The Daily Dispatch, January 02, 1880, Richmond, Virginia - Marriages and Deaths

The Daily Dispatch, January 02, 1880

Richmond, Virginia; p. 2, col. 4

MARRIAGES.

"Married, December 23, 1879, in this city, at the residence of the bride, by Rev. J. R. Garlick, JAMES R. BLUNT and Miss MATTIE W. JONES; all of Richmond, Va.

Married, December 17, 1879, at "Irine." Caroline county, Va., the residence of the bride's parents, by Rev. O. F. Flippo, WILLIAM C. WILSON, of Richmond, Va., to F. LESLIE, daughter of Dr. Joseph A. Flippo.  No cards.

DEATHS.

Died, yesterday morning at 7 o'clock, EDWIN BURTON, youngest son of the late Coldomier Burton, in the seventh year of his age.  The funeral will take place TO-DAY (Friday) at 11 o'clock at Shockoe-Hill Cemetery.  Friends of the family are invited.

Died, December 31, 1879, at 11:20 o'clock P.M., at the residence of her husband, Lindon, Hanover county, Va. Mrs. VIRGINIA LIPSCOMB. in her sixty-ninth year.  

Her burial will take place TO-DAY, January 2d, at her husband's residence.  

Besides the indescribable grief to her immediate relatives, the death of this noble lady will bring sadness to many hoes in which her bounteous charity has dispelled the dark gloom of poverty and distress; to many a heart that has been healed by the balm of her sympathy; to a vast number to whom her abounding love and wise counsel were health in sickness, light in darkness, fortitude in pain, solid comfort in bitter adversity.  To alleviate human suffering seemed to be Mrs. LIPSCOMB's chosen mission and intense delight.  At home she was an amiable wife and devoted mother.  The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit was the attraction which monopolized the admiration of strangers, and cemented the hearts of her loved ones so softly and firmly as that the dread secrets of the tomb and the withering torch of grief can never break asunder nor crumble away.

'Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord.  They do rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.'"

The Daily Dispatch, January 01, 1880, Richmond, Virginia - Marriages and Deaths

The Daily Dispatch, January 01, 1880

Richmond, Virginia; p. 4, col. 3

MARRIAGES.

"Married, December 30, 1879, at the residence of Thomas W. McCance, Esq., by the Rev. J. E. Edwards, assisted by the Rev. Charles Minnigerode, T. W. McCANCE, Jr., and Miss Emma Gill; all of Richmond, Va.

Married, December 17, 1879, at "Frine."  Caroline county, Va., the residence of the bride's parents, by Rev. O. F. Flippo, WILLIAM C. WILSON, of Richmond, Va., to F. LESLIE, daughter of Dr. Joseph A. Flippo.  No cards.

Married, by the Rev. J. G. Armstrong, on the 32st December, 1879.  Mr. ISAIAH MYERS, of New York, to Miss SALLIE H. SMYTH, of Richmond.  No cards."

DEATHS.

Died, suddenly, December 30th, BENJAMIN DAVIS, in the seventieth year of his life.  The funeral will take place THURSDAY, January 1, 1880, at 12 o'clock M., from his late residence.  No 719 east Grace street.  His friends and those of his son-in law, A. Pizzini, Jr., are invited to attend without further notice."

Reader-suggested sites

Not a huge response but here are some of the Virginia-related genealogy sites that readers wrote in and suggested:

• The Olden Times - "Has a lot of free stuff sandwiched between ads & sponsor links for books.  May get a video, but you can scroll right down past it.  Key to finding stuff is to scroll all the way down each page so you don't miss some great stuff.  There is an Old Virginia Archives that has about sixty pages or so.  I perused 1st 5 so far.  The earliest page I saw was 1846.  Pages appear to be by year but not in succession order.  There are newspaper snipet articles...this site has a search tab..."  Joan B.
• Central Rappahannock Heritage Center - "One of my favorite sites is the Central Rappahannock Heritage Center's site...Lots of Caroline County information there..."  Steve C.  [I checked this one out and it looks very promising!]

Lost Records Localities: Counties and Cities with Missing Records

A distant cousin of mine, Gail Vass, pointed out a resource that I had never seen before. It is called the Lost Records Localities Database and it is housed at the Libray of Virginia. Per their description...

