Reeves, Thomas

Summary

Father: probably George Reeves
Mother: Mary MNU

Birth: c1780, Patrick/Henry County, Virginia area
Birth Source: Estimate

Death: c1840, Franklin County, Missouri
Death Source:

Spouse1: Elizabeth "Betsy" McCutcheon, b. 1780, Virginia; m. April 4, 1805, Patrick County, Virginia by Minister Robert Jones¹

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Narrative

Thomas Reeves was prominent in community affairs in Patrick County and is often recorded in the minutes of the court there in various positions.

At May Court on 29 May 1806, Thomas Reaves was recommended to the Governor as a fit person to serve as Lieutenant in the Place of Charles Foster who resigned 1st Batalion. And on 28 August 1806, he qualified as a Lieutenant of the Militia.

He qualified as Overseer of the Poor on 28 May 1807.

In May Court of that year, James Randals was recommended as Lieutenant in the Place of Thomas Reeves who had resigned from a company of militia.

He was appointed along with John Turner, Wm. Burnett, Jesse Corn Sr. and George Lackey, James Ferrell, Wm. Fuson & John Corn or any 5 of them, to review a road formerly viewed from Reubin Burnetts(?) to the Montgomery line up Maberrys Gap and make report of their Proceedings.

On 28 Mar 1809 the Patrick County Court appointed Thomas Reeves along with John Burnett, John Hall, Wm. Fuson, & Charles Foster Sr. or any 3 of them to appraise the estate of Jesse Corn and make report to the Court. On that court date, he was also included in the individuals assigned to work as a hand for William Corn who was appointed Surveyor of the road from the top of the bull Mountain to the ford of Sycamore near Richard Sharp.

Thomas Reaves received a grant for 232 acres on the north waters of Goblintown Creek in Patrick County on 18 July 1809.

In the January court of 1811 he was appointed to superintend the clearing and opening of a Road from the foot of the Bull Mountain into the Road near Zaphaniah Tenison. He was appointed with several others as Commissioners to value property on the north side of Bull Mountain in February.

Thomas Reeves was listed along with several others termed as "gentlemen" who were recommended to the Executive (governor) as fit and proper Persons to serve as Justices of the Peace for the County on 26 Feb 1813.

By the 1820 census, all of the presumed sons of George Reeves who had previously been living in Patrick County, Virginia disappear from the records of Patrick County as well as those of Virginia.

On the 24th of April 1820, Thomas Reeves along with William Harrison of Washington County, Missouri, were issued a grant of 80 acres, Lot 1 NE corner twnsh 39 N of range 3 west by the U.S. District Land Office in St. Louis.

The State Historical Society of Missouri gives the following information regarding the Harrison-Reeves Bloomery in Crawford County:
Thicketty Creek, in the northeastern part of the county close to the Washington County line, three miles south of Bourbon. It is the second earliest record of the mining and smelting of iron or in Missouri. It was probably erected in 1819 or 1820 by William Harrison, one of the earliest settlers of Crawford County, and Josiah Reeves, with Thomas Reeves as forgeman. Early bloomeries in Missouri usually consisted of a forge which resembled a smith's forge and a furnace. This crude furnace, known as Harrison's Furnace, Harrison's Forge, Harrison's Bloomery, or Harrison's Iron Works, continued in operation for several years. (Goodspeed (1888) 542; Swank (1892) 333; OZARK REGION (1917) I, 197-198.

Josiah Reeves and Thomas Reeves are found in the 1830 census of Franklin County, Missouri. Franklin County is just west of St. Louis to the south of the Missouri River. By the 1840 census Thomas is no longer listed and presumably has died.

The listing for Thomas Reeves in the 1830 Franklin County census records his household as: 1 male 50-59, 1 male 20-30, 1 male 15-20, 1 female 50-59, 2 females 15-19, and 2 females 10-14.

From the Abstracts of Wills & Administrators Bonds, 1816-1853, of Washington County, Missouri: HYDE, JOHN decd. Court appointed Thomas Reeves & John Hyde, guardian of the estates of Rachel Hyde, Catharine Hyde, Elvira Hyde & Elijah Hyde, minor heirs of the decd. 25 Dec 1826. (Bond A:23-27) Note: A John Hyde, probably the son of the deceased was the next neighbor to Thomas Reeves in the 1830 census of Franklin County.

The following females of ages that correspond with daughters of Thomas and Elizabeth Reeves in the 1830 census, married in Franklin County during the 1830's and are very likely their children:

1. Lucy Reeves, m. William Renfrow (msp as Renphroe) on 15 Oct 1832
2. Elizabeth Reeves, m. Elisha Harbour on 12 Dec 1833
3. Exony Reeves, m. James B. Southworth, m. 23 Jul 1836

Sources

¹Marriages of Patrick County, Virginia, 1791-1850, by Lela C. Adams
Patrick County, Virginia, Deed Books 1-4
Court Orders of Patrick County, Virginia
U.S. District Land Office, St. Louis
1830 Census - Franklin County, Missouri