W. G. Lunsford
William George Lunsford (born May 8, 1865 in Memphis, Tennessee; died October 27, 1926 in Bessemer) was a contractor and plumber.
Lunsford attended the University of Kentucky in the 1880s before moving to Birmingham with his parents, George and Susan Lunsford. He worked with his father as a builder. He and his wife, the former Nora Lee Simpson, helped operate their Lunsford Hotel on 21st Street North.
Lunsford was indicted for murder in the death of his coachman, Mose Fleber, in 1894. In 1896 he attempted to make a homestead claim on a piece of property also claimed by James Nabors by ignoring a "No Trespassing" notice and taking residence in an old cabin on the property. His right of entry was upheld by a technicality, but Nabors rights were successfully re-asserted on appeal.
Lunsford was also an investor in various industrial ventures and retired from business in the 1910s. In 1918 he was caught up in another property dispute involving an Alabama ranch and the enormous Coates House hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.
Lunsford died suddenly while standing on a street in downtown Bessemer. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery.
References
- William G. Lunsford at Findagrave.com