Reeves, Sidney King

Summary

Father: Unknown George Reeves
Mother: Unknown Biddy King

Birth: 15 Dec 1805 5 Dec 1806, North Carolina
Birth Source: Bastardy Records, Tombstone, Family Bible

Death: 8 Apr 1875, Pike County, Georgia
Death Source: Tombstone

Spouse1: Sarah Caroline Nicholson

Narrative

Children of Sidney King Reeves and Sarah Caroline Nicholson:

1. Charles Alfred Reeves, b. 2 May 1830, d. bef 1840
2. George Washington Reeves, b. 1 Jan 1832
3. John William Reeves, b. 5 Feb 1834
4. Edward Augustus Reeves, b. 27 Jan 1836
5. Rufus King Reeves, b. 1 Sep 1838
6. James Henry Reeves, b. 5 Jan 1841
7. Mary Jane Reeves, b. 24 Aug 1843
8. Charles Sidney Reeves, b. 11 Apr 1846, d. bef 1850
9. Martha Elizabeth Reeves, b. 22 Nov 1847
10. Sarah Caroline Reeves, b. 9 Jun 1850
11. Biddie Ophelia Reeves, b. 15 Mar 1852

Published in Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868
739. King, Sidney (born 15 Dec 1805)

• [Bastardy Bonds, image 1155] Biddy King’s child was already born when she identified George Reeves as the father on 14 Sep 1807.
• [OCPQS 9/338 - May 1817] Ordered that Sidney King Son of Biddy King now of the age of 11 yrs 15th December last be bound to Robert Anderson until he arrive to lawful age to learn the Art & Mistery of a Carpenter.
• [OCPQS 11/22 - May 1822] Ordered that Sidney King now of the age of Seventeen Years 15th Dec’r next be bound to William McCauley until he arrives to lawful age to learn the art of a farmer.

It appears that Sidney learned his age incorrectly as the family Bibles indicate he was born 5 Dec 1806 instead of 15 Dec 1805.

Although the court initially ordered that he be bound to William McCauley in 1822, he was bound on 17 Feb 1823 to Charles Fowler as an apprentice in Wake County to learn tayloring. The document describes him as "an Orphan named Sidney K. Reeves" although "orphan" is part of the printed legal form and not handwritten. If he was truly an orphan at the time, this could indicate his father was George Sr. rather than George Jr..

Census records indicate Sidney was from North Carolina. On 25 Jun 1824, the The Raleigh Register from Wake County reported the following:

One Cent Reward
My apprentice boy, Sidney K. Reeves, eloped from my service on the 15th inst. The above reward will be paid for his apprehension, but no thanks. All persons are cautioned against harboring or employing said apprentice, on pain of being prosecuted.
CHAS. FOWLER, Tailor.
Raleigh, June 18.

On Friday, 6 Jan 1826, the Weekly Raleigh Register of Raleigh, North Carolina published a listing of letters remaining in the post office at Raleigh on the 1st of January 1826 that included the name of Sidney Reeves. The notice published the following week of 13 Jan 1826 also included the name of Sidney Reeves.

Sidney King Reeves married Sarah Caroline Nicholson in Walton County, Georgia on 23 July 1829. She was born 9 April 1810 and died 24 March 1875; she is buried beside her husband at Zebulon Methodist Church Cemetery in Pike Co., GA. The surname is spelled Reaves on their tombstone. According to the transcription, the family Bible states they were married on the 25th, but that could have been misread.

Sidney purchased land in Walton County, Georgia, on 9 November 1829 from William Watson and on 28 August 1830 from William Carr. He entered into a promisory note with David Johnston in 1832. He sold land to William Watson in two different deeds, both dated 1830 . He also sold land in Walton County to William Carr in 1830 and to Orion Stroud in 1832. Several of these deeds are for urban lots in the town of Monroe, suggesting that Reeves may have been involved in business or urban development.

