Reeves, Elisha

Summary

Father: James Reeves
Mother: Betsy Garris

Birth: c1810, Rich Hill, Lancaster County, South Carolina
Birth Source: 1830 Lancaster Co., SC, Census and Will of James Reeves, Sr.

Death: c. 1865, Pike County, Georgia
Death Source: 1865 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest

Spouse1: Rebecca Mitchell, born about 1808, Jones Co., GA, whom he married 27 March 1831 in Pike County

Narrative

Children of Elisha Reeves and Rebecca Mitchell:

1. James Washington Reeves, b. December 1832
2. Elizabeth Reeves, b. c. 1834
3. Rhoda A. Reeves, b. c. 1836
4. Sterling Mitchell Reeves, b. c. 1838
5. Nancy Susan Reeves, b. 1838, d. 1915
6. William A. Reeves, b. 1841
7. John Clay Reeves, b. May 1842
8. Joel N. Reeves, b. c. 1845
9. Henry J. Reeves, b. c. 1847
10. Sarah Jane Reeves, b. c. 1849

Rhoda, Sterling, Joel, and Henry were not shown in the 1860 census and were apparently deceased by 1865, for they were not mentioned in the annual accounts on their father’s estate between 1865 and 1869.

Nancy Susan never married and lived in Polk County with the John Clay Reeves family. She was living with Clay in 1880 in Fulton County and later moved with the family to Troup and Polk Counties, where she is buried in the Reeves Cemetery. She signed several receipts for her distributive share of her father’s estate between 1865 and 1869.

Elisha Reeves was enumerated near his brother John in the 1830 Lancaster Co., SC, census. He was living alone, unmarried, and possibly working as an overseer. He was living near Dudley and Joseph Haile — identified as neighbors of his father in land records — as well as near his uncle Britton Blackmon and other Blackmon relatives, including Ezekiah Blackmon.

Elisha Reeves seems to have left Lancaster County, probably later in 1830 and never to have returned, at least on a permanent basis. By the end of the following year, he was in Pike County, Georgia, where he married.

The following documents pertain to Elisha Reeves in Georgia and South Carolina:

1830: According to the Cauthen book, a group of "friends and relatives" from Lancaster Co., SC, left Lancaster, traveling along the "Old Alabama Road," heading for settlements in Alabama. The "Old Alabama Road" crossed the middle of Pike County, passing a few miles south of Molena. The party camped for the night in Pike County, and some of the travelers decided to stay in the region rather than continue on to Alabama.

1831 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, Captain Minns’s District: Elisha Reaves, poll tax only. (Ezekiah (Isachiah) Blackmon, Elisha's neighbor from Lancaster Co., SC, was also shown in the same district, eight lines after Henry A. Spencer; Elisha married Spencer's wife's sister Rebecca Mitchell in March 1831.)

16 May 1833: Deed between Elisha Reeves and John Stewart for LL 175. Pike Co., GA, Deed Book C, p. 499.

1834 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, Captain Harris’s District: Elisha Reeves, LL 175, LD 9, Pike County, and LL 132, LD 1, 1st Section. (NOTE: LD 9 is central western third of Pike County, GMD 505, including modern town of Concord. Ezekiah Blackmon was also shown in this district, eight lines below Elisha's entry. He remained there for several years thereafter.)

1835 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, Captain Pryor’s District: Elisha Reeves, 40 acres, 2nd District. Also in Captain Pryor’s District was John Reeves, shown with 1 pole only.

1837 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, Captain Harris’s District: Elisha Reeves, 20 acres, “Cart” (supposedly the county/location), Land District 17.

