In an effort to try to figure out the relationships between the earliest American Nances, I set up a chart to show all of them we are aware of, and to do so in a way that literally and accurately reflected date, so that the viewer could get a sense of the (possible) generations. This is that chart.
PLEASE NOTE, that the arrangement of siblings does not necessarily reflect birth order. In some cases where it is known, I have tried to follow it, but in many cases it is not known. Where that is the case, what you see is my speculation. Please note also, that in many cases there is actually no evidence as to birth date, and what is shown here is, again, a matter of (at best) inference or (at worst) speculation. Finally, please note that in some later generations I have omitted daughters to save space.
So what does this kind of analysis show-- or suggest? Well, one thing that we have to consider seriously, is whether we have been on the right track with the idea generally followed by many Nance genealogists, that James (m. Ann) and William (m. Ann) are grandchildren of Richard and Alice, and sons of the William who m. Tinsley. IF the William who m. Tinsley was indeed a son of the immigrants Richard and Alice, then it seems to me that James (m. Ann) and William (m.Ann) were born way too late to have been his sons. There must have been another generation here. Follow the link at the name of the earliest William Nance in the chart below, for more on this.
In addition, there are a number of things that have led me to suspect that the William Nance who married Ann was not a brother of the James Nance who married Ann. Instead, I suspect that William was a son of Daniel Nance (b.abt.1685? m. Eliz.). I have indicated this possibility on the chart shown here. For more about the reasons I suspect this, see my article on the "PAPERS OF JOHN NANCE."
I also suspect that this earliest Daniel Nance, b. abt. 1685(?), was closely related to the John Nance who died in Prince George Co. in 1716 and whose wife was Sarah -- probably a nephew. That means, that he would have been a son of the earliest William Nance.
This chart also reflects my speculations as to the connection to two other "mystery Nances" who show up very early -- the JOHN Nance of Essex Co who m. the Widow Rouzie by 1720 (and who apparently left no male descendants), and the THOMAS Nance of Prince George Co. who was a landowner there (and thus of age) by 1726.
Please note: the early connections shown here are speculative!!
| | | | | | | | | | |
1650 1660 1670 1680 1690 1700 1710 1720 1730 1740 1750
\WILLIAM b.1726/7
\_____ZACHARIAH
?--JAMES----m.Ann___--------\_________Mary b.1737
/ b.abt.1700? \_________Keturah b.1738
/ \_________EATON b.1739
,---(WILLIAM m.-------/
| m. Tinsley /
| by 1692) ?--JOHN of Essex Co (m. Widow Rouzie by 1720)
| b. by 1700?
|
\
|
|--RICHARD
,--WILLIAM---------| (orphan in 1692)
| b.by 1648?(of | ?--THOMAS of Pr Geo Co (owned 200a by 1726)
| age in Surry | b.by 1705?
| Co. by 1668, | ' \THOMAS b.1736
| there thru at | ' \______Sarah b.1742
| least 1680 | ' \________REUBEN b.1745
| | '------?--WILLIAM----m.Ann __---\_________ISHAM b.1747
| | ' b.abt.1715? \_________JOHN b.1748
| | ' \_________Mary
| \ ' \_________Elizabeth
| \ ' \_________Tabitha
| \ '
| \ ' \Elizabeth b.1728
| \ ' \ Nancy
RICHARD==| \ \DANIEL---m.Mary ------\__ROBERT
and | \?--DANIEL----m.Eliz.----\ b.abt.1706? \____DANIEL m. Patience
ALICE | b.abt1680? \ \________THOMAS m.Ann Hudson
| \___Phebe b.1712
| \_________Eliza b.1719
| \___________Elinor b.1722
| \_________________Lucy b.1729
|
| \Sarah m.(1)Jones, (2)Wm Epes
|----ELIZ.---------\ b.1670s?
| b.1650? \
| d. by 1691, \--Richard (m.Elinor Nance)
| m. Caesar
| Walpole
| \Elinor(m.Richard Walpole)
| \
| \Elizabeth
\ \Susan \JOHN b.abt.1715?
`---JOHN-----------------------\ \_______THOMAS b.1723
b. 1650s? \JOHN----m.Jane------------\_________RICHARD b.1726
d. 1716 \b.~1690? d.1762 \__________WILLIAM b.1728
m.Sarah \ \________________FREDERICK b.1735
Gookings \Dorothy
\ \JOHN b.1723
\RICHARD----m.Mary-----------\______LEONARD b.1730
b.abt1695? \______NATHANIEL b.1731
\________________WILLIAM b.1742
\__________________THOMAS b.1745
About WILLIAM NANCE of Surry County --
There was clearly a WILLIAM Nance who lived in Surry Co. from at least 1668 to at least 1680. Furthermore, he must have been of legal age by 1668, as in that year he signed as witness to a power of attorney, and in 1670 he was a tithable. Thus, he was probably born in the late 1640's, and certainly not much later than 1650. Nothing about this William Nance appears in the records of Surry County after about 1688.
There is also a record of a William Nance's patent of the 520 acre "Nance's Neck" in James City County in 1692, which mentions his having married to a woman named Tinsley. Was this the William Nance who was born in the 1640's? I think not.
We do not know when the marriage of William Nance to Unknown Tinsley occurred, and we do not know how old William Nance was at the time. However, several things suggest that it was not the older William. One of these is the fact that in 1692 there was a Richard Nance who was an "orphan". There must have been an older Nance who died sometime in the 1680's or early 1690's after having had at least one child (Richard) -- and the William of Surry County seems to be the only viable candidate.
Also, it is notable that James Nance, who appears to have been born about 1700, lived in the same area where "Nance's Neck" was located. If, as I speculate, he was a son of William Nance and Unknown Tinsley, then it seems likely that this William Nance was a young man, not an old man. The William Nance of Surry County would have been around 50 years old in 1692 when William Nance married Unknown Tinsley.
About RICHARD Nance - an orphan - in 1692 --
"At a Court Holden at Westover 3rd February 1692. . . RICHARD NANCE petitions that Abraham Garth, who hath the estate of his in Garth's possession, bring surety for same. Garth summoned to next court to bring surety". ("Charles City Co, VA Court Records 1687-1695", B. B. Weisiger) . . . "At a Court held April 13, 1693, Abraham Garth and William Gardner his surety enter themselves as security for Rich'd Nance, an orphan in hands of Garth". ("Charles City Co, VA Court Records 1687-1695", B. B. Weisiger)
This Richard Nance was obviously an orphan who had been bound out to Abraham Garth. But whose child was he? There are no known Nances who seem to fit the bill, except perhaps the WILLIAM NANCE of Surry County records 1668-1688. It could be speculated, that this Surry County William Nance was a son of Richard and Alice Nance, and that he died before February, 1692.
About DANIEL NANCE --
[Coming soon! I still have to get my notes together on this...]