(1) Welcome
(2) Bassett Olympic Athletes
(3) John C. Bassett, Grover of Kalamazoo, Michigan
(4) Death of Blues Legend Johnnie Bassett of Detroit
(5) Trading card for William Isaiah Bassett
(6) Love Bassett - Jonathan Swift Family Bible
(7) 1860's photo of W.S. Bassett of Warsaw, Ohio
(8) New family lines combined or added since the last newsletter
(9) DNA project update
Section 1 - Welcome
With the 2012 Summer Olympics now over in London, this month I have an article of several Bassets/Bassetts that have taken part over the past 100 years.
The following trees were added to the Bassett website database since the last newsletter:
19B. Michael Bassett of New York (772 individuals)
211B. Jackson Bassett of Georgia and Florida (13 individuals)
212B. Moses Bassett of Canada & Michigan (17 individuals)
213B. Taylor Bassett of Brunswick County, Virginia (60 individuals)
214B. Louis Bassett of Illinois and Nebraska (104 individuals)
215B. Charles Bassett of Hamilton County, Ohio (69 individuals)
216B. John Bassett of London, England (49 individuals)
217B. Mathew Bassett of Marblhead, Essex County, MA (164 individuals)
218B. George Bassett of Marlborough, MA (76 individuals)
219B. John Thomas Bassett of Brooklyn, New York (33 individuals)
221B. Ralph Bassett of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada (39 individuals)
222B. Steven Bassett of Farnborough, Kent, England (28 individuals)
223B. William Bassett of Denbigh, Wales (156 individuals)
230B. Joseph Bassett of Alaksa (22 individuals)
231B. Bassetts of Saint Martin in the Fields, London, England (50 individuals)
232B. Francis Bassett of Collingwood, Ontario, Canada (41 individuals)
233B. James David Bassett of North Carolina (31 individuals)
234B. Bassetts of North Hill, Cornwall, England (228 individuals)
235B. Henry Bassett of Dover, New Hampshire (50 individuals)
236B. Walter John Bassett of Chicago, Illinois (25 individuals)
237B. Bassetts of St. Cleer, Cornwall, England (55 individuals)
238B. Benjamin Bassett of Bury, Lancashire, England (72 individuals)
239B. McKellar-Bassetts of South Africa (11 individuals)
250B. George Bassett of West Malling, Kent, England (18 individuals)
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Section 2 - Featured Bassett: Bassett Olympic Athletes
I have found the following three family members that have competed in the Olympics over the years.
Denis Anthony Basset
Country represented: France
Sport: Tug-Of-War (1900)
Silver Medalist
France taking 2nd place in the 1900 Olympic event Tug-Of-War, Paris, France
Dominique Basset
Country represented: France
Sport: Men's Rowing (1980)
Picture of the 1980 French Rowing Team
Carling Bassett-Seguso
Country represented: Canada
Sport: Women's Tennis (1988)
Carling Bassett-Seguso
Carling descends from #42B John Bassett of Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland through the Bassetts of Canada
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Section 3 - Featured Bassett: John C. Bassett, Grover from Kalamazoo, Michigan
John Cassius Bassett is a descendant of William Bassett of Plymouth as follows:
William Bassett and wife Elizabeth
William Bassett (b. 1624) and wife Mary Raynesford
Nathan Bassett (b. 1667) and wife Mary Huckins
Samuel Bassett (b. 1693) and wife Martha Pease
Cornelius Bassett (b. 1722) and wife Lydia Norton
Ebenezer Bassett (b. 1752) and wife Abigail Adams
John Bassett (b. 1793) and wife Cynthia Elizabeth Benjamin
John Cassius Bassett (b. 1830) and wife Eliza Nixon Rice
Kalamazoo Gazette, Michigan, December 26, 1851
Sale ad for John C. Bassett, Merchant of Kalamazoo, Michigan
In the 1860 census of Kalamazoo, Michigan, John C. Bassett is listed as a merchant.
