The Bass family in Granville County is one of the larger, if not the largest Native American families in the county. It is a “core” lineage whose family members have intermarried with just about all other families of Native American descent in the community. The Basses have a well documented tribal origin with the Nansemond tribe who are indigenous to the Nansemond River area of lower tidewater Virginia. Today known as the Nansemond Indian Nation, the tribal nation received federal acknowledgement in 2018. Due to the rapid and increased colonization of the Nansemond homeland, many Basses settled in the “frontier” of North Carolina. The Bass family never lost knowledge of their Native American origins, and as a result, some of their descendants today can be found in a number of tribal communities such as: Haliwa-Saponi, Meherrin, Occaneechi-Saponi, and Lumbee. This blog post follows the migration of the Nansemond Bass family from Norfolk, Virginia to Granville County.
I continue to update and expand this blogpost with new research, so please check for updates. For quicker access, the blogpost is divided into the following sections:
- Nansemond Tribal Origin – Read about the earliest family records including the 1638 marriage record between John Bass(e) an English colonist and Elizabeth a Nansemond woman and other court records which shows the family’s continuous identity as Nansemond.
- Edward Bass (1672-1750) and John Bass (1673-1732) in Norfolk, Virginia – Direct ancestors resided in Norfolk before moving to North Carolin and left behind a paper trail.
- Edward Bass (1672-1750) and John Bass (1673-1732) Move to North Carolina – In 1720/1721 Edward Bass moved from Norfolk to Horsepool Swamp in what is today Gates Co on land adjoining his brother John Bass. From there, the brothers moved toghter to adjoining land on Urahaw Swamp in what is today Northampton Co
- Edward Bass/Bayes and Mary Tucker of the Chowanoke(?) – The family of Edward Bass, more commonly spelled Edward Bayes married an Indian woman named Mary Tucker and later lived in Deep Creek off of the Chowan River in what is today Hertford County, NC. Novice researchers sometimes mix up the records for these families so this section provides further analysis and clarification.
- A Closer Look at Urahaw Swamp and Neighboring Tribes – At Urahaw Swamp, Edward Bass and John Bass had some interesting neighbors that merit further scrutiny. Many of these neighbors joined the Basses when they moved next to Granville.
- The Nansemond Basses in Granville County – The Basses in Granville formed tight knit kinship circles and purchased large amounts of land that were kept in the family over generations by maintaining endogamous relationships.
- Nansemond Bass Genealogy in the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe – The Haliwa-Saponi Tribe identifies the Nansemond tribe as one of several ancestral tribes. This is documented in the genealogy of tribal ancestors Mary Bass, her first husband Elijah Bass (her second husband was Benjamin Richardson) and her brother Benjamin Bass Jr.
- Photos of Nansemond Basses from Granville County – Photos are a great way to humanize our ancestors. I am grateful to the many Bass relatives who have shared family photos.
Nansemond Tribal Origin
Some of the source material for this blog entry comes from the research of Bass descendant and genealogist Lars Adams. Lars has invested a lot of time in correcting past research mistakes. His impressive article from 2012 titled “Why John Bass (died. 1732 in Bertie, Carolina) and his brother Edward were of Nansemond Descent”, is a helpful explanation of past Bass research errors and unequivocally documents how the Granville County branch of the Bass family is Nansemond. Nikki Bass is another Bass descendant and researcher who publishes her Bass related genealogy in a blog here. I also drew from Paul Heinegg’s research on the Bass family as well as from Albert Bell’s book, Bass Families of the South (1961). Both Heinegg and Bell have made some errors in their Bass genealogies, so throughout this blogpost you will see some corrections that I have made with my own research. And finally it is important to note that I author of this blog, Kianga Lucas, am a Nansemond Bass descendant which is how I first came to research the family and is why I am dedicated to preserving and sharing our family history. I believe it is imperative that we as Native peoples, lend voices to our own histories that have often been told by non-Natives.
The Nansemond branch of the English Bass family begins with the marriage in 1638 of John Bass(e) an English colonist to Elizabeth, baptized daughter of the chief of the Nansemond tribe. Their marriage was recorded in the Bass family sermon book that has survived to the present. Albert Bell’s book contained an incorrect transcription of this marriage record that falsely states Elizabeth’s name was “Keziah Elizabeth Tucker” and that her father was “Robin the elder”. However as you can read from a copy of the original marriage entry, her name is simply “Elizabeth” and her father’s name is not mentioned at all. “Keziah” is however a first name found frequently among descendants of the Nansemond Bass family, so it is possible that this mix-up comes from fractured memories of the family history. So if you are a Bass descendant or researcher, please check your family tree to make sure you have the correct information. Below is an image of the original marriage record in the Bass Family sermon book:
“John Basse married ye dafter of ye King of ye Nansemond Nation by name Elizabeth in Holy Baptizm and in Holy Matrimonie ye 14th day of August in ye yeare of Our Blessed Lord 1638 Dyed 1699 A.D.”
The Nansemond tribe is an Algonquian speaking tribe that at one point in history, was affiliated with the Powhatan Confederacy from the tidewater Virginia area that is today the modern city of Suffolk. As coastal people they were impacted very early on by European colonization. Below is a map of the locations of the sub-tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy:
Source: Helen Rountree
John Bass/e and Elizabeth the Nansemond had several children including a son named William Bass (1654-1741) who has well documented descendants. William Bass was married to a woman named Catherine Lanier and they made their home in what was then known as Lower Norfolk County, Virginia along the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River. William Bass Sr and Catherine Lanier had the following children:
- *Edward Bass b. 19 Oct 1672
- *John Bass b. 4 Dec 1673
- Keziah Bass b. 30 Oct 1675
- *William Bass b. 28 Oct 1676
- Joseph Bass b. 21 Dec 1678
- Mary Bass b. 15 Jun 1681
- *Thomas Bass b. 13 Nov 1687
Four sons: Edward, John, William, and Thomas are known to have had children and living descendants today. Sons William Bass Jr (1676 – 1761) and Thomas Bass (1687-?) and their descendants primarily remained in the Norfolk, VA area with Thomas Bass’ grandson William Bass (b. 1762) and his descendants moving across the state line into Camden County, NC and neighboring counties beginning in the late 1700s. These Basses commonly intermarried with other FPOC families such as: Hall, Perkins, Price, Archer, Newton, and Nickens.
On the other hand, sons Edward Bass (1672 – 1750) and John Bass (1673- 1732) relocated to North Carolina and their descendants I will document in the following sections. The descendants of both Edward Bass and John Bass are found in Granville.
William Bass Sr in 1726/1727 received a certificate from the Norfolk Co, VA court stating that:
An Inquest pertaining to possession and use of Cleared and Swamp lands in and adjoining ye Great Dismal by William Bass, Sr. and His kinsmen who claim Indian Privileges, Sheweth by the testimony of White Persons and sundry records of great age and known to be authentic, That said William Bass, Thomas Bass, and Joseph Bass and spinister daughter Mary Bass are persons of English and Nansemond Indian descent with no admixture of negro, Ethiopic, and that they and all others in kinship with them are freeborn subjects of his Majesty living in peace with his Majesty’s Government entitled to possess and bear arms as permitted by Treaties of Peace by and between Charles II of blessed memory and ye Indians of Virginia and the said William Bass, Sr. and als are in Rightful, and Lawful possession thereof and are not to be further Molested by any person or persons whatsoever under any pretended Authority under Penalties etc. etc., whilst ye said Bass and his kinsmen claim Indian privileges pursuant to the aforesaid Treaties of Peace.
17 day of March 1726/27
Solo. Wilson, Cl. Cur.
William Bass’ sons Edward Bass (1672-1750) and John Bass (1673-1732) are not included in this certificate because they had already relocated to North Carolina several years prior. However it is important to note that this certificate extended to all of William Bass’ kin who were not specifically named in the certificate. This is a compelling detail because it demonstrates that William Bass had the foresight to ensure all of his relations had these same treaty rights.
Later William Bass’ son William Bass Jr (1676-1761) received a similar certificate in 1742 that read:
William Bass, the Bearer, tall, swarthy, dark eyes, weight abt. 13 stone, scar on back of left hand, is of English & Indian descent with no admixture of negro blood, numbered as a Nansemun by his own Choosing. The sd. Bass dwells in this County and hath a good name for his industry and honesty.
Clearly the Bass family early on was attempting to document and secure their Nansemond Indian identity and treaty rights and in order to do this, it required them to distance themselves from any “negro admixture”. This theme of distancing and denying African admixture, in order to substantiate Indian identity is a common theme throughout Native American communities in the Southeast. And it has unfortunately had devastating effects that fractured families who had relatives deemed “too African” in phenotypical appearance. It has also impacted the political recognition of tribal communities. Even the Native Americans of Granville County adamantly denied African admixture as can be seen in the writings of local historian Oscar Blacknall that you can read more about here. Elder cousins have shared anecdotal stories with me on the topic of race/racial appearance, that are consistent with Blacknall’s observations about our community.
Augustus Bass is a descendant of William Bass Jr (1676-1761), whose family remained in Norfolk, Virginia.
William Bass Sr, wrote a will on 1 Oct 1740 which was proved on 17 Sep 1742 in Norfolk County. In the will, William gives his sons William, Edward and Thomas only one shilling each. He gave to his son Joseph Bass, his “waring cloaths” and left his land and anything else to his daughter Mary in the hopes that she salvage what is left. Clearly, William Bass was not in good financial standing at the time of his death. Son John Bass (1673-1732) is not named in the will because he predeceased his father. This is also true for William’s daughter Keziah Bass who died in 1704. It is important to point out that by 1740, son Edward Bass (1672-1750) had lived in North Carolina for twenty years, yet his father William Bass still made sure to include him in his will. This shows that Edward Bass was still in touch with his family and community back in Norfolk, VA.
Edward Bass (1672-1750) and John Bass (1673-1732) in Norfolk, Virginia
Before moving to North Carolina, brothers Edward Bass and John Bass spent the early part of their adulthood in Norfolk. What follows is a discussion of the located records for both brothers in Norfolk. These early records help to establish their presence among their fellow Nansemond kinsmen. On 17 Nov 1698, Edward Bass appeared in Norfolk court to admit that he owed 500 lbs of tobacco to Hugh Campbell. Hugh Campbell was a Scottish born merchant who was licensed to operate in the West Indies and who later settled in Norfolk. Campbell was also a merchant of human chattel when it was recorded on 8 Jun 1680 that he was paid for transporting an enslaved Indian woman of Bermuda into the Virginia colony.
The following year on 16 Nov 1699, Edward Bass purchased 15 acres of land on the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River, from John Fulcher. This is the same John Fulcher whose 1712 will freed the Anderson slaves. Over the next several generations, the offspring of these freed slaves repeatedly intermarried with Edward Bass’ offspring. The Andersons moved with the Basses out of Norfolk and into Granville and became one of the core families of the community. My blog post on the Andersons can be found here. Thus, it appears there is a yet unknown direct relationship between Edward Bass and John Fulcher (perhaps Edward Bass’ wife was a relative of John Fulcher?).
