A Very Young Mother

Early and mid-nineteenth century Wayne County, Tennessee was awash in my paternal ancestors and also in a number of Reeves, with several different Reeves lines being represented. I first became intrigued with a C J Reeves whose property in Wayne County bounded the property of two sets of my paternal great-great-grandparents. Knowing my maternal Reeves heritage, I had to wonder if C J Reeves was a maternal relative who had somehow crossed paths with my father’s family. That turned out not to be the case (at least not so far), but Calvin’s origins are still a mystery.

On 7 Oct 1878, Calvin J Reaves was appointed administrator of the estate of his father Osburn Reaves in Wayne County. The earliest known record of Osburn Reaves and his wife Esther Osteen is their marriage record in 1812 in Williamson County, Tennessee . In 1820 they were still in Williamson County, but made their way to Wayne County Tennessee by 1830 where they remained. (Note the use of both Reeves and Reaves for the surname spelling of this family. Eventually the "Reaves" spelling prevailed.)

Census records consistently identify Osburn’s birth date as 1791 and birth location as South Carolina. Also from census records, his wife Esther was born about 1792 in North Carolina.

Why then do so many online trees claim that Osburn Reaves is the son of John Reeves (b 1785) and Phoebe Osborne (b 1785), both of whom lived out their lives in Grayson County, Virginia? Even more amazing is Phoebe’s age at the presumed birth – six years old! As far as I can tell, the only “evidence” for this leap is Osburn’s given name. John and Phoebe had a much younger son (b 1809) named Osborne.

Thus far, no one has come up with credible parents for Osburn Reeves, but more progress might be made if people would question the veracity of information copied from the family trees of others.


The picture is of some of Calvin Reeves children, from the Wayne County TNgenweb website, submitted by Scott Adams.

John Reeves, Revolutionary War Soldier

When John Reeves of Madison County, Missouri gave a pension statement (#R8684) in 1833 concerning his revolutionary war service, he stated that he was born in Frederick County, Virginia in 1760. Around 1765 when John was 5 years old his father moved the family to the area of Guilford County, North Carolina.

No record has been found to identify John Reeves’ father. Whether his Frederick County, Virginia origins point to a connection to the family of Henry Reeves is unknown, but Henry Reeves, Jr.’s grandson Thomas Reeves, Jr. was recorded living in Frederick County in the middle of the 18th century.

His pension statement also relates that he joined the revolutionary forces in Burke County, North Carolina. He volunteered in the company of a Captain Thomas Price and at the time lived near the state line separating North and South Carolina. He recalled that Captain Price's company was in the battle of King's Mountain, but he was not, having been sent down the Broad River to deliver a message to another company in preparation for the battle.

After the battle of King’s Mountain, he was stationed for about 12 months at several forts in the area of the state line between North and South Carolina which were built and manned to protect the inhabitants from the Indians and Tories. Following that service, he joined a volunteer company of militia raised by Captain John Miller of Rutherford County, North Carolina, which marched against the Cherokee Indians in Tennessee.

John's pension statement records that he married Rachel Barnes in South Carolina on the 1st of May 1796. They lived in South Carolina for a few years after their marriage before moving west to Madison County, Missouri around 1803.

Although they may have had others, the known children of John and Rachel Barnes Reeves were Hiram born 1799, John born 1804, Isaac born 1811, Mary, Levina and Caswell born 1815. Other than Hiram who was born in South Carolina, census records record the other children as having been born after the family’s move to Missouri.

John’s wife, Rachel, gave testimony in her request for a widow’s pension that John died on the 30th of April 1834 in Madison County, Missouri.

Interestingly, the family of Thornberry Reeves of Green County, Kentucky also settled in Madison County, Missouri sometime after 1830. Thornberry was the son of another John Reeves who died in Green County, Kentucky in 1854. This Reeves’ family is represented in the Reeves DNA Project and placed in Group 9 matching another participant who descends from Henry Reeves of Old Rappahannock, Virginia. As with so many Reeves' family lines, participation in the DNA Project by descendants of John Reeves of Madison County, Missouri could be of great help in establishing earlier family connections.


