Wilborn Nance (c. 1827 - 1864)

Wilborn Nance (c. 1827 - 1864)

My 4th great grandfather.

Wilborn Nance, son of William & Sarah (Parker) Nance, was born in about 1827 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. In about 1854, in Wilkes County, Wilborn married the daughter of Martha Alley; Amanda Elizabeth Alley (1836-1910).

Wilborn and Amanda had four children: Frederick, William, Martha, and Welborn. In 1860 he and his three children (at the time) lived in Wilkes County. Wilborn owned $75 worth of real estate and $300 worth of personal items. He is living with his wife, children Frederick, William and Martha; his wife's mother, wife's sister, and wife's grandfather.

On November 2, 1863, in Raleigh, North Carolina, Wilborn enlisted in the Civil War. The war had already been going on for about two years, and for him it was his time to serve the south. He enlisted in Company F, 52nd North Carolina Infantry.

Unfortunately, on January 26, 1864, in the hospital for the soldiers in Charlottesville, Virginia, Wilborn passed away. He was 37 years old and left behind a widow and four children ages 9, 7, 4, and 2. The two year old was my 3rd great grandfather, Wilborn Nance, Jr. Wilborn died of an illness called typhoid fever.

Typhoid fever, common during the civil war because of unsanitary conditions (very common during the war), is commonly transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces of an infected person (Typhoid fever, Wikipedia.org).

After his death, Wilborn's widow, Amanda, married Wesley Anderson. They had no children and Amanda died in 1910 in Statesville, Iredell, North Carolina.

Wilborn is buried at the University of Virginia Confederate Cemetery, but he does not have a tombstone. Hopefully one day we can get him a stone and a place where people can honor him.