Twimmon Nance was the youngest child of Newton and Sarah (Vineyard) Nance.
His mother, Sarah passed away when Twimmon was very young. She had been sick for some time and the family knew she was dying. Twimmon himself being very sick, was not allowed to leave his bedroom when the family gathered at her bedside. Twimmon could not bear to be in his room with the door shut and his mother dying in the next room, so he dragged himself out of bed and went to the door. The doctor discovered him there and put him back into bed. Twimmon begged the doctor to at least leave the door open so he would know when his mother passed. The doctor agreed and the door was left open. At least until the next family member walked by and seeing the door open, shut it. Again Twimmon crawled out of bed to the door and again the doctor found him and put him back to bed leaving the door open. This happened several more times until finally the doctor lost his temper and yelled at the top of his lungs that he had better not catch a single other person shutting this d*+^ door. It was a little shocking to say the least to this Christian family and nobody went near Twimmon's door again.
Twimmon married Lector Mills abt. 1900 and they had seven children together. Their daughter Nina died of Scarlet Fever at the age of four.
Twimmon's headstone reads Rev TW Nance. In truth there was no "W". His name was too hard for most people to ever spell right and he had his share of teasing over the name so he invented himself a middle initial and went to using the new name of "T.W.". The Rev part he did not make up. Twimmon was a preacher that traveled from church to church "up on the mountain". For the full story of how he became a preacher, please visit his son Ermie Nance's memorial page.
Being a good Christian had it's price for Twimmon. While out walking his fields one day he came across a moonshine still in a cave. He busted this still up and went on. The men who owned the still confronted Twimmon over it. He told them he was a man of God and he would not allow illegal liquor to be made on his property. They warned him not to destroy their still again "or else". He warned them if they set it back up he would destroy it again, no matter what they did to him. They set it back up, he destroyed it and the carried out their "or else" by running all of his livestock off the cliff and into the Holston River. Twimmon lost almost everything he had. He had to sell the family land and move to a small farm down the road. But he never lost his faith. That same cave was used for moonshining up until the 1980's when a neighbor of the property reported it to the TBI as part of a fued.
His mother, Sarah passed away when Twimmon was very young. She had been sick for some time and the family knew she was dying. Twimmon himself being very sick, was not allowed to leave his bedroom when the family gathered at her bedside. Twimmon could not bear to be in his room with the door shut and his mother dying in the next room, so he dragged himself out of bed and went to the door. The doctor discovered him there and put him back into bed. Twimmon begged the doctor to at least leave the door open so he would know when his mother passed. The doctor agreed and the door was left open. At least until the next family member walked by and seeing the door open, shut it. Again Twimmon crawled out of bed to the door and again the doctor found him and put him back to bed leaving the door open. This happened several more times until finally the doctor lost his temper and yelled at the top of his lungs that he had better not catch a single other person shutting this d*+^ door. It was a little shocking to say the least to this Christian family and nobody went near Twimmon's door again.
Twimmon married Lector Mills abt. 1900 and they had seven children together. Their daughter Nina died of Scarlet Fever at the age of four.
Twimmon's headstone reads Rev TW Nance. In truth there was no "W". His name was too hard for most people to ever spell right and he had his share of teasing over the name so he invented himself a middle initial and went to using the new name of "T.W.". The Rev part he did not make up. Twimmon was a preacher that traveled from church to church "up on the mountain". For the full story of how he became a preacher, please visit his son Ermie Nance's memorial page.
Being a good Christian had it's price for Twimmon. While out walking his fields one day he came across a moonshine still in a cave. He busted this still up and went on. The men who owned the still confronted Twimmon over it. He told them he was a man of God and he would not allow illegal liquor to be made on his property. They warned him not to destroy their still again "or else". He warned them if they set it back up he would destroy it again, no matter what they did to him. They set it back up, he destroyed it and the carried out their "or else" by running all of his livestock off the cliff and into the Holston River. Twimmon lost almost everything he had. He had to sell the family land and move to a small farm down the road. But he never lost his faith. That same cave was used for moonshining up until the 1980's when a neighbor of the property reported it to the TBI as part of a fued.
