While investigating Willis Vess, I may have found my way back to the Patrick County, VA Vess/Vest family!
My game plan to try to uncover the origins of the Alabama Vess family include looking at maps, neighbors, spouses, genealogy records (census, land, probate, etc), and the history of Alabama.
Investigating Land Records
Franklin County, Alabama was first established in 1818, before Alabama became a state (December 14, 1819). Records of early settlers of northern portions of Alabama may be found in the Mississippi Territory records. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any records of interest.
The earliest record I’ve found on Willis Vess is an 1830 census record for Franklin County, Alabama. However, he is listed as being between the ages of 30-40, living with two females between the ages of 15-30. This does not appear to match the timeline reported on family trees. Also, he is 10 years younger in the 1840 census (listed as being between the ages of 20-30). Census records are notorious for their mistakes.
Interestingly, on the 1830 census record, I do recognize two familiar family names next to Willis Vess: SUGG and THARP.
Willis Vess lived near both of them and the Sugg family has records as early as 1819. In fact, despite the 1820 Alabama census record being supposedly incomplete, it does contain some families from the Foxtrap area [THARP, SUGG, MATLOCK, THOMPSON, and DEBOIS].
Littleberry Matlock is shown on the Alabama Genweb plat map, living next to Willis Vess. Further research reveals that he married Phoebe Tharp whose father is Robert Tharp (1820 censusabove) and supposedly (not confirmed yet) her mother is a Thompson from Rutherford County, North Carolina. Interesting!
After 1830, we believe Willis Vess married Talitha Whitlock; unfortunately, I have not been able to find a marriage record. However, we do know a lot about the Whitlock family due to extensive research by Anna Popejoy and published works by the Whitlock Newsletter via Google. The Whitlock family arrived in Alabama in 1820 and lived in an area referred to as Saints cross (which is near Foxtrap). I figure this may be how Willis Vess and Talitha Whitlock met each other.
The oldest children of Willis and Talitha Vess married into the Willis family, which may suggest the Vess and Willis families were close (they were close neighbors shown on the map below) and it is believed that the Willis family may have connections with the parents of Willis Vess (no evidence yet).
I do not know when the Willis family arrived in Franklin Alabama, however, both John Willis and Willis Vess appear on the 1830 census record (several pages apart).
Looking at the President’s name on their undated land records for Franklin County, Alabama, it appears that John Willis purchased land near the Foxtrap area before Willis Vess. John Willis’ record [No. 5972] was signed by Andrew Jackson who was President between 1829-1837 and Willis Vess’ record [No. 8737] was signed by Martin Van Buren who was President between 1837-1841.
The map below (looking at surrounding families) seem to have been something that was put together sometime after the 1850’s. The earliest known neighbor near Willis Vess is James Dubois [No. 8705, also issued in 1837] who is seen on the 1820 census record (above). The land record for John Willis signed by Present Andrew Jackson is not dated, but was likely issued between 1829-1837 and land records No. 19711 and 19712 was signed between 1857-1861 when James Buchanan was President. Unfortunately, nothing seems to reveal any clues about the Vess family prior to 1830.
Willis Vess appears to have owned several properties in the Foxtrap area.
I found 3 land records for Willis Vess: No. 8737 August 5, 1837 No. 20457 & 20252 April 2, 1857*No. 20451 & 20452 on map (above) No. 25798 March 1, 1858 (William Vess as heir) *No. 25797 on map (above)
Who is William Vess? None of the family trees I have come across for Willis Vess have a William Vess on them, so I am not entirely sure who he is; however, it certainly makes my next discovery extremely intriguing…
1846 Tennessee Record: Peter, Willis, William Vess/ Vest
There is one Willis Vess record that intrigues me the most and it is a land record for White County, Tennessee (1846) on Caney Fork.
Willis Vess of White County, Tennessee, appears to have 2 land records for a property on Caney Fork: No. 2012 dated 1831 No. 9156 (addition to No. 2012) dated 1849
The property interestingly joins Daniel Dotson (Dodson).
Looking at census records, I do not see a Willis Vess; however, there is an 1820 and 1830 census record for Peter Vest, whose neighbor is Daniel Dotson (Dodson).
In addition, there is also a William Vess. He also purchases land in 1831 No. 2071, whose property takes over land once owned by John Medley (see 1820 censusabove). William Dodson and Sam Moore are witnesses listed on the record. William Vess can be found on the 1830 census record. Is this William Vess, the William Vess who is “heir” to the Willis Vess of Alabama’s 1858 land record in Franklin County, Alabama??
And, furthermore, is this Peter Vest, the same Peter Vest listed on the Patrick Co. Deeds (1791-1941 Indexes, grantor pg. 77 on FHL Film 33,333) with wife “Margaret,” who appears to have land next to the Dodson family on North Fork in Patrick County, Virginia? A 1793 transaction which was witnessed by George Dodson Sr., George Dodson Junior, Benjamin Fletcher, and Thomas Dodson.
