Reeves, Judith
Summary
Father: (possibly) Thomas ReevesMother: Unknown
Birth: c. 1704, Richmond Co., VA
Birth Source: Estimated from Price William County Records
Death: c. October 1766, Prince William Co., VA
Death Source: Estimated from Prince William County Records
Spouse1: Thomas Davis (or Davies)
Spouse2: William Barr
Narrative
Judith and Thomas Davis are believed to have been the parents of:1. Thomas Davis, born c. 1732, Prince William Co., VA.
2. William Davis, born c. 1734, Prince William Co., VA.
On February 25, 1728/29 Thomas Davis of Stafford received a grant for 370 acres on the branches of the Occoquan adjoining William Bland and William Champ (Northern Neck Land Grants, Book B, page 185).
On September 12, 1730 Thomas Davis received a grant for 211 acres on the lower side of Bull Run and on Buckhall Branch, adjoining lands of George Reeves (Northern Neck Land Grants, Book C, page 69).
On July 7, 1731 Thomas Davis received a grant for 250 acres on the south side of Bull Run, adjoining Joshua Davis, Arrington, George Reeves and others (Northern Neck Land Grants, Book C, page 185).
Prince William County, Virginia, Deeds, 1731-1732, Liber A, pp. 137-138, shows that on 17 November 1731 George Reeves of Hamilton Parish in Prince William County deeded, "for naturall love and affection....unto my dear and well beloved friend Thomas Davies of same, mason and bricklayer....113 a.... branch of Bull Run and branches of Buckhall....part of tract of 941 a....granted George Reeves by Proprietors Office dated Feb. 24, 1728" The deed also mentions five pounds consideration. The land was described as adjacent property owned by Howsin Hoe. George Reeves signed the deed with James Miller and William Rice as witnesses. The deed was acknowledged on 17 November 1731 in open court, at which time Ann, wife of George Reeves, relinquished her dower.
Subsequent Prince William County records document a close association between George Reeves and John Reeve and Thomas and Judith Davies/Davis and her second husband, William Barr. Although David began life as a mason and bricklayer, he became a wealthy and prominent citizen of Prince William County; following his death, Judith's second husband, also prominent, used the description "Gentleman" in certain legal records.
On May 30, 1739 Thomas Davis received a grant for 300 acres adjoining his own lands (Northern Neck Land Grants, Book E, page 83). On 27 August 1739, Thomas Davies of Prince William County, Parish of Hamilton, deeded for love & effection which I have to Margret Evans of same....and for 600 lbs. of tob....land on John Reeve's Mill Br....land belonging to a tract of 300 a. which was gr. to me by deed from the Proprietors Office. The deed was signed by Thomas Davies and wife Judith and witnessed by Elizabeth (E) Buchanan and Mary (M) Bland. (Prince William Co., VA, DB D, pp. 204-205.) (Note that this seems to be the land Thomas had been granted on 30 May 1739; Margaret is believed to have been the widow of John Davis who died in Prince William in 1738 (Will Book C, pp. 156-157).
On 21-22 July 1740, Thomas Davies deeded to William Bird of Richmond County 200 acres on Loghouse Branch and Huckleberry Pond (Prince William Co., VA, DB E, pp. 7-10.) His wife Judith acknowledged the deed and released her dower right on 28 July 1740. On 19-20 April 1741, he deeded land adjacent this tract to John Booth of Richmond County (Prince William Co., VA, DB E, pp. 225-227.) John Bohannon, James Owen, and Thomas Young witnessed. Davies's wife Judith acknowledged the deed and released her dower right on 27 August 1741. On 28 September 1741, "Thomas Davice and Judith his wife" deeded to Charles Wright of Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, 250 acres on the north side of Occoquon joining Reeve's Mill Branch and land owned by Reeves, Stribling, Florence, and Bland. Taylor Chapman, Benjamin Rush, and Peter Daniel witnessed. (Prince William Co., VA, Deed Book E, pp. 466-471.) On 25 September 1741, Thomas Davies deeded to Sarah Rogers 133 acres on Buckhall Branch joining George Reeves; Uriah Haynie and Betty Rogers witnessed. (Prince William Co., VA, DB E, p. 472.)
As Thomas Davis, he was taxed near George Reeves on the 1747 Prince William Co., VA, Tithables List for Dettingen Parish.
