Reeves, Jabez

Summary

Father: Eli Reeves
Mother: Sarah Ann Redman

Birth: 15 Jan 1806, Brown County, Ohio
Birth Source: Indiana Historical Society, Headstone

Death: 17 Aug 1895, Knightstown, Henry County, Indiana
Death Source: Headstone

Spouse1: Nancy Coe, m. 26 Feb 1824 in Brown County, Ohio

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Narrative

Children of Jabez Reeves and Nancy Coe:

1. William F. Reeves, b. 1827
2. Hannah M. Reeves, b. c1832
3. Sarah A. Reeves, b. c1834
4. Mary L. Reeves, b. c5 Oct 1838
5. Alfred Benton Reeves, b. 13 Mar 1840
6. Milton Monroe Reeves, b. 25 Jun 1842
7. James N. Dallas Reeves, b. 14 Sep 1843

Jabez Reeves, the entrepreneurial “father” of the Reeves Pulley Company, was born (in 1806) in Brown County, Ohio. There in 1824 he married Nancy Coe. To their home were born ten children, including William F. (b. 1827), Alfred Benton (b. 1940 sic 1840), and James M. D. (b. 1844?), all of whom figure prominently in the establishment, maintenance and growth of Reeves Pulley. Some time in the 1840s Jabez and family moved west to Rush County, Indiana where he farmed and began to work on his inventions. In 1873 he began manufacturing field cultivators in nearby Knightstown, Indiana. Three years later the Reeves brothers founded the Hoosier Boy Cultivator Company. In 1877 the Company moved its operations to Columbus, Indiana, where Jabez then 70-plus years of age, and his son William F. drew up a partnership agreement. The following year, for reasons not clear, William handled over his interest to his son (and Jabez’s grandson) Marshall T. who became president of the company. In 1880 Milton M., another son of Jabez, purchased part ownership in the company. From that time on the business was know as Reeves and Company. Jabez died in Knightstown in 1895.

The biography of his son William F. Reeves contained in the History of Rush County 1888 states that Jabez and Nancy were married 26 Feb 1824.

The Washington Democrat, 26 Aug 1853
GOOD FARM. - The committee appointed by the Rush county agricultural society, to award the premiums for the two best tilled farms in that county, have made a long and interesting report, and awarded the first premium to Jabez Reeves, of Centre township, and the second to George Kelly, of Rushville township. The committee commends the method, neatness, taste, economy, and profit, with perfect freedom from all the nuisances of Mr. Reeves' farm, which consists of one hundred and seventy acres, all enclosed.
Indiana State Sentinel

The Rushville Republican, 5 Feb 1892
Nancy Reeves, wife of Jabez Reeves, aged eighty-seven, died Wednesday morning, at Knightstown, where she has resided for twenty-five years past. In 1828 she and her husband settled in in Rush county, in what was then a wilderness, building their cabin in the woods. She was a member of the Christian church, and was universally respected.

The Republic, 3 Mar 1902
Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Reeves, who sold their farm in Flatrock, went this morning, accompanied by their son, Halbert, to Rush county, which will be their permanent home. They will reside on the old Jabez Reeves farm, four and one-half miles south of Knightstown. Jabez Reeves was the father of A. B. Reeves.

Research Notes

Some of the census records state Jabez and his wife were born in Pennsylvania along with their eldest son William. Others state Ohio.

Sources

Birth:           Headstone, Center Church Cemetery, Center Township, Rush County, Indiana
Death:        Headstone, Center Church Cemetery, Center Township, Rush County, Indiana

1840 Census:  Rush County, Indiana
1850 Census:  Rush County, Indiana
1860 Census:  Rush County, Indiana
1870 Census:  Henry County, Indiana
1880 Census:  Henry County, Indiana

Indiana Historical Society
The Washington Democrat, 26 Aug 1853
The Rushville Republican, 5 Feb 1892
The Republic, 3 Mar 1902
History of Rush County, 1888, p390