The Romance of Charles Vest and Sarah
Briggs: The Facts of the Story
Written by Judy Stanley Cardwell
Published in The
It is always better to do your own research when
you find anything written where you question the information given in the
article or genealogy book. Years ago, when I first began doing research, I ran
across a newspaper article that I found in the family files of the NC Room in
the Forsyth County Public Library on 5th Street in Winston-Salem,
NC.
Below is the article:
Romance May Have Helped
Lure Vest Family from
A delightful romance,
which with some flowery language and a
vivid
imagination could have developed into a "Best
Seller", was the chief
reason that the Vest family moved to
Charles Vest, son of William and Lucy Vest, was born in Bedford
County,
in April, 1763. When the American Revolution moved South, his
older brothers,
Samuel and William volunteered for service in North Carolina.
In 1779 Charles,
who was only sixteen years old, left home against his father's
wishes to find his
brothers and volunteer for service in the same regiment with
them. His zealous
young Whig started out walking for his destination. While
walking along the
Ararat Road he came to the
relatively new town of Richmond which was the
county seat of Surry County. This area at the time was having
some trouble
with Tories, so young Vest was arrested on the spot and
placed in jail on suspicion of being a spy. He told his story
to Sheriff Jesse Briggs,
who was the sheriff and also the jailer. The sheriff agreed to check his story out
but it would a few days to contact his family in Washington
County, which had
been formed from Bedford County in 1782, and until the news
arrived he must
remain in jail.
Sarah Briggs, the beautiful
young daughter of Jesse Briggs, assisted her parents
in cooking for and serving meals to the prisoners. She carried
the meals to
Charles Vest and as he was
about her age, she took more than a passing interest
in this handsome young patriot.
In a few days the news reached Richmond that the Vest lad had
told the truth.
He was immediately
released. He continued his journey, found his brothers and
became a full-fledged soldier. He fought in the Battle of
King's Mountain under
Colonel Joseph Winston.
When the war was over Charles Vest came back to
Richmond. As soon as he arrived he made a deal with Jesse
Briggs to be one
of his hired men during the year.
There were three possible reasons for Vest to return to
Richmond. First,
he had probably been impressed with Mr. Briggs and the manner
in which
he apologized for his wrongful imprisonment. Second, Col.
Joseph Winston,
also from Surry County, could have persuaded him to come and
live there,
but the almost sure reason for coming here was a beautiful girl
named Sarah
Briggs. They were married
within a year. He brought a lot in Richmond about
the time of his marriage and built a house. When the town was
completely
destroyed by a hurricane he took some of the timbers from it
and built a new
house in what is now Antioch Church Community. Charles must
have painted
a glowing picture of his adopted home to his parents as the
census for Stokes
County for 1790 lists William Vest and his entire family.
Charles, Jr. married
Katrina Vogler in 1809, William married Nancy Ogburn
in 1817, Elizabeth married Martin Hill in 1806 and Fannie
married William Childress in 1817.
Figure 1 – Copy
of the actual newspaper
Article written by Robert Carroll in
The “Danbury Reporter”
I read this article a couple of times and
something was just not right about the article. Now, Robert Carroll wrote many,
many articles on the families of early Stokes County and the families of Stokes
County as it is today. Thank goodness, Mr. Carroll was so sharing with his
knowledge.
The fact that Charles Vest was born in 1763
is indeed what is written on his tombstone here in Forsyth County, NC found in
the Cemetery of Antioch Methodist Church. Charles was 16 years old in 1779(See
Figure 2).
Charles did have brothers named Samuel and
William Vest as evidenced by the will of their father, William Vest Sr. dated
July 26, 1812 and probated December 1812 in Stokes County, NC. (See Figure 3
and 3a)[1]
Arrested as a spy, Charles was jailed in
Richmond, Surry Co., NC. There are not any existing court records to support
this information. However, in 1779, we were in the last years of the American
Revolution and Tories were still lingering around Richmond, the county seat of
Surry County, NC. Many of Surry County, NC’s court records prior to 1790 are
missing, so there is not a good way to verify this information.
The part that I had trouble with was the
statement that Charles Vest was arrested in 1779 by Sheriff Jesse Briggs, who
was also the jailer, and jailed in Richmond.
