John Purviance, III

A Patriot of the American Revolution for NORTH CAROLINA. DAR Ancestor # A092322

Note: Some of the information below may vary slightly with the public DAR database. (FD)

https://tn-roots.com/tndyer/family/purviance.html

John Purviance, son of the Huguenot-Northern Irish immigrants John and Margaret (McKnight) Purviance, was born in 1743, either in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, or in Castle Finn, Ireland; it is not known whether the date of immigration to the colonies was 1742 or 1743. In 1764 John Purviance married Mary Jane Wasson in Rowan Co., NC. Mary Jane Wasson Purviance died in 1810 in Wilson Co., Middle Tennessee, Tenn. Their second son, another John Purviance, father of Martha Purviance (Mrs. Peter Fleming), was scalped by "Indians" in Sumner County, Tennessee, in the Nashville vicinity, leaving a young widow who later married a William McCorkle, kinsman of the McCorkles were moved around 1830 to settle the Western District. These Purviances were Presbyterians.

Alternate birth date of 5/1/1740.

Jacques De Purviance I (1620-1697) and his family, which included his son, Jacques II (1644 – 1691), fled from France around October 22, 1685. They first went to Lisburne, Ireland, and then traveled to County Donegal, Ireland, settling at Castlefinn near cousins, the descendants of John PurVaiance (Purveyance), who had settled there in 1613.

At some point Jacques I’s sons all dropped the De from the family name, becoming simply Purviance. Sons Lewis (1652 – 1698) and Samuel (1660 – 1747), may never have gone to Ireland at all. Samuel is known to have gone to England for a few years, then on to America at some point, settling at Alloway’s Creek in what is now New Jersey. Lewis is known to have died in Queen Anne, Virginia.

Jacques II had known sons, Samuel, Joseph, Lewis, William, John I, David I and George, all of whom, except George, were born in France. Jacques I died in Castlefinn, as did his son, Jacques II and all of Jacques II’s sons, Samuel, Joseph, Lewis, William, John I, David I and George.

Two of John I’s sons, David II (1708 - 1743) and John II (1712 - 1749), emigrated to America, as had their great uncles before them.

Jon De Purvaiance I was born about 1570 in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland and died about 1620 in Royan, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France, now in France's Sainlonge District. His grandson Jacques De Purviance I fled France for Ireland on or after 22 October 1685, after King Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which had allowed religious toleration of French Protestants (Huguenots). Also at this time Jon's grandson, Saul Purviance, went to the American Colonies.

The Purviance family was of Scottish origin and probably Presbyterian (The Church of Scotland) as it is known that most of their first American descendants were members of that faith.

The Purviance “French Connection”

The De Purvaiance s were Scottish Protestants from Ayr, Scotland. They were merchants who emigrated in the late 1500s and lived and traded in Royan, France for around 90 years (making them naturalized French you might say).

They were forced to leave France around October 22, 1685, along with other Scottish and French Protestants, after King Louis XIV’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which had allowed religious toleration of Protestants. They then went to join cousins living in Ireland (County Donegal) and then on to America.

The name Purvaiance is actually a Scottish-ized Latin term for a man who was not a priest but a kind of secretary who worked for the Catholic Church and Clergy. This would indicate that the family belonged to the literate upper class. Also, the prefix "de" as originally used with the name, would indicate some sort of royal connection, as "commoners" were not generally permitted to use it. At some point, the name's spelling was "simplified" by dropping a vowel.

The Purviances are often confused with or labeled as French Protestants (Huguenots), but the Purviances in France were Scottish Protestants, not French Huguenots.

Two great-great-grandsons of Jon De Purviance, David, and John Purviance, migrated to the American colonies around 1740.

As used by 13th-century Scottish poets, Purviance meant fore-sight, fore-cast, or provision.

Military service War of 1812 Source: S82 Author: Direct Data Capture, comp Title: U.S., War of 1812 Service Records, 1812-1815 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1999; Repository: #R1

Family Recollections: http://www.marshahuie.com/edwin_alexander_mccorkle.htm PURVIANCE FAMILY OVERVIEW https://richardgwynallenblog.wordpress.com/category/purviance-family/