The War of 1812

Mathias Van Huss

Mathias' widow Lavina Dugger applied for a war pension after her husband's death.  War of 1812 Widow's application #16562 and cert #9010, stating that Mathias served under Cpt. Solomon Hendrix's Company of the Tennessee Militia. Descendants of Daniel Dugger.

The War of 1812 began in 1812 and ended in 1815. Thus, Mathias was 17 years of age at the war's start and 20 by the time it ended. Andrew Jackson was the most famous Tennessean during the war. As a general in the Tennessee state militia he defeated the Creek Indians in 1814 near Tallapoosa, Alabama; and defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Captain Solomon Hendrix's company, in which Mathias served, was part of the 4th Regiment of East Tennessee Militia commanded by Colonel Samuel Bayless.This regiment was formed in November 1814 and was responsible for guarding the area near Mobile, Alabama.

Valentine Felty Van Huss

When the War of 1812 began, Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr. was living in eastern Tennessee near Fort Watauga.

He farmed 100 acres of land next to Cobbs Creek near Fort Watauga, in what was formerly Wahington County, North Carolina, and later Carter County, Tennessee. Valentine left the eastern side of the Appalachians and crossed to the Tennessee side in 1795, recording his deed 2 years later in the county courthouse at nearby Elizabethton. Joining Valentine in this new territory was his wife Catherine Worley. This Valentine was the thirteenth child of Valentine Felty Vanhooser Senior and his wife Maria Barbara Zerwe.

The rest of the article that follows is about young Valentine's older brother, and Mathias' uncle, Isaac.

Tennessee's participation in the war for the most part meant battling the Cherokees, Shawnees and other Indians the British had armed.

Another Tennessean, Andrew Jackson would form a militia of volunteers from Tennessee. In March of 1814 Jackson and the Tennessee Volunteers made their way into Alabama. Allied with the Cherokee and friendly Creeks, Jackson engaged in several conflicts with the warring Creeks of the region known as the Red Sticks. Finally, on the banks of the Tallapoosa River at Horseshoe Bend, Jackson and his forces would decisively defeat the hostile Creeks, opening up settlement of Alabama to later settlers. Later, in January of 1815, at New Orleans Jackson would again make history by defeating the British.

The is no record of Valentine's service during the War of 1812, but reference is made to his brother Isaac, who was four years senior. As Valentine was born in 1768, this would make Isaac 48 in 1812. As a note, there is not much to be made of the short period of enlistment by Isaac. Most enlistments in the Tennessee Militias were only for the short duration of three months. General Jackson, bu his oratory and demeanor, would often have to suggest that the troops re-up to finish a campaign.

Isaac served in the War of 1812 as a drummer.
The only complete muster roll found of 1812 was that of Capt. Asabel [Asahel] Rains. This company was a part of the Second Regiment, West Tennessee Militia, commanded by Col. Alexander Lowrey and Lieut. Col. Leroy Hammonds. Captain Rains, company was, with his regiment, mustered into service at Fayetteville, Tennessee on September 20, 1814 and served until December 31, of the same year.

Isaac Vanhooser 

Consulting the records of the Tennessee Militia, one finds the service record for the Second Regiment.

BRIEF HISTORY:
Part of General Nathaniel Taylor's brigade, this regiment was scattered throughout the Creek territory and the vicinity of Mobile to man the various forts in the region: Forts Jackson, Montgomery, Claiborne, and Pierce. 

Some of the companies participated in the taking of Pensacola (7 November 1814) from Spanish authorities that were accused by Jackson of supporting British troops there.

Loury resigned on 20 November 1814 and Lieutenant Colonel Leroy Hammonds took over as commander. The regiment was plagued by disease during its tenure in the Mississippi Territory. For example, a morning report of Captain Asahel Rains on 6 January 1815 shows twenty-seven on the sick list and twenty-seven additional men required to take care of the sick (totaling half the company).

Regimental Histories of the Second Regiment during the War of 1812.

Valentine Felty Vanhooser on the Clinch River, Virginia

This is just a draft that needs editing.

