2nd Lieutenant Reuben Nance, Sr

A Patriot of the American Revolution for VIRGINIA with the rank of Ensign. DAR Ancestor # A081461

Will of Reuben Nance:

This will was dated 10 JAN 1812 and proved 9 MAR

1812 in Henry Co., Va. (This is as set out in "Henry Co., Va. Will Abstracts", Lela C. Adams, Southern Historical Press, 1985).

"To wife Nancy Nance: negro Benn, cow and calf, bed and furniture to dispose of at her discretion. To wife Nancy for her use during her natural lifetime or widowhood, negros: Isaac, Dyder, Will, Hester, Jury, Martin, Simon, Joe, and Janey, also a wagon and team, still, all plantation tools, cattle stock, land, plantation house, furniture and the mill. My desire is that my old stock of negros should be divided between my oldest family of children that I had with my first wife viz: son William Nance, deduct $175 pd him, son Bird Nance, son Allen Nance, son Clement Nance, son Joseph Nance, daus Mary Crouch,

Susannah McCulough and Tabithia Shackelford, the following negros, Bess' children: George, Peter, Moses, Bob, Rachel, Jiney and Gill. As to my son Isaac Nance, son John Nance, son Reuben (sic) Nance, son Isham Nance and Dau Sarah Sandford I have given each of them their part as follows: son Isaac has received one hundred pounds, son Isham one hundred pounds; son John received negro Amy; dau Sarah Sandford a negro named Liza; son Reuben (sic) negro named Lucy. The balance of my estate to my last children: Stephen Nance, Peyton Nance, Sarah Philpott, Edmund Nance, Lessonia (sic) Nance, Nancy Nance and Reuben Saunders Nance.

Appoint Benjamin Jones as exor.

Wit. John Conaway, Edward Richardson, John Lovell.

Thomas Starling, Joseph Gravely Sr. sec for Benjamin

Jones.

The ancestral home of REUBEN NANCE

This is a reproduction of the contents of a report on the ancestral home of Reuben Nance (b. 1745 - d. 1812), contained in the "Virginia Historical Inventory" database of the Library of Virginia's Digital Library program.

The document was the product of a project of the Works Progress Administration (W. P. A.) to inventory items of historical interest -- including old buildings -- in Virginia.

This report is of interest primarily because it describes what is (or was) apparently the actual house the Reuben Nance lived in, as well as describing its location precisely. It is important to note, though, that this report dates to 1937 -- 64 years ago. Whether the house is still standing, I do not know.

There is little of direct genealogical interest in the report, but two points are of interest. The owner of the property after 1825, Benjamin A. Marshall, is almost certainly the Benjamin Marshall who married Reuben Nance's daughter Nancy (b. 22 Mar. 1804) in 1826. Also, this report mentions that there is "an old graveyard in the yard". It would seem likely, that this is the burial place of Reuben Nance, and probably others of his line.

WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION OF VIRGINIA

HISTORICAL INVENTORY

County: Henry

Class: Home

"G. L. CARTER HOME PLACE"

This write-up is part of the Virginia W. P. A. Historical Inventory Project sponsored by the Virginia Conservation Commission under the direction of its Division of History. Credit to both the Commission and the W. P. A. is requested for publication, in whole or in part. Unless otherwise stated, this information has not been checked for accuracy by the sponsor

Research made by

Kizzie D. Carter

Martinsville, VA

April 19, 1937

1. SUBJECT:

   "G. L. Carter Home Place."

   Formerly "Ruben Nance Home."

2. LOCATION:

   2 miles east of Martinsville, Va. On Route # 58; thence north on Route #57 2 miles. House on west side of road.

3. DATE:

First deed was in 1778.

4. OWNERS:

   Ruben Nance            1778

   Ruben Nance's Heirs    1812

   Benjamin A. Marshall   1825

   Reuben D. Marshall     1850

   William D. Stultz      1850

   G. L. Carter           1905  present owner.

5. DESCRIPTION

This house is in the shape of a square, with three rooms down and one up. It is very attractive, two-story, frame house. There are two fifteen-pane windows in the front and one in the rear.

The ceilings and walls were plastered but recently have been papered. The room upstairs is very small and dark and the only light comes from two half size windows, with four panes each, placed near the chimneys. A new porch has been added in front, and on the side a small stoop over the steps leads into the side of the house. This was built to keep out the rain.

There was an old kitchen in the yard but this has been torn down and a new one built in the house.

There is an old graveyard in the yard but the markings have entirely faded and some have fallen in.

6. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:

   None.

7. ART:

   None.

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

In Henry County Clerks Office at Martinsville, Va.

   Deed Book  1   Page 194

   Deed Book 13   Page 130; 682; 724

   Deed Book 33   Page 149

   Will Book  2   Page 163

   Verna Smith, daughter of the present owner.

 ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION OF BUILDINGS CALLED FOR IN 5-A OF BULLETIN 3400

Name of Building: G. L. Carter Home

   Location:  2 mi. E. of Martinsville, Va. On U. S. #58, thence N. on Rt. 57 2 mi., house on west side of route.

