Person:James Torrance (2)

Genforun posting Re: James Gilbraith Torrence [ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Return to Message Listings ] [ Help ]

Posted by Fain on December 25, 1998 at 17:24:13:

In Reply to: Re: James Gilbraith Torrence posted by Michelle on August 06, 1998 at 03:25:16:

James Gilbraith Torrence (or Torrance) is buried along with his mother and father in the Hopewell Presbyterian Church graveyard in Huntersville, NC. This is one of the early churches in the Charlotte area. Other relatives are buried there as well. I would appreciate any information on this line of Torrances.

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

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].

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Clark, Murtie June. Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774. (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1983, Baltimore, Maryland)
   Appendix D.
2.   Fetters, Thomas Torrence - e-mail: tfedders@@mediaone.net
   Genforum.com post of 2/13/1999.