Landron’s story
Compiled from various sources
Yancy and Fanny Boney’s family. Top row: Addie, Fanny, Betsy, Yancy Sr., Yancy Jr., Matt. Bottom row: Cyrus, Landron, Leon.
Landron Clifford Boney was born September 2, 1896. His family lived and farmed in the Taylors Bridge township of Sampson County, near Ingold.
Landron was just eight years old when his father, Yancy Davis Boney, died of pneumonia. Some months earlier Yancy had broken a leg in an accident when floating a raft of logs down to Wilmington. Later in his youth, Landron would do similar work, hauling turpentine, tar and lumber to Ingold.
He attended elemetary school at Buckhorn, and high school at the Dell School (a Baptist school at Delway, a few miles south of Taylors Bridge) and at Clinton.
In 1920 Landron and his brother Cyrus started a building contracting business in Clinton. Cyrus had served in the Army in Europe during World War I, but Landron was ineligible for service because of a childhood accident that left him with limited movement of his right elbow, and one leg shorter than the other.
Starting in 1922, Sampson County began unifying its public school system, consolidating many small schools into large central schools. Landron and Cyrus built many of these first consolidated public schools.
Landron began courting Jessie, going to Ingold with his cousin Edwin Peterson who was dating Ina Wharton. They would go to the movies in Clinton, or to Topsail Island where Landron and some of his brothers owned some property. Landron and Jessie were second cousins once removed and had known each other since childhood. They married on August 6, 1927.
The Depression years were a hard time for Landron’s family and business. In 1933 the banks closed and Landron and Jessie lost their savings, and from then through World War II there was little new construction to be done. Landron found work as a supervisor with the PWA, one of the “New Deal” agencies. One of his tasks was to supervise the building of the Clinton Community Center.
Landron Clifford Boney, 1896–1983
Landron and Jessie’s upbringing and their experience of the Depression had taught them not to take prosperity for granted, but eventually the Depression ended and life returned to normal. Landron’s building business again became successful—many of his buildings are prominent in Clinton today. He served as a Deacon of his church, a member of the Rotary Club, a Director of the Clinton Building and Loan Association (later Clinton Savings and Loan), and Trustee and President of Sampson Memorial Hospital.