William Layne^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]}

1803 - 1883  (80 years)

• Name	William Layne
  Nickname	Sr
  Born	1803	Tennessee, USA
  Gender	Male
  Residence	From Abt 1824 to Bef 1853	Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA   [10, 11, 12]
  Died	1883	White Oak, Franklin County, Arkansas, USA
  Person ID	I702	Main
  Last Modified	5 Nov 2015

  
  

  Father	John Hiram Layne,   b. 1768, Virginia, USA ,   d. Between 1836 and 11 May 1838  (Age 68 years)
  Mother	Barbara DeVault,   b. 1770, North Carolina, USA ,   d. Aft 1860  (Age 91 years)
  Married	31 Jul 1789	Washington County, Virginia, USA   [13]
  Notes	Married by Charles Cummings. Information found in Marriage Register 2 page 269 of Washington Co., VA The Layne-Lain-Lane Genealogy book, by Floyd Benjamin Layne, mentions additional children: Lou and Sallie though no evidence apart from this book has been found. Notice also that this book lists Lou and Sally as the last two children of John Jr. and Esther (Kilgore) Layne. There was either some sort of mixup, or these children did not survive to adulthood.
  Family ID	F175	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Polly,   b. 1807, Tennessee, USA ,   d. Bef 1860  (Age < 52 years)
  Children	1. Misaline Layne,   b. 1827, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA   2. Malinda Layne,   b. 1830, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA   3. Elizabeth Layne,   b. 10 Feb 1836, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA ,   d. 28 May 1871, White Oak, Franklin County, Arkansas, USA  (Age 35 years)   4. Jacob Layne,   b. 1837, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA   5. Gilson Layne,   b. 1841, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA   6. Daniel Layne,   b. 1843, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA   7. Hampton Layne,   b. 1845, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA   8. Laura J Layne,   b. Mar 1847, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA ,   d. Aft 1920, White Oak, Franklin County, Arkansas, USA  (Age ~ 73 years)   9. William H Layne,   b. 1850, Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA
  Last Modified	15 Dec 2002
  Family ID	F286	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 1803 - Tennessee, USA Residence - From Abt 1824 to Bef 1853 - Victoria, Marion County, Tennessee, USA Died - 1883 - White Oak, Franklin County, Arkansas, USA  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Documents » Slide Show		Layne-Lain-Lane genealogy, page 77
  		Layne-Lain-Lane genealogy, page 78
  		1830 United States Federal Census, Marion County, Tennessee, Page 65 1830; Census Place: Marion, Tennessee; Series: M19; Roll: 175; Page: 65; Family History Library Film: 0024533
  		1840 United States Federal Census, Marion County, Tennessee, Page 264A Year: 1840; Census Place: Marion, Tennessee; Roll: 528; Page: 264; Image: 540; Family History Library Film: 0024547
  		1850 United States Federal Census, District 4, Marion County, Tennessee, Page 403A Year: 1850; Census Place: District 4, Marion, Tennessee; Roll: M432_889; Page: 403A; Image: 380
  		1860 United States Federal Census, White Oak, Franklin, Arkansas, Page 252 Year: 1860; Census Place: White Oak, Franklin, Arkansas; Roll: M653_41; Page: 252; Image: 252; Family History Library Film: 803041
  		1870 United States Federal Census, White Oak, Franklin, Arkansas, Page 113A Year: 1870; Census Place: White Oak, Franklin, Arkansas; Roll: M593_53; Page: 113A; Image: 233; Family History Library Film: 545552
  		1880 United States Federal Census, White Oak, Franklin, Arkansas, Page 727A Year: 1880; Census Place: White Oak, Franklin, Arkansas; Roll: 44; Family History Film: 1254044; Page: 727A; Enumeration District: 059; Image: 0164
  		Page 89 of Marion County Land Entry Book No. 343 William Lane Enters fifty acres of land pursuant to an act of the general assembly passed at Murfreesboro the Nov 22, 1823. Situated in Marion County on the north west side of the Seq. river on the waters of Halls Branch beginning on a stake running by southwardly thence eastwardly thence northwardly and westwardly thence to the beginning. Oct the 6, 1824. Copy Isc. Wm. Lane Locr.
  		Page 325 of Marion County Land Entry Book No. 1614 Wm Lane Enters one & a half acres of land in Marion County on Looney's creek. Beginning on a black oak in the south side of said creek thence running Eastwardly crossing Brunsons spring branch to the Northeast corner of the tract the said Brunson's now lives on then running northwardly crossing said creek along Looneys line to a post oak corner of said Sage? Looney then along said Stones to the beginning for compliments this 18th April 1837. Robert Teague Locator
