Carol Middleton, granddaughter of Addie Troy Lanier Smith. :

John Lanier, baptized 10/1631 in Lewisham. Married in England to Lucreece (-?)-possibly a kinswoman. Was left money in his father's will (along with his brother John "when they shall come to demand the same of my Executrix"). They came to Charles City Co, VA by 1656. They are considered the first Laniers to Virginia.

The Lanier line came to Virginia in the mid- seventeenth century. It is generally believed that most of the LANIERS in America are descended from one couple, Clement Lanier and Hannah Collett, the parents of John Lanier of Virginia and Robert Lanier of Barbados (whose sons went to Virginia) . John Lanier and his wife Lucreece were transported to VA by Howell Pryce in 1656 (Colonial Abstracts, Vol. II, p33); they brought John (Jr.), their baby son. John and Lucreece, though their circumstances were reduced in the (English) Civil War and thereafter, were accustomed to a royal environment. Surely, they anticipated a stylish English country experience in the New World-- hardly the primitive circumstances they encountered. They were ill-prepared for carving a successful enterprise from the Virginia frontier wilderness. The couple settled in Charles City Co, VA on the south side of the James River, probably to raise tobacco. By the 1670s, times were tough for the planters on the frontier. They no longer enjoyed happy relations with the Natives of the area. The market was down for tobacco; Sir William Berkeley, Governor of the British Colony, imposed heavy taxes on the colonists; he refused to allow elections; and now Indian attacks! John Lanier and his son John, Jr. participated in Bacon's Rebellion to protest the refusal of Berkeley to provide protection from the Powhatan Confederacy. The planters were not allowed to retaliate. In April of 1676, men of the south side of the James River met at Jordan's Point (near present-day Hopewell in Prince George County) and formed a camp. John Lanier and John Woodlief were chosen to meet with the Governor in Jamestown. They asked Berkeley for permission to act against the Indian attacks. Berkeley called them "fools and loggerheads" and refused to give his permission. It is ironic to note that the very superior Berkeley took offense at having to deal with such shabby rabble as he called the settlers. How far our Laniers had come! From royalty to rabble! But the situation was far more serious. The two representatives returned to the James River camp and reported Berkeley's response. The group was comprised of men who had come to the colony with royal grants -- like John Lanier-- and former indentured servants. They were joined by a wealthy planter Nathanial Bacon who lived on the opposite side of the river. Bacon took command and led attacks against the Pamunky tribe. And won, laying siege on Jamestown in defiance of Berkeley's lack of support. Bacon entered Jamestown as a hero; he was condemned by the Governor. Subsequently there was another war of sorts-- this time, the rebels against Berkeley-- the freeholders against the elite of the colony. Eventually a force of 500 Bacon followers, free men with servants and slaves added to their numbers, laid siege on Jamestown and burned it. Many of the rebels were hanged or imprisoned by Berkeley. British ships sent by Charles II arrived to settle the rebellion; at that point all the surviving rebels surrendered. It is not recorded how our John fared after the rebellion. His son survived, we know. (William and Mary Quarterly, XV, p. 77.)

You can visit Bacon's Castle, the mansion occupied by the Rebels; the house, built in 1655 by Arthur Allen, still stands. You can see Bacon's Castle if you go to the Jamestown Rediscovery site.
_____
John Lanier's great-great grandaughters are Lucy Lanier Andrews [great-great grandmother of William Lafayette Andrews, Jr.] and Rebecca Lanier Williams, the g-g-g-g grandmother of Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams).

John Lanier's Spouse (married 1650 in Kent, England):
Lucreese Bassano (born 1633 East Greenwich, Kent, England – Died 1657 Charles City, Charles County, Virginia), not to be confused with John's grandmother by the same name, although she may have been a kinswoman of her grandmother-in-law.

Their Children:
1. John James Lanier (born 10/16/1656 London, England - born in England before his parents brought him to the New World. – died 4/14/1719 Charles City, VA) At age 22, took part in Bacon's Rebellion with his father. Lived in Charles City Co. then Surry Co, VA. ; In 1677 in Charles City, VA married Alice Katharine Elinor Sampson (1655–1685) and they had the following children: Sampson Lanier (1678 Charles City – 5/5/1743 Brunswick, VA); John LANIER (1678 Charles City, VA – /4/1728 Surry Co., VA) and Robert Lanier (1678 Surry Co., VA – 3/20/1743 Tyrell Co., NC). In 1685 in Charles City he married Sarah Edmunds (1658–1716) and they had the following children: Sarah Lanier (1686 Jamestown Settlement, VA - 1724 Meherrin Parish, Brunswick, VA - married George Garrett Brewer (1670-1745) and Nicholas Lanier (1690 Charles City – 8/23/1779 Brunswick, VA - married Mary Shepherd or Nance).

