Reeves, John

Summary

Father: Ubgate Reeves
Mother: Jane O'Kane/O'Caine¹

Birth: after 1703², Charles County, Maryland
Birth Source: Will of Ubgate Reeves

Death: abt July 1786, North Carolina
Death Source: Maryland Gazette article of July 1786 regarding depositions respecting the death of John Reeves

Spouse1: Unknown

Narrative

Very little is known of John Reeves other than references to him in the will of his father Ubgate Reeves. There are also several St. Mary's County estate administrations and deeds where he is mentioned. On 8 Aug 1751 William Reeves and John Reeves are listed among the individuals from whom the estate of Jean Hambleton in St. Mary's County received payments. The inventory of his uncle, Thomas Reeves on 5 Dec 1753 mentions John Reeves and his sister, Susannah Cook as next of kin. On the 18th of May in 1753, he is also mentioned in the list of individuals the estate of John Hoult made payments to and he was one of the appraisers of the estate of Robert Haskins on 5 Jun 1765 in St. Mary's County.

The history of Basford Manor in St. Mary's County lists John Reeves among one of the owners of a portion of the estate: Basford Manor was granted to Thomas Gerard in March 1650. It was located to the north of St. Clement's Manor and was laid out for 1500 ac. but a resurvey found that it contained a much larger area. The property was sold to Governor Thomas Notley prior to Gerard’s death in 1673. In 1678, Notley laid off 300 acres of this property as "Bachelor's Hope" and placed it in the possession of Benjamin Rozier. He sold the remaining part to Lord Baltimore who conveyed part of it as "Bachelor's Hope" to Joshua Doyne. The remainder of the manor was subsequently divided up and sold as follows: James Mills, 100 ac., Notley Goldsmith, 100 ac., Michael Goldsmith, 100 ac., John Reeves, 100 ac., Nathaniel Truman Greenfield, 104 ac., Benjamin Moulton, 200 ac., Edward Turner, 200 ac., John Smith, 200 ac., Samuel Maddox, 69 ac., John Maddox, 150 ac., and John Eden, 277 ac.

The 1763 St. Mary's County will of James Mills leaves the “plantation whereon John Reeves now lives” to his grandson John Jordan. James Mills also leaves 5000# of tobacco to Lydia Reeves but no relationship is stated. It is unknown whether this could be another daughter of James Mills who was married to John Reeves, or this Lydia Reeves was unrelated was most likely Lydia Clarke Reeves, widow of Thomas Reeves, Sr.. John Reeves is found in numerous transactions with both the Mills and Jordan families. If, in fact, John Reeves' mother was Jane O'Caine as there is some evidence to support, the family connection could be explained since James Mills' wife was Nappler O'Caine who would have been the aunt of John Reeves and his brother Thomas Reeves, Sr..

A St. Mary's County deed of 16 Nov 1772 between John Reeves and Justinian Jordan refers to John Reeves as “of Halifax County in the Colony of North Carolina but now in St. Mary's County in Maryland”. The above mentioned will of James Mills left a bequest to his grandchildren as follows, “That my half of sloop, Mary and Ann, be divided amongst James Eden, Jestn. Jordan and James Mills, Junr.” This may indicate that John Reeves had an easily accessible means of transportation. If so, travel between North Carolina and Maryland by sea may have been commonplace and allowed John to make frequent trips. This deed appears to be one of the last references to John Reeves in the records of St. Mary's or Charles counties.

The Maryland Gazette published an article as follows:

Notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern that the depositions of Nelson Tippett and Josiah Tippett, of St. Mary's County, will be taken on Monday the 4th of September next, before Hanson Briscoe, Esq, at Chaptico, respecting the death of John Reeves who removed from this state to North Carolina, and who was the son of Upgate Reeves, formerly of this county. Benjamin B. Chester
St. Mary's County, Chaptico, July 1786

Research Notes

Recent Y-DNA testing suggests that this John Reeves, son of Ubgate Reeves of Charles County, Maryland may be one and the same with be a close relative to John Reeves of Craven County, North Carolina. A direct descendant of John Reeves is a 37 of 37 marker match to a direct descendant of Ubgate Reeves of Maryland. Markers have now been updated to 67 markers on April 8, 2018.

This may also be the John Reeves with a son Thomas who is recorded in the 1755 tax lists of Granville County, North Carolina. In 1746 part of Edgecombe County became Granville County and in 1758 another part became Halifax County which would confirm the above account from the 1772 St. Mary's County deed referring to John Reeves as "of Halifax County in the Colony of North Carolina". That John Reeves was previously misidentified as John Reeves, whose descendants Y-DNA matches his lineage to that of William Reeves who died in Granville County in 1751. He would also have been far too young to have been an adult born circa 1710 with a male child over 16 years of age in 1755.

Sources

¹Linda Davis Reno, Charlotte Hall, Maryland - St. Mary's Families link broken
²The will of Ubgate Reeves, written 1724, appoints guardians for the younger children, Mary and John, along with instructions regarding their education, etc. until they reached the age of 21. Susannah was not named in this will and was therefore born after its writing in 1724. (Will Book TA1, Pg 106-107)
The Maryland Gazette, St. Mary's County, Chaptico, July 1786