Groundsite Image Gallery
Home of Desaline W. Langston
Artist: Hughes, Langston
Height: 0.000"
Width: 0.000"
Home of Desalines W. Langston, uncle of Langston Hughes, 726 Alabama St. (1886?)
In 1886, D.W. Langston (Desalines) lived here, according to the city directory. He was Carrie Langston’s step- or half-brother, and Langston Hughes’s uncle. He also was listed as a barber on Henry St., west of Massachusetts St.
In 1895, Mary S. Langston, with Sarah S. Langston, mortgaged this property to A.N. Fuller of Lawrence National Bank for $125 (See Appendix 2). Legal description is “The south half of Lot number seven (7) Block twelve (12) Lane Place in the City of Lawrence.” In 1909, Mary Langston and Carrie Langston Hughes sold the north half of lot 8, also described in the registry of deeds as 726 Alabama, for $175.
Hughes refers to the bank’s mortgage man, who was a constant worry as the family struggled to meet payments. This house, part of the family holdings, was mortgaged to the bank.
Legal owners listed by the Douglas Co. registrar of deeds were, beginning in 1887: Mrs. S.A. Northway, J.S. Emery, Mrs. John L. Kilworth, John W. Clark, and Joseph E. Hughes. Joseph E. Hughes and then his wife Lethna retained control of the property until 1972. John W. Clark was an African American lawyer in Lawrence. Though the Langstons had title during the late 19th Century, the registry of deeds does not reflect their ownership.