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Lanier Cemetery, 46-3 Summary Report, page 5
Thomas and Elizabeth Lanier lived on the James River, near the present location of the town of Richmond, on land originally granted by William & Mary to Henry Harris and John Jourden in 1691. [It may be that the Jordan families of pre-arsenal land ownership were descendants of this John Jourden.] Another connection of note is that apparently the famed poet Sidney Lanier was also of this line in America. The family genealogy is covered in this document down to David Shelby Lanier of your family and others of his generation. The parents of John Ford Lanier are given as Burwell Clinton Lanier and his wife Laura Prudence America Ford (could be of the Ford's Chapel family, but I have not researched that). They were married on May 26, 1853. Paternal grandparents of John Ford Lanier are given as Burwell C. and Mary Shelby Lanier. Burwell Clinton Lanier was born Oct. 5, 1820 in Madison County, AL. His father was Isaac Lanier, who came to Madison County late in life to join his brothers Thomas and William, who had moved here about 1810. Isaac was born in NC and married Arabella Clinton, daughter of a Baptist minister. She bore him 3 children, including Burwell C. Lanier, born about 1790. After Arabella died, Isaac married Mary Dickson, by whom he had another 4 children. She may have been of the family for which Dickson County, TN was named, as they lived there for a time. There was also a Dickson plantation owner in the early 1800s on what is now the southern portion of Redstone Arsenal, living very near the Lanier holdings in that area. I suspect that there is a relationship, but I have not yet researched it. There are cemeteries on the arsenal for the various Lanier families, including one with tombstones for Isaac and Burwell C. Lanier (two generations of them) per Dot Johnson's book of 1971 about the cemeteries of Madison County. The stones are reported to no longer be there per arsenal records, but I intend to visit the site soon and try to locate any remaining stones. It is reported to be a very bad area of overgrowth, etc., so it may take me a while to get there. When I do reach it, if there are any tombstones to photograph, I will share what I find with you, since it is in the ancestry of your husband and children. Isaac, the father of Burwell C. Lanier, was in turn a son of a Burwell Lanier whose wife has not yet been identified in the material I have found, but further research may turn it up. This senior Burwell was a son of Sampson Lanier and Elizabeth Chamberlain Lanier of Virginia. The senior Burwell was thought to have been born about 1740. His children included Isaac, Sampson, Clement, William, and Thomas, plus about 6 more. William, Thomas, and Isaac are known to have come to Madison County, AL eventually. Of course, Sampson (the father of the senior Burwell) was the son of the Thomas Lanier who married Elizabeth Washington. This material came from the family files at the Heritage Room of the Huntsville -Madison County Public Library. I also have digitally photocopied various deeds and probate records of the Lanier family in Madison County, including some for Burwell C. Lanier. I have attached two examples. I'll be happy to share what I have with you if you want more details.. John Rankin 5 - (1995)