Langford, James P.

Born: 1815 Tennessee

Flourished: 1839-1846 Sangamon County, Illinois

In 1839, Langford was awarded a contract to supply lumber for construction of the new statehouse at Springfield. Langford was an advocate of temperance and supported the Democratic Party politically. He ran for Sangamon County Treasurer in 1839 but lost. Langford was one of many tradesmen who were adversely affected by the Panic of 1837, and he declared bankruptcy in 1841. Sometime between 1846 and 1850, Langford moved to St. Louis, where he continued in business as a carpenter and builder. In 1860, he owned $30,000 worth of real estate.

An Act Making Additional Appropriations for the Years 1839 and 1840; U.S. Census Office, Sixth Census of the United States (1840), Sangamon County, IL, 3; John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 516; History of Sangamon County, Illinois (Chicago: Inter-State, 1881), 273; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 17 December 1841, 3:2; 5 March 1846, 2:3; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), St. Louis Ward 4, St. Louis, MO, 14; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), St. Louis Ward 4, St. Louis, MO, 214.