Joseph Vaught, son of John and Esther Vaught, was born in what is now Smythe county, Virginia, in 1773, and went to Tennessee with his father, from whom he inherited a large tract of farm land and a number of slaves. He successfully cultivated his land and operated a mill, becoming one of the wealthy men of his day and giving to each of his children a large farm. He married Nancy Goodwin and they had two sons and three daughters. The father died November 22, 1830, aged fifty-seven years, and was buried in the Roane Creek Baptist churchyard at Shouns, Tennessee. This church was organized April 20, 1794–the first established in Johnson county.

Transcribed from: Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1796-1923 by John Trotwood Moore and Austin P. Foster published by S.J Clarke Publishing Co., 1923.