Reeves, Preston

Summary

Father: George Reeves
Mother: Elizabeth Doughton

Birth: 20 May 1824, Virginia
Birth Source: Census and History of Nebraska

Death: 1907 Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska
Death Source: Cemetery records of Forest Lawn Memorial Park

Spouse1: Parmelia Ellis, m. 25 Apr 1856 in Caldwell County, ​Missouri

Narrative

Children of Preston Reeves and Parmelia Ellis:
#William Reeves, b. 1852 William Ellis was a step-son of Preston Reeves

1. Elizabeth E. Reeves, b. 1857
2. Joseph Cameron Reeves, b. 1859
3. Cora B. Reeves, b. 1861
4. Adela F. Reeves, b. 1862

Published in the Illustrated history of Nebraska:
REEVES, PRESTON, deceased, late of Douglas county, Neb., the son of George and Elizabeth (Daughton) Reeves, was born in Virginia, May 20, 1824. Elizabeth D. Reeves was born in Grayson county, Va., in 1799. Mr. George (sic Preston) Reeves was a brother-in-law of A. T. Jones, the first postmaster of Omaha, and a brother of Cameron Reeves, the first sheriff of Douglas county. One son of George Reeves was a lieutenant in ex-Governor Thayer's regiment during the Civil War. Preston Reeves homesteaded the present site of Creighton college, in Omaha, in the spring of 1854. He was an old line democrat. He was married May 4, 1856, to Miss Parmelia Ellis, of Omaha. They were the parents of four children: Mrs. John Quinn, Elkhorn, Neb. (see sketch in this volume); J. C. Reeves, of Millard, Neb.; Mrs. Cora Rhodes, of Eugene, Ore.; and Mrs. Delia McAvoy, of Millard, Neb. An incident which may be of interest is the fact that in the spring of 1858, while the men of the Reeves family were away, an Indian appeared on the premises and threatened to scalp Mrs. Reeves. In order to inspire a fear in her he shot an arrow into the air and when it fell he withdrew the arrow from the ground and said he was going to shoot that arrow as deeply into her heart as it had gone into the ground. Mrs. Reeves raised an alarm and the Indian retreated. This is one among a number of experiences which characterized the early days in the territory of Nebraska.¹

Published in Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
PRESTON REEVES, farmer and stock raiser, Section 11, Chicago Precinct, Millard P. O. Was born in Virginia, 1823, and was reared in Illinois. In 1843 he removed to Caldwell County, Mo., where he followed his present industry till 1856, when he came here and located, and has very successfully carried it on here since. In 1856 he married Mrs. Amelia Ellis, Formerly Sterrett, who was born in Maryland in 1829, and reared in Kentucky. They have a family of two sons and four daughters, Mary L., now Mrs. William Haney; William D., Elizabeth E., Joseph C., Cora B., now Mrs. Henry F. Rhodes, of Omaha; and Idella F. Mr. Reeves has always taken an active part in the encouragement of the many industries that have tended to the growth and development of his locality.²

Sources

¹Illustrated history of Nebraska: a history of Nebraska...Volume 3, J. North, 1913
²Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska
Missouri, Marriages, 1750-1920
1860 Census - Douglas County, Nebraska
1870 Census - Douglas County, Nebraska
1880 Census - Douglas County, Nebraska
1900 Census - Douglas County, Nebraska