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Nicholas Lanier

Nicholas Lanier

Male - 1611    Has no ancestors but more than 100 descendants in this family tree.

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  • Name Nicholas Lanier 
    Birth France Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Death 1611  England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I366850  Geneagraphie
    Last Modified 26 Jan 2002 

    Family Lucreece\Lucretia Bassano,   b. 26 Sep 1556, Probably France or Bassano del Grappa Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1633, East Greenwich, Kent, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 76 years) 
    Marriage 1565  All Hallows Barking-by-the-Tower, London, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. John Lanier,   b. 1565   d. Yes, date unknown
    +2. Clement Lanier,   b. France Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 1661, East Greenwich, St. Alphege Parish, England Find all individuals with events at this location
     3. Alphonse Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
     4. Innocent Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
     5. Jerome Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
     6. Andrea Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
     7. Ellen Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
     8. Frances Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
     9. Mary Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
     10. Katherine Lanier   d. Yes, date unknown
    Family ID F145243  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 26 Jan 2002 

  • Event Map Click to hide
    Link to Google MapsBirth - - France Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 1611 - England Link to Google Earth
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    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Notes 
    • L A N I E R F A M I L Y

      Excited is an under-statement when I got The Long Brewer Line, by Ben R. Brewer, and discovered the Huguenot family that I had been looking for. Our Lanier family is from France, an aristocratic, distinguished, educated family. They were musicians for the king and queens of France and England for three generations. The Laniers were also French Huguenots who fled to England; therefore, they were English Huguenots rather than American Huguenots. However, our immediate Lanier Grandsire immigrated to Virginia in the 1600s. This enables us to become members of the VA. Branch of the Huguenot Society.

      What is a Huguenot? The Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary, International Edition states: A French Protestant of the 16th and 17th Centuries: Persecuted during the religious wars of the time.

      The Collier's Encyclopedia gives this information: French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. The origin of the word is obscure. It may have been a local nickname given to the Protestants of Tours, who were believed to meet near the gate of the mythical King Huguet or Hugon. The first Huguenots were often regarded as Lutherans; there is no doubt, however, that a strong evangelical movement existed in France during the early decades of the 16th century, independent of the German Reformation. The new church grew rapidly, in spite of official opposition to it and of the dubious outcome of Colloquy of Poissy in 1561, which failed to establish a policy of religious freedom or tolerance.

      From 1562 to 1598, French Catholics and Huguenots fought each other in a succession of violent encounters. The Catholics had organized the Holy League with the support of Spain, and the Protestants, while professing an absolute loyalty to the king, constituted a theocracy under the leadership, successively, of Louis !, de Bourbon, Prince de Conde'; Gaspard II de Coligny; and Henry of Navarre. The civil disorders culminated in the massacre of a great number of Protestants throughout the entire kingdom, on August 23-24, 1572, the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day. The definitive victory of Henry of Navarre over the League, followed by his accession to the throne of France under the name of Henry IV, in 1594, marked the end of the struggle. He adopted Catholicism for political reasons, but the Edict of Nantes in 1598 granted the following to the Huguenots: private worship and liberty of conscience throughout France; public worship in about 200 towns and 3,000 castles; financial support from the state to Protestant schools and ministers; legalized publication of Protestant books; full civil and political rights, with freedom to trade, inherit property, enter all schools, and serve in both local and national parliaments; special courts, les chambres d'edit, with both Catholic and Protestant members to deal with disputes concerning Protestants; free assembly to handle judicial functions; and the control of about 200 towns and cities for eight years (later extended).

