TORRANCE FAMILY TREE
History of Owensboro and
Daviess County
Owensboro and Daviess
County Kentucky were named for men who lost their
lives in the battle of Tippecanoe. One had been a
prominent pioneer resident of the Yellow Banks
Settlement. The other one had no known connection
to the city which bears his name.
The name of "OWENSBOROUGH" for COLONEL
ABRAHAM OWEN of Shelby County was the act of the
Kentucky Legislature which declined to accept the
requested one, Rossborough.
The wording of the act, which specified "the
said town" shall hereafter be called and
known by the name of Owensborough, in memory of
the late Colonel Abraham Owen, who fell at
Tippacanoe, indicates that Owens friends in the
General Assembly concluded that it would be
proper and fitting to name the county seat for
him, since the county had been named for Colonel
J. H. Daveiss twenty-five months before.
Daviess County, through its name, was misspelled
in the legislative act which created it on
January 14, 1815 (and has since continued to be
officially misspelled with the "I"
before the "e" despite a later act of
the Kentucky Legislature making it legal to spell
it correctly ) was named for soldier-lawyer-orator
JOSEPH HAMILTON DAVEISS, who owned large
tracts of land on Panther Creek and along the
Ohio River. He lived for about three years at his
estate, Cornland, just east of the present
Owensboro
DAVEISS served as United States Attorney for
Kentucky, and conducted an unsuccessful
prosecution of AARON BURR for treason.
COLONEL ABRAHAM OWEN was five years older than
Colonel Daveiss and was also a native of
Virginia, being born in Prince Edward County in
1769, and moved to Jefferson County, which was
then a part of Virginia in 1785.
COLONEL OWEN was elected to the State Legislature
OWEN was elected to the Legislature by the
largest vote ever before polled in the county;
and in 1799, was chosen a member of the
convention which framed the second Kentucky
constitution He was promoted to Major in 1804,
and commandment of the 18th regiment of Kentucky
militia, in 1808.
As an attack by the Indians began, a General
Harrison mounted a bay horse and Colonel Owen
mounted a white horse, and both rode toward the
heaviest firing. The Indians had seen General
Harrison riding a white horse the previous day,
and thus concentrated their fire on the rider
approaching on the white horse in the semi-darkness.
Colonel Owen fell dead from his saddle. Colonel
Harrison received a shot through his hat, but
otherwise went through the battle untouched.
Owensboro became the first place to be named for
Colonel Owen, when the Kentucky Legislature
determined on February 3, 1817, that it would
honor the memor of the fallen soldier. Two years
later, when a new county was carved out of
portions of Franklin, Scott, Gallatin and
Pendleton Counties, the Legislatures again
memorialized COLONEL OWEN, by giving his name.
Subsequently, the town of Owenton, Kentucky and
Owen County Indiana, were also named for him.
The above is a History Of Owensboro and Daviess
County By Hugh O. Potter with various chapters
contributed by experts in their particular field
of expertise. This information was sent to me,
through the courtesy of the Daviess County
Historical Society—P. O. Box 1355,
Owensboro, Kentucky 42301
Generation
#1~
WILLIAM TORRANCE, SR.
He Was Born in Ireland,
immigrated to AMERICA, and lived in Indiana and
Kentucky.
WILLIAM married MARGARET
ADAMS, who was born in Scotland.
They were my GREAT GREAT
GREAT GRANDPARENTS, and they were my Immigrant
Ancestors.
WILLIAM and MARGARET had
one child that I know of—
Generation
#2~
WILLIAM TORRANCE, JR.
He was born in Indiana In
1818.
WILLIAM JR. married MARY
ELIZABETH WOMAL (WHOMAL), who was born in
Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1819.
WILLIAM and MARY
ELIZABETH were my GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS. They
were married in Kentucky on February 2, 1838.
They had four children
WILIAM'S wife MARY
ELIZABETH, died at age 37 in 1855, of Pneumonia.
