Reaves, Hardy

Summary

Father: possibly Thomas Rives/Reaves
Mother: possibly Jane MNU Reaves

Birth: c1750 probably North Carolina
Birth Source: Estimated from Census

Death: before 1810 probably Duplin, North Carolina
Death Source: Absent from census records after 1800 census

Spouse1: Mary MNU (undocumented)

Narrative

Hardy Reeves is listed in the 1786 tax lists of Duplin County Bowen's District.

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.

The 1800 census records the household Hardy Reaves with 1 Male 0-10, 1 Male 10-15, 2 Males 16-25, 1 Male over 45, 1 Female 10-15 and 1 Female over 45, but that may be the other Hardy Reaves listed in 1790.

Hardy Reeves apparently died before 1810 for he is no longer listed in the census of the Duplin/Wayne County, North Carolina area.

It is also unknown which Hardy Reaves is recorded as a revolutionary soldier serving in North Carolina forces in the Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution, published in Durham, NC, USA: The North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution, 1932.

Hardy Reaves of Duplin is PROBABLY the father of:

1. Thomas Reaves, b. c1780
2. Elizabeth Reaves, m. William Lain on 15 Jan 1798 in Duplin County
3. William Reeves, m. Frances Phillips 16 Jan 1799 in Duplin County
4. Margaret Reeves, m. Jesse Forchand 30 Mar 1800 in Duplin County
5. Nancy Reaves, m. John Walston 16 Oct 1810 in Duplin County
6. Hardy Reaves, b. c1790 1781 to 1790 per census
7. Richard Reaves, b. 1791 to 1800 per census

THE ABOVE PROPOSED CHILDREN OF HARDY REAVES ARE BASED SOLELY UPON CONJECTURE DUE TO PROXIMITY. Based upon the number of children, both male and female, listed in the 1790 census, there are quite a few children missing.

There is an estate file for Hardy Reaves dated 1770 in Duplin County that contains only a valuation of a horse owned by Hardy Reaves and no probate data. Oddly the reverse of the document valuing the horse is signed with Hardy Reaves mark.

Research Notes

It seems clear that there were three generations of individuals named Hardy Reaves in Duplin County but there are currently no probate or other records to differentiate between them.

The earliest record of a Reaves in the Duplin County deed records is a female, Jane Reaves, recorded in a 1763 deed - William Richeson to Jane Reaves. There are no other Reaves individuals named in this deed so it does not contain clues as to a possible connection to Hardy Reaves although she could possibly have been a widowed mother.

Jane may have been a spinster or she could have been the widowed mother of Hardy Reaves who was a resident of Duplin County by 1770. Descendants of Hardy Reaves are still found in the Mt. Olive area close to the location of Jane's 200 acres. If Jane had a family connection to the Richeson family it is also of interest that a Hardy Richeson was found in a deed in this same area of Duplin County.

A Thomas Reaves is listed in the Deed Book 5, 1757-1758, deed indexes of Dobbs County (Extinct), North Carolina and in the index of Deed Book 6, 1758-1765, a Joseph Reaves who is very likely his brother Joseph Rives is also listed.

Thomas Reaves does not appear in the Dobbs deed indexes again after the 1757-1758 entry; however in Deed Book 6, 1758-1765, a Jane Reaves is found as a grantor in that index. In 1763 Jane Reaves is again found in the deeds of adjoining Duplin County. Jane was undoubtedly a widow and since she appears in the area deeds immediately after the disappearance of Thomas Reaves, it is highly likely that she may have been his widow.

The land that Jane Reaves purchased in Duplin County was in the area of Mt. Olive based upon landmarks and watercourses related to the area of the property conveyed to her. Mt. Olive, North Carolina was the location of the family of Hardy Reaves. Recently three descendants of Hardy Reaves have participated in the Reeves DNA Project and are matches to members of the Rives family all of whom are found in DNA Group 8.

Although this does not constitute proof that Hardy Reaves is descended from Thomas and Jane Reaves, it adds to an accumulation of evidence in support of such a family connection.

Source

Index of Deed Book 5, 1757-1758, at North Carolina USGenWeb
Index, Deed Book 6 - April 1758 to April 1765, Dobbs County NC
1763 deed, Richeson to Jane Reaves, Duplin County NC Deed Book 1, pgs 359-360
1786 Tax Lists - Bowen's District, Duplin County, North Carolina
1790 Census - Duplin County, North Carolina
1800 Census - Duplin County, North Carolina