Person:Hugh Torrance (1)

Listed in the 1800 Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Census, Salisbury Township, as Hugh Torrance. In the household are: 2 males age 45 and over; 1 female age 16 thru 25; 1 female age 45 and over, and 16 slaves.

Listed in the 1810 Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Census as Hugh Torrance. In the household are: 1 male under age 10; 1 male age 16 thru 25; 1 male age 45 and over; 1 female age 16 thru 25; 1 female age 26 thru 44; 1 female age 45 and over; 33 slaves. I'm not sure what the rest of the columns are, but next to the 33 is a 2, then a 500, then there are 14 empty columns, then a 1, then a 30, then another 1, in the last column on the page.

Information is from calgrups376@@yahoo.com.

From "Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774", by Murtie June Clark, Genealogical Publishing, 1983:

Appendix "D":

Sacred to the memory of HUGH TORRANCE who departed this life February 14, 1816, aged 73 years. "Hear what the voice from Heaven proclaimed for all the pious dead, sweet is the savior of their names and soft their sleeping bed. The die in Jesus and are blest. How kind their slumbers are from suffering and from sins released, and freed from svery snare".

Possible other children of Hugh Torrance and Isabella Kerr: (listed in "Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774), Appendix "D":

Nancy A. Torrence, b. 1792, d. 11/11/1818 Margaret Allison Torrence, b. 1/6/1798, d. 1/19/1820 Mary L. Torrance, b. 12/19/1799, d. 11/26/1821

From Genforum posting:

Posted by Ruth Henderson on October 09, 1998 at 11:49:20: (e-mail: bddhndrsn@@aol.com In Reply to: Re: Hugh TORRANCE posted by Nancy A. (Torrence) Coleman on July 17, 1998 at 13:24:27:

Seargeant Hugh Torrance whose name so spelled first appears in an Exchequer Bill in Public Record Office in Dublin dated 18 May 1705 "from the Bann river on the Londonderry side" took part in teh Williamite Campaigns and fought in the Seige of Londonderry in 1689. Sergeant Hugh had three children at least- James lived and died in Ireland Albert and Hugh immigrated to American in 1740 settling in PA.

Hugh TORRANCE [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Return to Message Listings ] [ Help ]

Posted by Sundae Orwick on April 11, 1998 at 03:15:00:

I have a book "Genealogy of the Dike and Torrance Families from 1623 and 1701" by Nellie K. Thurston Burkhart. In this book it says "Hugh TORRANCE b. 10 Oct 1701 either county Antrim or County Londonderry, Ireland" It also states "He brought with him his wife Sarah, four stepchildren, and tree ofhis own children. They came to Cumberland Co., PA."

I found this book online at the Higginson Book Company, Salem, MA ( if I remember correctly) Kindest Regards, Sundae

Hi Michelle,

My 4g.grandmother was ISABELLA KERR. HUGH TORRENCE was her 2nd husband and I believe JAMES GILBRAITH TORRENCE was their only child. However, he was born in 1784 not 1774 as you stated. ISABELLA's 1st husband WILLIAM GILBRAITH FALLS was not killed until 1780.

I also have quite a bit on EPHRAIM DAVIDSON and JANE BREVARD's family, some of which I may not have verified. EPHRAIM was a brother of my 3g.grandfather GEORGE DAVIDSON but I did not know that the NANCY DAVIDSON that married JAMES GILBRAITH TORRENCE was their daughter. (Do you have documentation of that?) The DAVIDSON family in North Carolina sometimes gets me very confused there are so many branches.

