The Balch Family

My Great Grandmother is Isabell Balch. She was, and therefore I am, a decedent of this man, John Balch.  The history of the Balch family is well researched.  The likeness of John on the cover of this book bears resemblance to a portrait that hangs  in my grandmothers living room.

link to google book here

A Modern History of New London County Connecticut volume III

Bejamin Tinkham Marshall,  Editor of  A Modern History of New London County Connecticut apparently thought it would be a good idea compile biographies of many of the citizens of Norwich and other places in New London County.  Harvard University thought it would be a good idea to keep this volume in their library and Google thought it well to scan this entire volume and make it available for free on the internet.  As a result, when you google "Clinton Elliott Lane, Norwich Connecticut" this book appears.

The Biography contains great information including the places in Canada, Wisconsin, and Norwich, CT, where the Lanes had set up shop.  There is also interesting insight into the character of Clinton Elliott Lane "Mr. Lane is a successful businessman, and is highly regarded in the city to which he came as a boy.  He is a master of business, and of such a genial friendly nature that he makes many friends" (MHNLCC pg 462).  The bio goes on to describe the many community organizations to which Clinton belonged.  Clint sounds like a outgoing, social, hardworking and smart individual.  No wonder then he would father a son like my grandfather, Thomas Crawford Lane "Papa".

Blacksmith to Tire man

The Lane family's ability to add a punch line to any story calls into question the veracity of the tales I heard growing up.  Many of the stories seemed too work out too well as a joke to be true. One such anecdote was that when the blacksmithing business was beginning to dry up in the early 1900s, with the increasing availability of the automobile, the Lane family business went from outfitting horses with shoes to outfitting cars with their new rubber shoes, tires.  I loved that story but it seemed to be a transition of industry on par with time travel from the Back to the Future series, where everything has its equal counter part in the future and the past. "Progress is his middle name" (The campaign slogan of incumbent Mayors Goldie Wilson and Red Thomas 30 years apart)

The following research confirms that story and another one about the Lane's counter movement to the great American migration west in the mid 19th century. 

Link: 1900 Census showing Henry Clinton Lane as a "Horse shoer"