William W. Lanier: One Man or Two? Revisited

Seven years ago, I wrote a blog post about William W. Lanier of Birmingham, Alabama. It was supposed to be the first in a series discussing my research of William Washington Lanier and Charlotte Jackson’s son, William W., and whether he was the William W. who died in Birmingham on 7 November 1931. I never got around to finishing it. So, I’m starting over and this time I have the answer. But let’s go through everything.

William and Charlotte’s Son

William Washington Lanier and Charlotte T. Jackson had a son named William W. who was born on 16 September 1844 in Alabama.¹1860 U.S. census, Randolph Co., AL, population schedule, Southern Division, Rock Mills, p. 692 and 693, dwelling 459, family 459, William W. Lanier; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667 : accessed 16 Feb 2009); from NARA microfilm M653, roll 22. William Larkin Lanier Family Bible, The Holy Bible (n.p: n.d.), “Children,” privately held by Charlotte, daughter of Lafayette Franklin Lanier and granddaughter of William Larkin Lanier, copy provided to Linda McCauley, Mt. Vernon, KY, 11 May 2009 by Osmos Lanier, grandson of William Larkin Lanier and Charlotte’s cousin. It’s possible his middle name was Washington, like his father. But I only had two records that I was sure were for their son and neither had a middle name.

William W. was listed with his parents in the 1860 U.S. census as a 16-year-old farmhand, born in Alabama, and living in Rock Mills, Alabama.²1860 U.S. census, Randolph Co., AL, pop. sch., Southern Division, Rock Mills, p. 692 and 693, dwell. 459, fam. 459, William W. Lanier. Rock Mills is a small community in Randolph County on the border of Heard County, Georgia. I haven’t found the family in the 1850 census.

W. W. Lanier was also listed as a child of William and Charlotte in a Bible owned by their grandson William Larkin Lanier. The entry for W. W. has his birthdate as 16 September 1844. Death dates for some of William and Charlotte’s children are in that Bible, but not for W. W.³William Larkin Lanier Family Bible Records, “Children.”

Birmingham William W. Lanier

Based on online trees, several people believe the William W. Lanier who died in Birmingham, Alabama, on 7 November 1931, was William and Charlotte’s son. However, his death certificate, which lists his birth date as 16 September 1843 in Georgia, says his parents were Geo. Lanier and Martha Malone. Geo. was born in England and Martha in Georgia. William W.’s daughter, Emma (Mrs. Price Foster) of Charleston, South Carolina, provided the information for his death certificate.⁴FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/film/001908493: accessed 8 Jan 2016), digital film 001908493, Jefferson Co., AL, death certificate no. 24647 (1931), William W. Lanier; from Alabama Department of Health, Montgomery.

That death certificate seems to answer the question “Was Birmingham William the son of William and Charlotte? with a resounding no. But the birthdate is interesting—same month and day with the year only off by one from the Bible entry for their son’s birthdate. Martha Malone, as Birmingham William’s mother, is also interesting. That isn’t close to Charlotte Jackson, but Charlotte’s mother was Lavinia Malone. Coincidence? Some scrambled version of family information? Or fact?

Can we be sure the daughter knew who her grandparents were? Emma’s age varies in census records. In 1900 she was 12 with a birth month and year of July 1887. She was 21 in 1910, 28 in 1920, 36 in 1930, 45 in 1940, and 51 in 1950.⁵1900 U.S. census, Lee Co., AL, population schedule, Opelika, enumeration district (ED) 34, sheet 13B, dwelling 305, family 314, Will W. Lanier; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7602 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); from NARA microfilm T623, roll 25. 1910 U.S. census, Lee Co., Alabama, population schedule, Opelika, enumeration district (ED) 162, sheet 26A, dwelling 237, family 251, William Lanier; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.comsearch/collections/7884 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); citing NARA microfilm T624, roll 21. 1920 U.S. census, Pike Co., AL, population schedule, Troy, enumeration district (ED) 142, sheet 18B, dwelling 390, family 425, Price Foster; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); from NARA microfilm T625, roll 38. 1930 U.S. census, Jefferson Co., AL, population schedule, Birmingham, enumeration district (ED) 37-10, sheet 37A, dwelling 493, family 444, Price L. Foster; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); from NARA microfilm T626. 1940 U.S. census, Jefferson Co., AL, population schedule, Birmingham, enumeration district (ED) 68-25, sheet 14B, household 297, Price L Foster; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2442 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); from NARA microfilm 627, roll 91. 1950 U.S. census, Baldwin Co., AL, population schedule, Foley, enumeration district (ED) 2-42, sheet 9, dwelling 101, lines 8-9, Price L. Foster; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); from NARA, 1950 Census (https://1950Census.archives.gov/search). And her grave marker has her birth date as 31 July 1894.⁶Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com : viewed 28 Dec 2022), memorial 38482189, for Emma Juanita Lanier Foster, (Pine Rest Cemetery, Foley, Baldwin Co., AL), digital image, 8 May 2011, by Marlene Tyler. All of that means her birth year probably fell sometime between 1887 and 1895. William and Charlotte both died in 1892. If they were Emma’s grandparents, she was no more than five years old when they died and possibly was born after their deaths.

