My Genealogy Hound

J. R. Lane, general merchant, of Mansfield, Ark., was born in North Carolina on September 9, 1836, and is a son of J. F. and Catherine (Ballenger) Lane, who were born in North Carolina June 6, 1812, and Indiana in 1808, and died March 10, 1885, and June 25, 1880, respectively. They were married in North Carolina, and in 1857 moved to Arkansas, settling in Dallas, Polk County, where they engaged in farming. The father was elected to represent Polk County in the State Legislature in 1871, and served with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. Four of his nine children are still living: Rebecca, Mrs. White; Eliza, Mrs. Pirtle; Isaac N. and J. R. The latter removed with parents to Arkansas when he was nineteen years of age, and attended New Garden Boarding College, or Quaker College, for twelve months. After attaining his majority he engaged in farming for himself, and also clerked in a store for some time. He was married in 1859 to Mrs. Nicy Jane Cunningham, a widow, who was born in Mississippi in 1837, and is a daughter of Preston and Ellender (Lawson) Ward, and by her became the father of six children: J. P., Mary, Mrs. Wallace; D. G., H. C., Martha and Joseph R. In September, 1888, Mr. Lane moved from Dallas to Mansfield, and has since been engaged in merchandising in the latter place. In 1861 he enlisted in Company H, Fourth Arkansas Infantry, Confederate States Army, and at the battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., was appointed lieutenant, receiving his discharge in 1865. While residing in Polk County he served as sheriff for six years. He is a Mason and Democrat, and his first presidential vote was cast for John C. Breckenridge. His grandfather, Isaac Lane, was born in North Carolina in 1764, and died in 1871, at the age of one hundred and seven years. He was a teamster in the Revolutionary War. The maternal grandfather, John Ballenger, was a North Carolinian.