Reeves, William

Summary

Father: William Reeves
Mother: Sarah M. Jossey

Birth: c. 1840, Meriwether Co., GA
Birth Source: 1850 Census

Death: Aft. 1880, Spalding Co., GA
Death Source: 1860 Census and Guardianship Papers

Spouse1: Emily Aurelia Lockett, 18 May 1859, Spalding Co., GA.
Spouse2: Florence Brown, 18 December 1873, Houston Co., GA.

Narrative

Child of William Reeves and Emily Aurelia Lockett:

1. Sallie Aurelia Reeves, b. 26 January 1869, GA, d. 12 August 1869, GA, bur. Oak Hill Cemetery.

Children of William Reeves and Florence Brown:

1. William R. B. Reeves, b. 14 October 1874, GA, d. 29 July 1944, DeKalb Co., GA, m. Clara McKenzie. He was living in GMD 1001, Spalding Co., GA, in 1900 with wife Clara and a young son.
2. Minnie Brown Reeves, b. 29 January 1881, GA, m. H. