Langley – William Joseph Langley (GA 1856 – TX 1927) was the only Langley land claimant in Vernon Parish. He was the son of Robert Arnold (NC 1827 – LA 1883) and Mary Mayo (GA 1842 – AL 1908) Langley. William married Sarah “Sallie” Moore (LA 1861 – TX 1942) in Bienville Parish in 1887. He and Sallie with children moved to present day Vernon Parish between 1887 and 1889. William claimed forty acres in 1913 on present day Hood Cove Road under present day Anacoco Lake. Langley Lake at the north end of Anacoco Lake bears his name. Between 1920 and 1927 he moved to Newton County, Texas where he died in 1927. William and wife Sallie are buried in Tanner Cemetery in Newton County, Texas.

Langton – The Langton family purchased or homesteaded 2,180 acres from 1843 to 1918 in the communities of Monks Hammock, Haddens, Caney, and Anacoco.

The founding father of the Langton family was William R/M. Langton (LA 1806 – LA 1879). He was the son of William (GA 1750 – LA 1826) and Eleanor Carter (SC/MS Abt. 1786 – LA 1830) Langton. William married Nancy Askins (LA Abt. 1814 – LA Unk.) in St. Tammany Parish in 1828. He purchased 360 total acres in 1843, 1846, and 1860 for $450.00 in Monks Hammock. William was a miller in Sabine Parish before 1871 and in Vernon Parish after 1871 on Sandy Creek which flowed through his land. William died in 1879 and is buried in Beech Grove Cemetery in Burr Ferry with thirty other Langtons.

Latham – The Latham surname is one of the oldest in West-Central Louisiana. Louis Latham was a settler in the Neutral Strip before the 1819 Adams-Onis Treaty which added land west of the Calcasieu River to Louisiana. Because of his land claim, he was issued a Third Class land grant of 640 acres in 1825 on Three Prairies.

After 1825 James M. Latham (MS 1835 – LA 1923) was the only Latham homesteader in Vernon Parish. He was the son of Lawrence (NC 1790 – MS 1876) and Mary Smitherman (NC 1788 – MS 1853) Latham. James moved to Louisiana between 1850 and 1855. He married Theresa “Tharsy” Self (LA 1835 – LA 1867) in Sabine Parish in 1855. In the Civil War he served in Co. B, 2nd LA Cav. Regt., called the Marion Rangers. In 1867 his wife Theresa died and he married Juanita “Anetta” L. Cassell (LA 1847 – Unk.) in Sabine Parish in 1869. In 1880 he lived in San Patrice, in northern Sabine Parish. In 1870 he lived in south Sabine Parish in Many Ward, which became Vernon Parish in 1871. In 1886 James married a third time to Camilla Lee. In 1916 James claimed eighty acres on Indian Creek in the West Cemetery community east of LA HWY 117. James died in 1923 and is buried in Silver Creek Cemetery with none of his three wives. Nothing is known about the burials of his three wives.

Lawrence – The founding father of the Lawrence, sometimes spelled Laurence, family in Vernon Parish was Francis “Frank” L. Lawrence (MS 1834 – LA 1903). He was the son of William (NC 1805 – TX 1874) and Mary Nix (TN 1810 – TX 1889) Lawrence. Frank moved to Texas before he moved to Louisiana. In 1859 he married Margaret McGraw (MS 1841 – Unk.) in Newton County, Texas. After his marriage he moved to Louisiana. In 1880 he lived in Hickory Flat in Calcasieu Parish, which is where the Coushatta Casino is located today in Allen Parish.

There’s no record Frank lived in Vernon Parish. Of his five children, William N. (LA 1860 – LA 1949) and James W. (LA 1869 – LA 1907), homesteaded land in Vernon Parish. William claimed 160 acres in 1901 in Laurel Hill and James claimed 160 acres in the same year in LaCamp.

Frank is buried in Good Hope Cemetery in Anacoco with son James and six other Lawrence burials. William is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Sabine Parish. Margaret’s burial is unknown.

