I need to say that I am a descendant of one of these Lewis Lanhams. Of course, I believe that it was my ancestor who married Martha Mitchell. I am certain descendants of the other Lewis feel that it had to be their ancestor who married Martha Mitchell. However fine a catch Martha might have been in life, it is not so much that this Martha was a special person, but rather that genealogists always wish to fill in one more box on their lineage charts. This disclaimer out of the way, what do we know about the two Lewis Lanhams and what evidence points to which of them was Martha’s husband?
We know we are dealing with two different Lewis Lanhams because they died in different years and in different places. My Lewis Lanham died on October 12, 1822 in Prince George’s Co., Maryland. (1) His death is recorded in family bible records preserved by descendants of his son Trueman Lanham, which also record the death of Martha Lanham “the wife of Lewis Lanham” on September 10, 1820. I assume that this Martha Lanham is the same Martha Mitchell who took a license to marry Lewis Lannum (Lanham) on March 29, 1786 in Baltimore Co., Maryland. (2) To date I am not aware of any other record that establishes the other Lewis Lanham of Clermont Co., Ohio was married to a woman named Martha, while we do have this evidence for the Prince George’s Co., Maryland Lewis.
Lewis Lanham is mentioned in the 1810 Census of Prince George’s age over 45 with a wife between 26 and 44 years of age. (3) In 1820 she was over 45. (4) These ages would be consistent with the marriage date appearing in the Baltimore Co. records.
The other Lewis Lanham is stated to have been a native of Maryland and settled in 1812 south-west of Felicity, Clermont Co., Ohio where he died. (5) In the records of Clermont County there are a series of deeds, which convey land formerly the property of Lewis Lanham, deceased. The oldest of these was a transfer of land to William and Nancy Miller by Robert Lanham (son of Lewis) and is dated August 6, 1832. (6) Various other transfers follow and establish the names of the various children of Lewis. Lewis Lanham’s household appears in the 1830 census of Franklin Township, Clermont Co., Ohio. (7) The oldest male in the household, presumed Lewis, is 60-69 years of age. It appears that this Lewis died between appearing in the 1830 census and the first of these deeds (August 1832). His sons appear in the census records and consistently list Maryland as their place of birth confirming the statement that the family originated in Maryland. (8) It is possible that a careful search of Clermont County records might turn up additional data on this Lewis Lanham. Not living in the area there is only so much available to me.
One very unusual thing about the marriage license of Lewis Lanham is that it was filed in Baltimore County, Maryland. Lanham records are fairly uncommon in Baltimore in the 18th Century. There is only one other Lanham marriage license, which interestingly enough is also one of Lewis Lannum to Ann Jackson on March 27, 1784. (9) I assume these are both to the same Lewis Lanham and that either the first marriage did not occur or that the first wife had died prior to the second marriage. There is evidence that the Prince George’s Lewis Lanham was a blacksmith. (10) This would have given him more mobility than a typical farmer. It is also possible that he served his apprenticeship in the growing town of Baltimore, but I have no evidence.
There are a number of other Lewis Lanham mentions in Maryland. Because there were two of them it is difficult to be certain which record belongs to which Lewis. Since the Ohio Lewis settled in Clermont in 1812 any Lewis record in Maryland after that date must be the Prince George’s County man. I generally assign Prince George’s records to the Lewis who died there in 1822 and records from Montgomery and Frederick Counties to the Lewis who died in Clermont Co., Ohio. It is possible that the Prince George’s County man also lived in the other counties and this arbitrary division is not justified. Also I cannot rule out the possibility that the Clermont man lived in Prince George’s. Finally, in no census records from the period 1790-1810 do both men unequivocally appear as two different Lewis Lanhams. It is not helpful that both had children of similar ages. In 1790 there is a Lewis Lanham in Prince George’s. (11) In 1800 there is a Lewis Lanham in Frederick Co. (12) In 1810 we come close with a Lewis Lanham in Horsepen and Patuxent Hundreds of Prince George’s Co. and an “L. Lanham” in Frederick Co., Maryland. (13) I believe this “L. Lanham” is Lewis.
There is some evidence of a connection between western Maryland Lanhams and Clermont Co. Lanhams. A biographical sketch appearing in the book “Early Settlers of Sangamon County” mentions Elijah Taylor Lanham (1801-1847) was born in Frederick Co, Maryland and was married in Clermont Co., Ohio. (14) Elijah Taylor Lanham’s biographical sketch in Early Settlers of Sangamon Co. mentions that his maternal grandfather was Benjamin Penn. This suggests that Elijah Taylor Lanham was a son of Robert Crowley Lanham (1774-1817) who settled in Clermont County. (15) Robert C. Lanham took a marriage license to Rachel Penn on May 7, 1800 in Frederick Co., Maryland. (16) I do not know that the exact relationship between Lewis Lanham and Robert Crowley Lanham has been worked out, but Lewis Lanham and Robert Crowley Lanham both ended up in Clermont Co. There is no existing 1810 census for Ohio and Robert Crowley Lanham died in 1817. I suspect they were related, but it is possible that their proximity was only a coincidence. If they are related, it may be that Lewis also lived in the counties west of Prince George’s. Among the mentions of Lewis Lanham is a Montgomery Co. bill of sale recorded among the land records on May 19, 1789 in which William Lannum, planter of Montgomery County sells various household items and animals to Notley Lannum and Lewis Lannum. (17) This places Lewis Lanham in Montgomery Co. which sits between Prince George’s and Frederick as early as 1789. It is unfortunate that the bill of sale does not mention any relationship between the parties. Montgomery County’s very earliest marriage licenses are missing and we only have a few church records from the county.
A final area of controversy is which Lewis Lanham was the one that appeared on the muster roll of Captain Jacob Duckett’s Company dated March 30, 1799. This unit was raised during a period of tensions with France. It is unusual in that in addition to listing the men, their birth dates are recorded. The date of July 14, 1757 appears next to Lewis Lanham’s name. (18) This entry has also been claimed for both Lewis Lanhams. I have assigned this record to the Prince George’s County man. The unit is stated by Gaius M. Brumbaugh to have been Prince George’s Co. militia. (19) It also includes other names that are associated with the Prince George’s Co. Lewis Lanham. For example, Tobias Belt was a sergeant. Recorded among the Prince George’s County deeds is a June 8, 1807 bond posted so that William Lanham, son of Lewis, might serve as a constable. (20) Among the individuals acting as surety is Tobias Belt. Other surnames on the list of men are ones that are frequently associated in records with the family of Lewis Lanham died 1822 in Prince George’s: Clarke, Beall, Duvall and Mockbee. These associations are not absolute proof and this is an area where additional evidence is needed.
I am totally certain that we are dealing with two different individuals here, but I am not certain that I am correctly identifying which records belong to which Lewis Lanham. However, I do feel that since we know the Prince George’s County, Maryland man had a Martha for a wife that the 1786 marriage to Martha Mitchell was his and not that of the Clermont Co., Ohio man.