John Reeves Revolutionary War Pension Statement is available at Southern Campaign.

In Pursuit of Castles and Crests

What is it about the concept of our ancestors having been titled nobility with castles and crests that appeals to us so much that it overrides our intellect? Modern Y-chromosome DNA testing is revolutionizing genealogy by confirming and/or contradicting previously held theories of relationships and lineages. Yet amazingly, countless online GEDCOMs and family trees are still filled with the incorrect assumptions of years past before DNA tests were performed on descendants from these family lines. A review of the first 5 pages of Google results searching for Robert Ryves of Dorset produced 10 sites that appear to be truly descended from Robert Ryves through the Rives family which is documented by DNA with 29 more sites purporting to be descendants through lineages which have proven to be of another Reeves lineage. Online Reeves' family lineages abound with such pedigrees which have been proven, over and over, to be incorrect.

Reportedly a coat of arms was conferred upon Robert Ryves, courtier of King Henry VIII, in the first few years of the 16th century. The ancestral home of that Ryves family was Damory Court in Blandford, Dorset of the United Kingdom.

Eleven years into the 21st century, do we not all understand the absoluteness of DNA - that Y-chromosome DNA is inherited by male descendants unchanged except for occasional random mutations which occur over many generations? Surely there can be no question that with fourteen different groups or lineages identified by the Reeves DNA Project plus countless other Reeves individuals whose DNA does not fall into any of those groups, that only ONE of those lineages can descend from the Reeves or Ryves family of Dorset. It is categorically impossible for the descendants of a Reeves/Rives/Ryves male who lived in the 16th century to include multiple different DNA haplogroups and combinations of markers.



If we do all understand the scientific conclusions of DNA testing, then the obvious question looms - why do all the copious and completely different Reeves' family lineages continue to list Robert Ryves of Dorset on their pedigrees and websites? Are they uninformed, unintelligent or just otherwise misguided? Maybe not. The continuation of the practice of multiple Reeves' families linking to Robert Ryves as their ancestor appears to be simply that the desire to be descended from royalty supersedes intelligence, scientific fact, historical documentation and everything else.

The majority of the immigrants to the new world were certainly not wealthy or titled. They came for a myriad of reasons - religious freedom, as indentured servants seeking a chance to prosper in this new world or simply out of a desire for adventure. Prisoners of the British government were transported to the colonies as punishment for their political differences such as Scottish prisoners after their loss at the battle of Culloden.

Ironically, three hundred years after the first successful English settlement at Jamestown was established, most of the great estates and much of the English aristocracy, who were land rich but cash poor and whose income dwindled every year were seeking wealthy American brides. In the early part of the 20th century, the fabulously rich daughters of American billionaires such as Consuelo Vanderbilt traveled to England looking for a title and married into the cash strapped aristocracy. In 1895 alone, nine American heiresses married members of the English aristocracy, and by the end of the century a quarter of the House of Lords had a transatlantic connection.

American genealogy would benefit greatly if the descendants of the early colonists could begin to embrace the bravery and spirit of their less than royal ancestors. It took great courage to make the dangerous journey and endure the generally perilous living conditions of colonial America which should be admired and celebrated. The fact that they survived and prospered may have far more merit than a crest or a castle.

Who was Eli Reeves?

Eli Reeves origins are unknown as well as the date of his arrival in Johnston County, North Carolina, but by 1778 he was recorded there in the following deeds:

Deed from William Pitman to Eli Reves, 50 acres on south side of the Neuse River, April 25 1778. A second deed, dated the same day, conveyed 60 acres to Eli Reves on the Neuse River, beginning at the Neuse to Watery Branch down to the mouth of the River.

Eli Reves sold 40 acres on the south side of the Neuse River, to James Lockhart on February 22, 1779, beginning at the mouth of the first small branch.