   County: Henry        Date:   April 19, 1937

EXTERIOR

1. Building Plan: Square

2. No. of Stories: (2) Attic classed as 1/2 story

3. Material: Frame

4. If brick, state what bond

5. Kind of roof: Gabled

6. If Church, describe or draw sketch of roof

7. Roof material: Was Shingle, now Metal

8. Chimneys: 2, Brick. Location: At the sides

9. Weatherboarding: Plain

10. Cornices: Plain or Elaborate: Plain

11 Windows: Number: 3 Size and number of panes: 45 panes 9x12 down

13. Shutters: None

14. Porch: One, small, added in front.

15. Type of Entrance: Low, wide pine doorway, very plain

16. Columns: None

INTERIOR

17. Rooms: 3 Small. Approx. ceiling height 8 feet.

18. Stairway: Closed string. Plain, enclosed with a closet underneath.

19. Cellar: None

20. Doors: Style and type of wood: Low, wide uniform planks of pine.

21. Walls: Were plastered but are now papered.

22. Interior cornices: Plain

23. Hardware: Lock and hinges: wide locks, common hinges, brass knobs and keys

24. Floors: Wide uniform planks of pine

25. Mantels: Plain with wide ledges; one is paneled.

26. Misc.

27. Present condition, and state if spoiled architecturally by remodeling: No. This house is in wonderful condition, having recently been painted and done over.

28. Does occupant appreciate old architectural features? Yes.

Your name: Kizzie D. Carter

Sources:

The Nance Registry - by Pete Nance

Nance Genealogy Clearinghouse http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~nancegc/reubhous.htm

Reuben was a friend with Patrick Henry. Reuben had 20 children - 13 with his first wife and 7 with his second wife.

Reuben Nance was son of William and Ann Epps Nance Jr. His first wife, Amy Williamson, which he had 14 children with her.

• Isham Nance
• Joseph Nance
• Reuben Nance Jr.
• Sarah "Sally" Nance
• William Nance
• Mary Sarah Nance
• Isaac Nance
• Bud "Bird" Nance
• Allen Nance
• John Nance
• Susanna/Susannah Nance
• Tabitha Nance
• Clement Nance
• Joseph Nance

Then he married Nancy Brown and had 12 children (I only have 7 names that I have found) with her.

• Sarah Philpot Nance
• Stephan Nance
• Edmond Nance
• Lessenby Nance
• Nancy Nance
• Reuben Saunders Nance

Reuben's buried site is not actually known but since he was a plantation owner, he was probably buried on his plantation outside of Martinsville, Virginia.

Ruben NANCE's mother, Ann EPPES NANCE, was the great granddaughter of Lt Col Francis EPPES (Thru Llewellyn and Littlebury)and Elizabeth Jane LITTLEBURY WORSHAM EPPES - the great-great grandparents of Martha WAYLES SKELTON JEFFERSON, wife of U.S. President Thomas JEFFERSON (Thru Francis, Francis, and Martha).

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 6 2018, 18:08:17 UTC

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GEDCOM Source

@R-1563603414@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=40860970&pid...

GEDCOM Note

<p>[g675.ftw]</p><p><p></p></p><p><p>1812 Will, (witnessed by John Connoway, Edward Richarson, John Lovell) Henry Co. VA Will Bk 2 p 163-5</p><p><p></p></p><p><p>1787 Henry Co. census Head of Household.</p></p><p><p></p></p><p><p>Will of Reuben Nance:</p></p><p><p>From Dave Nance's Definitive Nance Genealogy Clearinghouse</p></p><p><p>This will was dated 10 Jan 1812 and proved 9 Mar 1812 in Henry Co., VA. (This is as set out in "Henry Co. VA Will Abstracts", Lela C. Adams, Southern Historical Press, 1985).</p><p><p></p></p><p><p>To wife Nancy Nance negro Benn, cow and calf, bed and furniture to dispose of at her discretion. To wife Nancy for her use during her natural lifetime or widowhood negros: Isaac, Dyder, Will, Hester, Jury, Martin, Simon, Joe and Janey also a wagon and team, still, all plantation tools, cattle stock, land, plantation house, furniture and the mill. My desire is that my old stock of negros should be divided between my oldest family of children that I had with my first wife viz: son William Nance, deduct $175 pd him, son Bird Nance, son Allen Nance, son Clement Nance, son Joseph Nance, daus Mary Crouch, Susannah</p><p><p>McCulough and Tabithia Shackelford, the following negros, Bess' children, George, Peter, Moses, Bob, Rachel, Jiney and Gill. As to my son Isaac Nance, son John Nance, son Reubin (sic) Nance, son Isham Nance and Dau Sarah Sandford I have given each of them their part as follows: son Isaac has received one hundred pounds, son Isham one hundred pounds; son John received negro Amy; dau Sarah Sandford a negro named Liza; son Reuben (sic) negro named Lucy. The balance of my estate to my last children: Stephen Nance, Peyton Nance, Sarah Philpott, Edmund Nance, Lessonla (sic) Nance, Nancy Nance and Reuben Saunders Nance. Appoint Benjamin Jones as exor. Wit: John Conaway, Edward Richardson, John Lovell. Thomas Starling, Joseph Gravely Sr sec for Benjamin Jones.</p><p></p>