Life History

Notes

• James Martin [Lance]
  Birth ABT 1886 in Georgia, Death Unknown
  First wife unknown, Daughters Delta Martin b 1906, Allie Marie Martin b 1910
  Marriage to Bonnie Mae Cowart ABT 1917 Pickens County, Georgia
  --  Many Faces, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/7282287/person/5034666740?ssrc=&ftm=1
  
  A couple of genealogies have the first name of James' wife as Rennie, following the 1910 census. They were enumerated in 1910 in Murray County, Georgia, with their two daughters.  The census reports they have been married for 6 years.
  
  1910 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia, 7 April, District 8, Enumeration District 111, Page 14A, Fields Terry Rd, Hse/Fam #251
  Lance, Martin Head M W 28 Married 6 yrs GA GA GA Farmer, Working Out [b abt 1882]
  Lance, Rennie Wife F W 28 Married 6 yrs 2 Children/2 Living GA GA GA [b abt 1882]
  Lance, Delta Dau F W 4 Single GA GA GA [b abt 1906]
  Lance, Ollie Dau F W 1 Single GA GA GA [b abt 1909]
  
  Their daughter Ollie's SS records have her mother's name as Rellie Moore.  A search under this name produced a marriage record for Martin Lance and Rellie Moore, seeeming to confirm the correct form of James' wife's name.
  
  Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978
  Rellie Moore
  Gender Female
  Marriage 2 Jan 1905 Gilmer, Georgia performed by J W Goble, NP (?)
  License issued 31 December 1904 Gilmer County, Georgia
  Recorded 16 February 1905
  Spouse Martin Lance
  Gilmer Conunty Marriage Record Book p 281
  
  Rellie died about 1917 or so.  He married his second wife Bonnie Mae Cowart some time before September 1918.
  
  U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
  James Martin Lance
  Residence Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia
  Birth 29 May 1882
  Self-Employed Farmer, Jasper, Georgia
  Nearest Relative (wife) Bonnie May Lance, Jasper, Georgia
  Medium Height & Build, Blue Eyes, Dark Hair
  Registered 12 September 1918 Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia
  Signed James M Lance
  
  In 1920, James is married to his second wife Bonnie Mae Cowart.  The family name here should be Lance.  Martin is James' middle name.  There are three older children in the household from his first marriage.  Grady Atherton is Bonnie's first child.
  
  1920 Federal Census, Pickens County, Georgia, 19 January, Truck Wheel District, Enumeration District 143, page 9B, Hse #165, Family #170
  Martin [Lance], James  Head Rents M W 34  GA GA GA Farmer (b abt 1885)
  Martin [Lance], Bonnie Mae Wife F W 20  GA GA GA (b abt 1899)
  Martin [Lance], Dellta Dau F W 14  GA GA GA (b abt 1905)
  Martin [Lance], Ollie Marie Dau F W 10  GA GA GA (b abt 1909)
  Martin [Lance], Grady Atherton Son M W 3mos  GA GA GA (b abt Sept 1919)
  Cowart, Vista Mother-in-Law F W 49 GA GA GA (b abt 1850)
  
  "James Martin Lance rather than James Martin.  The original data on the record is incorrect."
  --  RobertThompson, Ancestry Comments, 1920 census record for James Martin
  
  1930 Federal Census, Pickens County, Georgia, 18 April, Truckwheel, District 124-5, Page 8A, Hse #143, Fam #151
  Lance, James M Head Rents No Radio M W 50 First Married at age 21 GA NC GA farmer [b abt 1880]
  Lance, Bonnie M Wife F W 30 First Married at age 21 GA GA GA [b abt 1900]
  Lance, Ollie Dau F W 20 Single GA GA GA Farm Laborer [b abt 1910, but already age 1 in 1910 census]
  Lance, Grady A Son M W 10 single GA GA GA [b abt 1920]
  Lance, Lester Son M W 9 single GA GA GA [b abt 1921]
  Lance, Susie T Dau F W 6 single GA GA GA [b abt 1924]
  Lance, James A Son M W 5 single GA GA GA [b abt 1925]
  Lance, Dallas Son M W 3yrs3mos single GA GA GA [b abt 1926]
  Lance, Dorothy E Son M W 9mos single GA GA GA [b abt 1929]
  
  Bonnie died in 1932.  In the 1940 census, James and the children are still together in the same house.
  
