Mrs. Frances Fearn Nance was born on March 25, 1841 and passed away on January 19, 1936. She worked as a nurse to friends and family members. During her lifetime, African American nurses faced numerous restrictions on where they could train, whom they could treat, and where they could work. She married George Fearn.

Frances Fearn Nance was born on March 25, 1841, to parents Albert Fearn from Richmond, Virginia, and Ann Scott from Raleigh, North Carolina, who settled in Huntsville, Alabama. Their journey south was likely a challenging adventure. While little is known about Albert and Ann, their three children—Seldon, Henry, and Frances—grew up in Huntsville, a major cotton trading center in the Tennessee Valley. They would have witnessed the growth of the town to nearly 5,000 residents and seen the Huntsville Depot, now one of the few remaining antebellum train depots in the country. They likely also enjoyed The Huntsville Gazette, the city’s first successful Black newspaper.

According to the 1870 census, Mrs. Nance married George Nance and was keeping house while raising their children. At that time, George was 52 and Frances was 30. Sadly, in 1881, the Huntsville Gazette reported a tragic loss for the Nance family: their two youngest daughters, Georgia, age 3, and Matilda, age 7, passed away on the same day at their grandmother’s residence, only minutes apart. Though the cause of death was not reported, it may have been a childhood illness. The newspaper remarked that “the spirit of one tarried in wait for the other, thus happily ending their earthly journey together.”

Mrs. Nance also had another daughter, Ellen, who married William R. Gordon in 1888 at a festive wedding at Huntsville’s Methodist Episcopal Church, followed by a reception at the home of Mrs. F. L. Bartlett. The newlyweds soon moved to Wetumpka, Alabama.

Mrs. Nance’s brother, Seldon, passed away in 1909. Mrs. Nance received a $300 life insurance payment from the Knights of Pythians of Nebraska—a significant amount at the time.

Throughout her long life in Huntsville, Mrs. Nance witnessed many changes in her community and provided nursing care to friends and neighbors. During her lifetime, African American nurses faced numerous restrictions on where they could train, whom they could treat, and where they could work.

Mrs. Nance passed away on January 19, 1936, at the age of 94 and was laid to rest in Glenwood Cemetery, leaving behind a legacy of resilience and service.

Alabama Deaths and Burials Index, 1881-1974, Ancestry.com.

1870 U.S. Census, Frances Nance, Huntsville, Madison County, AL, Ancestry.com.

"Doubly bereaved," Huntsville Gazette (Huntsville, AL), 30 Jul 1881, p. 3

The Journal (Huntsville, AL), 13 Mar 1902, p. 3

Wedding invitation, Huntsville Gazette (Huntsville, AL), 27 Oct 1888, p. 3.