A Few More Colonial Early Reeves' Families

In 2017 I wrote a post for this blog, "Early Reeves' Families of Colonial America". That post was a detailed list of known Reeves' families of completely different lineages who were present in the U.S. before the Revolution when it was under British rule. At The Reeves Project over the course of the last few years, we've identified a few more families who were present in those days of colonial rule so this post is to identify them and pinpoint their initial locations.

A - The primary Reeves' presence in Maine from some years prior to the Revolution until the 20th century descended from James Reeves. After his marriage in 1767 James settled in Jefferson, Maine and is recorded as serving in the Revolutionary army a few years later. Descendants of James Reeves are recorded as living in the area of Jefferson, Maine as late as the twentieth century. The post, James Reeves of Maine, provides more information about him.

B - John Reeves of Essex County, Massachusetts appears to possibly have been the individual of that name who arrived in New England from London on the ship Christian in 1635. John's son William left numerous heirs in the Salem, Massachusetts area but currently none from that lineage have participated in the Reeves DNA Project at Family Tree DNA so there are no known links to other Reeves' families.

C - Thomas Reeves of Roxbury, Massachusetts came from Salisbury, Wiltshire, Great Britain. He sailed from Southampton, England, in the "Beves" (sic Bevis) in 1638 and died in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1650. His son Thomas Reeves later migrated to Southampton, Long Island, where his descendants are recorded.

D - The date of Robert Reeve's arrival in the American colonies is currently unknown but he married here circa 1660 and his estate was probated in Hartford County, Connecticut in 1681.

E - John Reeves, son of Azeriah Reeves, was born about 1750 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He married Mrs. Rebecca Gaskill Huber in Burlington, New Jersey in 1770 and by around 1800, they and most of their children migrated to Mason County, Kentucky. This is another large Reeves' family with many descendants but for whom there is no evidence that any members of this family have participated in Y-DNA testing to help identify the exact Reeves' extended family to whom they belong.

F - Walter Reeve came to West Jersey sometime prior to 1682. His origins are unknown although much has been published about Walter and his family. Walter prospered in the Burlington area of New Jersey owning two plantations at his death and left many descendants there.

G - The records of Fenwick's Colony of New Jersey contain many mentions of Mark Reeve. He came to the colony as a servant of Edward Champneys, arriving in Salem on 23 Jun 1675 on the ship Griffin. Although both Mark Reeve and Walter Reeve (F above) arrived in New Jersey around the same time, there appears to be no family connection between them.

H - Among the several Reeves' families recorded in Halifax County, Virginia was George Reaves who extensive research has determined was born circa 1727 in Virginia's Northern Neck and is first found in the records of Prince William County along with his mother and step-father. George Reaves and family moved from Halifax to Wilkes County, North Carolina during the Revolution but returned to Halifax County around 1794 where George died circa 1816. No one from this family has taken part in Y-DNA testing so any relationship to other established Reeves' families is unknown. One of several posts in this blog concerning this George Reaves can be found in this post detailing the in-depth research of George and his family - The Rest of the Story.

I - For many years it was assumed that Hardy Reaves who is first recorded in Duplin County, North Carolina around 1770 was surely a member of the Reaves family of Wayne County, North Carolina. Although William Reaves of Wayne County named no son Hardy in his 1793 will, based upon proximity alone, it was believed that Hardy was part of that family. However, recent Y-DNA testing has completely disproven that theory. When descendants of Hardy Reaves participated in Y-DNA testing, it was discovered that they match the Rives family of southern Virginia as identified in the book Reliques of the Rives (Ryves). The exact member of that family from whom Hardy descends is still unknown, but DNA has established that he does belong to that family.