Perhaps, it is Peter and William Vess of Patrick County, Virginia (Deed Records) on North Fork with William Willis??
Is there an actual connection or is this just coincidence?
Conclusions
Wow!
A Franklin County, Alabama land record for Willis Vess and “heir” William Vess. A Willis and William Vess in White County, Tennessee, with a Peter Vest. All near a Dodson family. And… interestingly, there is a Peter Vess and William Vess in Patrick County, Virginia, not only living next to a Dodson family, but ALSO a Willis family.
I don’t have enough documented evidence to make any solid connections, but I am absolutely intrigued! Tennessee is a mixing pot of Vest, Voss, Vaulx, and Vess families! Hopefully, with more research, we can determine which family the Vess/Vest family of White County, Tennessee belongs to!
I am extremely excited to announce that we have been given the opportunity to start a VESS FAMILY DNA PROJECT!
A huge thanks to Marilyn Barton, for allowing us to revive her Vess Family DNA project on Familytreedna.com and also, a huge thanks to Michael Travers and Vincent Vess for managing it for us!
How To Join?
To join and participate, you must have an account with Familytreedna.com.
Click on this link for step-by-step instructions from yourdnaguide.com.
How Long Does The Transfer Process Take
Familytreedna.com states it takes 3-5 business days to process, but some reviews state it could be as quick as a few hours; it all depends on how many transfers they have to process (it’s a queue system).
However, you can join the Vess Family DNA Project and explore public Haplotrees while you wait for your results to process.
$19 To Access Additional Tools
It is my understanding that a free account opened by transferring DNA results from another vendor, allows you access to FamilyFinder and DNA Projects. However, one must pay $19 to unlock additional tools such as the Chromosome Browser, MyOrigins, and AncientOrigins.
Which isn’t that bad, considering you’re not having to buy an expensive DNA kit again or pay any kind of subscription to continue to access information.
Who Can Participate?
Any member of Familytreedna.com can join the Vess Family DNA Project! It is my understanding that this DNA project is not restricted to any specific type of testers and thus, all DNA tests are able to provide valuable information to the project.
Information provided by Autosomal DNA testers (both genders) allow us to make new family connections.
Information provided by mtDNA testers allow us to explore maternal roots.
Information provided by Y-DNA testers allow us to identify and connect different VESS/ VOSS/VASS/ VEST family lines.
Information provided by Big-Y testers allow us to further investigate and unravel the mystery between the Vess and Travers families.
The more participants, the more DNA information we can obtain and analyze, and then the more connections we can make!
Transferring Y-DNA Test Results
If you have already done a Y-DNA test through a different company that used the Sorenson 33 or 46-marker test, you can transfer your results to Familytreedna.com to participate in the Y-DNA portion of the Vess Family DNA Project.
You aren’t a true VESS unless you have a vintage Vess Cola sign or bottle displayed somewhere in your home!
Hanging in my kitchen, is a vintage 1950 VESS COLA tin sign that I inherited from my family and eventually, (if they still have it) I will probably inherit my family’s most valuable flower vase, a vintage VESS COLA bottle.
It’s just a fun thing that nearly every VESS family does and surprisingly, VESS COLA has nothing to do with the VESS family!
History of Vess Cola
Vess Cola is quite popular and there are a lot of articles online about its complicated history.
Vess Cola is a brand of soda named after Vess Jones of St. Louis, Missouri; “Vess” being short for Sylvester.
According to Collectors Weekly, Sylvester “Vess” Jones, is the original founder of the Orange Whistle Company (1915), later to be known as The Whistle Company. History is a bit confusing, for that his company had a lot of changes throughout the years, including a bankruptcy after the Depression, several different owners and name changes.
The Vess brand appears to have been created in the 1920’s and The Whistle Company eventually changed its company name to the Vess Beverage Company. Original flavors included Cola, Cream, Grape, Blueberry, Fruit Punch, Strawberry and Blue Raspberry. In the 1970’s, they sold a Chocolate drink that is said to be comparable to Yahoo.
It is my understanding that before the Vess Cola brand, there was the Orange Whistle soda, which was created and sold by a man named Charles Leiper Grigg working for Vess Jones. Some sources say he left The Whistle Company after butting heads with Vess Jones. Grigg eventually started his own company and in 1929, he introduced the world to the amazing lemon-lime creation known today as 7UP!
Not bottled as fancy as their predecessors, but they sure do look colorful!
Today, Vess Cola is owned by Cott Beverages, Inc. and there is supposedly 27 flavors of Vess Cola available today!
The first flavor of Vess-Cola I ever tried was lemon-lime, which is kind of blah compared to other brands and nowhere as crisp as 7UP. However, their grape and strawberry flavors aren’t too bad. They even have Vess-Cola seltzer!
