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.

A Reeves' Fiction - Fortune Rhodes

The myth that William Reeves, the son of James Reeves of Guilford County, North Carolina, married a "Fortune Rhodes" seems to have begun with Reliques of the Rives (Ryves) by James Rives Childs and published in 1929. In Reliques Part II Appendix A on Page 704, William Reeves, ID 4212, is listed as marrying Fortune, daughter of John Rhodes.

When the Reeves Review II by Mrs. Emma Barrett Reeves was published in 1982, the folly escalated and William Reeves, the son of James, was listed with Fortune Rhodes as his first wife and a Milly whose maiden name was unlisted as a second wife. This William Reeves was supposedly the same person of that name who died in Madison County, Kentucky in 1821. The William Reeves of Madison County, Kentucky was, in fact, from a completely different family and DNA lineage.

The Reeves Review also included another William Reeves in the Reeves family of Guilford County, North Carolina and listed him as a son of James Reeves' son Malachi and his wife Fortune whose maiden name was incorrectly stated as "Burton". This second William Reeves, son of Malachi, with wife Hannah was said to have died in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1816 where there is a will for a William Reeves with wife Hannah recorded.

Since the family of James Reeves was not part of the same Rives family from which James Rives Childs descends, it is unlikely that the research included in Reliques for this family is his own. It is far more likely that this information was submitted to him for inclusion in his publication which may also have been the case with the Reeves Review II.

Regardless of the source of Fortune Rhodes' inclusion in these books, research of the available primary source documents of this family reveal the absurdity of this Reeves' family lore.

The truth of Fortune Rhodes -

Fortune, the wife of Malachi Reeves, was incorrectly identified as the daughter of Richard Burton of Guilford County based upon legacies left to three Reeves' grandchildren in his will. Those were, in fact, the children of Malachi and Fortune Reeves' son Thomas Reeves. When Thomas Reeves died, his widow Elizabeth Reeves was granted the administration of his estate in Guilford County, February Court 1795. On 26 Apr 1796, his widow Elizabeth Reeves married Elias Simons in Guilford County. Elizabeth Simons was named by Richard Burton as his daughter in his 1799 will and the Reeves grandchildren, Richard, Thomas and Martha Reeves, are the children of Elizabeth Burton and Thomas Reeves. Richard Burton DID NOT name a daughter, Fortune, in his will. He named Elizabeth Simons, Mary Mileham and Dorcas Bourton (Burton).

The wife of James Reeves' son William was Hannah as evidenced by a deed dated 1 Apr 1784 recorded in Guilford County, NC Deed Bk 3, Pages 95-96 which named his wife as Hannah. In another deed dated 22 Nov 1791, William and his mother Millicent sold 320 acres to Samuel Mileham. The deed noted that this was the plantation conveyed by James Reeves' Will unto his Son & wife "the said William Reeves & Milley Reeves". Hannah Reeves, wife of William, signed the deed as well. James Reeves' will had stipulated that “I will and bequeath to my son William Reeves the Plantation and Land I now live on to be his whole and sole property at the death of my beloved Wife Melissent and not before”. The terms of the will prevented William from selling the plantation without his mother's consent since it was her property as long as she lived. That deed is also signed by William's wife Hannah presumably relinguishing her dower rights. William's mother Milly's inclusion in this deed is probably the source of the confusion regarding William having had an additional wife named Milly.

James Reeves' son William was incorrectly identified in the Reeves Review as the son of Fortune and Malachi Reeves. Based upon research of the probate, deeds and other records of Guilford County, there is no record that William Reeves, ID 212.iv in the Reeves Review, with wife Hannah Smith, listed as a child of Malachiah and Fortune Reeves existed. Among all the deeds by Fortune Reeves conveying property to their sons after Malachi's death, there are NO deeds to a son, William. This William also supposedly died in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1816. The William Reeves who died in Wilkes County, Georgia in 1816 is undoubtably William Reeves, the son of James Reeves who was the only William Reeves living in Guilford County circa 1780 to 1800 with a wife Hannah. The only reference to an unidentified William Reeves was in the will of John Rhodes which then must be William, the son of James Reeves. The will lists no bequest to the wife of William Reeves and daughter of John Rhodes but neither is there a bequest to his son John Rhodes, Jr., yet both William Reeves and John Rhodes, Jr. (with their relationships stated) are named in the will as Executors.

After Malachi Reeves' death in 1784, his widow, Fortune Reeves, married John Rhodes, father-in-law of William Reeves the son of James, in 1788. Fortune is named as the wife of John Rhodes in his 1791 will which also states that Malychia (sic Malachi) Reeves was her former husband.

And thus began the incredible fiction of Fortune Rhodes which should serve as a cautionary tale in the use of abstracted documents rather than a full transcription when publishing - in print or on the world wide web.