J - Miles Reeves (Reves) is first documented in Lancaster County, South Carolina when on 8 Mar 1788 he collected a bounty for killing a wolf, although it is believed that he had originally come from North Carolina. In later census records, several of his children are recorded as having been born in North Carolina. He and his family migrated from South Carolina to Christian County, Kentucky where Miles died after which several of his children migrated further westward into Arkansas. Several descendants of Miles Reeves have participated in Y-DNA testing but it has not solved the mystery of his origins, instead adding more to the conundrum. Rather than matching any known Reeves' lineages, they match members of the Hatcher-Burton family. The DNA has shown a close relationship to a man who is descended from Reuben Hatcher, born 1770 in South Carolina. Hopefully at some future time, this mystery can be resolved by finding the place these families intersect.

K - George W. Reeves who died in Ballard County, Kentucky is believed to have come from Chester County, South Carolina although various other records such as census and children's death records give other locations, i.e. Tennessee or Georgia. He arrived in the area of Kentucky's Jackson Purchase by 1840 where he is recorded in the census of Hickman County. There are currently no records indicating what extended Reeves family George was related to and none of his descendants have participated in Y-DNA testing, but hopefully at some point someone will test and provide some clarity. UPDATE - Additional research indicates that George W. Reeves is very probably the son of Jordan Reeves, Sr. son of George Reeves of Brunswick County, Virginia who migrated first into northern North Carolina, then South Carolina, and died in Davidson County, Tennessee in 1803.

For more extensive information for the earliest docu-

mented Reeves' families in the American colonies, see 

Part 1 of "Early Reeves' Families of Colonial America" 

for the legend identifying Reeves' populations in the various locations on the map at right.

The Reeves Project also provides more extensive information on these families.

William Reeves & Mahala Goss

According to the 1860 census of Lee County, Virginia, William Reeves was born in Ashe County, North Carolina in 1824. The Reeves' family of Ashe County as well as Grayson County, Virginia are well documented and with one or two exceptions of individuals found there briefly in marriage records, appear to all descend from George Reeves, Sr. who settled on the Peach Bottom Tract of Grayson County in 1767. Much research of Grayson and Ashe has failed to locate any Reeves' family descending from George Reeves, Sr. to which this William Reeves might belong. His parentage is currently a complete mystery.

Ashe County, North Carolina

William married Mahala Goss shortly before 1850 for they were recorded in the 1850 census of Bennett Bayou, Fulton County, Arkansas with one year old Mary Ann. On the previous page in that census, the next residence in Bennett Bayou is a Jesse Reeves born 1822 but there is nothing to connect the two families other than a child with the surname Murphy in each household.

Census records record the birth of Mahala, at times called Hallie, in 1831 in Lee County, Virginia and that is where the family is next recorded in the 1860 census.  In the 1860 census of the Western District of Lee County, William, Mahala, Mary, another daughter listed only as M. S., Andrew Johnson "Jonce" and William Shelby Reeves are  listed.

Andrew Johnson
"Jonce" Reeves

The last record of William and Mahala Reeves is in Cumberland County, Tennessee in the 1870 census and by then Julia Ann, Rebecca Jane and Lucinda Reeves have been added to the family.  The last records of William Reeves  are two entries for land dated 7 Mar 1873.  One entry for 400 acres is located on Devil Creek and the other for 650 acres is on Meadow Creek, both are in Cumberland County.  

Several undocumented theories are that Mahala died by 1878, possibly in an institution, but there is nothing to support that theory.  Whether William Reeves was also deceased is unknown but he disappears from Cumberland County and the lives of his children before 1880.  

By 1880 the children had disbursed and were living in various homes where they appear to have been working for the families with whom they are listed.  In the 1880 census, Mary Ann "Polly" had married John Washington Welch and Andrew J. "Jonce" was living in their household and working for his brother-in-law in Cumberland County.  William Shelby Reeves (listed as Shelby) was living in a boarding house in Union County, Kentucky along with other young men listed as laborers.  12 year old Lucinda was listed as a servant in the household of farmer J. H. Officer in Putnam County; 16 year old Rebecca Jane is listed as Jane Reeves  keeping house in the household of Henry Watson in Overton, Tennessee; and 18 year old Julia is listed as house keeping in the residence of a Benjamin Watson also in Overton County. 

