The Difference Between Senior and Junior in The Vest family
Written
by Judy S. Cardwell
Published in the
Volume 27, #2, Winter 2009
This article is a
follow up to the article that was published in The Forsyth County Genealogical
Society’s Journal, Fall 2005, Vol. 24, No.1 entitled the “The Romance of Sarah
Briggs and Charles Vest: The Facts of the Story”.
I stated in this
article that Charles Vest Jr. was the son of Charles Vest Sr. Well, recent and
more thorough research has shown this not to be true, Charles Vest Jr. is NOT
the son of Charles Vest Sr. All the Vest
family tax records, land records, court records, wills and estate settlements
have been studied in detail. All of this
work is to help us understand this family better and learn the relationships of
the Vest family.
It is stated in the
following book, “A Comprehensive Dictionary for Genealogist & Historians”:
Junior/Senior
– until the nineteenth century this term
did
not necessarily mean father and son. It was used to
separate
persons of the same name living in the same town.
If
there were more than two of the same name, numbers were
then
used. Upon the death of one, the remaining would move up the numerical line. It
was sometimes used when the person is a nephew or cousin. [1]
And also in the book
“
Sr.
and Jr. in early
indicate
relationship; it merely meant that Sr. was
older
than Jr. [2]
The above definitions
explain how Senior and Junior did not always mean father and son until the 19th
century. I will refer to the 2 Charles Vests as Senior and Junior, to
distinguish their ages.
When working on the
Charles Vest Sr. /Sarah Briggs article, I ordered the estate record of Charles
Sr. (1763-1828). In this estate sell of Charles Sr.’s property, there is NO
mention of Charles Jr. (1783-1860). If we are talking father and son, then
likely Charles Jr. would have been on the sale papers as a buyer at his
father’s estate. In fact, the only Vests on the sale papers were William Vest,
Charles Sr.’s son and George Vest, son of Charles Sr.’s brother John Vest.
When studying the tax
records for Charles Vest Sr., at no time did Charles Vest Jr. show up in
the same tax district with his supposed
father, Charles Vest Sr. This is unusual, as normally, most sons do show up in
the same tax district with their father. However, Charles Vest Jr. does
show up on the1805 tax list with Samuel Vest Sr. in the Yadkin tax
district, while Charles Vest Sr. is listed in the Bethania tax district.
On the next page is a
census study of Samuel Vest Sr. and his family. Samuel Vest Sr. is the brother
of Charles Vest Sr. Samuel Vest Sr. moved to the Lewisville area of Forsyth
County, NC and he is on the1797 on tax record in the Yadkin District (then
Capt. Glenn’s District). Charles Vest
Jr. does show with Samuel Vest Sr. on tax records and on deeds.
|
|
1790 Stokes |
1800 Stokes |
1810 Stokes |
1820 Washington Co., |
1830 Washington Co., |
1840 Washington Co., |
Name |
|
|
m +16 |
m 26-45 |
m 45+ |
m 45+ |
m 70-80 |
m 80-90 [3] |
Samuel Vest, Sr. b. 1760 |
|
|
f |
f 26-45 |
f 45+ |
f 45+ |
f 60-70 |
f 70-80 |
Mary Cannifax Vest [4] b.
ca 1765 |
|
1. |
m -16 |
m 16-26 |
m 16-26 |
|
|
|
Charles Vest b. 1783 Married Catherine Vogler on 7 Sept 1809 in Stokes
Co., NC. [5] |
|
2. |
m -16 |
m 10-16 |
m 16-26 |
|
|
|
Obediah Vest b. ca 1785 Married Rachel McKnight on 7 Sept 1809 in Stokes
Co., NC [6] |
|
3. |
f |
f 10-16 |
f 26-45 |
|
|
|
Annie “Chaney/Janey” Vest b. 1786 Married Leonard Conrad on 25 Apr 1807 in Stokes Co.,
NC. [7] |
|
4. |
f |
f 0-10 |
f 16-26 |
f 16-26 |
|
|
Susan or “Susy” Vest b.ca 1788. Married David Hier
on 5 Jan 1817 in Stokes Co., NC. [8] |
|
5. |
|
m 0-10 |
m 10-16 |
m 16-26 |
|
|
Moses Vest b.ca 1791 [9] |
|
6. |
|
m 0-10 |
Can not find
on a census |
m 26-45 |
|
|
John Johnson Vest b. ca. 1794 [10] |
|
7. |
|
f 0-10 |
f 10-16 |
f 26-45 |
|
|
Sarah “Sally’’ Vest b. ca 1796. Sally married Nathan
Padgett on 1 Sept 1814 in Stokes Co., NC. [11] |
|
8. |
|
f 0-10 |
f 10-16 |
f 16-26 |
f 20-30 |
|
Unidentified Female b. ca 1798 |
|
9. |
|
|
m 0-10 |
m 10-16 |
m 20-30 |
m 30-40 |
