Person:William Purviance (2)

MARY (Polly) BUCHANAN, daughter of George and Margaret (McAfee ) Buchanan, was born on October 4, 1773 in Botetourt County, Virginia. She moved with her family to Washington County, Virginia.

           About 1782, when she was 9, her family moved to the Salt River in Mercer County, Kentucky where she grew up. On July 30, 1801, at about age 27, in Mercer County, Kentucky, she was united in marriage to William Provine (or Purviance as it is noted in their marriage record). He was the son of John and Mary (Mitchell) Provine and was born either in Virginia, or North Carolina, about 1773, the exact date we do not know. He came with his father’s family to Kentucky in 1789, and with them settled in Madison County, in what was known as the Paint Lick neighborhood (now in Garrard County).
           William and Mary Polly Provine were land owners in Madison County, Kentucky, and the old records of the court at Lancaster preserve a number of transfers between William Provine and others. We find one dated March 31, 1806, in which “William Purvance and Mary his wife transfer 193 acres of land to Samuel Reed for $1447.50.” We note in the records that the name of William Provine was spelled once “Purvance” and once “Provence” (that is, by the clerk) but when they affixed their own signatures they spelled their name “Provine”.
           When Indiana Territory was opened for settlement, it was not long before William Provine and his wife Mary, along with his mother and two sisters, made their way across the Ohio and entered those lands about 1807, where William was a county surveyor.
           They settled in what is known as Clark County, Indiana, some twelve or fifteen miles northeast of the town of Jeffersonville. The exact location of their land was on Tract No. 198 of the grant, on the waters of Fourteen Mile Creek, and is embraced in the boundaries of the present township of Washington.
           They were one of the early pioneer settlers of this county, and are mentioned a number of times in the history of Clark County, known as  “Ohio Falls Cities and Counties.”
           In 1808, just below the junction of the East and West Forks of Fourteen Mile Creek, William erected a grist mill; he made the dam of brush, afterwards adding an overshot carding machine. The mill stood on the right bank of the creek. It afterwards passed into the hands of the Walker family, hence the site is known as Walker’s Mill.
           The first wagon road in the township was from the town of Westport on the Ohio River to Provine’s Mill. As a result his mill  was the neighborhood Post Office from 1808 to 1817, at which time it was moved to the new village of New Washington.
           So troublesome did the Indians become, and so fearful was the attack at Pigeon Roost in Clark County in 1812, that for safety, William Provine erected for his family a blockhouse fort. Soon afterwards, however, the Indian troubles ceased. In 1812 he entered the army in its defense against England, but was twice relieved from active duty in order that he might, by working his grist mill, provide food for the soldiers. It was believed by the army that he could best serve his country in this way, as his mill at that time was perhaps the only one north of the Ohio River, and west of Cincinnati.
           On October 9, 1815, William and Mary (Buchanan) Provine were called upon to mourn the death of their firstborn, Peggy, who died at the age of 13. And a few days later, on October 16, 1815, William Provine, himself, died, at the age of 42. The father and child were both buried in the newly opened graveyard in the neighborhood, now for long years known as the Walker graveyard. This burying place was originally laid off in the midst of a dense beech woods, and the two Provine graves are supposed to be among the first by which the spot was consecrated.
           His wife, Mary (Buchanan) Provine, died in Clark County, Indiana on July 27, 1847.
           Children: 

30. i. PEGGY PROVINE , b. 17 Sep 1802; d. 9 Oct 1815.

31. ii. JOHN G. PROVINE , b. 8 Sep 1804; d. 19 Oct 1821.

32. iii. ALEXANDER B. PROVINE , b. 7 Nov 1806; d. 3 May 1853; m. (1) Sallie Walker ; (2) Jane Anderson .

33. iv. SALEM FINDLEY PROVINE , b. 3 Feb 1809; d. 1 Oct 1831; unmarrie

34. v. MARY POLLY PROVINE , b. 12 Feb 1811; d. 14 Mar 1888; m. WilliamCampbell Walker .

35. vi. GEORGE W. PROVINE , b. 5 May 1813; d. 11 Apr 1898; m. Mary McClarry

36. vii. WILLIAM PROVINE , b. 23 May 1816; d. 24 Apr 1903; m. Paulina Scott .