Much research has been done on this family in North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee but at this point, there are no viable theories as to William Reeves' family origins.  However, Mahala is believed to be the daughter of John Goss and Abigail Osborne of Ashe County.  John Goss was the son of Zachariah Goss who is recorded as being hung as a tory by Colonel Benjamin Cleveland in Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1781.

The history of the New River area of North Carolina and southern Virginia records the tale of at least 3 Tory loyalists who were hung by Colonel Benjamin Cleveland in 1781.  There are numerous variations of the story online although none seem to have detailed documented information.  The 2011 post Hanging of a Loyalist named Reeves can be found on this blog where I provided all the information I was able to find about this story.  The 3 loyalists who were hung were Capt. William Riddle, Zachariah Goss and an as yet unidentified Reeves individual. 

For some time I have been puzzled as to whether this Reeves was a member of my own family who are connected with the Reeves family of George Reeves, Sr. of Grayson County as proven by Y-DNA, but to date, nothing has been found to document a connection.  Since there appear to be so many connections between William Reeves and Mahala Goss to the Goss and Reeves' families of Ashe and Grayson counties it seems a plausible theory that there is a connection to their family.

Anyone reading this post who descends from William and Mahala Goss Reeves and would like to help unravel the mystery, please consider taking a Y-DNA test at Family Tree DNA and joining the Reeves DNA Project.  Y-DNA testing requires a male with the Reeves surname since Y-DNA is passed through the male line unchanged for countless generations with the exception of an occasional random mutation.  Y-DNA is far more accurate for this purpose and provides results within about 6 weeks to accurately identify the Reeves lineage from which you descend. 

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Thanks to William & Hallie's descendant Heather for the use of the above photo of her ancestor Andrew Johnson "Jonce" Reeves.

The Mystery of Jane Reaves

A deed from page 185 of Deed Book 6 (April 1758 to April 1765) is recorded in the index of that book from Dobbs County, North Carolina. The index lists the grantor as Jane Reaves and grantee Charles Miller. The female name Jane has been questioned in transcriptions of this index and it has been theorized that the name may have actually been James.

In 1779 Wayne County was formed from the western portion of Dobbs and in 1791, most of the remainder of Dobbs was divided into Glasgow which is now Greene, and Lenoir Counties. Dobbs County then ceased to exist and its records along with those of early Johnston and other counties formed from Johnston - Wayne, Greene and Lenoir were placed at the Courthouse in Lenoir County. In 1878, a Courthouse fire in Kinston destroyed the Lenoir County Courthouse and almost all of these records. The only record that survived for Dobbs County was the original deed Grantee Index. Due to the loss of the deeds themselves, there has been no way to study the original deed to determine whether the name of the grantor was Jane, James or some other variation.

However, a recently discovered deed dated the 8th of November 1763 which is excerpted above, was found in the early unindexed deed books of Duplin County in Deed Book 1 at pages 359 and 360. This deed is from William Richeson to Jane Reaves for a tract of 200 acres. Sadly, no watercourses are named and the only landmark listed is by "John Young's path". The deed does mention that the property was originally granted to Patrick Stewart by patton (sic patent) dated the 29th of September, 1750.

A published history discovered for the Stewart family who came to North Carolina from Perthshire in Scotland better describes the location of the tract Jane Reaves bought from later owner William Richeson. This history states "On Sep. 29, 1750, Patrick (Stewart) was granted 200 acres on John Young's path between Six Runs and Goshen swamp in Sampson [then in Duplin] County." This information places the property between the Black River and the Northeast Cape Fear River. It also decreases the possibility that Jane was part of the family of William Reaves who was initially recorded in Dobbs County but in the part that became Wayne County and his tracts of land were just to the south of Seven Springs.

