Lennox Polk McLendon was born on February 12, 1890, in Wadesboro, North Carolina. McLendon served as a major in the 113th Field Artillery during World War I. He saw overseas service at St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne before returning home in March 1919. He was honorably discharged on April 14, 1919. McLendon was an attorney who served variously as a solicitor, as chairman of the State Board of Elections, as lead of the State Board of Education, and as special counsel for the Senate Rules Committee during a probe into the behavior of Robert "Bobby" Baker. He died in Greensboro on August 7, 1968.