Another of the Reeves' Mysteries

One of the recurring mysteries of Reeves' research is John Reeves who is first found in Granville County, North Carolina living among the descendants of William Reeves who died there in 1751. The Reeves Review II as well as other internet sources list John as a son of this William Reeves but he is not listed in William's will which even lists family members who were essentially excluded from receiving any legacy. 

Grave of Thompson Reeves

The Reeves Review also assumed that the John Reeves who is found in Pendleton, South Carolina in the later part of the 18th century is the same John Reeves found in Granville County in the 1755 tax lists with a son Thomas. The John Reeves of Pendleton, SC appears to be far too young from age estimates in census records to have been the John of the 1755 tax lists. This John Reeves appears as an adult in Granville tax lists of the 1780's living in the same area with Jonathan Reeves, the son of Malachi, and usually in a residence close to John Hooker, Jonathan's father-in-law. Burgess Reeves, son of William Reeves of Granville, left North Carolina at approximately the same time that John Reeves did for they are both recorded in the 1790 census of Pendleton District, South Carolina. John Reeves is listed in that census with 1 male over 16, 5 males under 16 and 4 females. 

Again in Pendleton District, the census of 1800 lists John Reeves' household as: Males - 4 under 10; 2 10-15; 2 16-25; 1 over 45 (total of 8 sons); Females - 1 under 10; 1 10-15; 1 16-25; 1 26-44. Little is known of John's wife other than her given name Sarah. In an 1804 Pendleton SC Deed from John Reeves to Benjamin Fuller, Sarah Reeves relinquished her dower rights.  There is also a family bible that belonged to Frederick Reeves listing his father as John and mother as Sarah.

By 1809, John Reeves is recorded as a Taxpayer of Jackson County, Georgia. Undocumented family lore tells that John Reeves was killed by indians after migrating to Georgia.  John Reeves died before Sept. of 1818 for Burgess Reeves and Andrew Boyd were granted letters of administration in Jackson County, Georgia for the estate of John Reeves on 7 Sep 1818.

By the 1820 census in Gwinnett County, Georgia, eight Reeves male individuals are found - John Reeves, 26-44; Frederick Reeves, 26-44; Jonathan Reeves, 26-44; Loftin Reeves, 26-44; Malachi Reeves, 26-44; Isaac Reeves, 16-25; Burgess Reeves, 16-25; and Thompson Reeves, 16-25. After 1850 when census records include place of birth, the older of these individuals list their birth place as North Carolina while the younger list South Carolina. It may be mere coincidence that eight Reeves' males left South Carolina before 1820 and eight Reeves' males arrived in Gwinnett County, Georgia before that date, but the records of both Pendleton, South Carolina and Gwinnett, Georgia need to be researched in the most minute detail in order to either rule out or establish a connection between these Reeves. 

Fanny Reeves who married Andrew Boyd in Jackson County, Georgia in 1811 is likely one of John Reeves' daughters as they are found in the same neighborhood of Gwinnett County in 1820 only a few households from John, Burgess and Jonathan Reeves.  Additionally Andrew had been an administrator of John Reeves' estate as well.

Descendants of these eight proposed sons of John Reeves who have participated in the Reeves DNA Project have all been placed in DNA Group 3 with other descendants of William Reeves of Granville confirming a family connection.

  (Photo by "Bud" for FindAGrave.)

William Reeves of York County, South Carolina

William Reeves who died in York, SC in 1821 was believed to be William Reeves, Jr., son of William Reeves who died in Granville County, North Carolina in 1751. This appears to have been based upon the book The Reeves Review II but seems unrealistic since William Reeves, Jr. would have been approximately 110 years old when he died in 1821 in York County, South Carolina if that were the case. Although that is not impossible, it is certainly unlikely and extremely unusual.

William Reeves, Jr., son of William who died in Granville NC in 1751, is found in the deed records of Edgecombe County from around 1728 until 28 Jun 1758 along with his wife, Hardy. He is last mentioned there in a deed from Samuel Hardy to Thomas Jackson, both of Edgecombe (Halifax) County, which references land adjoining William Reeves and Persimmon Tree Creek. There is no further documentation regarding William Reeves, Jr. and certainly none that record him with any other wife than Hardy whose maiden name is unknown.

William Reeves, Jr. witnessed a Bertie County NC deed from Ralph Mason to his father, William Reeves circa 1728/29. The required age to witness a deed in North Carolina at that time was 14, accordingly William Reeves, Jr. would have been born before 1714. Additionally, in the 1782 tax lists of the Fishing Creek District of Granville County, his brother Malachi Reeves is noted as "Aged" or over 60, whereas William Reeves is not. It is far more likely that a generation was missed and the William Reeves with wife Elizabeth who died in York, South Carolina was a son or nephew of William Reeves, Jr., born circa 1710.