We still can't positively identify Jane Reaves, but this deed has certainly added much more information than just the brief mention in the Old Dobbs County deed index. Jane may have been a spinster or she could have been the widowed mother of Hardy Reaves who was a resident of Duplin County by 1770. Descendants of Hardy Reaves are still found in the Mt. Olive area close to the location of Jane's 200 acres. If Jane had a family connection to the Richeson family it is also of interest that a Hardy Richeson was found in a deed in this same area of Duplin County. We can only hope that sometime soon more extant records come to light in Duplin County that will resolve the mystery of Jane Reaves.

Y-DNA Needed for These Reeves Families

During the years since the inception of the Reeves Y-DNA Project countless mysteries have been solved. As rewarding as that is, we still have many Reeves families for whom we have no clue as their origins and to which other Reeves' populations they may be related. Y-DNA testing by the following families would make additional great strides forward in Reeves' genealogical research.

Georgia

Little is known about the origins of Sidney King Reeves. It was recently discovered that in 1824 he was a young apprentice to tailor Charles Fowler in Raleigh. The Reeves and Reavis families of Wake County, North Carolina are fairly well documented and Sidney does not belong to either of them so he was presumably from the surrounding area. After settling in Pike County, Georgia, he had several sons and we hope left sufficient male descendants to provide Y-DNA for testing. A recent blog post concerning Sidney can provide more information, see The Elusive Sidney King Reeves.

Maine

Jonathan Reeves' recent blog post James Reeves of Maine summarizes the details currently known of James Reeves' life. At this time, there are no participants in the Reeves Y-DNA Project descending from this Reeves' lineage.

Massachusetts

John Reeves of Essex and Middlesex counties in Massachusetts. John may be the John Reeves who is recorded as coming to New England from London on the Christian in 1635 however, there is a small discrepancy in dates of birth of the two individuals. John is documented as having one son, William, who may have left descendants who could provide Y-DNA testing and information on his origins and related Reeves.

Thomas Reeves originally settled in Massachusetts but by the next generation his son Thomas had relocated to Southampton, Long Island, New York with descendants later settling in Salem, New Jersey. Much research was done by a descendant, Mrs. Emma M. Reeves (not to be confused with Emma Barrett Reeves of the Reeves Review), who self published a great amount of information for this clan. Y-DNA from members of this family would be invaluable in separating all the disparate Reeve or Reeves lineages in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.

New Jersey

The Salem County, New Jersey Reeve clan descending from Mark Reeve is also not represented in the Reeves Y-DNA Project. Branches of this family will be found in Camden/Gloucester Counties and in Arkansas. Y-DNA testing by male Reeve descendants would provide needed information as to their origins and any connections to other Reeve family who also migrated to the American colonies.

North Carolina

The Benjamin Reeves recorded in early Rowan County is the individual most likely to be the son Benjamin named in the 1751 will of William Reeves in Granville County, North Carolina. This Benjamin Reeves is recorded on the 1762 and 1766 tax lists of Rowan County around the time William's son James and his family were listed there. He was a soldier of the Revolution and received a grant of 1000 acres in Davidson County, Tennessee which he assigned to James Cole in 1789. By the 1800 census, the Benjamin Reeves in Rowan County appears to be a different individual for he was age 26-44 and too young to be the son of William Reeves of Granville although he may have been the earlier Benjamin's son. The younger Benjamin is found later in Montgomery County. DNA from descendants of either Benjamin Reeves of Rowan or Montgomery counties would be extremely valuable to Reeves genealogy.

One descendant of Edward Reeves of Bladen County has tested but the DNA does not match any of the other Reeves' clans. Additional testers from this line would be a great benefit to Reeves' research besides to the descendant who has already tested.

George Reeves, Sr. of Orange County was first documented in that area in 1772 when he was the grantee in a deed from Ruffin McNair for 200 acres on New Hope Creek. Most of George Reeves' sons remained in the Orange County area although one, James, migrated to Hancock County, Indiana. DNA from male members of this lineage would be helpful in identifying all the different Reeves' lineages found in the Orange County area prior to 1800.

