Sylvester Louis "Vess" Ossman (August 21, 1868 – December 7, 1923) was a leading five-string banjoist and popular recording artist of the early 20th century.

[3] He led his own dance band, the Ossman's Singing and Playing Orchestra, in Dayton, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

The increasing popularity of his rival Fred Van Eps, after 1910, made Ossman's name appear less frequently in record company supplements.

In April 1917, he became a member of the Popular Talking Machine Artists, a group of unrelated musicians who toured as an act.

In 1923, he joined B. F. Keith's Vaudeville houses on tour with his son, Vess Jr. At a theater show in Minneapolis, Ossman suffered a heart attack.