I am amazed that Vess Cola is still around and I believe the variety of delicious fruit flavors makes the brand so unique.
Finding Vess Cola can sometimes be difficult, because they are often hidden behind all the other big soda brands on the shelf. So, it’s best to check the bottom shelves or the specialty soda section (due to their fruit flavors). I have found grocery stores to be the best place to find Vess Cola and occasionally, you may get lucky with Walmart.
Please share with us! Tell us what kind of Vess Cola collectable you have and let us know if you’ve tried any of the Vess Cola flavors.
I am so thrilled to have finally reached a new chapter in Vess Genealogy!
When I started this blog last Fall (August 2020), it was simply just a place to organize digital sources and share my genealogy experiences researching the Vess name. I gave it 2 months!
Remarkably, Vess Genealogy kept on going! I never would have ever imagined I would get to work with so many different people interested in the VESS name nor get an opportunity to meet so many different VESS families! This has been such an amazing genealogy adventure!
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone helping me unravel the mysteries of the VESS family!
If New To Vess Genealogy, Here’s What You Missed!
For generations, three different VESS lines (maybe more) haven’t been able find their ancestors prior to 1820. A frustrating endeavor leaving many of us to just give up.
However, since last Fall, we achieved the following:
1. We learned more about Peter Vess and his family. 2. We learned a lot about Andrew Logan Vess and his family. 3. We likely uncovered Nathan’s origins in the Dark Corners of South Carolina. 4. We discovered that Peter and Willis Vess are closely related and that our family is closely related to the Travers family! 5. We explored families in Knob’s Creek from Peter’s 1820 census record. 6. We discovered “Vess” records in Virginia connected to an unknown Vest/Vess family! 8. We confirmed (via DNA) that the VESS family is not related to the BASS, BEST, WEST, or VEST families; eliminating them as possible family connections.
Brief Recap On Vess Genealogy
We now know that Peter, Willis, and Nathan Vess are related; however, we have not yet determined how they are related to each other.
Peter and Willis were born in North Carolina and Nathan was born in South Carolina. Peter first appears on record in Rutherford County, North Carolina in 1820 on Knobs Creek with the Toney, Pettit, and Mooney families (all members of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church).
Nathan’s first appearance on record is also in Rutherford County, North Carolina, but in 1830 with his in-laws, the Bellew family. The Bellew and Gosnell families are related and are prominent families in Glassy Mountain, Greenville County, South Carolina (aka Dark Corners). Also, Peter’s grandson, David Andrew Vess married Magnolia “Maggie” Gosnell, who is related to Nathan’s wife, Clarinda Bellew.
Willis first appears on record in Franklin County, Alabama in 1830. According to Anna Popejoy, long time researcher of the Vess and Whitlock families, states that the father of Willis Vess (John Vess) had been living in Foxtrap since 1819. Y-DNA analysis, via familytreedna.com, confirms Willis Vess and Peter Vess (Andrew Logan Vess) are definitely part of the same VESS family.
Familytreedna.com (FTDNA) also shows that the VESS and TRAVERS family are closely related; however, we do not know how they are related. There are several reasons as to why FTDNA may group two different surnames closely together; either we are extremely close cousins, one family that split apart during a time before surnames, or a male Travers ancestor took on the Vess name (orvice versa).To unravel this mystery, it would be extremely helpful to have more male Vess descendants participate in Y-DNA Testing.
The Travers family is from Lancashire, England and they have traced their family to Dorchester, Maryland. Whether there is a connection between the Vess and Travers family in Colonial America has yet to be discovered (the families may have split long before they arrived in America).
With the help of Y-DNA and documented family histories, we’ve been able to eliminate the BASS, BEST, WEST, and VEST families as potential ancestors for the Vess family.
The BASS family has a rich Native American background. The BEST family (original surname BOSCH) can trace their family back to their arrival in the 1740’s with the Ecker family (in-laws) from Germany. The WEST family has been ruled out by their extensive West Family DNA Project. And the VEST family, descendants of John Daniel Vest belong to an entirely different Haplogroup than our VESS family. To my knowledge, there is no available DNA information on the VASS/VOSS/ VAULX families.
We have recently discovered a VEST/VESS family in Patrick County, Virginia who may be related to the VEST/VESS family in Rockbridge, Virginia. We have yet to find any records suggesting that they may belong to the VEST family (John Daniel Vest), which is extremely encouraging for our VESS family, andtherefore a new chapter begins!
I am in the process of investigating the Life of Willis Vess and hopefully, with any luck, we can uncover some of Anna Popejoy’s research to help us! I plan to explore more families in and surrounding Patrick County, Virginia – including Surry and Stokes County, North Carolina. All in addition to finding out more about the VOSS/VASS/ VAULX families who seem to live very close to the TRAVERS family in both Dorchester, Maryland and the abolished Albemarle County in North Carolina.