On 26 February 1753, deeds of lease and release from Thomas Davies and John Johnson to John Oldham were acknowledged in court, and Judith and Susanna, wives of the two men, released their dower rights. (Prince William Co., VA, Court Minutes, 1752-1753, p. 96.) Thomas Davis died not long after making this deed, probably in mid-1753. Thomas's will has been lost, but a deed dated 24 August 1761 and a court order dated 6 April 1779 indicates that he left lands to his grandsons Thomas and David Davis (Prince William Co., VA, Deed Book P, p. 103-105; Prince William Co., VA, Deed Book U, p.47).
Following his death, Judith Davis married William Barr, a local school teacher, as her second husband. William Barr lived in the neighborhood where George Reeves and Thomas Davies lived and was a teacher for a time in the neighborhood school. On 28 Dec 1755 George Reeves and others were ordered by the Prince William County court to determine the most convenient route for a road that was to run from "the schoolhouse where William Barr formerly taught" to Bull Run. Later, on 28 May 1755, William Barr was the plaintiff in a suit against Thomas Reeves for assault and battery. Reeves was granted special imparlance; there was no further mention of the case in the order book. On 22 September 1755, William took the oath required to become a military officer in Prince William County.
Sometime after Thomas Davies' death in mid-1753, William Barr married Judith Davies (a marginal note on the 1751 reissue of George Reeves' deed to Thomas Davies indicates, "Delv Wm Barr 6 December 1755"). On 26 Jan 1756, William made two motions regarding appointments of persons appropriate for determining appropriate routes for roads to originate from his property. In March 1756, William received an allowance of 160 pounds of tobacco from the General Assembly for militia service (reported in Hening's Statutes at Large). On 7 March 1757, he produced a certificate to the Prince William County court, and it was ordered to be certified to the Assembly. Later, on 29 Jan 1760, he was the plaintiff in a trespass case against William Davis (presumably William Davis, Jr., who may have been Thomas Davies' nephew); Davis was granted special imparlance until next court, when — on 26 August 1761 — Davis pled "not guilty." A trial was ordered, and the case was continued on 2 October 1761 and 7 July 1762, when the jury ruled for Barr, assessing damages at one penny. On 23 Mar 1761, William posted bond for Jemima Hewitt, administratrix of William Hewitt (another frequent associate of the families of George Reeves and John Reeve. On 25 May 1761, William served (along with one of the John Reeveses) on a grand jury. He is mentioned in as a plaintiff in a trespass case on 9 July 1762 and, as William Barr, Gent., was sworn as lieutenant in the county militia on 10 September 1762. On 2 May 1763, he gave permission to clear a road from Bull Run to Occoquan, and on 5 March 1764 Benjamin Wickliffe of Fairfax County acknowledged a bond for 100 pounds to William Barr, the amount to be paid if Wickliffe did not protect Barr in his role as security for Jemima Hewitt, the administratrix of William Hewitt's estate.
On 7 October 1766, William Barr was named as executor of the will of Judith Barr, former wife of Thomas Davis/Davies. On 3 November 1766, Isaac Davis, brother of the William Davis who had been sued by William Barr earlier and who had been named as co-executor (with Judith) of Thomas Davies' will, appeared before the court and indicated his refusal to act as executor. On 2 June 1767, William Barr was appointed executor of Thomas Davies' estate with will annexed.
At some point after Judith Davis Barr died in 1766, William Barr seems to have remarried to a woman named Rebecca; he apparently was deceased by 2 November 1772, although it is not entirely clear that the William who had died by 2 November 1772 was Judith's widower.
Research Notes
Judith has not been proven to have been a Reeves before her marriage to Thomas Davies. Her identification is based upon the long, sustained relationship between George Reeves and John Reeve and Judith and her husbands, Thomas Davis/Davies and William Barr. The terminology of the 17 November 1731 deed "for naturall love and affection...unto my dear and well beloved friend Thomas Davies" suggests a close family connection that seems to be supported by subsequent actions of the individuals concerned between 1731 and Judith's death in 1766.One Thomas Davys had been a neighbor of Thomas Reeves in Lancaster Co., VA. The parentage of the Thomas who married Judith is unclear; he is believed to have had brothers William and John, who also lived in Prince William County. On 26 November 1739, Peter Hedgmann deeded land in Stafford County to Thomas, William, and John Daviss, sons of Thomas Daviss (Prince William Co., VA, Deed Book D). It is not clear whether the senior Thomas in this deed refers to Thomas, husband of Judith, or to his father.
Sources
1747 Prince William Co., VA, Tithables ListPrince William Co., VA, Court Orders
Prince William Co., VA, Wills
Judith's profile has been created largely based upon the primary source research of Lois Downey in Prince William Co., VA, legal records.