      During the reign of Louis XIII, Carginal Richelieu undertook to recall the privileges of the Protestants, and they lost all political power with the loss of La Rochelle in 1628, though they retained most civil liberties. Louis XIV initiated a policy of forced conversion, and soldiers were billeted in Protestant homes until the inhabitants would embrace the king's religion. The Edict of Nantes was revoked on October 18, 1685, and Huguenots emigrated in large numbers to England, the Netherlands, Germany, and America. French communities were founded in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and the Carolinas. In France, Protestant beliefs continued even after the emigration. The Huguenots were now mostly middle-class tradesmen and artisans. Though persecution continued intermittently, the general official attitude during the eighteenth century was one of indifference. The Edict of Toleration, 1787, restored their civil liberties and Napoleon I granted them state subsidies in return for state control of their church. In 1905 all churches were separated from the state; but the Huguenots in France have continued, despite factional differences, to grow in number and now make up a small but industrious and influential group.

      OUR ANCESTORS, THE HUGUENOTS IN FRANCE

      The Huguenots as we all know, were French Protestants. Protestantism was introduced into France during the Reformation. Protestantism was accepted in France by many members of the nobility, by people engaged in intellectual pursuits and by members of the middle class--particularly those having special competencies in the professions, trades and handicrafts. Protestantism was a solid, conservative movement of notable respectability on the part of many of the most responsible and most accomplished people in France.

      The Huguenot Church grew rapidly. At its first synod in 1559, fifteen churches were represented. Over two thousand churches sent representatives to the Huguenot Church synod in 1561. In the beginning the new religion was respected, and the Huguenots were greatly favored by Francis I, because of their standing and abilities. Later, however, Francis I, for political reasons, turned against them, and they experienced alternately high favor and outrageous persecution. France was ninety percent Roman Catholic, and heresy was viewed by the man in the street, as treason against God. Clashes occurred repeatedly, and frequently erupted into open warfare on a grand scale.

      However, it is to be recognized that economic considerations also influenced Huguenot persecution. The Huguenots were workers. With hard common sense they realized that they must produce what they consumed. They would give work to a beggar, but never alms. Even Richelieu, the so-called "Nemesis of the Huguenots", forbidding them to leave France, was quoted as saying, "They are workers, France needs them." It has been said that Lafayette, himself a Roman Catholic, was greatly impressed by the fact that so many of the American leaders were of Huguenot ancestry, and that upon returning to France, he urged an Edict of Toleration upon Louis XVI. However, by the time of the Edict of Toleration, the Huguenot emigrants, with few exceptions, had raised families and sunk their roots so deeply in other lands as to prevent their return to France.

      EMIGRATION TO THE AMERICAN COLONIES

      Huguenot settlers immigrated into the American Colonies directly from France and indirectly from the Protestant countries of Europe. This immigration began at an early date--before the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes--and continued for over one hundred years. Although the Huguenots settled along almost the entire eastern coast of North America, they showed a preference for what are now the States of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina. Just as France suffered a notable loss through emigration of the intelligent, capable Huguenots, so the American Colonies gained through their immigration. The colonists who had already settled North America were mostly farmers, laborers, ministers, soldiers, sailors and people who had been engaged in government. The Huguenots were able to supply the colonies with some excellent physicians and a large number of expert artisans and craftsmen; for example, Irenee Dupon t, who had learned from the immortal Lavoisier how to make gunpowder; and the goldsmith, Apollos Rivoire, the father of Paul Revere, who created silver articles which will be treasured as long as our civilization lasts, and church bells which ring in New England today; who also did prodigious things with copper, and displayed outstanding ability as an industrial organizer, whose place in history is assured because he once rode a horse!

      Moreover, the Huguenots adapted themselves readily to the New World, and showed an astonishing propensity for marrying people who were not Huguenots. Their descendants increased rapidly and spread quickly throughout the American Colonies. Today, people of Huguenot origin are found in all parts of our Country.#

      The LANIER family is an interesting family with an interesting history. Several people have researched and written about the Lanier's. Tyler's Quarterly Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vols, III, VI and VII, VA Magazine of History and Biog. Vol. XV, p. 77, Vols, XV, XXIX, and Louise Ingersoll's book, LANIER. Then of course, Ben R. Brewer has a chapter about the Laniers in his book. Louise Ingersoll's book is a genealogy of the Lanier family who came to Virginia and their French Ancestors of London. She spent twenty years in research. Her main objective was to find the correct English Ancestry of the immigrants who came Virginia.

