Ezekial Edward Nance

Ezekiel Edward Nance (September 12, 1816 – September 15, 1885) was an American politician and rancher. He served as Treasurer of Arkansas, and as a rancher, was one of the most successful cattlemen in Hays County, Texas in his time.

Biography

Early life Nance was born on September 12, 1816, in Tennessee, one of two sons born to Lewis Nance and Lucy (née Kepler) Nance. In the 1820s, the family moved onto a farm near Fulton, Arkansas. His parents died later into his childhood, and he lived with other family. He then moved to Washington. He married Luany Weightsell Pate on October 22, 1840, having six children together, including rancher Jeremiah Milton Nance. Luany died on February 22, 1852. From 1849 to 1854, he served as Treasurer of Arkansas.

Later in the same year of his wife's death, Nance moved to Texas. He settled near Kyle, by a stream of the Blanco River which he named Little Arkansas Creek. On June 15, 1852, he purchased 10,000 acres of recently surveyed land, later purchasing 4,000 more acres. He returned to Arkansas for some time, marrying Martha Jane Alexander on April 7, 1853; they had six children together. He returned to the Texas in fall, bringing along with him his wife, children, siblings, and slaves, as well as soldier George Green and his wife. He also convinced pastor Hubbard Hinde Kavanaugh to travel to Texas, in 1860.