We so badly want to connect our VESS family to William Tunwell VESTof Stokes County, North Carolina; mostly, because it seems to be the only thing that makes the most sense!
While researching Willis Vess in Alabama, I took a slight detour back to the VEST family of Virginia, because I discovered a VEST family 2 counties east of Willis Vess taunting me with records as early as 1818. I had to figure out who they were.
Long story short, I searched for every early VEST record I could find in Virginia and started plotting them on a map. Then, with the help of Y-DNA information provided by a fellow researcher, I started the process of elimination. The final results surprisingly revealed another VEST / VESS family!
Why Does William Tunwell Vest Seem Like A Connection?
Despite having BEST, VOSS, and VASS families also in North Carolina to consider, I was hoping there was a connection with William Tunwell VEST; mostly, because he makes the most sense for the time, place, and names.
Peter Vess Peter Vess of Rutherford County, NC was born between 1791-1794 in North Carolina and most of his records are found under the “VEST” surname; except for the 1830 census (Voss) and his 1831 land record (Vess).
After his death sometime before 1844, the “VEST” surname continued with his wife Catherine and their sons, as shown in Bill’s Creek Baptist Church: Two Hundred Year History, by Helen M. Lu. It wasn’t until 1849, when the “Vess” surname really stuck, in both census and church records. Therefore, it is easy to assume that Peter maybe connected to the VESTfamily.
We were even 100% confident that we had discovered his connection with the VEST family when we found a Surry County War of 1812-1814 record listing a “Peter VEST.” Not only is Surry County right next to Stokes County in North Carolina, but also the names of the other soldiers listed with Peter VEST seem to have connections with the grandchildren of William Tunwell VEST through his son Isham VEST. Because there doesn’t appear to be any VEST families in Surry County, the VEST family next door (in Stokes County) seems like a good fit.
A possible connection to William Tunwell VEST became even more enticing when records for Peter Vess suggested his father may have been named John Vess (1831 Rutherford Co. land grant record). According to the Last Will and Testament of William Tunwell VEST (1812), he just so happens to have a son named John VEST!
Willis Vess William Tunwell Vest also seems like a potential ancestor to Willis Vess.
Willis Vess was born in North Carolina (abt) 1810, supposedly to “John Vess and Maragaret Vaughn” who are said to have also been born in North Carolina. Because William Tunwell VEST had a son named John VEST, it appeared there could be a connection; however, John VEST married Eliza RAY (not Margaret Vaughn). Of course, John could have been married twice, but records show us that John VEST (despite who he was married to) appears to have been living in North Carolina (or Indiana-whichever source you pick) during the time that the father of Willis Vess was living in Alabama; therefore they must not be the same person.
Nathan Vess Interestingly, there haven’t been any plausible ideas between William Tunwell Vest and Nathan Vess. Because Nathan was born in South Carolina, one could possibly conclude he is Peter’s cousin rather than his brother. So, Nathan’s lack of connection to the VEST family in Stokes County, NC never really seemed like such a big deal.
The VEST & VESS Families Are Not Related
According to information from FamilytreeDNA.com, the VEST and VESS families are not related! In fact, they don’t even share the same Haplogroup!
The descendants of John Daniel VEST (VEST family of Virginia) belong to Haplogroup-I, whereas the descendants of Willis Vess and Andrew Logan Vess (our VESS family) belong to Haplogroup- R (R1a). That’s quite a distance from each other on the Y-Haplogroup tree.
So, we can pretty much eliminate any VEST family related to John Daniel Vest as being possible ancestors, including William Tunwell VEST of Stokes County, North Carolina.
I was holding onto William Tunwell VEST for a long time, just in case; however, I eventually discovered that he is the son of John Daniel VEST.
In the Last Will and Testament of John Daniel Vest (1765) of Chesterfield County, Virginia, John names his wife “Ann Vest” (likely Charolette Ann Bakes) as well as his 7 children: “John Vest, Valentine Vest, Elizabeth Vest, James Vest, George Vest, Phillip Vest, and William Tunwell Vest.” [Transcribed by Sandra Lake Lassen March 1993 – Ancestry.com]
By the way, I discovered the VEST family near Willis Vess in Alabama are descendants of John Daniel Vest through George Washington Vest– so, no relation to Willis Vess.
Mapping VEST Families
Instead of trying to untangle the many different branches of the VEST family, I decided it would be better to us their records to plot them all on a map. During this process, I came to discover that a lot of VEST families do seem to be descendants of John Daniel Vest and Charolette Ann Bakes. The family appears to have originated from Chesterfield and Powhatan County, VA and then migrated westward into Bedford County, then down into Franklin and Floyd Counties, before conquering the rest of the United States.
