Three Sisters

This picture of three Nace sisters was  probably taken during the late 1960s or early 1970s.

From left to right: Blanche Nace Ruble, Lucy Nace Mays, Ossie Nace Goode.

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Lithia Station

A picture of the train station at Lithia sent to me by my cousin, Bill Gross, whose mother was Zora Nace, the youngest of the Nace sisters. His mother and my grandmother no doubt boarded the train here many times for trips to the big city of Roanoke.

This is a wider angle of the picture I posted on the previous entry.

The station was a Norfolk & Western passenger/freight station. Apparently it didn't change much for decades.

According to Bill, "The picture was taken in 1918, but I remember it as a kid and that is how I remember it too." 

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Lithia, Virginia

The Naces lived in Lithia. This picture, taken during the 1960s, is the lot is where S. Frances and William Robert Nace had their home and raised their daughters Lucy, Blanche, Annie Pearl, Cora, Ossie, and Zora.

The Nace lot

I can remember visiting the house, which had been empty a long time, when I was little. That would have been more than 60 years ago. The picture below, also taken during the 1960s, is labeled on the back "Aunt Fannie's house at Lithia." I'm not sure who Aunt Fannie was or how she was kin.
UPDATE: She was likely Mary Frances "Fannie" Nace Delong, a daughter of John Christian Nace. John lived with her when he was elderly. He died at her house in 1928. On the 1920 census, his is llisted in the Delong household, which was next door to the William Robert Nace household.

Aunt Fannie's House

Lithia is a small town—and former train stop—in Botetourt County, halfway between Nace and Buchanan.

The red spot on the map below marks Lithia, which is just across the Blue Ridge Mountains from Bedford County, on this Google Earth map:

Lithia  received its name from the lithium in the local water. Apparently this mineral water was quite desirable. (Several Naces lived well into their 90s. Did the water they drank had something to do with it?) Here are some posters advertising lithia water—and extolling its virtues— from Buffalo Lithia Springs, which was in Mecklinburg County:

I don't know whether or not the water from Lithia, Virginia, was ever marketed. However, there was a nearby springs where folks came to take the waters and it did ship its water "to all parts of the Union." From the 1877 edition of  Appleton's Illustrated Hand-Book of America Summer Resorts, which you can download free from Google Books, There's this entry

This resort was located along the railroad. The ad continues:

Chataigne's 1888-89 Virginia Directory and Business Directory for Botetourt County, Virginia, contains information about Lithia. Lithia had a distillery (owned by W.S. Hershaw, a general merchant (R.C. Noftsinger & Co.), two corn and flour mills (C.F. Fringer, David Bower), a saw mill (David Bower), and a fruit and vegetable packer (E.J. McCullough). I remember my grandmother (Blanche) telling me that when she was young, she and her sisters worked at the "canning factory." I don't know if it was McCullough's factory or another in the county.

Among Lithia's principal farmers, the directory lists James Falls, P. Kessler, L.C. Lackland, George Kelly, John Fringer, Fulton Fringer, David Bow, E. J. McCulloch,  W.J. Noftsinger, Geo. De Long, W.A. Noftsinger. C.F. Fringer, John Nace, Robt. Goode, J.W. Parr, B. Kessler, J. T. Obenshain, W.H. Kessler, Charles Kessler, and S.S. Young.

I wish I knew more about Lithia.

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The Goff Connection

Our Spence-Nace ancestors are connected to the Goffs. Mary Lucy Goff (daughter of Archibald) married Andrew Frederick Spence on December 19, 1849. Their daughter Sulmana (also spelled Sulminia/Sulmena) Frances Spence married William Robert Nace in 1882. 


Here's the Goff line, starting as far back as I can find documentation:

Willyam Goffe

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William Goffe (died 1660 in Virginia) & Martha Baxter

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Thomas Goffe (b. 1656; d. after 1720 in Essex Co, VA) & Margaret
(1st wife Martha; 2nd wife Margaret)

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John Goff (1704?- 1763) in Amherst Co, Va) & Ann Tinsley (abt, 1700-1763)

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John Goff, Jr.  (abt. 1745-abt. 1831) & Mary "Polly" (possibly Tittle?)