It would be great to exchange information with you if this is the family you are looking for. I'm sending this directly to you, but will also send it to the forum so that everyone else who is interested can get in on it. You may not be monitoring the forum and I sometimes get lost trying to keep up with everything there. Please answer me directly to my E-mail or at least a quick note to check the forum. Thanks

Sherri swgen@@aol.com

Hugh Torance (1743-1816) emigrated to the American colonies from Ireland c. 1763. 1 A letter written by his minister in Five Mile Town in the Parish of Clogher and County Tyrone vouched that "Hugh Torance is an unmarried person and descended from honest and reputable parents and from infancy lived in ye bounds of the Protestant Dissenting Congregation of this place and always behaved himself orderly and supported a very fair church is certified by Thomas Boyle (?) D.D." 2 It is not known what ship brought Hugh Torance to America, or where he first landed. It is known that he and his brother Albert came together, and the family believes that they came as indentured servants. Hugh lived in Pennsylvania for several years. Shortly after the outbreak of the American Revolution, Hugh took an oath of allegiance to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. 3

Hugh joined the revolutionary forces and fought in North Carolina in a light cavalry company, the "Partisan Chargers" led by Captain Galbraith Falls who was killed on June 20, 1780 at the Battle of Ramsour's Mill. 4 Records show that Hugh was a disbursing agent for Falls' militia and probably stayed in the army until 1781. 5

After the war, Hugh married Captain Falls' widow, Isabella Kerr Falls (1783-1816). He and Isabella and her eight children lived briefly in Rowan County where Hugh had a store. They had one child together, James Galbraith Torrence (1784-1847).

According to land records, Hugh Torance was active in Mecklenburg County by 1779. He purchased 667 acres in that year, and by the 1790s, was in a position to purchase over 500 acres during the course of the decade. By the time of his death he had accumulated over 1400 acres. 6 In Rowan County, Hugh was a merchant, but he became a planter in Mecklenburg. The building currently designated as the Torrance House and Store is the first of two structures Hugh built to accommodate his family.

The inventory of Hugh Torance's estate shows that he owned a substantial amount of livestock: sixty cows, twelve horses, forty-six sheep, and 150 hogs, as well as their offspring . In terms of real and personal property, Hugh Torance owned 1400 acres, thirty-three slaves. The estate had $1500.00 cash on hand. 7

Hugh's youngest son James acquired all of the property in Mecklenburg County and focused most of his financial interests in a dry goods store that he opened in 1805. James purchased most of his initial inventory from merchants in Philadelphia. According to the recipts from his first buying trip in May and June, 1805, James spent nearly $4000.00 to purchase ribbons, cloths, buttons, dishes, jugs, tools, kettles, shovels, curry combs, rat traps and hardware. 8

Torrence suplied articles to his North Mecklenburg customers that they could not manufacture themselves, which suggests that the majority of his patrons concentrated in agricultural production. James Torrence extended credit for his customers for periods ranging from one day to one month. 9 His customers frequently paid him in cotton or sometimes in land. Cash was usually used as a method of partial payment. Sometimes customers traded in other commodities such as lard or powder in exchange for merchandise. 10 During this time cash would have been scarce for most of Torrence's middling neighbors. Economic relations based on barter and exchange indicate that the area was not connected with a market economy during the period that Torrence owned his store, and probably was not for a significant period afterward. 11

Torrence sold the store in 1825 to Samuel McCombs of Charlotte; according to family legend, his daughters convniced him that it was beneath a man of his stature to engage in trade. Besides his store, James also ran a large plantation with a saw mill on site. During James' life, the Torrence plantation expanded to approximately 3000 acres. 12 James grew primarily cotton and corn, but also grew the provisions and livestock necessary to maintain a large plantation.

Plantations were rare in Mecklenburg and seem to have been concentrated in the northwestern section of the county. Other substantial landowners in the vicinity were the Lattas, the McDowells, the Davidsons, and the Alexanders. Slave holding was common in Mecklenburg County, but the Torrences and their landed peers frequently owned thirty or more slaves, which was an exceptional number for this area. 13

Unfortunately, very little information about the Torrence family slaves survives in the family papers. A notebook titled "Ages of Negroes" is the only surviving inventory of the slave population on the Torrence Plantation. According to this notebook, James Torrence owned 125 slaves, excluding two who were marked as dead and three who were struck from the lists. 14 The Torrence slaves sometimes shopped at local merchants using Torrence's account for dry goods. Invoices from Andrew Springs show that slaves had purchased calico, buttons, shoes, bonnets, suspenders, tin cups, coffee, sugar and turpentine. 15