      LANIER derived, probably from the ancient French language meaning "Falcon". It could have originated from the word "lanier" or "lanner", a word used in hawking. It has been found spelled several ways: Lanyier, Lanere, Laner, Lanyear, Lanear, Laniere, and Lanier.

      The Laniers are of French descent and originally come from Gascony, the southern most part of France. One famous American Lanier was Sidney Lanier, the poet. The Laniers were Protestants in France, and were involved in the persecution which reached it's peak in 1572 with the massacre of St. Bartholomew. The Lanier family fled to London, and the records of the Huguenot Society of London have them on record. They were in London for three generations before coming to America, so they are Huguenots to London, rather than Huguenots to America.
      N I C H O L A S L A N I E R

      Our first Lanier generation begins with Nicholas Lanier in the Courts of King Henry II of France, Queen Elizabeth and King James of England. This was a family of musicians and the ancestor of our American Laniers. Nicholas Lanier's proof of service to Henry II is found in the "Chantres et autres Jouers of d'instruments" of the French King's Chambers for the years of 1559-1560. Nicholas served in the Court of Henry II of France and the Court of Queen Elizabeth and King James of England. Nicholas married ca 1565 to Lucreece and they had six sons , all musicians of the Royal Family, and four daughters; and two of them married musicians. Nicholas later had at least eight or more grandsons to become members of the Royal Orchestra. Three generations served the Royal Family. Nicholas Lanier was named Musician of the Flutes in 1604.

      The Will Abstract of Nicholas was dated January 28, 1611-12, and proved July 1612, in the Rochester XIX, folio 514. To my wife Lucreece, all my lands and goods; to sons John, Alphonse, Innocent, Jerome, Clement, 12 shillings; to Andrea 20 pounds if he does not have my place; my four daughters, three of whom are unmarried, I leave to the discretion of my wife Lucreece, my sole EX. Lucreece Lanier was buried in east Greenwich, January 4, 1633-4. Her will is recorded in the Rochester Register XXII, folio l05.

      Children: Most were musicians and married musicians.

      1. John Lanier, born 1565, will dated November 21, 1616, proved December 21,
      1616. Married October 17, 1585 Frances, daughter of Mark Anthony
      Galliardello and Margerie Galliardello. John Lanier was buried in the Chancel of
      Camberwell Church near his mother-in-law. John had a son, Nicholas Lanier,
      who became very prominent . His portrait was painted by Vandyke and by
      Livensz. The portrait of Nicholas Lanier by Vandyck was painted in Genoa,
      Italy in 1632. Nicholas was sent abroad by the King in 1625 to purchase
      paintings, statues, and fine art. During the Civil War, many of the King's fine art
      pieces were sold at auction. Many of the Laniers bought these paintings, of which
      Nicholas bought his own portrait by Van Dyck. His uncles, Jerome and Clement
      Lanier (Our line) also bought pieces of the art collection. The Civil War was
      responsible for the loss of many fortunes, the Laniers included. However, after
      following the Stewarts into exile, the Laniers were returned to their high position.
      Children were: Mark Anthony, John, Francis; and daughters, Lucretia, Elizabeth,
      and Judith.#

      2. Alphonse Lanier, died November 1613, and married Amelia. He had a son,
      Henry Lanier.

      3. Innocent Lanier, died early 1625.

      4. Jerome Lanier, buried December 1, 1659. Married Phrisdiswith Grafton.

      5. Clement Lanier. (Our line)

      6. Andrea Lanier, married Joyce Perry.

      7. Ellen Lanier, burried August 3, 1638, married Alphonse Ferrabosco.

      8. Frances Lanier, married Thomas Foxe, February 4, 1618.

      9. Mary Lanier, buried October 13, 1676.

      10. Katherine Lanier, died before September 2, 1660, married Daniel Farrand.



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