Although enumerated in Walton County in 1830. The 1830 census showed him with a young son under age five, one male aged 15-20, one male aged 20-30 (probably Sidney), and one female aged 20-30. James Nicholson, perhaps a relative of Sidney's wife, appeared on the following page.

Sidney was taxed in Captain Ray's District, Walton Co., GA, in 1831. He owned 1/2 acre of land in Monroe County. James Nicholson paid poll tax only but was taxed in the same district.

Sidney was living in Pike County, Georgia, by 1834, when he was taxed in Captain Leak's District, which seems to have encompassed the town of Zebulon. Sidney K. Reeves paid the poll tax only, but he appeared two lines from George W. Reeves, who was taxed with six different lots in different parts of Georgia (apparently all distributed in the 1832 land lottery) and a house and lot in the town of Zebulon. Sidney K. Reeves was taxed in Captain Jarrett's District, Pike County, in 1838 with a town lot in Zebulon.

Sidney was enumerated in GMD 581, Pike Co., GA, in 1840. Four males under age 10 were shown in the household, consistent with his enumeration in 1850.

In 1854, Sidney was listed as the Senior Warden of Montgomery Lodge No. 31, Zebulon, Pike County, Georgia, part of the Grand Lodge of Georgia of the Masons.

In 1860, Sidney was shown as a farmer with property valued at $2500/$6045.

Sidney and his family eventually switched to using the "Reaves" spelling of the name. He is buried in the Zebulon Methodist Church Cemetery in Pike County.

Research Notes

Sidney King Reeves was incorrectly identified in The Reeves Review as a son of William Reeves. William's detailed estate records prove that Sidney was not his son.

Sidney King Reeves was one of a large number of Reeves individuals found in Pike Co., GA. Together, they represent several different Reeves lineages. Jesse B. Reaves (born 1800-1810) was Captain of Jesse B. Reaves's Militia District in 1827 and was taxed in Gun's District of Pike County in 1829; in 1827 he was taxed with 8 polls and paid tax on 202.5 acres in Pike County, Buck Creek, joining Shruptine, LD 2, LL 236. Jesse was still living in Pike County in 1830, but his origins are unknown. Elisha Reeves had come to Pike County from Lancaster Co., SC, and was a son of James Reeves, Sr. Several sons of William Reeves of Wilkes County, Georgia, also settled in Pike County, including John Reeves, William Reeves, Jr., and Jeremiah Reeves. A fourth son, Elijah Reeves, settled immediately to the south of Pike County in Upson County, as did Reeves sister Hannah Reeves Graham. Several sons of Abner Reeves and Sarah Wright settled immediately to the west in adjoining Meriwether County. Abner Reeves and William Reeves were first cousins. In addition to these families, members of the Maryland Reeves family of Bennett Reeves also passed through Meriwether County in the 1840s. DNA evidence places these men into three separate and distinct lineage groups. At this point, none are known to be connected to the Orange County, North Carolina Reeves from which Sidney descends. His closest association was with George W. Reeves, born about 1810 in North Carolina, who is currently unidentified.

Sources

Birth:          Freedom Bound: Apprenticeship, Racism & Liberation in Orange County, North Carolina 1777 to 1868
Marriage1:  FamilySearch - Georgia, County Marriages, 1785-1950
Burial:       Findagrave - Zebulon Methodist Church Cemetery, Zebulon, Pike County, Georgia

1830 Census:  Walton County, Georgia
1840 Census:  Pike County, Georgia
1850 Census:  Pike County, Georgia
1860 Census:  Pike County, Georgia
1870 Census:  Pike County, Georgia

Orange County Births Out of Wedlock at Family Search
FamilySearch - North Carolina Apprenticeship Records, image 1738
Sidney King Reaves Family Bible
1826 Sidney K Reaves Family Bible
The Raleigh Register, Raleigh, North Carolina pub 25 Jun 1824
Weekly Raleigh Register, Raleigh, North Carolina pub 6 Jan 1826 and 13 Jan 1826
Grand Lodge of Georgia, 1854 - Montgomery Lodge No. 31, Zebulon, Pike County, Georgia