A Voss family connection with the Vess family has never been seriously considered, mostly because there is absolutely no evidence to suggest any kind of connection; or at least not one with the North Carolina/Virginia Voss-Vass family mentioned in the publication, The Vaulx Family of England, Virginia, and Maryland, by Michael L. Marshall. But, could there be a connection with another Voss family, perhaps an unidentified Voss family, hiding under the radar in Stokes County, North Carolina next to Jarvis Willis?

Yeah, remember Jarvis Willis?
According to the The Maryland Group Blog, Jarvis Willis is the grandfather of John Lewis Willis, who married Mary Jane Vess, daughter of Willis Vess in Franklin County, Alabama. The article states that “Jarvis is in the 1790s tax records of Stokes, along with several males of the Vess family,” suggesting this is probably where the two families first met each other.

This “Vess” family is William Tunwell Vest and DNA research suggests the VEST and VESS families are not related; however, DNA data involves family trees which may be inaccurate, so I decided to see if I could find out just how geographically close Jarvis Willis and William Tunwell Vest were to each other, by doing my favorite thing- breaking out the maps!

Although Jarvis Willis and William Tunwell Vest seem close together on paper they actually resided in different districts (communities). After thorough investigation (using land, census, tax, and family records), I discovered that the VEST family resided in the Yadkin District whereas Jarvis Willis resided in the Deep River District. If they did know each other, it was probably through a local church, as they were neighboring districts, but they certainly were not close neighbors.

Further research reveals that Reverend Thomas Voss/Vass of Granville County, North Carolina (mentioned in research by Micheal L. Marshall and other online sources), briefly resided in the same district (Deep River District) as Jarvis Willis between 1805-1808; however, by the time Thomas Vass and his sons arrived, Jarvis Willis had already migrated to Tennessee. BUT, early tax records reveal an earlier Thomas Voss/Vose family who resided in the same area at the same time as Jarvis Willis, while Reverend Thomas Voss/Vass was still in Granville County, North Carolina.

Very little is known about this Thomas Voss, however, online sources suggest that he came from Delaware, whereas Reverend Thomas Voss/Vass of Granville County, North Carolina came from Virginia.

Several online sources regarding the Deep River District, state it’s residents comprised of many families from Maryland and Delaware. This is super intriguing, because Jarvis Willis, Sparks, Rose, and Gosnell families are also from Maryland- so is our distantly related Travers family. But, that doesn’t mean there is a connection though, because the VEST family of Patrick County, Virginia still seems to make more sense. But, if you think about it, their origins have yet to be determined too and William Vess in Patrick County has records in the VESS/VOSS name. Even our Peter Vess, has a “Voss” record, and we have a family oral tradition that our name used to be pronounced as “VOSS.”

I have not been able to find any information about the earlier origins of this Thomas Vose in Stokes County, North Carolina, but family trees on Ancestry.com state his name is Edward Thomas Voss and that he was born in 1769 in Delaware, suggesting a new VOSS family, but family trees have him listed as the son of Joseph Voss and Rebecca Middleton (Virginia/North Carolina Voss-Vass family).

I have not found any records yet to support a connection with Joseph Voss and Rebecca Middleton. According to online sources, family trees, and other research, Joseph Voss and Rebecca Middleton come from Orange / Casewell County area and they eventually settled in South Carolina, with their sons William and John Voss briefly residing in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina before settling in Lawerence County, Tennessee. Nowhere have I found any mention about Delaware.

I plan to look further into Thomas Voss, as I have made some other interesting discoveries in that area that I am currently researching on, discoveries that may support a possible connection with John Beas in Spartanburg Co. SC.

1) There is a Hester family who settled in Franklin County, Alabama not too far from Willis Vess. Although HESTER is a name known to be connected to the Granville County Voss-Vass family, they are also connected to the Voss family in the Deep River District (Stokes County). Although sources claim the HESTER connection in Stokes County is with VOSS-VASS families, there is an earlier Hester family in the area with Thomas VOSE (not Vass) that doesn’t seem to have been identified yet by other VASS / HESTER researchers.

2) The census above for the Deep River District reveals a Green family. Research (so far) suggests a connection between them and Amos Green in Rutherford County, North Carolina (member of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church with Peter Vess) and Elizabeth Green, mother of Talitha Whitlock (Willis Vess). Note: The Whitlock family is all over Surry, Stokes, and Wilkes County North Carolina (one even having had land in Patrick County, VA).

3) Between 1800-1820, many residents of the Surry, Stokes, and Wilkes County area were on the move. Some migrated to Tennessee whereas other migrated to the Carolinas. According to the history of Wilkes County, NC, many early residents lost their land due to politics, forcing them to either move westward or further down south.

4) According to family history, William Sparks, an early resident of Franklin County, North Carolina near the Hester family (not too far from Willis Vess), made a stop in South Carolina before making their way to Alabama in 1818. William Sparks can be found on the 1810 Spartanburg County, SC census where we find John Beas, Henry Pettit, Bellew and Gosnell, Pennington, Poole, Willis, Hester, and many other familiar families, including some families from the Stokes County, North Carolina Deep River District.

5) John Beas is listed on the 1810 Spartanburg Co. NC census next to a CANTRELL family. There is a land record for a John Bess joining land with the Cantrell family. The Cantrell family interests me, because autosomal DNA shows a long list of CANTRELL members, all descendants of an ISAAC CANTRELL, who specifically match with my VESS family members.

John Beas is listed next to Reubin Cantrell, who is the son of Isaac, and according to FindAGrave.com, Isaac is originally from Delaware and his children were born in Guilford County, NC. Stokes County, Deep River District is on the border between Stokes and Guilford County. Stokes and Surry County land records for those listed around Jarvis Willis in 1790 indicate they were on parts of the Deep River; however the Deep River is in Guilford. Maps reveal that there is a small portion of the Deep River (West Fork) that slightly crosses into Stokes County, so it may be possible that Isaac was close to the Deep River District (but not in the Deep River District).

Furthermore, Thomas Hodge in Wilkes County, North Carolina listed next to William Vest, married a CANTRELL. I have not been able to find any information about her family yet, but I do find it intriguing. The problem is that Thomas Hodge and William Vest were no where near the Deep River District, they were further north in Wilkes County, NC (now Watauga County, NC) somewhere along NEW RIVER (Stony Fork), near the Pennington families. Note: Whitlock and Pennington families supposedly traveled to Alabama together. However, it is less than 100 miles between Stony Fork and Deep River.

What I also find interesting about the Deep River District, is that it includes Bellews Creek. I can’t help but wonder if there is a connection with Bellews Creek and the prominent Bellew family of Greenville, SC (Clarinda Bellew, wife of Nathan Vess)??


There is still much to research, but I do feel confident that we are on the right track!