Reeves, Lazarus

Summary

Father:
Mother:

Birth: c1756
Birth Source: Rev War Pension Record

Death: c1827, probably Pike County, Mississippi
Death Source: Headstone, DAR

Spouse1: Elizabeth Mosely

Narrative

Children of Lazarus Reeves and Elizabeth Mosely:

1. Thomas Reeves, b. 15 Dec 1786
2. John Reeves, b. 14 Apr 1792
3. Alfred Reeves, b. c1796
4. Zachariah Reeves, b. 31 Oct 1799

Lazarus Rieves is listed as owning land next to an 851 acre plat of land for Charles Lefloar dated 1786. The land was located in Richland County, Camden District.

In a court record from 2 Dec 1807, he was in a list of petit and pleas jurors to serve at the next federal circuit court in Columbia, South Carolina.

In 1808, Lazarus Rives bought a Heifer at the estate sale of Frederick Entzminger. A Thomas Rives, probably Thomas Rives of Lexington, bought some furniture, a cow and a calf at the same sale.

There is an 1817 deed from Rutherford County, North Carolina which mentions land in Richland District, South Carolina "on Federick Ancminger South East on Lazarus Reeves land." Frederick was probably the same or the son of the one whose estate sale he was at in 1808.

From Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823:
Executive Department
Wednesday, March 6, 1811
"This a passport be prepared for Mr. Lazarus Reeves, with his wife and six children from Richland County in the state of South Carolina to travel through the Creek Nation of Indians."

There is an equity case from Richland County, South Carolina from 1817 in which Lazarus Rives was complaining that Samson Russell was trying to sell some land which had been mortgaged to Rives. It contained a copy of the mortgage from Russell to Rives. The mortgage states that Lazarus Rives was "of" Richland County.

There is a rather lengthy equity court case from Fairfield District, South Carolina in which Lazarus "Rieves" and his wife Elizabeth demand that the administrator of the estate of Elizabeth's brother John Mosely finish taking account of the estate and distribute to the heirs. Administrator William A. Belton had not been fulfilling his duties to make an accounting of the estate and give them their share. Belton replies that he is not convinced of her claim of kinship. Belton died May 1827 and so the case fell to his administrator James Rochelle. In June 1827 a petition was presented on behalf of Robert Mosely alleging he and his siblings were children of Joel Mosely who was a brother of John Mosely the deceased. Included in the case is a Power of Attorney from Lazarus which begins: "Know all men by these presents that I Lazarus Rieves of the State of Mississippi Pique County have made constituted and apointed and by these presents do make constitute and apoint and in my place and stead put and depute my friend John Simmons of the State of South Carolina and Fairfield District my true and lawful attorney." In statements from c1822, the case reveals the father of John Mosely and Elizabeth Mosely Rives died "forty or fifty years ago." It also states that the "Rives" family moved to Mississippi 12 or 13 years ago. Land held by John or one of the Mosely brothers in Lancaster County is mentioned.

Lazarus's service in the Revolutionary War was described in his pension record. He was living in Pike County in 1827 at the time of the statement and was "aged about seventy one or seventy two years."

Lazarus Reaves Enlisted for the term of eighteen months (day of month nor month recollected) in the year of (not given) in the State of South Carolina in the Company of Rangers under Captain Robert Goodwin the above Term of Service, and one other term of six months under the title of minute men and the said R. Goodwin Captain aforesaid in the Regiment commanded by Colonel William Thompson [sic, William Thomson] in the line of the State of South Carolina in the (not given) Continental establishment that he continued to serve in the said Corps until (not recollected) when he was regularly discharged from the service in the State of South Carolina that he hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension except the present that his name is not on the roll of any State except that of the State of South Carolina.

Lazarus had an account audited claim from the Revolutionary War that shows he received ten pounds nineteen shillings for 123 days of militia service as sergeant in 1781 and 1782.

