months. This made me wonder. I came across this info a while back. According to the 1913 St. Joseph, city directory, Robert L. Lankford occupation was at a restaurant at 209 S 2. He owned a restaurant? I think so.
Here are some similarities with the Sarah Anna and Robert Louis. Sarah and Robert both carried the Lankford surname. (At times surname spelled Lankfard.) Sarah Anna Lankford was born in Kentucky (1851). Robert Louis were born in Kentucky (1852). It appears that Sarah went by her middle name Anna / Annie at times. It appears that Robert went by his middle name Louis / Lewis at times. Annie (Sarah Anna) married Wesley Johnson in Sept 1871 in Lewis County MO. Lewis (Robert Louis) married Charlotta Dade in Jan of 1873 in Lewis County MO. Sarah Anna had a son named Bert who owned a business. Robert Louis had a daughter named Anna who married with the name Annie Lankford. R. L. Lankford from St. Joseph, MO attended Sarah's daughter Lena Sarah Johnson's wedding. R. L. Lankfard from St. Joseph, MO adverted his business in the city were the Johnson's lived. After what I've discovered, I think I can make some assumptions. Sarah Anna Lankford - Johnson and Robert Louis Lankford were most likely related. Perhaps siblings or cousin. I think that they were siblings. According to Lena Sarah Johnson Wilson's wedding news, she was a relative of a Mrs. Chas. Smith from St. Joseph, MO . I'm for sure if this was Anna Alice Lankford Smith. Anna's husband was Columbus Christopher Smith. It could have been a misprint in the paper. I was excited that I stumbled across this information. I believe that there is more info out there. And that there are people who have the missing pieces to family connections. I hope and prayer that some of Wesley and Sarah Anna (Lankford) Johnson's descendants will come across this blog. It would be nice to know who they are. And that they have family connections. May we continue to search for our family connections. Thanks for reading. S.A. Blakley |
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