  		Page 383 of Marion County Deed Book D David Lain & others To) Deed 60 acres Isaac Lain This indenture made this 11th day of May one thousand Eight hundred & thirty eight between David Lane, Burley Lane, Abraham Lane, John Lane, William Lane, Polly Killgore, Nancy Killgore, Pegy Bradford all of the County of Marion & State of Tennessee Daniel Lane, of the County of Warren & State aforesaid & Elizabeth Luallen of the County of Jackson & State of Alabama of the one part & Isaac Lane of the County of Marion & State of Tennessee of the other part WITNESSETH: that for and in consideration of the sum of one hundred a fifty dollars to us in hand paid the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged hath bargained sold and do by these presents release enfeoff? and convey unto Isaac Lane his heirs and assigns forever a certain tract or parcel of land containing sixty acres more or less ? lying and being in the County of Marion. Beginning at a stake and pointers on Richard Stones line on the east side of Halls Branch running south forty six poles to a corner in said Lanes Field; thence west forty eight poles to a white oak thence south running with the branch fifty poles to a stake, thence east seventy eight poles to a black oak to Stephen Lanes corner; thence east seventy four poles to a stake and pointers thence north sixty four poles to a chestnut thence westwardly running down what is commonly called the Dark Hollow ninety six poles to the beginning with all and singular the hereditaments and appurtenances hereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining either in law or equity to have and to hold the aforesaid tract of land with its appurtenances to the only use and benefit of him the said Isaac Lane his heirs and assigns forever free and clear of any other lawful title claim or demand of all manner of persons Whatsoever consideration whereof we the said David Lane, Borley Lane, Abraham Lane, John Lane, Wm. Lane, Polly Kilgore, Nancy Kilgore, Pegy Bradford, Daniel Lane, Elizabeth Luallen also binds ourselves, our heirs &C to warrant and defend the right of the same by virtue of these presents in testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals the day and date first above Written signed and acknowledged in presence of. Stephen Killgore Abraham Killgore his Borley X Lane mark (Seal) her Nancy X Kilgore mark (Seal) his Abraham X Lane mark (Seal) his John X Lane Jr mark (Seal) her Polly X Kilgore mark (Seal) his William X Lane mark (Seal) his Daniel X Lane mark (Seal) his Daniel X Luwallen mark (Seal) her Margaret X Bradford mark (Seal)
  		Page 386 of Marion County Land Entry Book No. 2024. William Lane Snr Enters twenty acres of land in Marion County on the South East side of Halls branch adjoining lands of Willis Hale, John Hawkins, John Hale, and Daniel Lane. Beginning on the Southeast corner of a 50 acre survey in the name of John Hale then East to Willis Hale's line then North to Daniel Lane's line then round to the beginning for compliment binding on the aforesaid lines. 29th January 1844. William Lane Snr Locator
  		Pages 546 and 547 with Entry 12495 & 12506 Description : Roll 69: Book 12 The State of Tennessee No 12506 To all to whom these presents shall come; Greeting Know ye, that in consideration of an ENTRY made in the Entry Taker's Office of Marion County, of No. 343 dated the 6th day of October 1824 at the rate of TWELVE AND A HALF CENTS PER ACRE by William Lane there is GRANTED by the Said State of Tennessee unto the said William Lane and his heirs, a certain TRACT OR PARCEL OF LAND containing fifty acres, lying in the County aforesaid on the north west side of the Sequatchie river. Beginning at a stake and pointers, on the waters of Halls Branch, thence south one hundred and twenty six poles, to pointers, thence east, sixty four poles to pointes, thence north one hundred and twenty six poles, to a stake, thence west sixty four poles to the Beginning. Including the house and improvements where Lane now lives. Surveyed the 20th of September 1825. with its appurtenances to have and to hold the said TRACT or PRARCEL of LAND with its appurtenances to the said William Lane and his heirs forever. In witness whereof William Carroll GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE has hereunto set his hand and caused the Great Seal of the said State to be affixed at MURFREESBOROUGH on the 24th day of February in the YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY six and of American Independence the fiftieth. BY THE GOVERNOR, Daniel Graham Wm. Carroll SECRETARY