1840: Elisha Reeves has not been found in the 1840 Pike Co., GA, census. The census has been read page by page, and various spellings have been searched in published and on-line indices. The following record may be relevant, however:
1840 Harris Co., GA, Census, Templeton’s District:
Joel Blackmon 1 male aged 60-70 with family
Skip 1
E. Rieves 2 males 0-5, 1 male 5-10, 1 male 20-30
1 female 0-5, 2 females 5-10, 1 female 20-30
J. A. Blackmon 1 male aged 20-30 and family
Skip 1
W. B. Blackman 1 male aged 30-40 and family
Nathan Blackman 1 male aged 60-70, 1 female aged 50-60, and family
Nathaniel Blackman 1 male aged 40-50 and family
NOTE that on the page before “E. Rieves” were J. Blackman (age 60-70), H. Blackmon (age 30-40), and J. A. Blackmon (age 30-40). On the previous page appear: E. Blackmon (age 30-40), W. K. Blackman (age 20-30), D. Blackmon (age 50-60), S. S. Blackmon (15-20), B. L. Cato (age 40-50). Note that Joel Blackmon (1782-1845) married Phebe Williams. He is believed to have been the brother of Elizabeth Blackmon who married John Reeves and a son of Daniel Blackmon (1758-1825). Nathan Blackmon's wife Winnie was Betsy Garris Reeves's sister and Elisha Reeves's aunt. All of these people had come from Lancaster Co., SC, during the previous decade. The data for E. Rieves corresponds closely with the family profile for Elisha Reeves and Rebecca Mitchell. NOTE that E. Reeves does not appear in the 1841 Harris Co., GA, Tax Digest, Templeton’s District, although the Blackmons do appear.

In his will, dated 24 January 1844, James Reeves, Sr., indicated that "my son Elisha have received one hundred dollars more than the heirs who have received and also his Negro girl Nervey must be valued at the age he received her." Near the end of his will, James Reeves mentions the Michael Horton tract, indicating that his son Thomas was to have one-third of the tract "at the price I give." If Reeves's unborn child was a son, that son was to have one-third of the tract. Then, James concludes: "If my son Elisha wishes to take one-third of the said Michael Horton tract of land at the price I give if he sees proper to take it." This last paragraph apparently contained the provisions that led Elisha Reeves to join with his step-mother Bethenia Williams Reeves in suing the estate (by means of a Bill of Complaint) in the Lancaster County Equity Court.

Several land sales in early 1845 took place in Lancaster County as a result of the equity suit brought by Elisha Reeves and his stepmother and cousin, Bethenia Williams Reeves. These deeds were filed under the name of James H. Witherspoon, Esq., Commissioner of the Lancaster Court of Equity in Lancaster District, and they specifically mention the "bill of complaint in the court of Equity at Lancaster Court House in the said State against Philip Richardson & Winny his wife, Amos Blackmon and Jane his wife, James Reeves, John Reeves, Bynum J. Blackmon and wife Elizabeth, Caroline Reeves, Mary Reeves, Dorcas Reeves, Thos. Reeves, Amey Reeves, and Bethenia Reeves." In one deed, dated 27 January 1845, Witherspoon sold 78 acres to Thomas Fleming. In another, dated 20 January 1845, Witherspoon sold land in Rich Hill to John Taylor. The deed begins: "Whereas, Elisha Reeves and Bethenia Reeves, widow of James Reeves decd on or about the fourteenth day of November in the year of our Lord one thousand Eight hundred and forty four did exhibit this Bill of complaint in the court of Equity at Lancaster Court House in the said State." On 15 January 1845, Witherspoon sold 525 acres to John Reeves. The deed begins in the same way by referencing the suit filed by Elisha and Bethenia. This deed involved the controversial Horton acres tract, which had been left in part to Thomas J. Reeves, to Elisha Reeves, and to Bethenia Reeves for her unborn child. (On the same day, Reeves mortgaged the tract back to Witherspoon, perhaps as part of some pre-arranged agreement.)

In 1845, there was a Common Pleas case in Lancaster County in which Elisha Blackman accused Amos Blackmon and others of disturbing his family and possibly trying to steal some slaves which he had in his possession as executor of the will of Samuel McCorkle. As part of the case a series of questions were recorded which Elisha Reeves of Pike County, Georgia was to answer concerning the details of the event.

1848 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, Harris’s Militia District, LD 9: Elisha Reaves, 1 poll, 2 slaves, 40 acres, LL 222, LD 13, and 67.3 acres, LD 9. (NOTE: LD 9 is Georgia Militia District 505, the central western third of the county, including the modern town of Concord. The Old Alabama Road passes through this area. One of the two slaves was probably Nervey, who is mentioned in James Reeves's will.)

