JUDGE WILLIAM HENRY LANCASTER is one of this state's native sons and representative citizens. He is a prominent member of the state bar and has practiced in Lexington for many years. The Judge was born in Hardin county, Tennessee, on the 27th of January, 1864, a son of Jesse Johnson and Susie (Wells) Lancaster, both natives of this state. His paternal great-grandfather, Benjamin Lancaster, came to this country from England and located in North Carolina, from which state he moved to Williamson county, Tennessee, during the latter part of the eighteenth century. The paternal grandfather, David L. Lancaster, was born in Tennessee and was one of the foremost men of his day. He was born in 1807 and died in 1894, after a life of successful achievement. For some years he was colonel of militia of Williamson county. Woodson Wells, the grandfather on the maternal side, was likewise born in this state. He and three of his sons enlisted in the Confederate army upon the outbreak of the Civil war and all died from measles, which they contracted during service. Woodson Wells was a man of high literary attainments and a leader in his community. He was prominently known throughout central Tennessee. Jesse Johnson Lancaster died in 1898. His wife's death occurred in 1897.
In the acquirement of his early education William Henry Lancaster attended the public schools of Decatur county and subsequently became a student at Clifton Academy in Wayne county. He then entered the Southern Normal University at Carbondale, Illinois, and that institution conferred the B.A. degree upon him in 1885. He immediately returned to Decaturville and taught school for two terms, farming at the same time. In 1887 he went to Chattanooga and taught there until 1891 when, having made and saved several thousand dollars, he entered business for himself. He met with misfortune in this undertaking and found himself with a growing family and an indebtedness of several thousand dollars. This misfortune strengthened his determination for success, however, and in 1897 he came to Lexington and established himself in the general mercantile business. He likewise bought and sold real estate, doing a general trading business and in two years' time he was able to pay off all his debts, having a substantial sum left over. During that time William Henry Lancaster diligently studied law at night and in 1909 he took the Lebanon Law School examination and out of a class of fifty-two passed a three per cent higher examination than the other fifty-one. He immediately returned to Lexington for the practice of law and he has met with well deserved success. He was elected county judge of Henderson county but declined reelection upon the expiration of his term of service. In 1893 he was an elector for the McKinley ticket. He has always been a stanch republican and has been intensely interested in national as well as state tickets. He has done much campaign work for his party and is recognized as one of the leading political speakers of this section of the country.
In Henderson county, in 1887, occurred the marriage of Judge Lancaster to Miss Mary Priscilla White, a daughter of Richard A. and Elizabeth (McCollum) White, natives of Tennessee. Her grandfather, Squire A. F. McCollum, was born in Henderson county and lived to the age of ninety years. He was for many years a magistrate and was known by practically every one in this section of the state, for he was a very active and progressive man. Richard A. White was a successful miller, operating several grain and flour mills during his lifetime. He served in defense of the Confederacy during the Civil war under General Cheatham's command. He participated in most of the strategic battles of the war but was neither captured nor wounded. Judge and Mrs. Lancaster are the parents of nine children: Mather Hawkins; Grady, who died in childhood; Thomas Talmage; Willie Mae Lancaster Drake; Dewey, who died in infancy; Achilles Lancaster Finch; Jesse Richard; Winfred; and Witt.
The Judge is a consistent communicant of the Methodist church and fraternally he is identified with the Free Masons. He has been one of the most energetic and resourceful promoters of Lexington's advancement. His public spirit is a stimulus and inspiration; his patriotism is genuine, practical and Intense and he is liberal to all worthy agencies at work for the good of his community, the county and the state
- Tennessee: The Volunteer State 1769-1923
(Chicago, S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1923,
pp. 217-218)