"This database consists of entries for a wide variety of court records found as part of chancery and other locality records-processing projects. The entries are for surviving records from localities, most of whose records are no longer extant. The original record is photocopied. The copies are filed together in an artificial collection—the Lost Records Localities Collection—and are readily accessed through the manuscript room at the Library of Virginia. Please check periodically as this is an ongoing project."

In short, any record that they find from a "burned" county gets added to this collection. For example, say someone bought land in Hanover County and later sold it to someone in Mecklenburg County. The purchaser in Mecklenburg may have been involved in a court case where the Hanover deed was presented and copied. That copy still exists and is therefore added to the Lost Records database. It is search-able online but the actual records have to be viewed at the Library.

In case your were wondering, the burned counties in question are:

• Albemarle
  
• Appomattox
• Buckingham
• Caroline
• Charles City
• Culpeper
  
• Dinwiddie
• Elizabeth City
• Gloucester
• Hanover
• Henrico
• Henrico / City of Richmond
• James City County / Williamsburg
• King and Queen
• King George
  
• King William
• Mathews
• Nansemond
• New Kent
• Nottoway
• Prince George
• Prince William
• Richmond City
  
• Richmond County
• Rockingham
  
• Stafford
• Warwick
  

For example, I checked for Brock documents in Hanover County and found the following:

Locality	Names	Record Type	Dates
Hanover County	King, Mary, etc. to John P. Brock	Deed	1799
Hanover County	Priddy, Robert and wife Nancy to John C. Brock	Deed	1823

I am very interested in the King-Brock deed as John P. Brock is my ancestor and his wife was rumored to be a King. This might be the proof that I need to make that connection. I plan on making a trip to the archives tomorrow so I will look up the actual document and let you know what I learn about the collection.

You can check out the online database here: Lost Records Localities Database

Book Review: "Caroline County Virginia Court Records, 1742-1833 & Marriages 1782-1810" with Last Name Index A-Z

The following is a summary of the last name index of "Caroline County Virginia Court Records, 1742-1833 & Marriages 1782-1810", transcribed & edited by William Lindsay Hopkins,1987, reprinted 1995, 8x10, 197 pages with index, perfect-bound, paperback, printed on acid-free stock by New Papyrus Publishing of Athens, Georgia. Caroline County was established in 1728 from portions of Essex, King and Queen and King William Counties and suffered major losses of its records over time so this book is a valuable resource. It contains many chancery suits, court records and papers, legislative petitions, appeals and land causes, wills, historical papers, criminal suits, estate papers, guardian papers and marriages.

If you would like to purchase a copy, you can click here to get it at Amazon:

Caroline County, Virginia court records 1742-1883 and marriages 1787-1810

Here are two sample entries from the book:

• "Suit of Churchill Blakey administrator of his wife, Ann Blackey, decd., who was Ann Chowning a daughter of William Chowning, decd., John Chowning and Catherine Chowning his wife another daughter of William Chowning, decd., and William T. Yerby, executor of Lucy Street, decd., who was another daughter of William Chowning, decd., in chancery court in Williamsburg in 1809 against William Newby and Pritchard Newby, administrators of Oswald Newby, decd. 12 May 1811"
• "Graves, Benjamin and Sarah Martin, daughter of John Martin, 24 Jan 1804. Sec. and Wit: William Guy Sears. Pt. 1, p. 7"
  

The following is a list of names made from an index at the end of the book:

