Nathaniel Vess Family Research

A Couple Of Early Vess Ancestor’s Unaccounted For

/ J. V.

I thought I had all the Vess family in North Carolina between 1820-1900 accounted for, but apparently there appears to be two women with the name Elizabeth Vess in which I do not know where they go on the Vess family tree!

To pass time away during this crazy winter-storm event, I decided to just browse through some online documents. I didn’t want to dig too deep in case the power goes out. Nothing worse than stumbling upon something exciting and then the computer screen goes dark! But, browsing is never uneventful for me. So, before the power goes off again, this is what I stumbled upon…

Louisa Elizabeth Vess

I came across an 1864 marriage record for an Elizabeth Vess and William Columbus Lanning in Henderson Co., NC. She was supposedly born in Transylvania County, NC abt 1845 and died in 1879. [Transylvania County was established in 1861 and was previously part of Jackson and Henderson counties]. According to family trees on Ancestry.com for William Columbus Lanning, she was his first wife and they have her name as “Louisa” Elizabeth Vess.

I do not know who this is.

Possibly Peter’s Daughter

My initial thought, is that Louisa Elizabeth Vess is possibly Nathan’s daughter, because parts of Henderson were once part of Buncombe County where Nathan’s family is seen on the census records. Also, a couple years later, his daughter Sarah Jane Vess married Jackson Pressley in Henderson County, NC. But, there is no records of Nathan having a daughter named Louisa. He did have a daughter named Elizabeth though, but she married a Chambers and a Hyatt, and also died in 1915 in Washington. Furthermore, none of his older kids were old enough to have any children prior to 1850. I mean, they could have, but the odds are slim.

So, I looked at Peter’s family next and he has a daughter named Elizabeth born abt 1840, who disappeared after the 1850 census.

We do know that Peter and Catherine’s younger kids were sent to live with other families in 1860, suggesting Peter and Catherine had both passed away. Rachel, Eliza, and Jasper are found living in Buncombe County, NC with a Dempsey Sumners. Zephaniah Vess, their brother, is living with the Whitesides family in Rutherford Co. NC. But, I have not been able to find Elizabeth, suggesting she either got married or went to live with someone else and the census misspelled her surname.

There is a good chance this Lousia Elizabeth Vess is her. I followed the descendants along her line with William Columbus Lanning, and several surnames along that line do come up as DNA relatives; however, none of them have completed trees to confirm a solid connection.

Susan Ann Elizabeth Vess

I came across an 1878 marriage record for an Elizabeth Vess and Columbus McGinnis in Rutherford County, NC. She was supposedly born in Rutherford Co., NC in 1856. Some family trees on Ancestry.com for Columbus McGinnis have her as “Susan” Elizabeth Vess, “daughter of Andrew Logan Vess and Linnia Halford.”

Andrew Logan Vess did not have a daughter named Susan or Elizabeth.

I do not know who this is.

Possibly Peter’s Grand-daughter Via John Vess

You would think any Vess family born in Rutherford County, NC after 1850 would be easy to identify. I guess not.

We can certainly (or so I am confident) we can rule out Nathan’s family. In 1850, he and his family were in Buncombe and Haywood counties. We can also rule out Peter as the father, because research suggests he passed away sometime before 1844. With Nathan on the move towards Tennessee, this Elizabeth Vess may likely be Peter’s granddaughter (if born in 1856).

According to her death certificate (1926), her father is listed as “Andy Vest” and he was born in Rutherford Co too [her mother unknown]. But Andrew Logan Vess didn’t have a daughter named Susan or Elizabeth. The only other “Andy Vess” I am aware of, is Andrew Logan’s son, Peter Allen Vess, who also went by “Andy Vess,” but he was born in 1882. So, if not their daughter, then whose daughter is this??

Well, if I were to guess (I am guessing), I would say she is probably the daughter of John Vess, Peter’s oldest son.
Why?

John Vess disappeared from records after 1850. He had 4 children with his wife, Elizabeth Taylor: Sarah, Silus, Mary, Sophrona, who were all born prior to 1850. However, we have record of a divorce in 1854 via local newspaper, implying John Vess had left the state.

Perhaps John hadn’t left the state. Perhaps he was still living in Rutherford County, NC and found someone new and two years later (1856), had a daughter with someone else.

