John E. Lancaster

The Langdales have long been, and remain, a major part of the economic, social, political, and religious life of Georgia.

The Langdales arrived in Philadelphia in 1723, moved to South Carolina prior to the American Revolutionary War, and by the end of the nineteenth century, John Wesley Langdale had settled his family in South Georgia. John Wesley built a prosperous cattle and forest products business on the western edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. His youngest son, Judge Harley Langdale, and the judge's three sons developed the Langdale Company in the latter half of the twentieth century. Under Harley Langdale, Jr., this company evolved from a world-leading producer of naval stores to become one of the foremost manufacturers of forest products in the Southern United States.

John Lancaster has produced a history of the Langdale family that traces their origins in Yorkshire in the eighteenth century to his primary focus on the family in the twentieth century. In the 1930s, Judge Harley Langdale organized the American Turpentine Farmers Association, a national cooperative. As its chief spokesperson, he traveled to Washington to lobby Congress on the behalf of turpentine producers with enormous effect on the industry.

Judge Harley's sons have played key roles in Georgia's history. His eldest son, Harley, Jr., held many state, regional, and national positions in the fields of forestry, conservation, and forest products. Harley, Jr., accepted leadership posts in several professional organizations, served on advisory committees on the federal government, and testified before Congress. John W. Langdale served in both houses of the state legislature, as a member and chairman of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents, and as a district governor of Rotary International. William P. (Billy) Langdale was for sixteen years chairman of the Lowndes County Commissioners and subsequently represented the Valdosta district of the Georgia Transportation Board. The family not only provided tremendous leadership but also led South Georgia in matters of education with its support of Valdosta State University.

For all this and much more, the history of the Langdale family is a story of more than one family, it is a story of Georgia and the South.

John E. Lancaster (Ph.D. University of Georgia) is a retired professor of history from Valdosta State University.

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