Eli Reves, planter, sold 50 acres on the Neuse River, part of 2 tracts, to James Lockhart, January 10, 1780. The land began at the mouth of Wartery Branch on the Neuse, up the Branch and then due east to Deep Branch. Eli Reaves signed by a mark.

(Source: ''Weynette Parks Haun, Johnston County, North Carolina, Abstracts: Deed Books H-1, I-1, K, L-1, 1771-1782, vol. 13, Durham, NC'')

Early in 1781, Eli died in Montgomery County, North Carolina at the home of a Capt. Chiles. On the 25th of February 1781, Capt. Chiles gave a statement regarding Eli's death and his final wishes regarding his estate which was recorded in Johnston County as a nuncupative will in May of 1781. Capt. Chiles' statement includes no explanation of Eli's presence in Montgomery County, but considering the date, it's possible that Eli was serving in a militia unit during the Revolution.

Nuncupative Will of Eli Reeves
Original in NC Archives, Raleigh

A search of the extant Johnston County records has produced no guardian records for the children Eli mentioned in his spoken will. The only information regarding his wife is the given name Elizabeth which was recorded in the Johnston County Court Orders when she presented the will for probate in May of 1781.

Reverse Side of Will

Since there were no other Reeves' families living in Johnston County at the time of Eli's death, it is very probable that the Elizabeth Reeves who married Samuel Baldwin on 13 Jan 1783 was his widow. It is also likely that the following Reeves children recorded in marriage records of Johnston County were his children - Molley Reeves who married William Rainwater on 16 Nov 1787; Betsy Reeves who married William Roberts, Jr. on 12 Oct 1793; and Levi Reeves who married Elizabeth "Betsy" Norris nee Britt on 23 Aug 1802.

A large portion of the records of Johnston County were destroyed in a fire at the Lenoir County Courthouse along with the records of Dobbs County, making it doubtful that any of these assertions could ever be proven but hopefully someday a few more tidbits of information will be found to fill in some of the missing details of Eli Reeves' life and the lives of his children.

(Photos of original statement of Capt. Chiles recorded as Eli Reeves' will in North Carolina Archives in Raleigh.)

The Misty Origins of Sidney James Reeves

There are various theories regarding James Reeves with wife Elizabeth Wells who appeared in Buncombe County, North Carolina by around 1810 and are recorded there in the 1820 census.

He has been purported to be the son of Samuel Reeves of Rowan County, North Carolina. However, research of that Reeves’ family indicates that Samuel’s son James appears to be at least 10 to 15 years younger. He married Deborah Winright in Rowan County in 1800 and in the 1810 census all of their 4 children are listed as having been born after 1800 which would be consistent with their marriage date of 1800. In 1810 when James Reeves, the son of Samuel of Rowan County, is listed in the census there, Sidney James Reeves is already recorded in the deed records of Buncombe County.

Another theory seems to be an amalgamation of Isaac Reeves of Wilkes County, North Carolina or Isaac Reeves the son of William Reeves who died in Granville in 1751 and Samuel Reeves of Rowan. This composite is listed in various websites as “Isaac Samuel Reeves”. There is no evidence to support that there was such a person. There are even copies of the Rowan County will of Samuel Reeves online which have had the name “Isaac” added. This is unsubstantiated by any historical record. In neither the deed nor probate records of Rowan County, is Samuel Reeves referred to as Isaac Samuel Reeves.

A thorough search of the tax, deed and probate records of Rowan County produced no record of an Isaac Reeves in that county. Isaac, the son of William Reeves of Granville, is recorded living in Caswell County from around 1771 when he signed the petition to divide Orange County to a certain line in Granville County and a certain line in Guilford County. This is apparently the same person named as Isaac Reeves of Randolph County, North Carolina in a deed dated 3 Oct 1781 and recorded in Caswell County Deed Book A, at Page 31. That deed conveyed a 150 acre tract of land to Martha Wisdom of Caswell County which appears to be the same 150 acres Isaac Reeves purchased from Peter Bankston on 1 Jan 1779. The Isaac Reeves theory seems to be based upon incorrect information on Page 19 of the Reeves Review II.