The Torrence family seldom mentioned their slaves in their correspondence. In the surviving records, James Torrence makes no personal notes regarding his slaves; he only mentions them in the 1840 inventory, and in his will, as some slaves were given to his children. His son Hugh alluded to a problem slave in a letter to his father in 1838: "I have a negro in the woods he may attempt to go back though I cannot tell. It is Dick. I undertook to whip him a few days ago and when I called him up - he took to the woods. He is a great rascal. If I ever get him, I will sell him -- for I believe he will spoil every negro we have if I keep him." 16 James' twelve year old daughter Jane Elizabeth writing from Salem Female Academy in 1835 closed her letter by asking her father to "Tell the black people howdy for me." 17 During the Civil War, James Torrances' widow Margaret wrote to her son Richard that her "darkeys are doing very well. Some of the negroes in this quarter have left their masters to try the Yankees." 18

There is no complete record of overseers, and no record of there being one before 1849. It appears that from 1849-1851 a new overseer was hired every year. 19 This kind of turnover was not unusual. Planters dismissed overseers for a range of different reasons: leniency or cruelty to slaves, drunkenness, and failure to make a good crop. 20 In 1862, Margaret Torrance, James Torrance's widow, hired James Brown to oversee the plantation. Brown stayed with the family until 1865. The contract between James Brown and Margaret Torrance illustrates the usual responsibilities of overseers. Brown agreed to enforce eighteen provisions in exchange for $210.00, and the use of a milk cow and a horse.

http://libweb.uncc.edu/archives/manuscripts/T/torrance.txt

Hugh Torance (1743-1816) hailed from Five-Mile-Town, Parish of Clogher, County Tyrone, Ireland (Ulster). He is buried in the Hopewell Presbyterian Church cemetery in northern Mecklenburg County, N.C.

    Torance and his brother Albert immigrated to America around 1763.

(According to Richard Banks, direct descendant of Hugh Torance and donor of this collection, Torance probably indentured himself during the years 1763-69 to pay for his passage overseas.) Hugh Torance purchased a 319- acre farm in Tyberne Township, Cumberland County, Pa., about 1770. In 1811 he deeded this property to his brother, James, who had also immigrated from Ireland.

    Torance migrated from Pennsylvania to Rowan County, N.C. about

1773. He had extensive mercantile interests in Rowan County prior to 1774. (Richard Banks surmised that his ancestor initially peddled goods on consignment to southbound immigrants, then traveled down the Great Wagon Road to sell to the settlers of Rowan and Mecklenburg counties.) During the period 1774-75 his mercantile activities centered around Sherrill's Ford and Davidson Creek in western Rowan County and extended as far as present-day Statesville.

    Albert Torrence (m. Elizabeth Hackett, 10/27/1791; d. 1825),

perhaps the youngest of the Torrances, settled in Rowan County. He owned a plantation at Trading Ford on the Yadkin River and a store in Salisbury.

    From 1778 through about 1784 Torance resided in Rowan County.  By

1787 he took up residence in Mecklenburg County, although financial dealings continued between him and his brother Albert in Salisbury.

    In 1780, Torance suspended his mercantile activities to join

Captain Galbraith Falls's militia company, a light cavalry company called the Partisan Rangers. Torance served as disbursing agent and participated in the siege of Charleston, S.C. Wage certificates show that he made payments to members of his company until 1792. (Because of the devaluation of American paper money, patriot soldiers often accepted certificates of service to be redeemed at a later time, when paper money would be more stable.)

    According to family tradition, Torance fought in the Battle of

Ramsour's Mill, Lincoln County, N.C. (6/20/1780), a decisive battle in which Falls was killed. Although no records exist, Torance probably continued to fight through the fall of 1781. His business records do not resume until 1782.

