Jeduthan and Eunice (Gibbs) Torrance had ten children, all of whom were born at Enfield, Massachusetts. The last of these was a son, William Sinclair Torrance, born August 24, 1822.

When he was a young man, William left Massachusetts with others in his family, including his older brother Luke G. Torrance. Luke had gone to the Plum Grove settlement in Palatine township, Cook County, Illinois, where he began bought land in 1844 and 1845. William likely joined Luke at Plum Grove. Lot and Irene Whitcomb and their five children were also residents at Plum Grove.

The Torrances and Whitcombs left Illinois for Oregon Territory in 1847. Upon their arrival, William Torrance made a claim on 640 acres along the banks of the Willamette River. Lot Whitcomb did the same along the opposite bank. The two men and Joseph Kellogg soon platted the future city of Milwaukie, Oregon, on Lot's property.

In April 1849, William married Mary Jane Whitcomb. The couple had twelve children, eleven of whom are known: Edgar A., Eunice Irene, Kate Ella, Carrie Ellen, Hester (Hettie) Fairchild, William Grant, Emma Alice, Charles H., Dale Leroy, Addie May, and Oliver Archie.

Cemetery Record, "William S. Torrance; 1827-1902," Colfax Cemetery, District No. 6, Whitman County, Washington;

Tombstone Inscriptions: Whitman County, Washington, Volume III; Eastern Washington Genealogical Society; pages 138-139.

[From the U.S. Dept. of the Interior National Park Service; National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form; section no. 8, page 2]: "Prior to 1850 the land south of Portland and Lake Oswego was inhabited by the Clackamas Indians. In 1850 William S. Torrance and his wife Mary Jane, claimed 640 acres on the west bank of the Willamette River. This area comprised what is now Riverwood, Abernethy Heights, Riverdale, Palatine Hill, and Dunthorpe. Torrance mortgaged most of his claim to Lloyd Brook, keeping only a nine acre plot."