Reeves, Nancy Elizabeth
Summary
Father: Unknown, but probably John ReevesMother: Unknown
Birth: c. 1775-1778, Virginia or South Carolina
Birth Source: Estimated from 1820-1860 Lancaster Co., SC, Census
Death: 28 February 1865
Death Source: Headstone, Viola Caston Floyd Papers, Lancaster Co., SC
Spouse1: David Williams, born c. 1779, died c. 1839-42
Narrative
Children of Elizabeth Reeves and David Williams (as listed by Viola Caston Floyd):- Daughter, born c. 1797. This may be Nellie Williams, who is said to have married James Strain, born c. 1791, possibly as his first wife.
- Daughter, born c. 1799. Depending on her precise date of birth, this could be Susannah, who married William Zedoch Hilton.
- Susannah Williams, born c. 1801, married William Zedoch Hilton
- Uriah Williams, b. 1803, d. 1873, m. Esther Hilton
- David R. Williams, born c. 1804. He may have died young.
- Bethenia Williams, born 1805. She married James Reeves, Sr., as his second wife.
- James Williams. He may have died young.
- Mary Williams, born c. 1810, married John A. Montgomery.
- Elizabeth Williams, born c. 1812, married John M. Neal
Many sources (including the Viola Caston Floyd Papers and Perry Belle Bennett Hough Papers) list David Williams as David Roger Williams, but contemporary documents appear to show his name only as David Williams. Floyd lists the wife of David Williams as Elizabeth Reeves while Hough list her as Nannie Elizabeth Reeves. All other researchers seem to have followed Floyd's lead in identifying her as Elizabeth. From the 1840, 1850, 1860 census, her tombstone, and deed records, however, it would appear that she she was known as Nancy Williams.
In a Lancaster deed from 1852, Nancy Williams sold a "negro Girl named Jane" to "my son Uriah Williams." This confirms that her name was Nancy. It remains to be proven that she also went by Elizabeth.
Much of Floyd and Hough's information was largely based on oral tradition, therefore we cannot be certain that both are correct. It's possible that she was named Nancy Elizabeth Reeves, although two names for women were unusual at this time. The more likely explanation is that her name was Nancy and that descendants giving Floyd information wrongly identified her as Elizabeth.
1800 Lancaster Co., SC, Census, p. 6:
David Williams 1 male 16-26 2 females 0-10
1 female 16-26
(Neighbors include Joseph Hail and Will. Reeves)
1810 Lancaster Co., SC, Census, p. 5:
David Williams 1 male 0-10 2 females 0-10
1 male 26-45 1 female 10-16
1 female 26-45
1820 Lancaster Co., SC, Census, p. 303:
David Williams 1 male 16-18 1 female 0-10
1 male 16-26 1 female 10-16
2 males 26-45 1 female 26-45
1830 Lancaster Co., SC, Census, p. 84:
David Williams 1 male 5-10 1 female 10-15
1 male 40-50 1 female 15-20
1 female 50-60
Uriah Williams 1 male 0-5 1 female 0-5
1 male 20-30 1 male 20-30
(Neighbors include Britton Blackman, husband of Anna Reeves, Benjamin Stogner, and members of the Hail and Blackmon families.)
Note that although David Williams is said to have died in 1842, he has not been found in the 1840 Lancaster County, South Carolina, Census. On page 338 of that census appears Uriah Williams (2 males 0-5, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 30-40, 1 female 5-10, 1 female 20-30). Next door to Uriah appears Nancy Williams, age 50-60. Next door to Nancy appears John Neal, husband of Uriah's sister Elizabeth.
Interestingly, Nancy Williams appears to have been enumerated twice in 1850. The first enumeration showed her in HH 626/626 as Mrs. N. Williams, 100, $280, SC. Living with her were S. Sims, 25, and E. Sims, 4, both females. Mary Montgomery, believed to be Nancy's widowed daughter, was enumerated in HH 627/627. John and Elizabeth Neal, believed to be another daughter and son-in-law, were in HH 625/625. Uriah Williams and his family were in HH 633/633. Bethenia Reeves, believed to be another daughter, was living in HH 696/696.
