The Rives (Ryves) of Damory Court

Blandford Forum

In 1929, James Rives Childs of Lynchburg, Virginia published Reliques of the Rives (Ryves): being historical and genealogical notes of the ancient family Ryves of County Dorset. This book has been a mainstay for Reeves researchers; however, only a small portion of today’s Reeves’ families descend from this lineage. This Reeves (Rives) family is represented in Group 8 of the Reeves DNA Project which currently has twenty-five members with matching Y-DNA verifying their kinship.

Gravestone Inscription of
Robert Ryves

The Dorset family of Ryves descends from one Robert Ryves of Blandford County, Dorset, England who is the first of the name in England of whom there is record. He was born about 1490 and died 11 February 1551. Although the old church of Blandford Forum was destroyed by fire in 1731, an officer in the King’s Army in 1644 made notes describing the tomb of Robert Ryves. His grandson, Sir John Ryves, born 1536, in a petition stated that King Henry VIII had granted the premises of the manor of Milton County, Dorset to Robert Ryves in 1546.

Many family history books written and published long before the current level of access to historical documents contain abundant misinformation because they relied heavily on proximity as a source of family connections. Childs spend a great amount of time researching Reliques and the book appears to be factual except for a few errors that seem based upon data submitted by Reeves descendants, not the work of Childs himself.

At the time in 1929 when Reliques of the Rives (Ryves) was first published, Childs believed that the immigrant ancestor of this family was William Ryves who was a titheable in Surry County, Virginia in 1684 and 1695. After much further scrutiny and mounting inferential evidence in support of the theory, in 1957, James Rives Childs wrote an amendment to the book which was published in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.

During the years after the first publiation, Childs felt that based upon his subsequent research along with additions and corrections shared by others that the immigrant was more likely Timothy Ryves, born 1625, the son of Timothy and Mary Ryves of Oxford. Timothy Rieve or Rives' estate was recorded in the Charles City County Order Book for 1687-1695. He was the father of George, Robert, John, and Timothy Rives, of Virginia.

Recently a Reeves colleague who descends from this family shared a link to this book that contains many interesting tidbits that may be of interest to other members of DNA Group 8 and others of the Rives or Reeves family descending from this lineage.

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain By Bernard Burke · pub. 1900

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.

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.

Surprises thru DNA

Recently several descendants of Hardy Reaves of Duplin County, North Carolina have completed Y-DNA tests. It had always been supposed that Hardy was in some way related to the family of William Reaves who died in Wayne County in 1793 since they were in close proximity and both lineages used the spelling "Reaves". Although William named no son Hardy in his 1790 will, there was always the chance that Hardy could have been a brother or nephew.

When the results of the first descendant to test were posted at Family Tree DNA, they came as a complete shock. Rather than matching DNA Group 3 members where the descendants of William Reaves of Wayne County are found, they matched DNA Group 8. Group 8 is comprised of descendants of Timothy Rives an early resident of Virginia. That family is covered in the book ''Reliques of the Rives'' by James Rives Childs in which the author traces Timothy's lineage back to Robert Ryves of Randleston and Damory Court in Blandford Forum, England.

The earliest residents of this area of North Carolina appear to have been recorded in Dobbs County which was formed in 1758 from Johnston County. In 1779 the western part of Dobbs County became Wayne County. In 1791 Dobbs County was divided by the North Carolina legislature into Glasgow County which was later renamed Greene County and Lenoir County, after which Dobbs County ceased to exist. Sadly, the records of these counties were destroyed by fire on 15 October 1873 after having been moved to the Lenoir County Courthouse. This loss of records has adversely impacted research of the Reaves families of both Wayne and Duplin Counties. The only Dobbs County records that survived the fire were an original grantee deed index and some early tax records.

Thanks to those extant records we do know that there were several Reeves/Reaves living in Dobbs County by sometime between April 1757 and April 1758 when a William Reaves and a Thomas Reaves were recorded in that index. In the index of April 1765 to April 1769 a Drury Reaves and Timothy Reaves are recorded. Timothy Reaves is currently unidentified but Drury may have been from the DNA Group 8 family since the name Drury is used repeatedly in that lineage. Drury Reeves/Reaves migrated further south to Darlington, South Carolina where he died intestate in 1792.

