UPDATE: I started this website long ago before I found better website just for genealogy. I could never figure out a way to make a family tree on here.
With that being said, I like this site but I have yet to find a practical use for it. So until then, I keep this site.
The "Contact Me" DOES still work.
With that being said, I like this site but I have yet to find a practical use for it. So until then, I keep this site.
The "Contact Me" DOES still work.
Welcome!
... To the Vest Family Heritage website! I am William Donald Vest III and I am responsible for this site, maintaining it and ensuring our family and names are recorded correctly alongside our story. I have built my research on the solid foundation my mother, Ester Mae Henderson, started more than 25 years ago.
Mom was always seeking out the connections and teasing the family's lineage from the mysteries of time. Reading through genealogy magazines, books and sending letters to complete strangers who (sometimes) proved to be related to us.
She found evidence that we are possibly related to Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse as well as Daniel Boone (Boone now confirmed). The Native American connection comes from my father's side while the Boone connection comes from my mother's side.
Thomas McLaughlin, traced to my father's side of the family tree, played major league baseball from 1883 (at 23 years old) for the Louisville Eclipse as a shortstop and finished his career with the Washington Statesmen in 1891 at 31 years young. See his baseball record HERE. Although McLaughlin is not a direct blood relation it is still interesting.
Mom was always seeking out the connections and teasing the family's lineage from the mysteries of time. Reading through genealogy magazines, books and sending letters to complete strangers who (sometimes) proved to be related to us.
She found evidence that we are possibly related to Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse as well as Daniel Boone (Boone now confirmed). The Native American connection comes from my father's side while the Boone connection comes from my mother's side.
Thomas McLaughlin, traced to my father's side of the family tree, played major league baseball from 1883 (at 23 years old) for the Louisville Eclipse as a shortstop and finished his career with the Washington Statesmen in 1891 at 31 years young. See his baseball record HERE. Although McLaughlin is not a direct blood relation it is still interesting.
Many of the Vests served in the military through various wars, as did many families. I am left to wonder what type of settlers we came from? How Patriotic? Revolutionary War? Only my research will tell.
The Vest line helped to settle Kentucky, more pointedly, Casey County. To date, the furthest back I have traced is James Vest in 1795 and born in Virginia. He came west to Casey County Kentucky with his wife Nancy Catherine Henson, also from Virginia. From that point to current date, many, many, many Vests were born, died and buried there. Many were land owners, with up to 100 acres on their farm land. At this writing, our genealogical make up is comprised of German, Irish and English ancestry. And several Native American Tribes including Sioux, Crow, Choctaw and Cherokee. |
The family tree I have created originates with myself . I will strive for the utmost in accuracy in hopes of revealing our family history. Our story, from tales through the Great Depression, war service, settlers, bits of facts, old family recipes and other tales long since lost. I hope to bring these back from history so that our family, our heritage may live on and be passed down to future generations.
To accomplish this, I hope to make this a user friendly site. As you can understand, once you start to write down the names the list starts to get very large and spreads out. Up, down, left and right. To contain a family tree within one page isn't possible (and still have it readable). So I will TRY to make this a bit more understandable by giving a page to each (but not every) surname. For example, if you go to the Surname tab at the top and click on "Conder" you will see a family image I have created for each surname, like the picture on the right. I will explain how this family is related. |
"Anita Vest (sister of Wm. D. Vest III) married Anthony Conder in 1995 thereby connecting the Conder family lineage with the Vest family."
Or something like this. I will also try to add a pedigree for the family. Again, this lineage would start with Anita and Anthony and would include their tree and any stories their family has.
As you can see, this will be quite extensive and a great deal of work will go into this site and the research. Please be patient. If you don't see a connection / name on the page it is quite possible the only reason is because I haven't got to it yet.
Please explore the site and be sure to check the "HELP!" page where I ask for, you guessed it, help! More will be added as I have the time.
Sincerely,
Wm. D. Vest III
Vest Family Historian
Or something like this. I will also try to add a pedigree for the family. Again, this lineage would start with Anita and Anthony and would include their tree and any stories their family has.
As you can see, this will be quite extensive and a great deal of work will go into this site and the research. Please be patient. If you don't see a connection / name on the page it is quite possible the only reason is because I haven't got to it yet.
Please explore the site and be sure to check the "HELP!" page where I ask for, you guessed it, help! More will be added as I have the time.
Sincerely,
Wm. D. Vest III
Vest Family Historian