I got an email a few days ago from a Dorrance living in Iowa. He had a few questions regarding one of his Dorrance ancestors. I'm always game to for a chance to break out the Dorrance Family Scrolls and take a quick peek at our history. It turns out that his ancestor was the older brother of Sam Dorrance III (see below). While I was at it, I made a list of our direct ancestors, starting with John Dorrance. John was born in Scotland and made a detour into Ireland to wed (and have children) before hopping a boat for the New World (with family in tow). His arrival, along with that of his brother Samuel, is considered to be the official start of the Dorrance fam on the North American continent. Here is the direct listing, starting with ole John and ending with yours truly:
The kind Dorrance fellow in Iowa also pointed me to the RootsWeb site, which is a compilation of genealogy histories. Here is the rather interesting write-up they have for my paternal grandfather (which is mostly taken from his obit, I believe). That would be Samuel Richmond Dorrance, the younger.
