Who Was My Sixth Great Grandmother Vick?

As I said in my blog “Is There Any Hope I Might Find the Missing Names of My Female Ancestors in My Vick Line?” I know my sixth great grandfather Vick was William, and he was the son of Joseph the immigrant. From page 26 of Joseph Vick of Lower Parish, Isle of Wight County, Virginia and His Descendants, I know William’s wife was “Elizabeth.”

What I don’t know is Elizabeth’s maiden surname. The book says “Some time before 1730, William married ELIZABETH [ ]. Col. Arthur {in his book Vick} commented that the belief among her descendants that she was a Newitt was based largely on that name’s use as a given name in succeeding generations. He speculated that she may have been a sister or, more likely, a niece of the William Newitt who left a will in Isle of Wight County in 1713.”

Two descendants of William2 who have been tested as part of our Vick and Allied Families DNA project at 23andMe match Katherine Hope Borges. A third descendant of William2 matches Katherine’s uncle. Katherine said she has no Vick’s in her pedigree but she does have four surnames that go back to Isle of Wight Co., VA. Those surnames are Avent, Fuller, Littleton, and Spivey.

Looking at the index to the Joseph Vick of Lower Parish, Isle of Wight County, Virginia and His Descendants, there are references to Avant/Avent and Spivey, but they aren’t in the right line or timeframe to have a direct connection to Elizabeth. If Elizabeth was a niece of William Newitt, perhaps I can find a connection with one of the surnames Katherine has in her pedigree.

I don’t seem to be running out of things to research. Maybe we will get lucky and find other matches in common with Katherine that might shed some more light on Elizabeth’s ancestry.

Is There Any Hope I Might Find the Missing Names of My Female Ancestors in My Vick Line?

In my first blog I mentioned how through our VICK Y-DNA Surname Project I was able to figure out which Jacob4 was my ancestor. The VICK Y-DNA Surname Project focuses like a laser on the patrilineal VICK line, and the findings have been very helpful to those of us who are trying to reconstruct Vick family trees. I also mentioned in my blog “Fill in Your Family Tree” that 23andMe’s Relative Finder looks at the DNA we inherited from all of our ancestors. Unlike the laser beam focus of the traditional genetic genealogy Y-DNA test, 23andMe casts a wide net in the search for ancestors.

While I have identified all of my Vick male ancestors through the immigrant Joseph Vick of Lower Parish, Isle of Wight Co., VA, I have not been so fortunate with the females in my line. I have identified my female ancestors in my Vick line through my third great grandmother Susannah MERCER. However, while I solved the mystery of who my fourth great grandfather, Jacob4, was, I only know my fourth great grandmother’s first name was “probably” Mary. In Joseph Vick of Lower Parish, Isle of Wight County, Virginia and His Descendants, John D. Beatty and Di Ann Vick said on page 242, “Jacob probably married MARY [ ] not long after completing his militia service.”

While I know my fourth great grandfather Jacob4’s father was Isaac3, again, I don’t know the name of my fifth great grandmother. Turning to the book on page 90 it says “Nothing is known of Isaac’s wife or wives. He may have married [?Mary Coleman] of Anson County.”

One again, I know my sixth great grandfather was William2, but I only know his wife was “Elizabeth” (see page 26 of the book). The pattern repeats itself with my seventh great grandfather Joseph1. There is much speculation and no proof as to who he married.

Fortunately, some clues are beginning to emerge on my 23andMe Relative Finder match list. Tomorrow I will discuss some of those clues.

Place Name Index for Joseph Vick of Lower Parish, Isle of Wight County, Virginia and His Descendants

Joseph Vick of Lower Parish, Isle of Wight County, Virginia and His Descendants by John D. Beatty and Di Ann Vick is an indispensable reference I use for tracing Joseph's descendants. One thing I wish the book had, though, is a place name index. When Americans contact me with a question about their Vick line they usually include at least one reference to a location where their Vick ancestors lived. If their Vick ancestors lived in the southern U.S. the chances are excellent that they were descendants of Joseph.

Not being able to find easily the pages in the book where a location is mentioned slows down my search for how the person fits in the Vick family tree. To solve this problem, I have started putting together an index of place names in the book. The index should be ready in time for the July 2009 Vick Family Newsletter. If there is enough space in the newsletter I will include it in that issue. If there is not enough space in the July issue (because of the news from the reunion) I will put it in the October 2009 issue. So if you would like a copy of the index, it will be available soon.

Now, if I could just find some good reference books for the other Vick families.