Reeves, William Thomas Pugh

Summary

Father: William John REEVES
Mother: Ann PUGH

Birth: May 1790
Birth Source: Baptism

Death:
Death Source:

Spouse1: Frances KENDALL
Spouse2: Anna Maria BOEREE

Narrative

William Thomas Pugh Reeves, the son of William John Reeves and Ann (nee PUGH), was baptised at the Parish Church of St Andrew, Holborn in the City of London on 09 June 1790. The baptismal register notes his date of birth in the previous month. The family were living on Holborn Bridge, in the City of London.

William Reeves married Frances KENDALL at the Parish Church of St Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, Surrey on 04 June 1809. The couple were married after the proclamation of Banns. It may be significant that they were married south of the River Thames in Bermondsey rather than closer to his parental home and business in the City of London. Both claiming to be "of this parish", William would have just turned nineteen when he married and therefore technically a minor needing parental consent, so being away from his parents may have been part of his plan. Neither of the witnesses who signed the marriage register was a Reeves.

They were divorced in 1813. A contemporary report (published in 1814) of the divorce proceeding held in the Arches Court, indicates the couple did not remain together very long after they married and that prior to the hearing William "yielded to their (his friends) recommendations to quit the country, and accordingly embarked for America, where he has remained ever since". There is no mention of there being any children from this marriage. See Research Note 2 below. Whether William did actually go to America has yet to be corroborated; it might just be that his family quietly hid him away whilst the divorce case progressed.
　
When William returned from America is presently not known, but by 1820 he was living with Anna Maria BOEREE initially in Holland, then France, before retuning to England around 1824.
William Reeves married Anna Maria BOEREE on 22 August 1831 (more than a decade after the start of their relationship) at Alphington in Devon.
　　
The known children of William Reeves and Anna Maria (nee BOEREE) are

1. William James Reeves, born c1820, Rotterdam, Holland
2. Anna Maria Reeves, born 1821, Utrecht, Holland
3. Henry Charles Reeves, born 1823, Douai. France
4. Emily Caroline Reeves, born 1825, Exeter, Devon and married William PAVEY
5. Anna Maria Reeves, born 1827, Exeter, Devon and married Alfred PAVEY
6. Eliza Harriet Reeves, bron 1831, Exeter, Devon and married Thomas SNELL

FamilySearch has transcript entries indicating the five surviving children were baptised in August 1831 at the same Parish Church in Alphington where their parents married. The FS entry for son William's baptism indicates it was the day after his parent's marriage https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWXG-6XX. See Research Note 3 below.
　
Neither William nor his wife Anna has yet to be identified on the 1841 census. See Research Note 4 below.

When William's son William married in May 1844, William Jr did NOT indicated that his father was deceased. However when Henry married in October 1845, he did indicated that his father was deceased. Several online trees suggest William died in Calais, France during February 1842, but none so far examined indicates a contemporary primary or secondary source for this information.

Research Notes

(1) Our subject William Thomas Pugh Reeves was one of the third generation of his family to be associated with the Reeves company which produced artist materials. The divorce proceeding indicate he was apprenticed to his father, but given his subsequent nomadic life sytle, his association with the company was probably short lived. Grace's Guides to British Industrial History has a good explanation of the company's history and the various names it traded under at https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Reeves_and_Sons

(2) Divorce was relatively uncommon at this time and the proceedings of the case were included in the publication "The Annual Register or A View of the History of Politics and Literature for the Year 1813", pages 257 to 260. See https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ANc7AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA257

(3) The original Parish Register has yet to be consulted.

(4) With respect to this family group, the only member so far identified on the 1841 census is their oldest son William James Reeves, who appears as William ROBERTS, living in Southwark, Surrey.

Sources

Birth:        See Baptism
Baptism:   Baptism Register of St Andrew Holborn (Ancestry LMA Collection image 154 of 201)
                 FamilySearch     https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:8P5B-YMT2
Marriage1: Marriage Register of St May Magdalene, Bermondsey, Page 39, Entry 35 (Ancestry LMA Collection image 162 of 587)
Marriage2: FamilySearch     https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKYS-6BZ
Death:     

1841 Census:
1841 Census  -   Son William - HO107, Piece 1086, Folio 11 reverse, Page 15, last line

1813 Divorce  -   "The Annual Register or A View of the History of Politics and Literature for the Year 1813", pages 257 to 260