Settlers in Kansas Territory

After the death of their father, Terrell and Gaston Reves settled in the new Kansas Territory as soon as it was opened for settlement. Their father William was one of the sons of George Reeves (Reves) of Grayson County, Virginia. William and his extended family had left Ashe County, North Carolina around 1822 and after a time in Indiana, eventually settled in Carroll County, Arkansas by about 1840. There William and these sons along with their brothers Lenoir and John were recorded in census and tax records. After William's death sometime between 1840 and 1850, various members of the family are recorded on the tax lists of Independence County, Arkansas throughout the 1850's along with another brother, William H. Reves, who was a Baptist minister.

Excerpt from 1866 Map of Kansas

Gaston Reves along with his oldest sons Albert and Moses (Mack) were listed on the tax lists of Independence County in 1854 which was the final record for members of Gaston's family in Arkansas. The History of Verdigris Township in Historical Atlas of Wilson County Kansas records that "Gaston Reeves and his son Max (sic Mack) took claims in the spring of 1857".

Terrell Reeves was recorded on the 1856 tax lists of Independence County which apparently preceded his migration to Kansas for the history of Greenwood County, Kansas lists the Pleasant Grove township as being established in 1856 by Terrill Reeves.

In those early years of Kansas' history, besides indian attacks, there was also great political unrest involving guerrilla warfare as the debate over the expansion of slavery led to violence in Kansas. The bad weather, bad crops and destruction of crops and property by the opposing forces often offset the sense of prosperity that had fueled the rush of settlers to the newly opened territory. A large number of settlers left the territory after the bitter winter of 1856 and many experienced starvation effecting themselves and their animals caused by a severe drought in 1860.

Bill for coffin of Gaston Reves son of Terrell

The records do not reveal the causes of their deaths, but over the next five years, Terrell and three of his sons as well as his brother Gaston and his oldest son Albert were deceased. Terrell and his 21 year old son Gaston both died on the 4th of May, 1859 but the probate documents give no clue as to the cause. Although no probate documents have been discovered for his brother Gaston, all of his children were orphans living in the home of A. Venard, a probate court judge in Greenwood County in the 1860 census. Over the next decade the majority of the rest of the children from both families had also died.

Although I never doubted that pioneer life was hard and extremely dangerous, researching the story of these young families and their westward migration which ended so soon after their arrival in southeastern Kansas Territory has both surprised and saddened me. Even as my various families migrated out of Virginia and North Carolina into the wilderness that existed in early Kentucky, Tennessee and other newly formed states, I had just never discovered such hardship and death.


See post in this blog about William Reeves of Grayson County, Virginia and Ashe County, North Carolina

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

Another Mystery: William C Reeves of Independence County Arkansas

The family of Jordan Reeves Jr appeared in Independence County in 1825. William C Reeves first appears there in 1834, so I would naturally want to determine whether he is of the Jordan Reeves clan. I have found little to nothing to connect him -- his origins remain unknown.

Records for William C Reeves in Independence County are sparse. This much is known:

He first appears in an 1834 Arkansas tax list in Black River Township, Independence County.

The next record of him is his marriage to Martha Ann Tucker on 31 July 1836 in Independence County, Arkansas. Entries in marriage records are variously spelled as Rives, Reeves, and Reves. The marriage was announced in the Arkansas Gazette on August 23, 1836, per arkansasties.com:

MARRIED,
In Independence county, on the 31st ult. by Hon. Wm. Arnold, Capt. Wm. C. Reans [sic], to Miss Martha Ann Tucker, daughter of Peyton Tucker, Esq.

The title "Capt" would seem to imply military service.

William had died by the April 1840 term of the Independence County probate court when the administrator of his estate, Peyton Tucker, petitioned the court to discharge his duties as executor, having found assets totaling $84. The same petition states that William C Reaves left a widow and one child.

His widow Martha Reeves appears in the 1840 census age 20-29 with one male < 5, one male 15-19, one female 10-14. The two older children are not likely to be Martha's. Their parents are unknown.

Oddly, the 1850 census records identify a daughter Sarah A Reeves, born about 1838, and living with her mother who is remarried to William Hooper. No male child has been found. Sarah A Reeves, born about 1838 in Arkansas, married Adam Allen on 23 Feb 1860.

While William Reeves and Jordan Reeves both lived in Black River Township at the same time, it was a large area and we know that proximity is no indicator of a relationship. William Reeves mother-in-law (step-mother of Martha Tucker) was a Magness and Jordan Reeves was married to a Magness. However, in that period, it would have hard not to have a Magness connection, especially in that sparsely populated area.

The Reeves of Christian County, Kentucky: Part 3

There was still another Reeves line in early Christian County Kentucky: Miles Reeves is first seen in records there in the 1810 Federal Census with two males under 10, two males 16-25, one male over 45 (Miles Reaves), two females under 10, one female 10-15, and one female over 45 (his wife Ann). He has not been found in any 1790 or 1800 census anywhere. His origins are unknown.

