Lane, Abraham,
1783-1869
ABRAHAM
LANE AND CATHERINE WOLFE Abraham Lane was born at Red
Hill, Russell Co, Virginia, on January 18, 1783. This
area is now part of Scott Co, Virginia, and located
north of Gate City. He was a son of Corbin Lane and
Frances Prock who moved from Baltimore Co, Maryland, and
Bedford County, Pennsylvania, about 1779-81. He was a
grandson of Samuel Lane and Jane Corbin of Baltimore,
Maryland. Frances Prock's parents have not been
identified, but it is possible that she was part of the
Proctor family of Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and/or
may be related the the Prock's that lived in Greene Co,
Tennessee around 1800. Catherine Wolfe was born in North
Carolina on October 3, 1782. The exact site is not
known, but it was probably in the Moravian settlement
(German) near present day Winston-Salem. Her parents
were John Wolfe and Catherine Bar, who married in the
northern part of present day West Virginia. Both parents
were born in Germany and came to America as young
children. The family lived in North Carolina in the
1780s and settled on the North Fork of the Holston River
at Holston Springs near present day Yuma in 1789. John
Wolfe was quite prosperous, but had a tragic life. After
John Wolfe's death in 1811, Catherine Bar Wolfe lived
the rest of her life with Abraham Lane. Corbin Lane
surveyed 250 acres of land at Red Hill on February 18,
1782, and it was recorded in Lee County, Virginia. He
was on the 1781 tax list in Washington County, North
Carolina (now Tennessee), and sold 150 acres on a branch
of Lick Creek on January 14, 1783. Corbin Lane did not
appear on any tax lists in Washington County or Greene
County between 1782 and 1786 so he apparently lived on
the farm in Red Hill. He appeared again in Greene
County, North Carolina (Tennessee) in 1787. Indian raids
were a major problem in southwest Virginia at that time,
so it is probable that the family left Virginia because
of the threat. The Indian problem was eliminated in
1794, and Corbin Lane returned to the farm at Red Hill
in 1795. The farm at Red Hill was in the valley north of
the present day Red Hill Church; the church is located
at the southeast corner of the farm. Abraham Lane
started acquiring land in the early 1800s. The exact
locations of his early land acquisitions have not been
determined, but they are thought to have been in the
area between present day Manville Road (Burnt Cabin
Branch) and Corbin Lane's land at Red Hill. Abraham and
Catherine moved the family to Floyd County, Kentucky,
about 1808-1810. He and his brother Samuel appeared in
the 1810 Floyd County census, and Joseph T. Lane is
known to have been born in Kentucky. But all other
children were apparently born in Scott County (then
Russell County), Virginia, so the stay in Kentucky was
short. After John Wolfe's death in 1811, Abraham and
Catherine Lane led the other Wolfe children and filed a
lawsuit to get a fair claim of the estate for each of
the Wolfe children. By some tranactions prior to John
Wolfe's death, Henry and John Jr had all of the estate.
The Wolfe vs Wolfe court case lasted at least five years
in Wytheville, Virginia. As a result, Catherine and the
other children got shares of the estate. Interestingly,
Abraham Lane's argument was that he was uneducated and
unfairly treated by his brothers-in-law, but it was
admitted that his wife Catherine was at least moderately
educated. Abraham never signed his name but used an "x
mark," but his lifelong behavior and prosperity
indicated that he was at able to read and calculate -
possibly quite well. There is a family legend that the
huge oak tree at John Wolfe's grave in the Lane-Wisley
Cemetery near Burnt Cabin Branch on Manville Road was
planted by Abraham and Catherine Lane after bringing it
back with them from Kentucky. The tree is in the white
oak family, but seems to be different from other species
in Scott County. Corbin Lane died in November, 1816, and
willed the 250 acre farm at Red Hill to Abraham Lane. In
1820, Abraham built a 30 foot by 30 foot two story oak
log house on the site. It was said to be the largest and
finest log house in Scott County, and was located near
the springs at the northern part of the valley of the
Red Hill farm. In 1841, Abraham sold the Red Hill
property to George Vineyard for $1000. By that time, the
land consisted of six tracts totaling 500 acres. The
Vineyard family at one time used the house as a church
meeting place when the Red Hill Church burned. The house
burned in 1943 while owned by Oscar and Eva (Lane)
Wagner, and was documented at that time by a newspaper
story by Professor I. C. Coley. Abraham Lane started
acquiring land on Copper Creek in 1828 and by the 1840s
he had about 1000 acres there. All land transactions
have not been determined, but some of the larger tracts
were between his home on Copper Creek and Manville. At
one time, he surveyed most of the land on both sides of
Copper Creek between his home near the mill dam and
Bellamy Church a few miles downstream, but there is no
evidence that he actually owned that land. In addition,
he owned several tracts totaling about 350 acres on the
North Fork, Holston River, that were part of the
original John Wolfe estate. In 1836, Abraham Lane build
the house on Copper Creek that still is occupied today.
The house is on the south side of Copper Creek on the
Manville Road near the point where it crosses Copper
Creek. The Taylor Cemetery is across Manville Road from
the house. There are thought to be about 150 Lane
descendants buried in this cemetery, but most graves are
unmarked. There are no grave markers for Abraham and
Catherine Lane, but it is almost certain that they were
buried in this cemetery. Abraham and Catherine had
fourteen children, and all lived to be adults. The
children and birthdates are known because a Family Bible
was maintained; it was lost a few years ago but the
family information had been copied. The children were as
follows: 1. Mary "Polly" Lane (20 Jul 1803 - 1870/77)
married William P. Peters.
2. John R. Lane (27 Feb 1805 - ) married Nancy Nelson.
Nothing more is known of him.
3. Abraham Z. Lane Jr (16 Sep 1806 - 20 Jan 1891)
married Barbara Lotts, widow of Squire Lane.
4. Samuel W. Lane (8 May 1808 - ) said to have married
Miss Holman and moved to Middle Tennessee and/or Texas.
5. Joseph Tyler Lane (22 Mar 1810 - 6 Jan 1888) married
Elizabeth Jane Shoemaker.
6. Squire Jacob Lane (23 Jan 1812 - abt 1840) married
Barbara Lotts.
7. James Harry Lane (8 Jul 1814 - 1851) married
Elizabeth Prewett.
8. Margaret Lane (15 Dec 1816 - 19 Nov 1891) married
Robert A. Bailie Jr.
9. Jonas Lane (23 Sep 1818 - 31 Jul 1876) never married.
He was disabled.
8. Enoch P. Lane (3 Apr 1820 - 24 Jul 1877) married Jane
Bailie.
9. Katharine Lane (4 Nov 1821 - 29 Jan 1917) married
John Cooley Taylor.
10. Frances Lane (19 Apr 1823 - 25 Oct 1889) married
William Farley Templeton.
11. William D. Lane (15 Jun 1825 - abt Apr 1857) married
Nancy W. Lawson.
12. Martha Lane (25 Jun 1827 - 4 May 1904) married
Nelson Horton Taylor.
So far, 83 grandchildren and almost 7000 descendants
have been identified for Abraham and Catherine Lane.
Donald W. Lane 9 Mar 1997
Submitted by Donald W. Lane (dwlane@tricon.net)
on Sun Mar 9 08:02:12 1997 |