Reeves, Joel Avery

Summary

Father: James B. Reeves
Mother: Sarah McElroy

Birth: c. 1836 c1810-1812, GA
Birth Source: Census of 1860, 1870 and 1880

Death: before 1900
Death Source:

Spouse1: Ann Brown, m. 20 Apr 1838 in Autauga County, Alabama

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Narrative

Children of Joel Avery Reeves and Ann Brown:

1. James Reeves, b. 1840
2. Jane Reeves, b. 1841
3. Thomas Reeves, b. 1845
4. David Reeves, b. 1847
5. William Reeves, b. 1849
6. Martha Reeves, b. 1854
7. Joel A. Reeves, Jr., b. 23 Sep 1856

Joel A. Reeves, age 50, was enumerated in Newton Co., MS, in 1860 HH 408/426:Joel A. Reeves, 50, farmer, $430/$500, GA; Ann, 45, Keeping House, AL; Jane, 19, AL; Thomas, 15, LA; David, 13, MS; William, 11, MS; Martha, 6, MS; Joel, 4, MS. Joel A. Reeves, age 58, was enumerated in Township 7, Range 10, HH 84/84, Newton Co., MS, in 1870: Joel A. Reaves, 58, Farmer, $230/$300, GA; Anna, 54, Keeping House, GA; James, 30, Alabama, Insane; Joel, 13, Mississippi. He was in HH 249/240, Beat 3, Newton Co., MS, in 1880: Joel A. Reeves, 68, GA/NC/NC; Anne H., 64, GA/TN/TN; James L., 40, Son, AL/GA/GA. Joel A. Reeves, Jr., age 23, and his family were in HH 251/242.

On 2 May 1859, Joel A. Reeves received a certificate for 86 acres in Newton County, Mississippi from the General Land Office of the Bureau of Land Management.

The 13 February 1858 will of Rev. James Reeves bequeathed to his son Joel Avery Reeves the remaining third of his land in Arkansas after his sons Humphrey Posey and Milton Russell Reeves received their thirds. While Rev. James appointed his sons Jabez and James to serve as executors, the only children specifically mentioned in bequests were Humphrey Posey, Milton Russell, and Joel Avery. This raises the question of Joel's age. Was he, like Humphrey and Milton, born after James's 1827 marriage to Nancy Phillips? If not, then why was he chosen to share the Arkansas land with his two half-brothers?

Research Notes

Another The possibility is that he is the same individual as the child of James B. Reeves identified by many researchers as Joseph A. Reeves has been proven to be incorrect based upon the Goodspeed's biography of Joseph A. Reeves, published 1890 in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Ouachita County, Arkansas. If he were Rev. James Reeves's son, this man seems to have been the child of Mrs. Nancy Phillips Reeves.

Another clue comes from the Carroll County, Georgia, tombstone of Ann Reeves Little: "Ann, wife of Saml. B. Little, died Apr. 25, 1876. By her brother J. A. Reeves July 20, 1892." This notation undoubtedly refers to Ann's brother, Joseph A. Reeves, not Joel Avery.

Cumulatively, the evidence suggests that the individual known as Joseph A. Reeves may have been the same individual known as Joel Avery Reeves, but additional research needs to be done to confirm the conclusion.

Sources

Alabama, Select Marriages, 1816-1942 online database Ancestry.com
U.S. General Land Office Records, 1776-2015 online database Ancestry.com
1860 Census - Newton County, Mississippi
1870 Census - Newton County, Mississippi
1880 Census - Newton County, Mississippi