John, Jr. Came to America as a baby. Grew up in Charles City Co, VA at the family home on the James River. Later he moved to Surry Co, VA. In 1683 a land warrant was issued to him and Peter Wyche for almost 500 acres in the Parish of Westover. In 1683 John Lanier and Peter Wyche patented 1482 acres of land in Charles City Co, VA for transporting 30 persons. John was listed in the Prince George Co, VA 1704 Quit Rent Rolls for 700 acres -- land that was part of the patent, now in the newer county:

ref VPB 7 p339 dat 20 November 1683
Nicholas Spenser President Etc
to Peter Wycke & John Leneare
1482 acres 3 rood & 24 poles of land lying et being in the Co. of Charles Citty, & in the pish of Westover & on thee S side of James Riv. being due by & for the transportacon of 30 psons into this Collony whose names area Honol. James Jon. Gosal Margt. Proktor Tho. Bagwell Jone Bagwel Wm. Waydor Walter Collins Betty Bulmer Jon. Weaver Wm. Gill Bryan Smith Jon. Lumpton Jon. Pasmore Mary Pasmore Tho. Jent Tho. Jennings Alex. Maly Oliver Symonds Walter Chiles Hen. Justen Jon. Shorney Jon. Shand Sarah Cole Wm. Haywood Ellen Hayward Jon. Kendal James Hows Xpher. Br. Jon. Gibson Jon. Matham pt A) at a Crnr. p.
being a Crnr. that divides Wm. Pebbles & Thomas Chappells, & Runneth th. along the sd Chappells l. ln SSE; 132P; pt B) Crnr. dead pine, th. ln S 201P; Crossing the head of Bedlow br. pt C) a Crnr. Shrubby oake, th. crossing a Br. of the Otter Dams, & James Jones Path ln ESE; 56P; pt D) a Crnr. w.oake, th. ln S; 96P; pt E) a Crnr. pine, th. ln SWxS; 152P; pt F) Crnr. forked w.oake, th. WxS 2 degrees W ln ; pt G) Crnr. w.oake, belonging to John Harris land, th. crossing the Otterdams ln SW; 139P; pt H) Crnr. p. th. ln W; 130P; pt I) Crnr. Pocbery, th. ln NWxN; 288P; Crossing the Otterdam Sw. pt J) Crnr. pine, th. ln WSW; 52P; pt K) Crnr. gum, th. ln NW; 105P; Crossing Henry Wych path pt L) Crnr. w.oake, th. ln NE; 212P; Crossing the Piny Slash, pt M) Crnr. pine, th. ln NxE; 126P; Crossing the head of Birchen Sw. pt N) a Crnr. Pocbery, th. ln NExN; 10P; pt O) Crnr. black oake, th. ln NxW 182P; pt P) Crnr. pine,thence ln NE; 134P; pt Q) Crnr. p. to Mr Wm Pebbles line, th. along sd Pebbles l. ln SSE;260P; Crossing reedy br. pt R) Crnr. black oake & Still along sd Peebles l. ln ENE; 180P; Crossing a br. of Birchen Sw. to the place we began.

John, Jr and Alice Sampson's children:
* Robert Lanier, born in 1678 in Surry Co, VA. See his page. Lived
all his life in Surry Co, VA Late in life, married Priscilla
Washington (b.1699-d.before 1764), daughter of Richard Washington and
Elizabeth ?, in 1727, in Surry Co, VA. Their children: John Lanier (d.
1766), Thomas Lanier, Robert Lanier, Priscilla Lanier. Robert Lanier
died in 1756; his will was recorded 5/18/1756 in Surry Co, VA.
John Lanier III, born about 1680 in Charles City Co, VA. See his
page. He married Elizabeth Bird, daughter of Thomas Bird and Mary ?.
John and Elizabeth had these children: Bird Thomas Lanier, Lemuel
Lanier, Robert Lanier, and Benjamin Lanier. John Lanier died between
1720-28; Elizabeth remarried to Thomas Clare.