LeBaron – Frank Reno LeBaron (PA 1850 – LA 1918) was the only LeBaron homesteader in Vernon Parish. He was the son of Theodore (PA 1814 – OH 1872) and Mary Clark (CT 1820 – OH 1858) LeBaron. In 1870 Frank was a tobacco stripper in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. From Pennsylvania he moved to Louisiana, first settling in DeSoto Parish. He married Fannie J. Graves (LA 1853 – LA 1922) in DeSoto Parish in 1875. In 1900 Frank lived in Vernon Parish as a machinist. In 1904 he homesteaded160 acres in the Castor Lake community on Pond Branch west of Chaffee Road. In 1910 he lived in DeSoto Parish. Frank died in Shreveport in 1918. He and wife Fannie are buried in Slone Cemetery in DeSoto Parish.

Leach – The founding father of the Leach family was Moses Elisha Leach (AL 1830 – LA 1902). He was the son of James (SC 1790 – AL 1833) and Amelia Langton (SC 1801 – LA 1895) Leach. He married Rachel Fitts (AL 1834 – LA 1901) in Bibb County, Alabama in 1855. Moses arrived in Sabine Parish, which became Vernon Parish in 1871, between 1858 and 1860. In all enumerations he was a farmer. At the age of 58, Moses homesteaded forty acres in 1888 on LA HWY 111 in the Beech Grove Cemetery community. Two of Moses’ nine children, son Jefferson L. (AL 1858 – LA 1939) and daughter Orrie (LA 1875 – LA 1928) homesteaded eighty and forty acres in 1885 and 1903 respectively in the Haddens and Caney/Standard communities.

Moses and wife Rachal are buried in Goop Hope Cemetery in Anacoco with daughter, Orrie Leach Taylor. Jefferson is buried in Leesville Cemetery with wife Louisa Youngblood Leach and thirteen other Leach burials.

Leak – African-American Mary Andnus Leak (LA 1878 – Unk.) was the only Leak homesteader in Vernon Parish. She was the daughter of Adam and Caroline Andnus. Mary married Henry

Leak. In 1880 and 1900 she lived in St. Landry Parish. In 1904 she claimed 160 acres on the head of Burton Creek on present day Ft. Polk’s north fenceline. Mary’s and Henry’s deaths and burials are unknown.

LeBleu – The LeBleu surname is sometimes spelled LeBlue. The surname was one of the first surnames in the 1806 – 1819 Neutral Strip. According to Neutral Strip’s records, Arsene LeBleu, Sr. (LA 1788/89 – CA 1850) was listed as a neighbor of Martha Andrus and Michel Neil (Michael/Mitchell Neal). He lived on the west bank of Bayou Quelqueshue (Calcasieu River) It’s unclear why he did not receive a Third Class land grant.

Researchers disagree about Louisiana’s LeBleu founding father. Some say Bartheleme LeBleu (AR 1722 – LA 1797) was the founding father while others say Martin Camarsac LeBleu (FRA 1752 – LA 1817). Because son Arsene, Sr. was born in 1788, Bartheleme would have been 66 years old at his birth and Martin would have been 36 years old. Also, there was no Arkansas in 1722.

Martin came to West-central Louisiana from France through Canada. According to past research, he married Marie LaMirande (IL 1752 – LA 1808) in 1769 in Avoyelles Parish, but a marriage record could not be found. According to marriage records, Marie married Bartheleme. Martin died in present day Calcasieu Parish in 1817, which was St. Landry Parish from 1807 to 1819.

Martin’s son, Arsene Camersac LeBleu, Sr. (LA 1788/89 – CA 1850), was the second generation LeBleu in Louisiana. He was born in Calcasieu Parish in 1788 which was Spanish Louisiana from 1762 to 1800. He married Eliza Milhomme in 1824 in St. Landry Parish. He was a planter, slave owner with 30 slaves, and captain of Jean Lafitte’s pirates. Even though he was a founding father of Calcasieu Parish, he was always in trouble with the law. He was a suspect in the

disappearance of Charles Sallier, who married his sister, Catherine LeBleu. Perhaps to escape the law, he moved to California and died in the 1849 gold rush in 1850.

Arsene’s son, Arsene, Jr. (LA 1820 – LA 1923) was the first LeBleu settler in present day Vernon Parish. He married Mary Neal (LA 1822 – LA 1909), daughter of prosperous Mitchell Neal, in 1820 in St. Landry Parish. Arsene, Jr. was a Civil War veteran in Co. F, 8th LA Inf. Regt. and an 1860 slave owner. He did not claim any land but sons, Thomas Henderson LeBleu (LA 1854 – LA 1929) and Joseph “Joe” Harold LeBleu (LA 1863 – LA 1931), did. Thomas claimed 160 acres in 1885 on Pin Branch on Pinewood Road south of Neame. Joe claimed 160 acres in 1893 on LeBleu Road on LA HWY 10.

