Nathaniel and Mary Basse - more documents about their lives

Repost about ancestors who were first immigrants to Virginia Colony.

 Mary Jourdan Basse 1592-1630, an immigrant to the American Colonies in 1622, my 9 times great grandmother. I found more articles on line, about both Nathaniel and Mary Basse...so am copying them here. The last photos are the primary documents, while much of the rest is cobbled together from possible documents and stories.

The following was posted about her HERE:

Mary Jourdan was born 1590/1595 in London, England and died 7 Jan 1630 [1] [2]

Married:

1. on 05-21-1613 in in London, England to Captain Nathaniel Basse (1589-1654)

Children of Mary Jourdon and Nathaniel Basse:

1. Humphrey Basse b. 07-15-1615 in London, England
2. Samuel Basse b. 07-15-1615 " " "
3. JOHN BASSE b. 09-07-1616 " " "
4. William Basse b. 12-25-1618 " " "
5. Anthony Basse b. 03-13-1620 " " "
6. Edward Basse b. 05-08-1622 " " "
7. Mary Basse b. 06-16-1623 at Basse's Choice, Va.
8. Genevieve Basse b. 10-09-1624 " " " "
9. Ann Basse b. 10-09-1624 " " "
10. Richard Basse b. 08-27-1625 " " " "
11. Gregory Basse b. 12-10-1628 " " " "
12. George Basse b. 12-11-1628 " " " "

Notes

• Capt. and Mrs. Basse were early Jamestown, Va. settlers. They owned Basse's Choice Plantation near Jamestown where the rest of their children were born. They returned to London, England before their deaths.
• Nathaniel died 03 July 1654, in London, Middlesex, England. His wife Mary died in childbirth with their twelfth son, 17 Jan 1630. 
• Parents: not known. Possibly a daughter of Samuel Jordan (1578-1623) & his unknown 1st wife, but there is no documentation to support this.

Another recent find (but published over 20 years ago) gives this information HERE:

BASSES PLAYED PROMINENT ROLE IN COLONY

VIRGINIA H. ROLLINGS ColumnistDAILY PRESSSept 19, 1992

In 1625, accounts of inhabitants, arms, and provisions at each plantation were required when assets of the Virginia Company were transferred to the king.

The muster at "Basse's Choice" on Pagan Creek in Wariscoyack, now Isle of Wight County, listed Capt. Nathaniel Basse, age 35, who arrived on the ship Furtherance in 1622; William Bernard, 21, who had come with Basse; Edward Wigge, 22, by the Abigail, 1621; Thomas Phillipes, 26, by the William & Thomas, 1618; Elizabeth Phillipes, 23, by the Seaflower, 1621; Thomas Bennett, 38, by the Neptune, 1618; Mary Bennett, 18, by the Southampton, 1622; Roger Heford, 22, by the Return, 1623; Benjamin Simes, 33, Richard Longe, 33, Alice Longe, 23, by the London Merchant, 1620; Robert Longe, born in Virginia.

Living at Basse's Choice after the 1622 Indian attack were: Capt. Nathaniel Basse (who had been in England); Samuel Basse; Benjamin Simes; Thomas Sherwood; Benjamin Handcleare; William Barnard; John Shelley; Nathaniel Moper; Nathaniel Gannon; Margaret Giles; Richard Longe and his wife and infant; Richard Evans; William Newman; John Army; Peter Langden; Henry ---; Andrew Rawley; and Peter ---.

One hundred colonists, many from Barbados, were brought to Isle of Wight by Capt. Basse, Sir Richard Worsley, John Hobson, and Christopher Lawne: "Basse's Choice" was probably awarded in connection with this colonization project.

A puzzling reference to Nathaniel Basse with information about the family of his father, Humphrey Basse, is the deposition recorded on Aug. 30, 1654, at Lord Mayors Court of London, recently published by Peter Wilson Coldham: "Major Edward Basse, citizen and merchant of London aged 60, and Dame Mary Poole (Pole) wife of Sir John Poole of Bromley, Middlesex, age 62, depose that Hester Hobson of Bromley, widow, Abigail Thorpe of Chelsea Hampton, Oxon, widow, and Sarah wife of Thomas Hastler, citizen and barber surgeon of London, are sisters and are daughters of Humphrey Basse of London, Merchant, and Mary his wife, both long since deceased.

The sisters are co-heirs of Luke Basse who died a bachelor and was brother of Nathaniel Basse lately deceased without issue in Virginia.

Thomas Hastler is appointed attorney."

John Basse (born Sept. 7, 1616, died 1699 in Virginia), who married the daughter of Chief Robin in 1638, was one of several sons of Capt. Nathaniel Basse and his wife, Mary Jordan Basse. On Aug. 14, 1638, John Basse married Keziah Tucker, "daughter of Robin the Elder of ye Nansemums kingdom, a baptized Christian ..."

The cherished manuscript labeled, "Booke of John Basse Norfolk County Virginia, 1675," is filled with dates of births, marriages, and deaths, beginning with Humphrey Basse and tracing to the present families in Nansemond (Suffolk) and Norfolk. Jesse Lindsey Bass, 1875-1960, was a chief of the Nansemonds.

His son, Earl L. Bass, for many years a shipyard employee, was chief at age 75, when the assistant chief, Oliver Perry of Virginia Beach, petitioned in 1984 for state recognition of the tribe.

The old farm in Chesapeake, about 65 acres, descended to Earl Bass from Indian ancestors who lived there before the Jamestown settlement.