Valentine Velty Vanhooser and his wife Maria Barbara Zerwe arrived in western North Carolina somewhere between 1747 and 1754, settling in the Yadkin Valley close to the Virginia border. The area of their land holdings, in what is now Surry County, was originally called Anson county. Later, about 1753, Rowan County was formed from the western section of Anson County with a county seat at Salisbury. Still later, about 1771, Surry County was formed. For this reason, all of these counties will occasionally be referenced in records about the Vanhoosers.

Valentine and his wife lived for 20 years in North Carolina, producing thirteen children by some records, the last of whom, Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr., was born 1768 in Rowan County. This Valentine is Bob's ancestor. He would later migrate to Tennessee in 1795.

Valentine's oldest son John will be the subject of the deposition found in the Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co., Va by Chalkey, Vol.2, pp. 227-8. In a deposition in 1814, John who was then 67 years old, testified that he and his family came to Virginia in 1777, as he recalled. Another deponent, Charles Carter remembered the family Vanhooser arriving in 1775 and settling along the North Fork of Clinch River near Flat Lick. By the time of this deposition, the elder Valentine had died, and his younger son Valentine Jr. had left Virginia for Tennessee, settling near Fort Watauga.

Valentine senior and his family prospered in North Carolina, as evidenced by the several land transactions in which he bought and sold land at a considerable profit. But, sometime around 1771, Valentine moved from North Carolina across the border to Virginia, first near Fincastle for several years, then to the North Fork of the Clinch River in what is now Tazewell County.

The North Fork of the Clinch River cuts across Powell Mountain on the extreme western edge of Virginia and crosses into Tennessee. Powell Mountain is crossed by U.S. Route 58, the "Daniel Boone Trail Highway", the Wilderness Road crossing the mountain nearby, at Kanes Gap. This is the route that Daniel Boone and a large party would take in September 1779, leaving the Yadkin Valley and crossing first to the area near Fort Watauga, in what is now eastern Tennessee, then to Kentucky.

Vanentine Vanhooser's reasons for leaving North Carolina after so many years are unknown. But many were fleeing the violence of North Carolina. These include the struggle between the so-called "Regulators" and the
taxing authorities. Indian troubles continued on occasion as Cherokees raided western settlements in North Carolina from time to time. The coming American Revolution also stirred up rival passions between those seeking independence and Tories who remained loyal to the British. One who left on this trek later recalled that the road out of North Carolina was so clogged with Tories leaving that a traveler "could hardly get along the road for them."

See Boone, a Biography by Robert Morgan, page 288.

In 1771, Lord Dunmore became governor of Virginia. He and others, including George Washington, were interested in land speculation west of the Alleghenies. His policy was to encourage settlement in the Shawnee Indians’ ancestral hunting grounds south of the Ohio River in what is today Kentucky and West Virginia. This led to what is known as "Dunmore’s War". In the summer of 1774, Lord Dunmore along with a militia from Augusta, Fincastle, and Botetourt Counties defeated the Shawnees at the Battle of Point Pleasant.  British and colonial success was overtaken by events at Lexington and Concord. The outbreak of the American Revolution divided loyalties between Tories and those seeking independence. Lord Dunmore would command the loyalists in Virginia during the war.

Later, the Virginia legislature, in 1779, passed a law that settlers who had taken up land in the western reaches of Virginia prior to January 1, 1778, might obtain 400 acres at a nominal price and preemption rights to another thousand acres at the usual price of forty pounds per hundred acres.

It is not known whether Valentine Vanhooser participated in Dunemore's campaigns. He had however moved to Virginia at about the time of the outbreak of hostilities. His move to the mountains of western Virginia would have traded troubles with the Cherokees for Dunmore's campaign against the Pawnees. And, Valentine Vanhooser's known Tory sympathies make his move to Virginia away from North Carolina more logical.The question of family loyalties during the Revolution was not always clear. Even a loyal patriot like Daniel Boone had members of his wife's family who had Tory sympathies during the war.

References and source:


Valentine Felty Vanhooser

About 1771 Valentine sold his land in Surry Co., NC and moved to Virginia, settling just across the border in what was then Fincastle (now Carroll) Co., Va. He lived there for about four years before moving north and west to the North Fork of the Clinch River in what is now Tazewell Co., Va. According to Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co., Va by Chalkey, Vol.11, pp. 227-8, Valentine and his oldest son, John took up land in that area, but only lived there two years before they were driven out by Indian uprisings. They returned to their former piece of land which was located along New River and Little Reed Island which was then in Montgomery Co., which became Wythe Co. in 1789/90 and Grayson Co. in 1792 and finally Carroll Co. in 1842.

Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co., Va by Chalkey, Vol.2, pp. 227-8

March 1814 John Hooser, aged 67, deposes, came with
his father Felty and brother Abraham to this country 37 years ago. John
has a brother Jacob who was never out in this country. 

March, 1811, Elisha Wallen, aged 27, deposes. Caveat, 12th August, 1799, by John
Mackenny and Elisha Adams against John Donnell, assignee of Andrew
Cowan and John Campbell, Jr., for 400 acres in Lee County on North
Fork Clinch. Donnell and Campbell were granted a certificate by the 
Commissioners 8th August, 1781. Caveators claim under an entry made by
James Dugless, 1780, and sold by him to John Balfour, who has sold to
caveators. Thos. Beelor was an early settler on the land. 29th May, 1811, 

Charles Carter deposes, in Lee County, remembers that Titus and John
Benton were killed by Indians in Rye Cove in spring of 1777. He remembers 
the family Hooser or Van Hooser, as they were called, who settled on
North Fork of Clinch near Flat Lick in 1775. The oldest Van Hooser
(deponent understood from his father) made the upper improvement, and
the old man's son John was the next oldest man and made an improvement
near the old man. Deponent remembers two other members of the family,
Abram and Isaac. Deponent lived with his father in the Rye Cove at the
time those improvements were made. Never heard of Jacob Hooser. 
Deponent's statement is founded on hearsay. 

14th May, 1814, James Dugless
deposes, at dwelling house of John Smith in Madison County, Ohio, shortly
after 1780 deponent moved from Washington County, Va., to Kentucky.
26th February, 1812, Doswell Rogers deposes, in Lee County, he settled on
North Fork Clinch the same year that the Hoosers settled. The settlement
was broken up by Indians for several years. The Wallens, Bentons, Wm.
Roberts and others named these streams as they went through hunting
lands. The Bentons were killed 35 or 36 years ago in April next. 

29th May, 1811, Peter Fulkerson deposes, in Lee County, the country was 
unsettled and dangerous in 1785 on account of Indians. Deed, 30th May,

page 227








1803, by William McCutchen of Carter County, Tenn., John McKinny
of Lee County, land in Lee County. Corner Nathaniel Taylors, 16,000
acres survey. Corner George Goff, 200 acres bought from Nathaniel 
Taylor. Recorded in Lee County, August, 1803. Deed, 31st May, 1803, by
Nathaniel Taylor of Carter County, Tenn., to John McKinney of Lee... 

See The Daniel Boone Trail for a discussion of the route that Daniel Boone took passing by Valentine Felty Vanhooser's holdings on the Clinch River.

The Gwinns, for a discussion of Augusta County, Virginia and Dunemore's War.

Buying Land in Kansas

On May 22nd, 1868, J. W. Van Hoesen purchased, for the sum of $1,000, from Adam and Rosamanda Hageman the following land: "southwest quarter of Section 28, township 24, Range 6". The deed is recorded with the Register of Deed in the El Dorado County Courthouse.

This record has me puzzled. Originally I assumed a direct connection to Valentine Worley Van Huss because of both the name and the location of the land. Now I believe that J. W. Van Hoesen was from a branch of the family that had settled in Ohio for a while. I will now have to go back to El Dorado to sort out the land transfers.

Additionally, there are the purchases of land by all five sons of Valentine Worley Van Huss over an extended period.

Who's Who in Tennessee?

Valentine Felty Vanhooser.

Valentine Vanhooser, Jr., born 1768,  departs Virginia in 1795  and settles in Carter County (then Washington County) near Fort Watauga, Tennessee. Valentine's son, Mattias Van Huss, is born the very same year Valentine arrived in Tennessee, but likely joined his father later. The son lives in Tennessee his entire life, dieing in 1856.Mathias' son Valentine Worley Van Huss, born 1818, leaves Tennessee after the Civil War and moves to Butler County Kansas along with four sons.