  
  

• Notes

  Marion Co., TN 1830 & 1840 census states William born between 1800-1810. Living with him 1850 were Martha & Moses Thompson. William was blind, having lost his sight in a prize fight. William Layne's entry in the Layne-Lain-Lane genealogy book by Floyd Benjamin Layne doesn't offer a lot of details with most of it seemingly based on the 1850 census records. There are several issues and new questions that were raised during the study of William's life. Floyd Lane's book places William's birth sometime around 1793. This is seemingly based solely on 1850 census returns. Every other census places his birth between 1800 and 1809. We've settled on the year 1803, which makes William 21 when his name begins to appear in the Marion County land entry books, but 1806 would be closer to the average. William's name appears in many records as William Sr which might lead you to believe that the William Jr, whose name also appears on many Marion County records around the same time, is this William's son. This is not the case however as William does not have a child named William until around 1850. Also William Lane Jr. appears in a record in Marion County Deed Book D being given power of attorney by his siblings, who are children of David Layne, to settle some issues with their estate. Therefore I reckon that William and his nephew were referred to as Senior and Junior in order to avoid confusion, which has been helpful. Unfortunately they did not always follow this pattern. For example, entries #2226 and #2374 in the Marion County Land Entry books do not include this suffix so I was unable to determine which William they belong to. In the case of entry #2374, warrant #12387 is issued on the 11th of April, 1861 that tells us that this entry was William Sr., but he names John M Jones his assignee on this warrant as he his moved to Arkansas by this time. Speaking of Arkansas, William and his family move to White Oak, Arkansas sometime between August 12th, 1852 and December 22nd, 1853. The first date is that of entry #2374 in the Marion County Land Entry book mentioned above. The second is the date of daughter Elizabeth’s marriage to David Nichols, which takes place in Franklin County, Arkansas. This move seems quite sudden given that William is trying to secure a claim to property in Marion County only a year before he will arrive in Arkansas. My belief is that the move was precipitated by the death of his wife, Polly. Polly does not appear in the 1860 census with William and the rest in Franklin County, Arkansas. Many family names commonly found in Marion County such as Conaster, Hobbs, Kilgore, Nichols and Lanes also appear in the Franklin County area so William almost certainly knew many of the people upon arriving in Arkansas. In addition, there are another group of Lanes that arrive in the area around this time that appear to have originated from Illinois. If these are William’s cousins then further research in this area may help connect John Hiram Layne to his siblings and parents. The Layne genealogy book tells us that William lost his vision in a prize fight. I’ve been unable to discover any details to confirm that, but he is listed as blind starting with the 1850 census and in each that follows. Various children help care for him as he lives out the rest of his years in Arkansas. William’s children, that we know of, are: Misaline, Melinda, Elizabeth, Jacob, Gilson, Daniel, Hampton, Laura L, and William H. William's last appearance is the 1880 census living with his daughter Laura. There were some curious things in the 1880 census, in particular Rowena Lane, but let’s go back and follow William through each census in which he appears. In 1830 William appears in the Marion County census as follows: 2 males 10-14, 1 male 20-29, 2 females < 5, 2 females 20-29, and 1 female 50-59. William is the male between 20-29 and Polly is one of the women between 20-29. I believe the two girls under 5 are Misaline and Malinda. I believe the rest are likely Polly’s mother (female 50-59), a sister (the other female 20-29) and two brothers (2 males 10-14). For the boys to have been William’s sons he would have been 19 at best (and 6 at worst). Even for the time this is a bit young. In addition there is a large gap between the ages of the boys and the girls that we are confident are Misaline and Melinda so the simplest answer is that these boys are Polly’s brothers. The 1840 census raises additional questions. It lists the following: 2 males < 5, 1 male 5-9, 1 male 30-39, 1 female < 5, 2 females 5-9, 1 female 10-14, and 1 female 30-39. William and Polly are those aged 30-39. The girls between 5 and 14 are likely Misaline, Malinda, and Elizabeth, but this leaves an unknown female who is less than 5. The 1850 census may show two children with the last name Thompson living with William, but I’m not certain that this isn’t a census error. If it’s not an error, then Elizabeth may be the female under 5 and the unknown female could have married a Thompson then passed away prior to the 1850 census leaving her children to be raised by William. However these children do not reappear in the 1860 census. For the boys, Jacob is the only one that we can positively identify. He would have been 3 years old at this time. The other under 5 may be Gilson though he is listed as 9 in 1850. The son between 5 and 9 is a mystery. If he is closer to 8 or 9 then he may have left home prior to the 1850 census where we could have learned his name. In 1850, William is still living in Marion County supposedly 57 years old, living with Polly 53, Mesaline 23, Melinda 20, Elizabeth 15, Jacob 13, Gilson 9, Daniel 8, Hampton 3, Larry 3, William B 0. Martha A Thompson 4 and Moses A Thompson 3 may also be living with William, but immediately following their names is the Thompson household. William and Polly’s ages are off by 10 years for some reason in 1850 and this census also lists a son named Larry aged 3 which is what is shown in Floyd Benjamin’s book. However, “Larry” becomes “Laura J” in the following census. William has moved to Arkansas by 1860 and appears in White Oak, Franklin County, Arkansas census aged 54 with Daniel 17, Hampton 15, Laura J 12, William H 11. Son William’s middle initial has changed from a B to an H in this census and given the popularity of the name William Harrison, it seems more likely that this census has it right. In 1870 William, aged 65, is living with his daughter Elizabeth (Lane) Nichols, aged 34, and her family David 34, Misseline 14, William 13, Mary 11, Sarah 9, Daniel 4. Notice that Elizabeth has named her first daughter “Misseline” after her sister. I was able to discover the correct spelling when I found an image of this daughter's tombstone where it appears as “Misaline”. Finally in 1880 William, aged 72, is living with his daughter Laura (Lane) Nichols and her family Harvey 37, Sarah 17, Daniel 10, and Rowena Lane 15. Rowena Lane is listed Laura’s niece. I hadn’t been able to positively track any of William’s sons after 1860 so I thought a search for Rowena would help me identify one of them by searching for her in the 1870 census but the results were very strange. Rowena, aged three, is living in Little Rock Arkansas in 1870 with the Klustaine family: Avery S aged 50 from Virginia, Sarah A aged 38 from Tennessee, and Patrick H aged 15 from Missouri. Also living there are: Joseph Taylor a black man from Alabama aged 40, James O’Brien aged 41 from Ireland, and Watson Gibson aged 12 from Arkansas. Avery S, Joseph, and James are listed as Gardeners. How little Rowena came to be living amongst this peculiar group is a mystery, but I would very much like to learn her story. Of course the 1890 census was destroyed and William does not appear in the 1900 census where he would have been closing in on 100 years of age. I found another researcher that puts the year of his death at 1883 so I have used that as well, however I have been unable to find a more reliable source at this time. Studying William’s life has raised some interesting questions such as the story of little Rowena, William’s blindness, and the move to Arkansas. I hope to revisit him and his family again to learn more of these things.

