Husband Charles Dorrance 1 2
Born: 4 Jan 1805 - Kingston, Luzerne Co, PA 3
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Father: Benjamin Dorrance (1767-1837) 4
Mother: Nancy Buckingham ( - ) 4
Marriage:
Wife Susan Ford 1
Born:
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Children
1 M Col. J. Ford Dorrance 1
Born: 19 Apr 1852 - Kingston, PA 1
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Spouse: Elizabeth W. Dick ( - ) 5
General Notes: Husband - Charles Dorrance
He was of Scotch-Irish descent.
He first saw the light of day on the homestead farm which had been in his family since the troublous times of the pioneer days of Wyoming Valley, and which, by frequent additions, came to be one of the most extensive, tasteful and valuable in Kingston Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Although brought up on a farm, he received a liberal education, which amply equipped him for the active business life which he chose to pursue in conjunction with his occupation as a farmer. In agriculture he achieved distinguished success, and made his farm the model farm of the whole Wyoming Valley. He was an admirer of fancy stock and early introduced on his farm a choice breed of short horn cattle, which he took great pains to maintain in its original purity. His herd was drawn upon very largely in the neighboring country, and with the extending of the strain a marked improvement in the stock was plainly discernible. Moved by the historic associations of the beautiful valley in which his life was spent, and yielding no doubt to the martial instinct which he inherited, he early joined the militia of the State, and from the rank of Captain progressed through the various grades to that of Colonel, which title he held over forty years. In 1858, upon the organization of the Luzerne County Agricultural Society, he was the unanimous choice of its members for the office of President, and for ten years he lent the weight of his influence in that position to the work of building up and strengthening the society's prosperity, and broadening its scope and usefulness. "He was, in conjunction with A. C. Laning, appointed by the late Judge Conyngham, as his last official act, a Commissioner of the Luzerne County Prison, which position he held by successive yearly appointments until it was disposed of as a reward for political services." During the entire period of his connection with this Board he was its President, and by his dignified management of its deliberations maintained perfect harmony and greatly increased its power of usefulness. In the world of finance Col. Dorrance was no unknown figure. For fifty years a member of the Board of Directors of the Wyoming Bank of Wilkes-Barre, which was nationalized in 1865, he served as Vice-President for ten years, and in 1878 became its President, and ably filled this responsible position, wearing with dignity the mantle which, after the lapse of fifty years, descended to him from his honored father, one of the chief founders and first President of the institution. In the patriotic movement which culminated, in 1843, in the erection of a suitable monument to commemorate the battle and massacre of Wyoming, Col. Dorrance took a leading part and evinced a patriotic enthusiasm which went far towards making the project successful. Upon the organization of the Wyoming Commemorative Association he was the unanimous choice of its members for the office of President, and in that official capacity had the honor of welcoming the President of the United States and Cabinet to the celebration. As the head of this Association Col. Dorrance devoted himself with zeal and assiduity to the project in hand, and aided it with generous contributions of money. It is not too much to assert that to his patriotic example and brave words the project was largely indebted for its success. During the ceremonies attending the One Hundredth Year Commemoration of the Battle and Massacre of Wyoming, his hospitality was lavishly extended to meet the requirements of the occasion, which, from its own historic character, and from the official station and large number of those who participated, was one of National importance. An enumeration, specifically, of all the positions of honor and trust to which Colonel Dorrance was called, and which he filled with high acceptability, cannot be attempted in a mere biographical sketch. It must suffice to say that whatever he undertook he did well, and not only well but in such a manner as to reflect the highest credit upon his manhood and his honor. In the social life of the community he was noted for his geniality and kindness of heart. His home was one in which taste and the highest refinements had a permanent abode, and the large and generous hospitality, for which its owner and his family were noted, was dispensed with a grace and dignity befitting the surroundings, and always tempered with sincerity. Farming was the labor in which Colonel Dorrance took most delight, but he was earnestly concerned in all affairs of public importance, whether affecting the State or Nation, or the locality in which he resided.
General Notes: Wife - Susan Ford
She was of English descent.