John Reeves also of Orange County is another mystery. Although John is only documented as having one son Thomas who had several sons and hopefully left many Reeves' male heirs. Their DNA would be helpful in understanding the diverse Reeves' lineages of early Orange County. After John's death, Thomas migrated to Ray County, Missouri where he died.

South Carolina

Drury Reaves who died in Darlington in 1792 may be the Drury Reaves recorded in the deed indexes of Old Dobbs County, North Carolina throughout the 1760's. There are no further clues to his origins and Y-DNA testing of any male descendants could prove extremely rewarding.

Ewel Reeves of Greenville County may have descended from John Reeves who migrated to Christian County, Kentucky before 1800 since the name Ewel was common in that family who has close family connections to Greenville SC. There is currently no information that provides clues to Ewel's origins other than his given name and proximity. It would be a great benefit to have someone from Ewel's family test.

John Reeves of the Colleten/Dorchester area. John was born in London in 1745 and died in Reevesville, Dorchester, South Carolina in 1798. His 3 sons left numerous descendants in South Carolina and Mississippi who can hopefully provide ample DNA testers to learn more about this lineage.

John Reeves of Union County. John's origins are currently unknown and the Y-DNA of descendants of his sons could provide answers to the mystery.

Lazarus Reeves served as a Revolutionary soldier in a South Carolina regiment however his RW pension statement provides no biographical information that can identify his origins. He later moved to Pike County, Mississippi where he was mentioned in a history of Pike County pioneer families. Lazarus had several sons who may have left enough male Reeves descendants to test and furnish more information on this lineage.

Virginia

George Reeves originally of Henry and Patrick Counties in Virginia left there around 1816 and after migrating to Wilson County, Tennessee died in 1817. His descendants were found in Wilson and Campbell counties of Tennessee, in Missouri initially settling along the Missouri River and in Madison County, Arkansas. George's origins and family lineage are unknown which Y-DNA testing by his descendants could resolve as well as prove his connections to his probable sons who migrated further west.

George Reaves of Halifax County in later years was referred to as Sr. indicating he had a son George in addition to sons Asher Reaves, Daniel Reaves and Elijah Reaves, Sr.. George Reaves, Jr. was born about 1790 but disappeared from the Halifax County, Virginia records after becoming an adult. George Reaves, Sr.'s other sons had several sons and presumably left enough male Reaves descendants to provide ample candidates to test in order to identify this family line and others related to it. Asher left Virginia a few years after the American Revolution and migrated to Greene County, Ohio. Daniel remained in Virginia and his children were found in Halifax and Pittsylvania counties after his death. Elijah and his two sons continued to live in Halifax County, Virginia. Y-DNA testing by descendants of George Reaves, Sr. would be invaluable to Reeves research. Another detailed post about George Reaves, Sr. and his wife Martha "Patsy" Epps is available at this blog - The Rest of the Story.

James Reeves of Maine

James Reeves Headstone

Most of the Reeves who lived in Maine during the 19th century can claim descent from  James Reeves of Balltown and Jefferson in Lincoln County who died in 1813. He and his wife Lettice Rogers were married in 1767 at Woolwich, located about 25 miles south-west of Balltown and Jefferson. They are both buried in the Trask Lawn Cemetery in Jefferson. Although it is claimed that they had nine children, the names of seven, including sons James, William and Isaac, have been deduced based on proximity and extant records.

Lincoln County today contains part of the coast of Maine to the north-east of Portland. Before Cumberland and Lincoln counties were formed in 1760, the entirety of what would become Maine was designated as York County of Massachusetts Bay. Maine would not be given statehood until 1820.

In 1778, James Reeves was deeded one lot of land on Dyers Pond, located about a mile from what later became Jefferson, and another 220 acres in Balltown.

The book “Centennial Celebration of the Town of Jefferson, Lincoln County, Maine” reveals that Jefferson was incorporated into a separate town from the eastern part of the plantation area known as Balltown. The first town meeting was called at the house of James Reeves on 11 May 1807.

