Zane family

The Zane family is a historical family lineage whose documented story connects England and Ireland with the colonial and early national history of the United States. The family is particularly associated with western Virginia, the Ohio Country, and later parts of Kansas and the American West. It is not a commercial brand, company, or product house; the name is used in historical and genealogical contexts to describe a network of related individuals and descendants. The lineage described in reference material begins with Robert Zane, born in Yarcombe, Devonshire, England, in 1643. Robert married Margaret Hammon in Dublin in 1664 and later died in New Jersey. Their descendant Nathanial Zane was born in Dublin in 1670 and immigrated to North America. By the eighteenth century, the family had become established in the mid-Atlantic colonies. William Andrew Zane was born in New Jersey in 1712 and later died in the Ohio region. The family’s historical importance is most closely connected with brothers Ebenezer Zane and Isaac Zane, who participated in the political and geographic development of the Virginia and Ohio frontier. Both served in the Virginia House of Delegates before moving westward. Ebenezer Zane is associated with Zane’s Trace, an early route across the Ohio Country, while the settlements of Zanesville and Zanesfield preserve the family name. Zane’s Trace linked Wheeling, in present-day West Virginia, with Maysville, Kentucky, and became an important early transportation route through Ohio. Isaac Zane is also remembered in accounts of contact between Euro-American settlers and the Wyandot people. According to the referenced historical account, he was taken as a child from the Moorefield area of Virginia, adopted by the Wyandot, and lived with the community for many years. He married Myeerah, also known as White Crane, who was the daughter of Wyandot leader Tarhe. Their family connections placed Isaac Zane within both settler and Indigenous historical contexts. A later Isaac Zane, identified as their son, continued the family line in Ohio. Several descendants became associated with Wyandot history and advocacy. Elizabeth Burton Zane Conley, a multiracial Wyandot descendant, was the mother of Lyda, Helena, and Ida Conley. The Conley sisters are remembered for their efforts to protect the Wyandot National Burying Ground in Kansas City, Kansas. This part of the family story reflects the continuing significance of the Zane name in Indigenous, regional, and civic history rather than in commerce. The lineage also includes figures known outside frontier and genealogical history. Zane Grey, the prolific American author of Western novels, was a descendant through his maternal line and received the name Zane in recognition of that ancestry. Natalie Babbitt, whose full name included Zane, became a prominent author and illustrator, best known for the novel Tuck Everlasting. The family’s broader history therefore spans colonial migration, frontier settlement, Indigenous kinship, civic geography, literature, and regional memory.

The Zane family’s recorded history begins in England and Ireland before extending into the British North American colonies and the early United States. Robert Zane, born in Devonshire in 1643, married Margaret Hammon in Dublin in 1664. Their descendant Nathanial Zane was born in Dublin in 1670 and later immigrated to North America, where he married in Philadelphia and died in New Jersey. Subsequent generations established the family in the mid-Atlantic region and eventually in the Ohio Country. During the eighteenth century, the Zanes became prominent in the political and geographic development of the western Virginia frontier. Brothers Ebenezer Zane and Isaac Zane both served in the Virginia House of Delegates. Their westward activities contributed to the mapping, settlement, and naming of communities in what became Ohio. Zanesville and Zanesfield are among the municipalities whose names preserve this association. Ebenezer Zane is also linked to Zane’s Trace, an early road that crossed Ohio between Wheeling and Maysville and helped connect frontier settlements. Isaac Zane’s life is presented in the reference material as a point of contact between settler society and the Wyandot community. He was reportedly taken as a child near Moorefield, Virginia, adopted by Wyandot people, and raised within the tribe. He later married Myeerah, or White Crane, the daughter of Chief Tarhe. Their marriage and descendants illustrate the family’s place in the intertwined histories of Euro-American settlement and Indigenous Ohio. Their son, also named Isaac Zane, continued the family line in Ohio and was later associated with the Marseilles area of Wyandot County. The family’s nineteenth-century descendants remained connected with Ohio, Kansas, and the Wyandot community. Elizabeth Burton Zane Conley, described as a multiracial Wyandot descendant, became the mother of the Conley sisters. Lyda, Helena, and Ida Conley played a significant role in preserving the Wyandot National Burying Ground in Kansas City. Their efforts made the Zane-related lineage relevant to the history of Indigenous rights, preservation, and public memory. Other branches moved through Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and surrounding regions. The supplied genealogical material describes descendants including Isaac O. Zane, Lawrence G. Zane, and Lawrence Gus Zane, as well as later members of the family who lived in Oklahoma and Colorado. Some details in the broader genealogy are not independently established by the supplied reference and should be treated cautiously. The Zane name later entered American literary history. Western novelist Zane Grey descended from the family through his mother and was named in honor of that ancestry. Natalie Babbitt, an author associated with the name Natalie Zane Babbitt, became known for Tuck Everlasting and other works for young readers. In this way, the family’s historical significance extends from colonial migration and frontier settlement to Indigenous heritage, place-naming, preservation, and literature.

• 1932

  Birth of Natalie Babbitt

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  Natalie Zane Babbitt was born and later became known as the author of Tuck Everlasting and other works of children’s literature.

• 1872

  Birth of Zane Grey

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  Zane Grey was born into a family branch descended from the Zanes through his maternal line and later became a major writer of Western fiction.

• 1800

  Zane family place-names emerge in Ohio

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  The family became associated with Zanesville, Zanesfield, Zane Township, and Zane’s Trace, which preserve its role in early Ohio settlement and transportation.

• 1777

  Birth of Isaac Zane’s son

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  A son of Isaac Zane and Myeerah, also named Isaac Zane, was born in the Zanesfield area of Ohio.

• 1771

  Isaac Zane marries Myeerah

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  Isaac Zane married Myeerah, also known as White Crane, the daughter of Wyandot leader Tarhe, according to the referenced account.

• 1670

  Birth of Nathanial Zane

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  Nathanial Zane was born in Dublin and later immigrated to North America, where the family became established in the mid-Atlantic colonies.

• 1664

  Robert Zane marries in Dublin

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Zane married Margaret Hammon in Dublin, linking the family’s early English and Irish history.

• 1643

  Birth of Robert Zane

  [1]Zane familyen.wikipedia.org

  Robert Zane was born in Yarcombe, Devonshire, England, in the earliest generation identified in the referenced family account.

A historical family lineage and cultural-historical subject, not a commercial brand.

1. 1Zane familyen.wikipedia.org