A Little More Digging Is Needed

For all I know, these women aren’t VESS at all. Maybe they are VOSS, VASS, or VEST? OR, maybe I missed someone in Peter and Nathan’s family tree.

Further research is required.


If anyone knows who these women are, please leave us a comment and we can update the family tree. 🙂














Did I Just Find Nathan’s VESS Family?

/ J. V.

Research Journal – February 5, 2021


I am super excited and a bit all over the place. Hopefully you are sitting down for this one…

I have an overwhelming list of families I am interested in researching, but I just don’t know where to start!

So, I decided, I would review all the 1790 census records for the counties that were once part of Tryon County: Rutherford, Lincoln, Spartanburg, York, Greenville, etc. But, because some families spill over into Mecklenburg County, I decided to check that census too.

Then, I went a little further to Anson County.
Because… prior to 1760, Anson County basically consisted all the western territory that would eventually become Tryon County and Mecklenburg County. So, why not, let’s check there too!

And I found something super exciting!

Possibly Found Nathan’s Family

I found a “BASS” family in Anson County, NC on a 1790 census!

Okay, so what, right?

Well, reading the census record on the North Carolina Genweb website (the typed version), I came across a BELLEW family: Henry, Abraham, and John Bellew [Bylue].

Yeah, I am like…”What! No Way!”

Interestingly, the BELLEW and BASS families are near each other. So, just to make sure it was correct, I found the census record on Ancestry.com [1790 Census Record pg. 2].

Although Genweb says there is an Abraham Bellew in Anson County, NC, I could not find his name “written” anywhere in the census on Ancestry.com. I don’t know if I keep missing it, or it was a typo on Genweb. However, I did find John Bellew!

Frederick BASS Sr. and Jr. are in Anson County in 1790, with not only the BELLEW family, but the LEDBETTER, PRESSELY, LINDSAY, DUNCAN, VAUGHN, MURPHY, PAGETT, and many others!

Supposedly, according to family, the LEDBETTER, LINDSAY, MOFFITT, and MURPHY families have known the Vess family forever.

PRESSLEY is a family Nathan’s daughter married into.
PADGET and PRICE are connected to Henry Pettit Sr. who used to live in South Carolina (Spartanburg Co.).
DUNCAN reminds me of the Duncan family in Patrick Co. VA.
VAUGHN family reminds me of Willis Vess’ mother (Margaret Vaughn).

I mean, it’s totally worth taking a look!

The BASS FAMILY

I have no idea who they are!
I am looking at Ancestry trees for Frederick Bass Sr, and interestingly, it pretty much stops with him! After a few attempts, I couldn’t get it to go anywhere either which probably suggests a name change!

But, the most intriguing find, is that Frederick Bass Sr. is shown to be married to Marry Polly VAUGHN.
The plot thickens…

Is This A Likely VESS?

In 1790, we can find an Abraham Bellew with Joshua Gosnell together in Spartanburg Co. SC.

They are found near a Joel Callahan, in which I was told has a daughter who married a Vess. Unfortunately, I have not found any records to support it; however, there is a William West listed near them too. I have not been able to determine which WEST line he belongs to (if any).

Anyway, I decided to find Henry Pettit Sr. in South Caorlina who lived near Peter in 1820 on Knob Creek (likely on the Mooney’s property) and was also a member of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church in the 1830’s. According to his Revolutionary War pension paperwork, his father was living in South Carolina (Ninety-six) where he “took his father’s place. ”

On an 1810 census record, I find Henry Pettit! But more interestingly, I found a JOHN BEAS.

I don’t know about you, but BEAS is pretty similar to BESS and VESS.

There are a few BASS families with different spellings in South Carolina, so I will certainly have to dig deeper to see if this John Beas stands alone. What brings me hope, is that there is another dang John Duncan. Also, there are many other familiar family names like DAVIS, REID, ALLEN, GREEN, KING, SHIPPLEY, COLLIN, and WEBBER. If I am right, I most likely will find them near the border between North and South Carolina in Spartanburg Co. SC.

No Official Conclusions Yet

I don’t know what to think about this BASS family.
Probably another goose-chase.

But, the fact that I found the Bellew family so close to a family whose name is similar to ours, is pretty intriguing. And, that they are surrounded by other familiar family names, is mind-blowing.

I wonder if they are connected to the VOSS family?

If I stick with my mantra (I guess you can call it that): That families who marry each other, have lived together, worshiped together, and likely traveled together! I might actually make some real progress!


