Sarah Jane Vess: Connected to Peter Instead of Nathan Vess

November 26, 2021February 24, 2025 / J. V. / 2 Comments

When it comes to the North Carolina VESS family tree, we can all pretty much agree that our earliest known ancestor is Peter Vess; however, Peter was not the only VESS family in North Carolina during his time. According to the 1830 census, Nathaniel Vess and Clarinda Bellew (with her father John Bellew) were also in Rutherford County, North Carolina. For the most part, our family trees from these two men are pretty accurate; however, what if I told you that Sarah Jane Vess (wife of Jackson Pressley), shown as a descendant of Nathaniel Vess, might actually be a descendant of Peter Vess??

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the information provided within this post is a personal opinion based on personal interpretation of genealogical records and DNA data. Individual researchers and readers are strongly encouraged to do their own research and come to their own conclusions.

Only 1 Connection With The Nathaniel Vess Line

It’s odd, but all my DNA connections to the Nathaniel Vess line are all through the descendants of Sarah Jane Vess and Jackson Pressley.

Now, I just assumed that maybe descendants of other Nathaniel Vess lines are just not testing or maybe DNA relatives are too distant to show up as a DNA match (perhaps Peter and Nathan Vess are half-brothers or cousins). There is also the possibility, I am related to this particular Nathaniel Vess line via my mother’s side who also has deep Carolina roots, but there are other descendants of Peter Vess reporting the same particular Nathaniel Vess connection (so, it’s clearly not on my mother’s side).

However, just recently, Vince informed me that a new tool called, Theory of Family Relativity on myHeritage.com, suggests the descendants of Sarah Jane Vess and Jackson Pressley may be related to Peter Vess via his son John Vess.

That’s a lot to take in!

So, I decided to dust off some old research notebooks and take another look at Nathaniel and Peter Vess.

Sarah Jane Vess VS Mary Jane Vess

Reviewing numerous family trees for Nathaniel Vess, his daughter is often listed as either “Sarah“ Jane Vess or “Mary” Jane Vess; both shown as the wife of Jackson Pressley.

Many researchers have noted that Sarah and Mary are probably the same person, whereas others list them as separate people. However, upon further investigation, Sarah Jane Vess and Mary Jane Vess appear to be two different people who just so happened to be born at the same time (1840) and both have connections to Haywood County, North Carolina!

So, who is who?

In my opinion, based on genealogical records, Mary Jane Vess is likely the daughter of Nathaniel Vess and Clarinda Bellew, whereas Sarah Jane Vess is likely the daughter of John Vess, son of Peter Vess. I come to this conclusion based on marriage and census records, in addition, to the history of John Vess.

What We Know About John Vess (Peter’s son)

John Vess was born about 1820 in North Carolina to Peter and Catherine Vess. He married Elizabeth Taylor and they had 4 children together: Sarah, Silus, Mary, and Sophrona.

Silus and Mary appeared to have died young, Sarah appears to have disappeared, and Sophrona married Columbus Summey.

John Vess disappeared after 1850, during the same time the rest of the Vess family kind of split up; presumably after the death of Catherine. In 1854, we have a newspaper clipping announcing a Petition for Divorce between Elizabeth and John Vess, suggesting John Vess had moved out of state. During the same year, Elizabeth reverts back to her maiden name and marries Joshua Souther. We find her and her children (Viss) living with Joshua Souther in Henderson County, North Carolina in 1860.

Henderson County, NC Makes The Difference

Sarah Jane Vess and Jackson Pressely were married in 1856 and according to the 1860 census record, Sarah and Jackson were living in Henderson County, North Carolina, same county as Elizabeth and Joshua Souther.

In 1860, Mary Jane Vess, was still living with her parents Nathaniel and Clarinda Vess (Vert) in Haywood County, North Carolina. So, clearly not the same the person.

In 1863, Mary Jane Vess married Phillip Davis in Haywood County, North Carolina.

A connection with the Davis family makes sense, considering Andrew Jackson Vess (son of Nathaniel Vess) supposedly married Mary Davis in 1862.

I think the confusion between Sarah Jane Vess and Mary Jane Vess is with their connection to Haywood County, NC, for that we know that Nathan’s family once lived in Haywood County, NC. However, Sarah Jane Vess doesn’t appear in Haywood County until 1870 with Jackson Pressely, after Nathan’s family moved to Tennessee.

I did find a few family trees showing Mary Jane Vess as a descendant of Nathaniel Vess married to Phillip Davis, instead of Jackson Pressley, and interestingly, I am not a DNA match.