* Sampson Lanier, born in Charles City Co, VA, in 1682. See his page.
He married Elizabeth Washington (b. 1689 Surry Co, VA-d. 1773 Pitt Co,
NC), daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Washington, in Surry Co, VA, in
1706. Sampson and Elizabeth both inherited land from Richard
Washington; they sold that land and moved to Brunswick Co, VA. Their
children: Arthur Lanier (probably died young), Thomas Lanier (b. about
1707; see the deed record below m. Anne Maclin before 1734)

John Jr's second wife - 2nd-Wife: Sarah ? (Edmonds widow). She was the widow of William Edmonds when she married John Lanier. She and William had a daughter Elizabeth Edmonds. For a while, John's first cousin Clement Lanier, originally of Barbados, lived in their household.

John, Jr and Sarah's children were:

* Sarah Lanier, born about 1686 in Charles City Co, VA. See her page.
In Surry Co, VA, in ca 1705, she married George Brewer (maybe son of
John Brewer III of Isle of Wight) . Their children: William Brewer,
Oliver Brewer, Henry Brewer, Nathaniel Brewer, Sarah Brewer, Lanier
Brewer, George Brewer, Jr., Nicholas Brewer, John Brewer, and Howell
Brewer. When her father died, she received a cow- in his will -- no
small gift in those days. Sarah Lanier died between 1724-29; buried in
Brunswick Co, VA.

* Nicholas Lanier, born about 1690 in Charles Co, VA.
In 1713 or 1714, Nicholas married Mary Shepherd.

April 2, 1728, Nicholas Lanier of Brunswick Co. to Holmes Boisseau of
Pr. Geo. Co, two tracts of land in Martins Brandon Parish, Pr. Geo.
Co, the tract of 130 acres is plantation where John Lanier, father of
said John Lanier, lived formerly and was --- Thomas Chappell and
bounded by "antient, reputrd, and known bounds". The other tract of
220 acres is part of tract patented by said John Lanier and Peter
Wyke, in fork of Otterdam Swamp, on both sides thereof, bounded by
Robert Hunnictt and Jane Wood and Unpatented lands; which two tracts
were left by will of John Lanier to Nicholas Lanier.
Wit: John Fitzgerrald
Littlebury Epes, Jr. Nicholas Lanier
Recorded May 14, 1728 Mary, wife of Nicholas Lanier, relinq. dower
right

Nicholas Lanier was executor of his father's estate and inherited all
his father's land. The couple lived in Prince George Co, VA and later
Brunswick Co, VA. The children of Nicholas and Mary Lanier were: John
Lanier, Nicholas Shepherd Lanier, William Lanier, Thomas Lanier, Lewis
Lanier, and Sarah Lanier. It is through this the--line of Thomas
Lanier that Thomas Lanier Williams--Tennessee Williams (1911-1983),
the gifted and colorful dramatist--was descended.

2. Simon Lanier (1657 Charles City – ____)

3. Robert Lanier (1660 Charles City – 1754 Tyrrell, NC)

4. Katherine Lanier (1/1665 Charles, VA – 5/7/1665 Charles, VA). Katherine died 5/7/1665 in Charles City Co, VA as an infant, strangled in her bed, according to records from the judicial court of William Bird.

Known among the family as John the Emmigrant, John moved to Virginia, and his brother, Robert, to Barbados. All of Robert's sons later came to Virginia also. These two brothers are given credit for being the initial ancestors of nearly all the Laniers in Virginia.

Carol Middleton citing
Louise Ingersoll: from the book "Lanier"

Howell Pryce, sheriff of Charles City County, Virginia, was probably the largest speculator in headrights in Virginia in the seventeenth century - certificates for 26,150 acres of land for the years 1655, 1656 and 1657 (Fleet, Vol. 10 - Bk. 1655-58 see index) for transporting 523 persons to Virgina.

John and Lucreece are considered to be the first Laniers in Virginia. They received a grant from King Charles II. About 1656 they settled on the South Side of the James River in Charles City County, VA, (later became Prince George County, VA), about 1656, bringing John Jr. with them. Probably wanted to raise tobacco. John and Lucreece, though reduced in circumstances because of the (English) Civil War, were accustomed to a royal environment. Surely, they anticipated a stylish English country experience in the New World, hardly the primitive circumstances they encountered. They were ill prepared for carving a successful enterprise from the Virginia frontier wilderness. Times were tough for the planters on the frontier by 1670's. They no longer enjoyed happy relations with the Natives of the area. The market was down for tobacco; Sir William Berkeley, Governor of the British Colony, imposed heavy taxes on the colonists and refused to allow elections; and now the Indian attacks.

