At the family meeting for the dedication of the granite monu ment in Hampton, the home Of their ancestor, William Lane, and the birthplace of many of his. Descendants, George W. Lane Of Salem, Mass., Rev. John W. Lane of North Hadley, Mass., Dr. Edward B. Lane of Roxbury, Mass., Rev. James H. F itts of South Newmarket, N. H., and Rev. Jacob Chapman of Exeter, N. H., were chosen a committee to resume the work commenced so long ago, to gather up the fragments Of our family history, that nothing be lost, to complete another monument Of different material, a portable and a permanent monument, that every one who values the Lane blood in his veins may know whence it came, and be able to derive some moral and spiritual help from the examples of good men who being dead yet speak to all who value the lessons of the past, and are able to profit by the experience of those who have gone before us. We wish to preserve in our homes the records of our ancestors, not that we may worship their memes, but that we may cherish in our hearts any valuable traits we have inherited from them, and avoid, if possible, any of the faults and follies into which they may have fallen. Nearly two years ago, the manuscript of Deacon E. J. Lane and Rev. James P. Lane were placed in my hands 5 and the best part of my time since, has been spent in correcting and confirming these, and in enlarging the work by adding many families unknown to these writers. In this important and somewhat perplexing work I have had the valuable assistance of Rev. James H. Fitts, by his antiquarian researches well known as a careful student and an accurate writer, to whom we are indebted for the records Of the Candia family with which he is connected, and the Chester family, descended from John Lane, who removed from Rye and settled in that place.
