James Lanier was born in Virginia sometime after 1724 and later became a resident of Pitt County, North Carolina. A member of the Pitt County Committee of Safety, Lanier represented the county at the 2nd North Carolina Provincial Congress. He also served as a captain in the Pitt County Regiment of the North Carolina Militia from 1778 to 1779. In 1778 he investigated the murder of Jim Bowser, an enslaved African American killed by Jehu Tyson. Lanier died in Pitt County in about 1786.