JOHN L. LANIER was baptised June 10, 1633 in East Greenwich, England

John's grandfather, Nicholas Lanier, born: 1554 in Rouen, France, died January 28, 1610 in East Greenwich, England. He married Lucreece "Lucretia" Bassano on February 13, 1569 in All Hallows Barking Parish, England.

NICHOLAS' STORY:
In 1561, the Earl of Hereford was visiting in Paris, and met there, a young Nicholas Lanier, who had been in the Court of the late King Henry II. He was recommended as a good flute player and also the cornet. He was considered to be sober, honest and was engaged as a messenger and replacement for Peter Guillaume, one of the Queens flute players who had passed away. In 1604 Nicholas Lanier was named "Musician of the Flutes" and after his death his son Andrea succeeded him in life.

Nicholas Lanier moved to East Greenwich, County Kent, where he was one of the musicians to the court until his death. He was a very wealthy man with extensive holdings in Blackheath and the surrounding county. This section was south of the Thames and about five miles east of the London Bridge. One of the many palaces was here, the Royal hospital, and many other buildings of early importance.

His wife, Lucreece Bassano, was born September 24, 1557 in London, England and died January 4, 1632 in East Greenwich, England.

She was the aaughter of Anthony Bassano and Elena (Ellen) de Nazzi, family of Italian musicians who came to England to serve Henry VIII, from the city of Bassano del Grappa, near Venice. The fabulous Renaissance courts of the Medici were winding down and the artists and musician of these courts were seeking work elsewhere. Lucreece had a very cultured background.

She was as instrumental as her husband, Nicholas, in passing on her own talents on to her children.

Son Andrea Lanier, born in 1588 in East Greenwich, Kent County, England and died November 2, 1660 in East Greenwich, Kent County, England. Andrea was a flutist and teacher of music as Master of the Flutes for life. He married Joyce Perry in June 1628 at St. Alfege's, East Greenwich, England.

Son Thomas Lanier, born May 25, 1633, married Joan Pettiward. Thomas petitioned King Charles II to be restored to his post which had been guaranteed him, and also his father, who had been jailed in 1643; they had given their all to the King's cause.

John Lanier, born abt. 1565 in East Greenwich, Kent County, England, died December 5, 1616 in Camberwell, County Surry, England. Sometime before 1610, John and Frances moved to Camberwell, County Surry, England, probably to near Frances' mother. They were still living in Camberwell when John made his will November 21, 1616, which was proved there in December 21, 1616 in the Archdeaconry Court of Surry.

The Parish Register of St. Giles Church, Camberwell, recorded his burial as the 5th day of December 1616. His will names his wife Frances, sons Mark Anthony, John, and Francis, two daughters, Lucretia and Elizabeth, "both due bond? from my son Nicholas Lanier, at their age of eighteen, my daughter Judith, wife of Edward Norgate." He requested that he be buried in the Chancel of Camberwell Church near his mother-in-law, Mrs. Mark Anthony Gilliardello. He leaves his wife, a message and tenement called Suttee Campes, County Cambridge for life, Frances Lanier, relict and executrix.

He married Frances Galliardello (born 1566 in Italy) on October 17, 1585 in Holy Minories, England
Father: Mark Anthony Galliardello, mother: Margerie

Children of John Lanier, Sr. and Frances Galliardello

John Lanier, Jr., born: 1634 in England, died August 1692 in London, England. He was knighted by William III in 1688 for his service in France for his county. He was Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Horse (now called dragoons) in 1687. Led the regiment at the siege of Lemerick. Was appointed in 1692 as one of the King's Generals of Horse in Flanders. He was badly wounded at the Battle of Steenkirk in Augustof 1692 and died a few days later. He married Eleanor (born 1564) in 1625 in St. Giles Church, Cripplegate, London, England.

Children of John Lanier, Jr. and Eleanor.

