Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Grandma Nace's Quilt

This picture of my Great-Grandma Nace hangs in my living room.

Sulmena (also spelled Sulmana and Sulmenia) Frances Spence Nace

In my living room, I also keep a quilt that she made when she was young. I don't know how old it is, but it's well over a hundred. Grandma Nace died in 1945, several months before was born.


All the stitches were done by hand, and all the fabric is cotton. It's lined with a light layer of cotton batting, so it must have been made as a summer quilt. A quilter once told me the pattern is called "Drunkard's Path."


Anyhow, when I touch this quilt, I touch my past.
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Monday, September 13, 2010

The Nace Daughters

Much of this post originally appeared in the March 6, 2008, post "The Nace Girls of Lithia," on my Peevish Pen blog.


A bit more background on my ancestors: 


Peter Nafzger (Nofsker/Noffsinger), born between 1700 and 1710 in the Palatinate and died 1783, married Sophronia Wise, born ? and died 1808. Peter came to America aboard the Phoenix and settled in Berwick Township, PA.

Peter and Sophronia’s son Samuel Noffsinger (1770-1839) married Mary Hyner (Hiner) (1770-1850). They lived in Botetourt County, Virginia

Samuel and Mary’s son Abraham Noffsinger (1797-1859) married Elizabeth Ferrill (1802-1877).

Abraham and Elizabeth’s daughter Mary Anne Noffsinger (1828-1898) married John Christian Nace (1828-1928). He was the son of William Nace, overseer of Mount Joy Plantation in Buchanan (Botetourt County), and his first wife Hester Fringer.

John and Mary Anne’s son William Robert Nace (one source says 1860; another 1854-1935) married Sulmana Frances Spence (Her first name is spelled Sulmenia and Sulmena in various documents) (1864-1944). Here is how she looked in 1927:

Their daughters (who survived past infancy):


  • Mary Lucy Nace (1885-19?? ) married Charles Franklin Mays.
  • Mattie Blanche Nace (1886-1983) married Howard Rufus Ruble.
  • Cora Virginia Nace (1888-1945) married Thomas Orren Hunt (1877-1965) .
  • Annie Pearl Nace (1890-1911) lived in Lithia.
  • Ossie Bell Nace (1894-1987) married George Lewis Goode (1888-1985).
  • Zora William Nace (1903-1988) married James C. Gross, Jr. (1898-1978) .

The William Robert Nace family; He and his wife Frances are in the front row with daughter Ossie (Zora either had not yet been born or was an infant). In the back row, from left: Pearl, Blanche, Lucy, and Cora. 



Three Nace girls:



Blanche

Pearl



Four of the sisters scattered across Virginia: Lucy to Richmond, Blanche to Roanoke, Cora to Boones Mill and then back to Botetourt County, Zora to Newport News. Ossie stayed in the Lithia/Buchanan area; Pearl spent her whole life in Lithia and is buried at Lithia Baptist Church near her parents.
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