Family history relates that the first Valentine Felty Vanhooser was a Tory who sided with the British during the Revolutionary War. Old Man Valentine did probably serve in Dunmore's War earlier.  Again, according to family history, Old Man Valentine died in the year 1781, possibly at the battle of Yorktown.

Be that as it may, almost 15 years later, in 1795, the state of North Carolina sold to young Valentine 100 acres of land  on Cobbs Creek to the east and north of Elizabethton, near Fort Watauga.

See the deed in the Registrar of Deeds Office, Carter County.

Mathias Vanhoose/Van Huss

Mathias changes his name from Vanhooser to Van Huss. He marries Catherine Worley. They have one child Valentine Worley Van Huss, born 1818. Elizabeth dies in 1820. Mathias remarries in 1821 to Lovina Dugger with whom he has many children.

Valentine Worley Van Huss

Valentine Worley Van Huss is the older half brother to J. P. Van Huss by Mathias and his first wife Catherine Worley.

J. P. Van Huss

J. P. Van Huss is the younger half brother of Valentine Worley Van Huss. J. P. was born to the second wife of Mathias, Lovina Dugger. Goodspeed's Biographical Appendix of Carter County History of Tennessee, gives a biographical sketch of J. P.,
    


J. P. Van Huss.

He is the ninth of eleven children (five of whom yet survive) of Mathias and Lovina (Duggar) Van Huss, natives of Carter (now Johnson) County and the present Carter County respectivel y.  The former was a soldier in 1812, a Whig, a farmer and a blacksmith.  He was a son of Valentine Van Huss, of North Carolina, and of Carter County; the latter born about 1778.  He was of Dutch descent, while the mother was of Scotch-English origin.  The mother was a daughter of William Duggar, a native of North Carolina, and a pioneer of Dugger's Ferry.  He was a soldier of the Revolution, and married three times.  The Duggar family are long lived.

* Note that the mother of Valentine Worley was Catherine Worley. Lovina Duggar was the mother of Mathias.


* See Ancestry.com.http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=javan&id=I15068. There are other children, but it is Mathias that we are interested in.

* Again , Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, Carter County, addressing Mathias:

The former was a soldier in 1812, a Whig, a farmer and a blacksmith.

* See again, Ancestry.com.

The Will of Lovina Dugger Van Huss, dated 1866 (She died in 1882.)

I, Viney Vanhuss, do make and ordain this my last Will and testament, being of sound mind and memory.

1st. I give my soul to Almighty God and my body to the earth from whence it came to be buried by my Executors in the grave yard near my husband and my children.
2nd. I give and bequeath to Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss my sons, my lot of land whereon I now live. So that my son Daniel shall have the Dwelling in which I live.
3d. I also give and bequeath to my sons Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss my brass kettle.
4th. I give and bequeath to my son Daniel S. Vanhuss one bed stead and bed with bed clothing.
5th. I give and bequeath to my daughter Rhodie Elizabeth one bed stead and bed clothing. Also one cow and calf and one breeding [illegible[ Also one little bureau and bee palace.
6th. I give and bequeath to my daughter Catherine Heaton one small table.
7th. I require my sons Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss to pay three hundred dollars to the following named persons, to wit. Fifty dollars to Vollintine W. Vanhuss. Fifty dollars to Finly E. Vanhuss. Fifty dollars to Catherine Heaton. Fifty dollars to Abigail B. Nave and Fifty dollars to Rhoda Elizabeth Vanhuss.
8th. It is my will that at my death there should be residuary balance, it shall be sold and divided between my sons and daughters to wit: Vollintine W. Vanhuss, Thomas D. Vanhuss, Finly E. Vanhuss, Catherine Heaton, Abigail D. Nave and Rhody E. Vanhuss.
Lastly. I appoint my sons Daniel S. Vanhuss and Joseph P. Vanhuss my Executors to this my last Will and testament.
This 4th day of August 1866. Viney X Vanhuss [Seal] her mark
Signed, sealed in our presence.
J. H. Hyder
Stevenas C. Crow.

 See also MySouthernRoots.http://www.mysouthernroots.com/getperson.php?personID=P180921049&tree=Collins

First in Ternnessee

Valentine Felty Vanhooser Jr.