    Torance married (5/28/1783) Isabella Kerr Falls, widow of Captain

Galbraith Falls. James Galbraith Torrance (b. 11/19/1784) was their only child. [Hugh spelled his name "Torance" to distinguish himself from Albert's son Hugh Torence, a Salisbury merchant, while Albert used "Torrence". James Galbraith changed from "Torrence" to "Torrance" after his marriage to Margaret Allison to distinguish himself from his cousin James Torrence, a Charlotte merchant.] Isabella's children from her previous marriage were William (b. 8/9/1763); John; Anne (m. Robert Young); Margaret (m. Thomas McKnight); Martha (m. James Stewart); Isabella; Resonna (m. George Davidson); and Jane (m. John Simonton).

    Torance bought from John McDowell and his son of Burke County 667

acres on McDowell Creek in northern Mecklenburg County, near what is now Huntersville, in 1779. The deed states that the McDowells had acquired this land in three tracts: two from Henry Eustace McCollough and one from Thomas Irwin(?). In 1796, Torance acquired from the trustees of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill an additional 480 acres on McDowell Creek. This property had also belonged to McCollough, but was confiscated by the state as a penalty for his Tory affiliations during the Revolutionary War. By 1796 Torance had acquired 1300 acres. In 1799 he received grants of 50, 70, and 60 acres of land on McDowell Creek apparently as reward for his war service.

    Torance began building a two-story brick house on his land in 1794.

By 1796 he had nearly completed the structure, which stood exactly where the Cedar Grove plantation, a local historic property, now stands. Purchases for the house are well documented in the papers.

    Hugh Torance died on February 14, 1816; Isabella died only two

weeks before him at seventy-six years. At the time of their deaths, they owned 1,400 acres in Mecklenburg County, 3,800 acres in Tennessee, and 33 slaves.

    James Galbraith Torrance (1784-1847) was three years old when his

father, Hugh Torance, moved to the McDowell Creek property in Mecklenburg County. He spent many of his early years at the home of his uncle Albert in Salisbury, probably because of the superiority of educational opportunities there. After completing his education in 1805, he set up an extensive store at Cedar Grove with some $4,000 worth of goods purchased from Philadelphia [see part 1, folder 15, item 21 (Banks's notation) hereinafter cited as 1-15-21]. In 1825, James Galbraith sold his mercantile business to Samuel McCombs of Charlotte [see part 1, series 2, daybook ledger]. Banks speculates that Torance's daughters persuaded their father to sell the business because they considered mercantile activities unrefined for a planter.

    By 1810, Torrance had surpassed his father in agricultural,

mercantile, and community activities. He purchased 386 acres in 1810. Governor William Hawkins appointed him a justice of the peace in 1812 [1-1-9]. In 1818 he became treasurer of Hopewell Presbyterian Church [see part 1, series 2, Hopewell Church account book].

    After about 1818, Torrance turned to a more extensive cultivation

of cotton, although he had been selling cotton as early as 1805 [1-8-1, 16]. He sometimes sold cotton in Fayetteville, N.C., but more often freighted it by wagon to Camden or Cheraw, S.C., then to Charleston, S.C. Debtors sometimes reduced their accounts by freighting cotton for him (1-8-6).

    Torrance was married three times.  His first wife was Nancy

Davidson (m. 2/9/1809; d. 11/11/1818), daughter of General Ephraim Davidson (son of George and Penelope Reece Davidson) and Jane Brevard Davidson (daughter of John and Jane McWhorter Brevard), from Mount Mourne, present-day Iredell County, N.C. Their five children were:

    1) Jane Adeline (1811-3/1820);

    2) Catherine Camilla (b. 1814) married William A. Latta of Yo
       County, S.C. (6/24/1834).  She attended Salem Female Boarding
       School (11/10/1825-12/6/1827, with her sister Isabella Malvina
       in Salem, N.C., and Lucretia Sarazen's school in Philadelphia
       (9/18/1830-5/28/1831).  Children were Willie and Margaret;

    3) Isabella Malvina (1818-12/22/1893) married Franklin L. Smith
       (9/9/1835), a planter in Mississippi.  One daughter, Jane
       Camilla (1835-1901), married Rufus Reid (d. 7/15/1854).  A son,
       James Rufus Reid, who died at Manassas, Va. (11/1/1861); and
       son, Franklin S. Reid (d. 11/27/1862);

    4) Hugh Torrence Jr. married Jane Powell; one daughter, Isabella;

    5) James Franklin (1816-69).  Hugh Jr. and James were planters in
       Coffeeville, Miss.

