Last year, I started researching the VESS/VEST families of Rockbridge County, Virginia whose origins are just as mysterious as the predominate VESS families of North Carolina and Alabama.
At this time, we have no Y-DNA data available to determine their relation to other VESS/VEST families.
Below are my current findings and notes…
Census Records
The earliest available census record for Rockbridge County, VA is dated 1810. The name “Vess” or “Vest” does not appear to show up via the search index; however, I did locate the VESS family in this census (see below), indexed under the name “Saml Nass.” I discovered Samuel Vess through clues from various other types of records dating back to 1810 connecting him to the Standoff family and other neighbors.
Ancestry.com 1810 census: Indexed under the name “Saml Nass”
Census Records
1810
Samuel “Vass/Voss”
1820
Samuel “Vess”
Hiram “Vess”
1830
Samuel “Vess”
Addison “Vess”
Hiram “Vess”
John “Vess”
1840
Samuel H. Vest
William Vest
William Vest
Samuel Vest
Hiram Vest
John Vest
Samuel Vest
Addison Vest
Hiram Vest
William Vest
1850
William Vest b. 1808
Sarah (wife)
Children: Samuel A. , John, William A., Sarah A., Martha, James T, & Carlin
Margaret Vess b. 1831
living with Alphin family
Addison Vest b. 1804
Hannah (wife)
Children: John, Mary, Martha, William, Ester, Sarah, & Samuel
Andrew Vest b. 1826
living with Morris family
John Vest b. 1825
Matilda (wife)
Children: Hannah E., William P., Mary, & Matilda
Levi Vest b. 1807
Betsy (wife)
Children: John W., P Givens K., Mary E., James A., George W., Lucy A., & Phebe J.
George Vest b. 1805
Jane (wife)
Children: Sarah A., Julia, Margaret, & George
Tax Records
The Vess/Vest name does not appear on tax records until 1814, via Hiram Vess. I believe Hiram Vess maybe the son of Samuel Vess.
1814 Rockbridge County, VA Tax Record: Familysearch.org
Adam Vert
Earlier Rockbridge County, VA tax records do reveal an ADAM VERT, which predates any WEST, VESS, VEST families in Rockbridge County, Virginia, but I am not sure if he is connected to the Vess family. Adam Vert is the son of Conrad Vert from Loudoun Co, VA.
Just recently, I discovered an online PDF titled, “List of Slave Owners and Names of Slaves,” that consist of an unknown INDEX showing the names James and William Vess. I reached out to the source that posted it and they kindly told me that the Index comes from the book, titled, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA TITHABLES, 1758-1786, by Marty Hiatt & Craig Roberts Scott. 1994, 2011.
This was a bit surprising, because the only other earlier VESS name in Virginia that we knew of was in Patrick and Henry County. However, I do recall finding one mysterious source, showing the name Samuel and William “Vess” of Dunmore Co. VA, which would be close to Loudoun Co. VA.
It’s exciting to find more VESS names!
Also listed in this record is Conrad VERT, father of Adam Vert.
Note: The VESS family has records in various spellings: VESS, VEST, VERT, VISS, POST, and VOSS. So maybe there is a VERT-VESS connection; more research is needed.
Land Records & Maps
I thought the earliest VESS/VEST record I found dated 1801, but I cannot seem to relocate that record (still searching).
The VESS/VEST family lived in an area known as Collierstown which is along Colliers Creek. In 1818, Henry Standoff joined land with Samuel Vess. I have not found any land records specifically for Samuel Vess, so I do not know where his property was located. Land records for Henry Standoff, indicate his properties were along Buffalo Creek, a branch off Colliers Creek. View entire map on Library of Congress website- link in caption below.
There is an 1816 land record for Christopher Coinhour (I think Hiram’s father-in-law) joining land with Hiram Vess near Brattons Run. Hiram Vess married Polly Cokenour in 1819.
There is a VESS/VEST family in Rockbridge County, Virginia, who first appears on record during the early 1800’s. There doesn’t seem to be any Y-DNA data available for this family; so I do not know if they are related to the VESS R1a2 line or another family with a similar surname.