Also, I noticed a lot of family trees stating Sarah / Mary Jane Vess died in Washington. However, I believe Sarah Jane Vess, wife of Jackson Pressley, was remarried to a man named Eli Glen, where she eventually moved to Georgia (below). Further research is needed though and surprisingly opens up an entirely new theory about John Vess’s whereabouts about his divorce with Elizabeth Taylor (to be shared in a later post).

Based on genealogical evidence, I am convinced that Mary Jane Vess and Phillip Davis are part of the Nathaniel Vess line whereas Sarah Jane Vess and Jackson Pressley are part of the Peter Vess line.

Connection Between Peter Vess and Nathan Vess Still A Mystery

Well, Sarah Jane Vess was my only DNA connection to Nathaniel Vess. Now, that research strongly supports her connection with Peter Vess instead of Nathan Vess, does that mean Peter and Nathan are not related?? No way!

My Autosomal DNA only goes back 6-8 generations. It barely picks up the descendants of Peter’s children, so technically, if Nathan and Peter are related, it would likely be too distant to show up on my Autosomal DNA test results.

We really need a male Vess descendant from Nathaniel Vess’s line to do a Y-DNA test to confirm a genetic connection between Nathaniel, Peter, and Willis Vess. Until then, we can only assume they are related and we must continue to search for genealogical evidence to confirm their family relationship to one another.

Vess Genealogy: South Carolina Connections

May 20, 2021February 24, 2025 / J. V.

Research strongly suggests that Peter, Willis, and Nathan Vess may have common connections in South Carolina. In this post, we begin to explore these possible connections.

Please note that the opinions and thoughts in this post are based on my own personal point of view researching these families. Links to sources are provided to allow the reader / researcher to form their own opinions, thoughts, and conclusions.

Mapping Out Families

Using information obtained by South Carolina Digital Records, I was able to map a few families that may have connections with our earliest known ancestors: Pool, Pettit, Bellew, and Willis families.
*Toney and Nicholl records have also been found, but are not mapped above.

Pool and Pettit families lived along the Pacelot River below Lawson’s Fork.
Bellew and Willis families lived along Fair Forest Creek.
Vice and Hembree families lived along Cain Creek branching out from the Tyger River.

Peter Vess: Pettit & Toney Families

According to Peter’s 1820 census record, he is listed next to David Mooney, Henry Pettit, James Young, and Abraham Toney. The Pettit and Toney families married each other and were members of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church with Peter Vess. [Bill’s Creek Baptist Church: Two Hundred Year History, by Helen M. Lu].

According to North Carolina’s Land grants and deed website and various other sources, David Mooney’s family has been in this area of North Carolina since the 1760’s (Tryon County), having traveled with the Eacker family. Living nearby in Lincoln County, North Carolina is the Boston Best and Charles Gosnell family. Boston Best has early land records in Tryon County, but I not sure if those properties are in modern-day North Carolina or South Carolina.

Interestingly, Boston Best (I believe to be Jr.) is on the 1790 Spartanburg County, South Carolina census record [below] near Henry Pettit, while his father Boston Best Sr. is listed next to Charles Gosnell in the 1790 Lincoln County, North Carolina census record. Charles Gosnell’s son, Joshua Gosnell, is listed next to Abraham Belue (Bellew) on the 1790 Spartanburg County, South Carolina census record – a few pages over from Henry Pettit.

Also, John Vice/Vise is on the same page of the 1790 Spartanburg County, South Carolina census record as Henry Pettit, but listed as John “Wise.” We can safely assume John “Wise” is John Vice, based on other families on the same page, such as Joel Hembree (Embry) who is a neighbor of John Vice per land records.

We know the Toney family was also in South Carolina. They appear to have been in South Carolina as early as the Revolutionary War (like Henry Pettit). I found a Toney family with a land record in Tyger River dated the same year that John Vice obtained land in the Tyger River area too [below].

According to family trees for the Toney family, Abraham Toney of Rutherford County, North Carolina (with Peter Vess) is supposedly related to Timothy Toney of South Carolina. There are numerous Abraham’s on the family tree and 2 of them went by William (Abraham William Toney) which has caused a lot of confusion, so further research is needed to confirm the two Toney families are related.

Also, I see John Stovall next to Henry Pettit on the 1790 census.
I believe Ann Pool, Henry’s wife, is related to the Stovall family (her maternal line) and the Stovall family had connections with the prominent PENN and HAIRSTON families in Patrick County, Virginia where we find William and Peter Vess [1790-1801 Patrick County Deeds].