    On April 14, 1821, Torrance married Mary Latta (12/29/1799-

11/26/1824), daughter of James Latta, emigrant planter of the Hopewell community. They had two children:

    1) William Latta (1/20/1822-5/26/1852) was one of the first
       students of Davidson College and later attended the University
       of Pennsylvania medical school;

    2) Jane Elizabeth (1823-12/3/1844) married William S. M. Davids
       (1817-73).  She attended Salem Boarding School.  One son: James
       Torrence (1843-74).

In 1827 Torrance married his third wife, Margaret Allison (1798- 1880), daughter of Richard and Letitia Neil Allison from near Statesville. Their children were:

    1) Letitia A. (b. 1828) married Dr. Ed. S. Bratton (9/7/1847).
       They lived in Yorkville, S.C.;

    2) Mary A. (b. 1829) married Robert M. Bratton (4/23/1849),
       secondly, Dr. Sidney Witherspoon;

    3) Delia (b. 1831) married John R. Johnston of Zuela plantation in
       Gaston County, N.C. (6/17/1856);

    4) Richard Allison (1833-1927) [see expanded biographical note
       below];

    5) Sarah Jane (b. 1836) married Dr. John Brown Gaston Jr. of
       Montgomery, Ala. (10/11/1857), where they resided;

    6) John Andrew (1/28/1839-12/21/1904) did not marry.  He attended
       Hillsborough Military Academy, 1860-61.  At the outbreak of the
       Civil War he enlisted in the 7th North Carolina infantry.  In
       March, 1862, the 7th participated in the defense of New Ber
       N.C.  In May, 1862, the regiment (along with the 28th, 33rd, and
       37th N.C. regiments) joined the newly formed Branch (Second)
       Brigade in Virginia, commanded by Brig. Gen. Lawrence O'B.
       Branch.  The brigade fought in most of the major engagements of
       the war, including Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, and
       Gettysburg (including Pickett's charge).  On April 28, 1863,
       Torrance received a promotion to second lieutenant in the 37th
       N.C. (Lane's Brigade after Branch's death).  John Torrance
       fought with Lee's army until its surrender at Appomattox Court
       House.  After the war he resided near the Cedar Grove
       plantation, where he operated the Torrance mill until his death.

    For his wife Margaret, Torrance built Cedar Grove, their elegant

plantation home, which still stands on the site on which the Hugh Torance house formerly stood. Master carpenters David Hampton and Jacob Shuman began building the house in 1831; the house was completed in 1833 (1-19-45A). Probably designed by an architect, the 5,000 square feet house is a Greek Revival style featuring stepped gables, ornate moldings, and a quaker staircase. Bricks for the house were manufactured on the site.

Education was well-respected in the Torrance household. A charter member of the Davidson College Board of Trustees (1836), Torrance paid $100 on a $500 subscription to the "Manual Labour School," as Davidson College was first known. He continued payments on his subscription until 1839. He was a member of the Davidson College building committee and also served on a financial committee. During the period 1841-44, he paid $60 annual interest on a pledge to endow a professorship at the college. He fulfilled his endowment pledge in 1845 by giving a certificate for ten shares of stock in the Bank of North Carolina [see part 1, folder 37, Davidson College receipt book].