Oddly, no one seems to have considered the most reasonable choice of family origin - the Reeves family who were living in Guilford County at the time of Sidney James Reeves’ marriage to Elizabeth Wells. James Reeves named a grandson James as a legatee in his 1781 Guilford County will. A 1788 Rockingham County deed by the heirs of Malachi Reeves to Nathaniel Tatum names James, Thomas and Jesse Reeves as those heirs. Undoubtably this son of Malachi Reeves is the same Sidney James Reeves who married Elizabeth Wells on 11 Jan 1785 in Guilford County, North Carolina.

The fact that James Reeves and Elizabeth Wells were married in Guilford County as well as naming one son Malachi lends further credence to the belief that he was of the family of Malachi Reeves of Guilford County.

A descendant of James Reeves' son Jesse Jefferson Reeves is a participant in the Reeves DNA Project and has been placed in DNA Group 3 confirming that James Reeves was descended from the family of William Reeves who died in Granville County in 1751.



UPDATE:
Newly discovered information on the origins of Samuel Reeves of Rowan County, North Carolina are discussed in the following later posts: The Maryland Connection and an Update on Samuel Reeves of Rowan County.


(Photo by James Archer for Find A Grave.)

The Wives of Jordan Reeves

According to census records, Jordan Reeves Sr, born 1747 in North Carolina, had as many as ten sons and three daughters born over a period of 31 years (approximately between 1773 and 1804). Some have speculated that he also had a daughter Sarah, born 1767, who married Jesse Garland, which would bring the total to ten sons and four daughters over 37 years.

Some of the sons, none of the daughters, and none of the mothers of these children have ever been identified.

Though some of the young adults living with Jordan in the 1820 Humphreys County Tennessee census could turn out to be step-children, or less likely, grandchildren, this is still a lot of children to be borne by one woman over a long time period. Yet, no wife of Jordan’s has ever been found.

In the almost complete absence of clues, what does one do? Well, Jordan moved a good bit, leaving Johnston County, North Carolina about 1771 for the Watauga settlements in Washington County, Tennessee. Sometime in the mid to late 1780s he decamped with the rest of the family for South Carolina where we find him in both Pendleton District and Spartanburg records. Ever on the move, he turns up in middle Tennessee by 1797. Though he sold land starting in the 1790s in South Carolina and later in Tennessee, no wife ever relinquished her dower. No marriage records for Jordan have ever been found in any location. No wills that might yield clues appear to exist. If there ever were bible records, they have long since vanished. Not a single document with reference to a wife has materialized to help with the search.

Where to begin?

One path taken was investigating German families at the Watauga settlements. After all, in the 1779 Washington County, Tennessee tax list, Jordan is shown as a “dunkerd by profeshun,” a description not used for the other Reeves in this list – father George and brother William. The term “dunkerd” refers to members of a certain religious sect of German origin. Only two other families appeared on any tax lists with a similar designation, but investigation did not produce any marriageable daughters.

Next, I looked for neighbors and friends who were nearby in all or most of the places that Jordan lived, starting with Johnston County, North Carolina. The name that shows up more than any other is Jacob Chamberlain/Chamblee/Chambers, but no Chamblee sister or cousin has surfaced who might have married Jordan. Other families making the cut include Houghton, Robertson, Cunningham, Garland, Sevier, Russell, and Brown. I’ve just about ruled out a Robertson or Cunningham woman, but the jury is still out on the other families.

Out of all this effort, not a single candidate wife has emerged. Are there other options for furthering the quest? One possibility I’ve considered is the ftDNA Family Finder test. Unexpected cousins might be revealed by the results that would take me in more fruitful directions.