Family Origins: Still A Mystery
There appears to be numerous theories as to where the VESS/VEST family of Rockbridge County, Virginia comes from…
DESCENDANTS OF THE WEST FAMILY
I had the opportunity to speak with a few members of this family who state it is believed that they are descendants of the WEST family; specifically, the De La Warr lineage (Englishroots). Unfortunately, I have not found any documentation yet to support this connection.
There was an extensive DNA project available a few years ago which identified several different WEST families in America; some distantly related and some completely unrelated. The research also included descendants of the De La Warr lineage, revealing their Haplogroup to be R1b (different from VESS R1a2).
The WEST Family DNA Project is no longer available to review online; however, I have saved some information from the website, which may be useful with Y-DNA testing through FTDNA.com. It is my understanding that many WEST families have also tested through FTDNA.com.
GERMAN ORIGINS: THE VEST FAMILY
Some believe the VESS/VEST family of Rockbridge County, Virginia may be German in origin. I do not know if this is an oral family tradition or something that came about from all the Rockbridge VESS/VEST family trees online connecting to the John Daniel VEST family of Chesterfield County, Virginia (Haplogroup I), who is believed to be a descendant of Moses Johann Vest from Germany (1650).
Families trees with the VEST family connection seem to be inconsistent. Some connect the VESS/VEST family of Rockbridge County, VA to Samuel Vest, son of John Daniel Vest I of Chesterfield Co., VA; however, John Daniel Vest I did not have a son named Samuel (at least not named in his Will & Testamentdated 1765).
Another connection is via Samuel Vest, son of William Tunwell Vest; however, the dates and census records do not seem to add up. Unfortunately, the name “Samuel” was just as common as “John.” In that case, the Rockbridge County, Virginia VESS/VEST could (in theory) be connected to Samuel Vest of Patrick County, Virginia.
Unfortunately, I have not found any documentation yet to support a connection with the VEST family either.
Y-DNA Testing
There doesn’t seem to be any available Y-DNA data yet for this particular VESS/VEST family. It would be very beneficial for direct male descendants of this VESS/VEST line from Rockbridge County, Virginia to complete a Y-DNA test via Familytreedna.com.
A basic Y-DNA test will provide us with a Haplogroup, which would be a great start to researching this family’s mysterious origins; especially, since we know the VEST family is Haplogroup-I, WEST family is Haplogroup R1b, and our VESS line is Haplogroup R1a.
If you are interested in Y-DNA testing through FTDNA.com, have any information related to the Vess/Vest family of Rockbridge County, Virginia you would like shared on this website or information that will further assist with this research, please feel free to email me at vessgenealogy@gmail.com. 🙂
It briefly talks about the early settlers of the Collierstown and Kerr’s Creek area. We have land records and a map that tells us the VESS/VEST family settled in this area in the early 1800’s.
This is an interesting read, because it talks about the religion and cultural practices of these early settlers who were pretty much cut off from the rest of world. Interestingly, it states that the son’s of the families in this area stayed with their parents until they were 21 years old.
This publication also mentions Reverend Andrew Heron. This is interesting, because I recently found a website that says Andrew Heron to be the father of Elizabeth Heron (Patrick County, VA marriage record 1792), wife of Jonathan Vess of the Republic of Texas. Could Reverend Andrew Heron in Rockbridge be Elizabeth Heron’s father?
Probably not. According to an Abstract article for the book, Building A Nation: 1776-1828, by William E. Van Vugt, Reverend Andrew Heron of Rockbridge County, VA arrived to America in 1807. Therefore, likely not the same Andrew Heron supposedly listed as “Dad” on the 1792 marriage record for Jonathan Vess and Elizabeth Heron.
Sometimes I feel like Thomas Edison, who once said something like this: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10000 ways that won’t work.”
In genealogy…I haven’t failed making connections; I’ve just found 10,000 connections that don’t work. One day, a light bulb will turn on and a connection will be found! 🙂
We so badly want to connect our VESS family to William Tunwell VESTof Stokes County, North Carolina; mostly, because it seems to be the only thing that makes the most sense!