Samuel Vest, Jr., b. ca 1800 [12] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
f 0-5 |
f 10-16 |
May be a
grandchild? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
f 0-5 |
f 10-16 |
May be a
grandchild? |
One of main reasons
that it is known that Charles Vest Jr. is the son of Samuel Vest Sr. are
these three deeds of gifts found in
Stokes Co., NC. :
For 200 acres of land on Lashes Creek in
“This indenture made the third day of
December in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred Between Samuel Vest
of the County of Stokes state of NCarolina of the one part, and Charles
Vest, Obediah Vest & Moses Vest sons of the said Samuel Vest of the
other part Witnesseth, that the said Samuel
Vest as well for the natural Love and affection which he hath and bequeath to
the said Charles Vest Obediah Vest and Moses Vest. . . .includes where
Samuel Vest now lives. “ [13]
For
the personal belongings of Samuel Vest:
“This indenture made this 30th
day of Novb. 1805, between Samuel Vest of the County of Stokes and State of
NCarolina of the one part, And Charles Vest, Obediah Vest, & Moses Vest
sons of the said Samuel Vest of the other part Witnesseth, that the
said Samuel Vest, as will and for in consideration, of the natural love and
affection Which he hath & bequeath to the said Charles, Obediah & Moses
Vest his sons, . . . . . . “ [14]
For the same 200 acres of land on Lashes
Creek in
“To all people to Whom these presents
shall come, I Samuel Vest of Stokes County & State of NCarolina send
Greeting, Know ye that I the said
Samuel Vest for and inconsideration of
the Natural Love and affection which I have and bear to my beloved sons
Charles Vest Obediah Vest
& Moses Vest, and for divers other Good causes & considerations. .
. . . “ [15]
Samuel Sr. was trying
to save his land and belongings by giving the land and belongings to his
sons. Samuel did not pay court costs and
fines [16]
that he should have paid according to the deed when the sheriff auctioned Samuel
Sr.’s 200 acres of land on Lashes Creek in the
Samuel Vest served in
the American Revolution in NC. Samuel is noted as serving in the American
Revolution according the 1840 Washington Co., Ind. Federal Census. (See figure
one)
Figure 1 – Samuel Vest shows as age 81 on
the
in the American Revolution. Samuel filed for his pension in
Figure 2 – Marriage bond in Stokes Co.,
NC for Charles Vest Jr. and Catherine Vogler dated 7 Sept 1809.
Obediah Vest the bondsman for his
brother, Charles Vest Jr. [19]
Figure 3 -Stokes Co., NC Marriage bond of
Obediah Vest and Rachel McKnight dated 7 Sept 1809.
Charles Vest is the bondsman for his
brother, Obediah Vest’s marriage bond. [20]
Figure 4 - Stokes Co., NC marriage bond
of Leonard Conrad and Janey West [Vest].
Obediah Broomfield is the bondman for
this marriage bond. Obediah Broomfield also lives in
Photo
taken by Sally Jones
Figure 5 - Chanay Conrad is buried in
the Sharon UMC cemetery in
She was born 3 Feb 1786 and died 5 Jun
1822 in Stokes Co., NC
Photo
taken by Sally Jones
Figure 6 – Leonard Conrad is also buried
in the Sharon UMC cemetery in
He was born 21 Feb 1787 and died 12 Sept
1865 in Forsyth Co., NC.
Photo
taken by Sally Jones
Figure 7 – Cemetery at Sharon UMC. The
picture shows “Janey/Chanay” Vest Conrad is buried in a row of Vest graves.
“Janey/Chanay’s” Conrad’s, husband Leonard Conrad, is buried under the tree in
the top center of the photo.
Figure 8 – Stokes Marriage bond of Susy
Vest and David Hier dated 5th Jan 1817. Leonard Conrad, brother in
law to Susy Vest, is the bondsman on this bond. [22]
Figure 9 - Stokes Marriage Bond between
Nathan Padgett and Sally Vest dated 1 Sept 1814
with Jno. Alford as bondsman. John Alford also lives in the
Figure 10 – The 1840 Washington Co.,
Samuel Vest Jr. next to each other. It
is now the 19th century and seeing a father and
son listed as Sr. and Jr. is more commonly seen. [24]
Figure 11 – Map by Judy S. Cardwell
showing Samuel Vest’s property in relation to his neighbors. The pale gray on
the right side of the map is the Moravian Tract. Samuel Vest is #12a1, 200 acres on 7 Mar
1799.