One John Bass was a headright of Thomas Hampton, who patented 1,000 acres in 1637 on south side of the Nansemond River adjacent to Indian fields on Powells Creek. In 1640, Peter Knight, who had married Genevieve Basse, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary, received 150 acres at Basse's Choice.

Land records name a John Basse who owned land in Warwick County in a patent to Thomas Iken. The 1669 patent was for 135 acres in Mulberry Island Parish with a dwelling formerly owned by William Pierce "at the mouth of a creek which divides this from Baker's neck where the church formerly stood along James River and the great marsh dividing this from Mulberry Island near George Harwood, John Basse, to an old field near the cart path along Brewer's and Paulle's land up Warwick River."

Virginia land grants include numerous headrights (persons whose passage was paid by others) of the Basse name.

**********************************
Another source gives this information Here:

NATHANIEL BASS

Born	baptised 29 Dec 1589 at the Church of St. Gabriel, Fenchurch Street, London, Middlesex, England
Parents	Humphrey Bass and Mary Buschier
Married	21 May 1613, Mary Jordan, London, Middlesex, England
Died	03 July 1654 London, Middlesex, England
Children

1) Humphrey	b. 15 July 1615 d. 22 Mar 1622 Good Friday Indian Massacre at Basse's Choice
TWINS
2) Samuel	b. 15 July 1615 (not in Basse Record Book but in French Huguenot article
3) John	b. 7 Sep 1616 London, Middlesex, England m. 14 Aug 1638 (Keziah) Elizabeth, dau. of Great Petter, King of the Nansemond Indians ch. Nathaniel, Keziah, Elizabeth, Jordan, Samuel, William, Richard, John d. 2 Apr 1699, Norfolk-Nansemond Co., VA more on John Bass
4) William	b. 25 Dec 1618 London, Middlesex, England m. 20 Sep 1641 Sarah Batton d. Norfolk, VA
5) Anthony	b. 13 Mar 1620 London, Middlesex, England Was in Westmoreland Co., Va. 1654, sponsored by Giles Bren
6) Edward	b. 8 May 1622 London, Middlesex, England m. abt.1644 Mary Tucker, Norfolk-Nansemond Co., VA Mary was a Nansemond Indian d. abt.1696 Chowan Co., NC Edward traded with Showanee Indians in Carolinas
7) Anne	b. 9 Oct 1624 m. 11 Jun 1640 Thomas Burwell Jr.
TWINS
8) Genevieve	b. 9 Oct 1624, 10 minutes after Anne London, Middlesex, England m. 11 Jun 1640 Peter Knight
9) Richard	b. 27 Aug 1625 London, Middlesex, England
10) Gregory	b. 10 Dec 1628 London, Middlesex, England came to Virginia 1642, sponsored by Wm. Prior
TWINS
11) George	b. 11 Dec 1628 several hours after Gregory, London, Middlesex, England d. 1681 Norfolk-Nansemond, VA
12) Son	b. 17 Jan 1629/30 - stillborn (Mother Mary Jordan Basse dies)

The first English settlement in the area known by the Indians as Warrosquoake (Isle of Wight Co., Virginia) was made by Captain Christoper Lawne, Sir Richard Worsley, Knight & Baronet, and their associates NATHANIEL BASSE, Gentleman, John Hobson, Gentleman, Anthony Olevan, Richard Wiseman, Robert Newland, Robert Gyner and William Willis. They arrived at Jamestown with one hundred settlers on 27 April 1619 in a ship commanded by Captain Evans. They immediately settled on the south side of the Warrosquoake River (James River) and established the plantation "Warrosquoake", to be known as "Lawne's Creek". When their patent was confirmed it was to become known as the "County of Isle of Wight".

NATHANIEL BASSE and others undertook to establish another plantation in the same neighborhood, to the east, known as "Basse's Choice" situated on the Warrosquoake River (James River) and Pagan Creek. His patent was received 21 Nov 1621 for 300 acres plus 100 acres of marshland. The houses on Captain Basse's plantation were being built when at midday on Good Friday, 22 Mar 1622, the Indians attacked the settlers killing 347 of the 1240 English inhabitants in the 80 settlements on the north and south sides of the river (James). 26 at Isle of Wight were among those killed. The settlers made a valiant defense of themselves with guns, axes, spades and brick-bats. It is thought that Nathaniel and his wife, Mary, were in England at the time, and some of the children were at "Basse's Choice" with a nurse. The story is told that five-year old JOHN was one of the children that escaped and was rescued by some friendly Nansemond Indians! His older brother Humphrey died that day.

A census taken 16 Feb 1623/24 showed a total of 53 persons living at "Worwicke-Squeak" and "Basse's Choice". Nathaniel Basse and Samuell Basse among those listed.

Nathaniel was appointed to the House of Burgesses at the first Legislative Assembly representing Warrosquoake (Isle of Wight) for 1623/24. He was again a member of the House of Burgesses in Oct 1629 and 1631, appointed to Harvey's Council 1631/32 and a member of the Great Council 1631/32. On 6 Mar 1631/32 Nathaniel was commissioned to "trade between 34 and 40 N Latitude, England, Nova Scotia and West Indies to invite inhabitants hither". (If they were tired of cold and damp!) He was also commissioned to trade to the Dutch Plantation and Canada. He was given power of Justice of Peace.
(Virginia Council & General Court Records 1626-1634)

Basse's Choice originally called for 300 acres but it's acreage was closer to 400. Mr. Peter Knight, married to Nathaniel's daughter Genevieve, patented 150 acres of the same in 1640, and 255 acres in 1643. Peter Knight sold the tract to John Bland, an eminent London Merchant.