While researching Willis Vess in Alabama, I took a slight detour back to the VEST family of Virginia, because I discovered a VEST family 2 counties east of Willis Vess taunting me with records as early as 1818. I had to figure out who they were.
Long story short, I searched for every early VEST record I could find in Virginia and started plotting them on a map. Then, with the help of Y-DNA information provided by a fellow researcher, I started the process of elimination. The final results surprisingly revealed another VEST / VESS family!
Why Does William Tunwell Vest Seem Like A Connection?
Despite having BEST, VOSS, and VASS families also in North Carolina to consider, I was hoping there was a connection with William Tunwell VEST; mostly, because he makes the most sense for the time, place, and names.
Peter Vess Peter Vess of Rutherford County, NC was born between 1791-1794 in North Carolina and most of his records are found under the “VEST” surname; except for the 1830 census (Voss) and his 1831 land record (Vess).
After his death sometime before 1844, the “VEST” surname continued with his wife Catherine and their sons, as shown in Bill’s Creek Baptist Church: Two Hundred Year History, by Helen M. Lu. It wasn’t until 1849, when the “Vess” surname really stuck, in both census and church records. Therefore, it is easy to assume that Peter maybe connected to the VESTfamily.
We were even 100% confident that we had discovered his connection with the VEST family when we found a Surry County War of 1812-1814 record listing a “Peter VEST.” Not only is Surry County right next to Stokes County in North Carolina, but also the names of the other soldiers listed with Peter VEST seem to have connections with the grandchildren of William Tunwell VEST through his son Isham VEST. Because there doesn’t appear to be any VEST families in Surry County, the VEST family next door (in Stokes County) seems like a good fit.
A possible connection to William Tunwell VEST became even more enticing when records for Peter Vess suggested his father may have been named John Vess (1831 Rutherford Co. land grant record). According to the Last Will and Testament of William Tunwell VEST (1812), he just so happens to have a son named John VEST!
Willis Vess William Tunwell Vest also seems like a potential ancestor to Willis Vess.
Willis Vess was born in North Carolina (abt) 1810, supposedly to “John Vess and Maragaret Vaughn” who are said to have also been born in North Carolina. Because William Tunwell VEST had a son named John VEST, it appeared there could be a connection; however, John VEST married Eliza RAY (not Margaret Vaughn). Of course, John could have been married twice, but records show us that John VEST (despite who he was married to) appears to have been living in North Carolina (or Indiana-whichever source you pick) during the time that the father of Willis Vess was living in Alabama; therefore they must not be the same person.
Nathan Vess Interestingly, there haven’t been any plausible ideas between William Tunwell Vest and Nathan Vess. Because Nathan was born in South Carolina, one could possibly conclude he is Peter’s cousin rather than his brother. So, Nathan’s lack of connection to the VEST family in Stokes County, NC never really seemed like such a big deal.
The VEST & VESS Families Are Not Related
According to information from FamilytreeDNA.com, the VEST and VESS families are not related! In fact, they don’t even share the same Haplogroup!
The descendants of John Daniel VEST (VEST family of Virginia) belong to Haplogroup-I, whereas the descendants of Willis Vess and Andrew Logan Vess (our VESS family) belong to Haplogroup- R (R1a). That’s quite a distance from each other on the Y-Haplogroup tree.
So, we can pretty much eliminate any VEST family related to John Daniel Vest as being possible ancestors, including William Tunwell VEST of Stokes County, North Carolina.
I was holding onto William Tunwell VEST for a long time, just in case; however, I eventually discovered that he is the son of John Daniel VEST.
In the Last Will and Testament of John Daniel Vest (1765) of Chesterfield County, Virginia, John names his wife “Ann Vest” (likely Charolette Ann Bakes) as well as his 7 children: “John Vest, Valentine Vest, Elizabeth Vest, James Vest, George Vest, Phillip Vest, and William Tunwell Vest.” [Transcribed by Sandra Lake Lassen March 1993 – Ancestry.com]
By the way, I discovered the VEST family near Willis Vess in Alabama are descendants of John Daniel Vest through George Washington Vest– so, no relation to Willis Vess.
