Download
[Page]
[Document]mcc-jrr_511-006
Jordan - Lanier Cemetery, 51-1 Summary Report, page 6
This land was bought in 1832 from William and Jane Baker. It consisted of a 160-acre tract in the NE/4 of Section 28, T4 - R1W, plus another acre in the adjoining Section 21. The land of the northeast quarter of Section 28 is approximately bounded today on the north by Gray Road, on the east by Patton Road, on the west by Madkin Mountain, and on the south by Neal Road. It is the site where William Lanier built his house, near the north end of the bicycle / walking trail north of the Sparkman Center today. The land in Section 21 contained a spring, probably the one that comes from Madkin Mountain about 100 yards southwest of Building 3547 on Cajun Drive. William probably wanted to secure a good water supply for his house and for his livestock as a condition of the purchase.
William Lanier was married twice, both times in North Carolina. His first wife was Mary Hill, whom he married in 1784 according to family data. William and Mary had a son Asa (who raised a large family in Texas) and two daughters. His first daughter, Elizabeth, married twice - first to a Mr. Fraser, and next to a Mr. Horton. These surnames later are mentioned when William left property to his grandchildren. William and Mary's second daughter (given name unknown) married to a Mr. Ford.
William Lanier's second wife is stated in the family data (and on her tombstone) as Ann Dickson. However, in his last will and testament, William referred to her only as Nancy. It is not yet known whether she was related to the Dickson family that also lived at the time on the southern portions of the arsenal area, but it is probable. She was born in 1769 per her tombstone inscription (d. 1841, aged 72 years), but the family data shows that she was born in 1775.
6 - (2025)