In June 1702, Edward Bass was back in Norfolk court to confess to owing 70 lbs of tobacco to the estate of William Whitakers. Edward Bass and Thomas Whitfield (another person who was also in debt to the estate) signed their names to the document. This is a truly remarkable record because Edward Bass signed his name to the document with the initial “B’ faced down. Not only does it show that Edward Bass was at minimal partially literate, but just like in the modern era, his signature helps to confirm his identity. When Edward Bass later relocated to Urahaw Swamp in Northampton Co, NC, he signed his 1748 will (proved in 1750) with the exact same signature. This is undeniable proof that the Edward Bass of Urahaw Swamp was the same Edward Bass of Norfolk.
On 15 Nov 1709, Edward Bass sued Henry Lawley for a 3 lb debt. Edward Bass was brought to the Norfolk court again on 20 July 1711 for retailing liquor without a license. The charges were subsequently dropped. On 16 Dec 1715, Edward Bass sued John Muns Jr for 20 lbs for unlawfully riding his mare. There are additional Norfolk records which show a pattern of Edward Bass being harassed by his Anglo neighbors through a series of lawsuits that were dismissed by the courts. Ultimately what we can learn from these records is that Edward Bass was a land owner on the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River, likely had a farm, and earned enough money to make large purchases. The records also demonstrate his knowledge of the laws and court system, as he was a plaintiff in a few of the cases. This pattern of harassment by his Anglo neighbors may have played a large part in Edward Bass’ leaving the area and moving to the North Carolina frontier.
To date, located records for his brother John Bass in Norfolk are not nearly as numerous. On 15 October 1701 in Norfolk court, John Bass paid the costs for a suit brought against him by Thomas Hodges. This is the only record I know of for John Bass in Norfolk. Hopefully more records are uncovered for him, to better understand his life and his relationships in Norfolk before he settled in North Carolina.
Edward Bass (1672-1750) and John Bass (1673-1732) Move to North Carolina
Edward Bass (1672-1750)
From here our discussion shifts to documenting Edward Bass’ (1672-1750) and John Bass’ (1673-1732) movement into North Carolina. Let’s first start with Edward Bass. The last known record of him in Norfolk was recorded in 1715. By 1720/1721, Edward Bass owned land in Horsepool Swamp in Chowan County (modern Gates County), North Carolina. In that land deed dated 30 January 1720/21, he is called “Edward Bass of Norfolk County, Virginia, Parish of Elizabeth”, so we know he is the same Edward Bass from Norfolk. Edward Bass’ brother John Bass purchased adjoining land on Horsepool Swamp on the exact same day.
Edward Bass did not remain on the Horsepool Swamp land for long, because on 26 March 1723 he purchased 200 acres of land along Urahaw Swamp in what was then Bertie County and what is today Northampton County, NC. On 28 March 1726, while a resident of Bertie County, Edward Bass sold his Chowan County Horsepool Swamp land.
Over the next couple of decades, Edward Bass purchased an additional 615 acres of land adjoining his Urahaw Swamp land in Northampton County, bringing his total land ownership to 815 acres (Bertie DB C: 135, Northampton DB 1: 40, 89, 129). On 25 July 1748, Edward Bass wrote his will which was proved in August 1750. The will named Edward Bass’ children who all inherited shares of their father’s land, thus making it possible to trace out his descendants. Edward Bass’ oldest living son Benjamin Bass (1722-1800) was named executor of the estate. We know this is the correct will for Edward Bass (1672-1750) because the will makes very specific and detailed descriptions of his Urahaw Swamp land that he divided among his offspring. The will also named Edward Bass’ widow as Lovewell. She was called “Love”, when she and husband Edward Bass sold their Horsepool Swamp land in 1726. There is no surviving marriage record for the couple, so Lovewell’s maiden name and origin is unknown. Edward Bass likely married her when he still resided in Norfolk, so she is perhaps from one of the families who were neighbors to the Basses and perhaps she was Nansemond.
All of Edward Bass’ children moved from Northampton to Granville County beginning in the 1750’s. Soon after settling in Granville, they sold their shares of the Urahaw Swamp land in Northampton that they inherited from their father. The Anderson family who was freed in 1712 in Norfolk, made the move with the Basses to Northampton County and then to Granville County where the families continued to frequently intermarry. You can read more about the Andersons and their roots in Norfolk here. When Edward Bass’ children arrived in Granville with the Anderson family, they became neighbors and intermarried with the already established and land owning Chavis, Harris, Pettiford, Hawley, Goins, Evans, and Mitchell families.
John Bass (1673-1732)
The offspring of Edward Bass’ brother John Bass (1673-1732) are also found in the Granville community, but they are not as numerous as Edward’s offspring. John Bass was first married to Love Harris. A record of their 1696 marriage in Perquimans Co, NC still exists:
“John BAS and Love HARRIS was Married ye 8th day of Janewary 1696 both of Nanse Mum County and Nanse Mum Parresh by Mager Samuel SWANN Esqr.”
As researcher Lars Adams pointed out in his article, despite John Bass and Love Harris both being residents of Nansemond County, VA (formerly Upper Norfolk County) they married in Perquimans County, North Carolina. John Bass who was Indian and Love Harris who was probably white were a couple during a time period where Virginia passed strict laws forbidding interracial marriages. So they may have married in North Carolina where the laws against interracial marriages were not as strictly enforced.
As discussed in the previous section there is one located record for John Bass (1673-1732) in Norfolk from 1701. He next appears on a land deed in 1719. On 14 July 1719 in Perquimans County, NC, Thomas Speight sold John Bass 300 acres.
The land deed does not provide the residence of either man, nor a description of the bounded land. However, further research into Thomas Speight (1670-1737) shows that he was a resident of Perquimans County who lived on Horsepool Swamp. He was the grandson of a man named Francis Speight who emigrated from England to Jamestown in 1635. By 1654, Francis Speight moved further south into Nansemond County (right on the Virginia – North Carolina border) where his grandson Thomas Speight (1670-1737) was born and raised before coming across the border to Perquimans County. The excellent genealogy blog, Sally’s Place, which documents the colonial history of the Chowan-Roanoke areas, has a detailed discussion about Thomas Speight found here. We can also see from the 1733 Moseley Map that land owner Thomas Speight is identified as living in Horsepool Swamp. There may be a yet discovered earlier link between the Speight and Bass families, given that the Speights lived in Nansemond territory and later sold land to a Nansemond man.
The following year on 30 January 1720/1721, John Bass made another purchase of land on Horsepool Swamp for 200 acres in Chowan County (now Gates Co), NC on the exact same day as his brother Edward Bass purchased an adjoining lot from the same grantor – Abraham Hill. This shows a concerted effort by the brothers to remain quite close as a family unit in North Carolina.
And just like his brother Edward Bass, John Bass then moved to Urahaw Swamp in 1722 in what was then Bertie County (now Northampton County). Numerous land deeds (Bertie DB A: 105, 129; Bertie DB C: 126, 135) where he accumulated a total of 1,060 acres of land that adjoined his brother Edward Bass (1672-1750). John Bass died young in 1732. Fortunately he left a Bertie County will which divided his Urahaw Swamp land among his children and named his oldest son John Bass Jr (born 1700) as the executor of the estate. As a result, John Bass’ (1673-1732) children and their descendants are well documented in the will and subsequent land deeds dealing with the division and sale of their inherited land. John Bass (1673-1732) also died several years before the area he was living in became Northampton County in 1741.
It should be noted that John Bass’ will makes mention of his widow Mary, and in it, John leaves his plantation to her as gift for “bringing up my small children”. Since we have an earlier marriage record for John Bass to Love Harris, this would mean that Love died sometime earlier, and John Bass remarried Mary. The will seems to indicate that Mary helped raise the children that John Bass had with his previous wife.
Some of John Bass’ children remained in Northampton County and neighboring/nearby counties including Bertie, Edgecombe, Nash and Halifax. These offspring typically intermarried with wealthy, slave owning, planter families, and were often documented as “white”, Subsequent generations moved to the deep South to expand their plantation economies. Other children moved to other parts of the state. For example, John Bass’ grandson Frederick Bass (b. 1750) moved to Anson Co and some of his descendants can be found among the Lumbee Tribe in Robeson Co.
Four (4) of John Bass’ children did join Edward Bass’ children in their relocation to Granville Co. They were Sarah Bass b. 1704, William Bass b. 1712, Lovey Bass b. 1720 and Mary Bass b. 1722. Sarah Bass b. 1704 was the wife of Lewis Anderson (1713-1785), of the freed Anderson family of Norfolk Co, so that explains why she moved to Granville. Lovey Bass b. 1712 was not married but had a partner with whom she had children with named George Anderson (1696-1771) who was also of the Anderson family. She also had at least one child with Bartlet Tyler (b. 1742) from the FPOC Tyler family of Native American origins, that often intermarried with and were neighbors to the Basses in Granville over subsequent generations. The wife of William Bass b. 1712 is unknown but I wonder if she was also an Anderson. Mary Bass b. 1722 married her first cousin Benjamin Bass (1722-1800) who was the son of Edward Bass (1672-1750). On 26 July 1784, Mary Bass (while married to Benjamin Bass) sold the 100 acres of land along the Urahaw Swamp that she inherited from her father John Bass in 1732. Just like Edward Bass’ children, John Bass’ children who moved to Granville married into and became a part of the Native American community.
Edward Bass/Bayes and Mary Tucker of the Chowanoke(?)
The Bass family sermon book shows that John Bass(e) (1616-1699) had a brother named Edward Bass who was born in 1622. The exact entry reads as follows:
Edward Basse ye sonne of Nathaniell Basse and Mary his wife was borned ye 8th day of Maye in ye yeare of God 1622.
It is also learned in the Bass sermon book that Edward Bass married an Indian woman named Mary Tucker and that they later went to live among the Chowanoke. This entry has been mis-transcribed and misinterpreted over the years, so please be sure to read the exact transcription:
Edward Basse sonne of Nath’ll & Mary Basse yt unregenerated by the Spirit of God took in marriage one virtuous Indian mayd’n by the Christian name of Mary Tucker and went to live amongst the Shownanocs in Carolina in 1644 A.D. – He went to Carolina in later years in persute of trade and not in 1644
There are no other entries for Edward Bass found in the sermon book, so we are left to make sense of this odd entry. We learn that Edward Bass married a Christian Indian woman given the name Mary Tucker but her tribe is not directly identified. This is different from the John Bass(e) and Elizabeth marriage entry which makes it clear that Elizabeth was the daughter of a “king” of the Nansemond. It could be assumed that Mary Tucker was Chowanoke but it seems odd that the entry doesn’t directly call her Chowanoke. It could also be assumed that Mary Tucker was Nansemond given that the Bass family lived next to the Nansemond tribe in Norfolk and that Edward Bass(e)’s brother John Bass(e) married a Nansemond woman. The other odd part about the marrige entry is the timing of when Edward Bass went to live in North Carolina among the Chowanoke. The entry initially claims Edward Bass moved in 1644 when the wedding took place. But the entry then corrects itself and says he went to North Carolina in later years to pursue trade. Therefore an exact date of when he moved to North Carolina is not given but we can safely deduce that at some point in his life, after he married, Edward Bass went to North Carolina.