Twimmon Nance was the youngest child of Newton and Sarah (Vineyard) Nance.
His mother, Sarah passed away when Twimmon was very young. She had been sick for some time and the family knew she was dying. Twimmon himself being very sick, was not allowed to leave his bedroom when the family gathered at her bedside. Twimmon could not bear to be in his room with the door shut and his mother dying in the next room, so he dragged himself out of bed and went to the door. The doctor discovered him there and put him back into bed. Twimmon begged the doctor to at least leave the door open so he would know when his mother passed. The doctor agreed and the door was left open. At least until the next family member walked by and seeing the door open, shut it. Again Twimmon crawled out of bed to the door and again the doctor found him and put him back to bed leaving the door open. This happened several more times until finally the doctor lost his temper and yelled at the top of his lungs that he had better not catch a single other person shutting this d*+^ door. It was a little shocking to say the least to this Christian family and nobody went near Twimmon's door again.
Twimmon married Lector Mills abt. 1900 and they had seven children together. Their daughter Nina died of Scarlet Fever at the age of four.
Twimmon's headstone reads Rev TW Nance. In truth there was no "W". His name was too hard for most people to ever spell right and he had his share of teasing over the name so he invented himself a middle initial and went to using the new name of "T.W.". The Rev part he did not make up. Twimmon was a preacher that traveled from church to church "up on the mountain". For the full story of how he became a preacher, please visit his son Ermie Nance's memorial page.
Being a good Christian had it's price for Twimmon. While out walking his fields one day he came across a moonshine still in a cave. He busted this still up and went on. The men who owned the still confronted Twimmon over it. He told them he was a man of God and he would not allow illegal liquor to be made on his property. They warned him not to destroy their still again "or else". He warned them if they set it back up he would destroy it again, no matter what they did to him. They set it back up, he destroyed it and the carried out their "or else" by running all of his livestock off the cliff and into the Holston River. Twimmon lost almost everything he had. He had to sell the family land and move to a small farm down the road. But he never lost his faith. That same cave was used for moonshining up until the 1980's when a neighbor of the property reported it to the TBI as part of a fued.
His mother, Sarah passed away when Twimmon was very young. She had been sick for some time and the family knew she was dying. Twimmon himself being very sick, was not allowed to leave his bedroom when the family gathered at her bedside. Twimmon could not bear to be in his room with the door shut and his mother dying in the next room, so he dragged himself out of bed and went to the door. The doctor discovered him there and put him back into bed. Twimmon begged the doctor to at least leave the door open so he would know when his mother passed. The doctor agreed and the door was left open. At least until the next family member walked by and seeing the door open, shut it. Again Twimmon crawled out of bed to the door and again the doctor found him and put him back to bed leaving the door open. This happened several more times until finally the doctor lost his temper and yelled at the top of his lungs that he had better not catch a single other person shutting this d*+^ door. It was a little shocking to say the least to this Christian family and nobody went near Twimmon's door again.
Twimmon married Lector Mills abt. 1900 and they had seven children together. Their daughter Nina died of Scarlet Fever at the age of four.
Twimmon's headstone reads Rev TW Nance. In truth there was no "W". His name was too hard for most people to ever spell right and he had his share of teasing over the name so he invented himself a middle initial and went to using the new name of "T.W.". The Rev part he did not make up. Twimmon was a preacher that traveled from church to church "up on the mountain". For the full story of how he became a preacher, please visit his son Ermie Nance's memorial page.
Being a good Christian had it's price for Twimmon. While out walking his fields one day he came across a moonshine still in a cave. He busted this still up and went on. The men who owned the still confronted Twimmon over it. He told them he was a man of God and he would not allow illegal liquor to be made on his property. They warned him not to destroy their still again "or else". He warned them if they set it back up he would destroy it again, no matter what they did to him. They set it back up, he destroyed it and the carried out their "or else" by running all of his livestock off the cliff and into the Holston River. Twimmon lost almost everything he had. He had to sell the family land and move to a small farm down the road. But he never lost his faith. That same cave was used for moonshining up until the 1980's when a neighbor of the property reported it to the TBI as part of a fued.
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