Duplin County was formed in 1750 from New Hanover County and is located just to the south of Wayne County and adjacent to Dobbs County on it's southwestern side. Hardy Reaves is first recorded in Duplin County on the 17th of October, 1770 when a summons was issued by the sheriff of Duplin County to value a horse which was the property of Hardy Reaves. The document states this was in the course of a sute (sic suit) by Stephen Herring. The horse was valued at twenty pounds and the reverse side of the summons has been signed with Hardy Reaves mark on that same date. The document was the only thing found in what was recorded as an estate file for Hardy Reaves.
It is unclear exactly which Hardy Reaves this document pertains to and there appear to be two different individuals by that name in early Duplin County. In the 1790 census, there are two Hardy Reaves recorded in Duplin County. One Hardy Reaves is listed with a household consisting of 4 Males over 16, 4 Males under 16 and 5 Females on page 44 of the census listing of James Kenan. Another Hardy Reeves is listed on page 40 of that same census listing with a household containing 2 Males over 16, 3 Males under 16 and 5 females. Since the total persons in the households differ, presumably there were two Hardy Reaves living in fairly close proximity in Duplin County but this could also be the result of errors by census enumerators. One of these Hardy Reaves is undoubtedly the parent of the next generation Hardy Reaves born 1785.

Hardy Reaves who is the documented ancestor of the individuals who have tested matching DNA Group 8 was born circa 1785 and died before January 1862 in Duplin County where probate records record the identities of his nine (9) children. Hopefully current research of this family will eventually be able to establish a connection to the Rives family of the southside of Virginia and document that relationship.

The Elusive Sidney King Reeves

One of the many Reeves' mysteries is to which family Sidney King Reeves belongs. He appeared in Pike County, Georgia on the 1830 census after marrying Sarah Caroline Nicholson in Walton County in 1829. Numerous incorrect theories have circulated regarding his lineage, one of which places him among the children of William Reeves of Guilford County, North Carolina who died in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1816. The will of William Reeves disproves that theory since he is not listed among the children named in William's 1816 will. His descendants and other Reeves' researchers have tried unsuccessfully to find his origins, but the only clue to his life before his appearance in Georgia is the fact that in every census, his place of birth is recorded as North Carolina.

The Raleigh Register pub. 25 Jun 1824

Jonathan Reeves, one of my colleagues at The Reeves Project, recently happened upon the pictured newspaper ad when searching historical papers. Although The Raleigh Register published articles pertaining to news and individuals throughout North Carolina, a Charles Fowler was a resident of Wake County at this time which indicates the location was undoubtedly Raleigh. On 6 Jan 1826 and again on 13 Jan 1826, another related newspaper, the Weekly Raleigh Register published a listing of letters remaining in the post office at Raleigh on the 1st of January 1826 and in both editions Sidney Reeves was listed.

After finding the probable location of Sidney King Reeves home and presumably his family as well, I've spent much of the last week searching the records of Wake County as well as the adjacent counties. My own Reeves family had been there and in the counties from which it was formed since at least 1746. Being familiar with Wake County and families with a variation of the Reeves/Reaves/Reavis surname I knew that after the migration of my 4th great grandfather, William Reeves, and all but one of his sons by 1803 Sidney was not a descendant of that family. The only son remaining in Wake was John Reeves who died in 1824 and all of his children are recorded in probate documents and property divisions. That left the Reavis family who descend from Isaac and Samuel Reavis, sons of William Reavis who died in Northampton County. The sons of both Isaac and Samuel are well documented so we can be sure that Sidney K. Reeves was not part of that lineage.

The only other Reeves family residing in Wake County in the early part of the 19th century descends from Revolutionary Soldier Frederick Reeves (originally Rives) and his wife Elizabeth. An 1843 statement made by their son Hartwell Reeves, born 1 March 1783, when he petitioned to draw pension benefits of his father's service after the death of his mother in 1837 gives some limited information regarding this family. The only surviving son of Frederick Reeves, Hartwell, appears to have been a lifelong resident of Wake County and purchased a lot in Raleigh in 1809. Hartwell and his sons Henderson and Alpheus were all tradesmen. The 1850 census of Wake County lists each of them as shoe makers. This might be significant in that Sidney K. Reeves was apprenticed to a tailor to learn a trade.