Abbott Abraham Abrahams Acre Adams Adcock Aimes Alcock Alexander Allen Allport Almond Alsoop Alsop Ames Amiss Amos Ancarrow Anderson Andrews Apperson Archer Armatt Armistead Armstrong Armistead Asker Atkins Atkinson Atkinston Austin Auston Ayers Ayres Aytette Baber Badgar Bagby Baggott Bagot Bailey Baily Baker Baley Baliey Ball Ballard Bankhead Banks Barbee Barbour Barby Barker Barlow Barnes Barnett Barnett Barret Barrett Bartin Bassett Bastian Bates Battaile Battalie Baughan Bautes Baxter Bayler Baylor Baynham Beacham Beale Beazley Beck Beckham Beckwith Bell Bench Bendal Bendall Benness Berkley Bernard Berriman Berry Berryman Bertier Beverely Beverley Bibb Bill Bird Blackburb Blackburn Blackey Blackston Blackwell Blake Blakey Blanton Bloxton Blunt Boggs Bogle Bohannon Boler Boleware Bolin Botware Bonds Booker Booten Booth Bosher Bosley Bostey Boulawre Boulware Bourn Bourne Bousher Boutwell Bowcock Bowen Bowers Bowie Bowlar Bowler Bowles Braddus Bradford Bradley Brame Bramham Branan Brand Branghile Branham Bransam Branscome Bransom Bransome Bransum Braoddus Braxton Bream Breedlove Bridgeford Bridger Bridges Briggs Broaddus Broadie Broadnax Broadus Brock Briokenbrough Broks Bromfield Bromley Brook Brooke Brookes Brooking Brooks Brown Browne Bruce Brumley Brumskill Bryant Buchannon Buckanan Bucker Buckhannon Buckner Bullard Bullock Bumpass Burch Burchell Burk Burke Burnett Burnley Burriss Burroughes Burrus Burruss Burton Burwell Bush Butler Buynnam Caffrey Calhoun Callis Calliss Cammack Camp Campbell Cannaday Cannon Care Carlton Carmichael Carnal Carnall Carnel Carnmack Carnnock Carpenter Carr Carrick Carrington Carter Carton Cary Cash Catlett Catling Chadwell Chamberlayne Champe Chandider Chandler Chapman Charlton Chash Cheadle Chesault Chenalt Chenault Cheny Chevis Chew Chewning Chick Chiles Chivis Chloon Chowning Christian Churchill Ciff Cissel Claiborne Clank Clare Clark Clarke Clator Clatterbuck Clayton Claytor Clear Cleer Cleere Cleft Clere Clift Clough Coarts Coats Cobb Cobbs Cocks Cockrell Cocks Cogbill Coghill Cogwill Coke Colburt Cole Coleburn Colemam Coleman Collier Collinc Collins Colquhoun Colston Commock Conduit Conner Connor Connors Conquest Conway Conyers Cook Cooper Copeland Corbin Corr Cosby Coventon Covington Cox Crank Crarnall Crawford Crease Credle Creedie Creighton Crenshaw Crew Crieghton Crittended Crittenden Cross Crossley Crouch Croucher Crow Crowchin Crutcher Crutchfield Cunningham Curtis Custis Dabney Daingerfield Dalgame Dalgan Dalton Dandridge Dangerfield Daniel Danner Danniel Dannile Daoggett Darby Darnabay Darnaby Davenport Davey Davis Davy Day Dean Deavenport Defoe Dejarnett Dejarnette Demure Deshazo Deshazor Deval Devenport Dew Dewner Dialake Dick Dicken Dickensen Dickenson Dickerson Dickeson Dickins Dickinson Dickson Digges Dillard Dingle Dishman Dismickos Dismikes Dismukes Dixon Dod Dodd Dogel Dogget Doggett Doles Donahoe Donaphan Eonelly Doniphan Doniphan Donohoe Doswell Douglas Douglass Dowles Downen Downer Downing Doyle Drake Driver Drummond Drury Dudley Duerson Dueson Dugand Duke Duling Duncan Dunlop Dunn Dunston Durett Durrett Duval Duvalls Dye Eyer Earnest Eastin Edbank Eddleton Ederington Edge Edmunds Edmundson Edward Edwards Elgin Elington Elkin Elkins Ellerson Elliot Elliott Ellis Emmerson Ennis Estes Estis Eubank Evans Faber Fagg Fale Fant Farish Farley Farmer Farrell Faulkner Favor Favoure Fawcett Fennell Ferrell Field Fields Filander Fisher Fitzgerald Fitzhugh Flagg Fleet Fletcher Flippo Flood