Not much is known about John Vess, the oldest son of Peter Vess and Catherine “Katie” Crook of Rutherford Co. North Carolina.

For generations, the only information we had on John was from the 1850 census record in Bill’s Creek, Rutherford Co., North Carolina (below). He was married to a woman named Elizabeth and they had 4 children together.

Only just recently, through DNA genealogy and access to more digital genealogical records, have we been able to discover more about the early Vess family…

John Vess & Elizabeth Taylor: Rutherford Co. NC

John Vess was born in Rutherford County, North Carolina in 1820 to Peter VESS and Catherine “Katie” CROOK.

He married Mary Elizabeth Taylor (marriage date unknown). He briefly attended Bill’s Creek Baptist Church in November of 1846, with his brothers Alfred and Andrew (Andy) Vess. He was later dismissed (date unknown).

In December 1846, he signs a court-document with his brother Josiah, settling his father’s debt with Joseph Souther via a land deed for Peter’s property.

In 1850, he is in Bill’s Creek, Rutherford Co. North Carolina with his wife and 4 children, listed next to his family, Josiah Vess, Catherine Vess, and his younger siblings, except for Andrew Vess. It is strongly believed that Peter Vess likely passed away in 1846.

In 1854, a Petition for Divorce was announced in the newspaper between John and Elizabeth Vess. The article states John Vess was a non-resident of the state, suggesting he had moved out of state.

Elizabeth married Joshua SOUTHER in Nov 1854, in Henderson Co. North Carolina. We discover her maiden name is TAYLOR via her marriage record to Joshua SOUTHER.

On the 1860 census, we have Elizabeth Souther and her younger children (Vess) living with Joshua Souther in Henderson Co. North Carolina.

In 1870, Joshua and Elizabeth Souther are living next Elizabeth’s parents, James TAYLOR and Mary TAYLOR (GILBERT) in Henderson Co. NC.

Children of John Vess and Elizabeth Taylor

DNA genealogy revealed that Sarah Vess, daughter John Vess and Elizabeth Taylor, married Jackson PRESSLEY.
Genealogical records show us that Silas Vess died during the Civil War, Sophrona Vess married Columbus SUMMEY, and, Mary Vess was last seen on the 1860 census (age 13); she may have married prior to the 1870 census. But, apparently, John and Elizabeth had an other child: William River VESS.

I came across a marriage record for a William Vess in Henderson Co. NC dated 1870, which states his parents are John and Elizabeth Vess (below). The only Vess family I am aware of in Henderson Co. is John’s children, living with their mother Elizabeth and Joshua Souther. And, to the best of my knowledge, Nathaniel Vess did not have any children named John.

William Vess married Laura MAHAFFEY (Rowena Laura Lou Mahaffey), whose parents are supposedly William MAHAFFEY and Calvania PRESSLEY from South Carolina. Her mother might be related to Jackson PRESSLEY, as it is believed his family also came from South Carolina – more research is needed.

William Vess was born in 1852 in North Carolina, which would have certainly been before John and Elizabeth’s divorce.

According to family trees and online biographies, William and Rowena (Laura) settled in Texas. According to Find-A-Grave, William died “from the 1917 epidemic” in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas.

Sources:

Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Bills Creek, Rutherford, North Carolina; Roll: 644; Page: 330a

Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.