Hartwell Reeves is known to have had at least three wives beginning with a marriage in Wake County to Christian Sugg in 1811. However, he would have been an adult in 1804 and could have married around that time, possibly fathering a child in 1806. No marriage record has been found prior to 1811, but sadly the 1810 and 1820 census of Wake County are not extant to verify whether he did in fact have a male child born circa 1806.

To date, no Reeves male descending from the lineage of Sidney King Reeves has participated in the Reeves Y-DNA Project which could provide verification of the Reeves family to which Sidney King Reeves belonged. The above mentioned family of Frederick Reeves as well as that of his brother Richard Reaves who lived in Franklin County adjacent to Wake are the most likely candidates for the family to which Sidney belongs. Richard Reeves (Reaves) and his second wife Mary had 3 male children born 1800-1810 per the 1810 census but only two of them have currently been identified.

Frederick and Richard Reeves were sons of William Rives of Surry County, Virginia who died 1778 in Bute County, North Carolina. That lineage is documented among the participants of the Reeves Y-DNA Project found in DNA Group 8 who appear to descend from the Ryves family of Dorset in England.

More Myth Bustin' - Mrs. Harriet E. Bedingfield

John T. Reeves son of Jeremiah Reeves and Jane Brazile is said to have married widow Mrs. Harriet E. Bedingfield on the 6th of December 1812 in Baldwin County, Georgia according to page 92 of The Reeves Review II. As a result countless Reeves' descendants have copied this incorrect marriage to their family trees and list Harriet Elizabeth Bedingfield as the mother of John T. Reeves' children.

A more accurate narrative of Harriet E. Bedingfield's story begins with a marriage record for Harriet Eliza Hargrove's marriage to John Bedingfield on 27th of May 1807 in Richmond County, Georgia. By the 7th of January 1811, John Bedingfield was deceased and his will was presented for probate in Baldwin County, Georgia. That abstracted will is as follows:

Will of JOHN BEDINGFIELD of Baldwin and Richmond Co.'s, 10/5/1810:1/7/1811, Wife: mentioned, not named. Exrs: Wife, and George R. Clayton. Son: John. Niece: Harriett Pegram Fox, dau. of Colonel James Fox, decd. Testator to be buried in St. Paul's Churchyard near son, John. Wits: F. Walker, Thomas Watkins, Robert Watkins, Vas Walker. Baldwin Co. WB A p. 31

The next year, Harriet married John T. Rives, son of Timothy Rives of Richland County, South Carolina originally from Prince George County, Virginia. The Georgia Journal of Baldwin County, Georgia published this notice - 23 Dec 1812 - Turner Reeves of Washington Co. married to Harriet Bedingfield of this place. After his marriage to Harriet, John T. Rives served as guardian for Harriet's son John Bedingfield.

Further proof that the husband of Mrs. Harriet Bedingfield was not the son of Jeremiah Reeves, is found in the 1820 Will of Timothy Rives of Richland County, South Carolina. The will recorded in Will Book G, page 180-183 includes the following:

Whereas there now unhapily exists a Suit and controversy either in Law or Equity in the County of Washington in the State of Georgia between Harriet Rives Widow & relect of my deceased son John Turner Rives as Administratrix of her Said deceased husband Plaintiff and my son Thomas Rives (who is in this suit acting as my agent) Defendant...

John Turner Rives died between 1816 when he was recorded as the guardian of John Bedingfield, Jr. in Baldwin County and the 5th of February, 1820 when his father Timothy wrote his will. Harriet Hargrove Bedingfield Rives had lost two husbands in less than a decade and by August of 1828 was deceased when her own estate was probated in the records of Baldwin County.

John T. Reeves, son of Jeremiah and Jane Brazile Reeves, married an Elizabeth, born circa 1797, whose maiden name is still unknown sometime around 1810. They are recorded in Jasper and Muscogee counties in Georgia but by 1860 are listed in the census of that year in Gadsden County, Florida and were still there in 1870. Based upon all the documentation presented here, it is completely impossible for Harriet E. Bedingfield to have been the wife of this John T. Reeves as proposed by The Reeves Review.