This situation points to the extreme difficulty of tracing female ancestors before 1850. Women (except for widows) were not named in census records, and only occasionally were named in other documents.

Yet, I keep working to identify my foremothers, who were every bit the trailblazers that their husbands were, so that they, too, can have their place in history.

Connie Reeves, Cowgirl

Connie Douglas Reeves (September 26, 1901- August 16, 2003) was the oldest member of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, and one of the first women to study law at a Texas law school.

Connie Reeves was also the aunt of Reeves researcher Gerald Witt who submits this highly entertaining story of her:

My written word can not possibly capture the humor and excitement Connie always showed when she told this story. She had a hoarse raspy voice and as far as I know she never had a cigarette in her life. She was always full of laughter; I’m sure she had her down days, but I never witnessed one.

Let me set the scene. Connie was the only daughter of a Judge in Eagle Pass, TX. I believe he was a District Judge. She graduated from Eagle Pass High School and then went to Texas Woman’s University and later to University of Texas law school, one of the first women to enroll there. The Great Depression ended all of that.

In the mean time Connie’s parents moved from Eagle Pass to San Antonio. After college she moved to San Antonio and lived with her parents while she taught at Thomas Jefferson High School and formed the school’s “Lasso” girls drill team. In 1936 she joined Camp Waldmar as a riding instructor and on 4 Oct 1941 she married a wrangler named Jack Reeves. But, what she married into was much more involved than teaching “little rich girls” how to ride a horse. The owner of Waldmar was a man named Josh Johnson (not Lyndon as you find on many websites). Josh also owned a rodeo production company and a ranch in Junction, TX. This was a working ranch and this is where Jack and Connie lived for 9 months of the year. I don’t know the exact acreage, but it was in the 5000+ range. They raised cattle and pastured the horses used at the camp, but mainly the ranch was a sheep and goat operation. They literally had thousands of each.

You could not find two more culturally opposite people than Jack and Connie. Connie was the only child of a lawyer. And came from the Alamo Heights area of San Antonio. Alamo Heights is to San Antonio, what Highland Park is to Dallas and River Oaks is to Houston. On the other hand, Jack Reeves grew up with six sisters under foot, no electricity and no running water. Jack and my mother rode a donkey to school and neither graduated from high school.

Now to the point of my story---Jack and Connie had only been married a short time and they were living on the ranch in Junction. Within days after a lamb is born the males are castrated and the tails are cut off all the lambs. The simplest way to count the lambs in the herd is to count the tails.

Picture this-Connie is sitting on the dusty ground counting bloody lamb tails, when her mother and one of her San Antonio neighbors drives up. Junction is about 90 miles from San Antonio and this visit was totally unexpected. Her mother was disgusted with Connie’s new life style. This was not good enough for her daughter. Connie would tell this story and then say in her gravelly voice, “She never came back to see us without calling ahead.”

Mrs. Douglas ended up loving Jack Reeves. She spent the last five years of her life living with them and died in Junction.

Connie Douglas Reeves was elected to the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1997, and rode in the parade to honor the Hall when it moved to new headquarters in Fort Worth in 2002. She was over 100 years old at the time.

Picture courtesy of Humanities Texas.

Read Connie's obituary in the New York Times. See a video of her at the Cowgirl website.

Who really are the descendants of Henry Reeves?

Henry Reeves, Sr. is presumed to be the immigrant and first of this particular Reeves lineage to be found in the American colonies. He was granted 600 acres on Tigner's Creek on the south side of the Rappahannock River in Old Rappahannock County, Virginia (now Essex County), on January 1, 1666. In 1672, he received a land grant of 150 acres in Nansemond County. He doesn't appear to have remained long in Nansemond, returning to Old Rappahannock County where he died on April 6, 1687, naming all of his children in his 1686 will.

By 1753 when Henry's grandson George Reeves (son of Henry Reeves, Jr.) died, he named various nieces and nephews as legatees. After this 1753 will, there are few probate records for this family to aide in clearly identifying future generations. Four sons of Thomas Reeves, Sr. were mentioned in George's will, Henry, George, Thomas Jr. and John. Of those four, further records can only be found of Thomas, Jr. and John.