Nathaniel Basse was buried 3 July 1654 in the Church of St. Alphage, Cripplegate, London. Mary, his wife, had died 17 Jan 1630 with the birth of a stillborn son. After Nathaniel's death in 1654, the General Assembly of Virginia in 1659/60 ordered Mr. Wm. Drummond as agent of the Co-heirs of Nathaniel Basse to pay to Theodorick Bland of Westover, 2500 lbs tobacco in settlement of a suit affecting the land.

*****************************

And Find a Grave has this entry:

Nathaniel Basse was born in December 1589, in London, England, the son of Humphrey Basse and Mary (Buschier) Basse.

He was the brother of: Richard, Humphrey (died young), William, Mary, Hester, Humphrey, Thomas, Samuel, Barnaby, John, Lydia, Abigail, Luke, and Sarah.

Nathaniel married Mary Jordan in 1613, in England. His first trip to the new world was in 1619, arriving at Jamestown. Captain Basse and others established a plantation east of "Lawne's Creek" on the Warrosquoacke River (now known as the James River) and Pagan's Creek, and named it Basse's Choice. "Basse's Choice" is located in Smithfield Virginia.

The houses on Captain Basse's plantation were being built when at midday on Good Friday, 22 Mar 1622, the Indians attacked the settlers killing 347 of the 1240 English inhabitants in the 80 settlements on the north and south sides of the river (James).  

Nathaniel and his wife, Mary, were in England at the time, and some of the children were at "Basse's Choice" with a nurse. Five-year old John was one of the children that escaped and was rescued by some friendly Nansemond Indians. (He eventually married the chief's daughter). His older brother Humphrey (aged 6 years) died that day.  

Nathaniel was commissioned to trade between England and other countries, and to try to "invite inhabitants" to the new world. He served in the House of Burgesses at Jamestown at least twice.

Nathaniel and Mary's children were: Humphrey (1615-1622), Samuel (twin of Humphrey), John (1616-1699), William (1618-1641), Anthony (b1620), Edward (1622-1696), Mary, Genevieve (b1624), Anne (twin to Genevieve), Richard (b1625), Gregory (b1628), George (twin of Gregory).  

While giving birth to a stillborn son in 1630, Mary died, and is buried somewhere in Virginia. 

On one of his many trips back to England, Nathaniel died (in 1654), and was buried in the Church of St Alphage, Cripplegate, London. (The Church and surrounding area were almost totally destroyed during WWII).

********************************

There were photos attached to the Find A Grave article:

Remains of Church of St. Alphage, London, where Nathaniel Basse (and perhaps Mary Jourdan Basse) were buried.

Baptismal record of Nathaniel Base. 25 Dec 1589 Saint Gabriel Fenchurch, London England.

Buried in the church, not the churchyard, Nathaniel Basse July 3, 1655

------------------------------

Reposting from: Sunday, August 18, 2013

The Native connection

The Nansemonds have said that the book which is not considered accurate uses the surname Tucker to refer to the original Indians who married Western European settlers.  They seem to discount that name, and say any time Kesiah Tucker comes up as Elizabeth Bass's name, it stems from the book that isn't accurate.  But that had been her name as daughter of the Chief of the Powhatans.
  
If one book calls her that name, however, it seems to me that it is just like an alias, not to be discounted completely.  I see throughout the family tree, other women named Kesiah, which must be in honor of that matriarch.  So the book could not have been wrong about her having that other (Indian) name.  It probably would not have been acceptable if the family were strict Christians however.

And I haven't yet researched the religious affiliations of my ancestors...if any is known.  Early Virginians belonged to the Church of England, which became the Episcopal Church later in America.  It wasn't until near the Revolutionary War that Baptists petitioned for their own religious freedom. 

The 10,000 name petition (dated 16 October 1776) has been digitized at the Library of Congress website. It was signed by people from all over Virginia who wanted an end to persecution of Baptists by the Established Church. Baptists and Baptist sympathizers alike signed the petition. 

 And there were also Quakers in the Suffolk area as well. 

Incidentally, the wife would be in charge of the household meals, bedding, clothing and child rearing, but at some point the families probably moved out of the houses of the tribe and into cabins like the Europeans had.  I wonder when that happened.  Somehow I think it took several generations.

And especially important to remember about this family, and this tribe, is the persecution from the white culture.  No wonder some of my ancestors moved from VA to NC, GA, AL, and then TX.

Powhatan style home in Williamsburg,VA

http://cova-inc.org/resources/edu_ark_viintro.html
This link is for a resource kit.  Very well done archeological background of Virginia native peoples.

the best research link I’ve found is: 

 https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Nansemond_County,_Virginia

site has lots of original document links.
More History From http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Nansemond_Tribe#start_entry 

Time Line

• December 1608 - Christopher Newport returns to England from Jamestown accompanied by the Indian Machumps. John Smith, meanwhile, attempts to trade for food with Indians from the Nansemonds to the Appamattucks, but on Powhatan's orders they refuse.
• Early September 1609 - John Smith sends Francis West and 120 men to the falls of the James River. George Percy and 60 men attempt to bargain with the Nansemond Indians for an island. Two messengers are killed and the English burn the Nansemonds' town and their crops.
• June 1611 - Sir Thomas Dale leads a hundred armored soldiers against the Nansemond Indians at the mouth of the James River, burning their towns. 
• August 14, 1638 - John Bass, who may be the son of Nathaniel Basse and Mary Jordan Basse, marries Elizabeth, a Nansemond woman who has converted to Christianity. 
• 1792 - The Nansemond tribe sells its last known reservation lands, 300 acres on the Nottoway River in Southampton County.
• 1850 - The Indiana United Methodist Church in Chesapeake is founded as a mission for the Nansemond Indians.
• March 20, 1924 - Virginia passes the Racial Integrity Act, a law aimed at protecting whiteness on the state level. It prohibits interracial marriage, the only exception being a marriage between a white person and a person with one-sixteenth or less Indian blood.
• 1930 - The General Assembly passes a law defining Virginia Indians as those possessing one-quarter or more of Indian blood and less than one-sixteenth of black blood. The law also stipulates that such people will be considered black unless they live on a segregated Indian reservation.
• February 20, 1985 - The Nansemond tribe is formally recognized by the [Virginia] General Assembly in House Joint Resolution 205.
• January, 2018, the legislation will grant federal recognition of the following six Virginia tribes: the Chickahominy, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock, the Monacan, and the Nansemond.
• 
  
