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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John Pettis of Spotsylvania County, Virginia Revolutionary War pension

Taken from Revolutionary War pension file:

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

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

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

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

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