The Vaulx Family of England, Virginia, and Maryland
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The Vaulx Family of England, Virginia, and Maryland Including a Discussion of Some Members of the Vass Family of Eastern Virginia Michael L. Marshall October 2012 Arms of Vaulx of Cumberland, England CONTENTS VAULX OF ENGLAND............................................................................................................ 4 Origin of Vaulx Line in England .................................................................................................................................... 4 James Vaulx “Medicus” of Wiltshire ............................................................................................................................10 VAULX FAMILY OF VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND ............................................................... 17 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................17 Robert Vaulx, Merchant of London and Virginia.........................................................................................................17 Robert Vaulx of Westmoreland County, Virginia.........................................................................................................23 James and Elisheba Vaulx of York County, Virginia....................................................................................................33 Elisheba Vaulx............................................................................................................................................................42 Issue of James and Elisheba.........................................................................................................................................45 Robert Vaulx .........................................................................................................................................................46 John Vaulx ............................................................................................................................................................48 James Vaulx ..........................................................................................................................................................48 Thomas Vaulx, chirugeon..............................................................................................................................................50 Humphrey Vaulx ...........................................................................................................................................................55 John Vause of Middlesex County, Virginia...................................................................................................................58 NOTES ON THE VASS FAMILY OF ESSEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA...................................... 63 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................63 John Vass family............................................................................................................................................................69 Philip Vincent Vass.....................................................................................................................................................70 John Vass Jr................................................................................................................................................................71 Henry Vass .................................................................................................................................................................74 Reuben Vass ...............................................................................................................................................................75 Ann and Catherine Vass ..............................................................................................................................................77 Vincent Vass Sr. of King and Queen County................................................................................................................79 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................................79 Known Children of Vincent Vass, Sr. ...................................................................................................................87 Sarah Vass.........................................................................................................................................................88 Vincent Vass Jr. .................................................................................................................................................92 Richard Vass......................................................................................................................................................95 Caty Vass...........................................................................................................................................................96 Philip Vass.........................................................................................................................................................96 Boyd Family Excursus .....................................................................................................................................102 Thomas Vass....................................................................................................................................................112 Origin in King and Queen County................................................................................................................112 Reverend Thomas Vass of Granville County, North Carolina .......................................................................118 Edward Voss, alias Vass ..............................................................................................................................................126 Appendix A: Vaulx Records of Bruton Parish Church...............................................................................................144 Appendix B: Inventory of Estate of James Vaulx .......................................................................................................145 2 Foreword One of my ancestors is Rev. Thomas Vass, who was one of the early ministers of Grassy Creek Baptist Church near the town of Oxford, in Granville County, North Carolina. A history of the church written by one of its ministers in the 1800s gives a short biography of Vass. It states he was born about 1738 in King and Queen County, Virginia. Unfortunately, King and Queen is one of those “burned” counties, meaning that courthouse fires have destroyed most of its early records. This makes family research in that county very difficult. Even so, it seems there is circumstantial evidence that Thomas was the son of a Vincent Vass who lived in the 1750s in King and Queen and appears in the vestry re- cords of Stratton Major Parish as a processioner. Thomas also appears in the vestry records in the 1770s as a “lay reader,” indicating he was literate. This Vincent of King and Queen, County, denoted here as Vincent Vass Sr., was probably the son of John Vass of Essex County, Virginia who died there in 1755. He, in turn, was the son of an earlier Vincent Vass who died in Essex in 1727. The name of the Vincent Vass who died in Essex in 1717 appears in several variants in the old re- cords that I have seen, including Vaus and Vause. His given name also appears in some records as “Vinson” instead of Vincent. This given name is somewhat unusual in early Virginia records although examples of its use certainly do exist. There is the habit among colonial Virginians to use the wife’s surname as a given name. Examples include Carter Braxton, Bird Boyd, Beverley Carter, Beverley Bland, and so on. This suggested to me the possibility that Vincent or Vinson could be a family name that became a given name through the marriage of a family named Vincent or Vinson and Vass or one of its variants such as Voss, Vaus, Vause, Vaux and Vaulx, which are all seen in Virginia records. This, in turn, led me to research individuals in early Virginia with those surnames. In doing so, I dis- covered that a number of them are all descendants of a James Vaulx, called “medicus” because he was a physician, who lived in the early 17 th century in Wiltshire, England. He in turn is a descendant of the ancient family of Vaulx or de Vaulx of Cumberland, England, that originated in France and came to England about the time of the Norman invasion. I began this draft hoping that when finished, it would contain all or most of what I found on the Vaulx family of Virginia. However, I did not achieve my aim, so this is all I have for now. Even in- complete, it might be of interest to some who have connections of the families mentioned here. Over the many years that I have conducted research on the lines outlined here, I have received help from many others researchers. Among these, I am especially grateful to Susan Harris, Jim Defigh, Louise Castens, Don Bennett, Gail Banks, and many others. 3 Vaulx of England Origin of Vaulx Line in England Records indicate the first of the Vaulx line in England was Harold, who came about the time of the Norman invasion. 1 He settled in Cumberland, England, near Penrith, in the Parish of Newton-Reigney. Harold had