  
  
  
  

Mary Burwell Basye/Bass 1665-1722 (7-G)

Mary Burwell Basye/Bass was my seven times great grandmother. She was the second wife of Richard Basye/Bass. His first wife had been named Jane Bryant Basye/Bass. They had had 7 children before she died in 1690.

Richard and Mary Burwell married in August of 1695. They then had 7 more children.  My grandfather Andrew, was their oldest child born to this marriage, though the household had the 7 older children from his first marriage.

Unfortunately, there's no information of Mary Burwell's family.
There is a Burwell family which settled in New England. I have yet to find a family that was in both New England and Virginia in the early colonies.

She has some records saying she was born in 1662. Another one says 1665. I'll take those extra 3 years, because her children were born between 1698 and 1719, when she would have been 54 (even with the 1665 birth for the last son's mom. Not very likely. Let's check to see if he might have been born a bit earlier. No luck there either. So for now I think one or another record is slightly off still.

She died in December of 1722.

The family may have been among the first to settle North Carolina. Some records give the marriage in 1695 as taking place in NC, and that she died there. Another source says they lived, married and died in Nasemond County VA.

Apparently many of the Bass children (of the 14) moved to North Carolina.

Elizabeth Smith Bass 1700-1742 (6G)

My great times six grandmother was born in Craven County NC and died in Wayne County, NC.

There is no clear information about her family of origin.  One tree of the Bass family has a possible pair of parents from Pennsylvania, but I am skeptical about how she would have met her husband, Andrew, in North Carolina.  And another tree says the Smith family came from Virginia.  But they give her birth date as 1699, with her father's birth date as 1690.  Not many 9 year olds have daughters. So I didn't add him to my tree.

So Elizabeth Smith Bass apparently married Andrew Bass in Wayne County, or Craven County NC in 1728. Her actual birth is unknown, but around 1700.  They had only three children according to most records.  And Elizabeth Ann Smith Bass died around 1742...before her husband.

The children were:
Richard Bass 1732-1793
Ann (Anna) Bass Blackledge 1733-1806
Dr. Andrew Bass II 1735-1791

I just found an article written in 1982 about my grandfather (times 5 greats) Richard Bass and brother (my great times 6 uncle) Dr. Andrew Bass II, just a newspaper with a couple of paragraphs about their contributions to the founding of Waynesborough, NC.  I am going to post it tomorrow, as an addendum to their posts that I've already done.

But when looking at Ann (Anna) Bass Blackledge's tree, there was a confusion that could have been avoided on many (maybe 30) trees. She did not suddenly become Tabitha Bass who died in Franklin NC. That Tabitha had a maiden name of Fuller and married a man named Bass.  Our Aunt Anna Bass Blackledge stayed right in Craven County NC.

Andrew Bass 1698-1770 (6G)

My great times six grandfather was born in Norfolk, Independent Cities, Virginia, and immigrated to North Carolina where he died in Craven county, and according to an application for "Sons of the American Revolution" on the Thoroughfare Swamp Plantation.

His birthdate is June 9, 1698. And his death date is supposedly Jan 22, 1770.  I say supposedly because there is a will written in 1770, the microfilm copies are in the NC State archives.  And the last page of these archives has a will dated Nov. 14, 1783.  It is signed Andrew Bass.  But didn't he died in 1770? How can he sign his name 13 years later?

Another dilemma.  And with all the DAR and SAR people who have used his son Richard Bass as their soldier who contributed goods to the Revolutionary War, I would assume someone noticed this page out of the 4 of his will before now.

These two photos show the whole of page 4 of the 4 page document on microfilm.  Pretty damaged, but the handwriting is fortunately still legible over most of the page.

I just saw the list of delegates to the NC Constitutional Convention of Nov- Dec. 1776. Dobbs County has a delegate named Andrew Bass.  It wouldn't be this Andrew, unless he didn't really die until 1783.  But with all those probate documents saying he died in 1770, I guess it might have been his son, Dr. Andrew Bass II.

I am going to be looking at some of the other Ancestry Trees of the Bass Family...and may post some additional information as I come to it.  If I'm gone for a few days, I'll probably be back with some additions to my own trees!

Sarah McKinney Bass 1735-unknown

Two wives named Sarah, first one without a definite family of origin who married Edward Bass...and his mother, wife of Richard Bass, who may have been a McKinne/McKinnie/McKinney.

Sarah Bass, the wife and widow of Edward Bass, apparently was the Sarah Bass who died in 1826...but can I find any information on this Sarah McKinney Bass' death? Not at this point in time. She was Edward Bass' mother (he was born in 1754). Her husband was Richard Bass 1732-1793. They were both born in North Carolina.

But I do note that Sarah McKinney Bass has the McKinney coat of arms flashing on my Ancestry tree. And her mother is listed as Frances Farmer McKinney...could she be related to the Farmers that Edward Bass' wife Sarah is possibly related to?