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Thanks so much to Reeves' researcher Joan Chase who found the will of Timothy Rives of Richland SC while searching for her Thomas Reeves and let me know that Harriet had been mentioned in the will as the widow of his son John Turner Rives.

Hannah Smith's Husband - William Rives

Countless family trees list the wife of William Reeves who died in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1816 as Hannah Smith, most of them using the Reeves Review II as a source. In an effort to prove or disprove this connection, I found the marriage license of Hannah Smith to William RIVES in Mecklenburg County recorded on 14 Dec 1820 which I mentioned as Myth #7 in a previous post about the numerous myths circulating in Reeves' genealogy especially in regard to the Reeves' family of Granville County, North Carolina. Since this marriage took place four years after the 1816 death of William Reeves, it is obviously incorrect. This data was apparently submitted to the Reeves Review by someone who did not properly research the individuals involved.

A search of the deed records of Mecklenburg County produced a quit claim deed by the heirs of Daniel Smith of that county assigning their rights to any legacies from his estate to their mother Elizabeth (Deed Book 24, page 133). Additionally that 1822 Quit Claim Deed named William "Reaves" as the husband of Hannah Reaves, daughter of Daniel Smith. From that quit claim deed, the parents of Hannah Smith were confirmed as Daniel Smith and Elizabeth Darnall, but even though William Rives appeared many more times over the course of the next 25 years in the deed records of Mecklenburg County, there was no clue to his origins.

William's name was recorded as Rives, Reaves and at times Reeves over those 25 years but since he was the only William with any variation of the Reeves name in Mecklenburg County during those years, it can be assumed that all of these references refer to the husband of Hannah Smith. It appears that Hannah died before the 20th of July 1824 for on that date, William Rives married Jane Cunningham in Mecklenburg County. He apparently continued to have a relationship with the Smith family for he was the witness in further documents filed by the heirs of Daniel Reeves regarding his estate in 1835.

There were no deeds in the Mecklenburg records listing William Rives as either a grantor or grantee after 1847 which created the impression that he was deceased before 1850. Estate Settlement Book 6 on page 358-359 lists the inventory of the estate of William Rives decd and a continuation on Page 451 of that book makes a reference to the estate of William & Mary Rives deceased, formerly residents of the state of North Carolina. There was nothing to indicate the nature of the connection, just their names.

Because the surname "Rives" had been the most consistently used in the Mecklenburg records for William's transactions, I began to research other Rives' families of North Carolina in hopes of finding a missing child, William. For once, I found the answer to the mystery in the first place I looked - the estate file of William McGuffey Rives of Warren County, North Carolina. In his 39 page estate file there were documents from the executors of the Mecklenburg, North Carolina estate of William Rives, deceased, regarding distributions from the estates of William McGuffey Rives and his deceased wife, Mary Catherine Turner Rives. William, the son of Mary C. Turner and William McGuffey Rives was previously believed to have died in South Carolina circa 1845, but then that's not too far off since Mecklenburg County is on the border between North and South Carolina.

It's a shame that all genealogical mysteries can't be solved this quickly and painlessly.

Elizabeth Reeves David – Who Does She Belong to?

Precious few granddaughters of George Reeves (born 1716) and his wife Mary Jordan (born c 1726) have ever been identified. As with all families, the women are much harder to identify and trace as there is so much less documentary evidence to chase. So often we must rely on circumstantial evidence to identify our foremothers and that is the case for Elizabeth Reeves. What little evidence I can find suggests that Elizabeth Reeves, born about 1783 possibly in South Carolina, is one of the elusive granddaughters of George and Mary Jordan Reeves.

Here’s why:

Marriage records in Davidson County, Tennessee seem to tie Elizabeth to this family:

On December 1, 1800, James David and Elizabeth Reeves were married; Jonathan F Robertson, son of James Robertson and Charlotte Reeves Robertson (daughter of George and Mary) was bondsman.

 On January 15, 1816, George Reeves and Rhoda Newsom were married. James David and William Reaves were bondsmen.