    School teachers in the northern Mecklenburg area included Alexander

Garden (1826), John Manchette (1827), Benjamin and Thomas Cottrell (1828), John Little (1829), S. D. Wharton (1847), Robert A. Sadler (1821) [1-24-5] and Peter Stuart Ney, under whom Richard Torrance studied (1840-45). His daughters attended Salem Female Boarding School operated by John C. Jacobson and Benjamin Reichel. The records show that in 1830, Torrance advertised a Hopewell Academy in the Catawba Journal, although details of the academy are not known.

    In 1824, Torrance extended his business activities by building a

water-powered mill for grinding flour and lumber [1-18-26, 30]. Andrew Killion constructed the original mill at the confluence of McDowell and Torrence creeks [1-21-34]. Completed in 1825, the mill received an extensive gear repair in 1830 [1-19-8]. It was rebuilt in 1844-46 [1- 21-108].

    At the time of Torrance's death (1847), he owned 3,273 acres and 71

slaves.

The following account states that the last wife of Hugh Torrance is Isabella TALLEY. Not sure where this name came from, but it appears that many researchers agree that she was Isabella KERR:

66. Hugh Torrence3 (James2 Sergeant Hugh1), in the year 1811, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, deeded land to his brothers James Torrance, of Frederick, Maryland. In this deed he was joined by his wife, Isabella Torrence. "Hugh Torrence married Martha White in 1760, widow of Captain John White, of Frederick, Maryland." Note 125-1 It is probable that Hugh Torrence's associations in Frederick, Maryland, may have led his brother James Torrance to locate there.

"Hugh Torrence, 319 acres of land in Cumberland County, August 18, 1768. Patented to Hugh Torrence, August 22, 1768." Note 125-2

The U. S. Census of 1790, lists Hugh Torrence in Salisbury District, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, as having one male under 16, 5 females and 12 slaves.

"Hugh Torrence married Isabella Tally, May 29, 1783." She was evidently his wife from 1783 to at least 1811, when she joined him in a deed granting land "for love and affection" to his brother James Torrance of Frederick, Maryland. This deed was witnessed by Samuel 125

Laurie and James Latta. The name of Latta and that of Galbraith occur in his descendants' lines. Note 1265-1

At this point, it is of interest to mention some of the early settlers in Pennsylvania, whose names are also found in North Carolina; many of these intermarried with the Torrences.

"The North Carolina branch of the Torrences settled first in Pennsylvania. Many of the families that later intermarried with the Torrences also came from Pennsylvania. As early as 1730, Scotch-Irish settlers came to townships Coleraine, Leacock and Pequa, now Lancaster County. Coleraine was doubtless so named by those settlers who came from Coleraine in County Londonderry, Ireland. Their names appear among the Warrants for lands, prior to 1740." Note 126-2

Large numbers of Scotch-Irish from Donegal and Perry, Ireland, arrived at Newcastle, Delaware. All were Presbyterians. Among these were Richard Allison, and John Galbraith, who built the first grist and saw-mills there. The latter became a famous Indian trader and fighter. Note 126-3

Andrew Galbraith was an Elder in Donegal Presbyterian Church in 1721. Note 126-4

Many of the Scotch-Irish who originally settled in Pennsylvania, travelled the wilderness road to the South, where their descendants are now found. Prior to 1730, in Donegal, are found the names of John, Patrick and William Allison, John Davidson, John, William and Robert Spear and their sons. Note 126-5

"William Bertram was a minister in Donegal Township, which furnished Colonels Bertram and James Galbraith." Note 126-6

""Among those who made improvements in the Manor-of-Maske, prior to January 18, 1741, and took up Warrants for land between 1765 and 1775, were Thomas Latta; 200 acres in 1761, and 350 acres in October, 1774. This land was called 'Rapho', a name directly traceable to Ireland." Note 126-7 126

The names of the descendants of this Hugh Torrence of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, have been secured through the kindness and assistance of a descendant, Mr. Richard Torrence Banks, of Charlotte, North Carolina.