Up until this point, the information available online concerning this family could not provide evidence for identifying the parents or origins of James Reeves. However, deeds and other court records have revealed his father’s name to be James, and his grandfather’s to be James as well.

1708 Map of New England

In 1736, a committee of men all of Boston, Massachusetts chosen by the proprietors of a large tract of land in York County (later Maine), "desirous to bring forward regular settlements on the aforesaid tract," agreed to give away forty hundred acres of land unto forty individuals. The agreement stipulated that the settlers were to settle and build a suitable dwelling on the land for a term of seven years. James “Reves” of Damariscotta within the County of York, laborer, was admitted as one of these settlers. The deed noted that James had built his house and inhabited it for the last six months so the committee drawing up the condition of the deed for his land, known as lot no. 11, went ahead and deeded the land to him. The date was 3 Jun 1736, "in the ninth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the Second." The deed was recorded much later on 5 Nov 1787 in Lincoln County. Damariscotta, where the deed places James Reves, is located about ten miles south of Jefferson. Two deeds were made and recorded that same day in 1787 in which the heirs of James “Rives” sold this same land. The heirs were James “Revis” of Balltown, Anna Brookins wife of Josiah Brookins, and Mary Norton, wife of Lemuel Norton. The deeds state that James and both of these women were the children of James “Revis.” This shows that the father of James Reeves of Balltown was a  James Reves who had lived or had dealings in the area since at least 1736.

Records from York County Court of Common Pleas shows three cases involving a James “Rives,” all from the 1740s. In the first, from April 1740, a James Rives and James Rives Jr. were the defendants, described as “both of a place called Whichcapick within no Township & within the County of York Labourers.” Neither men showed in court and so the plaintiff received a total of 21 pounds and one shilling. The next case, from October 1740, was described as “James Rives of Boston in the County of Suffolk Fisherman Plat vs John Pumroy of a place called Witchassett in the County of York husbandman.” It appears this suit was dropped. This particular case included a slip which read: “James Rives of Boston in our County of Suffolk Fisherman alias Dictus James Rives of Wiscassett in the County of York in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay Husbandman.” And finally, in April 1749, “James Rives of Kittery in said County of York mariner” recovered some money against Royal Tyler, who did not show in court. “Whichcapick” and “Witchassett” are misspellings of the town Wiscasset, located some miles to the south-west of Jefferson and Balltown, but between them and Woolwich. Kittery is located on the coast at the southern tip of Maine. It would appear from the date of these cases that James Rives Jr. referred to here is none other than the James referred to in the deeds as deceased by 1787, father of James of Balltown. James of Balltown was born c. 1746 according to the age on his headstone, so it would make sense that his father James is the one identified as James Jr. in the Common Pleas case from 1740. Thus we have a line of three James’s: James of Balltown (III) who died in 1813,  James (II) of Wiscassett who died by late 1787, and his father James (I) who was also of Wiscassett in 1740.

1740 Common Pleas Case

Given that James (I) or James (II) is described as “of Boston” in the second case, we should be looking to Massachusetts in the early-mid 1700s to find this Reeves family. There were a number of Reeves families who came through or lived in Massachusetts in colonial days. There was  Thomas Reeves who sailed to Massachusetts on the ship Bevis in 1638 and died in Springfield in 1650. His only known son to survive to manhood, Thomas, moved to Long Island (New York) by 1672, so he is unlikely to be connected to James. There was the family of  John Reeves of Salem who may have come to New England in 1635 on the ship Christian. His will names one son, William. There are wills or other records which trace most of this family, but without any mention of a James during this time-frame.

