Month: February 2021

A Couple Of Early Vess Ancestor’s Unaccounted For

/ J. V.

I thought I had all the Vess family in North Carolina between 1820-1900 accounted for, but apparently there appears to be two women with the name Elizabeth Vess in which I do not know where they go on the Vess family tree!

To pass time away during this crazy winter-storm event, I decided to just browse through some online documents. I didn’t want to dig too deep in case the power goes out. Nothing worse than stumbling upon something exciting and then the computer screen goes dark! But, browsing is never uneventful for me. So, before the power goes off again, this is what I stumbled upon…

Louisa Elizabeth Vess

I came across an 1864 marriage record for an Elizabeth Vess and William Columbus Lanning in Henderson Co., NC. She was supposedly born in Transylvania County, NC abt 1845 and died in 1879. [Transylvania County was established in 1861 and was previously part of Jackson and Henderson counties]. According to family trees on Ancestry.com for William Columbus Lanning, she was his first wife and they have her name as “Louisa” Elizabeth Vess.

I do not know who this is.

Possibly Peter’s Daughter

My initial thought, is that Louisa Elizabeth Vess is possibly Nathan’s daughter, because parts of Henderson were once part of Buncombe County where Nathan’s family is seen on the census records. Also, a couple years later, his daughter Sarah Jane Vess married Jackson Pressley in Henderson County, NC. But, there is no records of Nathan having a daughter named Louisa. He did have a daughter named Elizabeth though, but she married a Chambers and a Hyatt, and also died in 1915 in Washington. Furthermore, none of his older kids were old enough to have any children prior to 1850. I mean, they could have, but the odds are slim.

So, I looked at Peter’s family next and he has a daughter named Elizabeth born abt 1840, who disappeared after the 1850 census.

We do know that Peter and Catherine’s younger kids were sent to live with other families in 1860, suggesting Peter and Catherine had both passed away. Rachel, Eliza, and Jasper are found living in Buncombe County, NC with a Dempsey Sumners. Zephaniah Vess, their brother, is living with the Whitesides family in Rutherford Co. NC. But, I have not been able to find Elizabeth, suggesting she either got married or went to live with someone else and the census misspelled her surname.

There is a good chance this Lousia Elizabeth Vess is her. I followed the descendants along her line with William Columbus Lanning, and several surnames along that line do come up as DNA relatives; however, none of them have completed trees to confirm a solid connection.

Susan Ann Elizabeth Vess

I came across an 1878 marriage record for an Elizabeth Vess and Columbus McGinnis in Rutherford County, NC. She was supposedly born in Rutherford Co., NC in 1856. Some family trees on Ancestry.com for Columbus McGinnis have her as “Susan” Elizabeth Vess, “daughter of Andrew Logan Vess and Linnia Halford.”

Andrew Logan Vess did not have a daughter named Susan or Elizabeth.

I do not know who this is.

Possibly Peter’s Grand-daughter Via John Vess

You would think any Vess family born in Rutherford County, NC after 1850 would be easy to identify. I guess not.

We can certainly (or so I am confident) we can rule out Nathan’s family. In 1850, he and his family were in Buncombe and Haywood counties. We can also rule out Peter as the father, because research suggests he passed away sometime before 1844. With Nathan on the move towards Tennessee, this Elizabeth Vess may likely be Peter’s granddaughter (if born in 1856).

According to her death certificate (1926), her father is listed as “Andy Vest” and he was born in Rutherford Co too [her mother unknown]. But Andrew Logan Vess didn’t have a daughter named Susan or Elizabeth. The only other “Andy Vess” I am aware of, is Andrew Logan’s son, Peter Allen Vess, who also went by “Andy Vess,” but he was born in 1882. So, if not their daughter, then whose daughter is this??

Well, if I were to guess (I am guessing), I would say she is probably the daughter of John Vess, Peter’s oldest son.
Why?

John Vess disappeared from records after 1850. He had 4 children with his wife, Elizabeth Taylor: Sarah, Silus, Mary, Sophrona, who were all born prior to 1850. However, we have record of a divorce in 1854 via local newspaper, implying John Vess had left the state.

Perhaps John hadn’t left the state. Perhaps he was still living in Rutherford County, NC and found someone new and two years later (1856), had a daughter with someone else.

A Little More Digging Is Needed

For all I know, these women aren’t VESS at all. Maybe they are VOSS, VASS, or VEST? OR, maybe I missed someone in Peter and Nathan’s family tree.

Further research is required.


If anyone knows who these women are, please leave us a comment and we can update the family tree. 🙂














Did I Just Find Nathan’s VESS Family?

/ J. V.

Research Journal – February 5, 2021


I am super excited and a bit all over the place. Hopefully you are sitting down for this one…

I have an overwhelming list of families I am interested in researching, but I just don’t know where to start!

So, I decided, I would review all the 1790 census records for the counties that were once part of Tryon County: Rutherford, Lincoln, Spartanburg, York, Greenville, etc. But, because some families spill over into Mecklenburg County, I decided to check that census too.

Then, I went a little further to Anson County.
Because… prior to 1760, Anson County basically consisted all the western territory that would eventually become Tryon County and Mecklenburg County. So, why not, let’s check there too!

And I found something super exciting!

