Ira A. Torrance was born around 1841 in AuSable, New York, to Austin Torrance and Tryphena Trumbull. His father died in 1845. Torrance grew up and attended school in Jay, New York, and by 1860, he was working as a farmer.
He enlisted in the Union army on September 2, 1864, and he mustered in as a private in Company E of the 2nd New York Cavalry later that day. According to his service records, he was 5 feet 8½ inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. The regiment took part in the siege of Petersburg and the Appomattox campaign. He voted for Abraham Lincoln in the election of 1864. He mustered out on June 5, 1865.
He married Lucy E. Smith around 1864, and their son Fred was born around 1878. They lived in Jay, and Torrance worked as a farmer. By 1870, he owned $1,200 of real estate and $700 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in July 1898 and eventually secured one. He died on December 13, 1905.