The previously quoted records concerning the marriage of Hugh Torrence are at variance with those used by Mr. Banks, in that it is his belief that Isabella was the widow of a Captain Galbraith Falls. Repeated efforts have been made to clarify this difference, without success. In a letter to the compiler, Mr. Banks quoted from a paper, said to have been brought to America by this Hugh Torrence, as follows:

"From infancy, until after August 1, 1763, he lived within Protestant Dissenting Congregation of Five Mile Town, in Parish of Clogher, County Tyrone, Ireland." He said further, that Hugh is believed to have had brothers, James, George and Albert.

Mr. Richard Torrence LeGrand, of Shelby, North Carolina, another descendant of Hugh Torrence, sent a copy of a letter, which seems to be the same letter, but in more detail, as follows:

Five Mile Farm Parish of Tyrone, Ireland. August 20, 1763. Hugh Torance is an unmarried person, descended from honest, reputable parents and from infancy lived in ye bounds of the Protestant Dissenting Congregation of this place and always behaved himself orderly and supported a very fair Character.

Certified to, by Thomas Boyle, P.D.

The County of Tyrone, Ireland, is partly in the Diocese of Clogher, partly in that of Armagh, but chiefly in Derry. For the purpose of civil jurisdiction, it is divided into the Baronies of Clogher, Dungannon, Strabane, and Omagh. It contains the burough and market town of Dungannon, the assize and market town of Omagh, the disfranchised buroughs and market and post towns of Strabane and Clogher. .

Five-mile-town. . . . The principal villages are Claudy, Crogh, Dromore, Gartin, Pomeroy, Six-Mile-Cross (each of which has a subpost), Killeter, Newmills, Termonmaquirk, and Tullyhoge.

127 The first version says Hugh Torrence came from the Parish of Clogher, while the second version says he came from the Parish of Tyrone. Because of this difference in statements, which has not been explained, the exact location can not be determined.

Family tradition is, that Hugh Torrence had a brother James, who lived in Pennsylvania, and married a Galbraith; a brother George, who lived near Ellicott City, Maryland; and a brother Albert, who lived in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Because the previously quoted records very substantially establish the identity and relationship between these several brothers, they seem more convincing than the family traditions.

Hugh Torrence's widow, Isabella Torrence, is buried in the Hopewell Churchyard, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina; her tombstone bears the following inscription:

"Isabella Torrence died February 1, 1816, aged 76."

This record would place her birth in the year 1740. The only son of Hugh 'Torrence and his wife Isabella Tally Torrence, was James Galbraith Torrence, who is also buried in Hopewell. His tombstone records his birth as of November 19, 1784, and his death as of December 12, 1847. His will, which is recorded in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, was dated July 2, 1845.

Returning to the Rowan County Marriage Records, wherein Hugh Torrence's marriage to Isabella Tally is recorded as of May 29, 1783, we find, by comparing this date with the birthday of their only son, James Galbraith Torrence, which was November 19, 1784, that he was born one year and seven months after the marriage.

Since Isabella Tally was born in 1740, she was 44 years of age when her son, James Galbraith Torrence, was born. This fact may account for her not having other children. Because of her age when she married Hugh Torrence, it is very probable that this marriage was not her first. This possibility may account for the belief of Mr. Banks that she was the widow of Captain Galbraith Falls. It does not account for her name being Isabella Tally, when she married Hugh Torrence, unless she had a second marriage to a Mr. Tally, after the death of Captain Falls. Repeated efforts have been made to get the facts in this case, but without success. 128

Child of Hugh and Isabella (Tally) Torrence was:

¶70. i. James Galbraith Torrence4 married three times. Married first, a Miss Davidson; married second, Mary Latta; married third, Margaret Alliso

1. ↑ Trussell, Lillian. Gilbreath Falls Family Records. (925 Gray Street S, Gulfport, FL 33707-2454).

   Hugh Torrance died 14 February, 1816, aged 76 years.

2. ↑ Trussell, Lillian. Gilbreath Falls Family Records. (925 Gray Street S, Gulfport, FL 33707-2454).
3. ↑ Bartee, Michelle - e-mail: barteer@@zianet.com
   from Genforum.com post of 2/5/1998.