Nicholas "The Younger" Lanier, born September 10, 1588 in London, England, died February 24, 1665 in East Greenwich, Kent County, England. He was the most prominent member of a large family of French and Italian musicians in the service of English court since the middle of the sixteenth century. He received a position as one of lutes in the King's Music, January 12, 1616. Previously he held a position as domestic musician in the household of Robert Cecil. At court, in addition to his position as lutenist, Lanier was a singer, and performer on the viol. He was the first to hold the position of Master of the King's Music, from at least 1626 until his death with a hiatus during the English Civil war and interregnum, and he served as first Marshall for life in the Corporation for Regulating the Art and Science of Music.

As a composer, Lanier was recognized in his own day, and is chiefly remembered now, as one of the composers who introduced the new style of Italian monody to seventeenth century English music. He was an important composer of music for court masques, especially those of Ben Johnson. Indeed, if we are to take Johnson's remarks at face value, he was the first English composer to write music for a masque that was sung throughout, and thus may be considered the beginning of a sort of opera in England. Johnson, in his introductory stage directions to Lovers Made Men (1617-1640), states, "the whole Masque was sung (after the Italian manner-) Stylo recitativo, by Master Nicholas Lanier; who ordered and made both the scene and the Musicke " Johnson also mentions Lanier (along with Nicholas's uncle, Alfonso Ferrabosco) as composer of music for his Masque of Augurs. He was a poet; many of the lyrics to his songs are probably his own, and at least one of his poems was set to music by another composer.

He served as representative and agent of Charles I in purchase of a large portion of the extraordinary art collection of the Dukes of Mantua. The purchase, which has been described as "the greatest single coup in the history of collection by any purchaser, prince or patron", it took Lanier to Italy, off and on, for about three years and was the means by which he came into direct contact with the new Italian music.

Nicholas was both a painter and print maker, producing several paintings and two books of prints. As Ben Johnson noted in the remark quoted above, Lanier provided scenery for Lover's Made Men. He evidently developed a reputation for knowledge of specialized painting techniques.

Theodore De Mayerne, comments on a recipe for "amber varnish" given to him by Lanier. He describes Lanier as a "superb musician and art lover." It has' been suggested that during the interregnum Lanier supported himself by painting forgeries of the masterworks. Sanderson writes: "It is said that Lanier of Paris, tempering his colors whith chimney soot, the painting becomes darkish, and seems ancient: when done he rolls up and thereby it crackles and so is mistaken for an old principal, it being well copied from a good hand.

Son of Nicholas Lanier and Lucreece Bassano

Captain Alphonse Lanier, born: abt. 1573 in East Greenwich, Kent County, England, died: November 25, 1613 St. James, Clerkenwell, England. He was one of fifty-nine musicians who played at Elizabeth's funeral, and after her death he moved in the service of James I. He had been preferred by Elizabeth's closest advisor, William Cecil. Lord Burghley, granted Alphonse a monopoly for the weighing of hay and straw in London, (six pence for every load of hay and three pence for every load of straw brought into London and Westminster). When he died Emelia made over title grant to her brother-in-law, Innocent, evidently with an understanding that he would continue to receive a portion of it, though her right to that income was a source of later dispute.

Son of Nicholas Lanier and Lucreece Bassano

Clement Lanier, born 1590 in England, died November 1661 in East Greenwich, County Kent, England, married Hannah Rebecca Collett on March 1626 in St. Margaret, County Kent, England.

It's from Clement Lanier and Hannah his wife that the Laniers of Virginia descend.

The Lanier line came to Virginia in the mid-seventeenth century. It is generally believed that most of the Laniers in America are descended from one couple, Clement and Hannah Collett Lanier, the parents of John Lanier of Virginia.

John Lanier and his wife Lucreece received a grant from King Charles II and arrived in Virginia about 1656, bringing John, Jr. their baby son. John and Lucreece, though their circumstances were reduced in the English Civil War and thereafter, were accustomed to a royal environment.

Surely, they anticipated a stylish English country experience in the new world, hardly the primitive circumstances they encountered. They were ill-prepared for carving a successful enterprise from the Virginia frontier wilderness. The couple settled in Charles City County, Virginia.

John was married three times, John and his second wife Sarah had two children.

LUCREECE:

There is the hypothesis that the John Lanier who married Lucreece is the same John Lanier who was the husband of Miss Sampson and Sarah Edmunds. This would have meant that he lived to the age of eighty-eight years in a rather harsh and primitive environment. Additionally, there are no records confirming the existence of the second John as the Court House which may have housed such records was destroyed by fire. For purposes of this report, it will be considered that John the Imigrant had a son, John, who married Miss Sampson and Sarah Edmunds.