I have checked existing records of Surry
County and cannot find any court records, tax records, land records, wills or
estates on a Jesse Briggs of this time period, 1779.
There is a Jesse Briggs born in 1773 in Surry
County, NC.(See Figure 4) This would make Jesse only 6 years old in 1779 and he
is noted as a Methodist minister in the American Revolution Pension Application
of Bartholomew Marion[2],
in Surry County, NC, and thus, was not a
sheriff of Surry County, NC.
So who was the sheriff of Surry County in
1779? According to what few court
records do exist for Surry County:
On May
13, 1779, Richmond: John Hudspeth, Esq.
elected sheriff by majority of four. [3]
The sheriff before John Hudspeth was Richard
Goode.[4]
John Hudspeth was killed on October 4, 1780 in Richmond.[5]
On May
10, 1780, Richmond: Matthew Moore, Esq.
unanimously elected Sheriff.[6]
Figure 2 –
Charles and Sarah Briggs Vest were buried at
in Forsyth County, NC. Charles born 1763 and died March 13,
1828. Charles was born
in
Cammel [Campbell] County,
(photograph
taken by Sally Jones,
Figure 3: Copy of Original Will of William Vest, Sr. in
Stokes Co., NC
dated 26 July 1812 and probated Stokes Co., NC Dec. 1812
Figure 3a – Transcription of William Vest Sr. will
by Judy Stanley Cardwell:
1812 Jul 26 -
Stokes Co., NC - Will of William Vest Sr.:
In the Name
of God Amen
I William
Vest being in perfect mind and memory though
afflicted in
bodily afflections do this Twentysixth day of July
in the year
of Our Lord Christ One Thousand Eight Hundred
and Twelve
make publish and ordain this my last will and
Testament
disannulling all former Wills and Testaments by me here-
tofore made,
or done. In Manner and following, that is to say, First
Item. I give and bequeath, unto my beloved Wife Lucy Vest one bed &
Furniture for
and during her natural life, and after her decease to my
Daughter
Elizabeth, wife of John Sizemore.
2.ly. It is
my Will that after my decease, all the property both real
and personal,
which God hath blessed me with, which I have a
right and title
to, at the Time of my Decease, may be publically
sold, on a
credit of twelve months, by my Executors(herein after Na-
med) and the
moneys thence arising, after all my Just Debts are
paid and
settled, shall be Equally divided
amongst my nine children
and wife Lucy
Vest, agreeable to what I have already given the some of
them, which
must be deducted our their Quoto or part of my said
Estate. Namely
Samuel Vest, William Vest, Charles Vest, Isham Vest, John
Vest, Mary wife of Phillip
Sutherland, Patty wife of Jacob Misena, Jane
wife of Thomas Bennett and Elizabeth wife of John
Sizemore.
Now it is be rightly understood, that this which I
have already given a
part to, the
said part they have received shall be deducted out of their
share of said
Estate, therefore I have given to my son Samuel Vest, the
value of
Fifty dollars, and to my son William Vest, the value of Forty
two dollars,
and to my son Isham Vest, the value of Forty Dollars,
and to my son
John Vest, the value of Fifty two Dollars, and to my Daughter
Patty Misena the value of Fifteen Dollars to Jane
Bennett the value of
Twenty Seven
dollars, these sums of money to be deducted as
above said,
so as all my children and my wife may share alike.
3.ly. It is
my Will that Anna Vest have a certain little feather Bed
and
Furniture, which is called her Bed.
4. ly and
lastly, I do nominate and appoint my Sons Charles Vest &
John Vest
Executors of this my last will and Testament to manage
according to
this my will &c.
Signed Sealed
and delivered pronounced and declared to be my last
Will &
Testament. In the presence of us who were present, at the
making and
signing thereof. In Witness whereof I have hereunto
Set my Hand
and Affixed my seall day and date within written. William (X) Vest Sr.
Charles Vest
Sam Kinnamon
William's
will was probated in December, 1812.