16 November 1849: Deed between Elisha Reeves and Doctor T. Compton, Pike Co., GA, Book J, page 126; 101.25 acres.

1850 Pike Co., GA, Census, District 68, HH 421/421: Elisha Reeves, 42, Farmer, SC; Rebeca, 42, GA; James W., 18, Laborer, GA; Elizabeth, 16, GA; Rody A., 14, GA; Starlin M., 12, GA; Nancy S., 10, GA; William R., 9, GA; John C., 7, GA; Joel N., 5, GA; Henry S., 3, GA; Susan J., 1, GA.

1850 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, GMD 534: Elisha Reives, 1 poll. Elisha is shown with no land but with $1,000 “at interest.”

4 November 1850: Deed between Elisha Reeves and William Foster, Pike Co., GA, Deed Book L, page 141; land lot 118, district 9, 182.5 acres.

1851 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, Gell’s District, GMD 505: Elisha Reaves, 1 poll, 182.25 acres, LL 118, LD 9.

1852 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest: Elisha Reavis, 1 poll, 1 person subject to military duty, 184 acres, LD 9, Pike County, valued at $850.

1 November 1853: Deed between Elisha Reeves and Jacob McClendon, Pike Co., GA, Deed Book K, page 286; land lot 118, district 9, 50 acres.

23 November 1853: Deed between Elisha Reeves and Allison Spier, Pike Co., GA, Deed Book K, page 362; land lot 218, district 9, 80 acres.

1 April 1854: Deed between Elisha Reeves and John Brunt, Pike Co., GA, Deed Book K, page 361; land lot 179, district 9, 181 acres.

15 January 1855: Deed between Elisha Reeves and Malachi Irvin, Pike Co., GA, Deed Book K, page 492; land lot 179, district 9, 66.33 acres, and land lot 139, district 9, 131 acres.

14 January 1856: Deed between Elisha Reeves and Thomas Reams, Pike Co., GA, Book L, page 138; land lot 218, district 9, 2.5 acres.

4 December 1858: Deed between Elisha Reeves and Aaron Oxford, Pike Co., GA, Book O, page 75; land lot 168, district 9, 111 acres.

1859 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, District 9: Elisha Reeves with three children aged between 8 and 16. He paid tax on 181 acres of land lot 168, district 9, Pike County.

28 June 1860: Elisha Reeves, 51, SC, enumerated in Pike Co., GA, Zebulon P.O., HH 274/270: Elisha Reeves, 51, Farmer, $1400/$1145, SC; Rebecca, 51, GA; Susan A., 21, GA; William A., 20, GA; Joel N., 15, GA; Henry J., 13, GA; Sarah J., 10, GA.

2 April 1863: Deed between Elisha Reeves and James Neal, Pike Co., GA, Deed Book L, page 700; land lot 201, district 9, 70 acres.

1863 Joe Brown Census, Pike Co., GA: Elisha Reeves was among those listed as eligible for military service in Pike County.

31 May 1864: Elisha Reeves appears in the records of the Board of Education on 31 May, 1864, making a payment for the tuition of Sabina Irvin.

1864 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, GMD 505: Elisha Reeves shown with 10 sheep, 3 hogs, and 60 acres of land in district 9 valued at $600 and other property valued at $1085. The aggregate value of his estate was $4185. He had two children aged 6-18 living with him.

