Richard Bass, Sr.

Not the same as Richard Bass

Richard Bass who married Jane Bryant is the ancestor of the five Bass lines who test into M269 L47 as they all originate in the same section of Virginia.

Richard Bass is according to one document that have have two wives. Those children descended from wife Jane Bryant are in Haplogroup M269 L47. Those children descended from wife Mary (Burwell) Bass are in Haplogroup M269 S1051. While both are M269, the sub classifications have major differences so they two Richard’s cannot be the same person.

No one has yet provided any evidence that the Richard who married Jane Bryant is indeed the father or grandfather of the 5 separate Bass males that all belong to M269 L47 and share a common ancestor.

• disputed as son of Capt. John Basse, Sr.
• (probably) not the same as Richard Basse (died young?)
• Was not the father of the children of Mary Bass - she married a different Richard Bass

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https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/bass/5241/

Listed among the generations of John and Elizabeth is a son, Richard. Richard was born in 1658 and according to Bell’s book, he married Jane Bryant in 1680 and they had 6 children. Jane is said to have died February 1689/90. The book then lists Richard as marrying Mary Burwell (August 1696) and they had 7 children. Mary died after 1719. Sounds reasonable enough, Jane died, he needed someone to help out, he married Mary. Unfortunately, there exists a document in the courts that give the following information:

• Henrico Co., VA Deeds 1677-1705 31 Feb 1703/4/ 1 Mar 1703/4
  

“Richard Bass, Sr. of Henrico Co. for 1700 pads tobacco to William Lewis of same I OOA land on the north side of White Oak Swamp next to William Ferris, Richard Ferris, Nicholas Amoss and William Porter; pane of 403A.

Wit: VV1/liam Blackman & C. Evans.

Signed Richard (RB) Bays, Sr. Jane, wife of richard relinquished dower rights

This document creates a problem. Jane appears to have signed away her dower rights to the property her husband was selling, this at a time when she was supposed to he dead (1689/90). If the record is true, Jane was still Richard’s wife while he was supposed to he married to Mary. Either he was a bigamist or there were two Richards, which is apparently the case, Either Bell did not see this document (and one wonders why he did not since it was right there where the other records were) or he chose to ignore it since it presented a problem he did not want to deal with. There is the possibility that neither of these two Richard Basses were the sons of John and current research being done on this line seems to show neither of the Richards found in the records are John’s descendents.” Though there are no records to prove so, it is possible that Richard died as a young man and therefore left no descendents. The Nansemond Tribe will not accept applications generated through the genealogical lines of Richard until there is proper source information to indicate the lineage of the Nansemond Richard Bass. The current preponderance of the evidence does not point to either Richard. When the tribe was first organized, it lacked a trained genealogist and as a result, some Bass lines were allowed to gain membership. As a result, some of our current members were previously accepted through this line and the tribe has elected to allow them to keep their membership since it was no fault of theirs that membership was allowed. However, additional membership applications will not be accepted until the problems has been solved.

A certifcate held by the Bass family of Bowers Hill, Virginia states:

"In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Richard Bass, son of John Bass and Keziah his wife was borned on ye Second day of August in the year of our Lord 1658. Jane Bryant was borned on ye 17th day of December in the year of our Lord 1665. They were married according to the Canons the 6th day of November Anno dom. 1680. The said Jane Bass departed this life on ye 14 of February in the year of our Lord 1689/90, the mother of Charles Basse, Samuel Basse, James Basse, Matthew Basse, Keziah Basse, and Anna Basse, all Baptized Christian persons. The said Richard Basse took to wife Mary Burwell on ye 25 day of August in the year of our Lord 1695 and begat Andrew Basse, Alexander Basse, Richard Basse, Mary Basse, Uriah Basse, and Thomas Basse, every one a Bpatized Christian.

Said Richard Basse, Senior died in nansemond on ye 26 day of December 1722.

These are Peaceful Subjects of his Majtie. George I King and Defr. of Ye Faith numbered among ye nansemond People ffreeborn and worthie of ye Respectful consideration of Christians in ye Church in Carolina as in Virgina and entitled to the Same.

Wm. Rudd, M. G. and Cl.

Parish of Elizabeth River in Virga."

This marriage is a subject of controversy.

see: http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/families/bass.htm

Richard Basse, seventh of the eight children of John and Elizabeth/Keziah Basse, is said to have been born in Nansemond County, Virginia, on August 2, 1658. This information comes from a certificate said to be in the possession of family members. The certificate says that Richard married Jane Bryant on November 6, 1680; that she died on February 14, 1690, having borne six children in nine years; and that Richard then married Mary Burwell on August 25, 1695 and had six more children by her. Dowd, Sylvestri, and the Nansemonds have produced court records proving that Jane Basse was still alive at least as late as 1701. They claim that the certificate is a forgery; that Richard never married Mary Burwell; and that the last four children (at least) attributed to Richard were probably grandchildren of John's brother Edward (who may also have married an Indian, but if so she was a Chowan rather than a Nansemond). In any case, Richard Basse is said to have died on December 26, 1722.