I don't know.  Sarah McKinney's grandfather was William Farmer of Virginia, born around 1687. There is no known date of his death, nor who his parents were. So another dead-end, or brick wall, as they say.

However, the McKinney family (of Sarah McKinney Bass' father) does go back with that coat of arms to England, perhaps.  But at this stage, we just know her father David McKinney was born in 1710 in North Carolina, and died in North Carolina around 1813.

Now wait a minute.  That's what the tree says, but pause and count it out.  103 years old in 1813? Not likely.   Whoever came up with that birth and death date didn't think very clearly.  There are many probate records in 1813-1817 about his estate, so I'm guessing the death was around 1805-10.

Now let's look at some other Ancestry trees.  Perhaps there were a father and son, both named David McKinney?  The first other tree has David, but no child named Sarah. I keep looking.

Interestingly in those probate documents of David McKinney, I found there was a William, a minor (or under 21 by about 1810), and a sister Mary also deceased. Sarah is not mentioned in any of the probate records following David, her father's death. That seems strange. This minor William could not have been Sarah's mother's child however since her mother, Frances McKinney, was born in 1712.  She would have been around 90 years old by 1800.

So by trying to write up my Bass ancestors, I basically run into many documents at their deaths, where they had land, slaves and a lot of property which was sold, then divided between heirs.  But who these heirs were is another matter completely!

And now my tree has a branch that just doesn't compute.  I don't know the McKinney/McKinne family roots at all.  And a big thing for me to do today...I'm going to walk away.  Maybe next time there will be something that makes sense.

Richard Bass 1732-1793

Richard Bass 1732-1793, my great times five grandfather. He was born in Craven County, NC and died in Wayne County NC. His parents were Andrew Bass 1698-1770 and Elizabeth Smith Bass 1700-1742. (His brother is the Andrew Bass who donated land for the first Wayne County Courthouse.)

He is considered a patriot, as a DAR member had used his name in her application, and a Sons of the American Revolution had the following application approved:

"Application for membership was approved in 1966 for William Yardell Jr, as descendent of Richard Bass.  He cites his Aunt Maggie Mae Wilson McBee who is DAR member #65667, as source of his information...as well as his lineage.
William Yandell was great grandson of Chalres Land (1793-1834) and Sarah Bass (abt 1790 Wayne Co, NC - 1862 Tchula MS),
and great grandson of Andrew Bass (abt 1760 NC - 11.19.1791 Wayne Co, NC) and Christian Scull (11.6.1760 NC - bef 1782 NC)
and great grandson of Richard Bass, (1732 Craven Co, NC - 11.6.1793 Wayne Co, NC) and Sarah (b 1732 - no date of death given)
and great grandson of Andrew Bass Sr. (d. 1770 Craven, NC)
Richard Bass is the patriot named, having become a Patriot by furnishing supplies for the Revolutionary Army."

Richard also is listed under North Carolina Revolutionary War Soldiers as being granted 571 acres.

Richard married Sarah McKinney Bass (1735-unknown death date) in 1760.  She had been born in Craven County, NC, and they lived there until some point when they moved to Wayne County NC ( which could have just been that the county was redistricted!) (Some Ancestry ecords are so confused, they say Craven, Wayne County NC, when Craven is not a town, but another county.) It's possible he was born in Dobbs County.

From Wikipedia regarding Johnston County...

The county was formed in 1746 from Craven County. It was named for Gabriel Johnston, Governor of North Carolina from 1734 to 1752.^[4] In 1752 parts of Johnston County, Bladen County, and Granville County were combined to form Orange County. In 1758 the eastern part of Johnston County became Dobbs County. In 1770 parts of Johnston County, Cumberland County, and Orange County were combined to form Wake County. Finally, in 1855 parts of Johnston County, Edgecombe County, Nash County, and Wayne County were combined to form Wilson County.

Richard had a sister, Anna Bass, 1733-1791, and a brother Dr. Andrew Bass Sr., 1735-1791.

Richard Bass died in Wayne County, NC on Nov 6, 1793.

Incidentally, his brother, Dr. Andrew Bass Jr, was the one noted for having given the property to the county seat of Wayne County NC for the court house in Waynesborough NC.  It is now in Goldsboro, NC...having moved later on in the county's history.  Here's the quote from Wikipedia:

Wayne County was established during the American Revolutionary War on November 2, 1779 from the western part of Dobbs County. It was named for "Mad Anthony" Wayne, a general in the war. The act establishing the County provided that the first court should be held at the home of Josiah Sasser, at which time the justices were to decide on a place for all subsequent courts until a courthouse could be erected. By 1782 the commissioners were named. In 1787 an act was passed establishing Waynesborough on the west side of the Neuse River, on the land of Doctor Andrew Bass. The courthouse was built here.

And then things changed. Note courthouse number one was on the west side of the Neuse River. Both of these sources are from Wikipedia. I wonder exactly which side of the river the Whitfied's put that courthouse...

Around 1787, when Wayne County was formed, a town named Waynesborough grew around the county's courthouse. In 1787, William Whitfield III (son of William Whitfield II) and his son were appointed "Directors and Trustees" for designing and building the town.^[8][9] Located on the east bank of the Neuse River, the town became the county seat. Population growth in Waynesborough continued through the 1830s. However, this changed once the Wilmington and Weldon Railroadwas completed in the early 1840s. By then, a hotel had been built at the intersection of the railroad and New Bern Road, which grew into a community after the train started to transport passengers from there. 