John Lanier
in the Virginia, Biographical Encyclopedia

Name: John Lanier
Residence Place: Virginia, USA

Comments: came from England to Virginia about 1670 and settled in Prince George county. He took sides with Bacon in the rebellion of 1676. He was ancestor of the poet Sidney Lanier. He made his will June 5, 1717, which is recorded in Prince George county and names children Nicholas, Sampson, John, Robert and Sarah married Brewer IV--Burgesses and Other Prominent Persons

John
in the Early Immigrants to Virginia from the 1500s and 1600s

LANIER, JOHN, (about 1655-1719) Came from England and settled in Prince George Co. about 1676. Wife’s name Sarah LANIER

From Kathy Herzog:
Intensive, extensive research has been done on the Lanier family in England. They were musicians and
artists affiliated with the royal court. John must have been a younger child who was more interested in striking out for the new world. He came to Virginia in the 1650s, as a headright of Howell Pryce, clerk/sheriff of Charles City County.

Another headright of Pryce's during the same time period was a Lucreece Lanier. It is generally assumed this was John Lanier's first wife, and that the daughter of John Lanier who strangled in her crib in 1665 was her daughter. Charles City records have an account of the inquest on June 5, 1665. It was officially decided that baby Katherine strangled accidentally after slipping between her bed and a rail.

A woman named Louise Ingersoll, who was married to a descendant of John Lanier, wrote a lengthy and highly detailed, indexed book about the family decades ago. She wrote that there is a "tradition" that the first John Lanier to the colonies died early. She believed that everything which happened to John Lanier after the 1660s or so referred to his alleged son, also named John, who was allegedly born in England circa 1655. Apparently the reason she and others inserted this second John at this time is because they did not believe the first John could have lived to the ripe old age of 85 or so. Granted, all of the succeeding male Laniers, at least in my direct line, did not live into their 70s. However, this does not mean the first John could not have lived that long.

A number of further writers with published works on the Laniers (and who are also direct descendants of John Lanier) do not agree with Ingersoll. The ones who have done much research in England state they have never found evidence of a two-year-old son who accompanied John and Lucreece Lanier to Virginia. Also, there is no record of John Lanier's death in official records in Virginia in the 1660s.

Another reason Ingersoll and others believe John Lanier died young, is that in April 1676 John Lanier and a man named John Woodlief were sent by the people of Charles City and Henrico counties to petition Governor Berkeley for permission to take to the field against Indians. Even though the governor refused (he had a lucrative trading business with the Indians), 300 men, led by Nathanial Bacon, took to the field anyway.

Eventually Bacon and his men, in what is called Bacon's Rebellion, nearly completely destroyed Jamestown in their rampaging. Bacon died of the "bloody flux" on Oct. 26, 1676. Berkeley regained complete control of
Virginia and hanged 23 leaders of the rebellion. Luckily for us, John Lanier was not among the 23.

However, Ingersoll extrapolated John Lanier's petitioning of Berkeley into the idea that he was among the 300 men who attacked Indians and then burned Jamestown. She says if he was the John Lanier born in the 1630s, he was too old already in the 1670s to participate in such activity. So, therefore, it must have been his "traditional" son, allegedly born in 1655.

There is no proof that John Lanier went out with the 300 men. If he had, he would have been identified as a leader, I believe, and would have been hanged. I, therefore, choose to not believe in this second "traditional" John Lanier and to stick with the first one all the way through until his death in 1719.

In 1683 John Lanier and Peter Wyche patented 1,482 acres in Charles City County for transporting 30 people from England. When Prince George County was formed in 1702, this land then became a part of it. John Lanier was listed on the Quit Rent Rolls of 1704 as having 700 acres in Prince George County. John Lanier lived the rest of his life in Prince George County.

Lucreece died somewhere along the way-perhaps shortly after the tragic loss of her daughter. Sometime in the late 1670s, John Lanier married a woman who became the mother of his three eldest sons. I find it very sad that nobody knows her name, because she is the ancestor of tens of thousands of Americans. Some family genealogists apparently find this so sad that they have made up names for her! On various net sites she is called "Katherine," "Alice," and other names. Everyone pretty much agrees her last name was
probably Sampson and that she was the daughter of a neighbor of John Lanier's named Robert Sampson. But there is no proof for that, unless you consider the names of her sons as "proof."

