Reeves Rancher Dies of Covid-19

This morning I came across an article in the Texas Tribune about Raymond Reeves who recently died at the age of 91 in the Texas Panhandle. Whenever I happen upon a gravestone, photo or other interesting information about a previously unknown Reeves' individual, I usually look to see if we have recorded them or their family in The Reeves Project. Finding no Raymond Reeves born in 1929 in Texas, I decided to do a little research to learn more about his ancestry.

Raymond Reeves

After a little sleuthing, I traced Raymond's family from Texas back to Alabama, then Georgia and found his earliest known ancestor to be John Reeves who died in Craven County, North Carolina in 1790.

Raymond descends from John Reeves' son Jesse Tinion Reeves of Hancock County, Georgia. A lot of research has been done to find John Reeves' origins and his father appears to be John Reeves of St. Mary's County, Maryland who migrated to North Carolina circa 1760.  Although there is currently no documentation of the relationship, the Y-DNA of a descendant of John Reeves matches that of other descendants of that Reeves' family.

Read the article which tells much about this Texas rancher's interesting life at The Texas Tribune

Thanks to the Texas Tribune for the photo above.

Another Reeves' Mystery Solved?

The origins of John Reeves who died in Craven County, North Carolina in 1790 have previously been a mystery but recent Y Chromosome DNA tests of a direct descendant have identified another Reeves with whom he shares 37 of 37 markers indicating a close family connection. See previous post Craven County's John Reeves from 2012. Not only is it exciting to finally find the origins of John Reeves of Craven County, but also to identify the DNA of the Reeves of Charles and St. Mary's Counties in Maryland. There was a large Reeves' presence in those counties during the 18th century yet this is the first time a descendant from that lineage has tested.

Southern Maryland
Charles and St. Mary's Counties

The Reeves' individual who is a 37/37 match to the descendant of John Reeves of Craven County descends from Josias Reeves who migrated to Ohio where he died in Pickaway County in 1841. Josias was the son of Thomas Reeves and Mary Murphy of Charles County, Maryland. This individual has not joined the Reeves DNA Project but when FtDNA's complete database was searched they were found to have the previously mentioned 37/37 match to the descendant of John Reeves' of Craven County NC.

John Reeves' will was written on the 13th of July in 1790 and he was deceased by September of that year when it was probated, leaving his wife Courtney, their two small children, Jestenon, Francis and another child that would be born after his death, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Reeves. Older children by a first wife are named in that will as Elizabeth Cheshire, Jean Reeves and Mary Wilson. The identity of his first wife is unknown but he married a second time to the widow Mrs. Courtney Taylor Reed sometime after 10 July 1783 when she made a purchase at the estate sale of Frederick Foster in Craven County, North Carolina as "Courtney Reed".

A St. Mary's County deed of 16 Nov 1772 between John Reeves and Justinian Jordan refers to John Reeves as “of Halifax County in the Colony of North Carolina but now in St. Mary's County in Maryland” has interested me since I happened upon it some years ago. The use of the unusual name "Jestenon" (sic Justinion ?) for his child seemed to be another indication of a connection between the John Reeves of Craven NC and John Reeves of Halifax NC/Charles MD. John Reeves was the son of Ubgate Reeves of Charles County and is found in numerous other documents along with Justinion Jordan. There is, however, no known family connection between the two individuals. The identity of John Reeves' first wife and children, if any, is also unknown. He had obviously removed from Charles County sometime after 1760 and was living in Halifax County in North Carolina. This deed appears to be one of the last references to John Reeves in the records of St. Mary's or Charles counties which may suggest that he returned to North Carolina where he died.

The 1763 St. Mary's County will of James Mills leaves the “plantation whereon John Reeves now lives” to his grandson John Jordan. James Mills also left 5000# of tobacco to Lydia Reeves but no relationship is stated. It is unknown whether this could be another daughter of James Mills who was married to John Reeves, possibly his first wife and the mother of the older children named in his will. John Reeves is found in numerous transactions with both the Mills and Jordan families in Charles and St. Mary's Counties.

Once again, DNA is a thrilling compliment to traditional genealogical research.

Craven County's John Reeves

A John Reeves whose origins are another of the many mysteries of Reeves' research, died in Craven County, North Carolina in September of 1790. He left a will written on July 13, 1790 naming wife, Courtney (incorrectly spelled "Coatney" in the will), older daughters from a prior marriage and the younger children born to he and Courtney after their marriage circa 1784. Courtney Taylor was the widow of James Reed who had died in 1782 in Craven County.

The will of John Reeves named his daughters Elizabeth Cheshire, Jean Reeves and Mary Wilson, in addition to Jestenon (Justinion, later called Jesse Tinion), Francis and "the child that my wife is big with now" (Lucius Reeves).

Several years ago a book, "The River Reeves" was written which details the descendants of John Reeves. At one time, a researcher involved with that project indicated to me that there had been some thought that this John Reeves was part of the Reeves' family of Wake County, North Carolina, but that is doubtful and seems to be based solely upon proximity. John Reeves of Craven County, unlike William Reeves of Wake County and his descendants as well as their close relatives in Grayson County, Virginia who descend from George Reeves, Sr. all spelled their names as Reves and were able to read and write. Later generations of the family began to use the more common variation "Reeves" but throughout the 18th century and until around 1850, they always spelled their name "Reves" although the same cannot be said of county clerks and census takers.

Courtney Reeves was listed in the 1790 census of Craven County, but within the next few years, she and the four children from her marriage to James Reed along with the Reeves children moved to Baldwin County, Georgia. In Georgia, Courtney drew land for her children in the land lottery. Courtney died in Hancock County, Georgia and her children eventually moved on to Alabama.

The only other Reeves found in Craven County during this time period is a Nancy Reeves for whose estate an inventory was filed in 1797. This Nancy Reeves' identity is unknown and no other Reeves are named in the estate documents.

Interestingly, in the course of my recent research of Reeves in Charles County, Maryland as discussed in a previous post, I found the 1772 deed for a tract of land referred to as Basford Manor in Charles County by John Reeves of Halifax County, North Carolina to Justinion Jordan of Charles County. John Reeves was the son of Upgate Reeves of Charles County and is found in numerous other documents along with Justinion Jordan. There is, however, no known family connection between the two individuals. The identity of John Reeves' spouse and children, if any, is also unknown. He had obviously removed from Charles County sometime after 1760 and was living in Halifax County in North Carolina where he is believed to have died although there is no documentation to that effect.

Could it be that the use of the name "Justinion" for his child indicates a connection between the John Reeves of Craven, NC and John Reeves of Halifax, NC/Charles, MD? We now have another enigma to add to the ever increasing list of mysteries to be solved.

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UPDATE to the story of John Reeves of Craven County NC - Another Reeves' Mystery Solved?