William Reeves, Jr. described as "of Edgecombe County" deeded land to his brother Malachi in 1753 which appears to be the last transaction that definitely pertains to him in Granville County.

The bulk of the documentation found in Granville County regarding this particular William Reeves indicates that he was the son of Malachi Reeves. Malachi was listed with 3 tithes in 1755 in Granville County - himself, William and the negro Jackson. Again in the 1762 tax lists of the Fishing Creek District, sons William and Jonathan are listed with Malachi.

William Reeves received pay for 12 days service in the Granville County Militia under Colonel Robert Harris on March 24, 1769. William Reeves, Jr. would have been approximately 60 years old at this time and it’s doubtful, although not impossible, that he would have served in the militia.

He was listed as a taxpayer in Granville County along with Malachi in 1769 and again in 1771. In 1788, William was a taxpayer in Tabb’s Creek District, Granville County. In August of that year, he and Joseph Hays were added to the hands of Avery Parham to oversee the Bankes Road in Granville County. Again, although not impossible, highly unlikely that an individual approximately 70 years old would be assigned the duties of maintenance on a road crew.

The eight children of William and Elizabeth Reeves as documented in York County Probate Records, Case Nbr. 45, File 1904 (William) and Will Book F, Pgs 225-226 (Elizabeth) are:

1. Hardy Reeves
2. Mary Reeves, m. William Thomasson
3. Willis Reeves
4. Wiley Reeves
5. Tabitha Reeves, m. James B. Glover
6. Elizabeth Reeves, m1. Unknown Glover, m2. James Gaulden, m3. James B. Glover
7. William Reeves, Jr.
8. Lucy Reeves, m. William Glover

Exhaustive research of the Granville County NC tax and deed records, only yield one individual named William Reeves during the years 1755 through 1800 and that person was William Reeves, the son of Malachi Reeves, and it was he who relocated to York County, South Carolina around 1800.

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.)

Vanished

A Jonathan Reeves is listed on the 1790 Wake County census as head of a household that consists of 2-5-4-0-0-11 (2 males over 16, 5 males under 16, 4 females and 11 head of cattle). The 1793 Wake County tax list shows him with 200 acres and 2 white poles. He was living in an area close to the family of William Reeves in the neighborhood of the Fish Dam on the Neuse River, but is not a member of that family since neither he nor his heirs are mentioned in the probate records for William Reeves recorded in Madison County, Kentucky in 1821.

He is undoubtably the son of Malachi Reeves for he had been listed as a tithe of Malachi's in the 1769 Granville County NC Tax records. After his marriage to Nancy Hooker in Granville County in 1769, he was listed as a taxpayer in the Tabbs Creek area along with his father in 1771, then in the 1780's he is found on the tax lists of the Beaverdam Creek District of southern Granville County just a few miles north of the Fishdam area of Wake County.


Jonathan Reeves died sometime in late 1797 or early 1798 for an estate sale and settlement of the estate is recorded in the Wake County probate records, Will Book 4 at Page 114, in March of 1798. There are no guardian records in the Wake County probate records for underage children of Jonathan Reeves after his death which would indicate that his children were all over the age of fourteen. His widow and children appear to have left Wake County shortly after his death because there is no hint of them in the 1800 census.

The three daughters and six sons of Jonathan Reeves appear to have simply vanished, leaving Wake County and blending into the countless unidentified Reeves of the southern United States in the early 19th century. The marriage records of Wake County through the 1790's provide few clues, but when Ruth Reeves married John Sanders there on 15 Sep 1795, Avery Reeves was bondsman for the marriage. Neither Ruth nor Avery are members of the other Reeves or Reavis families located in Wake County at that time.

After a short stay in York County, South Carolina around 1810 where other members of the Reeves' family of Granville County had migrated, Avery Reeves is found in Franklin County, Tennessee in the 1820 and 1830 census. John Sanders who married Ruth Reeves, probable sister of Avery, had also migrated to Franklin County and is only a few households from Avery Reeves in the 1830 census. Avery apparently died between 1830 and 1840 for there is no mention of him in any records after that time.

The census records above list Avery with several sons although no documentation has currently been found to positively identify them. Hance Henderson Reeves who is found in Franklin County census starting in 1840 is very likely his son as is William Reeves who is shown in census as being born in North Carolina in 1795. A descendant of Hance Henderson Reeves has been placed in DNA Group 3 of the Reeves DNA Project which identifies him as being of the same lineage as the Reeves of Granville County, North Carolina.

If Avery and Ruth Reeves are in fact children of Jonathan's, that still leaves two daughters and five sons who have yet to be identified. When you happen upon a mysterious Reeves whose origins you just can't find, don't forget to explore the records of this family, they might just be one of the missing children of Jonathan and Nancy Hooker Reeves.


(Photo of William Reeves' gravestone by Terri for Findagrave.)