Floretta Floyd Foot Forbes Foreacres Forston Fortson Fortun Fortune Foster Fourshee Fowler Fox Francis Frank Frazer Freeman French Frensley Freshy Frippo Froner Frost Fry Fulcher Fuller Fullerton Fulshire Fulton Gadberry Gaines Gains Gale Galvan Gannt Gardner Garland Garnete Garnett Garret Garrett Garrick Gary Gatchell Gatewood Gatewwod Gatewwood Gaunt Gayle George Gervis Gibson Gilchrist Gillis Gillmore Gimbo Giulmore Glanton Glassell Gleason Gleeson Glover Goen Goin Going Goldman Goldsby Gooch Goodall Goode Goodloe Goodrih Goodright Goodwin Gordon Gouge Goulden Gouldin Goulding Gouldman Govan Grafton Graham Granham Grant Gravatt Graves Gray Green Gregor Gregory Griffin Grimes Grinnan Grubbs Grymes Guillintine Guines Guirey Gunnell Gutherie Guthrie Guy Gwathmey Gymymes Hackett Hackney Haden Haggard Haile Hailey Hale Haley Hall Hallam Halley Halsop Hamilton Hampton Hansbrough Hardin Harding Hargrave Hargrove Harnal Harney Harris Harrison Harrow Harris Hart Hartgrave Harvey Harwood Haskins Haslep Hatton Hawes Hawkins Haws Hay Haynes Hayns Hazen Healey Helms Henderson Henedge Henley Henseley Henshaw Herd Herndon Heslop Hewes Hewlett Hibbert Hickman Hickmond Hicks Higgin Hildrup Hill Hilldrup Hillyard Hinchman Hipkins Hoard Hodges Hogan Holdfast Holladay Holloway Holly Holmes Holt Hoomes Hooper Hope Hopkins Hord Horn Horner Hoskins Houston Howard Howel Howle Hubbard Hudgen Hudgin Hudgins Hudson Hughes Hulett Hume Humes Humphrey Hundley Hunter Hurd Hurt Husten Hutchenson Hutcherson Hutcheson Hutchinson Hutcon Hutson Ingram Ingrinn Innis Ireland Irion Isbel Isbell Jackson Jacob Jacobs Jamerson James Jameson Jarrell Jefferies Jennings Jerdone Jerrell Jesse Jeter Johnes Johnson Johnston Jones Jordan Jordon Jourdan Joyce Julian Kannon Kay Kee Keeble Keesee Keeton Keeze Kelley Kelly Kelson Kemp Kenner Kenyon Kidd King Kirtley Knete Knise Lackey Lacy Lafon Lafond Lafong Lambeth Lamont Landeris Landrum Lang Lark Laughlin Laurence Lawless Lawrence Lawry Lawson Layne Leckie Ledwidge Lee Lefoe Leigh Lendrum Letuz Levert Lewis Leyas Lightfoot Lilley Lilly Linch Lindsay Line Lipscomb Littlepage Livingston Lloyd Lomar Lomax Long Longest Lorman Louis Loury Lovel Lovell Lovern Lovin Loving Lovorn Lovoron Lowry Lucas Luck Lumpkin Lumpkins Lungston Lunsford Lurles Lutuz Lynch Lyndsay Lyon Lyons Mcarthur Mcausland Mccall Mccallister Mccandish Mccarthy Mccarty Mcclannahan Mcconll Mcdaniel Mcdonald Mcdowell Mcfarland Mcgehee Mcghee Mcgrath Mcgraw Mcintire Mckee Mckenny Mclaughlin Mcpherson Mcwillliams Macfarlane Machgehee Mackee Macon Madison Magrah Magruder Maham Mahon Malone Mann Marable Marr Marriner Marshall Martin Mason Massey Massie Masterson Matheson Matthews Maudin Maulden Mauldin Maulding Maury Mayfield Maylane Mayo Meacham Meadow Meause Meaux Melone Meone Mercer Meriott Merreman Merrett Merrill Merrinen Merriner Merrit Merriwether Merry Merryman Mews Michael Micou Middlebrook Milk Miller Mills Minor Mitchel Mitchell Molen Molin Molineaux Molth Moncure Monday Monroe Montague Moody Moor Moore Mooring Moorman Moren Morey Morgan Morrow Morton Mosby Moss Motley Moulding Moulson Mourning Mulhollin Mulinburg Mullen Mullencan Mullin Mullins Mullinsax Muncaster Munday Mundle Munford Murdock Murphy Murrah Murray Murrow Murry Muse Mustin Napier Nater Neale Nelb Nelson New Newby Newman Newton Nicholas Nicholson Nobb Noden Noel Noell Nokes Noot Norment Norris Northrop Northrup Northup Norton Nott Nutgrass O'Neal Oldham Oliphant Oliver Oneal Orr Owens Page Pagett Paine Pair