John Thomas Lanier, 8th Great-Grandfather

August 6, 2013 — 5 Comments

Lanier coat of arms

My eighth  great-grandfather came to Virginia with John Washington, and once owned Richmond:

John Thomas Lanier, son of Nicholas and grandson of Jerome was from

Bordeaux in 1603 to America with John Washington. He brought much of the

family furniture with him. He was given a grant of 10 miles or 1400 acres

of land on the South of James River and it included what is now Richmond,

located in what is now counties of Prince George, Brunswick, etc. He

subsequently moved to North Carolina (North border) and was very

prominent.

John Thomas Lanier (1631 – 1719)
is my 8th great grandfather
Sampson Lanier (1682 – 1743)
son of John Thomas Lanier
Elizabeth Lanier (1719 – 1795)
daughter of Sampson Lanier
Martha Burch (1743 – 1803)
daughter of Elizabeth Lanier
David Darden (1770 – 1820)
son of Martha Burch
Minerva Truly Darden (1806 – 1837)
daughter of David Darden
Sarah E Hughes (1829 – 1911)
daughter of Minerva Truly Darden
Lucinda Jane Armer (1847 – 1939)
daughter of Sarah E Hughes
George Harvey Taylor (1884 – 1941)
son of Lucinda Jane Armer
Ruby Lee Taylor (1922 – 2008)
daughter of George Harvey Taylor
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee Taylor

State-Wide, NC – Lanier Family Genealogical Tree

The following bible record is found on the LAGenWeb Archives at the

following  http://files.usgwarchives.org/la/state/bible/lghsbible/

This record is “bible4-4.txt” in the list of records

Bible Records Published by Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Society.

Be it Known And Remembered: Vol. II,  Bible Records 1961: Pages 1 – 60

Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by LGHS, Jun. 1998

LANIER FAMILY GENEALOGICAL TREE

Taken from the Family Records of Mr. Lee Lanier of Amite, La. Submitted to

the Society by Mrs. Kathryne Watkins, Hammond, La., State Librarian of

Louisiana Daughters of the American Revolution.

Jerome Lanier of Brodeaux, France in 1558 emigrated with his family to

England, in the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Jerome was a

Huguenot who  fled from execution or persecution and finding himself

without means in a foreign land availed himself of his accomplishments and

secured a position in Queen Elizabeth’s household as Court musician. He

found great favor at the court and for about one hundred years – 1558 to

1666 – the Laniers flourished in England, distinguished themselves in

music, art and military genius. They were a family of means and culture in

France. Jerome Lanier had three sons:  Nicholas, Clement and Jerome.

Nicholas Lanier was born in 1568, he was the most prominent of Jerome’s

sons. He enjoyed high favor under James the 7th reign and especially so

under Charles the 7th’s reign. English history says of him that he was one

of those artists whose various talents were so noticeable as to suit the

taste of Charles the 7th. He gathered Charles the 7th’s collection of

paintings. He was a skilled musician, artist and courier. Five of his

famous paintings are distributed as follows: one owned by Van Dyke, one in

the collection of Charles the 7th, one now in the music hall of Oxford.

Two owned by the Prince of Wales. He died in 1648 leaving two sons:

Nicholas, Jr. and John Thomas Lanier.

Nicholas Lanier, Jr., brother of John Thomas Lanier who migrated to

America in 1683; was also a noted musician and artist. He was frequently

seen at the court of England. He was made president of the English Society

of Musicians

Page 133

and Artists for life. He enjoyed many favors from the King. Other members

of the Society were Clement, Andreu, and Jerome. These appear to be of

another branch of Laniers.

(Comment of J. B. Lanier Plooard – 1947 – Apparently history closes out

all branches of the family who may have remained in England and the

Laniers in America seem to be descendants of John Thomas Lanier and

Elizabeth Washington, the aunt of George Washington.)

Jerome Lanier lives in a palatial house in Greenwich, was a great and

famous musician. Owned the greatest collection of paintings than in

existence. He had only one son.