Figure 4 - Jesse
Briggs Sr. Family Census Study
Married 1st to Charity Banner and 2nd to Nancy Pilkinton
|
1800 Stokes |
1810 Stokes |
1820 Surry |
1830 Surry |
1840 Surry |
1850 Surry |
NAME |
|
m 26-45 md. 1st to Charity Banner on 12 Feb 1795 Stokes |
m 26-45 |
m 45+ |
m 50-60 |
m 60-70 |
Jesse Sr. died ca 1844 in Surry
Co., NC |
Jesse Briggs Sr. b. ca 1773
Surry Co., Va. |
|
f 16-26 |
f 26-45 |
f 26-45 |
f 50-60 |
Charity died 15 Nov 1834 |
|
1st wife Charity
Banner b. 9 Feb 1776, Surry Co., NC |
|
f 0-10 |
f 10-16 |
f 16-26 Sarah md.1st Jesse Kerby Stokes |
Sarah md .2nd to Lemuel Doss Stokes |
|
|
1. Sarah Briggs b. Stokes Co., NC |
|
m 0-10 |
m 10-16 |
m 16-18 |
m 20-30 |
Died ? |
|
2. Charles Briggs b. 25 Nov 1797, Stokes Co., NC |
|
|
m 0-10 |
Died 1801 |
|
|
|
3. Joseph Briggs, d. 1801 b. 28 Apr 1800, Stokes Co., NC |
|
|
m 0-10 |
Died 1801 |
|
|
|
4. Thomas Briggs b. 29 Jul 1801, Stokes Co., NC |
|
|
m 0-10 |
m 10-16 |
Joseph md. Nancy L. Walker 24 Nov-1827 Stokes |
|
|
5. Joseph Briggs b. 6 Feb 1803, Stokes Co., NC Joseph and Nancy moved to Giles Co., Tenn. |
|
|
|
m 16-26 Jesse Kirby |
Jesse Kirby died ca 1819 |
|
|
Jesse Kirby, husband of Sarah Briggs, b. ca 1793, Stokes Co., NC |
|
|
|
m 0-10 |
m 15-20 |
Died or Married? |
|
6. John Milton Briggs b. 2 Mar 1809, Stokes Co., NC |
|
|
|
m 0-10 |
m 10-15 |
Jesse md. Lucinda Flynt on 18 Mar 1837 Stokes |
|
7. Jesse Briggs, Jr. b. 25 Nov 1811, Stokes Co., NC |
|
|
|
f 0-10 |
f 15-20 |
Charity md. Thomas Prather on 15 Oct 1834 Stokes |
|
8. Charity Briggs b. Stokes Co., NC |
|
|
|
|
f 5-10 |
m 10-15 or a f 10-15 |
Died or married? |
9. Unidentified Female/Male b. ca 1820, Surry Co., NC |
|
|
|
|
|
f 30-40 Jesse Sr. md. 2nd to Nancy Pilkinton on 26 May 1835
Stokes |
2nd wife Nancy – age 47 |
2nd wife: Nancy Pilkinton, b. ca 1803 |
|
|
|
|
|
m 0-5 |
Michael – age 15 |
10. Michael Briggs, b.ca 1835 Surry Co., NC |
|
|
|
|
|
m 0-5 |
Henry – age 14 |
11. Henry Briggs, b. ca1836 Surry Co., NC |
|
|
|
|
|
f 0-5 |
Elizabeth – age 10 |
12. Elizabeth Briggs, b. ca 1840, Surry Co., NC |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Andrew – age 7 |
13. Andrew Briggs, b. ca 1843, Surry Co., NC |
In fact, there was not a sheriff named Briggs
in Surry County, NC. So, who was this Sarah Briggs, daughter of Jesse Briggs,
in 1779? This time, I searched for any
Briggs in Surry County during 1779 and found a Thomas Briggs in early court
records, land records, tax records and the NC State Census.
Thomas Briggs was the father of Jesse Briggs,
born in 1773 (see Figure 4) according to Thomas’s brother, Howell Briggs’s
will. Howell Briggs named Jesse Briggs, son of his brother Thomas Briggs, in
his will, dated July 13, 1774, found in Book 4, page 481 in Surry County,
Virginia[
Jesse Briggs is likely the brother of Sarah
Briggs who married Charles Vest and probably, Jesse and Sarah’s father, Thomas
Briggs, was the jailer in 1779 in Richmond, NC. Sarah Briggs married Charles
Vest by 1783 as shown by the tombstone of their son, Charles Vest Jr. in the
cemetery of Sharon Methodist Church. Charles Jr. was born November 19,
1783.(See Figure 5) There is also a record in Surry County early court record
referring to Mrs. Sarah Vest:
17 November 1785, Richmond: York, a slave of William Lathans, Esq.
charged with
abusing Mrs.
