Talladega County AlArchives Biographies.....Lanier, James Crawford November 5, 1846 - October 23, 1912 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/al/alfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: James Woodyard woodyardjc@tds.net March 17, 2012, 12:19 pm Source: "Lanier" by Ingersoll, census records, marriage records, family information. Author: James Woodyard James Crawford Lanier was born in Clarke County, Ga. and died in Talladega County, Ala. He is a son of Walter and Eliza Mary Mead Lanier and a grandson of George Malone and Mary (Polly) Langford Lanier. Walter was a Methodist preacher and preached his last sermon on his 93rd birthday. James married his first wife, Frances (Fannie) Taff, in Bartow County, Ga. Janurary 26, 1871. Fannie was born December 5, 1846 in South Carolina and died October 10, 1876 in Bartow County. He married his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Sproull, April 7 1878 in Bartow County. Mary was born August 16, 1859 in Bartow County and died April 29, 1932 in Talladega County. She is a daughter of John Franklin and Jane Adaline Burge Sproull. In the book "Dictionary of Alabama Biography" it is stated that James served 18 months in Company D, 1st Georgia Cavalry, C S A. His family was already in Bartow County at this time and were in the direct path of Sherman's army. His father, Walter, was a Methodist preacher and very anti-slavery. When the Federals came thru he invited several of them in for a meal and prayer service. As a result, his was the only farm in that area that was not burnrd. James and Mary moved their family to Talladega County about 1888. The little settlement that they helped to established became known as Laniers. Here, James, along with his brother John, son Homer, and Sproull brothers-in-law, established a sawmill that is said to have furnished much of the lumber to build Birmingham. This sawmill also produced the lumber to build Oak Grove Methodist Church. All of the lumber for the church was hand picked by Mary Lanier. It is said that they cut all of the timber for 25 miles around the little town. After the timber was gone, brother John Lanier moved his family to Birmingham. The Laniers also established a grocery store and market along the road and just below the hill on which their house was built. From 1903 to 1907 there was also a small post office located in the store. James and Fannie had two children: Susie E. Lanier, born February 14, 1872 died October 2, 1873, and Homer D. Lanier, born February 14, 1875 and died April 25, 1941 in Talladega. He married Annie Elizabeth Hendricks December 15, 1898 in Talladega. The seven children of James and Mary are: John Walter Lanier born January 6, 1879, died September 2, 1879 in Bartow County; Charles Noble Lanier born July 2, 1880, died March 22, 1964. Married Christine Nina Mattison June 10, 1908 in Talladega; Robert Franklin Lanier born Janurary 30, 1883, died September 16, 1969 in Whitesboro, Texas. Married Margaret Ida Waddell March 11, 1905 in Talladega.; Henry Pierce Lanier born July 26, 1886, died June 8, 1889 in Talladega County.; Addie Troy Lanier born September 22, 1889, died June 4, 1947 in Birmingham. Married Richard Clarence Hightower Smith October 8, 1912 in Laniers.; Jessie Pauline Lanier born June 26, 1891, died April 11, 1988 in Little Rock Arkansas. Married James Lloyd Lane March 7, 1911 in Talladega; Lala Estelle Lanier born August 7, 1893, died March 12, 1968 in LaGrange, Georgia. Married Henry Thomas Woodyard, Jr. December 9, 1915 in Talladega. James and Mary Lanier, along with son Henry Pierce Lanier, are buried in Lanier Cemetery near their old home place at Laniers. The cemetery is adjacent to Oak Grove Methodist Church. Additional Comments: James and Mary are my grandparents. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/al/talladega/bios/lanier1078gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/alfiles/ File size: 4.1 Kb