According to Vess family records and the 1850 census, we know Peter and Catherine Vess had 10 children: John, Josiah, Andrew, Alfred, Rachel, Eliza, Alexander, Elizabeth, Zephaniah, and Jasper.

So, who in the world is “Belinda” Vess on the Rutherford County, NC marriage record with Isaac M. Bradley Jr. in 1860?

In 1860, the Vess family have split ways.

John is divorced and lives out of state (whereabouts unknown), with his children living with their mother in Henderson Co. with Joshua Souther.

Alfred is also out of state, in Georgia, married to Mary McFarland from South Carolina.

Josiah is missing from census, but his family is still in Rutherford County, North Carolina.

Andrew is married to Lucy Halford and is living next to Josiahs brother-in-laws (James and Drury Early) in Broad River, Rutherford Co. NC.

Alexander is also missing from the 1860 census, but marriage records show he married Martha Wilkerson in December of 1860 in McDowell County.

Rachel, Eliza, and Jasper are living with Dempsey Sumners in Buncombe County. Rachel will stay with Dempsey until she is about 40 years old and Jasper will eventually inherit Dempsey’s property, taking in Eliza.

Zephaniah is living with Noah Whitesides in Buffalo Creek, Rutherford County, NC near Issac Conner (uncle of Andrew’s future wife, Synthia Conner).

However, we do not know what became of Elizabeth…

She may have passed away after 1850, or most likely she got married in between census and was lost due to a name change. It is also possible that she may have married Issac M. Bradley Jr., under a middle or nickname.

The bondsman listed on the marriage record between Issac M. Bradley Jr. and Belinda Vess is N. H. P. Whitesides. That is Noah H. Patterson Whitesides, who took in Zephaniah Vess on the 1860 Rutherford County census in Buffalo Creek.

There are several Bradley families on Buffalo Creek with Noah Whitesides. There is an Issac Bradley, son of Absalom Bradley, who would be the same age as Elizabeth; however, I do not see any “Belinda’s” on census nor any Elizabeth’s who would be around Elizabeth’s age (of course that doesn’t mean she isn’t there). Bradley family trees and history sites do not seem to mention a Bradley-Vess family (most sources focus on a Issac Bradley Jr. -Ledbetter family).

Hopefully, with a little more digging, we will be able to identify this mysterious “Belinda” Vess.