Reference Number System for J42-James Jasper Lance, Sr., Family

It seems fairly certain that J42-James Jasper Lance was a grandson of J-John Lentz, Sr.  J-John Lentz, Sr. was one of four Lentz brothers who immigrated to America in the 1700's, and eventually settled in the Carolinas.

Lentz researchers have formed a reference number system for descendents of the four Lentz brothers.  Although it has its disadvantages (for example, new information may require a significant amount of renumbering), it is used in these web pages to extend the system that has been used for some years.  Its benefits, I think, outweigh its disadvantages.

The following explanation of the reference number system is copied below, with very little editing, from LENTZ HERITAGE by John Paul Lentz.

A Numbering System for the Lentz Families

With 4 families naming children after each other, we have a mixture of uncles, nephews, first cousins, and second cousins all with the same name.  These have to be sorted out and attached to one individual family.  We have done this by use of wills, deeds, court minutes, and the help of many people who have sent in information on marriages, church records and census and cemeteries.

The system is quite simple.  One digit will represent each individual.  The digit will represent their place of birth in the family from the oldest to youngest.   NO DOUBLE DIGIT CAN BE USED; therefore, we must use letters of the alphabet for numbers or digits past number 9.

The four original brothers will be represented by the first letter in their name as follows:

B - Bastian Lentz, Sr.
D - Dewalt (Diebold) Lentz, Sr.
P - Peter Lentz, Sr.
J - John Lentz, Sr.

The above four men will represent the FIRST GENERATION IN AMERICA.

When we add the SECOND GENERATION to their initial we get the following:

B1 - 1st child of Bastian Lentz, Sr. (oldest)
B2 - 2nd child of Bastian Lentz, Sr., etc. through B9 (9th child)
B0 - 10th child of Bastian Lentz
BA - 11th child of Bastian Lentz
BB - 12th child of Bastian Lentz, and on through the alphabet as needed

Second generation of D - Dewalt (Diebold) Lentz in America would be:

D1 - 1st child - oldest
D2 - 2nd child, etc.
D0 - 10th child
DA - 11th child, etc.

We would use P and J and add the children from oldest to youngest for Peter Lentz and John Lentz, respectively.

The THIRD GENERATION would be numbered by adding a "digit" to the second generation as follows:

Children of B1 - 1st child of Bastian Lentz:

If we use a "D" instead of the "B", the system would apply to Dewalt (Diebold) Lentz.  Or use a "J" for John, or a "P" for Peter Lentz.

The children are always numbered from OLDEST TO YOUNGEST.  The oldest will always be "1", and a child can have only one digit added to his father's number to represent him.  THEREFORE, EACH DIGIT REPRESENTS ONE GENERATION.

Second Marriages

Children by a second marriage will have their digit underlined.  This indicates half-brothers and half-sisters.  Note the following:

TWINS are numbered as they show in the Bible or other records.

Assume the following two reference numbers for Lentz descendents: B2131521 (line of Bastian Lentz, Sr.) and D3142633 (line of Dewalt Lentz, Sr.).  These numbers represent the 8th generation in America and 7th cousins.  Examine the relationships of the two descendent lines by their reference numbers in the following chart:

To tell kinship, write one number under another number and cancel off all like numbers starting from the left.  The first numbers (digits) that are not alike would be siblings - brothers, sisters or brother & sister, etc.  The next two digits would be first cousins; the 2nd pair would be 2nd cousins, etc. on down the line.  ALL FIRST COUSINS HAVE THE SAME GRANDPARENTS; all 2nd cousins have the same great-grandparents, etc. on down the line.  The ones in between are 1st cousins - once removed or 2nd cousins - once removed, etc.

For example:

B71154
B71231

These would be 2nd cousins.

Cancel the "B", the "7" and the "1" in pairs.  The odd pair 1 and 2 would be brothers, sisters, siblings.  The next pair 5 and 3 would be 1st cousins.  The last pair, 4 and 1, would be 2nd cousins.

Another example:

B7115
B71231

The first (B7115) would be a 1st cousin once removed to B71231.

Other notes about this reference system included in LENTZ HERITAGE:

• NOTICE: THE FAMILIES WILL BE CARRIED IN THE PATERNAL OR MALE LINE OF THE FAMILY.   The index system will be a "cross-index" of the families. (This is important when cousin marriages result in multiple reference numbers for an individual.   In these cases, follow the paternal line for the reference number.)
  

• BE SURE TO SHOW DOCUMENTATION FOR ANY FAMILY LINE YOU BUILD ON TO THE NUMBERED FAMILIES SHOWN IN THIS WORK (LENTZ HERITAGE). (If you tie into a family given in LENTZ HERITAGE, you should use the reference system in LENTZ HERITAGE and document your work appropriately.)

Go Back to Main James Jasper Lance, Sr., Genealogy Page

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.