There are few references found to date concerning a James Rives/Revis/Reves in early Massachusetts. (Note that most of the records both from Maine and Massachusetts concerning this family from before the 1800s tend to have a single vowel instead of the double vowel “ee”, and often use “i”) There was a James “Rives” baptized 17 May 1749, as an adult, listed in the records of the Old North Church in Boston. This could conceivably be either James (I) or James (II). A James “Reeves” from Boston published a marriage intention with Elizabeth Merritt 23 Dec 1758. They were married on the 28th of the next month. Given that James (III) of Balltown was born c. 1746, this may have been a second marriage of James (II) or a different James.

Although Boston is mentioned in the York County Common Pleas cases, there is a case from Plymouth Massachusetts Common Pleas records from 1739 about some money owed to Thomas Howland by James “Revess,” denoted as a “Witchcasset Labourer.” This positively shows either James (I) or James (II) had connections to Plymouth.

Looking to Plymouth records, we find that a  James Reves was married to Deliverance Abrahams at Plymouth on 20 Nov 1703. If  James (III) of Balltown was born c1747, then  James (II) was likely born 1700-1725 range, so this is a good match for James (I) and the parents of James (II).

Very little has been found to date about this James Reves. Plymouth court records include a case from 1723 where a James “Revis” of Plymouth was dismissed from fines for failing to attend worship. He pleaded that “he is a poor infirm Man and lives Eight Miles from Meeting and that he has been at Meeting when there was one at Monument Ponds.” Although this is likely the same individual, it presents a possible problem given that James (I) appears to have still been active in business in 1740 with his son as described in one of the cases from York County Common Pleas.

There are marriage records for three Revis girls in that area of Massachusetts: Sarah  Revis in Barnstable in 1724, Thankful Revis in Barnstable in 1730, and Ann Revis in Plymouth in 1734. It’s likely that these were daughters of James and Deliverance Reves.

More research is needed to prove the identities and relationships of the earliest James’s appearing in the Massachusetts records and the Revis girls. In addition, The Reeves Project would greatly benefit from a YDNA test from a descendant of  James Reeves of Balltown to determine if that family is in any way connected to other early Reeves in the US.

What became of William Reeves, Jr. of Granville?

For many years it was believed that William, son of William Reeves who died in Granville County in 1751 and patriarch of the Reeves of DNA Group 3, was the same individual who migrated to York, South Carolina around 1790 dying there in 1821. The idea that he lived to 1821 in itself is questionable since Bertie County NC records establish that he would have been born before about 1714 since he witnessed a deed in 1728/29. A 1728/29 deed from Ralph Mason to his father William Reeves was witnessed by William Jr. and since the age requirement to witness a deed was age 14 for a male (12 for a female) he must have been born before 1714/15. Additionally, he disappeared from the records of Granville County after, as William Reeves of Edgecombe, conveying 522 acres in Granville County to his brother Malachi on 29 May 1753.

The William Reeves who appears in subsequent records of Granville County would have been his nephew William, son of Malachi. Malachi's son William appears as his tithe on the 1755 tax lists of Granville County and again in 1762. In subsequent years William is listed in his own right as an adult in Granville records. Y-DNA of numerous descendants of this William Reeves and wife Elizabeth who later migrated to York, SC establish that he was from the Reeves lineage found in DNA Group 3.

Over the last few years several descendants of William Reaves of Wayne County, North Carolina have also proven to be descended from the Granville Reeves family based upon their Y-DNA results. Accordingly it can be assumed that they descend from William Reeves, Jr. The only other sons of William Reeves of Granville whose descendants, if any, are unaccounted for are sons Benjamin and Isaac. Benjamin may be the Benjamin Reeves who settled in Rowan County at about the same time his brother James Reeves and sons are listed on the tax lists of Rowan County. James' family was in a part of Rowan County that became Guilford where they are found subsequent to the 1770s and Benjamin continued to live in Rowan in the area that became Montgomery County. Isaac, once believed to be the Isaac Reeves who settled in Wilkes County, North Carolina in the 1770s, has proven to be from a completely different Reeves' lineage thanks to the Y-DNA of some of his descendants who are found in DNA Group 6C. Isaac, son of William Reeves of Granville, lived in a portion of Orange County adjoining Granville which was separated from Orange and became Caswell County. He appears to have left that area settling in Randolph County based upon a 1781 deed filed in Caswell County. This leaves William Reeves, Jr. as the most likely individual to be the patriarch of the Reaves family of Wayne County.

