The descendants of Nathaniel Vess are adamant that Jonathan Vess was, at some point, in South Carolina. I am not one to ignore family stories, so I promise ya’ll I’ve been searching for him in South Carolina for a long time!

Unfortunately, I haven’t found any evidence to suggest Jonathan Vess, himself, was ever in South Carolina, but there are records to suggest there was a “Vess” in South Carolina prior to 1830. I am just trying to figure out who…

The earliest known “Vess” records discovered thus far in South Carolina (to the best of my knowledge), date back to 1830, via land and census records for a Polly Vess in Greenville, South Carolina. Unfortunately, that is where it ends.

However, we do have two John Vess families during the 1850’s, that claim to have been born in South Carolina (around the early 1820’s), which indicates that there must have been an earlier Vess family in South Carolina evading the census records.

I have searched for years for a potential early Vess/Vest family in South Carolina and have found nothing, until now…

Nathaniel Vess: War of 1812 Pension Request

On Fold3, I was able to finally access Nathaniel’s full War of 1812 pension record. I’ve heard there was more to his record than what was available on Ancestry.com, but I was never able to find the entire record online until today!

In May of 1879, at the age of 85, Nathaniel Vess filed a pension request for his service during the War of 1812.

The claim states he served as a private (volunteered), in the company commanded by John Gaffney, of the South Carolina Militia, under Col. Richard Arnold. He enlisted at the age of 18 or 19 years old in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. It was noted that he was unable to remember specific dates. However, he claims to have served for 20 days and [illegible] and was discharged in Spartanburg County, South Carolina.

His discharge certificate is reported to have been consumed by fire.

The claim also goes into detail about his residency. He resided in South Carolina, then moved to North Carolina in 1845, having stayed for 18 years, before relocating to Tennessee.

However, census records show he arrived in North Carolina in 1830, and he was there for over 20 years. We have to remember, when he filed this claim, he was 85 years old! So, his memory might not have been the best.

Unfortunately, seven months after filing this claim, Nathaniel Vess died from consumption and his pension request was denied, because they were unable to find him on any of the muster rolls. I bet they couldn’t find him, because they misspelled his surname.

What We Already Know

So, with the new information obtained from Nathaniel’s War of 1812 pension record, I shifted my search to Spartanburg County, South Carolina (again). But, not without reviewing what we have already discovered first…

🔲 Nathaniel Vess married Clarinda Bellew, who is supposedly the daughter of John Bellew and Clarinda Gosnell. These two families (Bellew/Gosnell) are prominent families of Glassy Mountain, Greenville, South Carolina.

🔲 The earliest “Vess” records date back to 1830 for Polly Vess. She is on the 1830 Greenville, South Carolina census, suggesting she might be a “Vess” widow. She is also on a handful of land records with a Joel Callahan during the 1830’s.

🔲 We have two John Vess families in South Carolina during the 1850’s whose records state they were born in South Carolina prior to 1830. One has a Civil War record, claiming he enlisted in Greenville, South Carolina. Note: During the Civil War, to the best of my knowledge, Nathaniel and Peter’s children in North Carolina were still in North Carolina.

🔲 Records for Nathaniel Vess indicate that he was born in South Carolina. He enlisted in the South Carolina Militia at the age of 18 in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. And, census records, show him in North Carolina in 1830, listed next to John and William Bellew.

Records strongly suggest that there was an earlier Vess (or family with a similar surname to Vess) in South Carolina prior to 1830. They just don’t seem to be on record anywhere.

Spartanburg County, South Carolina: Samuel Vest

So, with the information we have so far, it does make the 1790 Spartanburg County, South Carolina census more interesting! Gosnell, Bellew, and Callahan!

All of them, eventually settled in Greenville, South Carolina! We have the Gosnell/Bellew (connection to Nathaniel through his wife) and Joel Callahan (connection to Polly Vess). Is there a connection between Nathaniel Vess and Polly Vess? Super interesting!

But, no Vess/Vest families are listed near them on the 1790 census. There is a curious “William West,” but nothing that stands out as a potential “Vess.”


However, browsing Spartanburg County records using the Full Text AI search in Familysearch.org, I came across a land record, dated 1800, between Thomas and William Phillips that was witnessed by a “Samuel Vest.”

To the best of my knowledge, there are no known early “Vest” families in South Carolina; especially, during the early 1800’s. What makes this record even more intriguing, is that it is a “Samuel Vest.”

I lost track of Samuel Vess in Patrick County, Virginia after 1795! Could this be him?

New Theory: The Real Three Brothers, Jonathan, Peter, & Nathaniel

There is just something about Nathaniel Vess that tugs at me. While I am a 100% confident that Peter, Willis, Jonathan, and Nathaniel Vess are all related, and without a doubt, certainly related to the earlier Patrick County, Virginia Vess family, Nathaniel Vess, is the only one who doesn’t have an early connection to Wilkes County, North Carolina.

It’s also interesting, that Nathaniel doesn’t seem to have any close connections to Peter Vess in Rutherford County, North Carolina. You’d think, if brothers (half or not), they’d be close together on census, attending the same church, and sharing the same family connections. Isn’t that just strange?

I am looking back at the tax lists…Jonathan Vess disappeared from Patrick County, Virginia the same time as Samuel Vess! The last known record of them in Patrick County, Virginia, was on the 1795 tax list!

Do you think…maybe, Samuel and Jonathan Vess came down to Spartanburg County, South Carolina after 1795 from Patrick County, Virginia, and then Jonathan Vess went back up to Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1803, before making his way to Missouri? But, why leave Nathaniel Vess behind in South Carolina?

UNLESS, Nathaniel Vess has a different mother OR Nathaniel Vess is the youngest child of Samuel Vess of Patrick County, Virginia!

If Nathaniel Vess is the youngest child of Samuel Vess in Patrick County, Virginia, he would then, be the brother of Jonathan and Peter Vess of Patrick County, Virginia. AND, that would fit our family’s origin story referencing the three brothers: Jonathan, Peter, and Nathaniel Vess!

That would be wild, if true!

Let me know your thoughts on this theory in the comments.

That would explain, why autosomal DNA matches between the descendants of Peter and Nathaniel Vess are so distant from each other! They weren’t half brothers, but possibly uncle and nephew. It’s completely mis-leading to researchers, because Peter is slightly older than Nathaniel, but not entirely far fetched, because I know families, whose uncle and nephew / aunt and niece were born around the same time! It happens a lot in large families!

BUT…there is no evidence what so ever to say that this Samuel Vest in Spartanburg County, South Carolina is the same Samuel Vess in Patrick County, Virginia. But, the “Vest” surname in a South Carolina county where Nathaniel Vess says he later join the militia, is super intriguing!

I do hope Samuel Vest in South Carolina has more records!