Genealogy Page for James Jasper Lance, Sr.

Early Settler of Warren County, Tennessee

-- Compiled by Donald "Don" Lynn Lance (J42363241), A Descendant --

I welcome all genealogists who have come to this page in search of information on one of my great grandfathers, James Jasper Lance, Sr! 

If you find a family link into the James Jasper Lance family, well... first let me welcome you as a cousin!  Next, let me encourage you to share your information with me and other Lance researchers.  As you find information here to fill in your family tree gaps, please share any information you think we may not have.  The information you will find on his family in this page is not all the results of my work.  Indeed, much of this information has been accumulated over many years of hard work by several dedicated Lance/Lentz researchers.  It is because of their published work that we now know what we do about the James Jasper Lance family, and you can help continue this effort by notifying us of your work for publishing here.

What do I hope to accomplish by having a page like this?  The goals of these pages on James Jasper Lance, Sr. are:

Information on James Jasper Lance, Sr., and his family at this time doesn't seem consolidated in one location.  An important record discovered by one researcher may not have been communicated to all researchers.  In addition, isolated "pockets" of Lance researchers have formed who don't know who to contact to get more information on a particular family line.  Lots of information on his family is out there -- there just needs to be a way to consolidate and distribute it.  One goal of this page is to provide this central repository of information from the different branches of his family tree.

Far too often I have seen information without any listed sources to prove that we can accept it as fact.   While genealogy isn't always precise and speculations are sometimes necessary, data may be unintentionally distributed as fact.  In addition, when conflicting pieces of information arise, it becomes impossible to determine which has more validity.   Therefore, another goal (actually rule) of this page will be that all information must be supported by real data.  Speculations may be given, but they will be clearly documented as such.  Speculations must be supported by documented evidence.

There are some issues which have never been resolved, and some records which have never been located.  Until these are addressed, we can only speculate in some areas.  Another goal of this page is to draw attention to some key areas in which there remains research.  It is hoped that these published issues will focus research and finally resolve them.

Over time, some information will be invalidated as more data comes to light.   If the new information is not disseminated among researchers, old data tends to hang around and propogate to new researchers.  I have noticed this to be especially true of genealogy on the Internet.  Some new researchers may travel down a genealogical road that many years ago was found to be a dead-end by other researchers.   By publishing the most authoritative information here, it is hoped that old bad information will be quickly identified by new researchers and eliminated before it spreads.

Realize that the information displayed here is always a "work in progress".  I have much more information to publish here, but I wanted to quickly get some information available to Internet researchers right away.  I will be adding more information (family lines, documentation) here as I find the time.

Notes About The Reference Numbers Used

Reference numbers can be invaluable to properly identifying an individual in genealogical research.  Numerous times I have read historical accounts of family members, and have no idea who they are talking about.  Sound familiar?  This is understandable if the account came from a non-genealogist, but not if it came from a serious genealogist.  A genealogist should document his/her work in such a way as to remove doubt as to who the information is about.  I personally do not like to redo the detective work another genealogist has already done.

In this regard, reference numbers are valuable because they uniquely identify individuals and remove confusion as to who the discussion is about.  Therefore, reference numbers will be used in these pages to keep this confusion from happening.

For a description of the reference number system used in these pages, look here.

 

"Most Wanted" Genealogist Information for the Family of J42-James Jasper Lance, Sr.

Needed: Another Descendent of J-John Lentz Sr. for DNA Testing!  Can you help?

In 2002, I participated in a special Lance/Lentz family DNA project.  As a descendent of J42-James Jasper Lance Sr., I submitted a DNA sample with other Lance/Lentz family researchers who were known descendents of the Carolina Lance/Lentz families.  The results revealed that James Jasper Lance Sr. was indeed a descendent of these families.  In addition, it revealed that the old Carolina legend of the four "Lentz brothers" was not true.  Of the four men, Dewalt and Bastian were brothers, and Peter and John might be brothers.  But all four were not brothers.  (See Gregg Bonner's summary on the DNA project here.)

I say that Peter and John might be brothers, because from the evidence I have to date I believe there is an 80% chance that James Jasper Lance Sr. was the son of John (20% for Peter).  The DNA only revealed a definite connection to one of either men.

A needed addition to the DNA project would be another individual who is a well-documented confirmed descendent of John Lentz Sr. -- especially from another child other than J4-Henry.  (Some eligible descendents would be from J2-Benjamin Lentz, who settled in Bedford County Tennessee.  But to date none in this branch has expressed an interest in participating.)  In the DNA test an interesting mutation appeared in my line of Lance ancestors... it would be interesting to see how far back this unique "marker" goes.  Also, if another well-documented "John" descendent had very different DNA results, then this would likely point to Peter Lentz as the ancestor of J42-James Jasper Lance Sr.

If you believe you can help, please contact me.  To participate in the DNA project (Y-DNA), you must be a confirmed male descendent with all-male ancestors back to John Lentz Sr.  (Therefore, you will have the name "Lance", "Lentz" or some variation.)
 

Current Family Line of J42-James Jasper Lance, Sr.

As mentioned above, this will always be a work in progress, and more information will be updated over time.

The current family line of J42-James Jasper Lance, Sr., starts here.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (with Documentation) About the Family of J42-James Jasper Lance, Sr.

 

Lentz/Lance Research on the Internet

These Pages Were Built by Donald "Don" Lynn Lance (J42363241), a Descendant of J42-James Jasper Lance, Sr.
Questions regarding the content of these pages can be directed to Don at info@TheLances.org, or visit his personal web site at http://TheLances.org.