Joseph Milton Nance (1913-1997) was born in Kyle, Texas, and married Eleanor Glen Hanover, with whom he had a son, James Jim Nance. In 1941, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a doctorate in history. From 1941 until his retirement in 1979, Nance taught in the Department of History at Texas A&M University, serving for fifteen years as department head. He was senior editor for the Texas State Historical Association’s New Handbook of Texas from 1983 until its publication in 1996. Furthermore, Nance wrote nine books, including After San Jacinto: The Texas-Mexican Frontier, 1836-1841 (1963), Attack and Counterattack: The Texas-Mexican Frontier, 1842 (1964), and Dare-Devils All: The Texan Mier Expedition, 1842-1844 (1998).
From the guide to the Nance, Joseph Milton, Papers 97-036; 97-143., 1875-1994, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