A will was recorded in Chowan County, NC in 1696 for an Edward Bayes and the information in the will seems to match what is known about Edward Bass (b. 1622). Most researchers attribute this 1696 will of Edward Bayes to Edward Bass (born 1622) of the Bass sermon book and I agree though I always look for additional confirming information. To avoid confusion, I will consistently use the surname “Bayes” to described Edward Bayes and his descendants whose surname is always shown in primary source records as “Bayes” or “Bays” An exact transcription of the Edward Bayes will reads as follows:
In the nanme of God Amen the 8th Day of August Anno /Dom 1696E Edward Bayes of Albemarle in the precinct of Chowan being sick of body but of sound & perfect memory thanks be to Almighty God for it and ______to mind the uncertainty (?) of theis Transitory life & I doe make ordain & Declaire this to be my last Will & Testament & noe other revoking __And for___being _____and ____for my ____ ____ ___ And for Settling my Temporal _____and Suit goods as it hath pleased God he b_____upon and above my Desires I doe Order good and dispose of the Same in manner & forme followeth I make my Loving Wife Mary Bayes my Whole and Sole Executrix of this my Will Item I give to my Son John Bayes One yearling heffer to be delivered unto him within a Month after my Decease wth all her female increase Item I give unto my Three Daughters Three yearling Heifers to be Delivered to them Sometime wthin Three years after my Decease wth all their femal increase the first year and to my Daughter Eliz Bayes The second year and to my Daugther Mary Bayes the third year one to my Daughter Ann Bayes. Item I give to my loveing Wife Mary Bayes my plantation dureing her natural life and after her Decease to Desend to my Son John Bayes the remaining part of my whole estate I give to my loveing Wife Mary Bayes and for the ____ of this being my last Will & Testament I have hereunto sett my hand & seal the Day & year above written.
Source: Edward Bass I (Bayes), Will, August 8, 1696, Chowan County Court, Proved October 8, 1696, Secretary of State Records, State Archives of North Carolina, SS 839-SS 861, MARS ID 12.96.2.50
From the 1696 will we learn that Edward Bayes left a surviving spouse named Mary, one son named John and three daughters named Eliza, Mary, and Ann. We also learn that he was a land owner because he left his plantation to his wife Mary who would then pass it on to their son John upon her death. In 1696, Chowan County (“Precinct”) covered a vast amount of unbounded land that stretched along both side of the Chowan River. Where exactly in the vast territory called Chowan did Edward Bayes live?
Subsequent records located for the offspring of Edward Bayes, show that he resided off of Deep Creek in what is now the town of Winton in Hertford County, NC. By the early 1700s, there were several other places called Deep Creek within the Chowan Precinct – these include Deep Creeks in what is today Gates, Northampton, and Bertie Counties (this one was also called Indian Creek). However none of these other Deep Creeks are the Deep Creek where Edward Bayes resided. One of my favorite genealogy blogs – “Andersons of Colonial N. Carolina” which does an excellent job of documenting colonial history of Virginia and the Carolinas, created a helpful map of the land owners along Deep Creek in the early 1700s. John Bayes (“John Bays”) and his son in law James Rutland are documented on the map in the top left:
Deep Creek is a tributary of the Chowan River – a major trading route. That there were numerous trading families, including the Bayes, set up at Deep Creek should come as no surprise. This is consistent with the Bass sermon book which indicated that Edward Bass moved to North Carolina to pursue trading. The 1733 Moseley Map shows that the Chowan, Meherrin and Nansemond (the “traditional Nansemond” who later shared a reservation with the Nottoway) Indian towns were located along the Chowan River and close to Deep Creek, making it an ideal location for Indian trade.
Life along the Chowan River in the very early 1700s is documented from Anglo perspectives by the different colonists who traveled the area. Surveyor Phillip Ludwell II who traveled the Chowan River in 1710 kept a diary of his travels. Throughout the diary, one can see how the Chowan, Meherrin, Nansemond, Weyanoke, and Nottoway tribes were well acquainted with one another, living in another’s Indian towns, sharing interpreters, sometimes getting along, and sometimes not getting along. This was an area with much interaction between colonists, Indian traders and the above named tribes. On 22-23 September 1710, Ludwell writes the following in his journal:
At the Nansemond Town the Interpreter told us that when he went down to Wicocon Creek with a Nansemond Indian celled Robin Tucker who was sent by the Indians to shew us the Creek on which the Wyanoakes formerly lived, he called at one William William’s house, where he met with one Mr. Maul and that being sometime In the House and the Indian left without, as soon as he (the Interpreter) came out, the Indian told him, That man (meaning Mr. Maul) was not good for he had been (persuading) him to deny that the Weyanoakes had lived on Wicocon Creek, & promised him two bottles of powder and a thousand shott to do it.. This Mr. Maul is Mr. Lawson’s Deputy Surveyor….”
In 1710, Edward Bayes (1622-1696) was deceased and his wife Mary Tucker was also likely deceased. However three of his children – John Bayes, Ann Bayes Johnson, and Eliza Bayes Rutland were alive and living in the exact areas that Phillip Ludwell was writing about. The Nansemond man he met in 1710 named Robin Tucker shares a surname with Mary Tucker who lived in that same area until her death. Could Robin Tucker and Mary Tucker be related? The records so far don’t help to answer that question as not much else about Robin Tucker is known. Robin Tucker absolutely cannot be the father of Mary Tucker or Elizabeth the Nansemond because the father of either woman would be well over 100 years old if still alive in 1710.
As Edward Bayes’ 1696 will indicates, his land passed onto his son John Bayes after the death of his wife Mary. There are subsequent land deeds found in the Chowan and Bertie (this part of Chowan Precinct became Bertie County in 1722 and later became Hertford County in 1759) that help to document what happened to the land.
1. John Bayes to Thomas Johnson and Ann Johnson, Chowan DB W1, p. 185, July 19, 1714. Deed of gift to sister Ann Johnson and her husband Thomas Johnson 100 acres joining his land being part of his patent where he dwells and in the possession of Thomas Johnson lying in the fork of Deep Creek; witness Robert Lanier & George Winns
2. Thomas Johnston & wife Ann to John Gilbert, Bertie Deed Book A, p. 321-323, July 19, 1724. 40 lbs. For 270 acres on Deep Creek where Johnston formerly lived. Adj. John Bayes, John Williams. Wit: William Whitfield, Charles Caveneah. November Court 1724. John Sutton D.C./C.
3. John Grady (Graddy) to Alexander Cotton, Bertie DB D, p. 197, January 22, 1734. 150 pounds for 320 acres Known by the name of Deep Creek Granted to John Bays on Aprl 19, 1714. At fork of Deep Creek and head of Wiskfor branch. Wit: Job Rodgers, Jonas Griffin. May Court 1735. John Wynns D. C/C.
4. William Daniel to Jonathan Gilbert, millwright, Bertie DB D, p. 103, August 3, 1734. 745 pounds for 8 tracts of land. (1) On Deep Creek between “said creek and Wisktfor (?) Branch” adj. Coll. Frederick Jones” formerly John Bays’s which land was granted to James Rutland by patent August 1, 1714 and conveyd by Rutland to William Daniel.
From the above land deeds we learn that John Bayes gifted and sold land to his sister Ann Bayes and her husband Thomas Johnson and to his sister Eliza Bayes and her husband James Rutland in 1714. (Note: Due to laws of coverture, married women could not buy and sell land without the consent of their husband). We learn that John Bayes’s sisters later sold their land. In 1724, Ann Bayes and her husband Thomas Johnson sold their land to John Gilbert. Sometime between 1714 and 1734, Eliza Bayes and her husband James Rutland sold their land William Daniel who would sell it in 1734 to Jonathan Gilbert.
Wills and estate records for John Bayes and his sisters Ann Bayes Johnson and Eliza Bayes Rutland (or their spouses) have not been located. This presents a major challenge when trying to trace this family forward through time. Not having primary source records which name the next generation of offspring is a difficult work around. Furthermore, the family appears to have moved out of the area by the 1730s, when the land they formerly owned was in the possession of non family members.
What can be unequivocally stated from the above discussion is that John Bayes of Deep Creek (Hertford Co, NC) is not the same man as John Bass (1672-1732) of Norfolk/Nansemond, Horsepool Swamp (Gates Co), and Urahaw Swamp (Northampton Co). When Edward Bayes died in Chowan County in 1696 where he left a will giving his land to his son John Bayes, the other John Bass (1672-1732) was residing in Nansemond County, VA. How is this known? John Bass (1672-1732) was documented the same year in 1696 in Perquimans Co, NC, receiving a marriage bond to Love Harris. In that 1696 marriage record, John Bass (1672-1673) is called a resident of Nansemond County, VA. Therefore in 1696, Edward Bayes and his family were living in Deep Creek off of the Chowan River in present day Hertford Co, while John Bass (1672-1732) was residing in Nansemond County, VA with his family.
The will of John Bass (1673-1732) makes it clear that he is the John Bass of Urahaw Swamp because the will very specifically outlines his Urahaw Swamp land to be divided among his children. The 1732 will makes absolutely no mention of any land in Deep Creek and makes no mention of relatives names Bayes, or Ann Bayes Johnson or Eliza Bayes Rutland. There is no possible way to confuse the will of John Bass (1673-1732) with anyone else.
Bass researcher Lars Adams also provides a detailed analysis of the same records and comes to the exact same conclusion – the John Bayes of Deep Creek is not the same man as John Bass (1673-1732) of Horsepool Swamp and Urahaw Swamp.
A Closer Look at Urahaw Swamp and Neighboring Tribes
The fact that brothers Edward Bass and John Bass moved to North Carolina at the same time and bought adjoining land deserves further scrutiny. The Urahaw Swamp land that was first purchased in 1722/1723 is of particular interest because Bartholomew Chavis (1685-1750) also owned land along Urahaw Swamp. Bartholomew Chavis was the father of original Granville County land owner William Chavis (1706-1777) whose large land tract provided the land base for the Native American community in Granville. The earliest records for Bartholomew Chavis are found in Henrico and Surry County, VA. By 1719/1720 he was living in North Carolina and started purchasing land along Urahaw Swamp just 2-3 years before the Bass brothers purchased land there.
Source: http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/ncmaps/id/8072/rec/18
The Gibson family is another Native American family who are relevant to this discussion. The Gibsons were originally from Charles City County, Virginia where one of the earliest Gibson family members, Jane Gibson (the elder), was known as a free Indian woman. She is the female progenitor of the Evans family who settled in Granville. You can read my Evans/Gibson blog post here. The previously mentioned William Chavis (1706-1777)‘ wife was Frances Gibson. Her brother John Gibson who lived nearby, was a witness to a 1728 land purchase along Urahaw Swamp made by Edward Bass (1672-1750). This shows a direct earlier connection between the Basses and Gibsons. Two of John Gibson’s sons – George Gibson and Charles Gibson moved to Granville in 1750. This was the far southwestern part of the county that just two years later became Orange County. George and Charles Gibson did not stay in Orange County for along and moved around quite a bit with their descendants eventually leaving the state. William Chavis (1706-1777) also owned some land in Orange County and perhaps that is connected to George and Charles Gibson’s temporary residence there. Despite inheriting his father’s Northampton County land in 1750, William Chavis (1706-1777) continued to live in Granville County. William even continued to have additional land transactions in Northampton County but Granville was his primary residence as indicated in the tax records. So with William Chavis being the first from Urahaw Swamp to relocate to Granville, it appears the Bass/Anderson family followed him there several years later. Much more research is needed to learn why these families moved from Northampton to Granville.
I find it interesting that a Nottoway(?) Indian named George Skipper b. 1685 was documented through land transactions, living along Urahaw Swamp in the 1720s (See Heinegg here). This is the exact same time that the Chavis, Gibson, Bass, and Anderson families lived along Urahaw Swamp. George Skipper’s wife was Nottoway Indian Mary Bailey, the apparent daughter of Wat Bailey who was documented on the Nottoway Indian reservation in Southampton County, VA. George Skipper and Mary Bailey’s son George Skipper b. 1720 was one of the chief men of the Nottoway Indian Nation who sold his land in 1749. When we take a look at the Moseley map of 1733, we see both the Meherrin and the Nansemond Indians living in close proximity to Urahaw Swamp. The Nottoway and Meherrin are part of the same Iroquoian speaking confederacy. And some of the Nansemond lived with the Nottoway on the Nottoway reservation in Southampton Co, VA (across the state line from Northampton Co, NC). This was an area where a number of tribes took refuge with one another, and this historical context is important for understanding Urahaw Swamp and the cluster of mixed race Native American families who resided there.
So why did some Nansemond Indians leave the Virginia homeland and settle with other friendly tribes? According to scholar Helen Rountree, the Basses belonged to the so-called “Christianized-Nansemond”, and were never granted a reservation like other Virginia tribes (Pamunkey, Mattaponi, Gingaskin, etc). The “traditional” Nansemond did live on a reservation in Southampton County, VA with the Nottoway Tribe. By 1792 they sold off their remaining reservation land. A closer genealogical examination of the Nansemond/Nottoway families on the Nottoway reservation shows that some individuals (such as George Skipper mentioned above) did leave the reservation for nearby Native American communities. In other words, in the 1700’s there were both Christianized and Traditional Nansemond who were not tied down to the traditional Nansemond homeland along the Nansemond River. This is a great avenue for additional deep dive research into a time and place that I believe is understudied. Thus I think a reexamination of Nansemond ethnohistory that is inclusive of the large amount of Nansemond Bass family members who moved to North Carolina, is long overdue.
Source: Helen Rountree
Without a bordered, recognized land base, it seems the Basses were pushed out of Virginia as a result of encroachment by Anglo colonists. This brings to mind Edward Bass’ (1672-1750) 1715 court case against John Muns Jr. for riding his mare. North Carolina at that time was still the “frontier” and that is where the Basses decided to make their home. The Basses were not the only Native American family from the Virginia tidewater area that made this journey. I suspect a number of Native American families in Granville that have tidewater Virginia roots, were Algonquian speaking peoples who were pushed out due to encroachment. Even Algonquian speaking peoples as far as away the Nanticoke Pukham/Bookram family, the Piscataway Proctor family and the Lenape Okey family moved to Granville County.
The Nansemond Basses in Granville County
So to summarize: all of the children of Edward Bass (1672-1750) and four of the children of John Bass (1673-1732) relocated to Granville County in the 1750’s. Edward Bass and John Bass were brothers, and the grandsons of John Bass(e) an English colonist and his Nansemond Indian wife Elizabeth. In Granville, these Bass descendants practiced endogamy by intermarrying with their own Bass cousins and other Native American families to form a tightly closed kinship network. As a result, most living Bass descendants from Granville have multiple Bass ancestors. For example, I have a cousin who has at minimum, 14 different documented Bass genealogical pedigrees back to Elizabeth the Nansemond.
© Kianga Lucas
The Bass family continued living and thriving in Granville County as can be seen from a variety of primary source records. The Basses are found in very high numbers in the census records, marriage records, land deeds, estate records, military pension records, tax lists and more. In 1800, there were 14 Bass heads of households, in 1810: 10 heads of household, in 1820: 7 heads of household, in 1830: 6 heads of household, and in 1840: 6 heads of household. In the 1850 census where every household member was enumerated by name for the first time, there were approximately 24 Basses in Granville, and in 1860 there were approximately 25 Basses in Granville. By the 1940 census which is the last publicly available census, there were approximately 100 Basses in Granville. These head counts of course do not reflect female Basses whose surnames changed due to marriage and do not include Bass descendants whose surnames were no longer Bass.
Brothers Benjamin Bass (1722-1800) and Edward Bass (1728-1800) who were the sons of Edward Bass (1672-1750) and Lovewell, became the largest land owners of the Bass family in Granville. Benjamin Bass owned at least 500 acres of total land and Edward Bass owned at least a total of 206 acres of land as reflected in the Granville tax lists and land deeds. They also married their own Bass cousins. Benjamin Bass married his first cousin Mary Bass, and Edward Bass married his first cousin, once removed Tamer Anderson.
Benjamin Bass (1722-1800) and Edward Bass (1728-1800) had a brother named Sampson/Samuel Bass (b. 1726) whose identity has been conflated with other men who share the same name, by researcher Paul Heinegg. What follows is an explanation of this mistake, so if you are using Paul Heinegg’s research to document this Sampson/Samuel Bass, please proceed with caution.
The conflation of Sampson/Samuel Bass b. 1726 (son of Edward Bass 1672-1750) and Samuel Bass 1712-1789 (parentage unknown) of Brunswick Co, VA/Northampton Co, NC and his son Samuel Bass Jr (1734-1796):
The first Sampson/Samuel Bass b. 1726 (he is called by both first names in the primary source records), was a tithable and land owner in Granville County. The available tax lists (1758, 1761, and 1762) show that he only paid tax on himself, so he appears to not have been married nor had any children. He was also taxed as a free person of color (free persons of color were required to pay taxes on their wives). In 1764, the part of Granville County he resided in became short lived Bute County and he makes a land purchase there in 1771. That is the last known record for him. So he may have died intestate and with no heirs.
On the other hand, the second Samuel Bass 1712-1789 (never referred to as Sampson Bass in any records) was taxed as white and was a wealthy planter who owned a lot of slaves. He resided in Brunswick Co, VA in 1765 when he gave his son Burwell Bass land in Northampton Co, NC (Brunswick and Northampton share a border). In 1765, the first Sampson/Samuel Bass resided in Granville, not Brunswick, so that should raise some initial red flags that we’re looking at two different men. He may also be the same Samuel Bass who appears as a tithable in the 1762 Northampton Co, NC tax list. In 1780 he was a tithable in Northampton, assessed on a large amount of property and 12 slaves. His 1787 Northampton Co will, proved in 1790, names his widow Sarah and children who received his property and slaves. This Samuel Bass had a son Samuel Bass Jr 1734-1796 named in the will. Samuel Bass Jr’s will was proved in 1796 in Greensville Co, VA (Greensville borders Brunswick and Northampton). Paul Heinegg also incorrectly attributes the Halifax Co, NC 1810 census showing a Samuel Bass head of a household of 7 free people of color and 1 slave to this Samuel Bass Jr. But that absolutely cannot be him since he was deceased by 1796. Instead the Samuel Bass enumerated in the 1810 census in Halifax Co, NC was a man named Samuel Bass b. 1784 who eventually moved to Tennessee, Alabama and finally Mississippi.
This RootsWeb tree which can be viewed here, includes the following statement from a Samuel Bass researcher who also agrees that the identities of these men have been conflated. He believes the second Samuel Bass was the Samuel Bass who made a 1733 land purchase in Isle of Wight, VA and lived next to Charles Bass Jr. and James Bass.
“I believe Heinegg and Marcia McClure and others have confounded a number of Samuels and Sampsons into one man. I am fifth great grandson of Samuel Bass, Sr who died in 1789 so I have spent a great amount of time trying to tease them apart. The Samuel Bass above was son of Samuel Sr. However I do not believe Samuel Sr was Sampson and the son of Edward. Through tracing land I place this man as the Samuel who purchased land in Isle of Wight County in 1733. He stated he was “of Isle of wight ” and the land adjoined property of James Bass and Charles Bass, Jr. They in subsequent years signed deeds for each other and moved about together. To me that says related. I have come to believe that Samuel was a son of Charles Bass, Sr of Isle if Wight Co. He was born most likely around 1712. He married twice. First to Elizabeth who was still alive in 1755. He was married to Sarah by 1770 and she is the wife in the will. He had 8 children who I believe were born in the order listed in the will. My ancestor Matthew could be the son of either wife.”
The Nansemond identity of the Basses in Granville County was known by Bass researcher, Albert Bell. While doing archival research for his book, Bass Families of the South, published in 1961, Albert Bell came across the 1833 Norfolk County, VA Indian certificates of several members of the Bass family in the Norfolk court minutes. Similar to the Norfolk court records from the 1700’s, the Nansemond Bass family found it necessary to clarify their identity as Indian peoples. Albert Bell submitted a copy of these 1833 Indian certificates and citations to the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh and included a note which stated:
“The Basses of Norfolk County have been bedeviled by the same problem as that faced by the Granville County crowd.”
Nansemond Bass Genealogy in the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe
Mary Bass (1751-1844) and her husband Benjamin Richardson (1750-1809) are my 5th great-grandparents and are the main progenitors of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe. Mary Bass (1751-1844) has a documented Nansemond lineage through both of her parents, Benjamin Bass (1722-1800) and Mary Bass (b. 1722), who were first cousins. Before Benjamin Richardson, Mary Bass was married to her first cousin Elijah Bass (1743-1781) with a marriage bond dated 14 Feb 1777 in Bute Co, NC (formerly Granville Co).
Elijah Bass (1743-1781) was the son of John Bass (1716-17480 who was the son of Edward Bass (1672-1750). This means Elijah Bass and Mary Bass were first cousins (their fathers were brothers). After becoming widowed, Mary Bass married Benjamin Richardson with a marriage bond dated 13 Feb 1783 in Granville Co, NC. It had been incorrectly assumed by some earlier researchers that Mary Bass (1751-1844) was the same Mary Bass who was the daughter of Thomas Bass (1723-1764) and Thomasine Bunch of Bertie Co. However I have extensively reviewed the records for Thomas Bass/Thomasine Bunch and their children and it is very clear that their daughter Mary Bass died in childhood and cannot possibly be Mary Bass (1751-1844) of Granville and later Halifax Co. Thomas Bass (1723-1764) was a grandson of John Bass (1673-1732) and Love Harris. He is documented as the husband of Tamerson Bunch who is identified as such in her father Henry Bunch’s 1775 Bertie Co will. Thomas Bass died young in 1764 and his will names his four minor children who were living at that time: John, Jacob, Mary, and Isbell. Thomas Bass’ sons John Bass and Jacob Bass are documented in the subsequent Bertie Co records as heads of white households who were often slave owning. No records attributed to them show any close or tangential relationship with Mary Bass (1751-1844) or her Richardson offspring.
A closer examination of the records as well as DNA cousin matches between documented lineal descendants of Mary Bass and other members of the Bass family, shows that Mary Bass (1751-1844) was the daughter of Benjamin Bass (1722-1800) and his wife Mary Bass (b. 1722) of Granville County. When Mary Bass’ first husband Elijah Bass (1743-1781) died during the Revolutionary War, her father Benjamin Bass (1722-1822) became the legal guardian of her children (John, Phatha, Sarah, and David) as demonstrated in the Granville County, NC apprenticeship records. When Mary Bass married for a second time in Granville County to Benjamin Richardson who resided in Halifax County, the bondsman was Mary Bass’ relative Phillip Pettiford (1754-1825).who was the husband of Patience Bass. It was after her marriage to Benjamin Richardson that Mary Bass moved to Halifax Co where she raised her Richardson children. Mary Bass named two of her sons: Absalom Richardson (1790-1880) and Hardy Richardson (1788-1855) after her brothers Absalom Bass (b 1760) and Hardy Bass (b. 1755) who are both documented sons of Benjamin Bass (1722-1800) and Mary Bass (b. 1722) of Granville. Because Mary Bass outlived both of her husbands, Elijah Bass and Benjamin Richardson, who were Revolutionary War soldiers, she was able to successfully apply for a widow’s pension (W.4061). Her application which can be viewed on Ancestry here and on Fold3 here, confirm she is the same Mary Bass who first married Elijah Bass and second married Benjamin Richardson.
Mary Bass’ brother Benjamin Bass Jr (1756-1800) also moved from Granville to Halifax at the very end of his short life. In 1799, the year before he died, Benjamin Bass Jr sold his land in Granville County (Granville DB Q:307) and he purchased 119 acres of land in Halifax County from Benjamin Richardson’s brother John Richardson (Halifax DB18: 480). Benjamin Bass Jr and his wife Milley Pettiford (Granville Co Marriage bond 2 Jan 1781) were the parents of 7 living children when he died the following year. One of his children was Katie Bass (1783-1825) who sold her 1/7 share (17 acres) in 1804 (Halifax DB19: 268). Katie Bass was the wife of Moses Richardson (1777-1850) who was the son of Benjamin Richardson (1750-1809) and his first unknown wife. As a result, there are Haliwa-Saponi who descend from Benjamin Bass Jr via his daughter Katie Bass.
This means that Haliwa-Saponi people descend from the Nansemond tribe via two documented grandchildren of John Bass(e) and Elizabeth the Nansemond: Edward Bass (1672-1750) and John Bass (1673-1732). There are also documented lineal descendants of Mary Bass (1751-1844) and her siblings enrolled as tribal citizens in the Nansemond Indian Nation, including past and current tribal council members and the current chief Keith F. Anderson (a descendant of Mary Bass’ sister Winnie Bass who married Lewis Anderson Jr).
Photos of Nansemond Basses from Granville County
Below are a handful of photos of individuals who come from the Nansemond Bass family in Granville County. Some of the Granville Basses in the following generations moved to neighboring and nearby counties such as Halifax, Person, Orange, Durham, and Alamance.
The Bass pedigree of the three brothers pictured below who were sons of William Bass b. 1831 and Sarah Evans is as follows:
William Bass; Cullen Bass; Prudence Bass; Edward Bass Jr; Edward Bass Sr; William Bass Sr; John Bass(e) the English colonist and Elizabeth daughter of the Nansemond chief.
Source: Ancestry, User: randymaultsby
Source: Ancestry, User: Derika73
Source: Ancestry, User: randymaultsby
Source: Ancestry, User: randymaultsby
Resident of Fishing Creek, Granville County, NC.
His parents were James Pettiford and Frances Brandon. Alford Pettiford has multiple Bass lines that trace back to both brothers Edward Bass (1672-1750) and John Bass (1673-1732). One of his Bass lineages is as follows:
Alford Pettiford; James Pettiford; William Pettiford; Dicey Bass; Nathan Bass; Lovey Bass; John Bass; William Bass; John Bass(e) the English colonist and Elizabeth daughter of the Nansemond chief. Source: Rod Daye
Cappie Anderson; James Anderson; Winnie Anderson; Henry Anderson; Rhody Anderson; Winnie Bass; Benjamin Bass; Edward Bass; William Bass; John Bass(e) the English colonist and Elizabeth daughter of the Nansemond chief. Source: Rod Daye
Native American Roots 
Following my Bass line back from Walter Thomas, Jesse Len, Gabriel, Cullen…. Then I run into confusion. Ancestry says that Cullen’s parents were Prissy Bass and Jesse Day, but there are some other trees that disagree. Now, on this blog, I find a Prissy Bass married to Jesse Day in Benjamin’s line and a Priscilla Bass Married to Jesse Day in Edward’s Line. I have only done Ancestry DNA. Is there benefit to further testing? Thoughts?
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I dont have that name in my tree, do you see any other Bass in your tree??
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Helo. My name is James bass. My great great grandfather was moses bass. They say we are half indian . No one knows where moses bass came from. Only that he came from up north. He built houses in Madison. Georgia. Where i grew up. I just wonder did he belong to this family tree from Virginia.
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I come straight down male anncestors from Bass. Starts John Basse 1616, read on The Great Dismal Swamp, NC , and Basses of Granville. That starts your history lesson. William Bass, altho carrying his name Bass he was Keziah (Elizabeth’s son) 1/2 sub Saharan and 1/2 Nansemond, Keziah being full blood Nansemuond, yet no one knows exactly who her father was. Williams children have a A M31. DNA marker. John us!
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Did u take a DNA test on ancestry or another site? I am from the Bass and Dukes family
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Yeah I did take it. And I’m attached to the bass surname. I’m also third cousin or so to driggers. King. Dixon. I know the surnames. And been at it for a while. Now. And I believe that leucetia Beverly is. Somehow a bass daughter or grand daughter. Look me up on ancestry. Santeeman71
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I am from the Dukes family and the Bass family. The Dukes moved to Ky that’s where my line picks up.
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I’m also a Bass/Dukes (double in fact – I’m descended from 2 of Winifred Bass Dukes’ sons, Benjamin and Sampson. Winifred was: Jacob > John 2 of Northampton > John Basse and Love Harris.)
Drop me a line if I can help anyone. Have been working on Sampson’s wife for a long time – she might have been another Bass cousin. Her name was Nancy but NOT Nancy Holland Copes, who married a Dukes nephew also named Sampson Dukes.
This is an email redirect to thwart spam, but I’ll respond using my real address.
pobejr4wqp9y@opayq.com
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Ancestry
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Relationship between William Basse & Shelia A Middleton.
William Basse (1654 – 1741)
10th great-grandfather
John Bass Sr (1673 – 1732)
Son of William Basse
John Bass Jr (1696 – 1777)
Son of John Bass Sr
Jacob Bass (1728 – 1792)
Son of John Bass Jr
WINIFRED WINNEY BASS (1755 – 1845)
Daughter of Jacob Bass
Benjamin Franklin Dukes (1769 – 1850)
Son of WINIFRED WINNEY BASS
Josiah Dukes (1810 – 1883)
Son of Benjamin Franklin Dukes
William L Dukes (1838 – 1900)
Son of Josiah Dukes
James Willard Dukes (1862 – 1926)
Son of William L Dukes
Delia Cordelia Duke (1886 – 1963)
Daughter of James Willard Dukes
Evelyn L Holmes (1914 – 1991)
Daughter of Delia Cordelia Duke
GARY CURTIS MIDDLETON (1944 – )
Son of Evelyn L Holmes
Shelia A Middleton
You are the daughter of GARY CURTIS MIDDLETON
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I think we fall somewhere in the Jacob, John, or William Bass, somewhere in there a Grist Mill comes into play. Sent from my Galaxy Tab® A
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Where are you from?
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My dad and his famiky from Southern Pines Hope Mills, dad and his father used to work for Pappy Moss, out on Youngs Road Proper. Now different location Moss Foundation. Sent from my Galaxy Tab® A
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Idaho,
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I started on my paternal grandmothers side 10 years ago, then raised grand children, and have been just getting into my fathers side. So I dont have much, and cant afford to go back into Ancestry yet again, did make several trips back to NC, Siler, Robbins, Hope Mills, Southern Pines area. Sent from my Galaxy Tab® A
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I am Robin Bass VanLeer, father waa Jesse Bass Jr, his father Jesse Bass Sr, his father Gilbert Green Bass married to Maxwell, his father John W Bass married I believe to Patience Ann Deans. Are we in the line of your roots?
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Ran my kits against bass family descendants and came up empty on gedmatch. I really thought I was gonna find some proof of my native ancestry this time.
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The Bass were so far back it probably wouldnt show up, it didnt on mine and I dont match with any of them. From my research they have found that alot of African Americans are told a certain person was Native when they were actually white. Not that it is the case with yours but if they are in your ancestry tree then you are a descendant anyway.
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My dad is on ancestry and 23 and Me. I uploaded is DNA to Gedmatch. He has a match pretty close match who is a Bass. His paternal Y chromosomes haplogroup is A Native American haplogroip. Mt DNA is L3 west African. Look like his Bass name point to a direct paternal Native American ancestor
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Me either. But I can document with written Records and DNA of Known fakily members. remember Dna is hit and miss especially this many geneations away from the target Native American Ancestor
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Hi, I am doing some personal research of my family tree. My name is Brianna Bass and the furthest I’ve gone is to a free woman of color by the name of Mary Ann Sumner born in Northampton NC. She was born in est. 1804. I can’t find death or birth records on her so I’m wondering if her last name was even Sumner since she is connected to my Bass Grandparents. She lived with my family members (FPOC) in an 1860 census who has the last name was Shanklin, Cureton, and Sumner. I’m just wondering if there is any slave records or free person of color surname list I can find that are connected to the bass family tree. I have Harris in my tree as well.
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Have you tried Paul Heinegg’s website? It probably won’t list your immediate line but might give you some “clues” as to whom else might have been in the area in that time period.
http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/Virginia_NC.htm
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If she married a white she may be then considered considered white. From the Dawes Rolls I learned, if a white man married an Indian woman she was listed as white. But if an Indian man married a white woman, she was considered Indian. Of course, she might not be listed at all. I am Robin Bass VanLeer, idaho. Believe My grandmother had cherokee line, Sent from my Galaxy Tab® A
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Mary D. Sumner wife of J.N. Sumner and daughter of John Bass and Temperance A. Bass 12/8/1831-3/1858
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I’m searching for many info on my g-g-g-Grandpa Moses Bass b. 1778 Duplin, N.C. d. 1845 Bass Hammock, Bear Head Creek, Starks, Louisiana. His sister Nancy Charity Bass is my 4th Great Grandma. His other sister Jane Bass is on my mother’s side the Perkins.Their father was Jeremiah Bass Jr. b.1746 Bertie, N.C. d. 1808 Adams Co., Mississippi. His father Jeremiah Bass Sr. b. 1724 Bertie, N.C. This is were I get lost is Edward or Moses. Who is the father?? Does anyone know who Jeremiah Bass Sr. b. 1724 father is please help. I took a DNA test at Ancestry and I put it on Gedmatch. Wow what a mix. And yes Native is there along with West and East Mediterranean, N. Atlantic, Baltic, Portuguese, North and South Africa, South Asia, Red Sea, etc.. Well I guess the old folks had it right! MIXED BLOODS aka Redbone & Melungeon. Some Surnames in my family are Stanley, Bass, Perkins, Gibson, Ashworth, Dial, Hoosier, Goodman, Terrell, Collins, Mullins, etc. True Blue Redbone / Melungeons!!! Any help would be Awesome!!!! Sincerely Just Another Redbone Looking For Roots….
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Sounds like my family! Im on gedmatch and ancestry
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My name is Lanny Norlander. My wife’s maiden name is Bass and she is from Pitkin Louisiana. Her GGG grandfather was John Gilbert Bass B 1770 and was the brother of your Moses Bass B 1778. I can help you some with your problem as my research work on my wife’s family took me on the same course as yours is taking you. Like you I thought her family was through Moses Bass but it turns out it was through Edward Bass B 1697. so yours goes there too. You can find a ton of information on a web site called http://www.wikitree.com and search oh a name.I found my wife’s family there from her grandfather all the way back to colonial times.Email me if you need any more information.
Lanny
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Bells book, I Moses Bass, of Prince George Parrish, SC……(2/28/1777) to my beloved Cousin Jeremiah Bass….
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Edward is the Son of John Bass, will dated 1/18/1732 Bertie, County. Wife Mary.
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This Moses Basse was a son of John Bass from Northampton County, NC. Jeremiah was his Brother Edward’s son. Moses had no children so his estate went to his oldest brothers sons Right and Jeremiah from Black Creek, NC(my line)
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My line comes through John Basse and Elizabeth (Nansemond)’s son Richard Bass Sr
1658–1722; BIRTH 2 AUG 1658 • Nansemond County, Virginia, USA;DEATH 26 DEC 1722 • Norfolk, Nansemond County, Virginia, USA. His family (3 are head of household) are listed in Sampson County in 1790 Census. His great-grandson, Burwell Bass, a Revolutionary War soldier, was born 1752 in Brunswick Co., Virginia. Given land after the war, he settle in Roebuck Springs and was married to Elizabeth Jane York. Burwell was buried August 23, 1831 in what is now called Bass Cemetery, in Alabama. Most of their descendants stayed around Jefferson County, Alabama where many still live today.
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My name is jonathan keith bass i am a direct and last grandson in the line from Laurence K Bass( my father) howard bass oscar bass, alfred owen bass,john franlin bass, orren bass,jacob bass, john bass II,john basse, william Basse to John Basse and Elizabeth so i am the great x 10 great grandson of chief King nansemond. I am a member of the church of jesus christ latter-day saints our records or tremendous my email is jonjonbass@gmail.com text me at 704.919.7653
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Hello, my mother in law is a Bass. The farthest back I can trace her family is Edmond Haines and Mary T/E Bass b. 1831 in Iredell North Carolina. Several Bass families moved from Iredell, N.C. to Fairfield County, S.C. My husband has DNA matches that have this Bass family in their tree, and it is obvious from studying the DNA connections and family trees, that he is related to these DNA matches through this specific Bass family line. I can’t find any parental information on Mary Bass. Her marriage certificate is scratched on a piece of paper with no parents names. Any help would be appreciated.
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Edward is the Son of John Bass, will dated 1/18/1732 Bertie, County. Wife Mary.
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I have Polly Hains, which is a nick name for Mary, marrying John Bass, Oct 6, 1831
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John Bass father Nathaniel Basse is my 9th great- grandfather. I am not a from John but his brother Edward. Very good article. Donnie Bays.
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Hi Kianga,
Thank you for such an extensive blog. You have taken me back in time as you mention family members that my father used to speak of often. Alonzo Bass (1929) is my great-grandfather. Joel Bass (b1929) and my father were cousins. I was raised up north, though we visited often when I was a child. Can you help me in connecting to family?
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Hey there. My daughter started working on a family tree last night, and today I’ve been doin a little research. Noble Alonzo bass was my biological paternal grandmas daddy
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Sorry, I meant to say….Alonzo Bass (b1859)
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Thank you for the explanation Kianga. There are sooooo many names in the Bass family generationally that repeat which makes it so confusing to figure out how to trace back and figure out relationships. As soon as I think I’ve solved a family connection then it’s right back to square one again LOL…
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You’re welcome! LOL. Yea, the Bass family is not an easy family to research because of the constant repeated names. I have my eyes on your Patience Bass because Philip Pettiford was the bondsman for the 1783 marriage bond for my 5th great-grandparents Benjamin Richardson and Mary Bass. Now that I do have some extra time with all that’s going on, I will revisit your Patience Bass to see if I can figure it out.
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I would GREATLY appreciate that! Thank you so much Kianga 🙂
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Hello Kianga! I just took a look at an exerpt from Paul Heinegg’s book online and found a surprise that might help us. What do you think about Paul’s theory on page 115 of the link below where Patience Bass’ name is highlighted both at top as inheriting the south side of Bear Swamp plantation and also at the footnote at the very bottom of the same page amending her birthdate to 1736 which makes more sense considering I’ve heard she was MUCH older than her husband Philip Pettiford who was born around 1754.
A sugar mama situation could this be perhaps lol? 🙂
Do you think this is my Patience Bass? Here is the link and thanks in advance for helping me with this!
https://books.google.com/books/about/Free_African_Americans_of_North_Carolina.html?id=JcF6E75ZAeUC
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Patience Ann Deans Bass?
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I’m one of your dna matches. I’m also cousin to kara brewer boyd .
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Hello,
That information comes from Philip Pettiford’s pension application. I have read the original application from beginning to end and there are some lingering questions. He filed in 1820 and stated that he was 66 years and says the only family living with him was his wife who was 84 years old. He DOES NOT name his wife at all in the entire application.
The only reason we know that Philip Pettiford was married to a woman named Patience Bass is from the Narcissa Ratley letter from 1893. In the letter Narcissa specifies that Philip Pettiford married Patience Bass and then names the children they had. Here is the problem. Those children were all born between 1770s-1790. A woman born in 1736 was not giving birth this late. The marriage record for Philip Pettiford and Patience Bass has not been located, so we don’t even know what year they married. We also don’t know if Philip Pettiford was married more than once. The wife he was referring to in his 1820 application, could be a second marriage.
What we do know for sure is that John Bass died in 1732, so any children born to him and named in his will, had to have been born before 1732. To find out what happened to John Bass’ daughter Patience Bass (Heinegg estimates that she was born circa 1726) is to track that land that she inherited from her father’s will. Patience would have eventually sold that share of land if she survived childhood. That is how I found out that John Bass’ daughter Mary Bass (my 6th great-grandmother) married her first cousin Benjamin Bass, because after they married she sold the land she inherited from her father John Bass.
Here is another problem. In the 1786 state census for North Carolina, Philip Pettiford is enumerated in a household by himself with no wife or children, and owning 8 slaves. We know that by 1786 he was married since he had children born in the 1770s. Where are they? There are a lot of questions about his household which is why this is going to require very deep dive research such as looking at court minutes, tax lists, land deeds, etc, to figure out what’s going on. I’m working on all of this and it will take some time to sort it out. I try not to publish information that I have not been able to confirm.
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Oh wow, good investigative work! I had no idea that the Patience/Philip line was so complicated! One other random Bass family rumor I’ve heard is that rocker Tommy Lee (of Motley Crue) is related somehow. Do you know if that’s true? Said his real name is Tommy Lee Bass but I was surprised when a friend told me his grandfather also last name of Bass grew up in the Suffolk, Virginia area. Do you know if that’s true? Sorry so many questions lol! I was just surprised Tommy was a Bass at all (and I thought his last name was actually Lee lol!)
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Kianga, another strange thing I forgot to mention is that I descend from (Patience Bass?) and Philip Pettiford’s daughter Gillie and Gillie Pettiford had 4 children of her own but nobody can tell me who Gillie had these children with. Gillie probably wasn’t married since all her kids took her last name but no one can tell me who fathered the 4 kids and I don’t see them listed in any “bastardy/base born” records. I’m confused!
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This is the section of my lineal I’m also looking for. I had a cousin surname Hall, Susan (May she rest peacefully) Who built our Pettiford family website. Patience Bass and Philip/Philemon Pettiford are listed as the Parents of a Gillie Pettiford born 1790-1834. Gillie Spouse/Partner is unknown, However thier son Reuben Pettiford Married a Judy Artis. My GGGgrandfather is their son John “Jack” Pettiford. Philip/Philemon is descendent of Lawrence Pettiford and Mary Mitchell…..
With all that said, THANK YOU!!! For all the endless days and nights doing research! You are Appreciated Kianga
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Hi Kianga,
Great blog, as always! Steming from John and Edward, I descend from the Bass, Pettiford, Anderson, Day, Hayes line. My 5th great grandparents are Benjamin Bass Sr. b.1722 and Mary Bass b.1732 on my grandfather’s side. On my grandmother’s side (grandparents are cousins, of course lol) Edward Bass Jr. b.1728 and Tamor Bass Anderson b.1742. However, I can never pin down the Hayes portion of the family. I noted in your Levy Family blog (2015) you mention, “It is there that James married a woman from the Native community named Martha Freeman (1865-1944). Martha was the daughter of John Freeman and Elizabeth Hayes and is descended from the Native American Freeman, Hayes, Taborn, and Epps families. Though she was raised in Kittrell, most of Martha’s family came from neighboring Person Co in the High Plains community that is today the Sappony Tribe of Person County.” Would you have any other info regarding the Native American Hayes?
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Hi Kianga,
Can you tell me how the Epps family is connected to the Bass Family? I’m not sure if there is a connection here. I am a descendant of the Epps family. I have matches with the Bass and Freeman surnames. I also have Lumbee ancestry. Thank you.
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Elizabeth Epps married Theophilus Bass 1868 in Persons, County NC
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Bells Book Bass Families of the South, Hannah Freeman married Issac Bass 1802, Surrey County NC, Lucy Freeman married Dixon Bass 1811. In Virginia. Mary Freeman married Doctor Bass 1846 in Alabama.