The book Pike county. Mississippi, 1789-1876 contains the following biographical details:

Lazarus Reeves came from South Carolina and Settled on Clear Creek in 1811. This little stream rises west of Summit, running in an eastern direction, emptying into Bogue Chitto near the plantation of Laban Bacot. Lazarus Reeves was the father of John Reeves, who settled on Clear Creek in 1812, and Alfred Reeves, who settled on Topisaw, and Zachariah Reeves, Baptist preacher.

The Bogue Chitto Baptist Church was constituted and located on a place subsequently owned by Alex. McMorris, on the Bogue Chitto River, on the 31st day of October, 1812, by Lazarus Reeves, Annis Dillon, Priscilla Warren, Sarah Norman, John Brent, Sr., William Denman, John Warren, Sarah Thompson, Sarah Denman and David McGraw. This church was afterwards moved to Carters Creek, and Zachariah Reeves was connected with it during his lifetime.

John, Thomas and Alfred Reeves are all listed in the Mississippi territorial tax rolls in Pike County in 1817. The County tax rolls available begin in 1818 with Thomas, John and Lazarus listed next to each other for land in Bogue Chitto and Clear Creek. In 1819, Lazarus and John are listed for land in Clear Creek and Thomas for land in Bogue Chitto. Alfred is listed as well but unspecified. In later years Zachariah shows up in the lists as well.

On the 1820 United States Census, Lazarus, John and Thomas Reeves are all listed. On the 1820 Mississippi State Census, Thomas, Alfred, John and Lazarus are all listed.

Lazarus and his wife Elizabeth are buried in Clear Creek near McComb in Pike County. There are DAR markers for him.

Research Notes

Family lore (see the Moak works) indicates that Lazarus Reeves was about 1752 to William Rives near the Lazarett River. While DNA testing has proven that Lazarus does not descend from the Rives family, he does appear to be in the same vicinity in South Carolina with the Rives family and to have even used the spelling "Rives" initially, so it is likely he received the surname from that family. Further William Rives did indeed own land on the "lower side of the Lazaretta Fork of the Little Nottoway River" which is an unusual match to the family lore. Family lore additionally states that Lazarus was married to Elizabeth Massey, daughter of Thomas Massey about 1775 and moved to Richland County after that. It may be the case that Lazarus was married twice as records in South Carolina from right before Lazarus's death show that he was married to an Elizabeth Mosely. Family lore indicates that Lazarus was the father of Green, William (1780 - 1826), Thomas, John, Alfred, and Zachariah. The passport statement from 1811 does indicate that he had six children. Further research is needed on these points.

Sources

Burial:       Findagrave - Clear Creek, McComb, Pike County, Mississippi

1810 Census:  Richland County, South Carolina
1820 Census:  Pike County, Mississippi

Lefloar, Charles, Plat For 851 Acres On Cedar And Crain Creeks, Camden District, Surveyed By Alexander Kennedy. Date: 4/6/1786; SC Archives ID: Series: S213190 Volume: 0001 Page: 00369 Item: 000 (SC Archives (indexed as "Rieve, Lazarus"))
FamilySearch - South Carolina Circuit Court Minute Book Vol. 1 (1790-1809), p334
FamilySearch - Rutherford County, North Carolina Deed Book 29, p590
Passports of Southeastern Pioneers 1770-1823, p280
1811 Mortgage - Samson Russell to Lazarus Rives - Richland County, South Carolina Equity Bill 136
Revolutionary War Pension Record, R8636
Conerly, Luke Ward. Pike county, Mississippi, 1789-1876: pioneer families and Confederate soldiers, reconstruction and redemption, p44
SC Archives, Reeves, Lazarus, Account Audited (File No. 6320) Of Claims Growing Out Of The American Revolution
Fairfield County, South Carolina Equity Court Case 1825, #12
Richland County, South Carolina Book E, p165
FamilySearch - Mississippi Territorial Tax Rolls, Pike County,1817, Box 140, pp. 14-15
FamilySearch - 1820 Mississippi State Census, Pike County
FamilySearch - Pike County, Mississippi 1818 Tax List
FamilySearch - Pike County, Mississippi 1819 Tax List
REEVES FAMILY, Descendants of Lazarus Reeves (1752 - ca1827) compiled by Frank Moak (for Reeves-Moak Reunion 1962)