  
  

• Sources

  [S1] Layne-Lain-Lane genealogy, Floyd Benjamin Layne, CS7l.L4283 1962., pages 77 & 78. [S16] 1830 US Census, Tennessee, Marion, (National Archives, Washington, D.C), page 65. [S17] TN, Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895 (1836 District 4, Marion County), (Tennessee State Library and Archives), page 181. [S31] Marion County, TN Entry Books, (Marion County, Tennessee), page 325. No indication that this entry was issued. [S32] 1840 US Census, Tennessee, Marion, (National Archives, Washington, D.C), page 264A. [S33] 1850 US Census, Tennessee, Marion, District 4, (National Archives, Washington, D.C), page 403A. Ages for William and Polly are incorrect. [S34] 1860 US Census, Arkansas, Franklin, White Oak, (National Archives, Washington, D.C), page 252. [S35] 1870 US Census, Arkansas, Franklin, White Oak, (National Archives, Washington, D.C), page 113A. [S36] 1880 US Census, Arkansas, Franklin, White Oak, (National Archives, Washington, D.C), page 727A. [S31] Marion County, TN Entry Books, (Marion County, Tennessee), page 89 and 386. [S29] NC and TN, Early Land Records, 1753-1931 (East TN), (Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tenn.), page 547. [S5] Marion County, TN Deed Books D, (Marion County, Tennessee ), page 383. [S30] Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940, Database. FamilySearch. http://familysearch.org, (FamilySearch), page 269. Citing Washington, Virginia, reference P. 269; FHL microfilm 34,389