Pare Parish Parke Parker Parkes Parnard Parr Parrott Parsons Partelow Partlow Pasco Patterson Pattey Pattie Patton Payne Peake Pearson Peatross Peirce Pemberton Pemebeton Pendleton Penny Pentvin Perkins Perks Perry Petereman Peterman Pettis Pettite Pettus Peyton Philippo Philips Phillips Picardati Piccadat Pickele Pickett Pickington Picklel Pickles Pierce Pilcher Pilkerton Pitt Pittman Pitts Poe Polk Pollard Pollet Pollett Poltney Pope Portch Porter Porterfield Post Powell Powers Prager Pratt Prewet Price Priddie Pritchard Proper Prosper Pruett Pruit Prunty Pugh Pullar Pullen Puller Purkes Purks Quarles Quincey Quisenberry Quisenbery Radford Ragan Ragans Ragsdaleraines Rains Rallins Ramsey Randolph Ranes Rawlings Rawlins Ray Readick Red Redd Reddick Reddish Reddisk Reddock Redford Redock Reeve Reid Reins ennolds Reynolds Rice Richards Richardson Richerson Richeson Rickie Riddle Riding Ridle Riggin Ritchie Rives Roane Robb Roberson Robert Roberts Robertson Robins Robinson Roffe Rogers Roland Rolands Rollins Rootes Rose Ross Rotherick Rotherinck Rothrick Rothrock Rougee Rouse Row Rowe Rows Rowyer Rowzee Roy Royston Rozel Ruffin Runday Russel Russell Rutherford Ryland Sacra Sacrae Sacre Sacry Sale Sallinger Salughter Sampson Samuel Samuels Sanders Sanson Satterwhite Saunders Saunderson Scandland Scantland Schooler Schools Scinn Scott Scranage Scrannage Scrimshaw Seysel Seal Sears Seaton Seay Seddong Sedwick See Segar Seizer Seizor Self Semmes Semple Shackleford Shaddock Shadock Sharp Shaw Shepherd Sheppard Sherley Sherrard Shewsbury Shields Ship Shirley Shop Simmons Simons Simpson Sirls Sissel Sissele Sizer Skeetright Skelton Skinker Skinner Slaughter Sledd Smart Smelter Smith Smithers Smithey Smock Snead Sneed Snyder Sommerson Sorill Sorrel Sorrell Sorril Sorrill Southerland Southword Southworth Spencer Spindle Spotswood Spratt St.John Stanard Stand Standard Standley Stanley Starke Steagall Steele Stephens Stern Sterne Stevens Stevenson Stewart Sthreshley Stiff Stiglar Still Stockton Stokes Stone Stonefield Street Streshey Streshley Strother Stuart Stubblefled Stubblefield Stubbs Subtle Sullenger Sullivan Summerson Sutton Swan Swann Swingston Swinton Syms Tabb Tabor Talbert Talbot Taliferro Talley Tamplin Tankersley Tankersly Tarlton Tarrant Tarrent Tate Taylor Teller Temple Tenant Tennant Tennent Terrell Terrill Terry Thacker Thillmn Thilman Thomas8 Thomley Thompkins Thompson Thomson Thornley Thornton Thorpe Throckmorton Thurston Thwortes Tiffany Tignor Tiller Timberlake Tinsbloom Tinsley Tisdale Tod Todd Toler Tomas Tombs Tompkins Toombs Tooms Towles Townsend Trainham Trainum Tranham Trevelian Trevillian Tribble Trible Trigg Triplett Trouk True Trueman Tryee Tuck Tucker Tuning Tunsley Tunstal Tunstall Tupman Turberville Turner Turning Turpin Tutt Tyler Tyre Tyree Umbrickhouse Underwoiod Upshaw Usher Valentine Vass Vaughan Vawter Venable Vest Vidal Vowles Waddle Wade Walden Wales Walker Waller Walsh Warden Ware Wariing Warren Washington Waters Watkins Watts Waugh Waytt Weatherford Weathers Webb Webster Welch Wellford Wellford Welsh West Wharton White Whiting Whitlock Whittecoe Whittico Whitton Wiatt Wickham Wigglesworth Wild Wiley Willard Williams Williamson Willis Willmore Wilson Willy Wilmore Wilson Win Wingfield Winn Winston Wise Wiseger Wiswall Withers Wood Woodfolk Woodford Woodson Woodward Woolfolk Woolford Wormley Wortham Wray Wrenn Wright Wrigth Wrilcherson Wyatt Yancy Yarborough Yarbrough Yates Yaxley Yeatman Yerby Young Zolicoffer

