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Hugh Torrence

Hugh Torrence

Male 1743 - 1816  (73 years)

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  • Name Hugh Torrence 
    Born 1743  Five Mile Town - Clogher Parish, Co. Tyrone, Ireland, UK Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    1790 Census 1790 
    • ____, Iredell Co., NC, p. 388, 4-0-3-0-5
    Died 1 Feb 1816  Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Buried Aft 1 Feb 1816  Hopewell Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Huntersville, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Person ID I2733  DNA Family 1 Genealogies
    Last Modified 4 May 2006 

    Father James Torrence,   b. Parish of Clogher, Tyrone, Ireland, UK Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Unknown 
    Mother Miss [--?--],   d. Unknown 
    Family ID F1392  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Isabella Kerr,   b. 2 Jan 1739/40, Chester County, Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Feb 1816, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 76 years) 
    Married 29 May 1783  Rowan County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Children 
     1. James Gilbraith Torrence,   b. 19 Nov 1784,   d. 12 Dec 1847  (Age 63 years)
    Last Modified 4 May 2006 
    Family ID F447  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsMarried - 29 May 1783 - Rowan County, North Carolina Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 1 Feb 1816 - Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - Aft 1 Feb 1816 - Hopewell Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Huntersville, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • from: http://www.cmhpf.org/S&RR/CedarGrove-ToranceHseStore.html

      Cedar Grove & Hugh Torrance House & Store

      This report was written on 22 April 1993

      1. Name and location of the properties: The properties known as Cedar Grove and the Hugh Torrance House and Store are located on Gilead Road, Huntersville, in Mecklenburg County , North Carolina.

      2. Name, address, and telephone number of the present owner of the properties: The owners of the properties are:

      Mr. and Mrs. Richard Torrance Banks
      PO Box 122
      8229 Gilead Rd.
      Huntersville, North Carolina 28078

      Telephone: 704 /875-0774

      3. Representative photographs of the properties: This report contains representative photographs of the properties.

      4. Maps depicting the locations of the properties: This report contains maps which depict the locations of the properties.

      5. Current deed book references to the properties: Cedar Grove Tax Parcel Number 009-061-01 is not listed in the Mecklenburg County deed books. The most recent reference to the second Cedar Grove property, Tax Parcel Number 015-091-04, is listed in Mecklenburg County Will Book W23 at page 77. The most recent reference to Cedar Grove Tax Parcel Number 009-061-07 is listed in Mecklenburg County Will Book W23 at page 77. The most recent reference to the Hugh Torrance House and Store, Tax Parcel Number 009-061-09, is listed in Mecklenburg County Will Book W23 at page 77.

      6. A brief historical sketch of the properties: This report contains a brief historical sketch of the properties prepared by Ms. Paula N. Stathakis.

      7. A brief architectural description of the properties: This report contains a brief architectural description of the properties prepared by Ms. Frances Alexander.

      8. Documentation of why and in what ways the properties meet criteria for designation set forth in NCGS 160A-400.5:

      a. Special significance in terms of history, architecture, and cultural importance: The Commission judges that the properties known as Cedar Grove and the Hugh Torrance House and Store do possess special significance in terms of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. The Commission bases its judgment on the following Considerations: 1) the Hugh Torrance House and Store was built between 1780 and the early 1800s, and Cedar Grove was constructed between 1831 and 1833; 2) the Hugh Torrance House and Store is one of the few houses to survive from the eighteenth century settlement period of the county; 3) Cedar Grove is one of the premier Greek Revival houses remaining in the county and the Piedmont; 4) because of their physical and historical associations, these two properties offer a unique picture of agricultural life in Mecklenburg County from the settlement period through the antebellum era; 5) the two houses, and their various construction campaigns, illustrate clearly the evolution of residential architecture in the county during early periods, for which little remains; 6) both houses are remarkably intact, retaining important characteristic interior and exterior features, including original floor plans, decorative elements, hardware, and woodwork.

      b. Integrity of design, setting, workmanship, materials, feeling, and association: The Commission contends that the architectural descriptions by Ms. Frances P. Alexander included in this report demonstrate that Cedar Grove and the Hugh Torrance House and Store meet this criterion.