What We Know So Far – Vess Genealogy

/ J. V. / 3 Comments

Happy New Year!

Let’s start the New Year by reviewing what we know so far about the so-called three brothers from Ireland.

But first, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has provided me information about their family history, lineage, and research!

The Three Brothers

According to our VESS family story, we descend from three brothers from Ireland: Jonathan, Peter, and Nathan (Nathaniel) Vess. However, records seem to tell a different story…

Records tell us that Jonathan, Peter, and Nathan Vess did in fact exist and that they all existed during the same time period (1790-1880); however, we have not yet found any records confirming their exact relationship to one another. Possibly, because they may have not been brothers at all, but perhaps a mix of relatives: 2 brothers and a father, cousins and 1 uncle, or 2 brothers and a grandfather.

The term brothers was often used to refer to any close male relationship: siblings, father, uncle, cousin, close family friend, or church member.


Interestingly, records tell us that Peter and Nathan were born in America (North and South Carolina). According to Nathan’s records, his parents were born in South Carolina. His family possibly lived in Glassy Mountain, Greenville, South Carolina with the Gosnell and Bellew families (who are related to Nathan’s wife, Clarinda Bellew). We have also discovered a new VESS line closely related to Peter, through a Willis Vess, whose records also state his parents were born in North Carolina.

Links to each of their BIO’s: Peter Vess, Jonathan Vess, and Nathan Vess.

If our VESS family does come from Ireland, research greatly suggests that our family arrived in America sometime prior to the Revolutionary War (1775-1783). And perhaps our family story is true, but we are looking at the wrong generation of men whose names were Jonathan, Peter, and Nathan; as it was once common practice that each generation be named after their forefathers.

VESS family in Patrick County, Virginia

We have recently discovered a “VESS” family in Patrick County, Virginia. As to-date, we have not been able to connect them to the prominent “VEST” family of Virginia; giving us hope that this pocket of Vess family is related to our VESS line.

The earliest records with the name “Vess” can be found in Virginia for a Samuel, Peter, Jonathan, and William Vess:

  • Jonathan Vess married Elizabeth Heron in 1792, Patrick County, VA.
    In 1820, Jonathan Vess and his wife Elizabeth migrated to the Republic of Texas [before Texas was a state]. He is written in the Texas history books, not only because he was one of the first families to travel with Stephen F. Austin (state capital is named after), but also the town of Morales, TX was established on his land and his daughter, Mary Lorena Vess, married Sam McCulloch, Jr., who was a Texas war hero and a man of color.
  • We have found Revolutionary War records under the “Vess” name, for a Samuel, Peter, and William Vess. Peter being distinguished as a Corporal.
  • In addition, Patrick County, VA tax records 1790-1799 lists Samuel and Peter “Vess.”
  • Lastly, there is a War of 1812 record for a “Peter Vest” in Surry County, North Carolina. Thus far, we have not been able to connect him to any of the VESS or VEST families in the area; including the nearby VEST family of Stokes County, NC. However, it should be noted that Patrick County, VA is located directly above Surry County, North Carolina. We also cannot confirm that this Peter “Vest” is the same person as our Peter Vess of Rutherford County, North Carolina.


The Discovery of Willis VESS – DNA Connection

I believe the most significant find of last year, for me at least, was discovering another Vess line closely related to Peter and Nathan: Willis Vess of Franklin County, Alabama.

Familytreedna.com


DNA has confirmed Peter, Nathan, and Willis Vess to be closely related; however, we do not know exactly how they are related to one another.

Y-Chromosome DNA on FamilytreeDNA.com has connected Willis and Peter’s line together and it is AncestryDNA.com, that confirms a “close” relationship between the two lines through shared DNA-relatives.

However, I suspect the relationship to be distant, for that I share more DNA-relatives with Nathan’s line than I do with those on Willis’s line. This may suggest that Nathan is likely more closely related to Peter than Willis; with Nathan and Peter as siblings/half-siblings and Willis a possible cousin. However, this could be inaccurate, largely depending on how many descendants on each line have tested through AncestryDNA.com.

Nonetheless, Willis lived during the same time period as Jonathan, Peter, and Nathan, so we can confidently suggest the connection is either through a parent or grandparent. Which brings me to Willis’s father, John Vess, who was supposedly born in North Carolina (1770) and married Margaret Vaughn.