Generation
#3~
MISSOURI ANN, born in
1839.
MARY ELIZABETH, born in
1841
WILLIAM L., born in 1843
HIRAM (JAMES HIRAM), born
June 28, 1845, and died January 14, 1926 in
Owensboro, Kentucky.
MISSOURI, MARY ELIZABETH,
WILLIAM L., AND JAMES HIRAM were born in
Owensboro, Kentucky.
When ELIZABETH died, the
children went to live with four different friends
of the family. Three years after ELIZABETH died
in 1858, WILLIAM JR. married a second time to
another ELIZABETH. At this point in time, other
information on her is unavailable.
MISSOURI ANN married ZEBA
TOOMS in Henderson County, Kentucky. The family
went by another spelling of the surname TORRANCE,
as found on a census report. The spelling was
TARRENCE. When MISSOURI got married, she changed
her name back to TORRANCE. A short time later,
the entire family went back to TORRANCE.
There is no information
on what happened with WILLIAM L., WILLIAM and his
first wife or ELIZABETH'S son. His daughter MARY
ELIZABETH was married to UNKNOWN, on the same day
and at the same time her father WILLIAM and his
second wife ELIZABETH were married. No other
information on this family is available at this
time.
Generation
#4~
JAMES HIRAM TORRANCE was
born June 28, 1845, in Owensboro, Kentucky, and
died January 14, 1926 in Henderson County,
Kentucky. He had been living with his daughter
FLORA, her husband MALCOLM STALLINGS and their
family, since 1910. JAMES died at age 80, due to
a heart condition, in his daughter FLORA'S arms.
In the latter years of his life, severe arthritis
kept him from walking. JAMES had bright red hair,
and a handlebar moustache.
On August 18, 1873, in ST.
ALPHONSUS CHURCH in OWENSBORO, he married LOUISA
ISABELLE HODGKINS, daughter of JOSEPH HENSON
HODGKINS and MARGARET ANN ADAMS, my GREAT GREAT
GRANDPARENTS. LOU BELLE, had 16 siblings. PAUL
VOLK officiated at their wedding. LOU BELLE lists
her name differently on different documents. Her
County Marriage Record shows her name as LOU
BELLE. Her Church Marriage Record lists her as
ISABELLA. The Baptismal Record of her and JAMES
HIRAM'S son-WILLIAM VINCENT-lists her name as LOU
ISABELLA HODGKINS TORRANCE. The 1880 Census
Record lists her name as LOUISA.
In latter years, JAMES
HIRAM and LOU BELLE were known as JIM and BELLA.
LOU BELLE DIED IN 1900,
and she and JAMES are buried in West Louisville,
Kentucky, in St. Raphael's cemetery. Neither has
a headstone.
In the 1920 Kentucky
Census, JAMES HIRAM said that his mother MARY
ELIZABETH WOMAL was born in Scotland, and his
father WILLIAM JR., was born in Ireland.
The 1850 Census lists
ELIZABETH as being born in Owensboro, Kentucky.
WILLIAM JR. is listed as being born in Indiana,
on the Kentucky Census.
JAMES HIRAM fought in the
Civil War. He was a Corporal in the 20th Infantry
in Indiana.
JIM AND BELLA were my
GREAT GRANDPARENTS. They had four children.
Generation
#5~
JOSEPH ALVIN was born in
Owensboro, Kentucky, Daviess County, on August 14,
1874, and died of Pneumonia in Fresno, California
on August 29, 1943. He was buried at the Mountain
View Cemetery in Fresno.
According to Baptismal
Records from St. Alphonsus Church in Owensboro,
Kentucky, JOSEPH was baptized on August 18, 1874.
According to his death certificate, JOSEPH fought
in the Spanish American War, but this has not
been confirmed. His sister FLORA’S children
called JOSEPH “Allie”.
JOSEPH married MAGGIE
LOUELLEN FARRIS in Hutto, Texas on September 11,
1894, Williamson County.