After finishing my map, two VESS/VEST families who do not seem to have any connection with the John Daniel Vest family stood out!
The Map The counties [below] highlighted inredcontain VEST records. The counties marked with an X have records that strongly suggest a relationship with John Daniel Vest. And, the counties left, with no X, have records with both the VESS and VEST surname.
This map is not 100% accurate. It is very likely that there are areas and families I missed; especially, since documentation of these VESS-VEST families is scarce and require deep digging into Virginia archives. The purpose of this map is to see if we could identify any “separate” families, such as those using the VESS surname.
Exploring VESS/VEST Families
Rockbridge County and Patrick County, Virginia are the only two counties where I have found records with the VESS name and families whose records seem to use the VESS and VEST surname interchangeably, and interestingly, neither of them seem to have any records that suggest (at this time) they are connected to the John Daniel Vest family! So, who are they and do they have any connection to our VESS family?
VESS/VEST family of Rockbridge, Virginia
According to my ancestral DNA, I have distant DNA-relatives who are descendants of Addison Vess of Rockbridge County, Virginia through my VESS line. My project, of course, could be flawed as the connection could be distant, possibly connected between different families related to Addison Vess.
However, I used the same search method again for the VEST name and more DNA-relatives came up; all related to Vess families in Rockbridge, VA. I did not get any DNA-relatives descending from the John Daniel Vest family.
The Vest/Vess family living in Rockbridge are found near Colliers Creek and Kerrs Creek. Library of Congress Looking at this map [below], there are family surnames that I recognize from bits and pieces of my research on the Vess family: Hostetter, Ailstock, Noel, Morris, and Tolly, and Armstrong.
William, Peter, & Samuel VESS/VEST of Patrick County
As mentioned in a previous post, “What We Know So Far,” we recently discovered a Vess/Vest family in Patrick County, Virginia who we have no idea (like the Rockbridge family) as to whether they are related to the VESS or VEST family (perhaps neither).
I was provided a list of land deeds for Patrick County, Virginia (1791-1801) to compare to the residents in Tryon County, North Carolina (1769-1779) to see if there was any kind of connection. Unfortunately, I did not find anything significant, for that Tryon County records are much older than the Patrick County records and it just wouldn’t make sense that families would travel so far south just to end back up North. I guess they could have, but probably unlikely during a time when families were migrating out west and down south.
The records we find in Patrick County, Virginia include a William, Peter, and a Samuel Vess (VEST/VOSS) who lived on the border of Patrick County and Henry County (as shown on the mapbelow) in Bull Mountain, North Mayo River, and Koger Creek, just below Franklin County, Virginia.
These records also show family surnames that I recognize from bits and pieces of my research on the Vess family: Duncan, Dodson, Willis, Watson, Reynolds, Sharp, Hooker, and Randal.
HAIRSTON & PENN Families: A Little Local History While researching some of the families on this deed list, I discovered that the HAIRSTON and PENN families (both on the deed list) have a bit of history in the area.
George HAIRSTON built Beaver Creek Plantation which was a tobacco plantation and a very large slave-trading post in Martinsville, VA (east of Koger Creek in Henry Co.). He served under Col. Abraham PENN who was the original owner of the land that George Hairston built his plantation on (using a royal grant). The PENN family built “Poplar Grove” plantation in Patrick County, VA near Patrick Springs (west of North Mayo River). And both HAIRSTON and PENN families married into the STOVALL family- all connected.
There appears to be several plantations in the area, all of which utilized slaves and indentured servants. Indentured servants generally had a 7 year contract and in return for their service, their masters often granted them land. Looking at records on Patrick County, VA Genweb, we find deed records referred to an “Indenture,” where land was transferred to the “apprentice” after all debts and terms of their contract have been satisfied.
Jonathan William Vess of Texas: Koger Creek According to the deed list, William Vess/Vest is shown near a Herron/ Heron family and as previously known, marriage records show Elizabeth Herron having married Johnathan William Vess in 1791 in Patrick County, Virginia. Johnathan William Vess and Elizabeth Heron traveled with Stephen F. Austin from Missouri to Texas (Republic of Texas) during the 1820’s. This William Vess/Vest on the Patrick County deed list may either be Jonathan himself or perhaps his father.
Peter Vess and William Vess/Voss: North Mayo River According to the deed list, west of Koger Creek are residents of the North Mayo River which includes Peter Vess, William Vess/Voss, Samuel Vess, William Willis, and William Sharp.
This Vess/Voss family is most interesting for that we see them with the Willis, Dodson, and Sharp families (family surnames that are also found in Franklin County, Alabama with Willis Vess).
