Colonel William Lane

Named in his father's will of 1798

1. As executor
2. " ..lastly I give unto my only son William my plantation I now live at to him and to his heirs and assigns forever... "

"Lived: A smith in Providence {Montgomery Co.) or, a smith in Upper Merion. He was the brother of Hannah Lane with whom Jesse Bean had had transactions" so wrote descendant and family genealogist Mary Bean (Rogers) (1904-1991)

~• This is the "Uncle Billy" that Jesse Weber Bean refers to in a letter he wrote to his brother Edwin
see letters attached to Jesse Weber Bean Or, Jesse could be referring to Edward Land, patriot
specifically: search on 'Billy Lane' : at Jesse W Bean letters

The letter starts out: ""Do not know whether you recollect an old gentleman that used to visit Grandfather Bean by the name of Lane he was called Uncle Billy Lane I frequently heard them talk of times past and gone Grandfather Bean often mentioned an uncle of his one Tommy Couch that figured verry prominently during the War of /76 I think he was with Mad Anthony Wayne if I recolect aright and got considerably used up and was at home the winter the army was at Valley Forge " (later in text)

"The night after the Battle of Germantown Cornwallace stayed at Grandfather's father's When they rode up they saw who they were and said that if there was any member of the family belonging to the army just keep out of the way and expose themselves and they would not be molested This Uncle Lane was a Colonel had a Battalion of mounted rifles and was laying wounded in bedupstairs at the time and had only got in a few hours before Cornwallace and his staff rode up he was the owner of a very handsome rifle which Grandfather longed for and had made him many offers of different kinds for it which was not accepted but the uncle sent for him to come to the room he was in and told him if he would load the rifle carefully and bring it to him and push his bed up to the window so that he could get one shot at Cornwallace he might have it Grandfather then thought that the rifle was his shure but his mother found out what was up and took possession of the rifle and the British General never knew how near he was staying with us or that he owed his life to a Yankee matron It appeared that this Uncle Lane was of some importance whilst he was a laying wounded his men squandered off and went home or at least the greatest part of them he first sent and then went himself and could not get them determined not to be beat he built a Block house some(w)here in the neighbourhood of where Wentz's Church used to stand somewhere high up on the old Skipback Road Mother and myself used to go over occasionally Grandfather and Grandmother Weber are buried there after he finished his house he went around and gathered up all the women and children belonging to his men and kept them in it and he soon had the ranks full and was in the field in time to take part in the Battle of Monmouth ____ N. Jersey"

• remember: These Evans-es are the Evans of Evansburg, Montgomery County, PA

part of a letter of 1936 from Ann Lane Crosdill to Theodore Lane Bean:

"William Lane had several sisters, Nancy Lane - Birdboro Brook family descendants, Elinor - Cousin Mary Reynolds, Bonman Leaf etc. and Hannah- perhaps yours. William was my great grandfather, direct descendant of Edward Lane."

Tax and Exoneration; 1785; Providence township;230 acres; 4 horses; 7 cows; 1 negroman;