My Mother's family came to Texas from Georgia and evidently owned Oak Lawn for a period of time. Following is an excerpt from a family history compiled by a great aunt several years ago.

Mike Garrett

*Sanford Kingsbery*^3 (Charles-1) was born on 24 Jun 1805 in Derby,
Orleans, Vermont. He moved to McDonough, Henry, Georgia in 1827. He moved to Carrollton, Carroll, Georgia in 1830. He gave his slaves their freedom about 1865 in Carrollton, Carroll, Georgia. It should be noted that some of the freed slaves from the Oak Lawn Plantation assumed the surname of Kingsbery. One of these was George Kingsbery who married Emma Garrison about 1870. Apparently George had a son called George Kingsbery jr. who married Martha Billup on September 18, 1897 and a daughter named Mary Kingsbery who married Daniel Winship on June 7, 1896. He died on 28 Dec 1869 in Carrollton, Carroll, Georgia.
Sanford Kingsbury was one of the first pioneer merchants of Carrollton, Georgia and built one of the first permanent homes in town on Rome Street. In addition to being a pioneer merchant in Carrollton, Sanford was a breeder of prize Black Hawk horses. About 1847 the plantation known as Oak Lawn just south of the town on the Little Tallapoosa River became available. There was a race to file for the 400 acre plantation in Springfield and Sanford rode one of his famous horses 50 miles per day for 3 days to become the first to file for the property. Soon after he assumed ownership he built a grist mill on the river to grind the corn and wheat and it was patronized by farmers for about 20 miles around. The plantation was well known for its crops and its prize horses and cattle. They also raised hogs later. It is noted that the family changed the spelling of their surname to Kingsbery when they moved to Georgia.

For some reason the family decided to return to Vermont in 1849 and then set out in their covered wagon with their three sons. The journey took 48 days. After a very short time they returned to their Oak Lawn home in Carrollton.

The story is told that in the later period of the Civil War during the time of Sherman's Burnt Earth campaign, Sanford Kingsbery was sitting on his porch when he saw the union army coming over the hill to his plantation. He met the Union officer, a Captain Hugh Kilpatrick, and they had a conversation on his porch. In the midst of the conversation they discovered that they were both members of the same Masonic Order from Derby, Vermont. Out of respect for this kinship, the officer agreed to spare his property. The beautiful Oak Lawn Plantation was still standing in 2001. Sanford Kingsbury also became very active in the Carroll Masonic Lodge #69 and served as "Worshipful Master" for the years 1854, 1855, 1865, and 1868.

Even though Sanford maintained strong ties to his Vermont homeland, the family was very proud of their Southern roots in Carroll County and ended up having three of their sons that served with distinction in the Confederate Army.