The George Reeves and William Reeves in the second record are themselves elusive and unattached to parents though it is very likely (through considerable circumstantial evidence) that they are also grandsons of George Reeves and Mary Jordan. Likely fathers for them include Jordan Reeves, Timothy Reeves, or less likely, Burrell Reeves, but no documentary evidence has yet been found to connect them to their parents. They may be brothers or perhaps first cousins, and it seems quite possible that Elizabeth Reeves is their sister or cousin, given that her husband was bondsman for the marriage of one of them..

 According to census records of her children, Elizabeth Reeves, wife of James David, was born in South Carolina. Though I have not found Elizabeth herself named in any census, her birth year is estimated to be in the early to mid-1780s, around the time that George and Mary Reeves, along with sons William, Jordan, and younger children in the household moved from the Watauga settlements in what is now far eastern Tennessee to South Carolina.

Naming patterns for Elizabeth’s presumed children are consistent with Reeves and Robertson names, for example: sons named George, William, Timothy, and Felix Robertson. The last-named son is probably named for Felix Robertson, son of James and Charlotte Reeves Robertson.

More research is needed on Elizabeth and these other Reeves to determine who her parents were, . Many online trees claim that Elizabeth is the daughter of William Reeves (born 1755) and this is possible, but no one has presented any supporting evidence. Jordan Reeves is the only other son of George and Mary old enough to be Elizabeth's father, and he does have unidentified daughters.

Elizabeth Reeves David died in 1860 at the home of her son Seth David in East Baton Rouge, LA.

Reliques of the Rives tree on ancestry.com

Sharland, Carolyn, and Gerald, Reeves DNA Group 8 cousins and collaborators have launched a new tree on ancestry.com. The Reliques of the Rives Group 8 DNA tree contains the lines of all Reeves males who have tested as members of Group 8 in the Reeves DNA project.

There are two ways you can approach the tree:

1. You can start at the top with Robert Ryves, the earliest documented ancestor of this line, and click a son. Each Ryves/Rives/Reeves who is in the direct line of one of the Group 8 Reeves will have this picture of the Ryves crest attached to his profile.


As you navigate through the tree, clicking on sons with that picture will lead you to someone who has tested as Reeves DNA Group 8 through his YDNA.

2. Another approach is to start with the pedigree of someone at the bottom of the tree. Here is an example using the line of K M Reaves. In the pedigree, you will see the Reeves crest displayed for each male in his direct line.

Although there are currently eight members of Group 8 DNA, only seven lines are included in this tree as the line of the eighth person remains unknown. We have included wives and siblings whenever they are available.

We have added citations and comments to many people in the tree and will add more as time permits. We have also used the inferred DNA feature available on ancestry.com to display the Haplogroup, E1b1b1a1, on each Reeves male profile page.

On the trail of another George Reeves

Recently I came across the 1816 will of a George Reeves in Wilson County, Tennessee. The will only named two children - Jeremiah who was described as his youngest son and a daughter Susanah. Curiosity as to who this George Reeves was set off another search.

Within a short time, Jeremiah was found to be Jeremiah Turner Reeves who later migrated to Madison County, Arkansas and died there in 1862. Census showed Jeremiah was born in Virginia, a fact which soon led to Patrick County, Virginia where Anny, daughter of George Reeves, had married James Turner in 1796. Ann and James Turner also migrated to Wilson County, Tennessee.

Marriage records of Patrick County found online produced two more marriages that recorded George Reeves as the father of the brides - Lucy Reeves to William Witt on 24 Feb 1799 and Jane Reeves to James Williams on 12 Dec 1813. Another Patrick County marriage that did not specifically name George as the father was that of Polly Reeves to Nicholas Thomas on 14 Mar 1808. Polly was apparently widowed very soon after her marriage and was found in Wilson County by 1816 where she was remarried to John F. McDaniel.

George Reeves' daughter Susanah died in 1823 and although she died intestate, the probate records of Wilson County include an inventory and estate sale. In those documents, her brother Jeremiah is listed as administrator. Her brother-in-law John F. McDaniel along with Burwell Reeves who is possibly another brother are both named in the inventory as owing debts to Susanah. The sale of Susanah's estate names Jeremiah, Burwell, John F. McDaniel and Frances Turner, Susanah's niece (daughter of Ann and James Turner), among others, as buyers.