Possibly Found Nathan’s Family

I found a “BASS” family in Anson County, NC on a 1790 census!

Okay, so what, right?

Well, reading the census record on the North Carolina Genweb website (the typed version), I came across a BELLEW family: Henry, Abraham, and John Bellew [Bylue].

Yeah, I am like…”What! No Way!”

Interestingly, the BELLEW and BASS families are near each other. So, just to make sure it was correct, I found the census record on Ancestry.com [1790 Census Record pg. 2].

Although Genweb says there is an Abraham Bellew in Anson County, NC, I could not find his name “written” anywhere in the census on Ancestry.com. I don’t know if I keep missing it, or it was a typo on Genweb. However, I did find John Bellew!

Frederick BASS Sr. and Jr. are in Anson County in 1790, with not only the BELLEW family, but the LEDBETTER, PRESSELY, LINDSAY, DUNCAN, VAUGHN, MURPHY, PAGETT, and many others!

Supposedly, according to family, the LEDBETTER, LINDSAY, MOFFITT, and MURPHY families have known the Vess family forever.

PRESSLEY is a family Nathan’s daughter married into.
PADGET and PRICE are connected to Henry Pettit Sr. who used to live in South Carolina (Spartanburg Co.).
DUNCAN reminds me of the Duncan family in Patrick Co. VA.
VAUGHN family reminds me of Willis Vess’ mother (Margaret Vaughn).

I mean, it’s totally worth taking a look!

The BASS FAMILY

I have no idea who they are!
I am looking at Ancestry trees for Frederick Bass Sr, and interestingly, it pretty much stops with him! After a few attempts, I couldn’t get it to go anywhere either which probably suggests a name change!

But, the most intriguing find, is that Frederick Bass Sr. is shown to be married to Marry Polly VAUGHN.
The plot thickens…

Is This A Likely VESS?

In 1790, we can find an Abraham Bellew with Joshua Gosnell together in Spartanburg Co. SC.

They are found near a Joel Callahan, in which I was told has a daughter who married a Vess. Unfortunately, I have not found any records to support it; however, there is a William West listed near them too. I have not been able to determine which WEST line he belongs to (if any).

Anyway, I decided to find Henry Pettit Sr. in South Caorlina who lived near Peter in 1820 on Knob Creek (likely on the Mooney’s property) and was also a member of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church in the 1830’s. According to his Revolutionary War pension paperwork, his father was living in South Carolina (Ninety-six) where he “took his father’s place. ”

On an 1810 census record, I find Henry Pettit! But more interestingly, I found a JOHN BEAS.

I don’t know about you, but BEAS is pretty similar to BESS and VESS.

There are a few BASS families with different spellings in South Carolina, so I will certainly have to dig deeper to see if this John Beas stands alone. What brings me hope, is that there is another dang John Duncan. Also, there are many other familiar family names like DAVIS, REID, ALLEN, GREEN, KING, SHIPPLEY, COLLIN, and WEBBER. If I am right, I most likely will find them near the border between North and South Carolina in Spartanburg Co. SC.

No Official Conclusions Yet

I don’t know what to think about this BASS family.
Probably another goose-chase.

But, the fact that I found the Bellew family so close to a family whose name is similar to ours, is pretty intriguing. And, that they are surrounded by other familiar family names, is mind-blowing.

I wonder if they are connected to the VOSS family?

If I stick with my mantra (I guess you can call it that): That families who marry each other, have lived together, worshiped together, and likely traveled together! I might actually make some real progress!


Vess Genealogy: Vess-Duncan Connection

/ J. V.

I am elbow deep in Tryon County records and thus far, no “Vess” families.
They simply do not seem to exist and I have yet to make any connections with the “Vess” family seen in Patrick County, Virginia [1790’s].

There are a lot of interesting families in Tryon County, North Carolina. Many of which are on my “Families of Interest” list, including the Duncan family. They raise an eyebrow, for the fact, there is a Patrick County, VA tax record between Samuel Vess and Peter Vess and Samuel Vess and John Duncan. I do not know if the Duncans in Tryon County, NC are related to the Duncan family in Patrick County, VA.


I keep searching for a Vess-Duncan connection and I may have found one:

Peter’s first 3 sons were born and lived (briefly) in the Knob Creek area. So, I figured, I should take a look as to who they married:

John Vess married Elizabeth Taylor.
Taylor family has numerous properties all near Knob Creek and have been in the area since the area was considered Tryon County.

Josiah Vess married Zilla Early.
The Early family is complicated, however, Zilla’s mother is Nancy Duncan.

Andrew Logan Vess married Malinda Halford, whose grandfather obtained land on Knob Creek in 1792.

So, from what I can tell, Peter’s sons married into families who likely have settled in the area when it was considered to be Tryon County. However, further research is required.

Zilla’s family doesn’t seem to have any connection to Bill’s Creek Baptist Church (they were not early members with Peter). It may not be too much of a stretch to consider that the Vess and Early families knew each other outside of church; either they attended another church together, were neighbors, or migrated together (there are Early families in SC).

I need to do further research on these families. I need to finish mapping out all these families to see if there are any visible connections there. I am confident I am on a roll! Tryon County has opened up so many different doors, I just don’t know where to begin! 🙂