The Vest Family of Virginia and North Carolina

Virginia
South Carolina

Many researchers suggest John Vess (father of Willis VESS) to be the son of William Tunwell Vest of Stokes County, North Carolina; however, I do not believe this to be true. I have researched the Vest family of Virginia and North Carolina extensively and have not found any records connecting the Vess and Vest families together.

William Tunwell Vess had 5 sons, Samuel, William, Charles, Isham, and John. According to my research (which could be wrong, of course), Samuel and William married “Cannifax” sisters, Charles married a “Doty,” Isham married a “Briggs” and a “Page,” and John married a “Ray.” I have not found any DNA relationships with any of their descendants.

If the Vest and Vess lines are related, they must be related distantly.

However, it may be worth looking into a James Harvey Vest, who is said to be born in Patrick County, VA in 1838. He married Rachel Jane Harper and Mary Calhoun. The reason I mention him, is because FamilytreeDNA has a VESS-VEST DNA Project Group, which states they have found a DNA connection with 2 members related to “VESS.”

We do know for a fact that some VESS lines do descend from the VEST family; however, none of those Vess lines seem to connect with our VESS line.

The VOSS Name

I am often told that our name used to be pronounced, “VOSS.”

Interestingly, there is a VOSS family in North Carolina with Greenbury Voss in Casewell County, North Carolina. He was supposedly born in Maryland and died in Pittsylvania, Virginia, having raised his family in Casewell, North Carolina. I truly have not done much research on the Voss family; however, records for this family include the surnames: VOSS, VASS, VESS, and VAUSE.


Greenbruy Vess may be worth looking further into for several reasons:
1) Records can be found with the Vess name.
2) His sons married into the Cook family that is related to the Cook family who attended Bills Creek Baptist Church (late 1800’s).
3) They are supposedly related to the Vause family in Georgia, who were in Georgia when Peter’s son, Alfred Vess, migrated there.
4) There is a Voss related to Greenbury Voss in Alabama (or Tennessee, if I remember correctly) near Willis’s Vess family!
5) Pittsylvania, Virginia is next to Patrick and Henry County, Virginia.
6) The Gonsell family (connected to Nathan) is from Maryland.

Conclusion

In short, there is no final conclusion as there is still more to explore and discover! The information we discovered and collected last year will certainly help us with our genealogy journey.

Any information you would like to share with us to help us with our research, please feel free to post in the comment sections or join our Facebook Group! I absolutely look forward to sharing new genealogy adventures with you!

















Vess Genealogy Goals: 2021

/ J. V.

The last day of 2020!!

Usually, New Years Eve is like any other day for me. No big celebrations. No big parties. I don’t even stay up anymore. But today is different! Today, I am so ready to say goodbye to 2020!!

Today, my family and I will stay up through midnight. I bought a banner, horns, hats, and two cans of black eyed peas for good luck! I even bought a bottle of sparkling wine! We are going to celebrate like it’s 1999! Remember how crazy that was!

I am also not a New Year’s Resolution type of person, but for the new year, I am totally motivated!
Of course, I have come up a with a few personal resolutions, some that haven’t changed in the past 10 years, like eating healthier, exercise more, and save money. It’s the journey that counts! But in addition to all that stuff, I have come up a list of goals for Vess Genealogy!

10 Vess Genealogy Goals



1) Learn more about genetic genealogy and apply it in practice (when possible).

2) Research more often and post regularly. Get a routine going!

3) Post more history, timelines, pictures, and biographies.

4) Better organize my research. No more sticky notes and napkins.

5) Follow through with a researching game plan to avoid falling off task during research. Oh, a butterfly…

6) Become more actively involved in genealogy groups. Knowledge is power!

7) Encourage others to not give up on Vess Genealogy despite its challenges and road blocks. We’re just getting started and we need all the help we can get!

8) Write more posts about genealogy in general.

9) Publish a Vess Genealogy book by the end of the year.

10) Have fun, don’t stress, and enjoy the adventure!

The Future of Vess Genealogy: Team Work

I’ve learned this year, that I can’t do Vess Genealogy alone.

I hope my website will not only become a place to preserve Vess family history, but also a place of collaboration, resources, and motivation for others doing their own research and that together, we can break through the challenging road-blocks of Vess Genealogy! 🙂

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and safe New Year!

Finally! A Best-Vess Connection!

/ J. V.

