Allen line: Samuel Lane 1700-abt 1779 Father of patriots

Revisiting families and blog posts can bring big dividends  I've written earlier about Lambert Lane, who served in the Revolutionary War in battles with the Cherokee Indians. I haven't written about his father and in my mind, I had him located in the wrong state.  I also have been looking elsewhere for the family of Lambert's wife, Nancy Anderson.  I think I need to back up and look for her family in Virginia and Pennsylvania, not in Tennessee.  We'll see about that. 

In the meantime, I have learned enough to realize that our Samuel Lane was the father of some remarkable children.  He must have been a special man, himself, to have raised such outstanding children.  But I digress. 

Samuel Lane was the son of Dutton and Pretotia Tydings Lane.  His birthdate is given as October 4, 1700 although I haven't seen the documentation for that.  There are at least two Samuel Lanes in Maryland at this time and I suspect some of the records for one man are attached to the wrong Samuel Lane, but I am not able to sort them out at this time.  Our Samuel Lane was born in Baltimore County, Maryland.  It doesn't appear that he is the same man who has records in Anne Arundel County.  There are records indicating that our Samuel later lived in Carroll County, Maryland, but that county wasn't formed until later.  He may well have lived in the part of Baltimore County that became Carroll County. 

Samuel married Jane Corbin January 10, 1735/36.  She was the daughter of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin.  I'm finding the couple credited with as few as seven and as many as twelve children.  Our ancestor, Lambert, was their second son.  We need to recognize that the area where the Lanes lived was on the frontier, and subject to repeated Indian raids pretty much from the 1750's onward, if not before that.  Realizing this may help explain why there are not always written records, and why deeds may have been recorded after land actually changed hands.  It may also explain the dearth of church records that would identify children for certain.  The other possible explanation is that there is a family tradition that Lambert and Dutton were born in England, but as far as I know there is no documentation for this. 

Another fact that makes researching treacherous is that we don't know for certain what religion Samuel was.  Some of his siblings were Quaker, and some sites state that Samuel was, also.  Some of his family seems to have been Church of England.  And several of his children were fire and brimstone Baptists.  Was Samuel a religious man?  Did he guide his children into a Baptist faith?  Or was he dismayed to see them leave the Church of England, or the Quakers?  We may never know. 

Samuel's first born son, Samuel, became a Baptist "elder" (pastor) and eventually went to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where he founded a church or churches.  Our Samuel seems to have gone with him, so that may indicate a Baptist bent.  Lambert's daughter, Nancy Ann Lane, married William McCoy, who was a Baptist minister (among other occupations).  So the family was certainly comfortable with Baptist beliefs within a generation of our Samuel. 

Samuel's sons Samuel, Lambert, Corbin, and Wilkinson all served in the Revolutionary War.  Our Samuel was too old for that war and was probably too old to fight in the French and Indian War but most likely would have been in the militia that protected the settlers from Indian incursions.  He and his family could possibly have gone to a nearby fort for protection, or they may have stayed in their home and fought, if necessary, from there. 

I'm finding various dates and suppositions for when the Lanes moved to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, probably close to what became the Huntingdon county line.  One site says 1743 and one site says by 1773.  Samuel was buying and selling land in Maryland in the 1750s but that may not have had anything to do with where the family was actually living.  Whether it was Carroll County, Maryland or Bedford County, Pennsylvania, life was probably hard for the Lanes.  I've found nothing that makes me think this was a family of wealth, although they may not have needed much money, living in the wilderness as they did. 

Jane died in 1773 and Samuel died probably around 1779.  He is believed to be buried near his Pennsylvania home.  One doesn't become the father of several Revolutionary War soldiers and the father of a mostly Baptist family by sitting around twiddling one's thumbs.  Samuel and Jane each had a lot to do with the way their children turned out, and we can be grateful for their service to their country.

The line of descent is:

Samuel Lane-Jane Corbin
Lambert Lane-Nancy Anderson
Nancy Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants