- Birth and Parentage
The records that we have found for our Jesse Vinson indicates a birthdate of anywhere between 1797 - 1802 in either North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia. And to add to this, on the 1880 census, most of the known children list their father's birthplace as Tennesee, but we also have a North Carolina, Virginia and even a Mississippi. As you can see, there is no consistency here and this has added to the difficulty of trying to trace Jesse's parentage.Jesse's parentage is UNPROVEN! The most 'likely candidate' is William VINSON/VINCENT who appears with him in Hopkins Co., KY and is also in Maury Co., TN when we know our Jesse was there. We know that in 1822, our Jesse was in Maury Co., TN. I did a comparison of the Vinson families listed on the 1820 Maury Co. TN and William does have a child who could fit Jesse's age. Remember the 1820 census gives no names - only heads of household. Therefore we really don't know who is living in the household as at this time many of the families were 'extended'.
Another possiblity is a James Vinson who married Rebecca 'Becca' Switcher. This Rebecca was supposed 1/2 Choctaw Indian. This is based upon a rejected application in 1900. Though this application seems to be of merit and persuasive, when looked at by itself, I really can't find anything to actually back up all that is written in it.
Therefore we're back to 'square one' with the records pointing toward William. But the search continues!
- 1820 Maury Co., TN, page 39
William VINSON 100111-1110101 1 male (45up) before 1775 1 female (45 up) before 1775 1 male (26-45) 1775-1794)--possibly our John who married Mahaley 1 male (16-26) 1794-1804--possibly our Jesse who married Mahaley 1 female (16-26) 1794-1804) 1 female (10-16) 1804-1810) 1 male (<10) 1810-1820 1 female (<10) 1810-1820*I believe (NO PROOF YET) that the male, age 16-26, is our Jesse who Mahaley with the male born 1775-1794 to be John who was married FIRST to Mahaley.
- 1821 - 1822 Maury Co., Tennessee
Jesse Vincent to Mahali Vincent April 9, 1822 Maury Co.,TN
Now when you see two people with the same last name marrying, it is always a clue to investigate further. This led to the discovery of the marriage, below, which leads me to believe that Mahaley is probably the widow of John, who must have died within 15 months of marriage.
John Vincent to Mahaley Liggett January 24, 1821 Mauary Co., TN
Now add to this what I know from a letter written by my gt gt grandfather, Meridith Vinson who states his grandpa, father of Hiriam Calvin Vinson, was Jesse Vinson. Well my Hiriam was born August 22, 1822 - according to the Bible record. The obvious conclusion I reach is that Jesse Vinson upon learning that his deceased brother's wife is pregant, decided to marry her and take care of her. Another possibility is that John died sooner and Hiram is actually Jesse's son. I'm sure you can caluculate the math.However, for now, I'm going with Hiram being the son of John, who is very close kin to Jesse, mostly likely a brother. Now when Jesse and Mahaley became husband and wife in the 'normal sense' is a very good question. Did he come to love her later on? We have lots of questions here and no real answers. We do know that Jesse and Mahaley married April 1822 - but we don't find any children for them born until 1829 and 1836. The census seems to bear this out. Now that doesn't mean that there weren't children who died as babies - a real possiblity. But notice when the two children are born they are named Jesse and Mahaley - after their parents.
One also wonders if possibly Mahaley (Leggit) Vincent died and Jesse remarried - since there is such a gap before children (at least one that lived). Well the records indicate that during this time, Jesse was only married to Mahaley as on February 24, 1834 (shown below) Jesse's wife is listed as Mahaley.
- 1829 - Hopkins Co., Kentucky Deed Records
--as researched by Bill Vinson (now deceased)
- January 20, Hopkins County, KY. #5-373
"William Vinson of Hopkins County, bought 50a. on Bull Creek, a branch of Tradewater, from Benjamin Cates, for $75.
Witness: Jesse Vinson"
- Feburary 23, Hopkins Co., KY, #5-360
"Jesse purchased 140a. on Bull Creek, from Deputy Sheriff, it had been auctioned and the high bidder was Mr. Thompson, he never took possesion, but transfered it to Jesse, for $51."
- September 23, Hopkins County, KY. #6-84
" William Vincent, bought 39a. on the head of Weirs Creek, from Abner Cates for $35.
Wit: Jesse Vincent."
- 1830 Hopkins Co., Kentucky
page 53 (in order in which appears) Thomas TODD John TODD Meriman VINCENT 10001-10001 (Meriman 1800-1810) Jessie VINCENT 10001-00001 Richardson VINCENT 00000001-00100001 (Richardson (1770-1780) Bozzle TINSLY? Grif R. HASKER? William VINCENT 111001-200011 (William 1790-1800) Ezekiel CATY William VINCENT 60-70 & 1F=60-70 (William 1760-1770) page 54 James VINCENT 110001-210101 (James 1790-1800)Now we have another mystery here. The son for Jesse under age 5 is more than likely Jesse Vinson Jr. born January 6, 1829. The question then is where is my Hiram born in 1822? With no names listed and several Vincent/Vinson families in the same vicinity, it is a mystery that has no answer. Possiblity is that Hiram is listed with one of the other families shown above)
More Deeds research by Bill Vinson (now deceased)
- 1832, June 7, Hopkins County, KY. #6-281
"William Vincent sold 50a. on Bull Creek to Richardson Vincent, for $75.
Wit: Jepa (Jesse) Vinson."
- 1834, February 24, Hopkins County, KY., #7/88
"Richardson bought 140a. on Wier Creek from Jesse & his wife Mahala, for $145."
This deed is very important as it PROVES that Jesse is still married to Mahala.
- 1834, Carroll Co., TN Tax List
Jesse Vincent, but he did not own any land or slaves
- 1835, Carroll County, TN, C-392
"William and Jesse Vincent sold a Negro Girl named Rhody aged 11, for $450."
- 1837, September 2, Hopkins County, KY. #8-178
"Jepe (Jesse) Vincent bought 75a. on Poage Creek, for $80."
- 1840, January 9, Hopkins County, KY. #5-239
"Jepe and Lizza his wife, sold 75a. on Poage Creek, for $135. She signed the transaction."
Now this deed is important as it proves that Mahala has now died and Jesse has now remarried - to Lizza.
- 1841, November 15, Hopkins County, KY. #10-155
"Jepe (Jesse) & Elizabeth his wife, of Ripley County, MO. sold their interest in a tracf of land containing 50a. on the headwaters of Weirs Creek. This land was left to Elizabeth by her father Edward Drew."
Now this one is very important as ir pves that Lizza/Elizabeth, Jesse's 2nd wife, was d/o Edward Drew.
- 1844, November 19, Fayette Co., TN
Hiriam Calvin Vinson married Martha Anna Kendall The Kendall family is listed on the 1830 Henry Co., TN and the 1840 Fayette Co.,TN census.
**My belief is that my Hiram may have stayed or lived for a short time with his uncle, William Vinson who married Rutha Wilson and lived 1829-1834 in Hopkins Co., KY (the same time as Jesse) and from 1834 to 1840's in Carroll Co., TN and later lived in Gibson Co., TN. Part of my reason for believing this is:
- 1835 - Jesse and his brother William sold a slave together in Carroll Co., TN
- Both Jesse and William on 1834 Carroll Co., TN Tax List
- Meredith's letter mentions brother of his father as Pleasant Anderson Vinson
(Remember this same letter also said Hiram's father was Jesse)
------This William did have a son named Pleasant Anderson
------Actually Hiriam's 1st cousin
------Hiram even named a son, Robert Anderson
- Descendants of this William intermarried with descendants of Hiram's family
- 1850 - Tishomingo Co, MS Census, Northern Division, page 148, #814-814
--(enumerated Nov 15, 1850)Jese VINSON 53, GA farmer Elisabeth, 34, TN Mahaly, 12, KY Elisabeth, 10, KY Sintha, 7, MO James, 3, MS Cela T., 3, MS Lucy, 1, MS Jesse, 20, KY- 1860 - Tishomingo Co, MS Census, Highland P. O.,page 345, #2309-2309
--(enumerated Sept 7, 1860)Jesse R. VINCENT 60 NC farmer $700 $967 Elizabeth, 42, TN Mahala A., 23, KY Sarah E., 20, KY Syntha, 18, MO James T., 13, MS Celia T., 13, MS Lavicia E., 11, MS Caperacy J., 5, MS*Daughter, Tobitha Paralee, who would be age 8 on this cenus is NOT LISTED.Possible Explanations
- she just got left off the census completely (which I have seen happen)
--on the family of Calvin Vinson next door, the son, Meridith, age 9, was also left off- she was visiting or living with another family and got listed with them
- she came to live with Jesse and Lizzie (Drew) Vinson AFTER the 1860 census was taken
*For now until we find anything to prove otherwise, we're going to go with the first or second possiblity and continue to look for her on the 1860 census.
