Who Were James J. Vick’s Parents?

One of the things I like to do each day is check queries about Vick ancestry. It is nice to help people trace their Vick line, and I usually learn something new in the process. A couple of days ago a lady contacted me and ask if I knew the names of her grandmother Selma Vick’s parents. The lady told me Selma’s husband was Zadock Cox. I was able to find in the North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-2004, that Selma was born on 29 Apr 1904, in NC, and she died on 12 Oct 1982, in Tarboro, Edgecombe Co., NC.

With the death record information I was then able to find Selma and her parent’s, Augustus R. and Mollie [ ] Vick (one source said Mollie’s maiden name was Price), in census records. From there I found Selma’s Vick grandparents’ names (James J. and Mary Landing Vick). I have yet to find James J. Vick’s parents’ names.

If a person is a descendant of Joseph Vick of Isle of Wight County, Virginia, and knows his or her Vick ancestor’s name and a few details like date and place of birth or death, I can usually figure out the Vick line. Many times there is a family tree on Ancestry.com, an article in The Vick Family Newsletter, or information on a website that has enough information to get the line to the point where I can tie it into Joseph Vick of Lower Parish, Isle of Wight County, Virginia and His Descendants. The book will then get the line all the way back to Joseph the immigrant.

Unfortunately, I am stuck for the moment with James J. Does anyone know James J. Vick’s parents’ names? James J. can be found on the 1850 U.S. Census of Edgecombe Co., NC, living near Reddin Vick’s widow and children and near Burton C. Vick.

Reddin’s line was Reddin6, ?Robert5, Robert4, ?Isaac3, William2, Joseph1. Burton’s line was Burton7, ?Frederick6, ?Robert5, Robert4, ?Isaac3, William2, Joseph1. Perhaps James J. was the son of Reddin6 or Frederick6 given the proximity to probable descendants of Robert5 at the time of the 1850 census. A Y-DNA test of a patrilineal male Vick descendant of James J. could help sort this question out.