Sir John Lanier in 1690 comes again in history of being knighted “Knight

of his valor, in the capture of Castle of Edinboro. He was Major General

of the “Horse & Dragon.” In the Irish war made himself prominent in Battle

of Boyne and fell at Battle of Steinkiek fighting gloriously along with

the brave Douglas. This closes his story as far as we know of Clement and

Jerome Lanier, so the family name was apparently perpetuated by the

descendants of the son Nicholas Lanier. They may have had daughters.

John Thomas Lanier, son of Nicholas and grandson of Jerome was from

Bordeaux in 1603 to America with John Washington. He brought much of the

family furniture with him. He was given a grant of 10 miles or 1400 acres

of land on the South of James River and it included what is now Richmond,

located in what is now counties of Prince George, Brunswick, etc. He

subsequently moved to North Carolina (North border) and was very

prominent. In 1688 he married Elizabeth Washington, daughter of John

Washington, aunt of George Washington. His will is on record in Prince

George County, Virginia. He was prosperous and left sons Sampson, Robert,

Nicholas, John Thomas and Buckner.

Nicholas Lanier, son of John Thomas Lanier, died 1779 and left two

daughters.

Sampson Lanier was the only surviving son of John Thomas Lanier and

Elizabeth Washington Lanier. He died in 1743 also rather young, but lived

a life of great usefulness as a plantation teacher and physician. His will

in Brunswick County, Va. left large estate to Thomas Dannell Lanier;

Sampson Lanier, Jr., James, Richard and Elizabeth.

Thomas Dannell Lanier died in 1745 and left two daughters.

Elizabeth married a Burch and second a Smith.

Richard Lanier had sons Lewis, Burwell, Buckner and daughter Winnifred.

Lewis, son of Richard Lanier, had a son Alexander Lanier that settled in

New York City. Alexander had a son James D. F. Lanier.

Burwell Lanier had one son David. David moved from Brunswick Co. to

Pittsylvania Co., Va. in 1772. The land is in what is now Henry Co., Va.

Va. records show that David Lanier was a Capt of a Co. in the revolution

distinguished himself as a brave military genius. He married Miss Mollie

Hicks.

Page 134

David Lanier, Jr. had son James Monroe Lanier, grandson Charles and

grandson James who named a son James Monroe Lanier, who was a Capt. in War

of 1812. Was of fine personal appearance and was a large land owner in

Virginia. Daughters of James Monroe Lanier, son of David, were Sally and

Judith.

John Hicks Lanier, Lucy and Nancy and Eliza were other children of David

Lanier.

John Hicks Lanier married a Miss Carter. She was the mother of his

children and when he married a second time the children could not get

along with the new wife and they moved to Missouri. Daughter Mary married

and moved to Lincoln Co., Mo. She married John Lovell__ Children: John,

Jr., Wilie and Allie. Son David had a daughter Mary. Mary first married

James Jones and then a Ferguson. John Hicks, Jr. married Sallie Robinson

and had children: David, Demarous, Mollie. Edward, son of John Hicks

Lanier, Sr. married Jane and had two sons. Robert, son of John H. Lanier,

Sr. married twice. His descendants live around St. Louis.

Sampson Lanier, Jr. – Sampson died 1757, Brunswick Co., Va. and it named

children:

Buckner Lanier, son of Sampson, Jr. was famous for ability to settle

disputes. Well educated – physician and planter. Had one son Sterling

Robert Lanier, son of Sterling, married Mary Anderson of Macon, Georgia.

Sterling Lanier had sons Sidney, the poet, who died of TB contracted

during the Civil War and son Clifford Lanier who went to Montgomery,

Alabama and settled. Sidney Lanier was born 1841.

These are old family records and are not documented; however, they are a

good finding list. There has recently been published a book regarding this

family that will bear out this information. Hillery and his brother

Benjamin were in the Florida Parishes section of Louisiana as early as

1873 but the court records do not show estate papers.