Elmira Margaret Baird Vance (1802 – 1878) was an American socialite, farmer, and slave owner. She was the mother of North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance and U.S. Congressman Robert B. Vance.
Mira Margaret Baird Vance | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Elmira Margaret Baird December 22, 1802 |
| Died | October 1878 |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery |
| Occupation | farmer |
| Spouse | David Vance II |
| Children | 8 (including Zebulon and Robert) |
Biography
editVance was born Mira Margaret Baird on December 22, 1802, in Buncombe County, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Hannah Lay Erwin Baird and Zebulon Baird, a member of the North Carolina Senate.
She married Daniel Vance II, a farmer and innkeeper who was the son of Colonel David Vance.[1][2] They had eight children, including Zebulon Vance and Robert B. Vance.[3][4] She was a society lady and also managed her family's farm near Reems Creek.[5]
She was widowed at the age of forty-two and had to auction off some of her husband's property, including eleven slaves.[6] She bought back one slave, Venus, for one dollar.[6] She moved the family, and seven enslaved women and children, to Asheville.[7]
Vance was a member of the Presbyterian church.[5] She was fond of reading, particularly in reading the Bible, as noted in Clement Dowd's 1897 biography Life of Zebulon Vance.[5]
She died in 1878 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery.
References
edit- ^ Barrett, John G. (1996). "Vance, Zebulon Baird". NCpedia. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ Dowd, Clement (1897). Life of Zebulon B. Vance. Charleston, South Carolina: Observer Printing and Publishing House. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Hathi Trust.
- ^ McKinney, Gordon B. “Zeb Vance and the Construction of the Western North Carolina Railroad.” Appalachian Journal 29, no. 1/2 (2001): 58–67. JSTOR 40934142.
- ^ digital.lib.ecu.edu https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/ncpi/view/10036.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b c Neufeld, Rob. "Visiting Our Past: Meet some amazing mountain women". The Asheville Citizen Times.
- ^ a b "Venus | Your Audio Tour". youraudiotour.com.
- ^ "Zebulon B. Vance 1830-1894 (P-2) | NC DNCR". www.dncr.nc.gov. January 19, 2024.