Who was the father of James Jasper Lance, Sr.?

Composed by Donald Lynn "Don" Lance, October 31, 1998
Updated with new information on February 16, 1999

James Jasper Lance, Sr., is known as the "Father of the Warren County Tennessee Lances", because he had many descendents and many of the Lances living in Warren County today have been shown to have been descended from him. In addition, many different families living in Warren County and surrounding counties today can trace their roots to him through various marriages.

Although many family researchers are able to track their roots back to James Jasper Lance, Sr., usually the search ends there. Tracing back further proves difficult. Where did James Jasper Lance, Sr., come from and who are his ancestors?

Research conducted in Warren County TN indicates that James Jasper Lance came from either North Carolina or South Carolina. (For example, the 1850 Warren County TN census lists North Carolina as James' birthplace, while the 1860 Warren County TN census lists his birthplace as South Carolina.) Also, from the census records we can determine that his year of birth was circa 1791. This date was confirmed on his original tombstone at Ivy Bluff Church Cemetery in Warren County, TN. (Today a new tombstone has been erected by Charles Martin Lance, Sr., of Warren County, TN.) Since the German Lentz family originates in the Carolinas and their surname was sometimes spelled as "Lance" by the English recordkeepers, the chances that James Jasper Lance is descended from this family are excellent and at this point is beyond question. The reader should note that there are other Lances in the United States of English origin. However, the English Lance family appears to have settled originally in the New England region and not in the Carolinas.

Where does James Jasper Lance fit into the Carolina Lentz family? In the book LENTZ HERITAGE, John Paul Lentz writes:

"A James Jasper Lance has been reported by several researchers. He is reported to have been born in Buncombe County, N. C. bc 1787-1791. (one has 25 Oct. 1791).

"He married first Mary Prater b. 10 Mar 1794, daughter of Basil Prater. He married second Margaret Peggy Youngblood. (One reported Margaret's last name as Davenport). He had twenty children who were named similarly to the ones in Buncombe. He went from Buncombe County to Warren Co., Tenn. He had brothers Peter, Charles, John, Samuel, and Bennett and three sisters.

"No records in Buncombe have been found as yet for James Jasper Lance"

-- LENTZ HERITAGE, Chapter VI, Page 39

These preceding comments appear in the section on P - Peter Lentz, Sr., implying that James Jasper Lance was somehow descended from Peter. (Peter was one of four Lentz brothers that originally settled in the Carolinas after immigrating from Germany in the early 1750s.) However, LENTZ HERITAGE also includes information on a J42 - James Lentz/Lance in a separate chapter about Peter's brother John Lentz, Sr.:

" J - John Lentz, b.c. 1731 in Germany
J4- Henry Lentz, b.c. 1760-1762 in S.C., where he married
J42- James Lentz/Lance, b.c. 1791, in Buncombe Co., N.C., m. Mary Prater,
c. 1815 or later in Tenn. She was born 1770-1780. Source: 1830 census, Warren County, TN"

-- LENTZ HERITAGE, Chapter VII, Page 18

This second reference in LENTZ HERITAGE implies that this J42 - James Lentz/Lance is actually James Jasper Lance of Warren County, Tennesse, since his data matches what we know about him.

What happened? Apparently two different researchers had linked James Jasper Lance into two different branches of the Carolina Lentz family. One links him as a descendent of P - Peter Lentz, while the other links him as a descendent of J - John Lentz. Which one is correct? Which branch of the Lentz family is James Jasper Lance descended from: P - Peter Lentz, Sr., or J - John Lentz, Sr.?

As to the two apparent references in LENTZ HERITAGE regarding James Jasper Lance, author/compiler John Paul Lentz later comments:

"In collecting material for LENTZ HERITAGE, James (Jasper) Lance was sent in by two different people using only the name James. One reporter seemed to attach him to P - Peter Lentz/Lance and his report shows in Chap. VI-Peter, page 39- this one seems to be in error and is like the one reported in Chap.VII-John, on pages 6, 17-19, 36, 91. Suggestions for re-building the family (children) of J4 - Henry Lance shows on p. 19. We should follow Chap.VII and use census records to build up this family as well as the family of J41 - James Jasper Lance"

-- Letter by John Paul Lentz to Robert A. Lentz and other researchers, Page 2, March 20, 1989

To summarize: When considering the evidence, the connection of James Jasper Lance, Sr. into the Carolina Lentz family is into the family line of J - John Lentz, Sr. The evidence points to James Jasper Lance being a son of J4 - Henry Lance and a grandson of J - John Lentz, Sr.

