Reeve, William Urbin

Summary

Father: Reeve, Robert Wesley
Mother: Jordan, Henrietta

Birth: 8 May 1875 in Henry County, Illinois
Birth Source: U.S. World War I Draft Registration

Death: 14 Nov 1962 in Wilson County, Kansas
Death Source: Obituary

Spouse1: Lewis, Edith May, m. 24 May 1895 in Canton, Fulton County, Illinois

Narrative

William Urbin Reeve was born and married in Illinois; he was known as Urbin to his family. In May of 1902, Urbin, Edith and their two young daughters moved from Illinois to a farm east of Altoona, Kansas. In February 1912 the family moved to Wicks, Polk County, Arkansas. While in Arkansas, Urbin acted as a Justice of the Peace, which entailed bringing in moonshiners and performing the occasional late night marriage ceremony (Reeve, 1976, pg. 21). Urbin's other occupations included farmer (1900, 1920 censuses) and brick maker (1910, 1930, 1940).

By 1925 the Urbin Reeve family had returned to Kansas and settled in rural Wilson County, where they resided until Urbin's death.

Urbin and Edith Reeve had ten children, two of which died in infancy (Robert and Dolly).

1. Zanella Clair Reeve, b. 1896
2. Alma Marie Reeve, b.1897
3. Robert Henry Reeve, b. June 1899, d. June 1899 (He lived 5 days; the only known photo of him is in Reeve, 1976, pg. 15.)
4. Orval Lewis Reeve aka Pete, b. 1904
5. Hazel Merle Reeve, b. 1906
6. Jessie Etta Reeve, b. 1908
7. Faye Ruth Reeve, b. 1910
8. Dolly Fern Reeve, b. 1912, d. 1913
9. Lola May Reeve, b. 1915
10. Charles Leslie Reeve, b. 1917

Research Notes

Copies of the sources for William Urbin's birth, marriage and death are held in the personal files of Holly Witt and available on request.

Urbin and Edith's oldest daughter, Zanella, kept a diary from 1911 to 1913. Her accounting of railroad trips and family visits have been transcribed in Reeve 1976 (pages 9-14) and offer a glimpse into the lives of Urbin Reeve and his family.

Sources

Birth:          U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 (Ancestry.com).
Birth:          Return of a Marriage to County Clerk, Illinois State Board of Health, Springfield, Illinois.
Marriage1:  Illinois marriage license; Fulton County; County Court records located at Lewistown, Illinois.
Death:        Obituary of William Urbin Reeve; Wilson County Citizen; Nov 1962; Fredonia, Kansas.
Burial:       Find-a-Grave memorial ID 112349217; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112349217/william-urban-reeve. Accessed 6 June 2021.
                   
1880 Census:  Knoxville, Knox County, Illinois
1900 Census:  Buckheart Township, Fulton County, Illinois
1910 Census:  Cedar, Wilson County, Kansas
1920 Census:  Howard County, Arkansas
1930 Census:  Cedar, Wilson County, Kansas
1940 Census:  Cedar Township, Wilson County, Kansas

Reeve, Derral William. 1976. Reeve and Lamberton family history, part 1. Nevada, IA: Oak Park Academy Press. (Copy in library of Holly Witt.)