- 1870 - Tishomingo Co, MS census, p. 68 #38-38
Jessee VINSON 68 MW farmer 200/325 SC Elizabeth 50 FW Hskpr TN Lueisa 20 FW at home MS Cyperrsey 18 FW At home MS
Jesse's Two Wives
*MAHALEY LIGGETT - My Ancestor
- born 1800-1810 believe to have been in Virginia
- died between 24 February 1834 - 7 May 1837 Hopkins Co., Kentucky
- m/1 John Vincent January 14, 1821 Maury Co., TN
- m/2 Jesse Vincent April 9, 1822 Maury Co., TN
- Parent's names are still unknown
Elizabeth 'Lizza' Drew
- born 1816-1818 Tennessee
- died 1870-1880 Tishomingo Co., Mississippi
- married Jesse Vincent May 7, 1837 Hopkins Co., Kentucky
- d/o Edward Drew
December 30, 1832
Deed from Richardson Vincent to Edward DrewMarch 4, 1848, Hopkins Co., Kentucky
Benj Todd & Sarah Todd, wife of Benj., Alfred Drew, Thomas Drew, Lavisa Drew, & Happy Talitha Cumi Drew all of the county of Hamilton and state of Illinois for $125 sold land to Pleasant B. Winstead. This land was deeded to Edward Drew (now deceased) by Richardson Vincent, lying on the headwaters of Bull Creek containing 50 acres.
Cemetery Discovery and Preservation
Special Thanks to Wayne and Margie Martin, Patricia Barnett and Many Others!
Though we don't know exactly when our ancestor, Jesse Vinson died, we do know that he and his 2nd wife, Elizabeth, died between 1870 and 1880 in Tishomingo Co., Mississippi. Jesse's Death
The cemetery where they are buried was recently discovered, cleaned and is in the process of being preserved for all of us. To describe this huge understaking, I'm going to quote from letters written by Patricia Barnett to me over the past 4 years when the cemetery was actually discovered and the huge process started. Some of these quotes are actually from Wayne Martin. Pictures are courtesy of Wayne Martin and his wife, who also did most of the cleaning up and organization. Background Information
Search Begins for Cemetery
October 1999 (by Patricia)"Our Vinson grandparents are buried in the woods behind Bethlehem Bapist Church on old Highway 25 south just off Highway 30 in the town of Tishomingo which is about 13 miles S of Iuka. My mother said there was an old Vinson man who used to take care of that Vinson Cemetery years ago. There is a cemetery adjacent to the church, but they are not buried in that cemetery. They may have had an old homplace back in that area long ago. My son and an uncle rode horseback through that area several years ago but were not able to locate it. Mother said it was on a knoll. They found some rocks but couldn't locate the gravesite. My cousin Wayne, however, says that he has someone who will show he and his brother where the gravesite is and Wayne will make a picture."Actual Discovery
March 2001 (by Wayne)"We looked Sat. and could not find anything, Pam,Bobby and myself. Margie and I looked this morn. and could not find anything. Off a tip from Billy C Bailey I contacted a Donald Crabb that used to operate a dozer for the timberland co. and he said he knew where the graves were. He and I looked for 3 hours and was just about to give up and my kizer blade struck something and it was a big rock and a small one near it. Also we found bits of old wire fence .Also one iris sp. flag sprout on top of one grave.I have been told that there is more than the two graves ??? who would they be, I did not have time to look around as it started to rain and was getting late.The rumor is that some of the graves had headstones with writing on them?? I am so happy we can say we found them and we will have to clean up the area and look for more greaves."
The Work Begins
April 2001 (by Patricia)
I am sending two pictures I have scanned from the ones Wayne Martin and his wife, Margie, made at the Vinson Cemetery site recently located. This cemetery is Tishomingo Co., MS about one mile East of the town of Tishomingo approximately one mile into a dense wooded area behind Bethlehem Baptish Church.The property is presently owned by Internation Paper Co. They have been contacted and have been made aware of the location of the Cemetery. Wayne says there are are approximately seven graves there that he has found so far. They are in a row with stones to mark the head and foot of each grave. Unfortunately there are no written markers there that he was able to find. There may have been at one time, but this area has been bought and sold by different paper/logging companies over the years and they could have been distroyed. There was an old man by the name of Clyde Vinson who lived in Cherokee, AL. who took care of the cemetery until his death. Since then the location has been lost to everyone.