Again, if you would like to purchase a copy, you can click here to get it at Amazon:

Caroline County, Virginia court records 1742-1883 and marriages 1787-1810

Thomas Marion Golden, Sr of Caroline County d. 1999

Richmond Times-Dispatch, September 24, 1999:
"GOLDEN - Thomas M. Golden Sr., 53, of Ruther Glen, died September 22, 1999. He was the former owner of Golden's Auto Body and Paint in Richmond, a member of the Va. Auto Body Assoc., the NHRA and St. Asaphs Episcopal Church. Survivors include his wife, Mary B. Golden; his mother, Doris Golden of Richmond; four sons, James Edward Golden of Richmond, Robert Mitchell Golden, Ruther Glen, Thomas M. Golden Jr. of Richmond, and Ryan Edward Christian of Ruther Glen; three daughters, Robin G. Manes of Powhatan, Crystal Renee [sic.] Golden of Richmond, and Molly Anne Christian of Ruther Glen; two sisters, Betsy Robertson and Barbara Chewning both of Richmond; a brother, James Michael Golden of Ruther Glen; one granddaughter, Taylor L. Golden. A funeral service will be held Saturday, 11 a.m. in the Chapel of the Storke Funeral Home, Bowling Green. Visitation at the funeral home, Friday 7 to 9 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the Frog Level Rescue Squad."

The following obituary was provided by Storke Funeral Home on a laminated card. I assume it was taken from a local newspaper:

"THOMAS GOLDEN SR. - A funeral for Thomas Marion Golden Sr., 53, of Ruther Glen in Caroline County will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Storke Funeral Home, Bowling Green. The Rev. Mac Marshall will officiate. The body will be cremated after the service. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 tonight at the funeral home. Mr. Golden died at his home Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1999, after a long illness. Born in Richmond, he had retired as owner of Golden's Auto Body and Paint Shop in Richmond. Mr. Golden was a member of the Virginia Auto Body Association, the National Hot Rod Association and St. Asaph's Episcopal Church in Bowling Green. Survivors include his wife, Mary B. Golden; four sons, James E. Golden and Thomas M. Golden, both of Richmond, Robert M. Golden and Ryan E. Christian, both of Ruther Glen; three daughters, Robin G. Manes of Powhatan, Crystal R. [sic.] Golden of Richmond and Molly A. Christian of Ruther Glen; his mother, Doris Golden of Richmond; two sisters, Betsy Robertson and Barbara Chewning, both of Richmond; a brother, James M. Golden of Ruther Glen; and one granddaughter. The family requests that expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to Frog Level Rescue Squad, 29415 Richmond Turnpike, Ruther Glen, Va. 22546."

Joseph A. Vass & Almeta R. Wyatt Vass of Hanover & Richmond

Joseph A. Vass was the son of Henry Vass and Lucy Jackson Hailey[1]. He was born on 06 Jan 1845 in Caroline, Virginia, USA [1, 2]. He died on 08 Jan 1888 [2]. Burial in Ashland, Hanover, Virginia, USA (Woodland Cemetery) [2].

Joseph was the youngest of his siblings. He was born in Caroline County but spent a lot of his youth in Hanover. It does not appear that Joseph had any formal education. His father died while Joseph was a teenager and Joseph's older brother, James Philip Vass, stepped up as a father figure. These Vass brothers took up farming and rented land near Beaver Dam for several years, for the sole purpose of raising crops for profit. Joseph served as their overseer while James was the main farmer.