(2nd wife Priscilla Standley—married Oct. 31, 1782)

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Archibald Goff (1780-abt. 1850) & Mary (Polly) Harrison (married March 29, 1810) 

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Mary Lucy Goff & Andrew F. Spence (married Dec. 19, 1849)

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Sulmena* Frances Spence & William Robert Nace
(married Dec. 28, 1882)  

The first Goff in the Amherst/Bedford County, Virginia, area was John, who made a will in 1762. Here's some information about him that I found Bedford County, VA Goffs on the Goff-Gough site:

His son—also named John—was born about 1740 and died in 1831. He was married twice. His first wife, Mary, whom he married about 1760 in Amherst County, was apparently the mother of his two oldest sons: Christopher (who died between 1830 and 1840) and Archibald. Mary was born in 1740 and died before 1782. 

John's second wife, Priscilla Standley (or Stanley), whom he called Prossella in his will, was a Quaker, who was dismissed by the church for marrying outside her faith. The daughter of Pleasant Stanley and Sarah McGhee, Priscilla was born in 1760 in Bedford County and died in 1855.  

Here is a partial list of John's children and their spouses: 

 John Jr. mentions his son Archibald in his will:

More info about John's will: 

 Archibald, born about 1780 in Bedford, Virginia, was apparently married to a Sallie (?) before he married Polly Harrison, daughter of Battaile Harrison and Frances Tinsley, on March 29, 1810. Polly's line runs deep into old Virginia:

Although I can't find his exact death date, Archibald was 70 years old at the time of the 1850 Bedford census. His occupation listed him as farmer. It is likely that Polly was the mother of Mary Lucy Goff, since Mary  married to Andrew F. Spence in 1849 and thus would likely have been born several years after 1810. Mary's daughter named her eldest daughter Mary Lucy.

Many of the early Bedford County Goffs lived on Goff Mountain:

After her marriage, Mary would most likely have lived with her husband in nearby Big Island, Virginia, also in Bedford County. In the map below, "A" marks Goff Mountain; Big Island, on the James River, is at the right. (You can see Big Island if you click the picture to enlarge it.) At some point, they moved to Buchanan in Botetourt County.

Andrew F. Spence and Mary Lucy Goff Spence moved from Bedford County to Buchanan in 

Botetourt County, Virginia, when their daughter Sulmana "Frances" was fifteen. That is likely where Frances met Robert William Nace.

Frances and William would eventually live in Lithia in Botetourt County. As the crow flies, Big Island is only 14 miles from Buchanan (near Lithia). By twisting mountain roads, the distance would be much longer.

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Christmas Message 1912

In 1912, G. H. Broyles was the pastor of Lithia Baptist Church. My grandmother, Mattie Blanche Nace Ruble, received this little card with a photo of him pasted on the cover.

Inside was printed his Christmas message:

In December 1912, Grandma would have been married, living in Roanoke, and six months pregnant with her second child—my mother.

When she was younger, she received this carnation vase as a Christmas gift at a "Christmas tree" at  Lithia Baptist Church.

The candle holder beside the vase was also hers, as was the smaller vase in the background. I don't know if they were Christmas gifts or not.

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The Spence Connection

My Great Grandma Nace went by her middle name Frances. Her first name was Sulmena/Sulmenia/Sulmana (depending on which source you consult). She came from the Big Island area of Bedford County, across the mountains from where she spent most of her married life. Update: She came from near Big Island, in the Charlemont section of Bedford County. Her family moved to Buchanan when she was 15.

Her maiden name was Spence. Her parents were Andrew F. Spence and Mary Lucy Goff, who were married on December 19, 1849. Lucy was the daughter of Archibald Goff of Bedford County. Jefferson Goff provided surety for the marriage bond.

She had two sisters and six brothers. 