Mapping VEST Families
Instead of trying to untangle the many different branches of the VEST family, I decided it would be better to us their records to plot them all on a map. During this process, I came to discover that a lot of VEST families do seem to be descendants of John Daniel Vest and Charolette Ann Bakes. The family appears to have originated from Chesterfield and Powhatan County, VA and then migrated westward into Bedford County, then down into Franklin and Floyd Counties, before conquering the rest of the United States.
After finishing my map, two VESS/VEST families who do not seem to have any connection with the John Daniel Vest family stood out!
The Map The counties [below] highlighted inredcontain VEST records. The counties marked with an X have records that strongly suggest a relationship with John Daniel Vest. And, the counties left, with no X, have records with both the VESS and VEST surname.
This map is not 100% accurate. It is very likely that there are areas and families I missed; especially, since documentation of these VESS-VEST families is scarce and require deep digging into Virginia archives. The purpose of this map is to see if we could identify any “separate” families, such as those using the VESS surname.
Exploring VESS/VEST Families
Rockbridge County and Patrick County, Virginia are the only two counties where I have found records with the VESS name and families whose records seem to use the VESS and VEST surname interchangeably, and interestingly, neither of them seem to have any records that suggest (at this time) they are connected to the John Daniel Vest family! So, who are they and do they have any connection to our VESS family?
VESS/VEST family of Rockbridge, Virginia
According to my ancestral DNA, I have distant DNA-relatives who are descendants of Addison Vess of Rockbridge County, Virginia through my VESS line. My project, of course, could be flawed as the connection could be distant, possibly connected between different families related to Addison Vess.
However, I used the same search method again for the VEST name and more DNA-relatives came up; all related to Vess families in Rockbridge, VA. I did not get any DNA-relatives descending from the John Daniel Vest family.
The Vest/Vess family living in Rockbridge are found near Colliers Creek and Kerrs Creek. Library of Congress Looking at this map [below], there are family surnames that I recognize from bits and pieces of my research on the Vess family: Hostetter, Ailstock, Noel, Morris, and Tolly, and Armstrong.
William, Peter, & Samuel VESS/VEST of Patrick County
As mentioned in a previous post, “What We Know So Far,” we recently discovered a Vess/Vest family in Patrick County, Virginia who we have no idea (like the Rockbridge family) as to whether they are related to the VESS or VEST family (perhaps neither).
I was provided a list of land deeds for Patrick County, Virginia (1791-1801) to compare to the residents in Tryon County, North Carolina (1769-1779) to see if there was any kind of connection. Unfortunately, I did not find anything significant, for that Tryon County records are much older than the Patrick County records and it just wouldn’t make sense that families would travel so far south just to end back up North. I guess they could have, but probably unlikely during a time when families were migrating out west and down south.
The records we find in Patrick County, Virginia include a William, Peter, and a Samuel Vess (VEST/VOSS) who lived on the border of Patrick County and Henry County (as shown on the mapbelow) in Bull Mountain, North Mayo River, and Koger Creek, just below Franklin County, Virginia.
These records also show family surnames that I recognize from bits and pieces of my research on the Vess family: Duncan, Dodson, Willis, Watson, Reynolds, Sharp, Hooker, and Randal.
HAIRSTON & PENN Families: A Little Local History While researching some of the families on this deed list, I discovered that the HAIRSTON and PENN families (both on the deed list) have a bit of history in the area.
George HAIRSTON built Beaver Creek Plantation which was a tobacco plantation and a very large slave-trading post in Martinsville, VA (east of Koger Creek in Henry Co.). He served under Col. Abraham PENN who was the original owner of the land that George Hairston built his plantation on (using a royal grant). The PENN family built “Poplar Grove” plantation in Patrick County, VA near Patrick Springs (west of North Mayo River). And both HAIRSTON and PENN families married into the STOVALL family- all connected.