The first Van Huss to come to Tennessee was Valentine Vanhooser Jr. His father Valentine Felty Sr. was originally from New York and Pennsylvania but moved to Rowan County, North Carolina around 1750, and later to Virginia prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution.

Valentine Jr. was born in Rowan County, Virginia in 1768 and arrived in Tennessee in 1795 at the age of 27. He was, at this time, settling on 100 acres of land in Carter County, Tennessee. Keep in mind, that at this time North Carolina and Tennessee were still one political unit. Carter County was at the time called Washington County. At the same time as Valentine was settling on his new farm, a son Mathias was born. By all accounts, he remained behind with his mother Catherine Worley in Wythe County Virginia.

Deed recorded in the Register of Deeds Office, Carter County relates: "On the 4th day of November, 1795, Richard Dobbs Straight, governor and commander in chief of the state of North Carolina" issues a warranty deed for the purchase by Valentine Vanhooser of 100 acres from the state of North Carolina.

The deed continues to describe the property by metes and bounds, that is the property began at Cobbs Creek.The land was in Washington County at the head of Cobbs Creek. The purchase price was the princely sum of 50 shillings an acre. At the time one North Carolina shilling equaled 9 British pence, or a little more than fifty cents, giving us an approximation of 25 dollars an acre.

The property description is:

a tract of land containing one hundred acres lying & being in our county of Washington on a branch of Cobbs Creek, beginning at a Linwood at the head of a spring, running north seventy one degrees, West one hundred & twelve poles to a black oak, thence North thirteen degrees, West sixty two poles to a white oak, thence North thirty five degrees, west fifty seven poles to a black oak on the side of a hill, thence North eighty six poles to a stake, thence South fifty nine degrees, East one hundred seventy five poles to a white oak, Corner to mofes (?). Running thence South one hundred and sixteen poles to a stake by the creek, thence East twenty five poles to a white oak, thence South thirty one poles to the beginning.

The deed was not recorded until August 23rd, 1797, which technically put it in violation of the grant which required recording the deed within 12 months, but no one has apparently ever raised the issue.

We don't know what the homestead of James Vanhooser looked like. Perhaps, it looked something like this. The property can be seen in the Cherokee National Forest, east and north of Elizabethton, near Lake Watauba. Look for Cobbs Creek Road.

Check the following ******************************************************************

To follow the genealogy of Valentine Vanhooser, go to genforum - Valentine VAN HUSS was born 14 FEB 1768 in Rowan Co., North Carolina, and died 1 MAR 1858 in Johnson Co., Tennessee. He was the son of 24. Valentine VAN HOOSER and 25. Maria Barbara ZERWE.

The following doesn't make sense...It  needs review...

The children of Valentine and his wife Catherine Worley are:

i. Michael VAN HUSS was born 6 JAN 1789 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 21 FEB 1875 in Lee Co., Virginia. He married Elizabeth ROSENBAUM 11 JUL 1809 in Wythe Co., Virginia, daughter of Anthonius Conradus ROSENBAUM and Elizabeth WORLEY. She was born ABT 1791 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 30 MAY 1874 in Lee Co., Virginia.

ii. Valentine VAN HUSS , Jr. was born ABT 1790. He married Elizabeth RAINBOLT. She was born ABT 1791 in Carter Co., Tennessee, and died 19 OCT 1826.

iii. Jacob VAN HUSS was born 21 OCT 1791 in Wythe Co., Virginia.

iv. Elizabeth VAN HUSS was born 17 SEP 1793 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 29 OCT 1826. She married John B. RAINBOLT JAN 1812 in Carter Co., Tennessee, son of Adam R. RAINBOLT and Hannah Jane POTTER. He was born 11 NOV 1788 in Washington Co. Tennessee (Now Carter Co.), and died 11 APR 1873 in Orange, Lawrence Co., Indiana.

v. Matthias VAN HUSS was born 27 OCT 1795 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 21 SEP 1856 in Carter Co., Tennessee. He married Elizabeth WORLEY 4 DEC 1817 in Wythe Co., Virginia, daughter of Valentine WORLEY and Maria Barbara SPRECHER. She was born 1798 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 1818 in Wythe Co., Virginia. He married Lavinia DUGGER 14 APR 1821 in Carter Co., Tennessee, daughter of William DUGGER and Nancy MILLARD. She was born 22 JUN 1795 in Carter Co., Tennessee, and died 28 MAR 1882 in Carter Co., Tennessee.

vi. Christopher VAN HUSS was born 1796.