To make things even more interesting, we found a 1785 marriage record for Peter Vess and Pugnance Vaughn in Henry County. (Henry County is next to Patrick County, and there was a time when both counties were one, called Patrick-Henry County)
What is interesting about this, is that according to Anna Popejoy, the parents of Willis Vess were John Vess and Margaret Vaughn. To this day, we do not know where she got this information; however, we are now wondering, if this is them.
Perhaps their full names were John Peter Vess and Pugnance Margaret Vaughn??? Also note, that the brother of Willis Vess is supposedly “John Peter Vess,” perhaps he was a John Peter Vess Jr.?
In addition, records also show land transactions between Peter Vess and Samuel Vess via John Duncan. At the bottom of this particular deed list (with Peter and Samuel), you will also find a Whitlock family.
Are These VESS/VEST Families Related
It is plausible that the Rockbridge VESS/VEST family and the Patrick County VESS/VEST families are related to each other, for that records of the Patrick County family (earliest record 1785) come before the records of the Rockbridge family (earliest record 1818); suggesting one of the Vess members may have migrated to Rockbridge, Virginia from Patrick County, Virginia.
It has also been observed that Samuel Vess of Patrick County, Virginia disappeared before Peter and William Vess; which makes us wonder if he is (or is related to) Samuel Harvey Vess of Rockbridge, Virginia (1830 records).
We do not know if they are genetically related to the our Vess family; however, genealogical records seem to support some kind of connection.
Full Recap
The Vest family of Virginia and our Vess family are not related (two separate Haplogroups).
There is no genetic relationship between our Vess family and William Tunwell Vest in Stokes County, North Carolina.
Maps reveal a separate VESS/VEST family residing in Rockbridge and Patrick County, Virginia. It is not yet know if these two VESS/VEST families are related, but it is plausible considering the record dates.
We have likely discovered the families of Jonathan William Vess and Elizabeth Heron (of Republic of Texas) in Patrick County, Virginia on Koger Creek.
We have discovered that there is a Peter, Samuel, and William VESS/VOSS on the North Mayo River with a Willis, Sharp, and possibly a Whitlock family.
The area in which we find these families in Patrick County, has a history of plantations and records that suggest some of the land owners were once indentured servants.
Many family surnames found in both Rockbridge and Patrick County, Virginia are familiar names seen elsewhere in Vess family research; especially, regarding Peter and Willis Vess.
No definite conclusions can be made at this time; however, these new discoveries seem promising! It appears that a new chapter in Vess Genealogy has just begun!
If you are or know someone who is a male descendant with the VESS or VEST surname, please consider participating in Y-DNA testing through FamilytreeDNA.com to help us unravel the mysteries of the VESS family!
Again, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has shared their findings with me on the Vess name in effort to piece together VESS family history!
James Elmer Vess was born on August 18, 1897 to Pinkney Elcanhah Vess and Cora Nevada Moffitt in Old Fort, McDowell County, North Carolina. In 1915, he married Pearl Lena Cox and together they had 10 children. James died on March 31, 1957 in La Grande, Union County, Oregon.
*This post is an opinion, written from a genealogical point-of-view.
The Man Everyone Wants To Forget
I descend from a west-coast Vess line that branched away from their North Carolina roots in the early-1920’s.
When I first got into genealogy, I had no idea the Vess family had deep roots in North Carolina, let alone that we still had a lot of family living there. For all I knew, the Vess family took the scenic route from Ireland to America’s western frontier!
Nobody ever talked about family history (not much to say) and nobody wants or even likes talking about James Elmer Vess!
James Elmer Vess is a man that everyone wants to forget. Just the mere mention of his name often abruptly ended conversations with family. Those who did talk about him, mostly the older generation, were not so keen about him. Nobody would tell me what he did or why he left North Carolina and settled all the way across the United States to Oregon, of all places.
At one point, I was told to “let dead dogs lie,” especially, dead dogs like James Elmer Vess.
Well, I say let’s dig up some old dead dogs and see what secrets they hide!
Exiled From North Carolina
I don’t know the whole story or even a fraction of the whole story, but what I’ve been told is that James Elmer Vess was “kicked” out of North Carolina by his brothers for being a “drunken bootlegger.”
Based on newspaper clippings, that totally makes sense.
James Elmer Vess was undeniably an alcoholic. He often made the papers in La Grande, Oregon (1940’s) having been arrested for “public drunkenness.”
Newspapers.com
I’ve also been told that he wasn’t the most pleasant person in the world; likely due to alcoholism, which only solidified his poor reputation.
The demons that drove James Elmer Vess to drink will never be known, but looking more deeply into family history, we can probably identify some contributing factors…
Moonshine: A Way Of Life
North Carolina, once referred to as the “Moonshine state,” is notorious for distilled liquor, especially in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
People have been distilling liquor long before they broke ground in Jamestown, Virginia; but moonshine supposedly got its start from the Scot-Irish, who supposedly had better methods of distilling liquor. And with western North Carolina having been largely settled by the Germans and the Scot-Irish, it is kind of difficult to imagine a bunch of rugged mountain men as tea drinkers.
