Samuel Bass At Age 16

Samuel Bass was the son of Daniel Bass (the son of John Bass Sr. and Sarah Fender) and Elizabeth Jane Sheeks (the daughter of George Sheeks & Elizabeth Canote). Elizabeth died when Sam was ten, and his father married Mrs. Margaret Newkirk, only to die himself two and a half years later. Along with his other underage siblings, Sam was put under the guardianship of his mother's brother, Uncle David L. Sheeks, who had a big family of his own. Sam was to receive one-twelfth of his parents's estate when he was twenty-one. When Sam was eighteen, afer an argument with his uncle about his wages, his gambling, etc., he left the family and travelled to Texas, working for others who could help him get there.