Valentine Worley Van Huss

Similar names, early deaths, and multiple marriages often make genealogy difficult to sort out.

Valentine Worley Van Huss

Valentine Worley Van Huss is born in 1818 in Virginia, despite the fact that his father is living near Elizabethton, Tennessee. The Virginia birth may be a result of the many family connections to Virginia. By 1845, Valentine is back in Tennessee. He marries Lucinda Campbell and together they have at least seven children, John Finley Van Huss being the last born in 1859.

All five sons and their father will settle in Kansas after the Civil War. Here is a listing of names and dates of birth.

son	date of birth
James M. Van Huss	1845
Isaac S. Van Huss	1847
Daniel Smith Van Huss	1850
Robert E. Van Huss	1857
John Finley Van Huss	1859

John Finley Van Huss, had a son Fred, who had a son Bob, who's daughter Robin is my wife..

Mathias Van Huss

Valentine was born November 1818 to Mathias Van Huss and Elizabeth Worley. The couple married in 1817 in Wythe, Virginia, but lived in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Elizabeth died shorthly thereafter and it is likely that Valentine took his middle name from his mother.

Mathias then married Lovina Dugger. Mathias and Lovina had nine children, several of whom are buried in the Van Huss Cemetery outside Elizabethton, Tenn. Included are Joseph P., Daniel, and Abigail. Family History. From Lovina's will it is evident that she raised Valentine as her own child and considered as such.

Census Records and Valentine Worley Van Huss

1850

 The  US Census of 1850 for Carter County, Tennessee, lists Valentine Worley Van Huss, age 23, as a farmer with 100 acres. He is married to Lucinda H. and father to 3 children - James, Isaac, and Daniel, ages 4, 3, and 2.

Valentines' father Mathias dies in 1856. He may be buried in Johnson, Tennessee.???

1860

The US Census of 1860 for Carter County, Tennessee again records Valentine and Lucinda Van Huss. The family now farms 300 acres near Elizabethton. Valentine's is 42 years old. Sons -  James, Isaac and Daniel are 14, 12, and 10, and are joined by four other children Susannah, Matilda, Robert, and one-year-old John Finley Van Huss. This John Finley Van Huss is great grandfather to Bob Van Huss.

Van Huss Cemetery, Carter County Tennessee

I visited the cemetery when I was just starting this project, so a lot of information was unavailable to me.

Van Huss Cemetery is just outside Elizabethton, Tennerssee.

Use a Garmin if you can. Otherwise, find the intersection of Wilbur Dam Road and Dairy Lane. Follow the Doe River on the south side. Take Siam Road for most of the way, less than a mile. Go past the Misty River Cafe, past Bowlers Lane, then right on Dairy Lane. Tucked back in a corner of a working farm is the cemetery. Ask for permission to park.

Earlier I had stopped at the Siam Baptist Church and asked for directions. By luck, Glenda Van Huss overheard me talking to another parishioner. Glenda told me that her father's name was Cecil. He is now deceased, but not buried in the Van Huss Cemetery. She was able to direct me to the cemetery, a short distance away.

The cemetery is not large, with less than 30 headstones. The Van Husses buried here are half brothers to Bob Van Huss' ancestor Valentine Worley Van Huss. These Van Husses are the sons and daughters of Mathias Van Huss and his second wife Lavinia Dugger.

The oldest names are brothers Joseph P. and Daniel S. Van Huss. Sadly, the marble headstones are worn by the elements and the dates of birth and death can not be read. The brothers married sisters, Rebeca Nead and Elizabeth Nead. Fortunately, Rebeca's birth and death dates can be clearly read as born "Jan 1834, died Sept 1922, at the age of 88". Other family members are buried in the cemetery. There is one headstone with the name Van Huss visible, and a civil war reference to possibly the "12th inf".

You can find Joseph P. and Daniel S.Van Huss in the 1860 Census of Tennessee. Then in Goodspeed Hisatory of Carter County is J. P. Van Huss, born March of 1833, husband of Rebeca Nead, and a short biographical history.