During the Civil War, Joseph enlisted as a private in Co. E, 15th Virginia Infantry, known as the "Ashland Grays." He immediately took sick and spent time at Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond. He suffered from catarrh, an oral discharge caused by inflammation of the mucus membranes, likely brought on by a cold or other infection. He probably never saw action, went missing during Christmas of 1864, and signed an oath of allegiance to the United States on April 20, 1865.

After his stint in the military, Joseph married Almeta Wyatt. Their ceremony was performed by Rev. Newton Short, a minister of the Disciples of Christ at Slash Church which had an inter-twined relationship with St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church. Joseph was a trustee for St. Paul's in 1873. It took several years for them to have their first child but four were born in all: Florence L. Vass married and divorced Peyton C. Hundley, Alexzenia "Ena" married Charles Williams, Andrew Loving Vass and Josephine "Jossie" T. Vass married James Washington "Wash" Gibbons.

Joseph died in his early forties and is one of the oldest recorded burials in Woodland Cemetery according to its former caretaker, William "Billy" Flowers. Joseph's grave is located in the bottom, right-hand corner of the cemetery, beneath an old tree. His tombstone reads, "None knew him but to love him."

Almeta R. Wyatt was the daughter of Alexander Wyatt and Elizabeth Kidd[1]. She was born on 22 Sep 1858 in Hanover, Virginia, USA [3, 4]. Her death on 01 Mar 1919 in Richmond, Virginia, USA (233 South Laurel Street) [4]. Burial on 04 Mar 1919 in Richmond, Virginia, USA (Riverview Cemetery; plat M, section 88, division 5, grave 1) [4]. Cause of Death was cardiac decompensation, chronic endocarditis; hypertrophic flair [4].

Almeta was born in either King William or, most likely, Hanover County. Her middle name was probably Richardson, after her aunt Almeda Richardson Gwaltney Wyatt. Our Almeta, known as Meta, attended formal school as a child. She married early, possibly as young as 13, and was a widow by the age of thirty 30.

After the death of her husband, Almeta moved her children to Richmond. She settled into a rental home at 233 S. Laurel Street and lived there until her death. The house contained 2,560 square feet, 22 rooms and sat on a .11 acre lot. Her funeral was held at this home after her untimely death at the age of 60.

Almeta wanted to be buried in Ashland with her husband but her children disobeyed her wishes. She was probably a member of Pine Street Baptist Church at the time of her death.

Joseph A. Vass and Almeta R. Wyatt. They were married on 02 Jun 1872 in Hanover, Virginia, USA [1].

Sources:

1. Hanover County, Virginia Marriage Register 1, 1863-1898, Vass-Wyatt entry,1872, p. 30, ln. 22.
2. Woodland Cemetery, Ashland, Hanover County, Virginia, Joseph A. Vass tombstone.
3. Hanover County, Virginia Marriage Register, Vass-Wyatt entry, 1872, ln. 6.
4. Commonwealth of Virginia certificate of death (Bureau of Vital Statistics), Almaita R. Vass, 1919, 455-8667.

Library of Virginia Chancery Records Scanned, More Coming

I found something hot yesterday that I did not know existed. I was almost ashamed when I found it, for the fact that I did not realize it was there all of this time. I consider myself an expert on the holdings of the Library of Virginia, I even volunteered there for almost a year. I just could not believe that I missed their project for scanning chancery court records. These are free, online records for anyone to use. Be warned that the records can be very long, some more than 1,000 pages, and they can get very addictive!

Here is the deal, the Library has scanned several counties and are working on the rest. If you do not know, a chancery cause is basically a court case where there is no clear cut law to decide who is right or wrong in a civil case. All of the evidence is gathered and presented to a judge who rules on that evidence. This can include old wills, deeds, Bible records, letters, anything to help win your case. I will give an example of a chancery cause that I found in my family...

Ann's husband died and she sold twenty acres of their farm to one of their freed slaves. Twenty years later, after Ann's death, one of her children decided that they wanted the twenty acres back but the freed slave had sold the land to a white family ten years ago. They all go to chancery court and the judge rules that Ann had no right to sell the property because 2/3 of it belonged to the heirs of her husband. Furthermore the freed slaves had no right to purchase property so the sale was doubly invalid. The white family had to give the land back to Ann's estate and had no recourse since the original sale was not valid. That is a true chancery cause as no clear-cut law applied to the situation. It took a judge's understanding of the laws to come to a conclusion.