The family of George Reeves has begun to take shape but more historical records are needed to document his other sons. It is very likely that John Reeves who married Hannah Perigo in Patrick County and later migrated to Campbell County, Tennessee is a son of George Reeves in addition to Thomas, Charles and Josiah Reeves who are named in court orders and/or marriages there. More extensive marriage records have been ordered and may soon resolve some of these questions.

The final question is - who were George Reeves' parents? Could he be the son of Frederick Rives of Franklin County, Virginia? James Rives Childs when writing Reliques of the Ryves believed that George may have died around 1806 because he executed a Power of Attorney to his brother Burwell at that time. Did George Rives (Reeves?) die, or did he just move away to Tennessee? Or, could he be a descendant of Henry Reeves of Essex County, Virginia whose descendants are known to have been located a little further north in the Shenandoah Valley from Augusta to Frederick counties? Hopefully, searching the extant deed and court records of Franklin, Henry and Patrick counties of Virginia will someday produce the answer.


(Photo of Jeremiah T. Reeves' gravestone by Gary & Nancy Clampitt for Find A Grave.)

Reeves DNA Group 8 Part 2

See Reeves DNA Group 8 Part 1 post before reading the continuation of the story.

In the following narrative, the names of living DNA participants have been modified to use their initials only.

Group 8 researchers first unraveled the pedigrees of members E B Reeves, J M Reeves, and J F Reeves by learning they descend from George Reeves Sr. b 1716 in Virginia. After years of research, the team documented E B's line back to George Rives b. 1660. E B descends from John Reeves b 1787 SC, son of George Reeves Jr. b 1767 VA, son of George Reeves Sr. b 1716 VA, son of Thomas Rives b 1690, son of George Rives b 1660. Next, Group 8 tackled the lines of J F Reeves, a descendant of Jonathan Reeves b 1788 SC, and J M Reeves , a descendant of James Reeves b 1780 NC. Citing DNA results and additional documentary evidence, researchers concluded that James Reeves and Jonathan Reeves were likely sons of Jordan Reeves b 1747 NC, also son of George Reeves Sr. b 1716 VA, son of Thomas Rives b 1690 VA , son of George Rives b 1660 VA, son of Timothy Rives b 1625 Oxford, England.

Group 8 researchers then turned their attention to C R Rives. His pedigree is found in Herschel Edwin Rives' The Rives and Allied Families of Greene Territory, Illinois: An Account of Rev. James Rives and his Descendants of Greene County, Illinois, 1982. C R is also a descendant of Timothy's son George Rives b 1660 through his son Col. William Rives. As referenced by Reliques: George Rives b 1660, page 77; Col. William Rives, b 1683 VA, page 7; William Rives b 1712 VA, page 153; Thomas Henry Rives b 1735, page 154; William McGuffy Rives b 1767 VA, page 157. The Rives and Allied Families continues the line from William McGuffy Rives as follows: Rev. James Rives b 1807 NC, John Hood Rives b 1826 NC, Andrew J. Rives b 1849 IL, Edwin M. Rives b 1880 IL , Carman M. Rives b 1905 IL, C R Rives.

Group 8 learned that member J D Reeves descends from Timothy's son Timothy Rives b 1670 with most of his line being documented in Reliques. J D's line: Timothy Rives b 1670, page 425; William Rives b 1706, page 652; John Rives b 1736 VA, page 661; Edmund Harris Rives b 1783, page 674; John Harding Rives b 1809 TN, page 678; Capt. Thomas McCrory Rives b 1836 page 679; Guy Kenneth Rives b 1882, page 680; Thomas Hunter Reeves, b 1908, page 680; Larry Dean Reeves, and J D Reeves.

The newest member of Group 8 is K M Reaves. His pedigree is found in The Ryves-Rives-Reaves Families of Europe and America, 1999 by W. Patrick Reaves. W. Patrick is a first cousin of K M's father. They descend from Timothy's son John Rives b. 1667 VA. As referenced by Reliques, K M's line is as follows: John Rives b 1667 VA, page 411; Richard Rives b 1690 VA , page 412; William Rives b 1715 VA, page 415; William b 1748 NC, page 416; William's descendants, page 418. The Ryves-Rives-Reaves Families includes additional documentary evidence for the material in Reliques and continues the line from William b 1748 as follows: Edmond Reaves b 1776 NC, William Emery Reaves b 1798 NC, William McGuire Reaves b 1828 GA, William Patrick Reaves b 1857 AL, William Monroe Reaves b 1882 AL, William Leo Reaves b 1909 AL, K M Reaves.