Sarah Vest, ordered said York confined to stocks for two hours. [7]
The confusing part of this story for me is
that Jesse Briggs who married Charity Banner, daughter of Joseph Banner and
Sarah McAnally Banner on February 12, 1795 in Stokes Co., NC (See Figure 6)had
a daughter named Sarah. This Sarah was born November 27, 1795 in Stokes County,
NC.[8]
When I read this article by Mr. Carroll, it
simply did not make any sense to me. Most internet web pages do show Sarah Briggs
as the daughter of Jesse Briggs and do show her married to Charles
Figure 5 –
Charles Vest Jr., *son of Charles and Sarah Briggs Vest, buried at
Sharon Methodist Church in Forsyth Co., NC. Charles was born 19
Nov. 1783 and died 10 August 1860.
(Photograph
taken by Sally Jones,
4805 Styers Ferry Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27014)
*According to recent research, Charles Vest Jr. is not the son of
Charles Vest Sr.
Figure 6 –
Marriage date from the Bible Record of the Joseph Banner Family. This Bible
Record was found in the American Revolution Pension
Application of Sarah McAnally
Banner, filed on her husband Joseph Banner Sr. Pension #W9716
Vest, but the web pages do not show any dates
for Sarah or other pertinent information.
Released from jail, Charles left Richmond, he
went on his way to find his brothers, he did return to Richmond and he did
marry Sarah Briggs. He was appointed a
constable in Richmond:
February 17, 1786, Richmond: Ordered Charles Vest appointed Constable in
the
Town of Richmond. [9]
Then in 1787, Charles Vest purchased lot #16
in the town of Richmond and lived in the Town of Richmond, NC. (see Figures 7
and 7a)
May 16, 1787, Richmond: Deed from Commissioners of Town of
to
Charles Vest; oath of John Armstrong. [10]
August 17, 1787, Richmond: Court adjourned for 3 hours to house of
Charles Vest.[11]
In 1789, Charles resigned his position of
Constable of Richmond, NC.
February 2, 1789, Richmond: Charles Vest resigned his office as
Constable.[12]
In 1796, Charles Vest and his wife, Sarah
Briggs Vest, moved to a 490-acre NC Land grant on Muddy Creek in Stokes Co [now
Forsyth County] very near to Thomas Briggs’s land.(See Figure 8)
Charles and Sarah did have four children,
Charles Vest Jr., William Vest, Elizabeth Vest and Frances “Fannie” Vest.
I added Sarah in my genealogy files as the
child of Thomas Briggs and did not think anymore about Mr. Carroll’s article.
Then a few months ago, I received a copy of a
book called The Schaubs and Vests of North Carolina copyrighted ca 1965
by Annie Mary Vest Russell. In this volume, page Vest-6, Mrs. Russell states
almost the same story that Mr. Carroll stated on the Vest-Briggs romance in his
article:
Charles
seeking to join them[his brothers, William and Samuel Vest] did
turn from his motive in leaving home. (See
comments by J. C. Kreeger,
Introductory page in Vest Genealogy in
Salem[Moravian] Archives). I quote:
“Charles
Vest ran away from his home in Bedford County Co., Va., when a young
man, came to Old Richmond near the Yadkin
River, NC. (Old Richmond was the
Figure 7 – 1787, Surry Co., NC – Surry Deed D:117-118 for
Charles Vest, Lot #16 in the Town of
Figure 7a - Plat
of the Town of Richmond from the Moravian Diaries, Volume 2.
Charles Vest’s lot #16 is next to lot #15 on this map fronting
Broad Street.
|
|
|
Figure 8 – NC Land Grant for Charles Vest dated 9 Sept 1796 for
490 acres on South Fork of Parkers Creek. According to the survey, this land is
on Muddy Creek.
The chain carriers are his
John Briggs and Jesse Briggs, Charles’s brothers-in-law and the sons of Thomas
Briggs.
County Seat of Surry Co. at that time.) He
was arrested there and put in jail as a spy,
until the news came from Campbell Co. as to
who he was, he was released and
when on to King's Mountain to join the army
under Col. Winston. After the war
he came back to Old Richmond and married
Sarah Briggs, a daughter of Jesse Briggs
who lived at Old Richmond.
