Beacher Lonnie Vance, the 12th of Will and Drucilla's children, was born near Altoga, Collin County, Texas, on October 8, 1898.

Sometime after his 6th birthday, his parents moved to Clapham, New Mexico. His sister, Pearl, kept in touch with her cousin, Cora Dodson, who lived near Altoga. On the back of a picture postcard, she included a short note about Beacher, "I am having a fine time of riding burrows all over the prairie. One dumped Beacher off in the rodeo." They moved back to Texas when he was about 13 or 14 years old. His father bought a farm in Peeltown with a creek where he could go fishing and find a few new places to explore.

On September 12, 1918, Beacher, age 19, registered for the WWI draft. The date of his birth was recorded as October 8, 1898. He was working for Wootson Bowden Vance on his farm in Scurry. His physical description was short and medium build, gray eyes and brown hair.

Beacher's mother became seriously ill and was diagnosed with cancer. She had always enjoyed gardening, and he later told his daughter about the times she crawled to her beloved garden because she was too sick to walk. She lost the battle with cancer and died January 19, 1919. She was the first to be buried in the Cottonwood Cemetery in the Vance family plot. Beacher and his two sisters, Vicie and Josie, were the only children still living at home.

On October 14, 1922, Beacher married Annie "Flora" Smith, the daughter of Don Alonzo and Molly Ann (Montgomery) Smith, in Kemp. They had one child, Geneva Pearl, born August 5, 1923.

Times were hard during the depression era in the early 1930's. Geneva said that her father and his brother, Jim, bootlegged liquor to help provide income for their families. She said, "This was the only way they could make a living. They never did have any problems with the law but were always on the lookout for revenuers." Her mother even made shirts and underwear for her father from the sugar sacks they used.

Geneva grew up on their farm in Kemp. Times weren't easy when she was growing up. Everyday living required a lot of hard work and resourcefulness by her mother and father. Her father planted various types of crops. There were cracks in the walls that her mother stuffed with newspapers to help keep out the cold winter air. The cracks between the floor boards were convenient when it came time to sweep and wash the floor. However, things that normally stayed under the floor had a tendency to crawl up into the house. Their water came from a well near the house. A bucket was tied to a rope on a pulley that was lowered to bring up the water. Geneva said they took a bath in a number 3 washtub, with water that they heated on their stove.

Wash day required the cooperation of the weather. A big black iron kettle was filled with water and heated over a fire outside. The laundry was washed on a rub board with lye soap that they made from used pork grease. Bluing was added to the rinse water to make clothes whiter. Later, they got a wringer type washer. Her mother found an additional use for it that was quite unique. She would go to the garden and pick a couple of bushels of peas, wrap them in a towel, and run the towel through the wringer. The peas were hulled and came out perfect, ready to use. Her mother made dress patterns from newspapers. All the clothes, including fancy dresses for Geneva, were sewn on a treadle sewing machine. Geneva said when her mother was determined to do something, "she made sure it got done."

Beacher & Annie lived in Kemp most of the time they were married. He was a kind loving husband and was devoted Annie.

Later they moved to Dallas, where he worked in the construction business six years before he died from lung cancer. Geneva, who had made her home in ID, came to TX to help her mother care for him during his struggle with cancer. This was almost two years after her son had tragically drown in the Salmon River.

His death record shows that he died in his Dallas home at 8915 Files Street at 3 p.m., January 10, 1967, at the age of 68. A death notice was published in the local newspaper: "Lonnie Beacher Vance, 8915 Files, survived by wife, Mrs. Annie Vance; daughter, Mrs. Geneva Black, of Salman, Idaho; half-sisters, Mrs. Rosa Lee Harris, Mrs. Lottie Mae McNalley; step-brother, Roy Sanders, all of Dallas. Chapel services 2 p.m. Thursday, Rev. M.E. Boseman officiating. Interment Cottonwood Cemetery. Anderson-Clayton Bros, Mesquite, Texas."

Note: Geneva said that her parents died in the town of Pleasant Grove, which is a residential neighborhood in the Dallas city limits, eight miles southeast of downtown Dallas. Her mother never remarried and died October 28, 1991. She was buried beside Beacher.