Okay, so I stumbled upon a Best-Vess connection; well, not a direct connection, but more of a very distant, extremely short, yet interesting connection…

I am in the process of mapping out every VESS record I can find prior to 1850. Of course, it is pretty wide-spread, but I am looking for individuals with the VESS name who claim to be born prior to 1800. So far, it’s been an effective strategy; however, I fell off task when I stumbled upon an unknown William Vess. Needless to say, I had to check it out!

His name was in the middle of a lengthy book about the HOFFMAN family [The Hoffmans of North Carolina Posted 29 Apr 2010 by Lynn Shore-Ancestry.com]. But, what really caught my attention (scrolling through the pages) was a list of familiar families (such as Jones, Hovis, Lineberger, and Palmer) that I often come across during my research as families who were living near Peter or Nathan at one time or another. So, who were the Hoffmans?? Honestly, I’ve never heard of them.

The Hoffmans

According to The Hoffmans of North Carolina ,(scrolling back a few pages), Elizabeth Hoffman, who married Jacob Palmer, is the daughter of “pioneer” Jacob Hoffman and Catherine Best (Katerina Margaretha Bosch) from Germany.

YES, you read that correctly: BEST! AND…Catherine Best is the sister of Boston Best (Sebastian Bosch Jr.)!

Earlier in my research, I stumbled upon Boston Best near the Gosnell family in Lincoln County, North Carolina [below], before the Gosnell family settled in Glassy Mountain, Greenville, South Carolina with the Bellew family. Remember: Nathan Vess married Clarinda Bellew, whose mother is Clarinda Gosnell.

A Distant, Extremely Short, Yet Interesting Connection

Of course, I was super excited to find a VESS in a book (any book) related to the Best family!

Without a birth date noted, I couldn’t tell where this William Vess fell on the Vess family tree. In fact, I was hoping to find a new Vess family, for that I am not aware of any Vess family living in Lincoln County, North Carolina during the early 1800’s.

However, after a little digging, I found him.
He is William Madison Vess, son of Andrew Jackson Vess and Ruth Elizabeth Palmer and grandson of Nathan Vess and Clarinda Bellew.

He was born in 1852 and married Matilda Caroline Jones, whose 2nd great-grandmother is Catherine Best (Katerina Margaretha Bosch).

Above, can give us an idea of just how interconnected all these different families were during the 1800’s. I mean, Carolina Jones and William Vess are pretty much distant cousins and they probably didn’t even know it. So, technically, we do have a few distant Vess cousins (the descendants of Caroline Jones and William Vess) who are descendants of the Best family from Germany. But so far, no direct BEST-VESS connections.

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you one of my usual research experiences, where I start doing one thing and eventually get stuck on a totally different thing! It is amazing where research takes us! Although not a significant finding, it was still worth checking out!






Vess Genealogy Recap

/ J. V. / Leave a comment

I am in the process of reviewing, sorting, and organizing new information. A HUGE thanks to everyone who has sent me information about different Vess family lines and history!

This is what I have gathered so far (off the top of my head).

  • Peter, Nathan, and John certainly exist, but their relation to one another is still not known.
  • Peter and Nathan are closely related per Ancestry DNA, but there is no documentation (probates, census records, family bibles, or anything) confirming their exact relation to each other.
  • Peter was born in North Carolina.
  • Nathan was born in South Carolina.
  • Y-Chromosome DNA is connecting our family (Peter and Nathan) to a Willis Vess (Vest) of Alabama whose father is John Vess who is supposedly from North Carolina. The relation between Peter, Nathan, and Willis is not known.
  • John Vess maybe an older ancestor (maybe a father or uncle to Peter and Nathan) for that his descendants from his generation do not show up on Ancestry.com. Ancerstry.com can only take us back 6-7 generations. [For me, that barely picks up Peter’s generation]
  • There is a pocket of “Vess” family in Patrick County, Virginia that does not seem to have any kind of relation to the Virginia VEST family.
  • There is a John Vess from Patrick County, VA who migrated to Texas in 1820 with Elizabeth Heron.
  • There is a Peter and Samuel Vess of Patrick County, VA who seem to have connections with the Vaughn family. Willis Vess’s mother is supposedly Margaret Vaughn.
  • Y-Chromosome DNA suggests a strong family relation with the HAYES, JONES, and TRAVERS families.

I feel like we have research on two ends of the timeline and we are trying to figure out how they meet in the middle.

