Reeves, George Robertson

Summary

Father: William Steel Reeves
Mother: Nancy Totty

Birth: 3 Jan 1826, Hickman County, Tennessee
Birth Source: Find A Grave, photo of gravestone inscription at Georgetown Cemetery

Death: 5 Sep 1882, Grayson County, Texas
Death Source: Find A Grave, photo of gravestone inscription at Georgetown Cemetery

Spouse1: Jane Moore, m. 31 Oct 1844

Narrative

Children of George Robertson Reeves and Jane Moore:

1. Thomas Moore Reeves, b. 1845
2. Nancy Reeves, b. 18481
3. Mary Telitha Reeves, b. 1849
4. Eliza Jane Reeves, b. 1850
5. William Franklin Pierce Reeves, b. 1852
6. George Emberson Reeves, b. 1855
7. Sarah Ann Reeves, b. 1857
8. Lenora Belle Reeves, b. 1859
9. John Mayrant Reeves, b. 1862
10. Albert Sidney Reeves, b. 1866
11. William Steel Reeves, b. 1869
12. Alvin Robertson Reeves, b. 1872

George Robertson Reeves, legislator and soldier, was born on January 3, 1826, in Hickman County, Tennessee, the fifth child of William Steel and Nancy (Totty) Reeves. The family moved to Crawford County, Arkansas, where, on October 31, 1844, Reeves married Jane Moore; the couple eventually had twelve children.

In 1846 he moved to Grayson County, Texas; he subsequently held several county offices there. The community that developed around Fort Johnston in Grayson County was called Georgetown in Reeves's honor. He represented the county in the Texas legislature from 1856 to 1858.

He raised a company for William C. Young's Eleventh Cavalry and later became colonel in command. The unit fought in Indian Territory and at Pea Ridge under Benjamin McCulloch, and at Corinth, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Knoxville, and Tunnel Hill as part of Ross's Texas Brigade. Confederate Camp Reeves, in Grayson County, was named for Reeves.

He again served the legislature in 1870, 1875, 1879, and 1881–82. In his last term he was speaker of the House. Reeves County, Texas, is named for him. The George R. Reeves Masonic Lodge of Pottsboro, where he was once master, is also named in his honor.

After being bitten by a rabid dog, Reeves died of hydrophobia on September 5, 1882, and is buried in the Georgetown cemetery.

Research Notes

Sources

Find A Grave, photo of gravestone inscription
Narrative from TSHA Handbook of Texas online
Wikipedia
1850 Census - Grayson County, Texas
1860 Census - Grayson County, Texas
1870 Census - Precinct 1, Grayson County, Texas
1870 Census - Precinct 8, Grayson County, Texas
Confederate Military Records