MAGGIE was born in Glade
Springs, Virginia (Washington County) on
Valentine's Day, February 14, 1879, and died in
Forney, Texas on October 7, 1914, of a heart
condition. She was the daughter of TRIGG FARRIS
and MARY ELIZABETH OWENS FARRIS.
Several years have been
spent trying to discover where MAGGIE was buried
in Texas. The information available says that
there is no headstone on MAGGIE'S, grave, and if
this is correct, several other grandchildren and
myself want to put a headstone on her grave.
In 1921, JOSEPH moved his
children to Fresno, California, where his
daughter VIRGIE and her famiy lived.
JOSEPH & MAGGIE were
my Grandparents.
JOSEPH & MAGGIE had
eight children—WILLIAM (called WILLIE or
BILL) was born in Texas in 1896, and died in
Indiana. He was married to MAYMIE.
JAMES ALPHONSUS (called
FONNY) was born in Texas in 1897, and died in
Fresno in the 1940's. He never married. He was
going blind in the latter years of life.
MARY ELIZABETH was born
in Austin, Texas, in April, 1900, and died in
April 1911, at age 11. She was named after her
grandmother MARY ELIZABETH OWENS FARRIS.
THOMAS FRANKLIN (called
FRANK)—my father—was born in
Georgetown, Texas Williamson County, on December
9, 1902, and died in Fresno on November 30, 1951,
at age 48. He was buried in Belmont Memorial Park
In Fresno. His mother and father were migrant
farm workers. On the morning of December 9th,
MAGGIE gave birth to FRANK in a field on a farm
where she and JOSEPH were working. A couple hours
later, she was back doing her job on that farm.
FRANK was a riveter at
Kyle & Company. The company gave employee
picnics every summer. This particular summer, the
management decided to have a "NICEST LEGS
BEAUTY PAGEANT---for the men only. Guess who won
the "NICEST LEGS" title---MY FATHER!!
75 men participated in the contest.
If you visit San
Francisco, California and see or cross the Golden
Gate Bridge, think of my father---he helped build
it
FRANK married my mother
BERNICE ANNA ANDREAS in Fresno on December 26,
1924. They had four children. BERNICE was born in
Fresno on January 5 1906, to MICHEL and CATHARINA
FRIES ANDREAS. There is more information on
MICHEL and CATHARINA on the ANDREAS FAMILY TREE.
WILLIAM VINCENT was born
in Owensboro, Kentucky, Daviess County, Kentucky.
in 1880, and was baptized in St. Raphael's Church
in West Louisville. He died December 4. 1943 in
Texas, four months after his brother JOSEPH ALVIN
(my grandfather) died August 29, 1943 in Fresno,
California. WILLIAM married LAURA ALVEY on
January 22, 1901 in Owensboro, Kentucky. They had
two children—VIRGINIA MARIE and LYDIA MAE.
LYDIA was born in
Owensboro in April, 1902, and died in Texas on
June 18, 1964, of a heart condition. She married
JOE SOUZA about 1918, and they had two children.
MARY, born June 6, 1919, and CULLETIA. She lived
to age seven. MARY married HAROLD BISHNOW in 1936,
and they had three children-BILLY JOE, Born
onJuly 1939; HAROLDINE MARIE, born in June 1944,
and MERRY KATHRYN born in December 1951.
LYDIA and JOE also had
twins and another daughter---all three were
stillborn. JOE died July 12, 1944.
MARY SOUZA BISHNOW died
November 7, 1996, and was buried in Waco, Texas.
VIRGINIA MARIE was born
January 30, 1904, in Owensboro. She married FRANK
WILLIAM BROWN SR. in Waco, Texas. and they had a
son, FRANK WILLIAM BROWN, JR., who was born in
Jackson, Mississippi, December 20, 1922. They had
two daughters-VIRGINIA LEE, born August 26, 1926,
in San Antonio, Texas; and DOROTHY LOUISE, born
December 30, 1928. VIRGINIA MARIE died April 3,
1954 and her husband FRANK WILLIAM BROWN SR. died
February 20, 1955. They are both buried in the
same cemetery where VIRGINIA'S parents are buried.