Tennessee Census - 1830, 1840, and 1850

The 1830, 1840, and 1850 Tennessee Censuses cover the period of time that Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr., son, Mathias Van Huss and his son Valentine Worley Van Huss lived in Carter County Tennessee. Old man Valentine died in 1857. Mathias died in 1856, before the outbreak of the Civil War.  Grandson Valentine Worley Van Huss emigrated to Kansas after the Civil War with his sons James, Daniel, Isaac, and John Finley.

The earlier censuses for the years 1800 through 1830 have been destroyed. They would have covered the period from when Valentine arrived in 1795 and settled near Watauga, Tennessee. I am not aware of the whereabouts for the 1860 census. I have not found Valentine Felty Vanhooser, Jr. in any Tennessee census.



1830 Census

VANHOOSE
   Mathias         33   3 -  less than  5    1 -  5 through  9
                        3 -  5 through  9    1 - 30 through 39
                        1 - 30 through 39

   Valentine       18   1 - 15 through 19    1 - 20 through 29
                        1 - 20 through 29    1 - 60 through 69
                        1 - 30 through 39
                        1 - 60 through 69

1840 Census

VANHUSS
   Benjamine       182  20   5   1 -  less than  5    1 -  less than  5
                                 2 - 20 through 29    1 - 20 through 29

   Mathias         195  12   9   1 -  less than  5    1 -  less than  5
                                 1 -  5 through  9    1 -  5 through  9
                                 1 - 10 through 14    1 - 15 through 19
                                 1 - 15 through 19    1 - 40 through 49
                                 1 - 40 through 49

1850  Census

     VANHUSS
          Benjamin 38          182B
          Mathias 54           219
          Valentine 28         172

1850 Census

172A  29  Vanhuss        Daniel S.        2     Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  28  Vanhuss        Isaac S. K.      3     Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  27  Vanhuss        James M.         4     Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  26  Vanhuss        Lucinda H.       29    Tenn              pg0167b.txt
172A  25  Vanhuss        Valentine        23    VA                pg0167b.txt

 25  30   30  Vanhuss        Valentine      23    M    W    farming        100       VA                .     .     .    .    Married Nov.18, 1845
 26  30   30  Vanhuss        Lucinda H.     29    F    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .
 27  30   30  Vanhuss        James M.       4     M    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .
 28  30   30  Vanhuss        Isaac S. K.    3     M    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .
 29  30   30  Vanhuss        Daniel S.      2     M    W    .              .         Tenn              .     .     .    .    .

Check these against my images from the Carter County public library.

Tennessee

Trying to make sense of family records is a daunting task.

Errors are recorded in family genealogies, accounts conflict, misspellings are made or multiple spellings are used, duplicate names are confusing, and a host of other issues make genealogies often unreliable. But the most reliable records are court records which record the transfer of land. These records are available in the Register of Deeds office in the county in which the individual lived.

The Van Huss family in Tennessee  is an example of all these problems.  So, to unravel the mysteries of who is who, I traveled to Elizabethton, Tennessee and visited the County Courthouse of Carter County.

The family Van Huss settled eastern Tennessee in the late 18th century.  There are many recorded deeds, but the ones relating to Robert Van Huss settled in and around Elizabethton, Tennessee, near the Watauga River. The site is within a few miles of the Appalachian trail. It is also along the route traveled by Daniel Boone. It is hill country, the kind that has twists and turns, and in the fall when I visited, the leaves were beautiful.

The earliest recorded deed is made by the state of North Carolina to Valentine Vanhooser and recorded August 23rd, 1979. The deed records the transfer, for the sum of 50 shillings an acre, 100 acres "being in the County of Washington* on a branch of Cobbs Creek, beginning at a Linwood at the head of a Spring running north thirteen degrees west one hundred & twelve poles to a white oak, thence north thirty-five degrees west ..."

*As a side note, Washington County, North Carolina would become Carter County, Tennessee at a later unknown, to me, date.

Keep in mind that the Registrar of Deeds records transactions a little later in the names of Mathias and James P. Van Huss.

