He was a Rev. War Soldier had moved from North Carolina to Tennessee(ref: Tenn Soldiers in Rev War, Allen and Tenn. Cousins by Ray.)Listed in NC Army Accounts, Vol 1, p 17, folio 2, two pay vouchersdated 6/26/1782 (No 279) and 6/12/1783 (No 1391). Further research bythe Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has shown that thesepay vouchers were for goods and services, and not for militaryservice. The DAR has classified Corbin as a Patriot rather than aSoldier on the basis of their research and accept his descendants intothe DAR on that basis.
There are references that Corbin Lane was a Revolutionary War Soldierin Sullivan & Washington Co (now TN) who had moved from North Carolinato Tennessee. (ref: Tenn Soldiers in Rev War, Allen and Tenn. Cousinsby Ray.) I think that the source of this information were the abovementioned pay vouchers, and so far no one has found proof that he wasa soldier.
Bedford Co, Pa (Dublin Township) Tax List in 1779. In the samedistrict were Dutton Lane and Samuel Lane. ("Pennsylvania in 1780: AStatewide Index of Circa 1780 Pennsylvania Taxlists," by John & DianeStemmons.)
Scott Co Will Book 1-88, 12/8/1816.
Scott Co Tax List: (Land valued at $300, no slaves)
Russell Co Tax List: 1810 (1 Tith, 1 slave, 3 horses)
Scott Co Personal Property Tax List: 1815 (Samuel Ritchie Dist, 1tithable, 3 horses, 16 cattle), 1816 (George Wilcox Dist, 0 tithable,0 slaves, 3 cattle), 1817 (George Wilcox Dist, Frances Lane, 1 horse)
He was living in Bedford Co, PA from 1773 to 1779. Fannie Steelesuggested that he may have lived in Guilford Co, NC for a while.
He was said to have been married twice, and first wife is unknown.
BURIAL: He was living at Red Hill at the time of death as proven byhis will giving the land where he was living to Abraham Lane, andAbraham's selling that land to George Vineyard in 1841. The very oldVineyard Cemetery is on that land where Corbin Lane was living at thetime of his death. (Proven with deeds by Dale Carter.) The Lane-WisleyCemetery, GC#28, was on Abraham Lane's land which may have adjoinedCorbin's. Our thinking is that he is buried in one of thesecemeteries, and after more research we plan to place an appropriateRevolutionary War Patriot marker for him. The two cemeteries are aboutequally distant from his house site; if proof can be found thatAbraham Lane owned the land where the Lane-Wisley cemetery is located(and where John Wolfe is buried), that would be some proof favoringthat cemetery.
The year of Corbin Lane's death, 1816, was the year of the worldwidecold weather caused by a very large volcano eruption. It has been saidthat there were frosts, snows, and freezing weather in the middle ofthe summer. Crops failed and there was much starvation. Thus,circumstances at the time of his death may not have been conventional.There is evidence that Abraham Lane and his family were living withCorbin (Abraham Lane is not on the 1816 tax list), or Corbin and Fannycould have been living with Abraham.
LAND TRANSACTIONS:
He owned 150 acres in 1781, proven by being listed in the 1781Washington Co, NC (TN) Tax List.
Lee Co, Va on 2/18/1782, had land (250 acres) surveyed "lying in thegap of Copper Creek ridge and on the waters of afsd Creek and BigMockason.." (from Fannie Steele). This tract of land was sold on1/30/1841 by Abraham Lane to George Vineyard (Deed Book 6-313.) Thetract of land is located at Red Hill, Scott Co, VA.
Deed Book 2, p 240, 1/14/1783: Sold 150 acres on a branch of LickCreek to Joseph Reynolds for 80 lbs. (Greene Co, TN)
NC Land Grant in Greene Co, TN, 150a, adjoining James McCartney, 20Sep 1786.
Bk 1 pg 346 9/20/1787. State of NC to Corbin Lane, 150 acres borderedon James McCartney. (Greene Co, TN)
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, deed from John Dixon, 150a, 7 Aug1788, Greene Co, TN.
Greene Co Deed Book 4, pg 31, 8/4/1789. Corbin Lane sold 150 acres toSamuel Montgomery.
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, 8/1791, deed dated 5/16/1791 for 239afrom Robert Wilson.
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, 5/1793, deed dated 1/14/1793 for 150ato Joseph Reynolds.