      9. Ad Valorem Tax Appraisal: The commission is aware that designation would allow the owner to apply for an automatic deferral of 50% of the Ad Valorem taxes on all or any portion of the properties which become designated historic landmarks. The current appraised value of the improvements to Cedar Grove is $144,600. The current appraised value of the improvements to the Hugh Torrance House and Store is $6,880. The current appraised value of Cedar Grove Tax Parcel 015-091-04 is $54,750. The current appraised value of Cedar Grove Tax Parcel 009-061-01 is $193,160. The current appraised value of Cedar Grove Tax Parcel 009-061-07 is $86,880. The total appraised value of the three parcels of the Cedar Grove property is $479,390. The current appraised value of the Hugh Torrance House and Store, Tax Parcel 009-061-09, is $15,000. The total appraised value of the Hugh Torrance House and Store property is $21,880. Tax Parcel Numbers 009-061-01 and 00906109 are zoned RU. Tax Parcel Number 009-061-07 and Tax Parcel Number 015-091-04 are zoned R3.

      Date of preparation of this report: 22 April 1993

      Prepared by: Dr. Dan L. Morrill
      in conjunction with
      Ms. Frances P. Alexander
      and Ms. Paula M. Stathakis
      Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission
      P.O. Box 35434
      Charlotte, North Carolina

      Telephone: 704 /376-9115

      Historical Overview:

      Cedar Grove and the Hugh Torrance House and Store were one part of a large financial concern owned and managed by the Torrance family. The first member of this family in Mecklenburg County was Hugh Torance, who came to the area in the late eighteenth century. Hugh and his son James accumulated a substantial tract of land and by 1840 owned over one hundred slaves; a concentration of wealth that was not common for this area. Although some plantations thrived in Mecklenburg in the nineteenth century, the more common enterprise for the region was small, and usually subsistence farming. Planters commonly defined as those who owned twenty or more slaves were more prevalent in Eastern North Carolina, in Virginia, in the South Carolina low country, and in the black belt regions of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

      Hugh Torance (1743-1816) emigrated to the American colonies from Ireland c. 1763. 1 A letter written by his minister in Five Mile Town in the Parish of Clogher and County Tyrone vouched that "Hugh Torance is an unmarried person and descended from honest and reputable parents and from infancy lived in ye bounds of the Protestant Dissenting Congregation of this place and always behaved himself orderly and supported a very fair church is certified by Thomas Boyle (?) D.D." 2 It is not known what ship brought Hugh Torance to America, or where he first landed. It is known that he and his brother Albert came together, and the family believes that they came as indentured servants. Hugh lived in Pennsylvania for several years. Shortly after the outbreak of the American Revolution, Hugh took an oath of allegiance to the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. 3

      Hugh joined the revolutionary forces and fought in North Carolina in a light cavalry company, the "Partisan Chargers" led by Captain Galbraith Falls who was killed on June 20, 1780 at the Battle of Ramsour's Mill. 4 Records show that Hugh was a disbursing agent for Falls' militia and probably stayed in the army until 1781. 5

      After the war, Hugh married Captain Falls' widow, Isabella Kerr Falls (1783-1816). He and Isabella and her eight children lived briefly in Rowan County where Hugh had a store. They had one child together, James Galbraith Torrence (1784-1847).

      According to land records, Hugh Torance was active in Mecklenburg County by 1779. He purchased 667 acres in that year, and by the 1790s, was in a position to purchase over 500 acres during the course of the decade. By the time of his death he had accumulated over 1400 acres. 6 In Rowan County, Hugh was a merchant, but he became a planter in Mecklenburg. The building currently designated as the Torrance House and Store is the first of two structures Hugh built to accommodate his family.

      The inventory of Hugh Torance's estate shows that he owned a substantial amount of livestock: sixty cows, twelve horses, forty-six sheep, and 150 hogs, as well as their offspring . In terms of real and personal property, Hugh Torance owned 1400 acres, thirty-three slaves. The estate had $1500.00 cash on hand. 7

      (continued under James Gilbreath Torrence)

      (See Isabell Kerr for a description of the Torrance Mill)

  • Sources 
    1. [S8] Davison/Davidson Family, Robert Stephens Hand, (2nd Ed., 1991), p. 27 (Reliability: 3).

    2. [S23] Marriage Records, Iredell Co., NC (Reliability: 3).
      as Hugh Torrance and Isabella Talls, reported at website http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Balcony/1123/torrence.html