Reeves, Thomas

Summary

Father: Thomas Reeves, Jr.
Mother: Sarah Attwood

Birth: bef 1774, Virginia
Birth Source: Deed by Thomas Reeves heirs to James Reeves and age estimate from census.

Death: after 1822 1838
Death Source: Last recorded 1838 Tax list of Franklin County KY

Spouse1: Unknown
Spouse2: Mary Lawson, m. 5 Nov 1811 in Henry County, Kentucky

Narrative

Thomas Reeves is listed as a tithe of his father Thomas Reeves, Jr. from 1792 when the family first arrived in Woodford County, Kentucky until 1795. The first year he was listed in his own right as an adult was 1796 when he was presumably 21 years old. He was recorded as a taxpayer in Gallatin County in 1810 and in Franklin County in 1822.

Thomas is recorded in various deeds of Woodford and Henry Counties with his mother Sarah and siblings as well as individually selling lands bequeathed by his father Thomas Reeves. He is also listed in the tax lists of Henry, Woodford and Gallatin counties in Kentucky between 1800 and 1820 but by 1822 he is recorded in Franklin County.

Thomas Reeves' age is estimated based upon the only census where he has been identified. In the 1810 census of 1810 Gallatin County, Kentucky he was 27-44 years of age. Thomas' household in that census consisted of 1 male <10, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 26-44, 2 females <10, 1 female 10-15 and 1 female 26-44. The identity of his first wife and these children is unknown. In 1811 in Henry County he appears to have remarried to Mary Lawson.

In 1817, Thomas was witness to a Power of Attorney executed by his sister, Elizabeth Reeves.

The 1820 census of Franklin County, Kentucky is so degraded that the given name of a Reeves who may well be Thomas is indestinguishable nor is it possible to decipher the ages and sexes of his children although it is obvious that there were 2 females whose ages probably coincide with the ages of Thomas' children in 1810.

Thomas Reeves appears for the last time on the 1838 tax lists of Franklin County, Kentucky. No other documentation can be found for him.

A widowed Mary Reeves with two female children 20-30 is listed on the 1840 census of Franklin County and is likely Thomas' widow Mary Lawson Reeves.

Research Notes

None of Thomas' children have been identified. A search of the marriage records of Henry, Franklin, Woodford, Shelby and surrounding counties has yielded no Reeves marriages of individuals who could be from this family during the years 1820 to 1850 and are unidentified. In at least one document from Henry County circa 1820, Thomas Reeves is referred to as Thomas, Sr. which may be an indication that he had a son Thomas.

The male child identified in the 1810 census as having been born 1795-1800 could be Thomas C. Reeves who settled in Hart County, Kentucky before 1819 when he was listed in the tax lists there and is recorded in the 1820 census of Hart County. In that census, he is listed with a young wife and female child under 10 years of age. Later census records show Thomas C. Reeves' birthplace as Virginia which is consistent with this family's origins.

Sources

Kentucky, Compiled Marriages, 1802-1850, online database at Ancestry.com
1810 Census - Gallatin County, Kentucky
1820 Census - Franklin County, Kentucky
1840 Census - Franklin County, Kentucky (HOH Mary Reeves)
1801 Deed Woodford County, KY Deed Book C1, p. 296-297
1803 Deed by Thomas Reeves' Heirs Woodford County, KY Deed Book F p. 196
Witness Woodford County, KY Deed Book G p. 210
Tax Lists of Woodford, Henry, Gallatin and Franklin Counties in Kentucky