Reeve, James

Summary

Father: Thomas Reeves
Mother: Mary Wells

Birth: 19 Aug 1736
Birth Source: Southold Town Records

Death: 13 Nov 1803
Death Source: Will/Probate, Genealogical Notes

Spouse1: Hephzibah Moore
Spouse2: Mary Corwin, m. 1770

Narrative

Children of James Reeve and Hephzibah Moore:

1. James Reeve, Jr., b. 24 Apr 1761
2. Hephzibah Reeve, b. cJan 1768
3. Mary Reeve, m. Elijah Canfield
4. Infant Reeve. d. young

Children of James Reeve and Mary Moore:

1. David Reeve, b. 1771
2. Daniel Reeve, b. 14 Mar 1773
3. Joshua Reeve
4. Lydia Reeve
5. Anna Reeve
6. Keturah Reeve
7. Deborah Reeve
8. Isaac Reeve, b. c1780s
9. Sarah Reeve
10. Mary M. Reeve, b. 4 Jun 1789
11. Amutal Reeve
12. Jerusha Reeve
13. Elijah Reeve, d. young man
14. Dorothy Reeve
15. Julia Reeve, b. c1795

Elijah, Nathaniel, James, and Thomas, the younger sons of Thomas Reeves and Mary Wells of Southampton are all said to have moved to Orange County in various published family history works. This indeed appears to be the case. We know that Elijah did as his headstone gives his year of age which matches his birth from Southold Town Records. According to notes in Orange County Wills - New York - With Added Genealogical Noates, James "died Nov. 13, 1803 aged 67 years 2 months and was buried Hillside, Middletown." Although the whereabouts of this cemetery and headstone have yet to be located, this also matches James Reeve of Minisink, Orange County to his birth in the Southold Town Records. Thomas also had a headstone originally found in Orange County which indicates he moved there as well.

James is denoted as living in Minisink in his will in 1803. He was in Minisink by the 1790 census. He would appear to be the James Reve listed in Goshen tax lists in 1779. His brother Thomas Reeve was listed next to him.

The following history of this family appears in the Middletown Daily Herald on 11 Oct 1920 and yields some clues that can be researched further:

Reeve Family.
James H. Reeve came from Long Island about 1763 and settled on a farm in Wawayanda, between Middletown and New Hampton, which remained in possession of the family for generations. He was one of the principal men who united in building the First Congregational Church, in Middletown, which occupied the site of the present church. James, son by his first wife, Hephzibad Moore, was a soldier in the battle off Minisink. Mr. Reeve's second wife was Mary Corwin. They had many children, including Mary A. who married Joshua McNish, of Wallkill, descendant of George McNish of Long Island, one of the original members of the First Presbytery of America. Julia Reeve, who married a Mr. Tidd, of Sullivan county, and after his death a Mr. Drake, was the last surviving one of this family of 18 children. She died in 1881, at the age of 87, and was buried in Bloomingburgh.
David Reeve was born in 1771 and died in 1884 (sic). He owned a farm in Wallkill, about two miles from Middletown. His wife, Esther Wickham, was a daughter of William Wickham. Of their children, William W., of Middletown, was for many years supervisor and justice of the peace, and prominent throughout the county as a surveyor.
Oliver P. Reeve, son of Daniel Reeve, was born on the homestead in Wallkill in 1822. This property he purchased when his father died. Mr. Reeve attended the district school and the select school at Ridgebury, and for a time was a teacher in the county schools. Subsequently he engaged in mercantile business in Bullville, and forwarded produce to New York via barge from Newburgh. In 1864 he located in Middletown and turned his activity toward building houses and improving real estate. He was a trustee and treasurer of the First Congregational Church, and a member of the building committee that erected the present edifice. In village official affairs he was a trustee and assessor. His first wife was Charlotte Redfield and his second was Esther E. Shorter, by whom he had one son, Theodore L.