There appears to be several plantations in the area, all of which utilized slaves and indentured servants. Indentured servants generally had a 7 year contract and in return for their service, their masters often granted them land. Looking at records on Patrick County, VA Genweb, we find deed records referred to an “Indenture,” where land was transferred to the “apprentice” after all debts and terms of their contract have been satisfied.
Jonathan William Vess of Texas: Koger Creek According to the deed list, William Vess/Vest is shown near a Herron/ Heron family and as previously known, marriage records show Elizabeth Herron having married Johnathan William Vess in 1791 in Patrick County, Virginia. Johnathan William Vess and Elizabeth Heron traveled with Stephen F. Austin from Missouri to Texas (Republic of Texas) during the 1820’s. This William Vess/Vest on the Patrick County deed list may either be Jonathan himself or perhaps his father.
Peter Vess and William Vess/Voss: North Mayo River According to the deed list, west of Koger Creek are residents of the North Mayo River which includes Peter Vess, William Vess/Voss, Samuel Vess, William Willis, and William Sharp.
This Vess/Voss family is most interesting for that we see them with the Willis, Dodson, and Sharp families (family surnames that are also found in Franklin County, Alabama with Willis Vess).
To make things even more interesting, we found a 1785 marriage record for Peter Vess and Pugnance Vaughn in Henry County. (Henry County is next to Patrick County, and there was a time when both counties were one, called Patrick-Henry County)
What is interesting about this, is that according to Anna Popejoy, the parents of Willis Vess were John Vess and Margaret Vaughn. To this day, we do not know where she got this information; however, we are now wondering, if this is them.
Perhaps their full names were John Peter Vess and Pugnance Margaret Vaughn??? Also note, that the brother of Willis Vess is supposedly “John Peter Vess,” perhaps he was a John Peter Vess Jr.?
In addition, records also show land transactions between Peter Vess and Samuel Vess via John Duncan. At the bottom of this particular deed list (with Peter and Samuel), you will also find a Whitlock family.
Are These VESS/VEST Families Related
It is plausible that the Rockbridge VESS/VEST family and the Patrick County VESS/VEST families are related to each other, for that records of the Patrick County family (earliest record 1785) come before the records of the Rockbridge family (earliest record 1818); suggesting one of the Vess members may have migrated to Rockbridge, Virginia from Patrick County, Virginia.
It has also been observed that Samuel Vess of Patrick County, Virginia disappeared before Peter and William Vess; which makes us wonder if he is (or is related to) Samuel Harvey Vess of Rockbridge, Virginia (1830 records).
We do not know if they are genetically related to the our Vess family; however, genealogical records seem to support some kind of connection.
Full Recap
The Vest family of Virginia and our Vess family are not related (two separate Haplogroups).
There is no genetic relationship between our Vess family and William Tunwell Vest in Stokes County, North Carolina.
Maps reveal a separate VESS/VEST family residing in Rockbridge and Patrick County, Virginia. It is not yet know if these two VESS/VEST families are related, but it is plausible considering the record dates.
We have likely discovered the families of Jonathan William Vess and Elizabeth Heron (of Republic of Texas) in Patrick County, Virginia on Koger Creek.
We have discovered that there is a Peter, Samuel, and William VESS/VOSS on the North Mayo River with a Willis, Sharp, and possibly a Whitlock family.
The area in which we find these families in Patrick County, has a history of plantations and records that suggest some of the land owners were once indentured servants.
Many family surnames found in both Rockbridge and Patrick County, Virginia are familiar names seen elsewhere in Vess family research; especially, regarding Peter and Willis Vess.
No definite conclusions can be made at this time; however, these new discoveries seem promising! It appears that a new chapter in Vess Genealogy has just begun!
If you are or know someone who is a male descendant with the VESS or VEST surname, please consider participating in Y-DNA testing through FamilytreeDNA.com to help us unravel the mysteries of the VESS family!
Again, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has shared their findings with me on the Vess name in effort to piece together VESS family history!
Vess Genealogy 