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William Rudd, Clergyman of the Parish of Elizabeth River Church, stated "These are peaceful subjects of His Majesty George I, King and defender of ye faith, numbered among ye Nansiemum people, freeborn, and worthy of ye respectfull consideration of Christians in ye Church in Carolina as in Virginia and intitled to the same."

Evidently the Basse family was preparing to move south to North Carolina. It was the custom to be released from one Parish so that they could transfer to the Parish church in their new area. As the above-statement was not dated, it probably pertained to the children of Richard Basse, Sr., as he died in Nansemond, Virginia, on St. Stephen's Day .... 26 Dec 1722.

It is son Andrew that we find later in North Carolina.

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All children born in the Nansemond Kingdom, Parish of Elizabeth River, Virginia.

alternate birth date 8/2/1658 death date 12/26/1722

Notes for RICHARD BASSE:
Sourceses: Richard Basse: "Nansemond Indian Ancestry of Some Bass Families", page 12. Richard Basse: "Book of John Basse of Norfolk County, Virginia". Richard Basse: "Bass Families of the South", Albert D. Bell.

Email to Mike Crandall from Fred Bright fbright@aquik.net. Treasurer of the Nansemond Indian Tribe: There are some real problems with Richard. According to Bell, he had two wives, however there are court records that record his first wife being brought to court for leaving her children alone while away, this at a time when his first wife was supposed to be dear. There is also a court document showing him in a transfer of land for a tobacco crop listing his wife as a signatory giving up her dower rights on the property. I would wait a while before counting on Richard to be solid information. It may be that Richard is a correct ancestor, however there were apparently two Richards at that time and we have not been able to dig them out for a certainty. It could be that there were two richards at that time (probably related ) and they were mixed up. Leah has some additional information on them but it is taking time to dig it out.

There is a controversy surrounding the marriage of Richard Basse to Mary Burwell, See below. 10 Richard Basse, seventh of the eight children of John and Elizabeth/Keziah Basse, is said to have been born in Nansemond County, Virginia, on August 2, 1658. This information comes from a certificate said to be in the possession of family members. The certificate says that Richard married Jane Bryant on November 6, 1680; that she died on February 14, 1690, having borne six children in nine years; and that Richard then married Mary Burwell on August 25, 1695 and had six more children by her. Dowd, Sylvestri, and the Nansemonds have produced court records proving that Jane Basse was still alive at least as late as 1701. They claim that the certificate is a forgery; that Richard never married Mary Burwell; and that the last four children (at least) attributed to Richard were probably grandchildren of John's brother Edward (who may also have married an Indian, but if so she was a Chowan rather than a Nansemond). In any case, Richard Basse is said to have died on December 26, 1722. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/families/bass.htm Richard, son of John Basse and Elizabeth Nansemond, was born 2 August 1658 in Nansemond, Virginia Colony. He passed away on 26 December 1722 in Nansemond. For reference, the following certificate has been quoted in whole or in part on a number of websites. It appears to have been written in consideration of the planned move of the family of Richard Bass (Richard died in Virginia) from Virginia to North Carolina. It is purportedly held by the Bass family of Bowers Hill, Virginia, and is said to be on file at the University of Virginia Library. Confirmation of the accuracy of this certificate and its location would be appreciated. "In the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.Richard Bass, son of John Bass and Keziah his wife was borned on ye Second day of August in the year of our Lord 1658. Jane Bryant was borned on ye 17th day of December in the year of our Lord 1665. They were married according to the Canons the 6th day of November Anno dom. 1680. The said Jane Bass departed this life on ye 14 of February in the year of our Lord 1689/90, the mother of Charles Basse, Samuel Basse, James Basse, Matthew Basse, Keziah Basse, and Anna Basse, all Baptized Christian persons. The said Richard Basse took to wife Mary Burwell on ye 25 day of August in the year of our Lord 1695 and begat Andrew Basse, Alexander Basse, Richard Basse, Mary Basse, Uriah Basse, and Thomas Basse, every one a Baptized Christian.Said Richard Basse, Senior died in nansemond on ye 26 day of December 1722.These are Peaceful Subjects of his Majtie. George I King and Defr. of Ye Faith numbered among ye nansemond People ffreeborn and worthie of ye Respectful consideration of Christians in ye Church in Carolina as in Virgina and entitled to the Same.Wm. Rudd, M. G. and Cl.Parish of Elizabeth River in Virga."The statement that Richard was married twice, to Jane Bryant and Mary Burwell, has been contested by the Nansemond Tribe of Virginia based on the existence of a land transaction filed in Henrico County, Virginia, dated 31 (?) February 1703/4, recorded 1 March 1703/4 for Richard Bass, Sr. of Henrico Co., in which "Jane, wife of Richard relinquished dower rights." This document has been misread; the name is actually Bays, not Bass. This Richard Bass was never in Henrico County and never owned land there.

• Weisiger, Benjamin B. III. Henrico County, Virginia Deeds 1677-1705, p 129.
• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Jan 9 2020, 17:01:45 UTC