George Reeves of Grayson County, Virginia is noted in numerous family trees and websites as being the son of Thomas Reeves of Spotsylvania County, son of Henry Reeves, Jr. Since the DNA of several descendants of George Reeves is a match to members of my own Reeves’ family, I have been searching for some documentation to either prove or disprove these assertions. Three descendants of George Reeves have been placed in Group 6 of the Reeves’ DNA Project along with three descendants of William Reeves of Wake County, North Carolina.

Conversely, a participant in DNA Group 9 which is a completely different lineage, has a pedigree that extends to John Reeves, born circa 1730 in Spotsylvania County, the son of Thomas Reeves, Sr. If the research in this pedigree is accurate which it appears to be, DNA Group 9 is the lineage that descends from Henry Reeves of Essex County.

The three descendants of George Reeves of Grayson County in DNA Group 6 match 34 to 36 markers out of 37 with descendants of William Reeves of Wake County, North Carolina. It is worthy of note that there was a George Reeves living in the Orange/Johnston County area (became Wake in 1771) in close proximity to William Reeves and associated with him in various deeds. Also living in this area and associated with William and George Reeves was Richard Burton, father-in-law of George.

Both Richard Burton and George Reeves sold their property in Johnston County around 1765 which coincides with their appearance in the New River area in 1767. Additionally, a Johnston County court order of July 15, 1766 records Timothy Shaw replacing George Reeves as overseer of the road which was probably the result of George Reeves’ removal from the area.

When documents with signatures by George Reeves of Grayson County or his sons can be found, their surnames are written "Reves" just as William Reeves of Wake County and his sons. This was not the case in the Henry Reeves family.

John Reeves of the Group 9 lineage was named as a legatee in the 1753 will of his uncle George Reeves in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. He is recorded in the land records of Augusta County along with his brother, Thomas Reeves, Jr. from the 1760’s to the 1780’s. After the formation of Rockingham County, he is on the tax lists there in 1792 and his death in 1799 was recorded in Augusta County.

Although George Reeves also named a nephew George, son of his brother Thomas Reeves, in his will, nothing can be found to support a conclusion that George Reeves of Grayson County is that person. From the available extant records and the results of DNA testing, George Reeves of Grayson County is of another Reeves' lineage, not that of Henry Reeves of Essex County.

Posts in this Blog with the latest research and information concerning the family of Henry Reeves of Essex, Virginia

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Essex County's Henry Reeves Family
Thomas Reeves of Woodford County, Kentucky

Up to date listing of the descendants of Henry Reeves, Sr.

A Reeves' Family Murder

In 1847 in Orange County, North Carolina, Spencer Reeves killed his sister, Harriet. Local history attributes Spencer's violence against his sister to the fact that they owned a large amount of land inherited from their father, George Reeves, Jr., as tenants in common. Although something of a spinster at age 28, Harriett was planning to marry which would have meant that her share of the land would pass into her husband's hands, preventing Spencer's access to and/or control of the property. The case is recorded in the Criminal Action Papers for Orange County, located at the North Carolina Department of Archives and History in Raleigh.

Various sources have interpreted the date of death on Harriett's gravestone as 1817; however, the 1820 census of Orange County records both of George Reeves' children, one male age 0-10 and one female age 0-10 as having been born between 1810 and 1820. Based upon the inscription of the tombstone that she was 28 years old at her death, she was apparently born in 1819 which agrees with the census data. The inscription on the tombstone is apparently meant to be 1847 but the four has degraded over time and appears as a one.

