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.

Hardy, wife of William Reeves, Jr.

Early North Carolina deeds recorded primarily in Edgecombe County from before 1740 include Hardy as the wife of William Reeves, Jr. of the Reeves' family of Granville County. Hardy has long been a complete mystery with no clues to her maiden name or family but recently another researcher who descends from the Merritt family of Chowan, Bertie and Halifax counties called to my attention that Charles Merritt's 1718 Chowan County will named a daughter Hardy. Hardy was not married at the time the will was written and it is assumed she was still underage.

Scan of Charles Merritt's Original 1718 Will

This Reeves' family lived in the same areas of North Carolina where Charles Merritt and family were found. After Bertie was formed from Chowan in 1722, William Reeves continued to engage in land transactions in the same area on the Roanoke River where Nathaniel Merrit, son of Charles, appears. After Edgecombe County was formed from Bertie in 1732, William Reeves, both Sr. and Jr., along with Merrit family members are found there. The following deeds document the close ties of these two families:

William Reeves, Robert Long, Joseph Sewards, and Franis Varnums were adjacent landowners referenced in a deed from Nathaniel Meriot to Joseph Ballard on February Court 1723. The land was on the Roanoaky River on Plumtree Island.

Ralph Mason Sr., of Bertie, to Phillip Smith, land on the south side of the Morratock River on Plumb Tree Island between the lands of Buckley Kimbrough (late of Joseph Calvert and Amy Besnon Vernon), adjacent Robert Lang, John Gray, Thomas Witmell and the Goose pond (being land said Mason and Ralph Jr., his son, formerly lived on and was purchased from William Reeves and Nathaniel Merrit). Witnessed by Robert Harris, Richard Moore, Ralph Mason, Edgcombe County, August 20, 1739.

William Reeves, Jr. and Hardy his wife of Edgecombe County to Mary Merritt (county not identified). For 12 pounds sterling money of England, 220 acres more or less in the fork of Chockeyott creek joining John Muston, the Spring meadow and the Wolf Trap branch, including all houses, orchards, gardens. Wits.: Robert Harris, Richard Cuerton (sic Cureton), Nathaniel Merritt (X his mark). Registered: Robert Forster C. Ct. 23 Sept 1741

Although there is no extant marriage record or other documentation that has been found to date, there are ample records involving William Reeves, Jr., his wife Hardy and the Merritt family to suggest a connection and support the belief that Hardy Reeves was the daughter Hardy named in Charles Merritt's 1718 Chowan County will. Much more in depth research of the Reeves and Merritt families in Chowan and Bertie counties is needed.

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This William Reeves, Jr. was previously believed to be the same William Reeves who died in York County, South Carolina in 1821; however, it is unrealistic to conclude that based upon current documentation. The William Reeves who died in South Carolina in 1821 would have been well past 100 years old if that were the case. It is far more likely that a generation has been missed and the William Reeves with wife Elizabeth who died in York, South Carolina was a nephew of William Reeves, Jr., born circa 1710.

The results of DNA testing for two recent new participants in the Reeves DNA Project who descend from William Reaves who died in Wayne County, North Carolina in 1793 have revealed that they belong to DNA Group 3 and are genetic matches to descendants of William Reeves of Granville. This suggests that the children of William Reeves, Jr. may be the individuals who appear in the deed indexes of Old Dobbs County, North Carolina beginning in the late 1750s.

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Thanks to my Yancey cousin, Charlie Rathbun, for calling Charles Merritt's will to my attention.