Lovely lady! When Medora “Dora” Emma Armstrong was born on August 16, 1858, in Upshur, West Virginia. She was the second daughter to her father, Harvey Armstrong, 24, and her mother, Margaret McCoy, 20. Dora’s parents had just moved from Highland Virginia to Upshur, Virginia shortly before her birth. The war between the states ravaged the area and Upshur area became part of West Virginia in 1863. And article was published in the Highland Recorder on July 20, 1951, of an interview with Dora Lance, and in her own words she tells stories and memories about that war. Dora maintained a daily diary and was an avid writer. It is unknown to me how she became so well educated in the era when literacy was not required of a woman. The location of the original diary in not known, however, I have one copied diary page where Dora notes the marriage and some work details about her grandson, Garland Francis. There are also some surviving postcards that were written in her hand.
She married William H Washington Lance on October 7, 1880, in their home of Highland County, Virginia. They had five daughters in order of birth: Carrie Wilson, Grace, Cora Marie, Reka Brandt, and Lelah Margaret.
After a long life, Dora died on December 16, 1951, in Pomeroy, Ohio at the age of 93. She was at the home of a granddaughter but was returned home to be buried in Point Pleasant Cemetery, Upshur, West Virginia by the side of her husband William Lance.