Curtis F. Reeves' Missing Children

Confluence of the Ohio & Tennessee Rivers at Paducah, Kentucky

My 2nd great grandfather's brother, Curtis F. Reeves was born on the 24th of January, 1807 in Madison County, Kentucky to George Reeves and Elizabeth Wilkerson. Curtis died in 1845 at the young age of 38. For many years Eliza Bryant who he married in McCracken County, Kentucky in 1841 was believed to be his only wife and their sons Benjamin F., born about 1843 and William H. born a year later were thought to be his only children. A few years ago I became aware of a prior marriage to Delilah Doolin of Butler County which was adjacent to Warren County where his family had moved around 1820.

Although there is no marriage recorded between Curtis F. Reeves and Delilah Doolin, in April of 1833 after the death of her father, Delilah, her mother Nancy and her siblings conveyed a tract of land on the banks of the Green River in Butler County, Kentucky to Jesse Lee. Curtis Reeves signed that deed as the husband of Delilah Doolin which establishes that they had married at some time prior to early 1833. Within the next couple of years following the death of their mother, Curtis along with his younger brothers William H. and Sidney Preston Reeves left Warren County and migrated to the westernmost area of Kentucky where they were recorded in McCracken County by 1840. A biography of his brother William Harrison Reeves states that he left Warren County as a teenager after the death of his mother and lived in the household of an older brother in the Jackson Purchase area.

Throughout the later part of the decade 1830-1840, Curtis is found in various records of McCracken County. In January of 1839 he was appointed to the county court as a Justice of the Peace. The 1840 census of McCracken County shows that Curtis and Delilah had seven children by 1840. The census of that year lists their household as including 2 males 0-5, 1 male 5-9, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 30-39, 2 females 5-9, 1 female 10-15 and 1 female 30-39. Delilah apparently died sometime shortly after that census was recorded in 1840 for in March of 1841, Curtis was remarried to Eliza Bryant in McCracken County.

14 January 1839
Court Order Book A, pg 370

By July of 1840, Curtis resigned his position as a Justice of the Peace. The court order book where it is logged gives no explanation or reason for the resignation. The two sons born during his marriage to Eliza Bryant were born in Kentucky in 1843 and 1844 after which he moved to Mississippi County, Missouri. The Goodspeed's biography of his son William H. states that "owing to the overflow of that year", he became disgusted with the country (Missouri) and returned to his native State. However, he later returned to Missouri where he died in Wayne County in 1845. By 1850 his widow with their two sons had returned to Missouri where she had remarried to an Edward Fleece and was living in Mississippi County as recorded in that census. None of Curtis' children from his marriage to Delilah Doolin are listed in the household and their whereabouts are unknown.

Over the years I have searched the households of other Reeves' family members for these children but have never found any likely candidates, other than a 16 year old George Reeves living in the household of Curtis' brother William Harrison Reeves in 1850. However, since he had another nephew of that name and age, there is no way to determine whether this was one of Curtis' orphans. I continue to search for Curtis' children and hopefully someday I'll have some success.

In the meantime, I have found one possibility in Y-DNA matches. A few years ago I found a male third cousin who was willing to do a Y-DNA test for which I paid so we would have genetic evidence of any family connections. Among those DNA matches is an individual with the surname Davis. I have written to this individual but he appears to now be deceased. Besides having Y-DNA that matches all the members of DNA Group 6A where descendants of this family are found, his earliest known ancestor is recorded as having been born in McCracken County, Kentucky in 1839. To add to the inferential evidence that this could have been one of Curtis' orphans, there are several connections with the Davis family in this area. Delilah Doolin's sister Sarah also married into the Davis family in Kentucky. Although this by no means proves that this Davis DNA match is one of Curtis Reeves' children, so far nothing has been found to rule it out. I'll just keep looking for these children in hopes of eventually finding them.

The Wayfarer - William Reeves of Ashe County

William, the son of George Reeves of Grayson County, Virginia, and most of his children left Ashe County, North Carolina shortly after 1820. Based upon estimates of his age from census, he would have been around 55 years old at the time. He was a justice of the Ashe County court and appears to have been prominent in the community, but for whatever reason, he left North Carolina and ventured to the new state of Indiana. By 1822, William was listed on the Lawrence County, Indiana poll tax list. Once William left North Carolina and began to migrate westward, he seems never to have stopped moving.

1829 Indiana Land Grant
to William Reves

In the years preceding William's departure from the New River area of Virginia & North Carolina, his father had died in 1811 as well as his brother George Reeves, Jr. George Reeves, Jr. was killed by his brother-in-law William Tolliver, husband of sister Susanna Reeves. The trial was held in Wilkes County and there are various theories but the actual cause of the incident still remains unknown. Beginning around 1813, there was another court case, Landreth vs. Reves, which continued over a lengthy period with documents in the court records as late as 1822 in regard to it. There are numerous documents in the Ashe County Civil Action Court files regarding this case although there is no clear explanation of the events that precipitated the court case. From various documents, John Landreth states that he had been accused of perjury by William Reves although there is no exact explanation of the nature of the accusation. It would appear from these documents that the entire extended Reeves' family, even William's wife Anne Terrell Reeves, became involved in a fracas which resulted in the issuance of a summons. Oddly, members of both the Tolliver and Landreth families also migrated to the same area of Indiana in the 1820's.

