It’s always exciting to add newly discovered ancestors to the Vess family tree!

Rachel Melinda Vess (1881-1969) is a new addition to the Peter Vess lineage. She is the daughter of James Harvey Vess and Mary Josephine Dalton, granddaughter of Andrew Logan Vess and Lucy Malinda Halford, and great-granddaughter of Peter Vess and Catherine Crook.

Rachel M. Vess never appeared on census, due to the 20 year gap in missing census records between 1880 – 1900. Imagine how many Vess ancestors are missing due to the lost 1890 census!

Rachel Vess married Henry O. Smith on May 11, 1899 in McDowell County, North Carolina. Together they had 5 children: Ella Mae, Lina, Alan, Nelson Burlan, and Bulah Josephine.

From what we can tell, the names “Rachel” and “Melinda” hold significant importance to the Peter Vess family, as we see these names repeated throughout several earlier generations. We do know that Rachel is the name of Catherine Crook’s mother, Rachel Haynes. We also know that Peter and Catherine had a daughter named Rachel. However, I am not sure where the name Melinda comes from – perhaps Peter’s side of the family? Records tell us that one of Peter and Catherine’s daughters also went by the name Melinda.