updated 7/9/2025
| Ancestor | Jonathan Vess | Spouse | Elizabeth Heron |
| DNA | No Y-DNA testers Autosomal DNA too distant to detect if related to Peter and Willis Vess family line | DNA | Not Available |
| Birth | Approx. 1779 | Birth | Unknown |
| Death | Before 1848 | Death | Before 1850 |
| Burial | Unknown | Burial | Unknown |
| Parents | Unknown | Parents | Unknown |
| Marriage | Unknown | Marriage | Remarried 1848 to Peter WHITE, Jackson Co. TX |
| Occupation | Unknown | Occupation | Housewife |
| Military | Jonathan VESS (Rangers, United States Volunteers) Jonathan VEST (Capt. Collard’s Co. Louisiana Militia). Formed out of Missouri | Military | n/a |
| Church | Unknown | Church | Unknown |
| Land | 28 May 1831 4428.40 acres Jackson Co. TX #1510 | Land | n/a |
| Comments | Comments |
Census
| 1840 | Jonathan Vess | Jackson County, TX |
Children
Jonathan Vess arrived in Texas at the age of 50 with 2 “children” and 4 “dependents.”
| Children | Birth | Death | Spouse: Marriage |
| William Vess | 1815 | 1846 Brazos Co. TX | Minerva Millican 9 Apr 1835 Jackson Co. TX Children: 1) Jonathan Vess 1833 TX – 6 May 1862 (died Civil War) 2) Margaret Jane Vess (Spouse:Kelly) Jan 2, 1836 – Sept. 16 1911 (Death Cert. child of William and Minerva Vess) 3) Susan Jane Vess b. 1837 Married:13 Dec 1856 Jackson Co. Issac Seela Jr. |
| Mary Lorena Vess | 1815 | 1847 | Samuel James McCulloch 1837 |
Dependents
| Lofton Vess | 1816 | 1844 Clay Co. TX | Mary Ann Ryan 15 Nov 1837 Jackson Co. TX Mary remarried to William Mays 9 Jan 1845 Jackson Co. TX Son: William David Vess (court record)- died without a wife or children |
| Malinda Vess | 1823 Missouri | 1860 | Isham Renolds 1 Feb 1843 Jackson Co. TX Malinda remarried 1 Aug 1850 Walker Stevens |
| Sarah Ann Vess | 1826 | 1862 | Vardry Nodsed McBee 9 Jan 1844 Jackson Co. TX |
| Louisa Elizabeth Vess | 1828 | Unknown | Walker Stevens 29 Apr 1848 Jackson Co. TX |
Oral Traditions
It is believed that Jonathan and Elizabeth Vess of Texas are Jonathan Vess and Elizabeth Heron of Patrick County, Virginia, married 17 Oct 1792 (Patrick County, VA).
Some family historians believe Jonathan and Elizabeth Vess could be the parents of Nathaniel Vess of South Carolina.
Jonathan was supposedly 50 years old at the time he arrived in Texas, so it could be possible that he did have other children prior to arriving to Texas; especially, if he married in 1792.
History
Records are scarce, due to Texas history. In 1836, Texas won it’s independence from Mexico, forming the Republic of Texas (it’s own country). It wasn’t until 1845, when it became a State with the United States of America.
Jonathan and Elizabeth Vess arrived in Texas in 1829 from Missouri, as part of Stephen F. Austin’s colonists [Stephen F. Austin’s Register of Families]. It reports he was 50 years old (birthdate approx. 1779) and married with 6 children: 2 children and 4 dependents.
Genealogical records reveal that William and Mary Lorena Vess are children of Jonathan Vess, leaving Lofton, Malinda, Sarah, and Louisa Vess to be his dependents. This suggests, with his age, that his dependents might be his grandchildren.
The Vess family settled in Jackson County, Texas, where Jonathan obtained 4,428.40 acres of land (now Jackson Co. TX) from the Mexican government in 1831. The town of Morales, TX was established on Jonathan’s land.
Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Vess, remarried in 1848, to Peter WHITE, suggesting Jonathan Vess had died. In 1850, census records for Peter White do not show Elizabeth, suggesting, she may have died shortly after being married.
On the 1850 census for Sarah Ann Vess and her husband Vardy McBee, there are 3 younger Vess members living with them: Jonathan, Margaret, and Susan. These are the children of William and Minerva Vess (grandchildren of Jonathan Vess).
It is believed that William Vess, the oldest son of Jonathan and Elizabeth Vess, may have been the second Sheriff of Brazos county, TX and first person to have been buried at the Boonville Cemetery; which could be supported by the 1846 tax list for Minerva Vess in Brazos County, TX (his wife).
Jonathan Vess (Jr.) died during the Civil War due to an illness (military record).
Susan Jane Vess married Issac Seela Jr, who is related to the Peter White family.
Sources
Ancestry.com. Texas, U.S., Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.
Ancestry.com. Stephen F. Austin’s Register of Families: From the Originals in the General Land Office, Austin, Texas
Ancestry.com. Texas, U.S., Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1965 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. [Vess Children]
The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M432; Residence Date: 1850; Home in 1850: Jackson, Texas; Roll: 912; Page: 216b [Vadry & Sarah McBee + Jonathan, Margaret, and Susan]
Victoria Texas Newspaper Clippings
Texas State Historical Association
Ancestry.com. Texas, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1820-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. [Minerva Vess 1846 tax list]
Vess Genealogy 