In North Carolina, especially, deep in the heart of backcountry, moonshine was the way of life. Farmers produced moonshine, because it was worth more than their most profitable crop and it could help pay off their debts. There was even a time when local churches were somewhat lenient about it; partially, because EVERYONE did it and dismissing members from church would likely leave a church very empty.
Interestingly, we can see this somewhat tolerance towards alcohol in Helen M. Lu’s book, Bill’s Creek Baptist Church: Two Hundred Year History. Many members of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church (Rutherford Co. NC) got in trouble for distilling spirits or drinking too much, including Andrew Logan Vess (James great-grandfather).
According to Bill’s Creek Baptist Church: Two Hundred Year History, Andrew Logan Vess was excluded from the church in 1867 for “distilling some brandy for purpose of paying debts and providing for his family.” [pg. 153]
Andrew Logan Vess wasn’t alone. There are numerous accounts of other members (including his brother Josiah) of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church being excluded for either distilling spirits or excessive drinking, and, surprisingly, very few are shown to have been dismissed from the church.
The history of moonshine in North Carolina is fascinating, as it was part of a community culture that just didn’t mix well with the government (who wanted to tax it) and churches (that see it as sin). The war on moonshine in North Carolina had been an on-going issue since the early 1700’s!
Born At The Wrong Time At The Wrong Place
James Elmer Vess was born in 1897, a time when McDowell County (near Blue Ridge Mountains) was still pretty much backwoods country. According to census records, the highest grade level completed was the 5th grade, which was likely the highest level of education offered at that time in the rural areas of North Carolina.
Without school, who knows what types of trouble kids gotten themselves into back then! I imagine, at a young age, James had friends whose families distilled liquor and this is probably how he got his first taste of alcohol.
By the time James was a teenager, moonshine was a hot business, for that North Carolina began to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages in 1908, which was ten years before the rest of the nation. So, what kid doesn’t want to make a little extra cash running moonshine!
In 1920, the federal government enacted a nation-wide ban against the manufacturing, selling, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Obviously, not the best time for those struggling with alcoholism!
Family Pressures: Moffitt Family Connections
Of all the Vess ancestors I’ve researched, I’ve got nothing on Pinkney Elcanah Vess, father of James Elmer Vess. Records are scarce; but from what I gather, Pinkney E. Vess seems to have been a simple man living a simple life.
In 1889, Pinkney E. Vess married Cora Nevada Moffitt, daughter of Rev. James Ivy Moffitt and together they had 7 children, all sons, with James being the middle child.
[Above Left:Cora Nevada MoffittRight:Rev. James Ivy Moffitt]
James grew up in a religious family with several of his brothers following in their grandfather Moffitt’s footsteps in becoming Reverends.
I was told that all of James brothers had become Reverends (but him) and that it was all of them who kicked him out of North Carolina; however, to my knowledge, it was only his oldest two brothers who became Reverends: Rev. Lennie Oran Vess and Rev. Arthur Lee Vess, and maybe they strongly encouraged James to skedaddle out of town.
With excessive drinking a sin, bootlegging illegal, and being raised in a religious family, James Elmer Vess didn’t stand a chance with his alcoholism.
There was also likely a lot of pressure on James Elmer Vess to be a well-modeled citizen for the sake of his family’s reputation. The Moffitt family had been around for a long time and during that long time, they made some pretty well-known family connections: Murphy, Ledbetter, Ownby, Whitaker, and Bird (that’s just to name a few). They even have a family connection with the Burgin family.
I first encountered the Burgin family in my research back when AOL was a thing and they had a website that mentioned “Pioneer” Ben Burgin having had a “Vess” servant boy. I regret not printing that page, because I haven’t been able to find it again.
Anyway, the Burgin and Davidson families were pioneers of western-North Carolina who once owned lots of land and were also involved in the local government and politics. Simply, the Burgin and Davidson families were kind of a big deal.
Burgin-Moffitt: Mt. Mitchell Railroad
I discovered that Gertrude Moffitt, James aunt (Cora Nevada Moffitt’s sister) married “Big Jim” Burgin, who worked for the railroad. He is distantly related to “Pioneer” Ben Burgin through his third great-grandfather, John Burgin.
I was told James Elmer Vess worked for the railroad, but there isn’t a record of it. However, he may have worked for the Mount Mitchell Railroad.
The history of Mount Mitchell Railroad is short. It ran from 1911-1914 and was mainly built for the logging industry, but was later converted for tourism.
Mount Mitchell is located in Yancey County, North Carolina and according to the marriage record of James Elmer Vess (18) and Pearl Lena Cox (21), they were married in Yancey County, NC in 1915.
