Abner Vance was born in the mid 1700's in North Carolina. He migrated to the Southwestern part of Virginia (The Clinch River Valley) in Russell County, sometime around 1790. He was a baptist preacher, and spent a lot of his time preaching.
One of Abner's daughters (Believed to have been Elizabeth) ran off with a man named Lewis Horton. After a few months Lewis Horton brought the girl back and dropped her off at Abner's home. Abner and his wife Susannah pleaded with Mr. Horton to marry her, of which he refused. As Horton was riding away, Abner went into his house and returned with his gun and shot Lewis Horton, which resulted in his death.
Abner Vance became a fugitive from the law. he left Russell County right then, which was Sept. 17, 1817. He spent the next two years along the Guyandotte and Tug rivers. In 1819 his family convinced him to return to Russell County to stand trial for the killing of Lewis Horton!
Every one in the area felt that he would be aquited of the killing of Mr. Horton under the circumstances. When he came back to Russell County he was arrested and put in jail without bail. The first trial ended in a hung jury, so the trial was moved from Russell County to Washington County Virginia. (This was when you could be tried over and over for the same crime) The Washington County jury found him guilty of the murder of Lewis Horton and sentenced him to be hanged by the neck until dead. The case was taken to the court of appeals, but the lower court decision was upheld.
Petitions for the release of Abner Vance were circulated, but to no avail. The Governor would not interfere, and on July 16,1819 in Abingdon Virginia-Abner Vance was hanged for the murder of Lewis Horton.
A short time after the hanging a courier arrived with a pardon from the Governor. (No pardon has ever been found, and there is no record of it) Susannah (Howard) Vance left Russell County Virginia and went to the Guyandotte, Tug, and Big Sandy river valleys.
This is just one version of the death of Abner Vance, I don't proclaim this to be a true story! This is just another version of what we know happened, which was Abner Vance was hanged for the murder of another man. If you have a story about Abner Vance or his family, I would like to hear it, and possibly add it to my homepage.
This is the continuation of my family line! Below are listed the children of William H. Vance and Louisa Margaret Helton--My Great Grandparents:
William H. Vance was born-8-Mar-1855, he died--14-Nov-1901, he was married--5-Feb-1880 to Louisa Margaret Helton, Louisa was born-1864. They lived in the Richlands area of Tazewell County Virginia. Below is a list of their children:
James H. Vance b.15-Apr-1881, d.18-Mar-1965, m.28-Dec-1898 to: 1st Mariah C. White, 2nd Rhoda E. Joyce.
Ollie M. Vance b.1884, d.????, m.1st-7-Jun-1900 to Sam C. Elswick, 2nd: 3-Mar-1908 to W. Harvey Barrett.
Dora Vance b.????, d.????, m. 1st-15-May-1913 to Bulah Barrett, 2nd to Henderson Whittaker.
Charles Crockett Vance b. 19-Nov-1889, d.20-Sep-1968, m.25-Apr-1920 to Nancy Catherine Burke.
J. Vanner Vance b.????, d.????, m.12-May-1912 to S. Graham Altizer.
Henry F. Vance b.10-May-1894, d.14-Jun-1925, m.6-Jun-1918 to Gussie M. Brown.
Fields Joshua Vance b.6-Oct-1882,d.17-Nov-1950, m.31-Mar-1904 to Abinda Louise Smith.
I would like some feedback about my page, and also would like to hear from cousins! So if you are related to any of the people on my pages why not contact me at:
Timothy and Rosalie (Josh and Lynn) will reside in Orange County Virginia where he is employed as a carpenter, and she works in sales. They have two children Zachary and Ezekeal. We all wish them well, and hope that they enjoy their life together.
So the family continues to grow, and that is what makes genealogy worth every minute spent in doing it!
Now I would like to tell you a short story about another Joshua Vance. This one being my GrandFather. When my Father was a young boy of about 8, he use to go with his Father to visit his Grandmother and his step-grandfather who was the best moonshiner in the Southwest Va. area at the time. His Father would get him a jug of shine and start home. It was about a 5 mile walk. When they would get within seeing distance of the house, my Grandfather would tell my Father to play for awhile, so he could take a nap. Then my Grandfather proceeded to sip his shine for about an hour or so. Sometimes my Grandfather would sleep, and sometimes he would tell my Father stories about the family, and about his personal adventures. These were my Father's fondest memories of my Grandfather. It was time that he and his Father got to spend alone together. My Father use to tell me stories that his Father had told him, if only I could remember all of them, but time has passed and I am afraid that many of them are gone forever, for I can remember only a precious few. These precious few I will try to share with you-my relatives and friends!******Drop me a line!!
Fields Joshua Vance was b. 6-Oct-1882, he d. 17-Nov-1950 in Red Ash Va. he was m. 31-Mar-1904 to Abinda louise Smith d/o Jackson and Serepta Smith. Abinda was b. 30-Jun-1884, she d. 8-Jan-1932 in Red Ash Va. Abinda and Josh are buried beside of each other in the Vance Family Cemetary in Red Ash Va.
Fields Joshua & Abinda Louise had the following children:
Jesse Monroe Vance b. 1905 in Tazewell Co. Va. d. Tazewell Co. Va. m. 1st-Fannie Hobbs, 2nd-Alice Faye Stump.
Bertha elender Vance b. 13-Mar-1912 in Tazewell Co. Va. d. 17-Nov-1943, m. 8-Aug-1925 to Robert Payne griffitts(ths) Bertha is buried in the Vance Family Cemetary in Red Ash Va.
Bulah (Clara) Mae Vance m. Earl Street.
Clint R. Vance m. Nelle Boothe.
Male Vance-(Living)
William Harley Vance b. 8-Mar-1916 in Red Ash Va. d. 12-Mar-1985 in Washington Co. Va. m. 22-Mar-1936 to Dorothy Ellen White d/o Thomas and Nannie (Whited) White. Dorothy was b. 7-dec-1917 in Red Ash Va. d. 19-May-1993 in Fairfax Co. Va. William and Dorothy (Dot & Harley) are buried beside of each other at the Greenhills Memory Gardens at Claypool Hill Va.
Dot & Harley (Mom & Dad) had seven children, all still living. They have 17 grandchildren, and 9 great grandchildren.
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