Pinkney Loys Lancaster
Pinkney Loys Lancaster was born on November 6, 1896 in Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the second of five children of Ezekiel Allen “Zeke” Lancaster and Peachie Matilda Harrell Lancaster. Zeke was a farmer, a native of Trigg County and a great grandson of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar. His wife Peachie was a homemaker and also a native of Trigg County. Loys’ siblings were Thomas Lloyd Lancaster, born in 1895 and married Elsie Gradinsky; Ophia Pearl Lancaster, born in 1898 and married Otho Whitfield Tuggle and then Otho Lee Spurlin; Jessie Carl Lancaster, born in 1900 and married Nancy Whitt Mitchell; and Denny Derwood Lancaster, born in 1902 and married Oneta Belle Rees. Loys had two half-siblings from his father’s marriage to his second wife, Virginia Nora Wiles. They were Otis Hopson Lancaster, born in 1912 and married Ruby Rhea Ezell and Inez Lorene Lancaster, born in 1914 and married Clifton Earl Bridges. Loys’ mother, Peachie, died several months before his eighth birthday.
Loys grew up on the farm and by the time he was 13, he had completed his formal education and was working as a farm laborer. His favorite past time was spent hunting and he was known for his hunting skills. These hunting skills later became an important asset when Loys entered his military service.
When Loys was 18 years old, World War I broke out and he traveled to Peoria, Illinois where he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps on September 14, 1915. Although he was never shipped off to fight the enemy in Europe as many of his Trigg County buddies, his duty to his county was nevertheless important. He served with the expeditionary force of marines that landed in Haiti for the protection of America’s interest. From April 6, 1917 to September 13, 1919 he served in Cuba, Charleston, South Carolina and New Orleans, Louisiana. While in the service, he was treated for malaria in 1916 and 1917 which took a toll on his body.
Loys early years as an expert hunter paid off while he was in the service. He qualified as a sharpshooter for the U. S. Marine Corps. The Marine Corps officials considered his performances in gunnery as outstanding and he broke many marksmanship records before his enlistment expired. Loys was honorably discharged from the Marines on September 13, 1919 and he returned to his home in Trigg County.
Loys continued his career as a farmer and on February 14, 1922 he married Virginia Thomas Mitchell. Virginia was born on April 28, 1903 in Trigg County. She was the daughter of Whitson and Colie Lee Crawley Mitchell, both natives of Trigg County. Loys and Virginia were the parents of seven children, Thomas Loys Lancaster, born in 1923 and married Mary Belle Moneymaker and then Betty Jean Kranich; Sylvia Rebecca Lancaster, born in 1925 and married Douglas Milburn and then Charles Lester Maxwell; Dorothy Lee Lancaster, born in 1927 and married Edwin Carl “Ick” Loeffler; June Matilda Lancaster, born in 1929 and married Elvis Homer Butler; Curtis Allen Lancaster, born in 1933; Joe Boyce Lancaster, born in 1934 and married Florence Ann Parker and then Margaret Sylvia Berry Satterlee; and James Wendell Lancaster, born in 1937 and married Jean Evelyn Valente.
Loys’ health had become weakened by the diseases he had contracted while in the military and in 1938 he contracted a severe case of pneumonia. He died on May 27, 1938 at the age of 43 at the Jennie Stuart Memorial Hospital in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery in Trigg County. Virginia died on January 27, 1989 at the age of 85 in Hopkinsville. She was buried in the Lawrence Cemetery next to her husband.
Virginia Mitchell Lancaster
Loys Lancaster tombstone
Virginia Lancaster tombstone
LINEAGE: (Pinkney Loys Lancaster was the son of Ezekiel Allen “Zeke” and Peachie Matilda Harrell Lancaster and the grandson of Thomas Jefferson and Margaret Francis Lawrence Lancaster. Margaret was the first child of Ezekiel M and Polly Sholar Lawrence. Polly was the second child of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar. Jemima was the first child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)
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