Reeves, John

Summary

Father:
Mother:

Birth: c1770, North Carolina
Birth Source: 1850 Census

Death: bef Mar 1854, Taylor County, Kentucky
Death Source: Will probated 5 May 1854

Spouse1: Catherine Perry, m. 5 Sep 1805 Green County, Kentucky, consent by Elizabeth Perry, mother.

Narrative

Children of John Reeves and Catherine Perry:

1. Thornberry Reeves, b. c1806
2. Rebecca Reeves, b. c1808, m. Levi Woods
3. Mary Susan Reeves, b. c1810, m. William Skaggs
4. Henderson Reeves, b. c1812
5. Nancy Reeves, b. c1818, m. Elisha Roark
6. Ruth Reeves, b. 4 Aug 1821, m. John Hash
7. Mildred Reeves, b. c1822, m. James Heuber
8. John Reeves, b. 10 Sep 1824

This appears to be the John Reeves who was first recorded in Kentucky in the 1810 census of Green County, again in 1830 and in 1840 he was joined by his son Henderson.

Resource Notes

The Apprentice Bonds of Orange County NC include the following:
28 Nov 1785 John Reeves orphan age 13 years in March 1785 apprenticed to Jennett Anderson to learn art & mistery of a tailor.
[See Apprentice Bonds, image 51.]
This could pertain to this John Reeves born about the same time in North Carolina.

Two of the members of DNA Group 9 descend from John Reeves of Taylor County, Kentucky who was born circa 1770 in North Carolina, but the two other members of that DNA group are descendants of Henry Reeves of Essex County, Virginia with documented paper trails. Although this John Reeves doesn't appear to have any link to Essex County or Henry Reeves, Sr., his descendants' Y-DNA appears to document that he does.

It is possible that the father of John Reeves may have been George Reeves, son of Thomas Reeves, Sr. of Essex and Spotsylvania counties. The major obstacle to this line of thinking was the question of what would prompt George Reeves to leave the Rappahannock area and migrate to North Carolina when his siblings had all settled in the Shenandoah Valley's Augusta and Rockingham counties. However, his first cousin Elizabeth Gatewood had married Peter Copeland who was believed to have been born in North Carolina, and Elizabeth and Peter are known to have moved back to North Carolina a few years after their marriage. Peter Copeland has been documented with a tract of land in Orange County NC in close proximity to the individuals that were appointed by the Wake County Court for orphans of George Reeves to be apprenticed to. Peter Copeland sold this land in 1779, the deed for which is recorded in Orange County NC DB:B p:70 in which he was identified as "Peter Copeland of Henry County, Virginia".

This does not constitute proof that the George Reeves who died in Wake County in 1778 was the son of Thomas Reeves, Sr. of Essex and Spotsylvania counties in Virginia but it does add to the inferential data that suggests this connection and requires continued research to add to the accumulation of evidence.

See blog post regarding this theory of George Reeves origins at Just Supposin' and Just Supposin' Again.

Sources

Apprentice Bonds of Orange County NC Image 51, Family Search
Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954, online database at Family Search
1810 Census - Greensburgh, Green County, Kentucky
1830 Census - Green County, Kentucky
1840 Census - Green County, Kentucky
1850 Census - Taylor County, Kentucky