The second enumeration in the 1850 Lancaster County census showed Mrs. N. Williams, 72, SC, who living in HH 929/929, with S. Sims, 30, and E. Sims, 3, both females. Nancy's age varied by 28 years from one enumeration to the next, while the younger women's ages varied by 5 and 1 years respectively!
1860 Lancaster Co., SC, Census, Pleasant Plains, HH 999/1007: Uriah Williams, 47, SC, Farming, $3000/$10,500; Easter, 49, Midwife, SC; Thomas E., 19, School Teacher, SC; Minor, 16, Farmer, SC; William C., 9, SC; David Harvey, 20, Farm Laborer, NC. In HH 1002/1010 was Nancy Williams, 90, $100/$550, VA.
Nancy Williams has a rock headstone with the death date of 28 February 1865 etched into it at Pleasant Plains Baptist Church, Lancaster Co., SC. Buried nearby is her son Uriah Williams, born 1803, died April 16, 1873, age 70.
Research Notes
The children of David Williams and Nancy (or Elizabeth) Reeves are as listed in the Viola Caston Floyd and Perry Belle Bennett Hough Papers, but their birth orders have been revised based on census data.Viola Caston Floyd and Perry Belle Bennett Hough interviewed many old residents in the Lancaster Co., SC, area and gathered extensive local history and genealogy. Floyd indicates that Elizabeth Reeves married David Roger Williams and that she was possibly the sister of the father of James Reeves, Sr., making James and his second wife Bethenia cousins. According to Floyd, other close relatives included Anna Reeves (born about 1775), who married Brittain Blackman, and John Reeves (born about 1790, who moved to Lauderdale Co., MS). Hough gives no information on her relationship to other Reeves, but gives her name as Nannie Elizabeth Reeves.
It seems unlikely that Elizabeth (or Nancy) Reeves Williams and James Reeves could be siblings, for James Reeves later married Elizabeth's daughter. It may be that James Reeves and Elizabeth Reeves were nephew and aunt or first cousins. Until their relationship is confirmed, James has been tentatively placed as a son of Elisha Reeves and Elizabeth has been tentatively been placed as a daughter of John Reeves. This fits with Floyd's speculations. It is possible, however, that James was John's son and that Elizabeth (or Nancy) was Moses Reeves's daughter. Other than intermarriages among the families, the 1800-1830 Lancaster County census reports show that James Reeves, Elizabeth (or Nancy) Reeves Williams, Anna Reeves Blackmon, and John Reeves all lived in close proximity to one another. The common association with the Blackmon family and with individuals like Joseph Hail, Dudley Hail, and Benjamin Stogner seems to place them in the neighborhood where Elisha Reeves and John Reeves had been living in 1790 and where Will. Reeves was living in 1800.
Note that the connection to the Reeves family is largely unsourced and based primarily from tradition recorded by Floyd and Hough. It should be regarded as extremely tentative until refined further with other documentary evidence.
Sources
Death: Headstone, Pleasant Plains Baptist Church Cemetery, Lancaster Co., South Carolina1800 Census: Lancaster County, South Carolina
1810 Census: Lancaster County, South Carolina
1820 Census: Lancaster County, South Carolina
1830 Census: Lancaster County, South Carolina
1840 Census: Lancaster County, South Carolina
1850 Census: Lancaster County, South Carolina
1860 Census: Lancaster County, South Carolina
History: Lancaster Co., SC, 1839 Deed N p.453, Nancy Williams to Uriah Williams
Viola Caston Floyd Collection, Lancaster Co. Library, SC.
Perry Belle Bennett Hough Collection, Lancaster Co. Library, SC.