William “elder” Bass, Sr.

William “elder” Bass, Sr.

• Gender: Male
• Birth: March 29, 1654 Virginia Colony
• Death: before August 13, 1742 Norfolk County , Province of Virginia
• Son of N.N. and “Elizabeth” Basse, of the Nansemond
• Husband of Catherine (Lanier) Bass

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• William's biological father had Y-dna from sub-Saharan Africa with the rare Haplo group A.
• This is not the Y-dna of William's half siblings who were the R Haplo group of their father John Bass, Sr.
• The mother of all the children was Elizabeth (the Nansemond).

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Brief Abstract of Lower Norfolk County and Norfolk County Wills, 1710-1753 by Charles Fleming McIntosh, pp. 168-9 WILLIAM BASS of Norfolk County Book H. p. 8. Dated 1 Oct. 1740. Proved 17 Sept. 1742, by Henry Creech & Enos Tart. …to my Son William Bass on Shilling ……to my Son Edward Bass one Shilling… …to my Son Joseph Bass all my Waring Cloaths……to my Son Thomas Bass one Shilling … …to my Grandson William Bass my Little Gun……to my 'Daughter Mary Bass all the rest…my Cash and also my Land if she can save it after my decease……my Daughter Mary Bass my whole and Sole Executrix…

Witnesses: Henry Crooch.Thomas + Tart [his mark] Enos Tart.William W.B. Bass & Seal.[his mark].

Family

The following was compiled at Wikitree: http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Basse-69

William married Catherine Lanier on 6 November 1671 in Norfolk County, Virginia Colony.[1]

They were the parents of the following children:

• Edward Bass
• John Bass
• Keziah Bass
• William Bass
• Joseph Bass
• Mary Bass
• Thomas Bass

On 13 October 1715, William Bass, Sr., admitted in Norfolk County court that he owed John Hodgson 50 pounds of tobacco. (Orders 1710-17, 169).[2]

In 1727 William Basse felt the necessity of proving that he was of Native American, not African, descent in order to perfect his title to lands owned in Norfolk County. Consequently a hearing was held 17 March 1726/27 in Norfolk County.

The certificate issued belonged to the Bass Family of Bowers Hill, Norfolk County, Virginia.(p 13) [3] An Inquest pertaining to possession and use of Cleared and Swamp lands in and adjoining ye Great Dismal by William Bass, Sr. and His kinsmen who claim Indian Privileges, Sheweth by the testimony of White Persons and sundry records of great age and known to be authentic.

That said William Bass, Thomas Bass, and Joseph Bass and spinster daughter Mary Bass are persons of English and Nansemond Indian descent with no admixture of negro, Ethiopic, and that they and all others in kinship with them are freeborn subjects of his Majesty living in peace with his Majesty's Government entitled to possess and bear arms as permitted by Treaties of Peace by and between Charles II of blessed memory and ye Indians of Virginia and the said William Bass, Sr. and als are in Rightful, and Lawful possession thereof and are not to be further Molested by any person or persons whatsoever under any pretended Authority under Penalties etc. etc., whilst ye said Bass and his kinsmen claim Indian privileges pursuant to the aforesaid Treaties of Peace.

17 day of March 1726/27

Solo. Wilson, Cl. Cur.

On 6 January 1729 William Bass, Senr. was living in Western Branch District of Norfolk County when he purchased 103 acres in Norfolk County at the mouth of Deep Branch for £25. (DB G:fol.35; p 183)[2] Tax and tithable records show William living in Western Branch District of Norfolk County 1730-1736.[4] Death & Legacy The will of William Bass(e) of Norfolk County was dated 1 October 1740 and proved 17 September 1742 by Henry Creech & Enos Tart. The will leaves token bequests to sons William, Edward, Joseph, and Thomas Bass; mentions grandson William Bass; and leaves residue of land and estate to daughter Mary Bass, "if she can Save it." Mary was named executrix. (WB H:8)[5][2]

The peculiar phrasing of his will regarding the bequest to daughter Mary, "if she can save it," might indicate that William was in debt at the time he wrote his will in October 1740 and he expected creditors to claim the estate.

Date of death, 13 August 1741, from another certificate that belonged to the Bass Family of Bowers Hill, Norfolk County, Virginia: Burial record: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/173338069/william-richard-basse

William Bass, the Elder was deceased Aug ye 13 day in the year of our Lord 1741 Aet. 87 [age at death 87]. Beloved sire of sons William Bass, Edward Bass, Joseph Bass, Thomas Bass, and their faithful sister Mary Bass. Father is the sire of John Bass, late deceased, and dauter Keziah, juner., late deceased. His departing is Lamented and mourned by ffamily and ffriends.[6][3]

Since the will was proved 17 September 1742, the correct date of death is probably 13 August 1742. This certificate was written some time after William's death and quite likely suffered from the bad memory of its writer; unless the family waited an entire year before submitting the will for probate.

From < “Descendants of the Great Dismal” Posted on September 23, 2017 By Nikki Bass

The descendants of William Bass (b. 1654) and Catherine Lanier (b. 1650) define a number of prominent Bass lineages. Their two oldest sons, Edward Bass and John Bass, relocated to North Carolina in the early 1700s and have been thoroughly researched by their descendants (see Lars Adams’ Research (John Bass Descendant) and Kianga Lucas’ Research (Edward Bass Descendant)). The rest of William and Catherine’s children remained in Virginia; however, their two daughters, Keziah Bass and Mary Bass, appear to have died unmarried and without children and there is little information about the fate of their son Joseph Bass. Their sons William Bass and Thomas Bass carried the Nansemond legacy forward on ancestral land; however, there is unexplained disparity in their recorded history.

Joseph Bragg Dunn’s map of Nansemond and adjoining counties from “The History of Nansemond County Virginia.” The “Christianized” Nansemond shifted from the area surrounding the Nansemond River (in Nansemond County) to the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River (in Norfolk County).

Sources

• 1. Bass, James Albert and James Albert Bass, Jr. The Bass Family of Black Creek, North Carolina, 1986. as cited on My Extended Roberts-Wagner-Bass-Brown Family Tree by Janeene Roberts. (at Ancestry)
• 2. Heinegg, Paul. Free African Americans of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. Bass Families http://freeafricanamericans.com/bailey-berry.htm
• 3. Bell, Albert. Bass Families of the South, Nansemond Indian Ancestry of Some Bass Families. Rocky Mount, NC, 1961
• 4. Wingo, Elizabeth G. and W. Bruce Wingo. 1978-1985. Norfolk County, Virginia, Tithables 1730-1750, 1751-1765, 1766-1780. as cited on Heinegg.
• 5. Ancestry.com. Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
• 6. John Lucas of Eastern North Carolina Descendants and Related Families http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db... 7. https://nativeamericanroots.wordpress.com/tag/powhatan/
• https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/bass/about/background As often happens in family studies, we have had more than a few "aha" moments. None has been more surprising than the Haplogroup A results of men who descend from men who culturally and socially appeared to be the descendants of William 1654-1741 (John, Nathaniel, Humphrey). This is an amazing result to say the least. A is the oldest and rarest haplogroup.

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