FRANK JR. married ANITA
BISSETT, in the early 1950's. They had one child-WILLIAM
DUDLEY BROWN.
VIRGINIA LEE married
several times. She had three children by JAMES
MARTIN WILLIAMS. They married March 18, 1955.
Their children were HOLLY MARIE, born January 24,
1958; JAMES MARTIN JR., born June 4, 1959, and
SANDRA LEE, born June 24, 1962.
DOROTHY LOUISE married
LEROY MAGILL in the late 1940's. They had one
child-KAY FRANCES-born July 19, 1951.
DOROTHY and LEROY were
divorced, and she married BILLY GENE KELLY, JR.
in 1958. They had two children—JO LYNN, born
December 20, 1963; and BILLY GENE KELLY JR., born
October 20, 1968.
KAY had two daughters.
WILLIAM VINCENT was a
furniture dealer. He and LAURA were buried in St.
Joseph's Catholic Cemetery, in Beeville, Texas.
VIRGINIA MARIE died April
3, 1954 and her husband FRANK WILLIAM BROWN JR
died February 20, 1955. They are both
buried in the same cemetery where VIRGINIA'S
parents are buried.
JOSEPH ALVIN and his
brother WILLIAM VINCENT, went to Indiana, to
visit their father JAMES HIRAM, and took JOSEPH'S
two children-VIRGIE and GARNET-with them.
VIRGIE MAE (JOSEPH ALVIN
and MAGGIE LOUELLEN'S daughter was born in
Georgetown, Texas in 1905, More info on VIRGIE
MAE and her family on the SANTONI FAMILY TREE.
ROBERT (called Bob) was
born in Texas in 1907. He married Betty and they
had a son. After their divorce, he married LEE,
and they had a daughter, ALBERTA. The family
lived in Kansas City, Missouri.
GARNET (called ART) was
born in Texas in 1912, He married Mona, and they
had two children. Their son was named after his
uncle (my father) THOMAS FRANKLIN. The family
lived in Topeka, Kansas and Sacramento,
California. GARNET died of a heart condition, and
MONA died of cancer.
JOSEPH VINCENT was born
in Texas in 1915. The family lost track of him in
the late 1940's or the early 1950's. Because of
this, there is no information available on his
life, as to where he lived, was he married, did
he have children, or where and when he died.
FLORA BELLE, JOSEPH'S
sister, was born in Owensboro, Kentucky (Daviess
County) in June, 1885. There is more information
on FLORA and her family on the STALLINGS FAMILY
TREE.
MARY ANN (also known as
NORA) was born in Owensboro in 1884. There is
more information on MARY ANN on the ETHERIDGE
FAMILY TREE.
My parents---FRANK &
BERNICE had four children—
Generation #6~
THOMAS FRANKLIN JR. was
born in Fresno, California, in July of 1926. He
died within three days, because he was born
without an esophogus. He was called TOMMY, and he
had bright red hair.
BARBARA JEAN was
stillborn in May of 1928 She had black hair.
TOMMY and BARBARA were
buried in Mountain View Cemetery, with their
grandparents MICHEL & CATHARINA ANDREAS. More
on MICHEL and CATHARINA and their family on the
ANDREAS FAMILY TREE.
DORIS ALBERTA (me) was
born in Fresno on February 10, 1930. I had blond
(white) hair when I was born, and I weighed three
pounds. Now, at age 72, I have white hair again.
HAZEL BERNICE was born in
Fresno on December 21, 1932, and died on May 18,
1987 in Salt Lake City Utah, where she was living
with her daughter Di Anne and her family. Her
hair was like mine, and she weighed eight pounds.