This woman and John Lanier had three sons: Robert (1678 - 1756); John (1680 - 1720s); and Sampson (1682 - 1743). She apparently died when Sampson was just a toddler, because about 1685 John Lanier married his third and final wife, Sarah Edmunds, a widow with a daughter, Elizabeth. By Sarah, John Lanier had a daughter, also named Sarah (1686 - 1726). John and Sarah Edmunds Lanier also had a son, Nicholas, (1688 - 1779). He was 29 when John Lanier died in 1719 and he inherited all of his father's land and everything
on it. John Lanier left his three older sons, Robert, John and Sampson, one shilling each. In 1719, Robert was 41, John was 39, and Sampson was 37.

Sampson's will was probated May 5, 1743, in Brunswick County. He was only about 61 when he died. Elizabeth outlived him by 30 years, dying in 1773 at 88. She never remarried. In 1772 a lawsuit she'd filed much earlier against a daughter-in-law (widow of her eldest son, Thomas) was settled. On July 20, 1767, Elizabeth had given her power of attorney to her son, Lemuel.

Elizabeth moved to Pitt County, North Caroline, with her youngest son, James, and his family in 1761. That may have been why she gave her power of attorney to Lemuel. He was still living in Virginia and thus could speak for her in the lawsuit. Elizabeth Washington Lanier died in North Carolina.

In his will, Sampson left the 150 acres where he had lived to his eldest son, Thomas, with the proviso that his wife, Elizabeth Washington Lanier, would be able to continue to live there. Thomas died only two years after his father, however, so he never really inherited the land. His mother, Elizabeth, lived on another 28 years.

Although Sampson Lanier left his home property to his eldest son, Thomas, his will split up his property among his other children. To Lemuel he left "one feather bed and bolster, a pair of sheets, a rug and a blanket, two pewter dishes and three pewter plates, two cows and calves, one heifer, one young mare with bridle and saddle, a gang of hogs, one iron pot, one frying pan." He left similar items to his other sons and one wonders if any animals were left on the farm for Thomas.

The children of Sampson and Elizabeth Lanier were:
Thomas (1707 - 1745);
Arthur (1709 - 1725);
Sampson, Jr. (1712 - 1757);
Richard (1715 - 1780));
Elizabeth (1719 -1795):
Lemuel (1720 - 1786); and
James (1725 - 1786).

I am descended from Lemuel.

I am attaching my primary sources for my Lanier information. I especially appreciate the writing of John Bennett Boddie and Maud Clement Carter, both now deceased. They were each descendants of Sampson and Elizabeth Washington Lanier. Some of these books are still in print; others can be obtained on inter-library loan from the Library of Virginia and other libraries.

Lanier Books: The Lanier Family in the United States: A Genealogical Compilation of the Descendants of the Immigrant Brothers John and Robert Lanier, Volume I (John and Elizabeth Byrd lanier) and Vol. II (Robert Lanier and his wife, Rebecca) are no longer available. Vol. III is in progress.

Southside Virginia Families by John Bennett Boddie (Page 298):
Howell Pryce, Clerk and Sheriff of Charles City County, Virginia, was probably the largest speculator in headrights in Virginia in the 17th century... 26,150 acres in the years 1555-57 for transportinh 523 persons to Virginia. in April 1657 John & Lucreece Lanier...

In June of 1665 in Charles City County an inquest was held to investigate the untimely death of Katherine Lanier, daughter of John and Lucreece Lanier, who was smothered in her crib "on a hot May day, the 7th."

John Lanier had achieved a responsible position in his community... for in the moth of April 1676... 300 men gathered in Charles City County resolved to make a punitive expedition against the Indians without the governor's consent. Bacon was acclaimed their leader and he with John lanier and his army started out against the southern and western Indians. (Colonial Surry, p. 113-114.

At the close of the rebellion John Lanier married secondly, but the name of his wife is unknown. By her he had three sons: Robert, born 1678; John, born 1680; Sampson, born 1682 (ages from depositions).

About 1685 in Charles City County, John Lanier married thirdly, Sarah Edmonds, the widow of William Edmonds. This is shown by a suit brought by her daughter Elizabeth Edmonds against John Lanier for withholding gifts which Sarah had prom-