David Vance

David Vance (1745–1813) was an early North Carolina public figure whose life spanned war, settlement, and state-building. Sources on his family and descendants describe him as a veteran officer of the Revolution who saw service at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Valley Forge, and Kings Mountain, and later settled in the Reems Creek area of Buncombe County.

In western North Carolina, he worked in several roles at once: surveyor, teacher, farmer, and local leader. NCpedia notes that he bought the farm later known as the Zebulon B. Vance Birthplace, became Buncombe County’s first clerk of court, held the rank of colonel in the local militia, and served multiple terms in the North Carolina General Assembly.

He is also remembered as the patriarch of a prominent political family. His son Robert Brank Vance served in Congress, and his grandson Zebulon Baird Vance later became governor of North Carolina and a U.S. senator. I couldn’t confirm that David Vance himself was primarily known as an author, so this overview focuses on the public life that the available sources support.