The above seems to be an abstracted article from a longer entry concerning his grandson Oliver P. Reeve from History of Orange County, New York, published in 1881. The part concerning James is as follows:

Deacon James Reeve was one of the principal men who united in building the First Congregational church at Middletown, which occupied the site of the present Congregational church. His first wife, Hephzibah Moore, bore him three children, — James, who served as a soldier at the battle of Minisink in 1779; Hephzibah, married a Mr. Hulse; and Mary, a Mr. Canfield. By his second wife, Mary Corwin, he had the following children: David; Daniel; Joshua, settled in Michigan; Elijah, died a young man; Isaac, resided on the old homestead; Anna, married a Mr. Keene, and resided at the Beach Woods, Pa.; Deborah, married a Mr. Shultz, of Orange County; Keturah, married Stewart Brown, and resided in Ohio; Lydia, married a Mr. Moore, of Orange County; Mary A., married Joshua McNish, of Wallkill, a descendant of Rev. George McNish, of Long Island, who was one of the original members of the first Presbytery in America, and father of the first Presbytery in the province of New York; Jerusha, married a Mr. Burns, of Beach Woods, Pa.; Dorothy, married Benjamin Hulse, of Orange County; Sarah; and Julia, married a Mr. Tidd, of Sullivan County, N. Y., and after his death a Mr. Drake. She was the last surviving one of this family of eighteen children, died at the age of eighty-seven, and was buried on New-Year's Day, 1881, at Bloomingburgh, N. Y.

In a separate section concerning the history of the town of Wawayanda, the following is included:

James Reeve, of Long Island, was among the early settlers. His wife was Mary, the daughter of David Moore, whose great-grandfather came from England in 1635 and settled at Salem, Mass. (1) James Reeve and wife had four children, - James, Jr., Hephzibah, Polly, and one who died young. James Reeve. Jr., was wounded in the battle of Minisink. On the 22d of July, 1778, he settled upon land near Slate Hill, where his grandson, the Hon. John H. Reeve, now resides. Hephzibah married Jonas Hulse. and Polly married Elijah Canfield. In 1770, James Reeve. Sr., was married the second time. His wife was Mary Corwin, by whom he had fourteen children. viz.: David, Daniel, Joshua, Lydia, Annie, Keturah, Deborah, Isaac, Sarah, Mary, Amutal, Jerusha, Elijah, Dorothy, and Julia. The last named is the only one living, being about eighty-five years of age, and resides at Bloomingburgh. Sullivan Co.. N. Y., in the same building in which she commenced housekeeping more than sixty years ago.
The above-named eighteen children of James Reeve, Sr., all lived to mature years except one. Elijah died a young man, and Sarah never married. The others have left descendants by the names of Hulse, Canfield, Shultz, McVish, Ludlum, Drake, Carpenter, Mapes, Crawford, and Reeve, who now reside in this vicinity, and many others residing elsewhere. There are living at this time (December, 1880) within one hour's ride of Middletown five generations as descendants of James Reeve, Sr., viz.: Julia, his daughter; grandchildren by the name of Reeve, Hulse, McVish, and others; great-grandchildren by the name of Shaw, Hulse, Mapes, etc.; great-great-grandchildren by the name of Mapes; great-great-great-grandchildren by the name of McBride and Beakes.
The original homestead of (1) James Reeve, purchased in 1768, still remains in the family, being now occupied by his grandson. Wickham C. Reeve, one of the sons of Isaac. This land originally cost James Reeve, Sr., about $1.25 per acre. It is now valued with its improvements at about $100 per acre.
O. P. Reeve, of Middletown, is a grandson of James Reeve, Sr., and son of David, the first of the second family of fourteen.

Research Notes

The DAR has a file for an apparent Family Bible for James Reeve but it's not clear that the information was contemporary. It claims that James was married twice, first to Mary Moore, and second to Mary Corwin. This is also reflected in the Study of the Reeve Family which mentions his will and his second wife Mary's will.

Sources

Birth:          The New York genealogical and biographical record, vol. 39, p58
Death:        FamilySearch - Orange County Wills - New York - With Added Genealogical Noates, p157

1790 Census:  Minisink, Orange County, New York
1800 Census:  Minisink, Orange County, New York

1779 April Tax List - Goshen, New York
1779 October Tax List - Goshen, New York
1803 Will - James Reeve - Orange County, New York Will Book C, p90
1811 Will - Mary Reeve - Orange County, New York Will Book D, p434
Archive.org - Ruttenber, Edward Manning. (1881). History of Orange County, New York, pp. 496, 681
Middletown Daily Herald, 11 Oct 1920