More and more citizens soon relocated from Waynesborough to this growing village, named eventually "Goldsborough's Junction" after Major Matthew T. Goldsborough, an Assistant Chief Engineer with the railroad line. Later this was shortened simply to Goldsborough. In 1847, the town was incorporated and became the new Wayne County seat following a vote of the citizens of Wayne County. Local legend has it the Goldsborough supporters put moonshine in the town's well to encourage people to vote for Goldsborough.

As if anyone would poison their well with moonshine.  Perhaps a few barrels were so spiked, but hardly a well, where stock and children also would have to get their water, and anyone who made moonshine would probably not want to waste it thus! (Besides, moonshine is a product mostly found in the mountainous areas of NC!)

Grandmother without a surname

Sarah Bass, my four times great grandmother, was either a Stevens or a Farmer. There was a document where a Sarah Farmer married an Edward Bass, but I can't locate it now...and several other Ancestry trees say her name was Stevens, but without anything to document it.

The marriage to Edward may have taken place in 1781 or 1800.  Their children's birth dates are all mixed up. At one point it looked as if Sarah had been born in 1766, and had son John in 1775 (age 9).  That is when I started looking on other trees to find possible birthdates that were different for one or the other of them...such that Sarah would have been within the ages of 14-50 for all her children's births.  I actually moved John's birthday from 1775 to 1780, (which were among the choices others had) and his mother Sarah back to 1758 on my tree. A few of the other Bass trees have those dates, but they also don't have anything to prove the dates they are using!

Apparently the frontier of North Carolina in this period didn't include keeping records of birth dates, and only when property was in conflict for surviving children did the death records become part of the court system.  So there are the many probate records for these families.

If Sarah Bass had been a daughter of James W. Farmer 1707-1761, and Mary Farmer 1721-1768, her family had a coat of arms from England coming to Virginia in its earliest settlement days.

I have several Farmer generations on the tree, but since there's nothing to say she really was a Farmer, I'll not look further at this time.  BUT, there is another marriage into the Bass family of a woman named Farmer, so maybe that time there's something to substantiate it.  I'm looking at that soon.

P.S. That other woman from the Farmer family wasn't definite as any relation to this Sarah Bass' family.

Edward Bass 1754-1802

Great times four grandfather, from Johnston and Wayne County, NC.

NOT Edward Bass

This is a typical outfit that a man in 1770 would have worn.  You've probably seen many other costumes which include knee beeches and hose, as leading into the American Revolution.  But when working on his land, I think this would have been more likely.

The family tree has gone into a mess about all the Bass children/uncles/and grandparents.  Edward Bass will be my focus for this post.

Four family trees give his birth dates as 1752, 1754, 1761 or 1762. They do agree he was born in Johnston County, North Carolina. I believe he had 8 siblings, four brothers and four sisters.

He married a woman named Sarah. I saw a document of an Edward Bass marrying Sarah Farmer, but now I can't find it on my Ancestry documents. (Don't you just hate that when you know you saw it, but where is it now?) Anyway, that is all that would have had her be of that family, and my ancestry tree had that just fine until I looked at a bunch of other trees.  They say Sarah was Sarah Stevens.

So I'm glad that I won't be trying to follow her family at this time, either the Farmers or the Stevens.  We do know she was Sarah Bass at the time of her husband's death, 1802 and her own, 1826 because of all the difficulty in settling the estates.

By 1768 this Bass family apparently lived in Wayne County, rather than Johnston County NC.  The records of the births of their children give us that clue...as well as some census reports.  (Of course I'm not absolutely sure when or where some of these children were born.)

It is likely that he fought/contributed goods to the American Revolution. His survivor's pension was denied, but I don't know who applied for it or what it said, only a notation that he served 9 months.

As he died in 1802, apparently the will that had been probated was later contested by his daughters (and their husbands) who stated that they had been underage at the time of his death, and that Sarah, their mother had also died in 1826 and thus the land that she inherited from the contested will should also be divided to include these two daughters. I think that's a summary of the claims, but it isn't very clear.

The rest of many pages of court documents don't give answers, but just more questions.

I'm glad that other descendants are just as confused as I am, but hope someone can make sense of who was related in what way to whom.

John Bass' siblings of Wayne County NC

John had about 6 siblings who lived until adulthood.

One thing I find may change my records is his owning land and being on a census, which tells me a birth was possibly earlier than I thought, because several of these titles for land would belong to 3-8 year olds otherwise, (was that legal?)

I'm currently trying to find out why Ancestry has two of his brothers named William!  One was supposedly born in 1792, and one in 1796. The 1792 William apparently lived until 1884.  The other William Bass (both sons of Edward and Sarah Bass on the same Ancestry trees) lived until 1858.  There are lots of records (some on both of their trees) and yet only one apparently married, and neither had any children, according to the will of the one who was married.  He fought in the War of 1812, and his wife got his pension from that war. I also have grave markers for that William and his wife, Nancy Maria Brogden Bass, in Goldsboro, Wayne County, North Carolina.

I wonder what the relationship was between these two men, or if they were the same person who somehow got statistics jumbled.  There's no way to tell any difference on census or war records, except where a birth date is also clearly given.  And once the Ancestry trees publish that a man is the child of certain parents, it's harder than heck to figure out if maybe he was a cousin.

I'm fortunate that some of my current cousins who are working on the same ancestors, sometimes make comments that help me figure out some relationships.

For now I'm going to combine these 2 Williams...and let the details sort out somewhere down the line.  With all that paper work of probates and wills, it's probable that the real William may have written more than one will (thus the use of many photo copies of his signature, and statements attesting to its validity.)

