William Vance moved to Washington Co., Pennsylvania, sometime in the late 1750's and became a prominent citizen there. He built a stone fort with his son Joseph, which was unusual since most Scotch-Irish built crude log cabins. It became a gathering spot for locals as it served as protection from Indian raids, was a commercial center, and was used for church and social events.
William, along with son Joseph, was a founder of the Cross Creek Presbyterian Church. There is a history of this church in the Collier Co. Genealogical collection that contains all sorts of information about these Vances.
The Vances that moved from Virginia to Pennsylvania carried warrants for land issued by Virginia because Virginia claimed most of western Pennsylvania as Virginia property. This was a bone of contention with Pennsylvania citizens, some of them thinking they owned the same land, and the dispute was not resolved until the Mason-Dixon line was established, which granted the land to Pennsylvania.
William, along with sons David and Joseph, were staunch defenders of Virginia and belonged to Virginia militia units. William became a major, and served at that rank when his unit was incorporated into the Revolutionary army.
Daughters of the American Revolution information:
VANCE, WILLIAM
Ancestor #: A117407
Service: VIRGINIA
Rank(s): PATRIOTIC SERVICE
Birth: 1718 SCOTLAND
Death: 4-18-1788 CROSS CREEK WASHINGTON CO PENNSYLVANIA
Service Description: 1) MEM OF COMM OF OBSERVATION; MEM OF COMM 2) TO CHOOSE SITE OF MEETING HOUSE
Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/), "Record of William Vance", Ancestor # A117407.
Source: S-2082305877 Repository: #R-2141902781 Title: Family Data Collection - Deaths Author: Edmund West, comp. Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001. Note: APID: 1,5771::0
Source: S-2094261915 Repository: #R-2141902781 Title: U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.Original data - Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls Note: APID: 1,2204::0
WikiTree profile Vance-366 created through the import of MarilynCardwellGedcomJuly2011.ged on Jul 10, 2011 by Marilyn Cardwell. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Marilyn and others.
WikiTree profile Vance-520 created through the import of Nixon Family Tree 100211.ged on Oct 2, 2011 by Susan Shirey. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Susan and others.
Thank You to Pamela Tannehill, for contribution Saturday, May 2, 2015.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line.
It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with William:
The linked parents had children in Ireland only, where the mother died. Andrew later came to Virginia, not Pennsylvania. Other families have been mingled into this one.
Vance-3386 and Vance-366 appear to represent the same person because: Birth date corresponds although place differs. Death date and place match exactly. Spouse matches.