The
new location of the Charles Vest home was near two good springs, on land
granted by the state to Jesse Briggs. It was
in Stokes County until Forsyth was
created out of Stokes County in 1849. “
Here again is pretty much the same article that
Mr. Carroll wrote about in the newspaper. Mrs. Russell quotes from Mr.
Kreeger’s work on this story that Charles Vest lived on land granted to Jesse
Briggs.
Jesse Briggs’s first piece of land in Stokes
Co., NC, he received from his mother, Elizabeth Briggs and his brother John
Briggs. Thomas Briggs died in 1790 in Stokes Co., NC and he did not leave a
will. His widow, Elizabeth Briggs and his eldest son John Briggs were appointed
administrators of Thomas Briggs’s estate with William Hughlett security in
Stokes Co., NC on June 8, 1790.[13]
On 6 Sept 1796, Elizabeth and John Briggs
deeded a piece of land that belonged to Thomas Briggs, deceased, in Stokes
County on the south fork of Parkers Creek to Jesse Briggs. This is a piece of
land, according to the deed, that Thomas Briggs purchased from Joseph Harrison
on 11 November 1784 while the area was Surry County, NC. Jesse received 189
acres of land from this 640-acre tract of land. The 189 acres includes the house whereon Jesse Briggs
currently lives and was given to Jesse Briggs by his father Thomas Briggs
prior to Thomas’s death in 1790. Charles
Vest is a witness to this deed.(See Figures 9 and 9a)
Therefore, off I went to the Moravian
Archives in Old Salem to find the Vest Genealogy by Julius C. Kreeger. I did find a book by Mr. Kreeger called Vest-Helsabeck
Families. I did not find an
“introduction page”, but did find a single page entitled, VEST. Mr. Kreeger
dated this work January 1947. I almost do not want to show what I did find as
it is only more misleading. Below is what Mr. Kreeger shows:
In
1943 or 1944 in a conversation with Harrison Lewis Brown who was born in 1860
and raised by Charles Ogburn Vest, Mr. Brown
told Mr. Kreeger the following story:
Charles
Vest's father was named Isham Vest, and that Isham Vest did not
come to NC, but that his son Charles ran
away from his home in Campbell Co.,
when a young man and came to Richmond near
the Yadkin River(Old
was the county seat of Surry County at that
time) and that he was arrested and put
in jail as a spy and when they got news from
Campbell Co., Va. as to who he was,
he was released and went on to King's
Mountain to join the army under
Joseph
Winston. After the war he came back to Old Richmond and married
Fannie Briggs, a daughter of Jesse Briggs.
Mr. Brown went on to say the Vest
home stood on land granted by the state to
Jesse Briggs.
At this point, I just wanted to give up
trying to explain the errors in this story, which is obviously some oral history
that went wrong of the facts in this family. I made three different trips to
the archives just to be sure, that what I saw was accurate. Mr. Kreeger did
know that Charles did not marry Fannie Briggs and Charles’s father was not
Isham Vest, but William Vest. Nevertheless, the rest of the story is pretty
much as what is written by other people.
Harrison Lewis “Pete” Brown,[14]
raised by Charles Ogburn Vest and his wife Sarah Hall Vest[15]
states that Charles Vest’s father is Isham Vest. This is wrong, Isham is the
brother of Charles Vest.(see Figures 3 and 3a) Charles did not marry Fannie
Briggs, daughter of Jesse Briggs, Charles did, indeed, marry Sarah Briggs.
Sarah is the sister to Frances “Fannie” Briggs. Fannie married Isham Vest, the
brother of Charles Vest.(see Figure 10)So, we end up with two sisters that
married two brothers.
Another item mentioned in the above 3 stories
is that Charles went off to fight at the Battle King’s Mountain with his
brothers William and Samuel Vest. The Battle of King’s Mountain was fought on 7
October 1780 and so far, I have not found Charles, William or Samuel Vest on
any of the lists of King’s Mountain Soldiers.
Figure 9 – Stokes Co., NC Deed Book 2, page 332 dated 6 Sept
1796 to Jesse Briggs from his mother, Elizabeth Briggs and his brother John
Briggs. Witness: Charles Vest. Recorded
June Term 1796.
