You asked about David Gass of early Madison Co. KY. You also wonder whether the name Guess may be another interpretation of Gass. I have not found the name Guess associated with Gass--but in genealogy, anything is possible, I have discovered. I have a friend who always wants to argue about spelling of surnames!!!! Forget it!!! Anything the county clerk wrote down is acceptable, at least to me. (I read a short deed in which the county clerk spelled the surname Harris three different ways!) I am NOT a descendant of David Gass nor of any of his descendants--that I know of. One of my collateral Harris males married a Susannah Gass, probably in Madison Co., KY. I suggest you do a www.google.com search for David Gass, putting his name in quotation marks. There seem to be two or three links to that name, one or two claiming to be biographies. In case you ever have the time, the Fam Hist Library in Salt Lake City has LOTS of films for Madison Co., KY, including LOTS of deeds. The grantor and grantee indexes are nicely typed, and frequently from the indexes alone, one can discover clues. For example, there may be a listing for a male (a few females) and then the word Hrs. may be beside the name. That means heirs. Those deeds are gems!!! Another peculiarity of Kentucky deeds, as time went on, is Commissioners deeds. Frequently the court appointed a commissioner to settle a family dispute (I'm reading between the lines in actual documents) or a family estate. These deeds are listed under the letter C. So many of my early Madison families are intermarried that it seems almost everyone who settled around Otter Creek are relatives of some degree or another. My North Carolinians, who had Virginia roots, intermarried with the recent Virginia immigrants, and there we go. The research takes time and is hard on a working person with additional family obligations!!! But the research is rewarding if you have a curiosity and realize that not everything is on the internet!!! I suggest you do some preliminary research on the surname Guess on the International Genealogical Index (more reliable than the Ancestral File) which may be found on the LDS website - www.familysearch.org Also do a surname search and see what publications the Fam Hist Library in Salt Lake City has for your various families!!!! E.W.Wallace

One of my Madison County ancestors was John Guess who emigrated there in the 1790s from Granville Co, NC. I've found his named spelled Gass, Gess, and Gest in the tax records. This, of course, complicates research on this fellow, particularly as there are two other individuals named John Gass in the area at the same time -- apparently the son and brother of David Gass. It's possible that this Gass family is related to my John Guess but I haven't found any definitive links yet. There are a number of researchers who are looking at the David Gass family and have traced them back to Pennsylvania. I'd be happy to provide those names to anyone interested. Stuart Neel ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, November 24, 2003 12:30 PM Subject: Re: [MADKY-L] David Gass of Madison Co., KY > You asked about David Gass of early Madison Co. KY. > > You also wonder whether the name Guess may be another interpretation of Gass. > I have not found the name Guess associated with Gass--but in genealogy, > anything is possible, I have discovered. I have a friend who always wants to > argue about spelling of surnames!!!! Forget it!!! Anything the county clerk > wrote down is acceptable, at least to me. (I read a short deed in which the > county clerk spelled the surname Harris three different ways!) > > I am NOT a descendant of David Gass nor of any of his descendants--that I > know of. One of my collateral Harris males married a Susannah Gass, probably in > Madison Co., KY. > > I suggest you do a www.google.com search for David Gass, putting his name in > quotation marks. There seem to be two or three links to that name, one or two > claiming to be biographies. > > In case you ever have the time, the Fam Hist Library in Salt Lake City has > LOTS of films for Madison Co., KY, including LOTS of deeds. The grantor and > grantee indexes are nicely typed, and frequently from the indexes alone, one can > discover clues. For example, there may be a listing for a male (a few > females) and then the word Hrs. may be beside the name. That means heirs. Those > deeds are gems!!! > > Another peculiarity of Kentucky deeds, as time went on, is Commissioners > deeds. Frequently the court appointed a commissioner to settle a family dispute > (I'm reading between the lines in actual documents) or a family estate. These > deeds are listed under the letter C. > > So many of my early Madison families are intermarried that it seems almost > everyone who settled around Otter Creek are relatives of some degree or another. > My North Carolinians, who had Virginia roots, intermarried with the recent > Virginia immigrants, and there we go. > > The research takes time and is hard on a working person with additional > family obligations!!! But the research is rewarding if you have a curiosity and > realize that not everything is on the internet!!! > > I suggest you do some preliminary research on the surname Guess on the > International Genealogical Index (more reliable than the Ancestral File) which may > be found on the LDS website - www.familysearch.org > > Also do a surname search and see what publications the Fam Hist Library in > Salt Lake City has for your various families!!!! > > E.W.Wallace > > ______________________________

David Gass' will proved 5 May 1806 - Madison Co, Ky David Gass had son John Gass and nephew John Gass David Gass - b. abt 1733 - Cumberland Valley, Lancaster Co, Pa - son of John & Margaret ( ) Gass. David's father, John Gass, will dated Jun 1734 proved 31 Dec 1734. Margaret was still widow Gass 26 Apr 1738. After that date Widow Margaret Gass married Widower William Magill/McGill About this time there was a migration from Cumberland Valley, Lancaster Co, Pa to Goochland Co, Va which later became Albemarle Co, Va. The families connected to the Gass family were Woods, Wallace, Gass/Goss who made this move. William Magill/McGill - and new wife Margaret ( ) Gass and stepson, David Gass settled in Augusta Co, Va which became Rockingham Co, Va William Magill/McGill will 10 Oct 1749 - Augusta Co, Va - in which he named wife Margaret and her son David Gass David Gass' brother or half-brother was Henry Gass of Cumberland Co, Pa. Henry Gass had 3 sons and a daughter. The sons were John, James, and Samuel. John Gass - son of Henry - was with David Gass, and Daniel Boone - 17 Jul 1776 when Jemima Boone and the Callaway sisters were taken by Indians.from the river near Boonesborough, Ky. John Gass, the nephew of David Gass, swam the river and got the canoe the girls had been using. John Gass - son of Henry Gass - sold land to his cousin John Gass son of David Gass - 24 Oct 1798. The deed so states. John Gass - son of Henry Gass - signed his will John Gass son of Henry Gass. It was dated 8 Jan 1815 proved 22 Apr 1816 Clark Co, Ky. He had no wife or issue. All was left to the sons & daughters of his brother James Gass. James Gass - son of Henry Gass - married twice in Cumberland Valley of Pa. He and his family came to Kentucky. He died about 1829. His heirs sold his land 1830 in Clark Co, Ky Samuel Gass - son of Henry Gass - of Cumberland Co, Pa m. Nancy Rose. They had several children in Pa. He may have been Samuel Giss of Huntingdon Co, Pa - 1790. Samuel was in Madison Co, Ky - 1793-1795, Hawkins Co, Tn 1796-1804, Monroe co, Ky 1804-1819, Franklin Co, Tn 1819 -until his death