Martin LeBleu’s burial is unknown. Arsene, Sr. is buried alone in Sacramento City Cemetery in California. His wife Eliza is buried in Sallier Cemetery in Lake Charles. Arsene, Jr. is buried in Smarts Chapel Cemetery in Leesville with his wife Mary. His sons Thomas is buried in Rosepine Cemetery and Joe is buried in Cooper Cemetery in Pickering.

Lee – There were two unrelated Wallace surnamed families who homesteaded in Vernon Parish, one Black and one White.

The Black Lee family was headed by Wallace Lee. He was born in Texas between 1832 and 1859. Wallace married Frances Watley in 1888, who was born in about 1866. Wallace was a Ward One or Two farmer from 1900 to 1940. He claimed 160 acres in 1900 in Haddens community on Hunter Town Road. There’s no record of his death and burial.

The White Lee family was headed by Needham Brown Lee (MS 1825 – LA 1914). He was the son of William Eli (SC 1795 – MS 1845) and Sarah “Sallie” Lea (VA 1807 – Unk. 1850) Lee. Needham married Lydia Ansley Rogers (GA 1832 – LA 1879) in Simpson County, Mississippi in 1849. He moved from Mississippi arriving in present day Vernon Parish in 1865 to 1867. He stayed for about five years and moved to present day Florien, Sabine Parish between 1872 and

1879. In 1882 he married Matilda Flanakin in Sabine Parish. Needham died in Sabine Parish in 1914 and is buried in Prospect Cemetery in Florien with his first wife and 43 other Lee burials. Matilda’s burial is unknown. He never homesteaded land in Vernon Parish.

Needham’s son Wiley Caspers Lee (MS 1860 – LA LA 1943) was the only one of Needham’s ten children to claim land in Vernon Parish. Wiley claimed 160 acres in 1890 in Anacoco on Ball Park Road on Boone Branch. Wiley is also buried in Prospect Cemetery in Florien with his second wife, Nancy Hughes Lee.

Leftick – Leftick is sometimes spelled Leftrick. The only Leftrick homesteader in Vernon Parish was William Henry Leftrick (LA 1876 – LA 1949). He was the son of George and Clina Perkins Leftrick. William married Ganie Morgana Turner (LA 1879 – LA 1920). In 1901 William homesteaded eighty acres on present day Vernon Parish Road 370 in the historic Sutton Junction community on LA HWY 111. Over the years William lived in Vernon Parish (1900, 1910, 1920), Sabine County, Texas (1930), and Beauregard Parish (1940) where he died in 1949. William and wife Morgana are buried in Hinson Cemetery in Ward Three with three other Leftricks.

Legg – The founding father of the Legg family in Vernon Parish was Albert Legg (SC 1812 – LA 1886). He was the son of Alexander (SC 1782 – SC 1832) and Mary May (SC 1788 – AL 1842) Legg. Albert married Ankey Thomas in Butler County, Alabama in 1833. He came to Vernon Parish from South Carolina through Alabama and Arkansas settling in West Ward, Rapides Parish between 1863 and 1875. In all enumerations Albert was a farmer. Albert is buried in Drakes Fork Cemetery in Cravens with his wife Ankey.

Lenahan – The founding father of the Lenahan family in Vernon Parish was William Clete Lenahan (TX 1855 – TX 1935), yet there’s no record he ever lived in Vernon Parish. He was the son of John Cornelius (IRL 1819 – TX 1896) from Ireland and Mary Mitchell (FL 1830 – TX

1902) Lenahan. William married Laura Hogue in 1875 in Newton County, Texas. In all enumerations William was a farmer in Newton County, Texas. He homesteaded 160 detached acres in 1883 and 1884 on Toro Creek in Sabine and Vernon Parishes. William died in Texas in 1935. He is buried in Toledo Bend Cemetery with his father John, wife Laura, and five children.

This article originally appeared on Leesville Daily Leader: Visions of Vernon: Vernon Parish’s Founding Families, Langley – Lenahan