Pearl’s family, at the time, was living in Mitchell County, just north of Yancey County in a town not too far from Mount Mitchell.
I assume James likely met Pearl while working for the Mount Mitchell Railroad with his uncle” Big Jim” Burgin . And, while we’re guessing, it’s probably not too much of a stretch to think that James was probably sent to his aunt and uncle as an effort to keep him out of trouble. However, the mountains is where all the moonshine is!
Heading To The West-Coast
From my perspective, it appears that James Elmer Vess cut ties from his family long before he ever decided to leave North Carolina. So, what drove him to Oregon? I mean, that is a lot of distance between bad blood.
I was told the railroad took him and his family out west and according to census records, they must have headed out of North Carolina sometime between 1918-1920.
There doesn’t appear to be a 1920 census record for James Elmer Vess; however, there is one for Pearl who is shown to be in Colorado with her mother (Bertha Cox) and the children.
Looking at this census, there appears to be a lot of lodgers in Colorado working in the railroad industry, so maybe James was missed on the census due to traveling.
It also seems that Pearls parents have split. Her father, Elliot Wood Cox stayed in Mitchell County, North Carolina while her mother, Bertha Cox, found her way to Colorado. I do not know when Bertha arrived in Colorado, or if they all traveled together.
Bertha Mary Krels – Cox
There is also a good chance James Elmer Vess did leave due to bootlegging. It just makes sense.
Instead of his “Reverend” brothers kicking him out; it was more likely the law enforcement, nicknamed the “Revenuers” who were the ones who ran him out of North Carolina. According to the history of North Carolina moonshine, the Revenuers were a group of officials that were tasked to locate bootleggers and moonshiners in real hard-to-get remote places, such as the Blue Ridge Mountains where James had been living.
Settling In Oregon
Birth records tell us that James and his family were in Oregon as early as 1927. But then, it gets interesting.
In 1930, James and his family are in Oregon, working as a farmer, but they also seem to still have a residence in Colorado, according to the Colorado Directory listing for 1931. Probably, because Bertha (Pearl’s mother) was still living in Colorado and they didn’t update their move with the directory.
Also, in 1931, Pearl had their last child in Colorado and I assume it was while she was visiting Bertha. Eventually, everyone (including Bertha) settled in La Grande, Oregon, where I believe James retired from Hart Construction.
James and Peral 1941
The West-Coast Vess Line
In the 1930’s the railroad industry was declining, which probably explains why he went into the farming industry (1930 census). But, I am not sure if it was just the railroad that took him all the way up to Oregon.
Although majority of Vess families on the west-coast descend from James Elmer Vess, he was actually not the first Vess family on the west-coast.
In fact, the oldest son of Nathan Vess, Andrew Jackson Vess, moved to the west-coast sometime before 1880. They settled in Spokane, Washington. According to census records, it appears that his mother, Clarinda Bellew-Vess moved to Washington after her husband, Nathan Vess, passed away in 1879 due to consumption.
Andrew Jackson Vess and Mary “Polly” Davis Ancestry.com
So, I can’t help but wonder, if at some point, James connected with his Vess cousins (if related) in Spokane, Washington on his way to Oregon. I mean, usually when people move far away, they move to places where there is family.
It’s Vess Family History
It appears that James Elmer Vess embarrassed his family with his alcoholism and bootlegging. We will never know if alcoholism was the actual reason he left North Carolina for that our ancestors took that to their grave.
He could have been kicked out by his brothers (no argument there), but from a genealogical perspective, that seems unlikely. If anything, his brothers probably kicked him out of the family home in McDowell County and maybe in the process they strongly encourage him to leave town.
Instead of leaving North Carolina, he may have went to live with his aunt Gertrude (McDowell County 1910) where he may have later gotten a job at Mount Mitchell Railroad with his uncle Jim Burgin. Working in Yancey and Mitchell County, is where he likely met Pearl, getting married in 1915. A few years after the railroad shut down, WWI records (1917) show James and Pearl still living in Mitchell County. I don’t know when James became a bootlegger, maybe after the railroad shut down (if he even worked for the Mount Mitchell Railroad). Maybe he came to the Blue Ridge Mountains as a teenager to be a bootlegger. We’ll never know.
But, I strongly believe that when James did leave the state (most likely due to bootlegging), the family story about the Revenuers (law officials) was eventually mistaken as “Reverend” and thus, the family story evolved into James having been kicked out by his brothers (who just so happened to be Reverends).
Regardless of what really happened, James leaving North Carolina to settle in Oregon is still part of Vess family history. A big part of Vess family history, for that to the best of my knowledge, James Elmer Vess is probably one of the very few, if not the first, Vess family to have settled on the west-coast who is a descendant of Peter Vess.
A HUGE Thank You to everyone sharing their family’s stories with me and helping me piece together VESS family history! 🙂
Vess Genealogy 