The Reeves found in the 1800 Christian Co Kentucky census, James, John, Martha, William, and William Jr. (see Part 2 of the Christian County Kentucky Reeves post), do not have any apparent ties to Miles nor do James Reeves of the 1810 census and James and Thomas of the 1830 census.

Miles’s birth date and birth location are not known; however, based on the 1810 census age, he was likely born by 1765. His children, according to census records were born in both North and South Carolina, with the youngest born in Kentucky in 1812.

The first record we have on Miles Reves is when in Lancaster County, South Carolina, on 8 March 1788, he received a wolf bounty. So far, no records have been found between this time and his appearance in Kentucky more than twenty years later.

Records of Miles’s eldest son Joseph suggest the family was in Christian County by 1809 when Joseph first appears in a tax list.

Miles died in 1821. His will establishes the names of his children: Joseph Reaves, Sally Griffey, John Reaves, Elizabeth Thweatt, Miles Reaves, Ruth Reaves, Robert Reaves, Milberry Reaves, and William Reaves.

After Miles’s widow Anne died between 1841 and 1843, Miles’s estate was inventoried and settled. The estate settlement document establishes that John Reaves had died, leaving as orphans Mahala, Clinton, and a third child who was not named. The same document also states that Miles Jr is deceased, leaving orphans William R Reeves and Chapman Reeves. Chapman Reeves is often attributed to a different father in online trees, but he was actually Miles Jr's son.

Some of Miles Reeves's descendants believe that he was a son of Jordan Reeves Sr, who is of the Reeves Group 8 DNA line. DNA analysis has shown that this is not the case; one of Miles’s descendants has tested with DNA that closely matches Hatchers and Burtons and which does not match any other Reeves who have participated in the Reeves DNA project.

A relationship to Jordan Reeves was presumed on minimal information.

• Miles’s 1844 estate sale included a slave named Jordan, but Jordan was born ten years after Miles died.

• Several sons of Miles Reeves came to Independence County Arkansas (one in 1837 and two about 1844/1845) as did Jordan Reeves Jr who was in Independence County by 1825. There is a large time gap between Jordan Jr’s arrival and the arrivals of Miles’s sons. They lived in different parts of the county, and no records have turned up linking Jordan Jr to any of Miles’s sons. Proximity is no indicator of a relationship in this case.

• One mysterious item that contributed to the Miles-Jordan myth is a crumbling 1905 appointment notebook belonging to Dr. Marshall Calloway Reves of Searcy County Arkansas, a great-grandson of Miles Reeves. The notebook claims that Miles’s father was Jordan Reeves who had two sons: Miles and Joel; no other of Jordan's numerous sons, including Jordan Jr, were named. No documentary evidence has ever been found linking Miles to Jordan Reeves Jr or Jordan Reeves Sr, nor is it known how accurate the transcription of the notebook is. No other "Jordan Reeves" have ever been identified.
  

Many descendents of Miles Reeves used the spelling Reves while others stayed with Reeves. Miles's surname is variously spelled Reeves, Reaves, Rives, and Reves depending on the document.

The Hatcher/Burton DNA results indicate that research into these surnames might be fruitful.

Many thanks to Margaret Harlow who provided a great deal of research on Miles Reeves.

Teressa Jane Reeves Henderson

Long ago, in Little Rock, I had the not so common privilege of actually knowing my great-grandmother. I called her Gambau; my mother and her siblings called her Mamau Henderson. She was born Teressa Jane Reeves in 1879 in Newark, Independence County, Arkansas, a great-granddaughter of Jordan Reeves Jr and Mary Magness, early settlers of that location.

Physically, Tressie was a tiny person. I surpassed her in height by the time I was ten years old. I was fascinated by her pierced earlobes, which hung nearly to her shoulders (or so I thought) from decades of wearing heavy earrings. She swept her long white hair up in a bun that she wore on top of her head. In every picture I've ever seen of her, starting with this one as a young mother, until she died at age 79, her hairstyle was the same, her hair color being the indicator of time passing. A sturdy farm woman, she wore throughout her life the same calico cotton dresses made of feedsacks with button front, inset midriff or belt, and flared skirt ending just above her ankles. I have no doubt that she made those dresses herself, the sewing gene being deeply ingrained in me and my maternal line.

In 1896, Tressie married Johnny C Henderson, a man of diminutive stature, only slightly taller than she was. and had five children, four of whom survived to adulthood. Breaking with tradition, none of her children bore family names: Eula, Opal (a boy), Maudie (my grandmother), Beuna, and Rene (a boy), all names not used (thankfully) before or since in the family.

In this five generation picture taken in 1939, Tressie is second from the left. Tressie died in Little Rock in 1959. The child is my cousin Johnny.