James Vance: The Land King of Allison

Born into poverty and unable to read or write, James Vance (1835-1909)  nevertheless built a fortune through tireless energy and thrift, with his obituary estimating his wealth at nearly half a million dollars. He began with a small farm and steadily added to it until his holdings became immense. He continued working the land until only a few years before his death, by which time he was known as the “land king of Allison.”

He married Minera Gowin in 1864, and both of their children died in childhood. After Minera’s death in 1881, he married again, but that second marriage quickly ended in divorce.

Whether he was seen as an easy target for a lawsuit or was simply not universally liked, his neighbor James Ward once sued him after Vance burned a brush pile containing dead varmints that had made the “atmosphere fragrant.” He was found not guilty.

At the time of his death in 1909, he was the largest landowner in Lawrence County, owning more than 4,000 acres of prime land in Allison Township as well as a home in Vincennes. With no direct heirs, his estate passed to members of the Funk family and others.