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Great article but I think there could be an error on one entry. You mention that Bartlet Tyler (born 1742) and Lovey Bass (born 1712) had a child together. I guess that is remotely possible but not likely given she was thirty years older than him. I descend from a Bartlet Tyler born 1795 (Virginia or NC, records vary) and I think these two are father / son, although I haven’t proven it yet.
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Please note birth dates from this era are approximations. But Lovey Bass herself filed a bastardy bond in Granville Court naming Bartet Tyler as the father of her child on 13 January 1767. That document can be found in the Granville bastardy bonds in the state archives. I have no record of Bartlet Tyler of Granville having a son named Bartlet born circa 1795. Please note there were several men named Bartet Tyler throughout colonial VA and NC.
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You mentioned the Basses of Camden County, NC & surrounding counties in the 1700s intermarrying w/other FPOC families & mentioned a Price family. Can you please, please give me a link or some info on this FPOC Price family? My father is a Price that I have traced back to an Anderson Price, b. 1825 in SC & I think his mother was an Anderson. Bass is a name that regularly pops up in family trees of dna matches. I also have done ydna testing of my father, so I have that evidence for this Price line, but I cannot for the life of me find records. Any info at all that you can offer on the FPOC Price family that intermarried with the Basses would be ENORMOUSLY appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Go to familysearch.org
I did last night, everything seems to be documented with sources. I am a direct defendant from Robin the Elder Chief of the Nanseumonds. Going through Jesse Leslie Bass, Gilbert Green Bass, John William Bass, I had those and documentation of my own. It carried me back further.
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Descendant
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Eliza C m Willism Bass 1817 Alabama, Lucinda m Hardy Bass 1845 Alabama, Rachel m Uriah Bass 1849 Alabama, Polly Price m m Guilford Bass 1820 Tenn.
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I’m the great granddaughter of Charles Mangum who married Matilda Yancey. I’m in the process of researching Martha Anderson.
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I have traced back to John Basse, Elizabeth Tucker, Robin the Elder straight decendancy by grandfather’s.
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Hello Cousin! Please check out the FB site, Bass Surname DNA Study, free, lotsa information!
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I am the 4th great-granddaughter of Benjamin Richardson & Mary Bass Richardson; 3rd ggd of Hardy and Dorcas Richardson; 2nd ggd of Abner Jane Boone Richardson; and ggd of Spencer Murray Boone and Sarah Susan Richardson Murray Boone. I would dearly love to have a picture of Susan Richardson (1852-1923). Does anyone have one that they would share with me? Her son’s picture, Philmore Murray Boone, my grandfather, has been posted previously on this website.
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I am a Bass descendant through Priscilla “Prissy” Bass and Jesse Day. Their son Jeremiah Daye married Nicey Mitchell and had Sterling Daye. Sterling Daye married Lizzie Corn (She sometimes went in Baynes and/or Jeffries as well). Their youngest daughter Margie Pearl Daye married Cardovious Parker. Margie and Cardovious are my great grandparents.
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I’m a Bass descendent through Priscilla “Prissy” Bass and Jesse Day, too!
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Hello. My name is James Bass. My great great great grandfather . Moses Bass Walked from Virginia to Georgia back in the 1800s. Does anyone know more about my moses bass. I have pictures
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Are you the James Bass on Bass of the New World, would love to see pictures of our ggpa!
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Washington Day Son of Ruben Day son of Jesse Day and Prissy Bass daughter of Benjamin Bass this is my lineage to the Bass family. I’m confused about Prissy I saw her listed on one of the family trees as Prudence Prissy Bass on ancestry but when I view the tree on the blog the birth year for Prissy is 1764 and Prudence 1768 they both were connected to Jesse Day.
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Hi Rhonda,
Jesse Day (1761-1837) was marred to Prissy Bass with whom he had many children with including Reuben Day. He also had children out of wedlock with Prudence Bass (Jethro Bass and Cullen Bass). Prissy Bass and Prudence Bass are two different women. They were actually first cousins. Prissy Bass was daughter of Benjamin Bass b. 1722. And Prudence Bass was the daughter of Edward Bass b. 1728. Benjamin Bass and Edward Bass were brothers.
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I’m hoping I have the correct Bass /Day connection my DNA matches with the family on ancestry but need help finding out if my gg Grandfather Washington Day was part of the lineage
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Hi Kianga! I found another Bass line that I may descend from but wanted to see if I may be wrong about this. One of my great-grandmothers was Gillie/Gillica Pettiford, the daughter of Philip Pettiford. She did not marry but did have 4 children. I was trying to find out who she had those 4 children with. It is rumored that it was with Wright Bass and I saw she did name her oldest son that same name only spelled “Write” instead of “Wright” or perhaps someone just misspelled it and it actually is “Wright.” Do you know if it is true that Wright Bass was the father of Gillie Pettiford’s four children? I haven’t been able to find anything about it but I do match Bass relatives on MyHeritage so I am seeing if anyone has any other information about that? I heard Gillie may have been Wright Bass’ mistress since he was married to someone else (Tabitha Snelling?) for many years. A tricky situation indeed and kind of explains why a lot of people are hush-hush about it and why I have kind of hit a wall there. Any info would be appreciated and if you have none that’s okay. I hope you’re doing well and thanks for keeping up this great site 🙂
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Hi Crystal!
I’m guessing you’re familiar with the Narcissa Ratley letter in which she outlines the genealogy of your family lineage.
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~genealogyfriend/families/pett-ratley.htm
Unfortunately she does not provide any info on who fathered the children of Gillie Pettiford.
Philip Pettiford’ wife was Patience Bass, so you would be a Bass through that lineage. I have not found any documentation that helps identify who Patience Bass’ parents are. She’s currently a brick wall. Perhaps she was closely related to Wright Bass.
I’m not sure the timeline of Wright Bass allows for him to be in Granville to father children with Gillie Pettiford.
1805 was the last time he was recorded in the Granville Co tax lists and in 1806 he sold all of his Granville land. He then appears in Wilkes Co, NC and later Indiana. So based on the records, he likely left Granville in 1806. Gillie started having her children right around this time, so it’s cutting it very close.
I hope this helps!
Kianga
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Thanks Kianga! Some of the Bass relatives I match with on MyHeritage also have the last name “West” which I have no idea where that comes from so that’s another confusing aspect. I feel like my genealogy quest is a never-ending mystery lol!
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To Crystal, are these Bass relatives in Sampson County?
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Hi Ann! My Bass relatives are mainly centered around Granville County, NC and originally came from around the Norfolk, Virginia area I believe.
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Osiyo. I’m Shaye Couther (Cousar/Cousart) my ancestor info keeps growing as I research my DNA. I’m from Norfolk VA. My dads mother is a Haliwa Saponi woman last name Boone. Her mother was a Richardson. Richardsons are in direct correlation to the Bass(e) family. To know I have tribes like Haliwa Saponi, Nansemond, Powhatan, Cherokee and possibly Waxhaw and Shoshone is amazing. Many of the Waxhaw people were torn apart after the Tuscarora War. So it’s harder trying to find some info. But I’m greatful for what I’ve found so far.
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Hi, I am descended from Sarah Bass and Lewis Anderson, through Keziah Micajah Maizah (Anderson) Fortner. It is on my Fortner/Carden’s side. Anyone else related that way?
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Hello,
Lewis Anderson and Sarah Bass did not have a daughter named Keziah Micajah Maizah Anderson. Lewis Anderson wrote a will dated 20 January 1783 which was proved in May 1785 Granville County court. His will specifically names his children: Shadrack Anderson, Lewis Anderson Jr, Elisha Anderson Taborn (wife of Drury Taborn), Tamer Anderson Bass (wife of Edward Bass), Mary Anderson Bass (wife of Reuben Bass), Sarah Anderson Tyler (wife of Bartlet Tyler) and granddaughter Lidda Anderson (daughter of Elisha Anderson from before her marriage to Drury Taborn).
I hope that above information is helpful.
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Thank you so much. I’ll have to look at all the information, and see where the mistake is. My dna has been tested as well as my mother’s, and I match with many of the Bass family, so I need to see what is going on. Thanks again, I appreciate the help.
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I am searching my Bass ancestry. I suspect I am related on both sides of my family to both the Bertie Basses and Granville, NC. The Bertie connection appears to come through John Bass and Elizabeth Winborn. My big Y 700 reads ABY31569 and mostly matches with Basses. One of the sons of Isaac Bass, son of John/Elizabeth appears to be the most likely candidates. The big Y 700 mostly matches with Haplogroup A Basses. My 5th g grandmother is Ann Dundelow, but don’t know where she came from, who her parents were or what her original surname was. There is a lot of poorly documented information/disinformation to be found on her, but suspect she had a “liaison” with a Bass in Bertie. The assumption arises from both genetics and proximity to Basses and Ann in Bertie County in Guy’s Hall Swamp..
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Recently had genealogy done and it led me here. I will appreciate if you can expound on this more or answer any questions I may have.
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Loved your blog. I live in Wilmington NC. My grandfather was Joel Percy Bass. His parents were James Lee Bass and Betty Sandlin Bass. They were from Duplin and Sampson County but settled in New Hanover County ( Wilm NC). Can you tell me if they apart of this bass lineage? James Lee Bass, James Franklin Bass, Lewis Guilford Bass, and lastly Uriah Bass and that’s all i know.
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Thank You Kianga!
It’s good to hear someone talking about William & Catherine’s sons Edward and John. I am a decendant of John’s(1673-1732) son Edward, who sold his inheritance to his brother John Jr and moved to Black Creek, NC around 1745. His lineage can be found in the book “The Bass Family Of Black Creek North Carolina” by James Albert Bass, James Albert Bass Jr.
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Greetings,
My grandfather’s mother, Caroline Olivia Bass, was the sister to Southall Bass’s father, making them siblings. According to your research , my grandfather is also a direct male descendant of Thomas Bass(1687-?)
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Hello Donna,
Your grandfather’s lineage back to Thomas Bass (1687-?) is as follows:
Virginus Southall Ash (1897-1988)
Caroline Olivia Bass (1871-?)
Southall Bass I (1829-1895)
Willis Bass Jr (1796-?)
Willis Bass Sr (1763-1834)
William Bass (1725-1772)
Thomas Bass (1687-?)
A direct male descendant is someone who comes from an unbroken line of direct male ancestors. Your grandfather’s Bass lineage is through his mother and therefore is not a direct male descendant. Caroline Bass’ brothers and their direct unbroken male offspring are direct male descendants of Thomas Bass. I hope that helps.
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I appreciate the breakdown, but the omission of lineage based on a patriarchal system is ridiculous and so outdated, especially since the male Bass mated with a female outside of the family, so how pure is that? How is the lineage of Southall BassIII so pure? His mother was not a Bass. Inbreeding is the only way for pureness.
This outdated thinking is just another way to perpetuate elitism, and deny family members of their rightful lineage. What a shame!
But, I appreciate your response, which only makes me more determined in my pursuit of my Bass family lineage. Thank you
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I’m unable to reply directly to your additional comment, so please note this is in response to your second comment.
