I am beginning to unearth a hidden VEST/VESS family who appears in Virginia as early as 1782 and venturing off towards the west and south during the 1800’s.

Having spoken to many VESS/VEST families of Virginia, the VESS/VEST family in Patrick County is one they do not recognize nor listed on any known VEST family trees; providing us with further hope that this might very well be our VESS ancestors of the R1a2 lineage. However, it is just their mere presence that has just recently surfaced and more digging is needed to uncover records to identify their specific relationships with each other.

I have so much to share that I am unable to fit it all into one post, so here is just the tip of the iceberg of what I have dug up and I will certainly follow up with more details later…

Wilkes County, North Carolina

It has been long thought that our earlier ancestors converged sometime in Stokes County, NC; however, recent research now suggests it may have been Wilkes County, NC instead.

The discovery of William VEST in Wilkes County, North Carolina has been ground breaking; not only is he completely separate from the William Tunwell VEST family, but is residing in an area near families that Vincent Vess has identified as possible earlier ancestors of our Vess family (Sparks, Pennington, Hodge, and Rose families). Further investigation of this area, has also revealed families who are later found near Peter and Willis Vess.

William Vest first appears in the 1787 tax list for the Capt. Isabell District of Wilkes County, NC. I am not yet sure if he is the same William Vest in Patrick County, Virginia, for that the records for William in Virginia are not consistent, but more or less sporadic with records only for 1783, 1790, and 1792. In other Patrick County tax years there is a William “VIAS,” but I am not sure if this is suppose to be VESS, considering Samuel and Peter’s surnames remain consistent on the annual tax lists. BUT, I also see William VIAS in Wilkes County records when William Vest is absent from record – so perhaps they are one and the same, or perhaps a mix of Sr. & Jr.

On the 1787 tax list, William Vest is listed in the Capt. Isbell District. He is listed next to Richard Green who established a church on Buffalo Creek. In 1789, county court records state William Vest was appointed to “oversee” the road along Elk Creek. In short, we have a pretty good idea where William Vest was in between 1787-1790.

There are a lot of interesting families associated with this particular area too. One family in particular who has gained my recent attention is the previously mentioned, Richard GREEN.

I discovered that Richard GREEN is related to Amos GREEN in Rutherford County, North Carolina. Amos Green is listed as a member of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church with Peter Vess. The Green family are known to be allied with the Hambrick & Bridge families, who Peter is listed near on the 1820 census. Interestingly, my research so far, suggests that Elizabeth Green, mother of Talithia Whitlock (wife of Willis Vess), may be a distant cousin of Amos Green (further research is needed).

I have also recently discovered a HAMBRICK family in Wilkes County near William Vest who I am curious if whether or not they have any relation to the Hambrick families in Rutherford County, NC near Peter Vess. AND, also in Wilkes County I stumbled upon a Joseph SOUTHER, who I am curious if whether or not is the same Joseph Souther who bought Peter’s land in 1846. There is also Jacob NICHOLS, who I am curious if whether or not is related to the NICHOL family who married 2 of the children of Willis Vess in Franklin County, Alabama.

Recent finds also include the records for Absalom Vess/Vest and Jonathan Vess.
Absalom Vest married in Wilkes County in 1809 to Hannah Raymond and settled, to the best of my knowledge, in Iredell County, NC. The record for Jonathan Vess is super interesting, because it mentions Brushy Mountain, which according to early maps is very close to Hunting Creek, where the Sparks family eventually settled, suggesting a migration South.

Wilkes County, NC has a fascinating history and many of its residents migrated to South Carolina before coming back up to Tennessee; which brings me to wonder if this may be how Nathaniel Vess fits into the puzzle.

There is still so much more to research, but it is clear that there was a good-size VESS/VEST family hiding under the radar in Wilkes County at one time; including a Pryor Vess, which is what seems to connect everything together.

Connecting The Pieces Together

▼ Below is a picture that represents the locations of this particular VESS/VEST family from VA to AL.

As you can see, there appears to be a migration pattern from Patrick County, Virginia to possibly Franklin County, Alabama.

Records are scarce and the few records I did find, don’t really tell us too much up front; but when you lay them out across the table, there does appear to be something going on…

First, it is interesting that Willis Vess has a land record that mentions William Vess as his “heir,” yet none of his children are named William; so this could be William Vest of White County, TN. Then, there are the White County, TN records…

William and Willis Vest both have land records for White County, TN on Caney Fork next to the DOBSON family.

Peter Vest is the only Vess/Vest on census in White County, TN. We know he lives on Caney Fork, because he is listed next to the DOBSON family on census who are also listed on the Willis and William Vest land records. He is also neighbors with the HODGE family (our Vess family is related to via DNA data) from Franklin county, VA, who were listed on the 1782 Henry County tax list with Samuel Vest; suggesting this Vess/Vest family in White County, TN may be the Patrick County, VA Vess/Vest family.

There is also a PRYOR VEST, who has a land record for Caney Fork dated 1814, which predates records for Peter, William, and Willis. Pryor Vest is not on census anywhere and has stumped me for a very long time.

However, yesterday, I came across a book called, “Wilkes County, NC, P&Q Minutes, 1798-1805,” by John A. McGeachy, that not only lists Jonathan Vess, but also Absalom, William, and PRIAH (Pryor) “VESS!”

There is no e-book version, so I had to order the physical book, which I do hope will come in this weekend. I am extremely excited, for that one of the previews of the book mentions an “assault” charge involving Pryor and William Vess. Finally, a little bit of drama!

Anyway, my point is, there seems to be overlapping evidence that strongly suggests this could very likely be one Vess/Vest family.

Lastly, I also find it interesting that records for Willis and John P. Vess state their parents were born in North Carolina, which lines up pretty well with William Vest in Wilkes County, North Carolina who has records as early as 1787. This allows plenty of time to have a Vess generation in between him and Willis Vess. Also, records for John P. Vess state he was born in Tennessee in 1822, which makes a connection to the White County, TN Vess/Vest family plausible (considering their record dates).

Research Continues

If Willis Vess is in fact connected with the VESS/VEST family of Patrick County, VA, through White County, TN and Wilkes County, NC, then so is Peter Vess; for that Willis and Peter are confirmed to be related to each other by Y-DNA analysis. Unfortunately, records to identify their specific relationship to one another still remains elusive, but perhaps recent findings of more specific locations of these families will give us a better look at where we need to start digging next…