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Section 4 - Featured Bassett: Death of Blues Legend Johnnie Bassett of Detroit
Johnnie Alexander Bassett descends from #211B Jackson Bassett as follows:
Jackson Bassett (b. 1854) and wife Catherine Ireland
Henry Bassett (b. 1873) and wife Ezuilla
William Henry Bassett (b. 1900)
Johnnie Alexander Bassett
Recent advertisement for Johnnie Bassett
Boston.Com
Johnnie Bassett, 76, Detroit bluesman with jazzy style
August 11, 2012, By Terence McArdle, Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Johnnie Bassett, a blues singer and guitarist with an urbane, jazzy style whose studio work included the early recordings of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, died Aug. 4 at a hospital in Detroit. He was 76.
His death, from liver cancer, was confirmed by his publicist, Matt Lee.
Mr. Bassett’s brand of swing and jump blues with a small horn section often contrasted with the rock-flavored guitar work of other headliners at blues festivals.
Growing up near Detroit, he began playing guitar in his early teens and started a jump blues band with singer and pianist Joe Weaver while in high school. The group, the Blue Notes, performed at talent shows sponsored by local promoter Frank Brown in Detroit’s black community.
Mr. Bassett’s shimmering chord work can be heard on the classic 1954 doo-wop ballad "The Wind,” by Nolan Strong and the Diablos.
Outside the studio, the Blue Notes backed up singers Dinah Washington and LaVern Baker at the Flame Show Bar in Detroit.
After service in the US Army, Mr. Bassett returned to Detroit in 1965 and spent several years as a sideman and, occasionally, a featured singer in blues and jazz bands.
In 1991, he formed a jump blues band, the Blues Insurgents, with drummer R.J. Spangler, keyboardist Bill Heid, and saxophonist Scott Petersen. The Blues Insurgents released several albums including 1998’s "Cadillac Blues,” co-produced in Memphis by former Al Green arranger, Willie Mitchell.
Johnnie Alexander Bassett was born in Marianna, Fla., where his father was a bootlegger and restaurateur. The family moved to the Detroit area in the mid-1940s.
He leaves his wife, Deborah Campbell of Oak Park, Mich.; a daughter; three stepchildren; a brother; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Johnnie Bassett's latest Blues Album
The Detroit News, August 6, 2012
Detroit’s ‘gentleman’ bluesman backed greats
By Susan Whitall, Detroit News Music Writer
Johnnie Bassett, Detroit's beloved "gentleman of the blues," died of liver cancer on Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012, at St. John Hospital, Detroit. Mr. Bassett, whose calm, courtly demeanor belied a ferocious musical talent, was 76.
It was just over a month ago that his album "I Can Make That Happen," his second on Mack Avenue Records' Sly Dog sublabel, was released. Mr. Bassett fell ill in July and had been hospitalized for less than a month.
The soft-spoken guitarist was a human link to Detroit's musical glory days, having played behind such talents as Little Willie John, John Lee Hooker and Dinah Washington during Detroit's vibrant 1950s, and on early sessions for Smokey Robinson & the Miracles (for Chess and Tamla). Mr. Bassett was also a session guitarist for Fortune Records, where he played behind Andre Williams, the Diablos and the Five Dollars.
Chris Codish played keyboards in Bassett's most recent band, the Blues Insurgents, and co-produced his last two albums. "He was the jazz/blues gentleman," Codish said. "He may not have gotten the popular acclaim, but the musicians knew, he was inspirational. I had so many nights playing music with him that were transcendent experiences."
Because the veteran musician didn't complain of pain, the recurrence of his cancer took his bandmates by surprise.
"The music kept him going," Codish said. "We'd sometimes start the night and he'd say, 'Oh, I'm not feeling it' or whatever, but by the end of the night, he'd be smiling and feeling good. The beautiful thing about music is, it heals you."
Mr. Bassett was born in Marianna, Fla., on Oct. 9, 1935. The Bassetts moved to Detroit in 1944, and while he was still a student at Northwestern High School, Mr. Bassett started playing guitar at talent shows, theaters and nightclubs around Detroit with a friend, pianist Joe Weaver.
Mr. Bassett, Weaver and their group, the Blue Notes, were rehearsing in the
back room of Joe von Battle's Hastings Street record store when they inadvertently made their first record — von Battle had a tape recorder going.