Bk 5, pg 11, 1/1793. Corbin Lane got a grant adjoining the land soldto Samuel Montgomery on 8/4/1789. (Greene Co, TN)
Knoxville Gazette, 10/11/1794, list of Greene Co land grants at theprinting office as of 9/29/1794 included Corbin Lane.
Deed Book 8, pg 352, 11/18/1795. Sold 279 acres in Greene Co to SamuelMcNees for $600.
Deed Book 8, pg 355, 12/18/1795. Sold 46 acres in Greene Co to SamuelMcNees for $50.
Deed Book 8, pg 357, 12/18/1795. Sold 20 acres in Greene Co to SamuelMcNees for $51-2/3.
James Davidson surveyed 1352 acres in Russell Co on Copper Creek,5/16/1798, that cited a border with Corbin Lane. (Russell Co, VA,Surveyors Book 1, p. 265).
Lee Co, Va in 1802, owned 250a (from Fannie Steele)
Deeds of Samuel & Shadrack Estep who had land adjoining "Corbin Lain'sOpen line" in 1802 on "Big Mockeson Creek." (from Fannie Steele)
11/12/18xx, Samuel Lane enters 250 acres in Russell Co on both sidesof Burnt Cabin Branch the waters of Little Mockerson (Moccasin) Creekon Corban Lane's lines. (land later withdrawn) (Russell Co, VA, LandEntry Book #2, p. 101)
11/12/18xx, Samuel Lane enters 50 acres in Russell Co on both sides ofPike Branch the waters of Big Moccasin Creek on the south side of theland of Corban Lane and Samuel Estep. (Russell Co, VA, Land Entry Book#2, p. 102).
He owned land in Lee Co at least until 1810. Joseph Brock owned 5000acres in Lee Co on Wallens Ridge - Fannie Steele speculated aboutwhether he was related to Corbin's wife.
TAX LISTS AND COURT RECORDS:
1781 Washington Co, TN Tax List, 5th Dist, 150a, 3 horses, 5 cattle, 0slaves (from Fannie Steele)
Aug 1786 Greene Co, Tn court of Common Pleas, View a road, PuncheonCamp to county line.
1791 Greene Co, TN (NC) Tax List, Capt Steele's Dist, 150a, 1 WP.
1792 Greene Co, TN (NC) Tax List, Capt Steele's Dist, 179a, 1 WP.
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, 2/1793, appt overseer of road fromGreeneville to Sinking Creek.
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, 2/1794, named in a group to lay off anew road.
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, 11/1794, named in a group to lay offa road from Babbs Mill to county line.
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, 1795, Corbin Lane failed to attendpresent term as a juror.
Greene Co Court of Common Pleas, 11/1795, Corbin Lane excused forfailing to attend the last term as juror on affidavit. (It appearsthat he may have moved from Greene Co.)
Corbin Lane was not in the available information of tax lists in 1787,88 and 1796, 97, 98. (from "Greene Co Pioneer," p. 9-89.
1810 Russell Co, VA, Tax List, Lower Dist (from Fannie Steele.)
In Law Order Book 5, p. 84, 1814, he was excused from paying taxesbecause of his age and bodily infirmities. He was also excused frompaying county poor rates and public tax for an aged infirm slavecalled ____. (Scott Co, VA, from Fannie Steele)
Holdway Lane's family history indicated four children: Abraham,Samuel, Catherine(!) who married James (Big Jim) Williams and had 4sons, 1 dau, and another daughter who married an Estep. He wrote thishistory from memory on a piece of brown wrapping paper.
=======================================================================
CORBIN LANE
Patriot, Pioneer, PatriarchCorbin Lane was born about 1750, probably near Baltimore, MD, and wasone of ten children of Samuel and Jane (Corbin) Lane. His birth dateis uncertain, and may have been as early as 1740. He was the grandsonof Rev. Dutton and Pretitia (Tydings) Lane and Edwin and Mary Jane(Wilkerson) Corbin. His grandfather, Dutton Lane was a Quaker ministerwho became a Quaker after marrying into the Tydings family. Hisgreat-grandfather was Major
Samuel Lane, one of the founders of Maryland.Very little is known about Corbin's life before coming to theNortheast Tennessee (then North Carolina) and southwest Virginia areain 1779-81. His father, Samuel Lane, had numerous land transactions inMaryland and the family was apparently prosperous, but no will orfamily Bible has been found to prove the family members. Biographiesof two of Corbin's brothers, Rev Samuel Lane, Jr, of Pennsylvania, andLambert Lane, of Kentucky, have provided some clues of the family.