If Birmingham William was William and Charlotte’s son, believing her grandfather was born in England was a big mistake (not to mention the name). The elder William was 5th generation U.S. born.⁷Louise Ingersoll, Lanier (Washington, D.C.: Goetz Printing Company, 1965). digitized, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry/search/collections/19591 : accessed 28 Dec 2022).

George Lanier and Martha Malone

Finding census records for George and Martha Lanier with a son named William could clear this right up. But I didn’t find any such family in the 1850 or 1860 U.S. censuses. They weren’t in Alabama, Georgia, or anywhere else.⁸Searched 1850 and 1860 U.S. censuses on Ancestry for George, Martha, and/or William Lanier in Alabama, Georgia, and without a specific location. No household found.

Military Service

A William Lanier joined the 5th Battalion, also called Hilliard’s Legion, in Rock Mills, Alabama, on 11 March 1862 for three years under Wm. T. Smith.⁹“Civil War Service Records – Confederate – Alabama,” digital images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 28 Dec 2022), Civil War (Confederate) > Civil War Service Records-Confederate-Alabama > Hilliard’s Legion > L > Lanier, William, enlisted 11 Mar 1862, Rock Mills, AL; from NARA microfilm M311, Record Group 109. This soldier later transferred to Company B, 10th Confederate Cavalry between October 1862 and February 1863. Muster rolls show this to be the William Lanier who enlisted at Rock Mills.¹⁰“Civil War Service Records – Confederate – Confederate,” digital images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com : accessed 28 Dec 2022), Civil War (Confederate) > Civil War Service Records-Confederate-Confederate Government > 10th Confederate Cavalry, L-P > L > Lanier, William, enlisted 11 Mar 1862, Rock Mills, AL; from NARA microfilm M258, Record Group 109. Both service records reference the other under “See also” on the cover. Based on the enlistment location, this is likely William and Charlotte’s son.

Birmingham William applied for an Alabama Confederate pension on 18 March 1922. He lived at 121 ½ N. 21st Street in Birmingham, was 77 years old, and gave his middle name as Washington.¹¹“Alabama, Texas and Virginia, U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958,” digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1667 : accessed 28 Dec 2022), Alabama Confederate pension application, Wm. Washington Lanier, Jefferson Co.; AL Dept. of Archives & History, Montgomery. That middle name is a big coincidence if he was not the son of William Washington Lanier.

He said he joined the Confederate Cavalry, Company D, in June 1862 at Rock Mills in Randolph County under Captain Bill Smith. He later transferred to the 10th Confederate, 2nd Tennessee Battery, which is referenced as Company B of the 10th Cavalry on the record cover page.¹²“Alabama, Texas and Virginia, U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958,” Alabama Confederate pension application, Wm. Washington Lanier, Jefferson Co.

Obituary

Birmingham William’s obituary references two surviving siblings—a sister, Mrs. F. E. Clark, Roanoke, Alabama, and a brother, J. E. Lanier, Texas. ¹³“Lanier Rites Held,” Birmingham (AL) News, 9 Nov 1931, p. 16, col 3; digital image, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 7 Apr 2021).

William and Charlotte had a daughter named Frances Elizabeth who married William Jasper Clark and lived in Roanoke in 1930. They did not have a son with the initials J. E., but their son George David moved to Texas before 1910 and lived in Bell County, Texas, in 1930. At the time of Birmingham William’s death, Frances and George were the only two of William and Charlotte’s other children still living. ¹⁴William Larkin Lanier Family Bible Records, “Children,” lists William and Charlotte’s 11 children. Randolph A. Malone, Malone and Allied Families, Second and Revised Edition (Thomasville, Georgia: Randolph A. Malone, 1996; Frances E. Lanier married William Jasper Clark, 16 Dec 1903, Randolph Co., AL. 1930 U.S. census, Randolph Co., AL, population schedule, Roanoke, enumeration district (ED) 56-15, sheet 28B, dwelling 596, family 645, W. J. Clark; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); from NARA microfilm T626. 1930 U.S. census, Bell Co., TX, population schedule, Precinct. 4 enumeration district (ED) 14-16, sheet 16B, dwelling 226, family 234, George D. Lanier; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224 : accessed 28 Dec 2022); from NARA microfilm T626.

Conclusion

Birmingham William was the son of William Washington Lanier and Charlotte Jackson.

1. George and Martha Malone Lanier, who could be Birmingham William’s parents, were not found in census records in 1850 or 1860—not in Alabama, Georgia, or anywhere else.
2. William and Charlotte’s son was the only William Lanier listed in the 1860 census living in Rock Mills, Alabama, or the surrounding area, who was in the age range to have fought in the Civil War.
3. Birmingham William’s pension application identifies his middle name as Washington, the same as the elder William, and confirms that he was the William Lanier who joined the Confederate army in Rock Mills.
4. Birmingham William’s obituary lists William and Charlotte’s daughter, Frances Elizabeth (Mrs. F. E. Clark) as his sister. While the initials given for his surviving brother do not match any of William and Charlotte’s children, their son George did live in Texas.

P.S.

I’d wondered about this Birmingham William for a long time, but I didn’t do anything about it. When I finally decided to research him, it didn’t take long to find his Alabama Confederate pension application and his obituary, which were the two pieces that solidify him as William and Charlotte’s son.