Peter Vess ⎜ Complete Lineage (click here)
| Ancestor | Peter Vess | Spouse | Catherine “Katie” Cook (CROOK) |
| DNA | Y- Haplogroup: R1a2 ⎜Subclade: R-FT19517 *Big-Y Completed Descendants of the TRAVERS family | DNA | Not Available |
| Birth | Between 1791-1794 North Carolina | Birth | 1804 North Carolina |
| Death | Between 1846-1850 North Carolina | Death | Between 1850-1860 North Carolina |
| Burial | Unknown | Burial | Unknown |
| Parents | Unknown | Parents | John Crook and Rachel Haynes DNA confirmed |
| Marriage | Unknown | Marriage | Unknown |
| Occupation | Farmer | Occupation | Housewife |
| Military | Unknown | Military | n/a |
| Church | ● 1829 – 1836 Bill’s Creek Baptist Church Rutherford Co. NC “Peter Vest” (pg. 115, Lu) ● 1838 Bethlehem Baptist Church Burke Co. NC (later McDowell Co.) “Peter Vest” Source: Hathi Trust Digital Library | Church | ● 1829-1836 Bill’s Creek Baptist Church Rutherford Co. NC “Katy Vest” (pg. 115, Lu) ● 1838 Bethlehem Baptist Church Burke County, North Carolina (later McDowell Co.) ● 1844-1850 Bill’s Creek Baptist Church Rutherford County, North Carolina (pg. 127-144, Lu) |
| Land | ●Entered 9 Oct 1829 Issued 5 Dec 1831 Rutherford County, North Carolina “100 acres on both sides of Cedar Creek including Molls Cove.” ● 1846 Deed Record Rutherford County, NC: “Peter Vess, Josiah Vess, and John Vess”Land transferred Joseph Souther (cover a $50 debt). | Land | n/a |
| Comments | Comments |
Census
| Year | Name | Location |
| 1820 | Peter Vest | Rutherford County, North Carolina |
| 1830 | Peter Voss | Rutherford County, North Carolina |
| 1840 | Peter Post | Rutherford County, North Carolina |
| 1850 | Catherine Vess | Bill’s Creek Rutherford County, NC |
Children
| Children | Birth | Death | Spouse: Marriage |
| John Vess | 1820 NC | Unknown | Elizabeth Taylor Divorced 16 Nov 1854 |
| Josiah (Joseph) Vess | 1822 Rutherford Co. NC | Unknown | Zilla Early 27 Apr 1846 Rutherford Co. NC |
| Andrew “Andy” Logan Vess | 1825 Rutherford Co. NC | 10 Jun 1905 Old Fort, McDowell Co. NC | Lucy “Linnia” Malinda Halford 14 May 1849 Rutherford Co. NC Cynthia Conner 1 Jan 1867 Rutherford Co. NC |
| Alfred Webb Vess | 1826 Rutherford Co. NC | 27 Oct 1882 Athens, Clarke, GA | Mary Elizabeth McFarlin 1 Sept 1853 Franklin, GA |
| Rachel M. Vess | 1832 Rutherford Co. NC | Unknown | Unknown |
| Eliza Vess | 1834 Rutherford Co. NC | Unknown | Unknown |
| Alexander “Alender” B. Vess | 1838 Rutherford Co. NC | 15 Jul 1862 Civil War VA | Martha M. Wilkerson 2 Dec 1860 McDowell Co. NC |
| Elizabeth Vess | 1840 Rutherford Co. NC | Unknown | William Columbus Lanning 11 Jun 1864 Henderson Co. NC |
| Zephaniah Vess | 1842 Rutherford Co. NC | 4 Apr 1865 Civil War TN | Never Married |
| Jasper M. Vess | 1843 Rutherford Co. NC | Abt. 1910 | Mary A. Lankford Vehorn 9 Aug 1866 |
Oral Traditions
According to our oral family traditions, the Vess family came to America from Ireland (some specifically say Cork, Ireland). He arrived in America with his brothers, Jonathan and Nathaniel Vess. Nathaniel Vess is often believed to have been a half-brother.
Peter settled in North Carolina, Nathaniel settled in South Carolina, and Jonathan settled in Virginia (some sources say Utah).
It has always been told that VESS is not our original surname. Some oral traditions state our name used to be pronounced as “VOSS,” while some say it was shortened, possibly from VESSEY.
Original Surname Discovered: TRAVERS
Y-DNA research has confirmed that our VESS family are related to the early TRAVERS family of Lancashire, England. The TRAVERS name evolved into TRAVIS and it is strongly believed that the VESS name was shortened from the surname TRAVIS (TRAVESS).
History
Peter Vess was born between 1791-1794 in North Carolina. He married Catherine “Katie” CROOK, who was born in 1804 North Carolina. She is the daughter of John Crook and Rachel Haynes; and the grand-daughter of William Haynes, the first pastor of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church. Peter and Catherine had 10 children: John, Josiah, Andrew, Alfred, Rachel, Eliza, Alexander, Elizabeth, Zephaniah, and Jasper.
In 1820, census records suggest Peter’s family lived on Knob Creek, near Bill’s Creek.
Peter and Catherine were members of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church from 1829-1836 (pg. 115, Lu).
In 1831, Peter was issued 100 acres of land on both sides of Cedar Creek including Molls Cove. This property is believed to be located in the Broad River Township (or near the Broad River Township), a community with several county changes.
Broad River Basin Map : Creeks and Rivers Rutherford County, NC
In 1838, Peter Vess (Vest) was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Burke County, North Carolina. Bethlehem Baptist Church is located in today’s McDowell County, near the Broad River Township community. Bethlehem Baptist Church and Bill’s Creek Baptist Church are part of the Catawba River Baptist Association.