Oh dear, I just found out there are also apparently two Richard Bass' listed in Ancestry, as brothers of John Bas. I thought the one most likely had been the one who also died in Perry County AL. However, there's a document (details below) stating he lived in Tennessee and died around 1802, and had at least 3 heirs.  The other Richard doesn't have any heirs, nor a wife indicated. So (for now) scratch him, and bring back all the Tennessee Richard's information.

John's brother Richard Bass moved to Tennessee apparently (as mentioned in the probate documents of the father Edward Bass in 1802-1807.)  I'll include the description of that document here, because it names relationships of all of John's family at that time, even though it pertains to his grandfather.

Edward died in 1802 intestate leaving heirs at law: wife Sarah who has died during probate yrs.; son John Bass who died leaving issue Uriah, Mary, Betsy, Sally, Ann, Keziah, and Richard all living in AL early during probate; son Andrew Bass living in Johnston and Wayne NC; son William Bass of Wayne NC; son Uriah Bass who died as minor during probate without issue; son Richard Bass of Tennessee who died during probate leaving issue Elizabeth Bass Boyte (Thomas), Sally Bass Jacobs (Wm.), and Edward Bass all of TN; daughter Mary Bass a minor in 1802 who has married Britton Hood; and, daughter Keziah Bass a minor in 1802 who has married John Cox. The latter 2 girls are petitioning against the estate as they were young and not aware of their rights in 1802 so the property is being re-evaluated and divided in 1826.

Using John's father Edward's document, we know his siblings were:

Andrew (Johnston and Wayne Counties NC)
Wiliam (Wayne NC)
Uriah "who died as a minor during probate without issue" (between 1802-1826)
Richard of Tennessee "who died during probate" between 1802-1826
Mary "Polly" Bass Hood 1785-1850 (noted as being a minor in 1802)
Keziah Bass Cox 1785-bef. 1850 (also noted as being a minor in 1802)

And while looking at a site for Andrew Bass, up popped a "Find a Grave" site for (believe it or not!) yet another Richard Bass who died in another NC county, and is buried there in the Bass Cemetery in 1866, here's the link...but I don't know how he's related, and he's certainly not the one in Tennessee.

I am using these birth and death dates, but must remind you (and myself) that they aren't written in stone (unless they were on a headstone.)

Andrew Bass (1797- probaby died around 1836 in Perry County AL)

"5 Jul 1839  Joseph Vanderslise, Rynard/Renard Vanderslise, and Uriah Bass sign for Andrew Bass estate. Joseph Vanderslise appointed guardian for Sarah, Keziah, and Jerusia Bass, minor heirs of Andrew Bass"

I don't know who his wife was, but these 4 daughters were given guardianship following his death.

But WAIT. The Johnston County NC census has Andrew Bass with a household of 9 with only one male age 50-59, (which is about 10 years high for him). There is also a census of Andrew Bass for 1800 and 1820 in Johnston County NC, and nothing that indicates he lived in Perry County AL in 1826 -30 when he may have died leaving 3-5 daughters.

It's possible that was another Andrew Bass...

And back in Wayne County NC in 1826...

Ezekiel Holloman estate 1832 Wayne NC p4 of 23 - in estate on this page are John E Becton, Ezekiel Smith, Ezekiel Holloman, Andrew Bass, Abner Holloman, and Elijah Lancaster.

So it appears some Andrew Bass was alive in 1832 in Wayne NC.

And this estate of Ezekiel Holloman has lots of documents, including one that says:
Ezekiel Holloman's daughter Anna was wife of Andrew Bass, so now I have a name for his wife.

There is another estate settlement which Andrew Bass purchased some of the inventory dated 1825, interestingly enough for a deceased John Bass. I don't think it was my grandfather, who was said in other documents to be living in Alabama.

OK, there were others who were cousins and uncles in this family.

And I am sorry, but I've never seen such a mess of spaghetti of family lines.

I have nothing on my tree saying there was an Ezekiel Holloman related to my great times three grandmother, Julian A. Holloman Bass Green. But her children are named as those of her recently deceased husband John, so she must have been related to him, whoever he was.

Since I had planned to put in about an hour a day, getting through the Bass siblings, and then back to the fun which had happened in Virginia, I have just thrown in the proverbial towel. No more pulling out my hair trying to read all those pages of documents.

I have listed the siblings. There may have been more, or less.  I can't really tell.

And now on to the father of John Bass...Edward Bass 1754-1802.

John Bass 1780-1822

My great times three grandfather, who moved from Wayne County, NC to Perry County, Alabama.  His family had farmed (maybe plantation stye) for several generations in the eastern area of North Carolina.    I've mentioned before how the Bass family was connected to the formation of Wayne County...here's a quote from Wikipedia.

Wayne County was established during the American Revolutionary War on November 2, 1779 from the western part of Dobbs County. It was named for "Mad Anthony" Wayne, a general in the war. The act establishing the County provided that the first court should be held at the home of Josiah Sasser, at which time the justices were to decide on a place for all subsequent courts until a courthouse could be erected. By 1782 the commissioners were named. In 1787 an act was passed establishing Waynesborough on the west side of the Neuse River, on the land of Doctor Andrew Bass. The courthouse was built here.

Dr. Andrew Bass was John Bass' grandfather's brother (or his great uncle.) We'll talk about him further along in our tree.

Anyway, John was (probably) the oldest son of Edward Bass (1754-1802) and Sarah Farmer (maybe Stevens) Bass (about 1758 - 1826). There seems to be nothing substantiating that his mother belonged to either family Farmer or Stevens.