I’m unclear about what you mean by omission of a lineage and the purity of a lineage. Your family are legitimately and documented members of the Bass family. Descending from a male Bass versus a female Bass ancestor does not make anyone more or less legitimately Bass. Nor does that make anyone more or less “pure”. I’m not sure where that language is coming from, because I do not use those terms about purity to describe Southall Bass. You will not find that viewpoint expressed anywhere on this website.
For genealogy purposes we do have to clarify what a direct male descendant is – an unbroken direct male lineage. For genetic genealogy testing purposes this is important because y-DNA testing, tests the y-DNA information that is passed down solely from father to son.
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Hello I am the great granddaughter of Leviticus Bass Son Of Hardy Lee Bass who is the Son of Carrington Bass who is the son of Jason Bass Who is the son of Edward Bass Jr Who is the Son Of Edward Bass Sr And Lovewell I Haven’t Always Been able to say who I am and for the first time in my life I feel so complete. My family has been always quiet quiet about our past and then all of my elders died off and have left me searching for years and with documents now I can prove who I am. I prayed and I was patient because not having anyone to ask or turn to always left me with an empty part. I watched for years others who knew who they were and decided to never give up searching. My grandmother Bessie Lee Bass who is the eldest daughter of my great grandfather Leviticus Bass was Always a woman of little words and then died when I was 10-11 ,but instilled as much as she could in me , so I didn’t get as much as I could about who we were all we knew was that her dad (Leviticus Bass) came from North Carolina, Nash to be exact his mother’s name Tattie Tatendear Joyner and following that Lead me to My Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather Edward Bass Sr (1728-1800). My is a splitting image of Joel Bass who’s picture I stumbled upon with many others who are a splitting image of myself and my grandmother as well as other family members. I would love to share as well as stay in contact with all those who are of The Bass Lineage. So please don’t hesitate to reach out.
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This is my family. I’m not sure why it is not mentioned that my 9th great-grandfather, John Fulcher had many children with my 9th great-grandmother, Kate Anderson (his slave). I am African American, Native American and European American based on my tree. I’m sad that the African American mixture is left out of the beginning of this story and we are only considered his slaves. Most of them were his spouse and his children. Some of my family that is now “white” became white by their ancestors passing and marrying into a European families.
It is interesting how our American history happened, but what is above is part of my story.
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Hello,
This comment was left under my blogpost on the Nansemond Bass family. if you have not read it yet, I suggest reading my blogpost specific to the Andersons who were freed by John Fulcher’s will: https://nativeamericanroots.wordpress.com/2015/06/14/the-norfolk-va-origins-of-the-anderson-family-of-granville-county/
John Fulcher’s 1712 will freed the people he enslaved – they had both the Anderson and Richards surname. Slave owners often impregnated the women they enslaved and I suspect there is a biological relationship between John Fulcher and some of the people he enslaved. As the “About Me” section in my blogpost states, I use primary source records and the genealogy proof standard to confirm family relationships. Therefore without any solid proof that John Fulcher fathered any or all of the people he enslaved, I’m left with theories. Kate Anderson was an enslaved woman and therefore could not be John Fulcher’s legal spouse according to the laws of Virginia. This is why John Fulcher had to very specifically name the people he enslaved, to be freed. Even though his instructions were specific, the executor of his estate, Lewis Conner, fought John Fulcher’s wishes, especially when it came to the land. This is discussed in the Anderson blogpost linked above. Though I try to include as much information as possible to help people get started on their genealogy journey, there is just no way I can cover everything within the space of this blogpost. I hope the information provided here encourages you to dig deeper. Best wishes in your research journey.
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One of the craziest legal doctrines, at least in my view, to develop in colonial America was that of “partus sequitur ventrem” or that which is born follows the womb. Until 1662, under English common law, the status of the father dictated whether a child was born free or a slave. Thus, a white slaveholder who fathered a child with a slave, the child would be free. That all changed when the Virginia House of Burgesses passed a law establishing “partus sequitur ventrem” so that the status of the woman determined whether a person was free or not. If the woman was a slave, so was the child: if the woman was either white or a FPC , then the child was free. I have two family lines (Tyler, Nichols) where in the 19 th century, both appear as FPC. and I haven’t been able to figure out how that happened.
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I have plenty of evidence, including DNA, that my 9th great-grandfather, John Fulcher had children with my 9th great-grandmother, Kate Anderson. A couple of his other great-grandchildren, Black and White have confirmed this.
One, who didn’t realize she was from the Anderson “Black” side found out that her 5th great-grandmother who was Black, but could pass for white married her 5th great-grandfather, a European man and that is how her family became white. She told my why my family moved to North Carolina (it was hard to be free and Black in Virginia). She also told me where they moved to in NC and she was right.
I share DNA that is traceable to both my Fulcher/Anderson family.
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Would you have additional information on the Joneses? What was their ethnic background?
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Hi, I am trying to figure out how my mom’s Richardson line( her mother is a Richardson, as far as I know, a descendent of Edward Richardson -that line lived in Union /Wayne and wake county) area fits in to many of my DNA matches on Ancestryd, 23me ,and Gedmatch to their Richardson lines of HardyJ /Dorcas Boone, Moses Richardson , John B. Richardson, Sarah bass, which are also connected to the Silver and Hedgepath. My dad is also somehow connected to the Richardsons. I did fine in someone’s tree a Richardson married to a Morgan.. My dad’s birth fathers lines are Morgan, Bass, Chavis , Fort,Forysthe, Justice ,Meeks and Sowell. His mom line includes Thompson from Robeson,NC. Dew,Farmer,Wells,Taylor,and Adams.
I am hoping that someone would be able to assist. I have my GEDmatch numbers and on Ancestry I go by Jennette Thompson. My dad is Walter Thompson and my sister Sabrina Thompson.
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Hello cousin! I just found your site. I am a direct descendant of Elizabeth the Nansemond (she is my 10th great-grandmother). Good to meet extended family!
Dianne
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Hello, nice to meet you all. I am a direct descendant of Elizabeth the Nansemond as well. (she is my 7th great-grandmother). I would love to learn more about her and about you as well!
Brandy
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Hi. I am also a decendent. Edward Bass is my 5th great-granduncle.
William Bass Sr. married Catherine Lanier
Their son was John Bass.
His son was Edward Bass.
His son was Wright Bass.
His son was Soloman Samuel Bass.
His son was Soloman Bass.
His son was Buck Cleo Bass (my grandfather.)
His son was Teddy Bass (my dad.)
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Kianga: Help…I believe I am a descendent of John Bass and ELIZABETH. I am so interested in getting things correct. As you mentioned several time there is much mis information out there. Would you be able to refer me to someone who would guide me thru. Judy Carter, Winter park, Fl
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I have always been told my great grandmother was Cherokee. I spent the day looking into it. She was Anna/Nancy Bass, granddaughter of Elijah Bass Sr. I saw his son’s rejected application saying “Granville NC was NEVER a part of Cherokee domain”
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My family has flawed legends about Native American ancestry. I do believe there is some truth in them, but many of the specifics are mostly fantasy. I am related to the Bass family most certainly by Y DNA and have some autosomal DNA suggestion of NA. Still trying to put all this together.
Bill Cale, MD (Billy to close relatives)
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Hi Kianga, I hope you’re doing well! I’m just getting back into genealogy again after a break and was re-reading some of your excellent blog posts. Are we eighth cousins through John Bass and Love Harris? I descend from their daughter Patience Bass and I think you descend from their daughter Mary Bass?
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Hey Crystal
My name is Gene Bass and I decend from their son Edward
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Hi Gene, it’s great to meet another fellow Bass descendant!
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Hi Gene, it’s great to meet a fellow Bass cousin/descendant!
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Hi my family is also fromJohn Bass family I’m trying to trace down my heritage
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I’ve seen on several trees that John Bass Sr. had a daughter named Ann who was the mother of Aaron Johnston. Is there a document that supports this? I haven’t found anything saying John had a daughter named Ann.
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Hello,
When inquiring about specific Basses it is helpful to include circa dates or other biographical information so I know which specific John Bass Sr. you are referring to.
There is a section of this blog post titled “Edward Bass/Bayes and Mary Tucker of the Chowanoke(?)” which may answer your question.
John Bass (1616-1699) who married Elizabeth the Nansemond had a brother named Edward Bass (1622-1696) according to the Bass sermon book. His surname was also spelled Bayes. The sermon book identified Edward Bass’ wife as an Indian woman named Mary Tucker and they moved to live among the Chowanoke in NC. Edward Bass/Bayes’ 1696 will and subsequent land deeds described in detail in the above named section, identify one of his children as Ann (Bass/Bayes) Johnston/Johnson. No will or estate records for Ann Johnson/Johnston or her husband have been located to date, so I’m not able to document any children they may have had.
If you are asking if John Bass (1616-1699) had a daughter named Ann Johnson/Johnston, there are no documents to support this claim. The Bass sermon book nor the Bass family papers make no mention of John Bass (1616-1699) having a daughter named Ann. He had two daughters- Keziah Bass and Elizabeth Bass who apparently died without children or being married as there are no additional records located for them.
There are many unsourced Bass family trees that you will find online that make completely unfounded claims. Another such unfounded claim is that William Bass and Catherine Lanier’s daughter Keziah Bass married a man named Edward Baldwin even though the Bass family papers make it clear she died a spinster – “Keziah Bass, Junior, daughter of William Bass & Catherine Lanier, entered into eternal life in the year of our lord & savior 1704, at 28 years. A pious Christian spinster”.
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Thank you for the reply and that’s my fault for not including the birthdate. I’ve seen several trees, including the tree in this blog, state John Bass Sr. 1673-1732 had a daughter named Ann who was the mother of Aaron Johnston. I’ve just never seen any evidence that he had a daughter named Ann or that Aaron Johnston had a mother named Ann.
The only evidence I’ve been able to find for Aaron’s mother is a mention in Albert Bell’s book saying that John Sr. had a daughter named Keziah who was married to William Johnston and their son was this Aaron Johnston found in John Sr.’s will. He doesn’t include any legal document to support this just says it in passing. The author of this blog clearly does their research so I was hoping they knew something I didn’t.
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Ah yes! That John Bass! Yes, he had a daughter named Ann who had a son named Aaron Johnston. Aaron Johnston received 100 acres from John Bass’ 1673 will because Ann had already passed away. (John Bass left 100 acres for each of his daughters). Northampton County Deed Book 2, Page 455 shows Aaron Johnston selling the 100 acres he inherited from his grandfather John Bass (1673-1732).
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Oops I thought I replied to this but I must not have. Thanks for the info! That makes sense that Aaron Johnston would have inherited his mom’s 100 acres since she had passed.
Can you point me to the record that says Ann is Aaron’s mother or that she was the daughter of John Bass Sr 1673-1732? I’ve been searching but can’t find anything.
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The land deed cited above is documentation of Aaron Johnston inheriting the 100 acres in place of his mother. Land deeds are excellent primary documents to establish parentage.
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