Corbin's parents apparently spent several years in England in theearly 1740's because Lambert and Richard were said to have been bornthere. Lambert was said to have married in 1760 while "living in thewild country among the Indians" on the Susquehanna River, and there isone reference that Samuel Lane bought land there after selling severaltracts near
Baltimore about 1755. These stories suggest that Corbin may have spentseveral years of his youth in a wilderness area around the SusquehannaRiver and may explain the pioneering nature of the family. There aresome indications that Corbin was educated because he signed his deedsin Greene Co, NC (now TN) and was involved in activities suggesting at
least a moderate education.Corbin's first known public record was his appearance on a tax list inBedford Co, PA, in 1773. Also present on the list were his brothersSamuel and Dutton. They were also at the same location in 1779, butthe next appearance of Corbin's name was when he purchased 250 acresof land in Lee Co, VA (now Scott Co) on Feb. 18, 1782.
Corbin Lane served the Revolutionary War in Sullivan Co and WashingtonCo, North Carolina (now Tennessee) by providing supplies and servicesin 1782 and 1783 as proven by two pay vouchers, No. 279 dated6/26/1782 and No. 1391 dated 6/12/1783. The details of hisRevolutionary War services are not known; DAR research has caused themto list him as a Patriot, but not (yet) as a soldier as some otherreferences has indicated.
It is possible that he participated in the campaigns against theIndians that were aiding the British in the war. There is no evidencethat Corbin or Dutton Lane participated in the battle of King'sMountain on Oct. 7, 1780, so he likely arrived in the northeastTennessee and southwest Virginia area after that date. Ten Lanes werein the battle.It is probable that Corbin and his brother Dutton came to WashingtonCo and/or Greene Co, North Carolina (now Tennessee) together about1780-81. They likely traveled with other Maryland families that movedabout that time (notably, the Esteps and Lovells) and may have spentsome time in modern day North Carolina before coming to this area.They followed
their brother Lambert Lane who apparently came to the area in theearly 1770's and their first cousins Tidence Lane and John Fuller Lanewho also came in the early 1770's from the Yadkin River area of NorthCarolina. Tidence and John Fuller Lane were close friends of WilliamBean, usually considered to be Tennessee's first permanent settler in1769. They had
been neighbors in Pittsylvania Co, Virginia and were neighbors nearpresent day Gray, Tennessee; there is some suggestion that they werealso neighbors in Maryland prior to the move to Pittsylvania Co, VA,in 1746. One researcher has also suggested that William Bean's wifewas a Lane, but no substantial evidence has been found. Tidence Lanewas the first preacher of a permanent church in Tennessee, foundingthe Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church at Gray about 1777. There is noindication that Corbin and Dutton Lane had a close association withTidence and John Fuller Lane, but they would have obviously had somecontact and would have been influenced by them. Tidence was born inMaryland in 1724, and was thus several years older than Corbin andDutton.Corbin Lane likely lived on the 250 acres in Red Hill that he boughtin 1782 until about 1786 when he got a land grant in Greene Co, NC(now TN). Abraham Lane was born January 18, 1783 in Russell Co, VA(now Scott Co) according to his death record in Scott Co, VA. But allcensuses report place his birthplace in Tennessee. All evidence pointsto the death record
being correct, but Abraham would have identified to spending his youthin Greene Co where the family lived 1786-1795. It is likely that thefamily had to leave Virginia in 1786 because of the Indian attacks insouthwest Virginia at that time. As soon as it was safe to return toVirginia, the family did so in 1795, and they returned to the same 250acres at Red
Hill that Corbin had purchased in 1782.Evidence indicates that Corbin Lane and his family lived the rest ofhis life on the 250 acre farm in the present day Red Hill communitynorth of Gate City, Virginia. The northern border of the farm is aboutwhere the present-day road passes the Benton and Vineyard Cemeteriesand one corner was near the present day Red Hill Methodist Church.This farm was on one
of the better farm sites in Scott Co, and is generally good land. Theexact home
site on the farm has not been identified, but it probably was the sameas where Abraham built a log house in 1820 that was said to be one ofthe largest log houses in the area; that house burned in 1943.The exact location of the home in Greene Co has not been determined,but it was probably on Lick Creek between Greeneville and modern-dayBaileyton. Corbin probably lived in Greene Co before buying land inVirginia; he sold 150 acres on Lick Creek on January 14, 1783. Corbinbought and sold at least five tracts of land in Greene Co. While inGreene
Co, he was named by court records on four occasions as part of groupsto build roads; on one occasion, he was named as the overseer of theproject.There are few public records of Corbin Lane between 1795 and his deathin 1816. He has been thought to have been a land dealer because of hisactivity in Greene Co, but few deeds have actually been found in Lee,Russell or Washington Cos. In 1814, he was exempted from paying countytaxes on account of his age and bodily infirmities, and he was alsoexempted from paying county poor rates and public tax for an agedinfirmed slave called Cuff. He signed the petition to form Scott Co in1814. An aged slave woman named Cuff was also named in Corbin's willin 1816, but there is no other information about her.