Wayne has contacted those in MS who make records of cemeteries and they said they were aware that there was one in that location but had not been able to find or document it. They are pleased to find out that the family has located it.
Wayne plans try to locate any other graves there. He wants to fence it off and put a stone with the name Vinson on it to mark it as a cemetery.
You will notice on the first picture (the bigger one at the top of this section) that there is a tree in the forground. Wayne plans to cut that tree down. In the extreme lower right corner there is the first stone that markes the first grave. After that you will see red flag sticks to mark the other graves he has located. The last picture is of Wayne as he locates the stones and marks them. You can see one of the stones with the red marking flag there. Around the outside edge of the area, is an old fence indicating that at one time this was a fenced off area.
Preservation
June 2003 (by Patricia)"The Vinson stone is not complete and has not been set. The plat information has to be given to Wayne and the okay for the fence to be set before it can be placed. What I have is a picture of the name stone that Wayne broght to the reunion in the back of a truck for us to see. There is a spray film over the writing on it to protect it until it can be set. There will be a larger stone set in the ground and this name stone will be set at the top.Wayne is working on this in his spare time and he said it might take him as long as a couple of years to finish it. We don't have an access road to the cemetery yet. That has to be negotiated with the man who owns the land nearest it. We will have to assure him we will not be constantly traveling over his property to that cemetery and,hopefully, when he realizes that there may be people who will visit only once a year at reunion time, then it won't be a problem." 
As more pictures are sent and more details become available, I'll post them to this page. You can write to Patricia (link above) and I'm sure she can tell you more about the yearly reunion. I'm sure that any of the descendants of Jesse R. Vinson would be more than welcome to attend.
Children of Jesse R. and Mahaley (Liggett) Vinson
Hiram Calvin Vinson
--(August 22, 1822 Probably Maury Co., TN - July 18, 1909 Coolidge, Limestone Co., TX)
----buried Old Armour Cemetery, LImestone Co., Texas
--m/1 Martha Anna KENDALL November 19, 1844 Fayette Co., TN
--m/2 Nancy R. (SEAGO) Bates February 9, 1893 Alcorn Co., MS
Jesse Vinson, Jr.
--(January 6, 1829 Hopkins Co., KY - July 2, 1900 McNairy Co., TN)
----buried Mt. Vinson Cemetery, McNairy Co, TN
Mahaly A. (Vinson) ODOM
--(1836/37 Hopkins Co., Kentucky - aft 1880 Probably McNairy Co., TN)
Children of Jesse R. and Elizabeth 'Lizza' (Drew) Vinson
Sarah Elizabeth (Vinson) MARTIN
--(1841 Hopkins Co., KY - 1919 Fannin Co., TX
----buried New Harmony Cemetery, Ladonia, Fannin Co., Texas
Cynthia (Vinson) MARTIN
--(March 7, 1844 Missouri - February 8, 1917 LaDonia, Fannin Co., TX)
----buried New Harmony Cemetery, Ladonia, Fannin Co., Texas
James Thomas 'Jim' Vinson
--(April 5, 1847 Tishomingo Co., MS - May 31, 1909 Texas)
----buried Santa Anna Cemetery, Coleman Co., Texas
Celia Thomas Vinson
--believed to have died as a child
Luesia E. 'Lucy' 'Lavicia' 'Luvisey' (Vinson) MARTIN
--(1849/50 Tishomingo Co., MS - December 23, 1879 Tishomingo Co. MS)
--m. Lankford 'Langford' 'Lank' Martin
--December 26, 1876 McNairy Co., TN
Tobitha Paralee 'Bitha' (Vinson) MARTIN
--(December 18, 1851 MS - March 28, 1929 Tishomingo Co., MS)
----buried North Cross Roads Baptist Chruch Cemetery, Tishomingo Co, MS
Cyperrsey Jane (Vinson) WEST
--(1854 Tishomingo Co., MS - ?)
--m. William 'Bill' WEST
Additional Pictures, Stories, Information?
Would love to have any additional 'old' pictures, stories, scans of documents, etc to add to this file.
E-Mail me - Ann (Jobe) Brown
Last modified 3 Jun 2006
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