Harriett and her brother, Spencer Stuart Reeves, were the children of George Reeves, Jr. and Sarah whose maiden name is said to have been Stuart. George died in 1825 and in 1832 his widow Sarah married Thomas Durham. In 1838 the land of George Reeves, Jr., deceased, - 530 acres, was divided between "Spencer S. Reeves and Harriet Reeves his only heirs-at-law." (Deed Book 28, page 208) The documents also mention the widow's dower line in this division indicating that Sarah Reeves Durham had already received a one-third share of George Reeves' land.

Harriett's murder wasn't the first time Spencer Reeves had committed an offense for which he was tried. In an earlier court case of 1841, Spencer was charged with having stolen the horse of two men named Bynum. In that case, Spencer's mother, Sarah, and Harriet pleaded with the court to show mercy to Spencer and forgive his crime. The Bynums agreed to drop the charges and Spencer was allowed to go free and receive no punishment.

Spencer's mother Sarah Durham's will written in 1847 mentions that a minimal amount from her estate was to be used for his support and maintenance if he should be acquitted from the charge alleged against him. According to Orange County local history, Spencer Reeves was hanged for the crime and buried outside of the family cemetery.

Information regarding Spencer Reeves trial from the research of Victoria Bynum, Department of History, Texas State University, San Marcos as posted to the Reeves GenForum.

(Photo submitted to Find A Grave by Lost History.)

William Reeves Mariner

William Reeves, a mariner of "Black Island in New England" (this is probably Block Island, Rhode Island), sells a barke (a type of boat) in Surry County Virginia in 1664. The purchaser, William Thomson, agrees to pay 5000 pounds of tobacco to Maurice Rose/Case who presumably holds a mortgage on the boat. The George Jordan who witnessed the document is likely George Jordan of Four Mile Tree in Surry County. Documentation exists stating that George Jordan imported William Thompson to Virginia.

This transaction is transcribed in Surry County VA Records, 1664-1671, Book II and appears exactly as written.

Know men by these presents that I William Revees Marriner of black Island in New England have bargained and sould unto Wm THOMSON of Surrey Couty in Virginia, Minister, a certain barke whereof I have beene Master Called ye,, beginning for which I confes my selfe fully Contented and paid to sd. THOMSON his ordr. His heirs or assigns to have posses and enjoy ye. Barke aforementioned with, all and singular her appurtenances from any hindrance lett or mollestation what soe ever of any owners pte. Owner or whoe soe ever shall p:tend an intrest therein I (sic) witnes whereof ye, sd. Wm. REEVES have for me my heirs execurs. This third day of August Anno 1664 sett my hand and seale. The Condition of yis. Obligation of saile is such that whereas ye sd Wm THOMSON standeth bound unto Maurice CASE? (ROSE?) of Charles Citty County in Virginia in ye, some of 5000 pounds of tobb. And caske payable this next Ensueing Crop Now if ye, sd Wm, Reeve shall save deffend & keep harmles & Indempnified ye sd. Wm THOMSON from ye, aforsed. Bond as alsoe his heirs Execurs. then this pr:sent sale to be void & of None effect or else itt shall stand & be in full force & vertue, the Marke & Seale of Wm Reeves (#) seale red wax. Sealed Signed & delivered in pr:sence of us Geo. JORDON James MILLS. Record. 20th. Mar. 64, Test Geo. WATKIN CL. Records.

Who is this man? Did he stay in Virginia? Or perhaps he returned there at a later date to appear in later records of Surry County. I have never seen him in anyone's genealogy research; however, it would be a worthwhile pursuit to look for New England records of this man as well as additional Virginia records.

Wednesday's Child - Willard Lawson Reeves

Willard Lawson Reeves, called "Bob" by his family, was the child of William Hubbard Reeves and Effie Elizabeth Beegle. My mother's older brother, he was only 7 years old when he died a few days after suffering a head injury while playing ball.

He is buried in Parma, New Madrid County, Missouri next to his grandmother Sarah Catherine Elizabeth Beard Beegle and a baby sister Clyda Catherine Reeves.

WILLARD L.
son of
W.H. & E. REEVES
AUG. 14, 1914
SEPT 30,
1921

Only sleeping