The loss of the records of extinct Dobbs County, North Carolina has been a great impediment to North Carolina genealogy. After Dobbs County ceased to exist in 1791, its records along with the early records of Johnston, Wayne, Greene, and Lenoir Counties were lost in a courthouse fire. In 1878, a Courthouse fire in Kinston destroyed almost all these records except the original Dobbs County grantee index. For some time it has been believed that William Reeves, Jr. is the individual of that name listed in the index of Deed Book 5 at page 638 in a deed from Andrew Bass to William Reeves dated between April 1757 and April 1758. The Andrew Bass family continued to be involved with William Reeves in area deeds as evidenced by a deed listed in the Dobbs deed index for Book 8, April 1769 to April 1771, where on page 241 William Reaves conveyed property to Andrew Bass, Jr and on page 247 Andrew Bass, Jr in turn conveyed land to William Reaves. The location of the property involved in these transactions is unknown since the only record is the index. Again on 2 Mar 1771 William Reeves witnessed an Andrew Bass "of Dobbs County" deed recorded in Duplin County Deed Book 3 at page 382-383.

Based on the loss of those Dobbs County records, it is beneficial that the earliest records of Duplin County are extant and contain many deeds by these same individuals recorded in Dobbs County. In many cases they are even identified as "of Dobbs County" in the deeds. These earliest deed books Volumes 1 through 4 are unindexed and require some extra effort to search but can be worth the time spent perusing them page by page on a rainy day.

On the 28th of February 1757 in Duplin County, a William Reaves who is possibly this individual witnessed a deed from Richard Odom to Nicholas Major [DB 2 p398-399]. He is also most likely the William "Reives" to whom Matthew Pridgen conveyed 100 acres on Jumping Run Creek in Duplin County on the 18th of August 1760 [DB 3 p80-81]. On 27 Jan 1764 a William Reeves signed as the seller on an ambiguous deed that is written as Thomas Carrell to Jesse Carrell with the notation "signer William Reeves". The deed conveys 100 acres on Jumping Run in Duplin County and is probably the tract purchased from Matthew Pridgen in 1760 [DB 1 p391-382]. Note: according to North Carolina records, Jumping Run Creek is located due south of Seven Springs on the north side of the NE Cape Fear River.

This is possibly the William Reeves recorded in the 1790 census of Dobbs County. The household only included one male and one female appearing to be an older couple although they could have been a young couple, newly married; however, there is no one in the area who fits that description based upon age. In 1791 the county was divided to make Glasgow (later named Greene) and Lenoir counties and Dobbs County ceased to exist.

Previous research has produced a reasonable belief that Hardy, the wife of William Reeves, Jr., was the daughter "Hardy" named in Charles Merritt's 1718 Chowan County will. Charles Merritt was a neighbor and associate of the William Reeves' family in Chowan County. Hardy is listed as the wife of William Reeves, Jr. in numerous deeds of Bertie and Edgecombe counties where they were residents until the 1740's when they were found in Granville County. It is noteworthy that members of this Merritt family also moved into Dublin County in the 1750s and 60s.

No records have yet been located that give the names of the children of William Reeves, Jr. William and Hardy surely had children after their marriage which took place around 1730 based on deed records that name Hardy as his wife. The William Reaves who appeared in Dobbs County in the 1760s and died in Wayne County in 1793 is probably their son. It seems unlikely that this younger William Reaves who died in 1793 is William Jr. Most of the children named in his 1790 will were born in the 1770s and would have been far too young for children born to Hardy although it does not definitely rule out a second wife.

There are still numerous questions to be answered regarding this family but little by little we learn more about William Reeves, Jr.