Dunneway is also an interesting name on the 1790 census [above]. There is a marriage record for Nathaniel Vice and Sarah Dunaway in Kentucky (1802). This is supposedly Nathaniel Vice Jr., brother of John Vice Sr. in South Carolina. There appears to be confusion over the numerous Nathaniels in the Vice family tree, so it is not certain how they are actually connected, further research is needed.

According to the Vice family trees, Nathaniel and John Vice are brothers…do they, perhaps have a brother named Peter? And, would this Peter have been the Peter from Patrick County, Virginia? If the VICE and VESS families are the same family, is this where our oral tradition about the three brothers: Peter, John, and Nathaniel come from?

Nathan Vess: Bellew & Gosnell Families

Nathan’s wife, Clarinda Bellew is supposedly a descendant of the Gosnell/Bellew families of the Dark Corners of South Carolina (Glassy Mountain, Greenville Co. SC) with her father being John Bellew and her mother being Clarinda Gosnell.

We can find Nathan Vess and John Bellew on the 1830 Rutherford County, North Carolina census record.

On the 1790 Spartanburg County, South Carolina census record [below], we have Joshua Gosnell (son of Charles Gosnell of Lincoln County, NC) and Abraham Bellew, who is supposedly Clarinda Bellew’s grandfather.

There are numerous records for the Bellew (Belue, Bellew) family in South Carolina, prior to them settling in Glassy Mountain, Greenville County. One record of interest, is a 1774 record for Abraham Belue on Dutchmans Creek along Tyger River [below]. This is dated much earlier than the Vice family; however, Pruitt is a name that appears to be connected to the Pettit and Vice families. Of course, further investigation is needed here too.

Coincidence or Fact: Mac-Hugh Story

According to one of our family’s oral traditions about an O’Donnell-Vess, the Vess family supposedly came over with an O’Neil and an O’Donnell family from Ireland. O’Neill, wanted by the English Crown, supposedly changed his name to Mac Hugh (for his red hair) and was highly respected by the Vess family.

This oral tradition is said to have been very important to the Vess family (descendants of David Andrew Vess and Magnolia Gosnell). Upon further investigation, I found that this story appears to be similar to 2 actual historical events: The O’Donnell and O’Neil clans from Northern Ireland (1500’s) and the infamous outlaw of South Carolina’s Dark Corners, Lewis Redmond.

Knowing more about the Dark Corners of South Carolina and its residents, it is extremely interesting a William “Readmond” and Thomas “Neal”are listed next to the Gosnell and Bellew families on the 1790 Spartanburg County, South Carolina census [above]; especially, since the Gosnell and Bellew families settled in Greenville County, South Carolina, in an area where Lewis Redmond will become a well-respected outlaw. Is he a descendant of William Readmond and were the Bellew, Gosnell, and Vess families connected to the Readmond and Neil families?

Willis Vess: Willis, Ligon, and Other Families

Willis Vess was supposedly born in 1810 in North Carolina, but records of him do not appear until 1830 in Franklin County, Alabama. Interestingly, sources say some of the Vice families migrated to Alabama and there is a document on Ancestry.com that was posted in 2011, stating John Roebuck Vise Sr. and Martha Pruitt having had a child named Willis born in 1810. Unfortunately, this does not confirm Willis Vise and Willis Vess are the same person. But, perhaps there is a connection…

The oldest children of Willis Vess and Talitha Whitlock married into the John Willis family who are shown to be neighbors in Foxtrap, Franklin County, Alabama [below].

Looking at South Carolina records, I came across the Ligon name (Robert Ligon) on a land record for John Pool [below]. Note: Pool, Rogers and Meadows have connections with the Vice family.

Then, looking at the Franklin Co. Alabama plat map [below], there in the Foxtrap area with Willis Vess and John Willis, is listed James and Abner Ligon. Further research states that James and Abner Ligon are the sons of Robert Ligon in South Carolina. Also, James Dubois is a family that was in Foxtrap as early as 1820, possibly one of the earlier settlers of the area and Dubois is also a name found in early records of Tyger River community in South Carolina.

Below is another interesting record.
Here we find the Nicholls family (also found in Franklin County, Alabama) on a land record with the following families: Meadows (married Nathaniel Vice)
Pettit (married Mary Vice)
Rogers (neighbors of John Vice)
Willis (maybe related to John Willis)

So, I can’t help but wonder: Could Willis Vess be related to the Vice family of South Carolina? And, could John Willis, neighbors of Willis Vess, be related to Richard Willis?

