I'm slightly confused. The Sydney Mail (Jan 11 1922) has an article titled "Arthur Phillip - An Unwritten Chapter" by E. M. Green (a relative of mine). She writes the following in regards to John Lane:
"Mr. John Lane appears to have been a man of substance, and his father, Sir Thomas Lane, was Lord Mayor of London.....In an old book Sir Thomas Lane is described as a Londoner, and ancestor of Lord Foley... We can picture the city gentleman driving to the village of Peckham to visit his son and daughter-in-law, and their portraits by Copley and Romney fill in the picture."
Emma seems to think that John's father was Sir Thomas Lane. She could be right, but I would like to confirm this. When searching on the net I came across Sir Thomas Lane and his wife Mary Ashurt and children. It shows us that John was born in the late 1600s. I've got John's year of birth as 1743. - Could it be possible that they have it all wrong and I'm correct. Also, on further research, I came across Joseph Lane son of Sir Thomas Lane who was born in 1743 and died in 1795 (This was found on google books, a primary source). The date range is similar to John.
Other evidence to support Sir Thomas being the father of John is his incredible amount of wealth. John privately funded a fleet of ships for Admiral Arthur Phillip (1st Gov. of NSW), as the crown and admiralty opposed funding for it. Also, I found out that Sir Thomas owned land in New Jersey and his grandson by the name of Thomas Lane had some control over the land prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution. John Lane had a son by the name of Thomas Lane.
I would appreciate it if someone could help me with this mess. I'd like to confirm that Sir Thomas Lane was the father of John Lane.
Kind Regards,
Sykes.
Since your original post Sykes, The Sydney Living Museum has published information on Arthur Philips.
https://sydneylivingmuseums.com.au/stories/first-fleet-ships/ambition-and-adventure-early-life-arthur-phillip"When Phillip returned to England at the end of the war he brought with him two things crucial to his later success: the experience of lieutenancy supervising a diverse crew, and the patronage of Captain Michael Everitt, a family connection, and Captain Augustus Hervey, who was a future politician and the third earl of Bristol."
Captain Michael Everitt (1716-1776) was the father of Eleanor Everitt (1747-1827) who married John Lane (1743-1829) on 30 June 1767 in Fareham, Hampshire, England.
Together, they had 3 children, Elizabeth Lane (1782-1782), Harriet Eleanor Lane (1776-1860) and Thomas Lane (1768-1834).
Still working on the parentage of father of John Lane's father - Thomas Lane (?-1784).
Have you got any further forward?