1865-1869: Green M. B. Blount administered the estate of Elisha Reeves in Pike County. The amount received in Account from Sales was $6868.50. A receipt was filed on 17 March 1866 for $225.00 advanced by Elisha Reeves to Lemuel Rogers “to cash advanced for the benefit of my family in my absence.” Blount compensated Rogers in this amount on 20 January 1865. There are vouchers for J. C. Reeves (Voucher 8, $1050.00), Susan Reeves (Voucher 9, $1050.00), James W. Reeves (Voucher 10, $1050.00), William A. Reeves (Voucher 14, $1050.00), and Lemuel Rogers (Voucher 15, $1042.20 and Voucher 5, $7.80 in specie.) Each of the heirs described this amount as “part of my distributive share;” each heir signed for himself or herself except for John C. Reeves, whose receipts were signed by “Kathy (X) Reeves for John C. Reeves” on 18 February 1865. Total expenditures, including these payments, were $5742.76, which left $1125.74 on hand. Together, the two figures total $6868.50, the amount received from the sales. Returns filed by Joseph M. Scott, guardian for Sarah J. Reeves, orphan of Elisha Reeves, show that he received $1050.00 in “dead” Confederate currency as Sarah’s share on 6 September 1867. This apparently left $625.74 left from the original $6868.50, although the remainder – originally in Confederate currency – was largely worthless after the war. Blount’s second return, filed in 1868 with receipts from the distributes dated in December 1866, shows that he had received $311.00 from the sale of land but had deducted $277.37 for “expenses,” leaving on hand $33.63. The account shows receipt from Elisha’s distributes: Susan Reeves ($25.00, Voucher 3, 5 December 1866); M. E. Strickland for Lemuel Rogers ($25.00, Voucher 8, 25 December 1866); J. C. Reeves ($25.00, Voucher 7, 22 December 1866); James M. Reeves ($25.00, Voucher 6, 10 December 1866); William A. Reeves ($25.00, Voucher 5, 15 December 1866). Susan also signed vouchers for $2.33 and $3.00 as part of her portion, while Joseph M. Scott signed vouchers 15 and 16 on 29 October 1867 and 21 August 1869 for $15.00 and $10.00 respectively for his ward Sarah Reeves’s portion. (Pike Co., GA, Returns Book M, 1861-1866, pp. 770-773; Pike Co., GA, Returns Book N, pp. 514-517.)

1866 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest, GMD 505: G. B. M. Blount, administrator on the estate of Elisha Reeves, deceased, 60 acres of land, Pike County.

6 September 1867: Joseph M. Scott, guardian for Sarah J. Reeves, received $1050.00 (“in Confederate Money dead when received”) of G. B. M. Blount for her distributive share. On October 24, 1867, he received $15.00 in current money for Sarah’s inheritance. Scott returned a receipt for $10.00 “currency” on 21 August 1869. Scott paid various bills on Sarah’s behalf to local merchants and for court expenses. Pike Co., GA, Returns Book M, pp. 420-421, 486-487.

Research by Dora Reeves indicated that Elisha was "hard to get along with," that others in the family generally "left him alone," that his wife died before him, leaving him with nearly grown teenage sons, and that he was "still alive in 1860." Unfortunately, the source for these statements is not indicated. It appears the information on his family was incorrectly inferred from the 1850 Lancaster Co., SC census where E. Reaves (F) b. about 1808 appears.

Research Notes

Reeves Review Book II incorrectly identified Elisha Reeves of Pike County, Georgia, as a son of William and Hannah Reeves of Wilkes County, Georgia, but William’s estate settlement proves that he was not. Elisha did, however, live in Pike County at the same time as three of William’s children (John, Sr., Jeremiah, and William) and near another (Elijah) across the county line in Upson County. Geography no doubt influenced his identification in Reeves Review Book II, as well as the fact that he had a daughter named Rhoda, a common name in the Guilford County, North Carolina, Reeves family. There appears to be no factual basis for that identification, however. (Elisha's daughter Rhoda was probably named for his wife's sister Rhoda and aunt, both named Rhoda.)

Sources

Death:        1865 Pike Co., GA, Tax Digest

1830 Census:  Lancaster County, South Carolina
1840 Census:  Harris County, Georgia
1850 Census:  Pike County, Georgia
1860 Census:  Pike County, Georgia

1844 Will of James Reeves, Sr.
Estate records of James Reeves, 1844, Lancaster Co., SC.
Estate records of William Reeves, 1815-1830, Wilkes Co., GA.
Pike Co., GA, Deed Records.
Pike Co., GA, Tax Records.
Pike Co., GA, Annual Returns, Book M, 1861-1866, pp. 770-773.
Pike Co., GA, Annual Returns, Book O, 1866-1872, pp. 420-421, 486-487, 514-517.
Notes of Dora Reeves
Maryline Cauthen Westenhaver, The Cauthen Family History (Opelika, AL, 1980), pp. 206-207, 214.
Old Alabama Road Historical Marker: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1GV
Elisha Reeves Interrogation, Lancaster County, Common Pleas Roll 3534, Elisha Blackman vs Amos Blackmon et al, 1847