Reeves, Susan Abigail

Summary

Father: Reeves, Reason
Mother: Marshall, Matilda

Birth: 26 September 1831, Greenup County, Kentucky
Birth Source: Family Bible of William and Susan Abigail Reeves Dortch and her photograph with her daughter having written her dates on the back and tombstone and Find A Grave

Death: 21 May 1879, Greenup County, Kentucky
Death Source: Family Bible of William and Susan Abigail Reeves Dortch, her photograph with dates, tombstone, and Find A Grave

Spouse1: Dortch, William

Narrative

Children of William Dortch and Susan Abigail Reeves:

1. Dortch, Matilda Marshall 19 July 1854 d. 1 January 1860
2. Dortch, Virginia Elizabeth 18 November 1855 m George William Meek
3. Dortch, Iza Dora 31 July 1857 d. 11 January 1866
4. Dortch, John Reason 15 July 1859 d. 20 April 1873
5. Dortch, Peter D 9 January 1861 d. 20 April 1864
6. Dortch, Laura Agnes 8 July 1863 m. George Allen England
7. Dortch, Lucy Francis 3 July 1865 m. Joseph Lane McNeal
8. Dortch, Mary Etta 10 March 1869 m. William Thomas Peatling
9. Dortch, Nettie May 25 March 1871 m. 1st. William D Killingsworth m. 2nd Walter F Hunter

Susan Abigail went by her middle name of Abigail or Abbie throughout her life. She and her husband Will built their home on adjoining land deeded to them by their fathers along Tygart Creek. Later they inherited and purchased further land. Her husband was named one of the administrators for her father's estate and her widowed mother continued to live nearby on her dower land.

Abbie had a long history of "sick headaches" today diagnosed as migraine. The stress of the Civil War and the deaths of four of her children couldn't have helped. Soon after her son John was accidentally killed by collapsing logs hitting his head, Abbie had a very bad stroke which seriously disabled her for the rest of her life. Her husband and older daughters raised her two youngest daughters who were only two and four at the time. Abbie never recovered enough to care for her family again. All of the daughters later praised their father's loving care of their mother during this very difficult time. She was buried in Mt. Zion Methodist Church cemetery in South Shore, Greenup, Kentucky.

Research Notes

Greenup County Marriage Record Book clearly shows a tear in the year of 1853 and about six months is missing from the book which includes the time of their marriage.

Sources

1840 Greenup County Kentucky Census
1850 Greenup County Kentucky Census
1860 Greenup County Kentucky Census
1870 Greenup County Kentucky Census
Family Bible of William Dortch and Susan Abigail Reeves for dates of their births, marriage and birth and death of their children and full names of family members. Their dates of death added by their daughters. The date of the Bible shows that it was published a couple of years prior to their marriage.
Greenup County Birth and Death Records 1847-1911
Greenup County Newspaper Clippings
Greenup County Deeds
Obituaries for William Dortch, John R. Dortch, and all the adult daughters.