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Reeves, John (c1750 ? - 1833 GA)

John Reeves

Reeve(s), John


Summary

Father: Thomas Reeve
Mother: Unknown

Birth: c1750, location unknown
Birth Source: Confirmed as Revolutionary War Soldier, age estimated based upon that knowledge and the 1830 census

Death: abt Nov 1833, Columbia County, Georgia
Death Source: 1832 Will WB W p. 304-306, Probated 25 Nov 1833

Spouse1: Unknown, m. c1775, died before 1795
Spouse2: Sarah McNeil Glover (daughter of Daniel McNeil, Sr.), m. 17 Nov 1795 in Columbia County, Georgia
Spouse3: Allethea MacGruder Drane, m. 4 Jan 1813 in Columbia County, Georgia



Narrative

Children of John Reeve(s) and unknown wife:
  1. Susannah Reeves, b. 1778 (1784?), m. Elias Baggett before 1800
  2. Sarah Reeves, b. c1780, m. Michael Englett
  3. John Reeve, b. 1789 Georgia, d. Feb 1867 in Amite County, Mississippi
  4. Rebecca Reeves, m. Unknown Harden
Children of John Reeve(s) and Sarah McNeil:
  1. Thomas Reeves, b. 1798
  2. Mary Polly Reeves, b. 1800, m. James Harden 1818
Probate documents in Amite, MS regarding the 1867 estate of John Reeve who died without heirs, clarify the children born to John Reeve's first two wives. They name the heir of his sister Rebecca Harden, dec'd, Nancy Adkins. Also named are any heirs of his sisters Susannah Baggett, dec'd and Sarah Englett, dec'd. Thomas Reeve, dec'd, is indicated as his half-brother. Thomas' heirs are mentioned as being in Louisiana and Texas. John Reeve also named Polly Harden as his half-sister.

Thomas Reeve has been established as John's father based upon the following publication of the Augusta Chronicle (published under original name, Georgia Gazette): 21 April 1787:
"Whereas John Reeve, Son, hath applied to me for letters of administration on the estate and effects of Thomas Reeve, late of this county, deceased, these are therefore to cite and admonish all and singular the kindred and creditors of the said deceased, to be and appear before me, at my office, on the 21st day of May next, and shew cause, if any there be, why letters of administration should not be granted."

John Reeves received 2 land grants in Washington County, Georgia in 1785 and 2 subsequent grants in Columbia County. Spencer Reeves of Columbia County who was undoubtedly another son of Thomas Reeve also received land grants in Washington County and in Richmond County, Georgia. Sarah Reeve, identified in as Spencer Reeve's mother in an 1822 deed, also received a grant for 200 acres in October of 1787.

John Reeve(s) must have lived in South Carolina prior to settling in Georgia. The 1850 Monroe Co., GA, census shows that John's daughter Susannah Baggett was born in South Carolina. Although the census gives her age as 66 (hence born c. 1784), the Baggett family Bible indicated that she died in 1854 aged 76 (hence born c. 1778). This would be consistent with John Reeve(s) having lived in Camden District, South Carolina, perhaps with father Thomas and uncles John and Moses, for a period prior to settling in Georgia.

John purchased land in 1789 in what became Columbia County:
  • 1789, 17 January: Philip and Rachel Upton to John Rives, for 100 pounds paid by John Rives, land in Richmond County on waters of Great Kiokia, 200 acres, bounded by William Dranes (NW), William Waltons (W), Joshua Fullers (S), granted to said Upton… Wit: Waltr. Drane, William Drane, Nancy Upton. (Columbia Co., GA, DB B, p. 2236, in Lucas, Some Georgia County Records, 1: 33.)

John was in Columbia County in 1793 when he witnessed a deed with member of the Drane family:
  • 1793, 22 August: John Reeve, William Hoge, and Walter Drane, JP, witness deed from James Bailey to Sarah Glover, 100 acres, Kioka Creek, 500 pounds, adj. Roger Qualls (Columbia Co., GA, DB B, 362-364, in Lucas, Some Georgia County Records, 1: 40.)

John was guardian for his two Glover stepchildren in 1797:
  • 1797, 5 October: Orphans Nancy and Cassandra Glover “put in custody of John Reeves” with Walter Drane and William Hoge as bondsmen.

His wife Sarah Reeves died 26 May 1812, leaving husband and children according to an obituary published in the Mirror of the Times, 1 Jun 1812.

John also had a large family of stepchildren following his remarriage to Allethea MacGruder Drane, widow of Walter Drane, in 1813. There were no children born during his third marriage to Allethea MacGruder Drane, who was approximately 60 years old when the couple married.

John's participation in the 1827 land lottery confirms that he was a Revolutionary soldier:
REVOLUTIONARY VETERAN: Reeves, John
RESIDENCE: Columbia County
LOTTERY: 1827
FORTUNATE DRAW: (Land Lot) 242, (District) 31
COUNTY (of Land Lot drawn): Lee County
GRANTED: 3/9/1830

John was a head of household in Columbia County, Georgia, in 1830, at which time he and wife Allethea were both shown as 70-80 years old. Son-in-law Elias Baggett was eight households away, with his wife Susannah shown as aged 50-60 (consistent with a birthdate prior to 1780). Several members of the Drane family also lived nearby.

On the original copy of his 1832 will as well as the marriage bond (attached) from his 1795 marriage to Sarah McNeill Glover, his name is signed "Reeve". His son, John who was living in Amite, MS by around 1820 and died there in 1867, also used the Reeve variation of the name as did his younger son Thomas.

This page has the following file(s) attached:-


Sources

Georgia, Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909 at Family Search
Georgia, County Marriages, 1785-1950 at Family Search
1820 Census - Columbia County, Georgia
Will Book W, p. 304-306, Columbia County, Georgia
Probate Records Vol. 29-30, Amite, MS, Estate of John Reeve
Mirror of the Times, 1 Jun 1812 (Georgia Marriages and Deaths 1763 To 1820)