DORIS married MARTIN
LOUIS COLEMAN on December 8, 1951, in Reno,
Nevada.
He was born in Bellingham, Washington on March 27,
1924, to RUPERT FRANK COLEMAN and MAE THERESE
BURKA. FRANK (as he was called) was from
Missouri, and MAE was from Nebraska.
MARTIN had three siblings—
FRANK married ANNE, and
they lived in Bellingham. They were
divorced, and FRANK later married another ANNE.
There were no children from either marriage.
ALBERT ALLEN, born in
Bellingham, married Ann, and they had four
children. AL, as he was called, died of a stroke
while he and Ann were in a restaurant celebrating
their wedding anniversary.
MARION was born in
Bellingham, and she married JESS SUTTON. They had
three children—GWENNY, CONNOR and JANICE.
They all had children. They lived in California
and Oregon.
My sister HAZEL was
married twice. Once to BERT MYERS, and they had
two children---DI ANNE and MICHAEL. HAZEL and
BERT, who lived in Fresno, were divorced. HAZEL
later married TED TODD, and lived in California
and Oregon. Ted died in the early 1980's. HAZEL
died May 18, 1987. TED and HAZEL are buried
together in Portland, Oregon.
DI ANNE was married three
times. GARY was the father of their son GARY JR.
They lived in Salt Lake City. DI ANNE married JON
UNGER, and they had two children—NICHOLE and
JON JR. They also lived in Salt Lake City.
DORIS (me) and MARTIN had
three children—
Footnote:
It would be difficult to
find Doris & Martin and family on the Census
Records, because they moved every two years. The
reason was because MARTIN was in the Air Force,
and the family lived with him from day one.
MARTIN retired as a Lt. Colonel. HE was a co-pilot
on a B-52 Bomber, when he was in the Air Force.
The family lived in
California, Texas three times, Wyoming,, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Savannah, Georgia, Tampa,
Florida, Kansas, Arkansas and Arizona.
While living in Cheyenne,
Wyoming, they lived on Warren Air Force Base,
Quarters #2, in the same home that General
Pershing and his family lived at one time. It was
a two-story home, with a porch that went all
around on the outside of the house. There were
six bedrooms, four bathrooms, plus five other
rooms, two winding staircases, and a full
basement.
Talk about History!!
AND—speaking of
history—
On March 27, 1306, ROBERT
THE BRUCE was crowned The First King Of Scotland.
A few years prior to this, with just a few
followers left, ROBERT decided to flee to another
part of the country. The island he went to was
between the extreme southwest Pennisula of
Scotland, Mull of Kinlyre, and the northeast
coast of Ireland.
While wandering down the Pennisula, they had
about given up, as being lost when a fishing boat
was sighted. They hailed the boatsmen and asked
if they could take them across to the island of
Rathlin, which was near Antrim County Ireland.
While rowing across, they came upon a severe
storm. Unmindful of the storm, the boatsmen
started singing Gaelic songs. ROBERT was very
much impressed, because he loved music. He asked
the boatsmen their names, and ROBERT was told
that their names were TORRANCE and that they were
from Ireland. ROBERT did not give his name, nor
where he was from.
Sometime after ROBERT was crowned The First King
of Scotland, he sent for the TORRANCE brothers,
who earlier came to his rescue. One of the first
names was MUNGO, the other name is unknown.
Out of gratitude, KING ROBERT gave them a large
grant of land in Lanark. He also gave them the
rights to use the Crest—that had two Laurel
branches on it, with the inscription "I
Saved The King". Laurel branches, which are
given to singers and poets, were selected
personally for them by KING ROBERT, because of
their having sung Gaelic songs. KING ROBERT also
personally selected "I Saved The King",
because he felt that the TORRANCE brothers had
saved his life.
ROBERT THE BRUCE is my 20th Great Grandfather,
and you can read more about this and KING
ROBERT'S life on the ROBERT THE BRUCE Family Tree
on this Website.
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