In early documents the name Massey was spelled with an "fs" for the double s, like Mafsey, Mafsy, etc. The first appearance it makes spelled like Marsee is on an 1809 Knox County tax list of Joseph & Thomas "Marsey." Variations were made on other documents such as deeds and marriage records for example: Robert George's 1877 marriage certificate says R.G. "Massey", but his 1927 death certificate says George Marsee. In the 1850 Knox County census records you can find our relatives listed as "Marsee", in 1860 listed as Massey and in 1870 they returned again to Marsee. In 1810 a land grant was made out to Joseph Mafsey, in 1858 when his son, Thomas, sold his share of the land he states that this is the same land of his father, Joseph Marsee, deceased. Again, this provides the proof that the change did take place in early Knox County, Kentucky.

Though not proven yet, it is widely accepted that Joseph, Jr. and Thomas were brothers and both sons of Joseph, Sr.

Note from David S. Rains, Charlotte, North Carolina. He is an author of his family history and a knowledgeable researcher of these families in Knox/Bell Countys Kentucky.

Dear Donna:
The bulk of my research has been in the Rains, Turner, Whitaker and Sykes lines, which are my direct lines. I have not concentrated on the Massey/Marsee lines since Trecia Northrup and several others had written books about them. However, I have seen research that indicates Joseph Massey to be the son of Joseph Massey and Elizabeth Lee. I have always accepted that to be the truth as far as we can establish it. There are written records of Joseph Massey in Tennessee and Knox, Kentucky, of course. My ancestor, Henry Rains, appraised Joseph Massey's estate, I believe about 1810, so Joseph was an old man by then. I think he was born in Virginia about 1728. I base part of my conjecture on the way he named his children. It appears he named many after his siblings. He had siblings named John, 1719; Sarah, 1721; Amey, 1722; Thomas, 1730; Agnes, 1731; Lucy, 1736; Frances, 1738; Rebeccah, 1725. I also believe that because his mother was a Lee, he may have had a blood connection to Henry Rains, 1767-1838. Henry Rains was half brother to eight Lee siblings from the marriage of his mother, after his father John Rains died, to Captain Thomas Lee. Elizabeth Lee may have been part of the Thomas Lee and Mary Ingram Rains family, or connected some way to John Lee, Esquire, Captain Thomas Lee's father. My book is called "Henry Rains, Esquire." 1700-1786. "Some of his descendants." I am attaching, as a Word document, a copy of the rough draft for you to look at. Let me know what you think, and give me any suggestions you want to. I hope you buy my book "Kentucky Bad Boy," which is available on Amazon.com It is a book of short stories about growing up in the Appalachian Mountains, written from the perspective of an 8 year old boy. It was published by Barnes & Noble. It has gotten some good reviews, but wont be available in book stores until 2002. Go to Amazon.com and look it over. Tell me what you think if you get it. Thanks! David

Bill Massey, II (Mar 8, 2005)
Joseph2?s son, Joseph3, [as mentioned to you earlier] was one of three sons by Joseph?s first wife whom we?ve not been able to name (earliest Virginia county records are extremely sparse). Born before 1730, he was unmarried (no wife released dower) when, 27 Jun 1757, he disposed of 200 acres (signed "X") that his father had given him on Cattail Creek, Brunswick County, Virginia. Although the signatures do not match, it is possible that this Joseph is the same man who purchased 25 acres in Granville-Orange-Johnston Cos., North Carolina, some time before 1761 when he first appeared on the Granville tax lists. The land was north of the Neuse River in the immediate neighborhood of the Horse Creek area where Joseph3's brother John3 bought 50 acres in 1768 (four years after Joseph left). Joseph had sold his 25 acres on 21 Sep 1764, signing the deed with a "." From the deed, he was living in Johnston County, North Carolina, at the time.