Group 8 is trying to contact member G A Reeves to learn of his pedigree. Because he is a genetic match to members of Group 8, we know he is a descendant of either George, John or Timothy Rives, sons of Timothy b 1625.

Group 8 seeks participants in the Reeves DNA project

Group 8 is fortunate in that our members are connected genetically and genealogically. Our individual paper trails converge at Timothy, and our genetic relationship and our genealogies confirm and support J. Rives Childs' genealogy of the Rives. We are seeking more participants for the DNA project among Timothy's descendants. If you know a descendant of his sons George, John and Timothy, we hope you will urge him to join.

As described in Reliques, these participants will descend from the following:

George's sons 1) Col. William Rives b 1683, and his sons Benjamin, Timothy, William Foster , George and Robert , 2) Thomas Rives b 1690 and his sons Thomas, George, Joseph, Benjamin and William, and 3) Joseph Reeves b 1698 and his sons Daniel, Reuben, Joseph, Burwell, Frederick, and Isham ;

John's son Richard b 1690 and his sons William, John, Peter, and Richard;

Timothy's sons 1) George b 1698 and his sons John, George, Christopher, and Timothy, 2) Timothy b 1704 and his sons William and Timothy, and 3) William b 1706 and his sons William, John, and Timothy.

Reliques of the Rives is available online on ancestry.com. Sometimes copies can be purchased on eBay or Amazon.com.

The Reeves DNA Project results page is here.

Group 8 lines are also documented on the DNA Group 8 page on The Reeves Project Wiki.

Reeves DNA Group 8 Part I

Reeves DNA Group 8 researchers Gerald, Carolyn, and Sharland have concluded that all participants in Reeves DNA Group 8 descend from Robert Ryves of Dorset b 1490. This conclusion is based on DNA test results and research findings.

In determining the pedigrees of our members, Group 8 researchers found we share as our common ancestor the father of George Rives b 1660, John Rives b 1667 and Timothy Rives b 1670 in Virginia. We now believe that their father was Timothy Rives b 1625, son of Timothy Rives b 1588, of the family documented by James Rives Childs in the well-known Rives genealogy book, Reliques of the Rives.

In Reliques of the Rives, J. Rives Childs originally, and we believe erroneously, speculated that their father was William Rives b 1636 Oxford, England, the alleged emigrant ancestor documented as #1, page 73 of 'Part II The Virginia Family of Rives'.

Childs changed his thinking about William's identity 28 years after Reliques was published. In 1957, he published "Amendments to Reliques of the Rives" in “The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography.” In the opening paragraphs, he states "The basis for the birth of William to Timothy Ryves and his wife of Oxford (pp.74-75) was the slightest..." Childs then cites evidence in the Charles City County Order Book for 1687-1695 that points to Timothy Rives b 1625 Oxford, England as the emigrant ancestor:

"I suggest now the likelihood that this Timothy "Rieve" or Rives was the emigrant ancestor and that he was identical with 206, Timothy Ryves, born 1625, son of Timothy and Mary Ryves of Oxford (p.51), and that he was the father of George, Robert, John and Timothy Rives of Virginia."

Given the evidence, we accept Childs' conclusion that Timothy b 1625 was the emigrant ancestor and the father of George, John, Robert, and Timothy. Timothy Rives b 1625 was the son of Timothy b 1588, #204, page 49 of Reliques, a son of Richard #3, a son of John #2, a son of Robert Ryves #1.

Timothy's son Robert died without male issue. However, Group 8 participants are descendants of the other three sons of Timothy b 1625. Six of our nine members descend from the oldest son, George Rives #2, two members descend from son John Rives #4, and one member descends from son Timothy Rives #5, page 77. The lines of Group 8 can be found at these links to Carolyn's trees at ancestry.com and rootsweb.com:

Timothy Rives in Rootsweb tree

Timothy Rives in Ancestry tree

The Reeves DNA Project Test Results page is here.

More information will be provided in Part II of this post.