John' birth is recorded in different trees as either 1775, or 1780 or even as late as 1785. If so, he might not have been the oldest.  If he was born in 1775 (which is based on what?) his mother could not have been born in 1766, as several trees list.  So I've tentatively moved her birth back to about 1758...as there wasn't anything that proved 1766 was definite. Actually another Ancestry member gave her a 1756 birth. But back to John. I've thought long and hard and decided to go with the mean birth date, of 1780.

John married Julian (Julia A.) Holloman in 1805 in Wayne County NC.  Their first son was born there in 1806. But by 1808, his daughter was born in Alabama, and then the next one also probably in 1809-10. However he is on the census again in Wayne County NC, in 1810, and his next child is born in NC in 1810. But the next two are born in Alabama.  His last child, Richard, was born in Jan 1819 in Alabama (to become my great great grandfather.)

John moved to Perry County, AL, where many land grants were being given for those who served the US in one war or another.

But John had his 7 children by 1819.  Then he died in 1822 (or 1820 according to some of the petitions against his estate.)  Nothing indicates how he died at whatever young age he had been. Apparently he was in debt. And many of those who purchased the items that were inventoried of his estate were actually relatives of his and his wife's.  The list of items is available as well as how much was collected.  And the death of his mother in 1826 also left probate courts trying to figure out who inherited what from her estate back in North Carolina, as well as his father, Edward Bass' estate from when he died in 1802. The same relatives (Holloman, Bass and Green) show up in documents in NC courts.

Unfortunately the documents aren't always clear as to who was related to whom in what manner.  I'll keep wading through them, and maybe have to make some changes again on my own tree.

It is so helpful, and I wish I could thank them all, to have current cousins on Ancestry who figure things out from all the documents, and write summaries of them. What a great help to me.

Note: I noticed I perpetuated an incorrect date, but have now changed it, that it is assumed John Bass died in 1822.

Julian (Julia A.) Holloman Bass Green (1785-1861)

Dear Grandmother with 3 greats, Julian/Julia Ann...she had many children, and two husbands, and had to deal with court cases following the death of her first husband, not only about her property but even the guardianship of her younger children.

Her father, Thomas Holloman/Holleman, had been born in Virginia, but apparently left there and settled in North Carolina about the time he married in 1772, to a woman named Emaline but we don't know her family name.  Julian was the 3rd of their 5 children born in 1785. Grandfather Thomas Holloman/Holleman died between 1786 and 1804 in Raleigh, Wake County, NC.

Though she had many uncles (and aunts) who were from Thomas Holloman's family, I have been looking for those who also immigrated with Thomas to North Carolina, and even some who might have gone to Alabama when Julian and her family did.  So far I haven't had much luck.

So there were other Hollomans who signed those court documents, and they must have been related

I've found a hand written document (1832) stating a Silas Holleman was administering the estate of Ezekiel Holleman, including a debt to Jetson Green. That estate was in Wayne County, NC, but I haven't found any connection between Silas nor Ezekiel Holloman to our family...besides of course that Jetson Green married Julian.

I am pretty certain her first husband, John Bass died in 1822, or maybe late 1821...because all kinds of court documents start with bills against his estate and inventories of it in early 1822.

One bill against the estate was a final bill to the Orphans Court of Perry AL for $5000 for guardianship of the young orphans...including Richard (Dick) Bass my great great grandfather. The signatures on that document include a Robert Smith (probably the attorney) on Dec 23, 1826 on behalf of Samuel H. Nelms, guardian of "Elizabeth, Mosely Ann, Sarah, Keziah, and Richard Bass."

Another bill states someone has visited in Oct, Nov. and Dec. of 1822 and wishes payment in Feb. 1823 of $36.25 signed by Daniel Long. Julian Bass swore that these visits did occur, and she signed the form "Julian Bass." (Many of the notations are in a kind of shorthand.)

On "Jan 31, 182, Daniel Long received the --?--  record in full of Capt. Samuel H. Nelms." This is the cover sheet for several other records that are in microfilm files of Perry County AL. One is the list of slaves, and who apparently owned them, several are Julian Bass' property.

I haven't found anything giving the spelling of my great times 3 grandmother's name as Julia Ann, so I'm going through my ancestry files and changing it to Julian. However, in 1850 she was head of her household in Union Parish, LA, and listed her name as Julia A. Green. She had living with her an overseer, 25 year old S(?) Freeman and his wife and 4 children. (It doesn't have any designation as to whether the Freemans were white or black, however.) She has none of her own family with her household. Though there were farmers listed on the same census sheet, several listed their occupation as "overseer."  This suggests a plantation style kind of farming to my mind.

And the 1850 Slave Schedule for Union Parish does list 9 black people that belonged to Mrs. Julia A. Green.

Her last census listing in 1860 has her being about 70 years old, living in Point Jefferson, Moorehouse, LA. The family head is 56 year old C. T. Barton, farmer, who is married to Elizabeth Bass Barton (Julian's daughter) who is 46 now.  There are 4 Barton children, and a 54 year old Daniel Barton (no occupa.) as well as a 25 year old C. T. Barton who lists himself also as a farmer. There is also a farm manager in the household.

C. T. Barton Sr. was Claude (say Cloud) Thrasher Barton. He lived until 1880, but his little brother Daniel Barton died in 1870, and Elizabeth, his wife, died in Oct. 1860.

So this is a very early photo (prior to 1860) of them. I've talked more about them here on this blog, and will mention them again next week.

Julia A (Julian) Bass Green died March 11, 1861 in Moorehouse Parish, LA.

What had happened to Jetson Green? He died of pneumonia in Union Parish LA in Dec. 1849, just before that census when Mrs. Julia A. Green was still running her plantation/farm.