FamilyName, GivenNames

Summary

Narrative - Trying to find the parents of Sarah Reeves, wife of Charles Spencer, residents of Hickman, McNairy, and Hardin Counties in Tennessee. Sarah was born in TN in 1796. Charles was born in NC in 1791. They had 11 children, all born in Tennessee, the first three were born in Hickman County. She and Charles both have ties to the Bear Creek/Piney river portion of Hickman County, where there is a cluster of Reeves from which Sarah surely was raised.

Research Notes - Sarah Spencer was listed in the 1850 Census of Hardin County, TN. The head of household was Charles Spencer. Their marriage likely took place in Hickman County, TN about 47 years earlier, as their first child, Samuel B Spencer was born about 1814. Charles Spencer was born in North Carolina, according to his gravestone on the 28th of Jul 1791. His approximate age is recorded in the 1800 census of Burke County, NC in the residence of Samuel Spencer. He is identified as a male child along with his brother, both under 10 years of age. By 1810, his father, Samuel Spencer, purchased 50 acres on Bear Creek in Hickman County, TN. Charles is recorded at age 19, mustering into the militia as an ensign in 1811. By 1813, his father Samuel was purchasing another 30 acres along the waters of Pine River, the likely year of the marriage of Charles Spencer and Sarah Reeves. There is a substantial cluster of Reeves living along Piney River and Bear Creek in Hickman County from the same time period. According to Reliques of Reeves, Charlotte Reeves Robertson sent for her parents from North Carolina shortly after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, where she cared for them until their passing. Her brother Jordan Reeves is believed to have accompanied her on her famous raft adventure to Fort Nashborough. The names of her five brothers appear on multiple deeds in the Davidson and Hickman counties, including Jordan, William, George, Timothy, and Burwell. A majority of the early Spencer deeds can be attributed to these boys or their descendants. We face a challenge in sorting out which of these men were her father due to missing censuses burned in the War of 1812. George Jr is the popular, yet unproven presumption, but I am intrigued by the lack of the name George amongst her 11 children. Charles and Sarah moved away to Hardin County, TN as early as 1822. Samuel Spencer moved to Mississippi with Charles's siblings, leaving Charles with his bride. Sarah's gravestone reads, Sarah, Wife of Charles Spencer, Born Jun 18, 1796, Died Oct 13, 1855. Charles's gravestone reads, CHARLES SPENCER, Born 28 Jul 1791 Died 10 Aug 1856

Sources: Reliques of the Rives (Ryves): Being Historical and Genealogical Notes of the Ancient Family Ryves of County Dorset by James Rives Childs, 1929, 1800 Census: Burke, First District, Hickman, Tennessee, North Carolina and Tennessee, US, Early Land Records, 1753-1931, digital page 106 of 332, Certificate #5006, North Carolina; page 795, Digital page 78 of 92, Samuel Spencer, Hickman County Deed, Book B, pages 103-104, (1812), Hickman County, Tennessee; Militia of Hickman County 1811, 36th Regiment; Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Summary of County Records re Charles Spencer, 1826-1866, Summary of County Records re Charles Spencer, 1826-1866, vickiperry_1 , 1830 McNairy County TN Census, 1840 & 1850 Hardin County, TN Census, Charles Spencer gravestone https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35694999/charles_john_spencer#source,