1816 Bond by William Reves and
Allen Burton for John and Ann Reves

Whether the unpleasantness of the death of his father, the murder of his brother or the Landreth court case played a role in William Reeves' decision to leave Ashe County is unknown, but following these events, the family began the first of their migrations. They settled in the area of Greene & Lawrence Counties where they remained until sometime before 1840 when they are found in the census of Carroll County, Arkansas.

From: History of Greene County, Indiana, pub. 1870 by J. Ward, Worthington, Indiana - As taken from the official records, and compiled from authentic recollections by pioneer settlers. Chapter XV - Beech Creek Township: Among other pioneers whose name deserves a place in the history of the township, may be mentioned...William and Noah Reeves...Pg 47 - William Reeves and his boys first settled the farm now owned by Edward Walker.

Between Indiana and Arkansas, the Reeves' family must have spent some time in Missouri probably in the area of Washington County. William's son Albert married there in 1837. Lenoir (Noah) Reeves was also living in Missouri briefly for several of his children were born there before he ventured briefly to Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska then eventually to Oregon, dying there in 1888. Both Albert and Timothy settled in the area of Iron and Butler Counties in Missouri.

Missouri Reeves Emmons
daughter of Timothy Reeves

By the Census of 1840 for Carroll County, Arkansas, William along with his sons John, Terrel and Gaston Reeves are listed. The 1840 tax list for Carroll County lists Lenoir, William, Terrel and John Reeves. They, along with Gaston, are also listed in the 1841 tax lists for Carroll County. Located near the headwaters of the Buffalo River in Van Buren Township in Carroll County there is a Reeves' Creek which is said to have been named for this Reeves' family.

The 1841 tax list appears to be the last historical record of William Reeves. Several family trees list a date of death of 1854 in Missouri but no documentation can be found in support of that theory. It is likely that William, and his wife Anne as well, died in Carroll County between 1840 and 1850 when most of his sons are found in the census of Independence County, Arkansas.

Descendants of William Reeves' brothers Jesse and John have participated in the Reeves DNA Project and been placed in Group 6. A descendant of George Reeves, Jr.'s son Enoch, also a participant in the Reeves DNA Project, has been placed in Group 14 with a descendant of George Reeves whose paternity is currently unknown but may be the son of Jesse. Whether these are NPEs (non paternity events) is unknown and more extensive research is needed to resolve this mystery. Hopefully at some future time, descendants of William Reeves will participate in DNA studies, either Y Chromosome DNA or the new autosomal DNA projects that are now available and help to clarify this lineage.

Other posts in this blog pertaining to the family of George Reeves of Grayson County, Virginia:

George Reeves of Grayson County, Virginia
Who really are the descendants of Henry Reeves?
Col. Timothy Reeves, CSA
The Reeves' Gang
Episode 2 - More of the Reeves Gang
Pewter John Reeves Stamper

Col. Timothy Reeves, CSA

Col. Timothy Reeves (he signed his name as Reves), was the youngest son of William Reeves (Reves) and Anne Terrill of Ashe County, North Carolina. William's father was George Reeves of Grayson County, Virginia, a soldier of the Revolution.

The internet has numerous sites with various references to Col. Timothy Reeves, commander of the 15th Missouri Cavalry of the confederacy. He is referred to as both a devil and a saintly hero depending on each individual's point of reference - he was a baptist minister and a ruthless military commander. The determining factors seem to be based upon Civil War sympathies.

He was present and had preached at the gathering held on 25 December 1863 at Pulliam's Farm in Ripley County that is recalled as "The Wilson Massacre". Union forces under Major James F. Wilson made a surprise attack during a Christmas dinner gathering killing 35 confederate soldiers along with 60 civilians including women and children, families of the confederate soldiers and neighbors. Col. Timothy Reeves is said to have commanded the Confederate forces who began immediate reprisals against the union forces which culminated in the execution of Major Wilson.

After 150 years the validity of this story and whether the massacre did indeed take place is still hotly debated on countless websites. The complete truth of the incident will probably never be known, but there is much evidence to support the belief that the event did take place. There are even references to it carved on some confederate tombstones in the Ripley County area.

His brother, William, also a baptist minister as well as his adjutant in the 15th Missouri Cavalry, may have died during the war for there is no historical record of him afterward.

In May of 1865 Confederate General M. Jeff Thompson surrendered 10,000 men at Jacksonport, Arkansas. Out of those 10,000 men, only one was not paroled - Confederate Colonel, Timothy Reeves, Commander of the 15th Missouri Cavalry, CSA. Thompson wrote that:

"In a few days we finished all the paroles, except that of Timothy C. Reeves, whom Col. Davis would not agree to parole, considering him outlawed for the shooting of Major Williams (Major Wilson, this was a misprint) and five men on the Price Raid; but I must state for Col. Reeves, that he was as good a man and soldier as any in the command, and his shooting of that party was entirely justifiable.."

From all accounts Timothy Reeves lived the remainder of his life in peace, preferring to be known only as a minister. When he died on March 10, 1885 three wives and most of his children had predeceased him.