Lanier’s legal strategy rested on establishing lineal descent from Papa Renty first.

Evidence

I met David that summer in Mike’s office. He wanted to focus on the genealogy—proving my connection to the world makes my claim on the artifacts obvious. Then, once we established that I am the lineal descendant of Congo Renty in the Zealy daguerreotypes, whom I know to be my Papa Renty, he would cover the legal case since we all knew it would be historic. — Tamara Lanier, From These Roots, 790

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies that the claim on the daguerreotypes is framed as lineal-descent ownership — the doctrine at the heart of the case.