"The record '15:40 Special' came out of that, released on Deluxe," Mr. Bassett recalled. Mr. Bassett and the Blue Notes were playing hotspots such as Basin Street East and the Frolic Showbar before they were old enough to drink. Once, R&B legend Dinah Washington found herself stranded at the Frolic without her band.
"Dinah said, 'Well, all these people are here, so the show must go on. Do you guys play any blues?'" Mr. Bassett remembered. "'That's what we do.'"
After serving in the Army from 1958-60, Bassett stayed in Seattle, playing in an organ trio, and soon met Jimi Hendrix.
"He used to come sit in," Mr. Bassett said. "Guitar Shorty was headlining, then we'd do the blues session, then (Hendrix would) do little funky stuff."
His career got a boost when he signed with Mack Avenue's Sly Dog label in 2009, and he was a favorite of label owner Gretchen Valade. After she heard his rendition of Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind," Valade insisted that he include it on his album "The Gentleman is Back."
Mr. Bassett is survived by his wife, Deborah; a daughter, Benita Litt; as well as children Lynn Cole, Courtney Campbell and Kenneth Pringle; a sister, Louise Lawson; and brothers William Bassett and Jimmie Studdard.
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Section 5 - Featured Bassett: Trading card for William Isaiah Bassett
BIlly Bassett was first featured in the June 2006 newsletter. Here is trading card for him from 1902. Note that they have his initials as W.T. instead of W.I.
W.T. Bassett Trading Card, 1902
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Section 6 - Featured Bassett: Love Bassett - Jonathan Swift Family Bible
Love Bassett is a descendant of William Bassett of Plymouth as follows:
William Bassett and wife Elizabeth
William Bassett (b. 1624) and wife Mary Raynesford
Nathan Bassett (b. 1667) and wife Mary Huckins
William Bassett(b. 1702) and wife Ann Mayhew
Barachiah Bassett (b. 1732) and wife Mercy Bourne
Love Bassett (b. 1775) who married Jonathan Swift
The following information is found in the bible.
Jonathan Swift - born October 5th, 1763
Love Swift - born March 24, 1775
Deceased June 19, 1809
The above persons married October 25, 1792
Nancy Bassett Swift born December 19, 1793
Deceased November 2, 1813
Mercy Bassett Swift born February 28, 1796
Deceased September 13, 1824
Elizabeth Swift born October 9, 1797
Deceased January 4, 1798
Elizabeth Swift born March 4, 1799
Deceased December 1, 1792
Mary Bourn Swift born May 3, 1801
Deceased May 29, 1807
Charles Swift born Monday August 9, 1802
Deceased November 20, 1802
Jonathan Swift born July 2, 1804
Deceased February 15, 1830
Love Swift born June 12, 1807
Deceased February 13, 1809
Love Bassett - Jonathan Swift Family Bible
Shared on ancestry.com by Brian
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Section 7 - Featured Bassett: 1860's photo of G.S. Bassett of Warsaw, Ohio
G. S. Bassett is the same as #307B George S. Bassett of Ohio.
Ashland County, Ohio, Loudonville Cemetery
Bassett, G.S. 1850 – 1936
Bassett, Hattie 1849 – 1927
Bassett, Infant s/o G.& H., died 1879 aged 4 days.
Bassett, Ira S. 1874 - 1931
This picture of G.S. Bassett of Warsaw, Ohio (1860) was recently for sale on ebay.
On back of picture: "Taken in Warsaw Ohio age 10 years G.S. Bassett 1860"
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Section 8 - New family lines combined or added since the last newsletter:
The following family lines have been added since the last newsletter.
405B. Charles Otis Daniel Bassett (b. 1895) of Pennsylvania
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Section 9 - DNA project update:
Results are back for one descendant of William Bassett of Plymouth. He matched all others in the group.
Donations of any amount can be made to the Bassett DNA project by clicking
on the link below. Any funds donated will be used to fund select Bassett DNA
tests that will further our project as a whole and benefit all Bassetts worldwide.