Corbin's wife was Frances "Fanny" Prock (or Brock, Frock or Proctor).Her last name is from tradition since no public records of theirmarriage or her parents has been found. We can speculate that she andCorbin married in Pennsylvania or Maryland prior to moving toTennessee and Virginia; if she was from Pennsylvania or Maryland, hername was likely Proctor since there were several well-known Proctorfamilies in the area. William Proctor was a judge in Bedford Co, PA inthe 1770s. Another possibility is that Frances was living in NorthCarolina and they married after Corbin moved. Her first name appearson the death record of Abraham Lane, and she testified in the Wolfevs. Wolfe court case in Wytheville, VA. No
record of Frances has been found after Corbin's death except for thecourt testimony. She likely would have lived with one of her children,or she may have died shortly after Corbin. There was an elderly womanliving with Henry and Catherine Starnes in 1830 that could have beenher. Most people think that Frances was Corbin's second wife becauseof the gap of several in the children's birth dates between the early1770s and 1782. Corbin and
Dutton were probably both widowed in Pennsylvania, then remarriedabout 1780 and came to the area together. Dutton's first wife wasnamed Mary, and his second was Kezia. Kezia died at the age of 100 inScott Co in 1850, and her birthplace was given as Pennsylvania.Corbin named only two sons, Abraham and Samuel, in his will and thathas been frustrating to researchers for many years, since he wasthought to have had at least eight to ten children. They were asfollows:
1. Elizabeth Lane, (b. abt 1765/70 - d. bef 1820), married ShadrachEstep. She is a possible daughter. She had 9 children, including a sonCorbin Estep.
2. Thomas Lane, (b. abt 1770 - d. 1792?), no information.
3. Mary Susan Lane, (b. 1771 - d. 1820/29), married Samuel Estep inGreene Co. She had 9 children.
4. William Lane, (b. abt 1773 - d. 1850/60), married Barbara _____ andElizabeth _____, moved to Sullivan Co, TN, in 1830. He and Barbara had13 children.
5. Samuel Lane, (b. 1782 - d. 1818/20), married Mary Speer, lived inScott Co, VA. They had 4 children.
6. Abraham Lane, (b. 1/18/1783 - d. 2/28/1869), married CatherineWolfe, lived in Scott Co, VA. They had 14 children.
7. Benjamin Lane, (b. 1787 - d. 1870/80), married Mary McClellan,lived in Scott Co, VA. They had 13 children. (This Benjamin Lane mayhave been the son of Dutton Lane. It is thought that both Dutton andCorbin Lane had sons named Benjamin, both born in 1787. One of themmay have died in the War of 1812.)
8. Frances Lane, (b. 1780/90 - d. aft 1830), married John Williams,lived in Scott Co, VA. She had no children.
9. Temperance Lane, (b. 1793/95 - d. aft 1860), married JamesWilliams, lived in Scott Co, VA. They had 10 children.
10. Catherine Lane, (b. 1794/1800 - d. ____), married Henry Starnes,lived in Scott Co, VA until 1830, then moved away and no furtherinformation is known. She had at least 4 children.
The first four of Corbin's children were probably born of his firstwife. Only Abraham, Samuel and Mary are proven children, but there arevery strong family legends to support the fact that William andTemperance were his children. Legends also suggest that this Benjaminwas Corbin's son, but there is also evidence that he was Dutton's son.Circumstantial
evidence links the other children to Corbin. Records on the frontierduring the late
1700's and early 1800's are very limited, but we keep hoping that aconclusive document will be discovered soon to prove all of hischildren. The search is also made difficult by the large number ofLanes in this area in the early years.We of Abraham Lane's family are very fortunate that our lineage toCorbin Lane is solidly proven, and anyone who has an interest injoining the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) or the Sons ofthe American Revolution (SAR) can do so. So far, I have identifiedabout 15,000 descendants of Corbin Lane. But there may be 50,000descendants or more.