What evidence led to this conclusion?

Since we know that James Jasper Lance was born circa 1791 in the Carolinas, he should appear on census and other various records there. And it is here we run into the first issue.

The above LENTZ HERITAGE citation, that James was born in North Carolina, is no doubt a reference to the 1850 census of Warren County, Tennessee. However, the later 1860 census of Warren County, Tennessee, listed the birthplace of the same James as South Carolina. Which birthplace can be taken to be correct? After looking at other available data, it is believed that Pendleton County, South Carolina, was his birthplace. (See the discussion of this issue in the FAQ concerning his birthdate and location.)

Only four families were on the 1790 South Carolina census at that time, as reported by John Paul Lentz:

P3 - John Lince (eliminated as a possible father to James, well documented evidence after this time points away from James)
P4 - Samuel Lince (eliminated as a father to James, since his family is well documented in later years)
J1 - Peter Lentz (eliminated as a father to James, as all his children are accounted for in later data)
J4 - Henry Lince (has 1 son under 18)

Since only J4 - Henry Lince has not been eliminated, this is likely James' father. Therefore, James Jasper Lance would be a grandson of J - John Lentz, Sr. (This Henry Lince is definitely a descendent of J - John Lentz, Sr. See the FAQ on Henry Lentz for this discussion.)

Some further comments on this determination:

It has been reported that the 1790 South Carolina census was up to 2 years delayed, and thus reports children as "under 18" instead of "under 16" as in other states. If this is true, it could mean that James Jasper Lance (born 1791) could have been counted in the 1790 census. No one knows for sure -- if he was not counted, then the counted child could be an older brother of James. (See below) The 2-year delay of the census, and how it was handled, needs to be absolutely confirmed.

Even if South Carolina census data was not considered, we still have the 1800 Buncombe County census to use. J4 - Henry Lince is reported to have moved there after 1798, and he shows on the 1800 census. In it, J4 - Henry's family has grown. The 1800 census records show Henry's family as 1 son aged 10-16, one son under 10, and possibly five daughters under 10 years old. His wife and a female aged 16-26 (probably a helper with all the young children) are also listed. James matches the unknown son under 10 years old.

Because of the uncertainty with the 1790 South Carolina census, it would be better to use the 1800 census to make family determinations. This 1800 census data does not have the suspicious 2-year factor that the 1790 census has, and so estimated birth dates would be probably be more accurate. This is currently the assumption used by Lentz/Lance researchers. Regardless, records show that J4 - Henry's family moved to North Carolina after 1798, which is after James' birth and therefore seems to confirm that James was indeed born in 1791 in South Carolina if he belonged to Henry's family. It also places James in Buncombe County, North Carolina, at a young age, which fits other traditional information we have on James.

Considering the 1800 census data, James must be the son under age 10. This would infer that James had an older brother. Using this approach, it seems likely that this older brother was counted in the 1790 census instead of James. (And assuming no 2-year delay in the 1790 census.)

Therefore, the current research supports that the James Jasper Lance family is descended from J - John Lentz, Sr., through his son J4 - Henry. This updated information regarding the incorrect placement of James Jasper Lance in Chapter VI - Peter (Page 39) of LENTZ HERITAGE was corrected in the erratum supplement released with the second printing of the book in 1990, noting that he belongs on Chapter VII, Page 18 (J - John Lentz). Any future volume of the LENTZ HERITAGE will automatically have this correction.

James Jasper Lance now receives the "J" prefix in his reference number to show that he is descended from J - John Lentz, Sr. From information gathered, he will be given the reference number "J42" to signify that he was the second child of J4 - Henry, which is very likely. (No data has been found to indicate otherwise.)

These Pages Were Constructed by Donald "Don" Lynn Lance (J42363241), a Descendant of J42-James Jasper Lance, Sr.
For more information on the family of James Jasper Lance Sr., visit the main web page at http://TheLances.org/roots/jamesjasper.html.
Questions regarding the content of these pages can be directed to me at info@TheLances.org, or visit my personal web site at http://TheLances.org.