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. 🙂