Donald W. Lane
9/9/95
There are references to her name as Brock or Frock. The oldest recordsgive her name as Prock. There were no persons of these names in theBedford Co, Pa, tax lists or other records. However, there was aWilliam Proctor in the 1779 Bedford Co (Bedford Twsp) tax list.Assuming that Corbin Lane married Frances in Bedford Co prior tomoving to Tenn-NC, then it is likely her name was Proctor, and WilliamProctor may have been her father. Research is needed on the Proctorsof Bedford Co.
Because of the gap in the ages of Corbin Lane's children, she possiblywas the second wife of Corbin Lane. She testified on 4/31/1818 in theWolfe vs Wolfe case that Abraham could not read or write, but that hiswife Caty could read. (Wolfe vs Wolfe, p. 217)
There was a Paul Prock in Wilkes Co, NC in 1787.
Stella Chandler found information in the LDS Library for Silas Prock(1808-1857/58), b. NC, son of William (b. 1782) and Agatha (b. 1786).Silas appeared to have lived in TN and moved late to MO. Stella saidthat she also saw a record on an LDS Library CD-ROM of a marriage inGreene Co, TN, of Corbin Lane and Frances Prock, but did not recordit. Name also possibly Frances Prock. One reference refers to her asthe second wife of Corbin Lane.There are references to her name asBrock or Frock. Carson Williams said that he had seen conclusiveevidence that her name was Prock. She testified on 4/31/1818 in theWolfe vs Wolfe case that Abraham could not read or write, but that hiswife Caty could read. (Wolfe vs Wolfe, p. 217)
He hanged himself after several very difficult and depressing years.He is buried in the Lane Cemetery GC#28 just to the right of theMannville Road about 1-2 miles past the Courthouse in Gate City. Thereis a huge tree at the head of his grave. According to family legends,family members planted either a seed or small tree from Tennessee orKentucky to mark the grave. The type of tree has not been identifiedto my knowledge. The legend says that it is so hard that an ax willbounce off it. Apparently, the grave site is on the land owned by theWolfe family at the time of his death. Inspection of the tree showsthat it is in the white oak family, but seems to be different thanother white oaks in this area.
He received a land grant on the south side of the North Fork, HolstonRiver, in April 1789. It was 25 acres and bounded on three sides bythe river. The land grand was No 14269 and joined William Linchesentry. (Surveyors Entry Book 1, p. 146; a similar Surveyors Entry Book1, p. 86; and Land Grands Book 1, all in Washington Co, VA)
Children & birth dates from the Wolfe vs Wolfe Court Case. They werereported to be from the family Bible in the possession of Henry Wolfe.
On 2/13/1806 he sold the family farm and 4 slaves to John Weaver for$1300. The property consisted of three tracts of land amounting to 600acres. In the Wolfe vs Wolfe case, it was determined that the land wasworth $3000 exclusive of the slaves which were valued at $1500. Theslaves were a man, his wife and 2 daughters. After the sale, he wentto live with the Moravians in NC. Henry and John threatened to takeWeaver to court, and he agreed to sell the land to them for $900, buthe kept the slaves. On 10/17/1816, the other children initiated theSuperior Court of Chancery case in Wytheville, VA. The Wolfe vs Wolfecase was not settled until 5/13/1822. The courts ruled that John Wolfehad intended to defraud his wife and children when he sold theproperty, and that the others had a right to their shares.
After a short while in NC, John Wolfe came back to Scott Co and boughta small farm on Copper Creek. Eventually, he convinced his wifeCatherine to live with him again and she was living with him when hetook his life.
The court records indicate that he assisted with a murder in BerkleyCo, WV, and may have been the murderer. He said that was the majorcause of his behavior, according to testimony from his wife, and thatwas the reason he took his life.
He apparently built a sizable amount of wealth by making and sellingvarious alcoholic beverages. He operated a still even when he livedfor a year with Jacob Peters after returning from NC.
After the murder in Berkley Co, WV, John fled to SC and GA. Afterabout 12-18 months, he returned and immediately took his family to NCwhere he resided a few years before settling on the North Fork of theHolston River in present day Scott Co, VA. Some references indicatethat he had lived with the Movarians at some time (maybe as a child?).(from Wolfe vs Wolfe trial.)
They settled on the North Fork of the Holston the spring before Hannahwas born. (from Caty Wolfe's testimony in the Wolfe vs Wolfe trial.)
She lived with Abraham and Catherine Lane after John's death.
Scott Co Tax List: 1816 (Land valued at $100, no slaves)