Continuing to study
Samuel Vest’s land in
On 7 Mar 1799,
Michael and Peter Hauser sold 200 acres on Lashes Creek, part of the John
Hauser original 600 acre NC Land Grant dated 3 Apr 1780, to Samuel Vest for the
sum of 5 shillings. The witnesses were Isham Vest and William Vest, brothers of
Samuel Vest Sr. and Charles Vest Sr. [25]
On 5 May 1799, Samuel
Vest sold the 200 acres on Lashes Creek to George Hauser for 250 pounds. The
witness was Peter Hauser. [26]
Apparently, Samuel is having some financial problems and needed the money,
probably from his trespassing charge that is mentioned in court records several
times. Trespassing is defined, according to the genealogy dictionary, as “to cross land or enter a house of another
person etc without their permission”, pretty much what it means today.
This could have come
as a result of Samuel Vest being a constable in Stokes Co., NC.[27]
Then on 3 Jan 1803,
George Hauser sold 200 acres on Lashes Creek to Samuel Vest for 250 pounds. The
witness was John Henry Hauser and the deed was proved in Mar 1803. [28]
Again it is the same tract of land on Lashes Creek.
Time finally caught
up with Samuel Vest and on 10 Mar 1812, Sheriff George Cloud auctioned Samuel
Vest’s land. According to the deed, it was an execution against Isham Vest and
Samuel Vest for the sum of 33 pounds, twelve shillings and ten pence. On the 14th
day of Sept.1810, Christian Lash became the last and highest bidder at 20
pounds for 200 acres on Lashes Creek. This deed was proven in Jun 1812 in open
court. [29]
Figure 12 – Map by Judy S. Cardwell
shows the breakdown of the 200 acres on Lashes Creek sold by Christian Lash to
the Samuel Vest Sr. family. Samuel Vest is plot #12a1a, Charles Vest is plot
#12a1b and Obediah Vest is plot #12a1c.
On the maps included
in this article it should be noted that I am plotting land from the 18th
and 19th century, so they are not totally accurate on a modern day
map. Land changes rapidly and as do the waterways. With all the new developing
in
On 11 May 1812,
Christian Lash sold to Samuel Vest Sr., 100 acres of the 200 acre lot on Lashes
Creek for the sum of $90.00. This land adjoins Samuel’s sons Obediah Vest and
Charles Vest Jr. [30]
On 18 Apr 1812,
Christian Lash sold to Charles Vest Jr. 50 acres of the 200 acre lot on Lashes
Creek for the sum of $45.00. This land is located south of Obediah Vest’s tract
and to the left of Samuel Vest’s tract of land. [31]
I have not located
the deed for the 50 acre tract of land that Obediah Vest has the top of this
tract of the 200 acres on Lashes Creek. But I did find a deed dated 1821, see
below. Obediah Vest moved to Lawrence Co.,
On 15 Oct 1816,
Samuel Vest sold to Obediah Vest his 100 acre tract of land on Lashes Creek for
$800.00, prior to Samuel’s move to Washington Co.,
11 Nov 1821, Obediah
Vest sold to John Stoltz, 150 acres on Lashes Branch for $1,500.00. This deed
was also proved in Dec. 1845.[34] This land is adjacent to Charles Vest Jr.
Then, Obediah moved to Lawrence Co.,
I know from the
Stokes Co., NC tax records, in 1809 in the Yadkin Tax District, Samuel Vest
paid on 100 acres of land, Charles Vest Jr. paid on 50 acres of land and
Obediah Vest paid on 50 acres of land. [35]
All of Samuel Vest
Sr.’s children, except for Charles Vest Jr., left NC and moved to
Figure 13 – Map by Judy S. Cardwell of
Obediah‘s land sold to John Stoltz. That plot is #12a1ac.
Charles Vest Jr. still has his plot of
50 acres, #12a1b.
Conclusions:
This article was to
help explain that Charles Vest Jr. in not the son of Charles Vest Sr, but the
son of Samuel Vest Sr. Charles Vest Jr. stayed in the Lewisville area until his
death on 10 Aug 1860 in Forsyth Co., NC. Charles Vest Jr. was born on 19 Nov
1783 in Surry Co., NC. Charles Vest and his wife, Catherine Vogler Vest are
both buried in the Sharon UMC cemetery. At his death, Charles Vest Jr. owned
220 acres more or less. This land was divided among his children or the
descendants of his children. Many of Charles Vest Jr.’s descendants still live in