Anyway, the Library of Virginia has already scanned the causes for the following areas:

• Alexandria City
• Caroline County
• Fauquier County
• Hanover County
• King & Queen County
• Lancaster County
• Middlesex County
• New Kent County
• Northampton County
• Prince William County
• Rockbridge County (some)
• Shenandoah County
• Staunton City

These areas are in the process of being scanned at this time:

• Amelia County
• Cumberland County
• Page County
• Rockbridge County (some)

You can check out the records at this link: Library of Virginia Chancery Causes

Henry & Lucy Jackson Hailey Vass of Spotsylvania, Caroline & Hanover

Henry was probably born in Spotsylvania County at the turn of the nineteenth century. He was not well educated and never learned to read or write. He and Lucy were married by pastor John Billingsley of Massaponax Baptist Church, located to the south of Fredericksburg and east of the county courthouse. The church was founded in 1788 and is still active, although in a newer building and location.

During their marriage, Henry and Lucy had at least nine children. They had three daughters; Elizabeth J. Vass, Rachel A. Vass and Mary Frances Vass Taylor. They also had six sons; Benjamin W., John W., Henry Jackson Clay, Thomas Josiah, James Philip and Joseph A. Vass. Several of the boys served during the Civil War and their names appear on the Confederate monument at Hanover Courthouse.

Henry and Lucy purchased a one hundred and fifty acre farm from Thomas and Elizabeth Duerson in November of 1837 for $450. It was located in Spotsylvania, beside the farm of Lucy's father, John Hailey. The Vasses sold the property to Boswell S. Fleming for five hundred dollars in December of 1849, shortly after their move to Caroline County.

Henry and Lucy lived in Caroline, a county adjoining Spotsylvania to its south, for nearly twenty years. Henry and a few slaves farmed their land while he also managed farms for other families in the area. They eventually moved to Ashland of Hanover County where Henry continued to work in farming.

The Vass home in Ashland was located on present-day Maple Street between Route 1 and Ashcake Road, near the modern Ashland Christian Center. The home no longer exists and locals do not know of any family cemetery in the area.

Considering the time of their deaths, it is likely that Henry and Lucy were buried in Woodland Cemetery near Ashland. Early burials of the cemetery were not well documented and there are many unmarked graves. A large number of their descendants are buried in this graveyard, including at least three of their children.

_______________________________

Henry Vass was born between 1798–1799 in Virginia and died after June 1860.

Lucy Jackson Hailey Vass was born between 1804–1805 in Virginia died on June 15, 1878 in Hanover County. She was a member of the Baptist church for more than fifty years.

John Pettis of Spotsylvania County, Virginia Revolutionary War pension

Taken from Revolutionary War pension file:

John Pettis was born about 1754 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He was married to Martha “Patsy” Reynolds by Parson Waugh in the spring of 1782, Port Royal, Caroline County, Virginia. He lived variably between Spotsylvania, Caroline and Orange Counties and died in Spotsylvania on July 1, 1833.

John had a sister named Catherine Pettis, born about 1771, living in Caroline County in October 1841. John and Martha had a son, Spencer Pettis, who served as a Congressman from Missouri and was killed in a duel with Major Thomas Biddle.

Martha was born about 1757 and lived in Spotsylvania County before moving to Orange in April 1840. She apparently never remarried and died after August 1848, probably before 1854. Her father lived in Caroline County during the 1790s and taught school.

John was drafted into the Virginia Militia in 1779 under Captain Philip Johnson. He served in Williamsburg and enlisted in the First Regiment, Virginia Line in 1780, serving under Colonel Samuel Hawes, Captain Francis Cowherd and General Nathanael Greene. John marched through North Carolina, fighting at the battles of Guilford Courthouse and Eutaw Springs. He was discharged in Salisbury, North Carolina in January 1782.

John received a $24 pension during his lifetime and his wife continued to draw it for some time. In the 1830s, she applied for a widow’s pension but had difficulty proving her marriage because Caroline County’s records were lost during a fire. Martha eventually received $73.33 per year, starting shortly before she died.