In October 1844, Catherine returned to Bill’s Creek Baptist Church without Peter (pg. 127, Lu) . She was received “by letter,” which means she transferred from another church, which is strongly believed to have been Bethlehem Baptist Church (Burke/McDowell County).
Because Catherine returned without Peter, it was assumed that Peter had died; however, there is a November 1846 Deed record for Peter and his son Josiah Vess, witnessed by his oldest son John Vess, transferring his property on Cedar Creek to Joseph Souther. The deed indicates his property was transferred to Joseph Souther to cover a $50 debt. This record suggests the rumor that Peter Vess died a pauper may be true.
During the same month that Peter lost his land, three of his sons, John, Alfred, and Andrew, joined Bill’s Creek Baptist Church. Josiah joined the following month. Not too long after Josiah, Alner (Alexander) also joined Bill’s Creek Baptist Church (pg. 130, Lu). Again, without Peter.
● John Vest 28 Nov 1846
● Alfred Vest 27 Nov. 1846
● Andy (Andrew Logan) Vest 27 Nov. 1846
● Josiah Vest 26 Dec. 1846
● Alner (Alexander) 27 Feb 1847
Peter likely died between 1846-1850, for that Catherine and all their children (except Andrew Logan Vess) are shown together on the 1850 Bill’s Creek, Rutherford County, NC census without him. Andrew Logan Vess in 1850 is living near his in-laws (Halford family) in Montford’s Cove, Rutherford County, NC. Peter is not listed in the poor house managed by James Young.
In 1860, the entire Vess family has split apart, suggesting that Catherine had died.
John Vess disappeared to another state prior to his divorce with Elizabeth Taylor in 1854. Josiah and Andrew Logan Vess remained in Rutherford County. Alfred Vess moved to Georgia and married Mary McFarlin in 1853. Zephaniah is living with Noah Patterson Whiteside and his wife,Narcissi Whiteside (Dimsdale) in Buffalo, Rutherford County, NC. Elizabeth likely married William Columbus Lanning of Henderson Co., NC. Peter and Catherine’s youngest children, Rachel, Eliza, and Jasper, are living in Buncombe County, NC with a man named Dempsey Sumner.
Catherine may have moved to Buncombe County, NC prior to her death, which is probably how her younger children ended up living with Dempsey Sumner. Her father, John Crook and brother Zephaniah Crook had land in Buncombe County. The relationship between Dempsey and the Vess family is still unknown. There are no records suggesting Catherine ever remarried and no records of Dempsey ever having been married. Nonetheless, the younger Vess children seemed to remain very close to Dempsey Sumner throughout his life.
Rachel lived with Dempsey until she was about 40 years old, with a recorded land record that was never issued. Eliza is shown living with Jasper after he married Mary Lankford Vehorn. When Dempsey Sumner was 70 years old, census records show him living with Jasper (Jasper head of household), and land records indicate that Jasper later obtained some of Dempsey’s property (35 acres).
Sources
Lu, Helen M. Bill’s Creek Baptist Church: Two Hundred Year History, 1782-1982. H.M. Lu, 1984.
Vest, Peter. 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Rutherford, North Carolina; Page: 377;NARA Roll: M33_80; Image: 352
Voss, Peter. Year: 1830; Census Place: Rutherford, North Carolina; Series: M19; Roll: 124;Page: 464; Family History Library Film: 0018090
Post, Peter. Year: 1840; Census Place: Rutherford, North Carolina; Roll: 370; Page: 338;Family History Library Film: 0018097
Vest, Catherine. Year: 1850; Census Place: Bills Creek, Rutherford, North Carolina; Roll: 644;Page: 330a
Vess, Andrew. Year: 1850; Census Place: Montfords Cove, Rutherford, North Carolina; Roll: 644; Page: 281a
Vess, Alfred W.. Year: 1860; Census Place: Subdivision, Franklin, Georgia; Roll: M653_121; Page: 564; Family History Library Film: 803121
Vess, Zeph. Year: 1860; Census Place: Buffalo, Rutherford, North Carolina; Roll: M653_913; Page: 370; Family History Library Film: 803913
Vest, Jasper. Year: 1860; Census Place: Buncombe, North Carolina; Roll: M653_889; Page: 251; Family History Library Film: 803889
Vess, Peter. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Land Grant Files, 1693-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data:North Carolina Land Grants. Microfilm publication, 770 rolls. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Vess, Peter. FamilySearch.Org (Catalog) Deed records, 1779-1962, and 1964-1965, and index, 1779-1916, and general index to real estate conveyances, grantor and grantee, 1779-1965
Vess, J.M.. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Land Grant Files, 1693-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Original data:North Carolina Land Grants. Microfilm publication, 770 rolls. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Vest, Andrew L.. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
Vess, Josiah. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
Vess, A. L.. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
Vess, Alfred W.. Hunting For Bears, comp.. Georgia Marriages, 1699-1944 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
Vest, Aleny B.. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
Vess, Elizabeth. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
Vest, Jasper. Ancestry.com. North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:North Carolina County Registers of Deeds. Microfilm. Record Group 048. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC.
Newspapers.com – Asheville News – 16 Nov 1854 – Page 3
Davis Jr., Norman J. “Descendants of Andrew L. Vess.” PDF, Ron Vess, No Date, Texas.
Family history letter (includes origins and lineages) written by an unknown family member. No Date. .
Poe, Elder E. A.. “Historical sketch of the Catawba River Baptist Association from its organization, 1827-1867.” Hathi Trust, 1867.
Vess Genealogy 