Now, how do I get from here to Valentine W. Van Huss, who married Lucinda Campbell in 1845 and had a bunch of kids, including James M. (1845), Isaac S. (1847), and Daniel (1848)? This group, I know, from land records in Butler County, Kansas, traveled west and settled  in Kansas in the 1870's.

The key to the puzzle is found at genforum. Here we find " Valentine VAN HUSS was born 14 FEB 1768 in Rowan Co., North Carolina, and died 1 MAR 1858 in Johnson Co., Tennessee. He was the son of 24. Valentine VAN HOOSER and 25. Maria Barbara ZERWE". Note that the spelling Van Hooser  matches the North Carolina deed, as well as the state.

Genforum continues with Valentine's marriage to Catherine Worley,

13. Catherine WORLEY was born ABT 1767 in Rowan Co., North Carolina, and died ABT 1798 in Wythe Co., Virginia. She was the daughter of 26. Michael WORLEY and 27. Anna REIGHERT.

Children of Catherine WORLEY and Valentine VAN HUSS are:
6. i. Michael VAN HUSS was born 6 JAN 1789 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 21 FEB 1875 in Lee Co., Virginia. He married Elizabeth ROSENBAUM 11 JUL 1809 in Wythe Co., Virginia, daughter of Anthonius Conradus ROSENBAUM and Elizabeth WORLEY. She was born ABT 1791 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 30 MAY 1874 in Lee Co., Virginia.
ii. Valentine VAN HUSS , Jr. was born ABT 1790. He married Elizabeth RAINBOLT. She was born ABT 1791 in Carter Co., Tennessee, and died 19 OCT 1826.
iii. Jacob VAN HUSS was born 21 OCT 1791 in Wythe Co., Virginia.
iv. Elizabeth VAN HUSS was born 17 SEP 1793 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 29 OCT 1826. She married John B. RAINBOLT JAN 1812 in Carter Co., Tennessee, son of Adam R. RAINBOLT and Hannah Jane POTTER. He was born 11 NOV 1788 in Washington Co. Tennessee (Now Carter Co.), and died 11 APR 1873 in Orange, Lawrence Co., Indiana.
v. Matthias VAN HUSS was born 27 OCT 1795 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 21 SEP 1856 in Carter Co., Tennessee. He married Elizabeth WORLEY 4 DEC 1817 in Wythe Co., Virginia, daughter of Valentine WORLEY and Maria Barbara SPRECHER. She was born 1798 in Wythe Co., Virginia, and died 1818 in Wythe Co., Virginia. He married Lavinia DUGGER 14 APR 1821 in Carter Co., Tennessee, daughter of William DUGGER and Nancy MILLARD. She was born 22 JUN 1795 in Carter Co., Tennessee, and died 28 MAR 1882 in Carter Co., Tennessee.
vi. Christopher VAN HUSS was born 1796.

It seems that the second child, Valentine Jr. is the Valentine who marries Lucinda Campbell in 1845, but there is some confusion...

But wait, the 1830 census of eastern Tennessee shows:

VANHOOSE
   Mathias         33   3 -  less than  5    1 -  5 through  9
                        3 -  5 through  9    1 - 30 through 39
                        1 - 30 through 39

   Valentine       18   1 - 15 through 19    1 - 20 through 29
                        1 - 20 through 29    1 - 60 through 69
                        1 - 30 through 39
                        1 - 60 through 69

Our Family History has Valentine Worley Van Huss going from Carter County, Tennessee to Butler County, Kansas. But, his father is listed as Mathias Van Huss; so the reference seems suspect. This Matthias was allegedly born in Tennessee in 1795, again suspect.

 Ancestry.com shows Valentine Worley Van Huss marrying Lucinda Campbell in 1845, and it shows they had several children, all of which is confirmed by the Tennessee census records of 1830, 1850, and 1860. But this Valentine was allegedly born in 1818 in Virginia, and his father is not indicated.

Again, going back to the land transfer deeds in Carter County, I can find a final transfer of land by Valentine and Lucinda VanHuss in 1866, a transaction which ends this family's tenure in Tennessee. Of course, other VanHusses  remained in Tennessee, and distant cousins can be found there today.