So many interesting discoveries and still so many more questions; but it appears that South Carolina may be the key to unraveling the mysteries of the Vess family!

Vess Genealogy: A New Chapter

April 7, 2021February 24, 2025 / J. V.

I am so thrilled to have finally reached a new chapter in Vess Genealogy!

When I started this blog last Fall (August 2020), it was simply just a place to organize digital sources and share my genealogy experiences researching the Vess name. I gave it 2 months!

Remarkably, Vess Genealogy kept on going! I never would have ever imagined I would get to work with so many different people interested in the VESS name nor get an opportunity to meet so many different VESS families! This has been such an amazing genealogy adventure!

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone helping me unravel the mysteries of the VESS family!

If New To Vess Genealogy, Here’s What You Missed!

For generations, three different VESS lines (maybe more) haven’t been able find their ancestors prior to 1820. A frustrating endeavor leaving many of us to just give up.

However, since last Fall, we achieved the following:

1. We learned more about Peter Vess and his family.
2. We learned a lot about Andrew Logan Vess and his family.
3. We likely uncovered Nathan’s origins in the Dark Corners of South Carolina.
4. We discovered that Peter and Willis Vess are closely related and that our family is closely related to the Travers family!
5. We explored families in Knob’s Creek from Peter’s 1820 census record.
6. We discovered “Vess” records in Virginia connected to an unknown Vest/Vess family!
8. We confirmed (via DNA) that the VESS family is not related to the BASS, BEST, WEST, or VEST families; eliminating them as possible family connections.

Brief Recap On Vess Genealogy

We now know that Peter, Willis, and Nathan Vess are related; however, we have not yet determined how they are related to each other.

Peter and Willis were born in North Carolina and Nathan was born in South Carolina. Peter first appears on record in Rutherford County, North Carolina in 1820 on Knobs Creek with the Toney, Pettit, and Mooney families (all members of Bill’s Creek Baptist Church).

Nathan’s first appearance on record is also in Rutherford County, North Carolina, but in 1830 with his in-laws, the Bellew family. The Bellew and Gosnell families are related and are prominent families in Glassy Mountain, Greenville County, South Carolina (aka Dark Corners). Also, Peter’s grandson, David Andrew Vess married Magnolia “Maggie” Gosnell, who is related to Nathan’s wife, Clarinda Bellew.

Willis first appears on record in Franklin County, Alabama in 1830. According to Anna Popejoy, long time researcher of the Vess and Whitlock families, states that the father of Willis Vess (John Vess) had been living in Foxtrap since 1819. Y-DNA analysis, via familytreedna.com, confirms Willis Vess and Peter Vess (Andrew Logan Vess) are definitely part of the same VESS family.

Familytreedna.com (FTDNA) also shows that the VESS and TRAVERS family are closely related; however, we do not know how they are related. There are several reasons as to why FTDNA may group two different surnames closely together; either we are extremely close cousins, one family that split apart during a time before surnames, or a male Travers ancestor took on the Vess name (or vice versa). To unravel this mystery, it would be extremely helpful to have more male Vess descendants participate in Y-DNA Testing.

The Travers family is from Lancashire, England and they have traced their family to Dorchester, Maryland. Whether there is a connection between the Vess and Travers family in Colonial America has yet to be discovered (the families may have split long before they arrived in America).

With the help of Y-DNA and documented family histories, we’ve been able to eliminate the BASS, BEST, WEST, and VEST families as potential ancestors for the Vess family.

The BASS family has a rich Native American background. The BEST family (original surname BOSCH) can trace their family back to their arrival in the 1740’s with the Ecker family (in-laws) from Germany. The WEST family has been ruled out by their extensive West Family DNA Project. And the VEST family, descendants of John Daniel Vest belong to an entirely different Haplogroup than our VESS family. To my knowledge, there is no available DNA information on the VASS/VOSS/ VAULX families.

We have recently discovered a VEST/VESS family in Patrick County, Virginia who may be related to the VEST/VESS family in Rockbridge, Virginia. We have yet to find any records suggesting that they may belong to the VEST family (John Daniel Vest), which is extremely encouraging for our VESS family, and therefore a new chapter begins!

I am in the process of investigating the Life of Willis Vess and hopefully, with any luck, we can uncover some of Anna Popejoy’s research to help us! I plan to explore more families in and surrounding Patrick County, Virginia – including Surry and Stokes County, North Carolina. All in addition to finding out more about the VOSS/VASS/ VAULX families who seem to live very close to the TRAVERS family in both Dorchester, Maryland and the abolished Albemarle County in North Carolina.