There is a strong history of Lingos serving in public office and ministry.
Ministers and Missionaries
Pinkston Lingo 1795-1865, grandfather of John Asbury, is listed as “Methodist Clergy” in the 1860 Census.
Mary Alice Lingo
Pinkston’s son, Asbury Pinkston Lingo 1830-1909 had a vivacious granddaughter, Mary Alice Lingo 1901-1982. In addition to being a popular and prolific hostess for events at her Brannen Avenue home, she was also active in Girl Scouts and her First Baptist Church, where she participated with the Baptist Young People’s Union, such as reading the poem “At Prayer Meeting“
Bartow Bee Warren
In 1917 and again in 1937, Bartow Bee Warren, 1862-1950, grandson of John Richard Taliaferro Lingo, 1805-1884, and son of Edith Melvina Lingo, 1838–1929, and James Carter Warren, served in Southern States Mission, proselytizing for two or three months at a time.
Joe and Alta
From a branch of the family that moved to Tennessee in the early 1800s and then on to Missouri in the 1890s, Joseph Alex Lingo was born in Mexia, Limestone, Texas in 1924. He married Alta Mae Slaughter from Kansas in 1945. From her obituary, “Joe and Alta went on to join the Baptist Bible Fellowship, Int., Springfield, MO and would spend the next 55 years serving as missionaries in various places in North and South America.” At least two of their children continued mission work, listed in her obituary as living in Santiago, Chile, and Bogota, Colombia.
Officers of the Law
In Missouri, Samuel Sanders Lingo and his brother-in-law, Joseph Turner served as judges.
John Asbury had two uncles who served as officers of the law, Asbury Pinkston Lingo 1830-1909 as Americus City Marshal in the 1880s (frequent newspaper mentions, such as 26 Nov 1880 and again 9 May 1884), and Matthew Harris Lingo 1838-1925 was Sheriff of Calhoun County in the later 1860s.
Matthew Harris Lingo as Sheriff, Feb 1868:
“CALHOUN SHERIFF SALES. Will be sold on the first Tuesday in April next, before the Court House door, in Morgan, Calhoun county, Ga., within the usual hours of sale, the following property, to-wit: .. Also, 1 Buggy, levied on as the property of Nathaniel C. Daniel, to satisfy a cost fi fa in favor of M. H. Lingo and William G. Pierce. Property pointed out bv M. H. Lingo, Sheriff. feb 13 M. H. LINGO, Sh’ff.
From the Taliaferro/Lingo branch of the family, Thadeus Acton Lingo 1853-1896 was listed as the Town Marshall in the 1880 Census in Wilkinson County (uncertain what “town”). He was a Tennille, Georgia, City Alderman in 1892 and 1893 (possibly longer). Later, in this branch of the family, was Albert Jennings Lingo 1910-1969 who made the news during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement as Col Al Lingo.
There was a “Marshall Lingo” in Butler, Ga in 1881 – unknown who he was….
Arthur Neil and Jewel’s son James Thomas Lingo 1930-2007 served his country in the United States Army in the Korean War and later retired as a Lieutenant with the (San Antonio) Bexar County Sheriff Department after serving 30 years.