The Spence names on the "Births" page are hard to read:

• John Henry Spence Born De  24 1850
• Edward [Lott?] Spence Born Feb  10 1853
• William [G?] Spence Born Feb  3 1855
• Mary [?]Spence Born De 5 1859
• Alexzander [?] A. Spence Born June 8 1863
• Selmenia F. Spence Born De 14 1864
• Daniel [might be David?] M. Spence Born June 12 1867
• Lucie Jane Spence Born De 9 1869
• Walter F. Spence Born July 9 1875
• one infant Boy Born Apr 11 1858

I've tried Googling many of the Spence names but haven't had much luck. I'd love to know more about Andrew Francis  Frederick Spence. Who were his parents? Where did he come from? Update: He came from Orange, County, New York; he was a stone mason. And his name was actually Andrew Frederick Spence, not Andrew Francis Spence as I'd heard for years. See https://nacelithia.blogspot.com/2015/07/andrew-francis-spence.html for more info about him.

The Spense family apparently originated in Scotland. I found the following information on the Internet several years ago but neglected to note the URL:

Although the family name Spence is found in Ireland for centuries, it is ultimately of Scottish origin, having been introduced into Ireland by Scottish settlers. The name is classified as being of occupational origin, that is, derived from the trade or profession pursued by the initial bearer. In this instance the surname Spence is derived from the Middle English "spense, spence", a derivative of Old French "despense", denoting "an official in charge of provisions or a larder". Variants of the surname Spence include Spense, Spencer, and Spenser.

The Scottish Spences of Wormsington were a sept of the clan MacDuff and standard bearers to this clan. Today, this name is numerous in Counties Antrim and Down and rarely found in the rest of Ireland. One of the earliest references this name or to a variant is Scottish in origin and a record of one Roger Dispensator (Latin for Spenser) who witnessed a charter by the Bishop of Moray in 1202. However, research is on going and this name may have been documented even earlier than the date indicated above. John Spens was bailiff of Irvine in 1260. . . .

According to this online article, there were Spences in Virginia in the 1600s, particularly in Westmoreland County; the same article and this genealogy thread also notes the family origin:

The family of Spens (or Spence, Spense) is of very high antiquity in Scotland, descended from a younger son of the Earl of Fife, and carried on its armorial bearing the lion rampant of the Clan MacDuff to denote descent from that ancient house^[2]. The name was sometimes rendered as "de Spens", or "of the Spences". Both the Scottish "Spens" and the English "Spencer" carry the meaning of steward. [Source: John Wayland, 1930: Virginia Valley Records: "The Spence Family", p 366.]

There's a lengthy thread on Rootsweb devoted to the Spence family, and  a reference on Rootsweb to a "Francis Spence, age 23" who arrived in Virginia in 1635. 

The earliest Bedford County Spence that I can find online (on the Rootsweb Spens/Spence DNA page) is "Burwell Spence born 1763 Bedford Co Virginia, wife Rebecca Puckett, resided Carroll Co VA." There's also a "James Spence, born abt. 1766 VA, married in Bedford Co VA, Eleanor Milam." Another site lists James Spence as born in 1770 and marrying Eleanor (b. 1774) on October 1, 1785, which would have made him 15 and her 11 when they married, so I'd guess one or more of those dates is wrong. (Another site says they married in 1794 and had no known children.) How either connects to Andrew, I don't know. 

UPDATE: They don't. Andrew was from Orange County, New York. According to his death certificate, his parents were John Frederick Spence and Catherine Andrews.

Perhaps someone reading this blog can provide information. Meanwhile, I'll do a separate post about the Goff connection.

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More about William Nace, Jr.

I've posted previously about William M. Nace, Jr., but I keep finding more information. Thanks to the Lecompton Historical Society, another article on William is available online:

From the above article, we know William's middle name—MacDowell—and that he owned a historic piece of property. A post on the Lecompton Historical Society's website gives us a look at this property that William Jr. owned:

Fort Titus, home of pro-slavery leader Henry Titus, has been called the "Birthplace of the Civil War." Pictures of the replica of the Fort Titus cabin (the original was burned by the free-staters) are posted here and  here and here; from them, we can get a glimpse of the land where William later had his distillery. 

This article provides us with information about Nace ancestors' military service: the first John C. Nace was a captain in the Revolutionary War; William Sr. fought in the War of 1812. 

And William Jr. himself was involved in the Civil War. Unlike his brother John C., who was in the 22nd Virginia, William fought for the North. (You can find info about Price's Raid here.)

I wonder what William's family back in Virginia thought about his Union sympathies.

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