Sen. John McCain has heritage in West Tennessee

JACKSON, Tenn.– As the nation honors the life of Sen. John McCain, one Jackson man discovers the senator has ties to West Tennessee.

As he was reading online articles reflecting on the life of Arizona Sen. John McCain, Cody Blue Miller realized he recognized one of the names of the senator’s family members.

“I immediately felt, when I saw the last name Vaulx, that I bet that they’re kin, and I got a little excited,” Miller said.

The last name Vaulx refers to the maiden name of McCain’s grandmother. “His great-great grandparents were some of the early settlers of Jackson-Madison County, his great-great grandmother being one of the founders of St. Luke’s church,” Miller said.

McCain’s great-grandfather, James Junius Vaulx, was born in Madison County and was a rector for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. “Vaulx was an interim rector here at St. Luke’s during the late 1860s, early 1870s, until he was moved to Memphis and started the Church of the Good Shepherd,” Miller said.

Going back another generation, he found McCain’s great-great-grandmother is depicted in the stained glass at the front of the church. “She was one of the charter members of St. Luke’s,” Miller said. “There were only two female charter members, and she was one of them.”

Miller says this discovery is a reason for people to look into their heritage.

“For John McCain’s great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents, and his great-aunt, which was his grandmother’s sister, to all be buried here in Jackson, to have lived, born and raised their children here, I just think it really does prove that point that we are all connected,” Miller said.