I am putting the Vess family of Virginia aside and continuing my research on close neighbors and family members related to Peter and Nathan. Interestingly, the search has led me back to Surry County, NC.

A few months ago, the names of soldiers listed above meant nothing to me; but today, they are very significant.

SKIDMORE, POINDEXTER, EAPERSON, SPRINKLE, BAGLEY, COOK, PHILIPS, and MORELAND have connections with William Tunwell VEST through his son Issac VEST. Several men on this list married William Tunwell VEST’S grand-daughters.

Issac VEST is shown living in Wilkes County. Many of the soldiers listed above do not live in Surry County, but are a mix of residents from surrounding counties (including Wilkes). Although I cannot find Peter VEST on census anywhere around or in Surry County, I did find a BELLEW family in Wilkes County. Nathan’s wife is Clarinda BELLEW and they eventually settled in Glassy Mountain, Greenville, South Carolina.

I have a feeling that our family were “boarders” and likely lived with other families as they migrated down to the Carolinas (I mean, that is one possible explanation for the lack of records on them).

For right now, I will be investigating Wilkes county and its surrounding counties a little further. Probate records, so far, have been the most valuable source of connecting families together. Unfortunately, probate records are not perfectly indexed and require thorough reading to find other families. Super fun!

Have information to share? Please feel free to share it with us in the comment section below.
Thanks! 🙂





Vess Genealogy: Let’s Get Going!

/ J. V.

Happy October!!

I plan to really get Vess Genealogy going this month!
When I started this site in August, I was in the midst of figuring out homeschooling with a 6 year-old and planning a huge family move! Now, things are beginning to settle down and I can start to focus on posting more often!

About VESS Genealogy: Short Recap

Oh my gosh, where to start?

I am the 4th great-granddaughter of Peter VESS/VEST (1791-1843) and Catherine “Katie” Cook (1804- bef. 1860) of Rutherford County, North Carolina (McDowell County, NC today). I am a descendant of Andrew Logan VESS (Peter’s 3rd son) and Malinda Lucy “Linnia” HALFORD.

I am the last leaf on a small branch of an ever expanding VESS family tree.

Andrew Logan Vess
1825-1905


Research shows that the VESS family tree in the United States is old and thick with many different family branches expanding coast to coast; all of which seem deeply rooted in early Colonial America.

According to my family line, “we descend from 3-brothers: Jonathan, Peter, and Nathan, who supposedly came to America from Ireland.”

However, documents discovered thus far, reveal a slightly different story:
According to records, Peter was born in North Carolina and Nathan was born in South Carolina. Jonathan is still a mystery.

DNA (Ancestry DNA) does show a DNA relationship between Peter and Nathan’s families; however, there are no records connecting them as actual “brothers.” Yet, upon further investigation, we do find several interesting connections between their families (all of which I will share in future posts).

Again, the VESS family tree is extensive and the 3-brothers in my family’s story, are just a tip of the iceberg!

There are many VESS descending lines and not all of them connect to Peter, Nathan, or Jonathan. Interestingly, not all descending lines took the VESS name and it is widely agreed that VESS wasn’t even our original surname!

Search For Genealogy Gold: Vess Origins

Although there is much to discover and post about the VESS family in between 1820-present, I am more interested in discovering our family’s origins; the VESS family prior to 1820.

Researching any family prior to 1850 is challenging, thus why, I am having to investigate every VESS family line I can find, including other families (neighbors, spouses, community members, etc.) who may also have connections with the VESS family.

Vess genealogy is challenging, not only because of lack of records prior to 1850, but also the strong likelihood of a name change. The VESS name comes with many different name variants (VEST, VOSS, VOST, BOSS, BOST, BEST, WEST, VIST, VISS, VESTAL, VESTIL, VAUS, etc). Unfortunately, all these different name variants can be found together on early census records and some research shows, many of them being part of other families (misspelled names) and/or marrying one another with similar surnames. The goal is to sort, group, and investigate!

Updates, Information, and More


Please be sure to subscribed via email [to the right] for updates on new posts and discoveries!

As research continues, I will also be updating the bio’s of the three brothers, Jonathan, Peter, and Nathan Vess.

I also hope to upload family trees, pictures, family histories, and more!

Kind and genealogy-related comments are always welcome and if you have any information to provide regarding VESS genealogy, please feel free to contact me.

I absolutely look forward to discovering more about the VESS family with you!