  1940 Federal Census, Pickens County, Georgia, 13 May, Towns District, District 112-7A Page 7B, No street names, Hse #119 Owns $200, On a Farm
  Lance, Martin Head M W 62 Widowed Grade 4 b Georgia same place in 1935 Farmer [b abt 1878]
  Lance, Grady Head M W 20 Single Grade 1 b Georgia same place in 1935 Rock Quarry Laborer [b abt 1920]
  Lance, Lester Head M W 18 Single Grade 5 b Georgia same place in 1935 CCC Laborer [b abt 1922]
  Lance, Susie F W 16 Single Grade 3 b Georgia same place in 1935 [b abt 1924]
  Lance, J A Son M W 14 Single Grade 3 b Georgia same place in 1935 [b abt 1926]
  Lance, Dallas A Son M W 13 Single Grade 2 b Georgia same place in 1935 [b abt 1927]
  Lance, Elaine Dau F W 10 Single Grade 2 b Georgia same place in 1935 [b abt 1930]
  Lance, Dennis Son M W 8 Single Grade 1 b Georgia same place in 1935 [b abt 1932]
  
  Georgia, Death Index, 1919 - 1998
  James M Lance
  Death 4 Oct 1960 Fulton County
  Age 76 Years
  Residence Pickens County
  Certificate #25202
  
  There is a memorial for him on Find a Grave with information from his gravestone in Phiiladelphia Baptist Church Cemetery in Jasper, Georgia.
  
  James Martin Lance
  Birth May 29, 1884
  Death Oct 4, 1960
  Spouse Bonnie Mae Cowart Lance (1900 - 1932)
  Children:
  Ollie Lance Johnson (1909 - 2000) [mother Rennie]
  Grady Atherton Lance (1919 - 1990) [Mother Bonnie Cowart]
  James A Lance (1925 - 1999) [Mother Bonnie Cowart]
  Dorothy E Lance - Fortner (1929 - 2002) [Mother Bonnie Cowart]
  Burial Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery, Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia
  Created by Mindseye Feb 06, 2009
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #33603334, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=33603334
  
  But I was contacted by a homeowner who had just bought a home in Talking Rock, Georgia, where James/Martin used to live.  She reported that she has found a private burial with a stone with his same information on it.
  
  "I purchased a home in Talking Rock in the area where he used to live.  There is a tombstone marker in my backyard with his name, birth date and death date.  There a two large rocks unusual to that area which appear to be a head stone and a foot stone.  This was in the woods for many years and has recently been cleared."
  --  Kimberly Weddington, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, June 22, 2017
  
  Kimberly took some photos of the grave and the small stone is clearly radable with his full name and dates, and the name of B C Logan Inc, whiich I have confirmed is a funeral home.  This is the format used for initial, temporary markers until the permanent marker is put up.  Sometimes it remains even after.  It makes sense that this was the actual burial place, on the famliy property, as was common back then in many areas.  The marker in Philadeplhia Church cemetery would be a marker to memorialize him with the family there.
  
  This format type of marker I have seen a lot, and saw many when we visited 6 cemeteries in my wife’s area of Arkansas last month.  Nowadays it is usually a metal plate.  This is the type of initial, temporary marker used to mark a new grave before the permanent stone is put up.  In some graves this is all that was there.  In several this was still there even with the permanent stone.  Edith’s mother’s grave had only this for some years before the permanent stone was put up.
  
  This location and this type of marker are a very good indication that this was indeed the original burial spot, and the marker in the Philadelphia Church cemetery is a memorial only to identify him with the family group.  I think we can safely declare this the burial spot of James Martin Lance.
  
  James Martin Lance
  1884-1960
  BC Logan Inc (Funeral Home)
  Private burial found on the property where he used to live
  Talking Rock, Pickens County, Georgia
  Photo by property owner Kimberly Weddington, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, 25 June 2017

Sources

• 1. 1920 Federal Census, Pickens County, Georgia
  • 19 January, Truck Wheel District, Enumeration District 143, page 9B, Hse #165, Family #170
• 2. 1910 Federal Census, Murray County, Georgia
  • 7 April, District 8, Enumeration District 111, Page 14A, Fields Terry Rd, Hse/Fam #251
• 3. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
• 4. Georgia, Death Index, 1919-1998
• 5. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 6. 1930 Federal Census, Pickens County, Georgia
  • 18 April, Truckwheel, District 124-5, Page 8A, Hse #143, Fam #151
• 7. 1940 Federal Census, Pickens County, Georgia
  • 13 May, Towns District, District 112-7A Page 7B, No street names, Hse #119 Owns $200, On a Farm
• 8. Gravestones of Pickens County Georgia
• 9. Kimberly Weddington
• 10. Ancestry Trees
• 11. Mullinnix Files by Dorothy
• 12. Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978
• 13. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
• 14. U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
• 15. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006
• 16. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
• 17. U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
• 18. U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 1
• 19. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
• 20. Gravestone of Dennis Lance and Babara Baker