This list has been very quiet lately, so I thought I would post the following obituary of my great great grandmother which I just found on a recent research trip to Woodstock, in Oxford County, Ontario, Canada. Her husband, George Vance, was the son of David Vance (1783-1819) and Agnes Jones or Johns (1790-185) of Wigtonshire in Galloway, Scotland. George and several of his brothers emigrated to Oxford County around 1845 and over the years contributed greatly to the area's population. Descendents still own the original family farm. The Woodstock Daily Sentinel-Review. Saturday, January 14, 1905, p. 7, c. 3. Ratho, Jan. 13 In the death of Mrs. George Vance of this place on Saturday evening the 7th of January, there was removed the very oldest pioneer of this district. Mrs. Vance had been in her usual health until three weeks ago but was recovering when she met with an accident on Tuesday of last week by falling. She sustained in the fall a slight cut near the corner of her eye which gave no trouble for a day or two when blood poisoning developed. Mrs. Vance was born in Wigtonshire, Scotland, on April 3rd, 1819. She, with her husband and two small children, emigrated to Canada in the year 1845. They landed at Quebec after a sail of eight weeks from Glasgow. They came to Hamilton by boat and made their way from there through the forest by an ox conveyance to lots eight and nine, two hundred acres, in the twelfth concession of Blandford on which lots they settled and lived during the rest of their lives. Here Mrs. Vance lived for a period of sixty years. It was solid bush when they came there, penniless in 1845. But they set industriously to work, made a small clearing, and built their log shanty in the wilderness. When in the old country, Mr. Vance was accustomed to smoking tobacco, but on coming to Upper Canada as Ontario was then called, he said he got smoke enough in logging and clearing his farm, without using tobacco, and so he gave up the habit. Following the custom of those early days the pioneers farther back in the bush used to go to the Township of Dumfries to obtain work and money sufficient to meet the needs of the family until a sufficient clearance on their own lands was made. Oftentimes when Mr. Vance was thus employed in Dumfries, Mrs. Vance with her children lived on the lot six weeks at a time without seeing an individual, so sparse was the population. Frequently, she would rouse the wild deer from their lair as she made her way over the logs in the bush and occasionally a bear would be seen. She strove sometimes to fell trees herself in Mr. Vances absence in order to obtain brouse for the cattle. In doing this, her custom was to cut all around the tree, beaver fashion. When a small clearance was obtained and sown in wheat, many a time she sat all night at the back of the shanty with the dog to keep the cattle from breaking through the brush fence and destroying the grain. Mrs. Vance was remarkable for the possession of an extremely rugged and strong physical constitution. Some twenty-five years ago, she in company with her husband, met with a serious accident, two miles south of Bright. The horse ran away and they were pitched out among the logs in the roadside. Both were seriously injured. Mrs. Vance had one of her legs broken in three pieces and the bone fractured through the flesh. The doctor did not set the limb for some days as he said she could not possibly survive the shock. However she completely recovered to become again the victim of a runaway accident at the old manse south of Ratho, which resulted in the death of Mr. Vance eleven years ago. Mrs. Vance is survived by a family of six sons and four daughters. They are David Vance of Tavistock, George of Light Street, Woodstock, Robert in New Ontario, Joseph and James on the old homestead, and John Vance of Tavistock, a member of the East Zorra council. The daughters are Mrs. Hirons of Melvin, Michigan, Mrs. Workman near Port Huron, Mrs. Elstone of Finkle Street, Woodstock, Mrs. Cowan of Ayr, and an adopted daughter Mrs. Keen of Paris. The funeral from her late residence on Tuesday afternoon of this week to the Ratho cemetery was very largely attended, her six sons acting as pallbearers. Rev. Mr. McCulloch, pastor of the Ratho and Innerkip churches conducted the services. Ruth E. Mills [email protected]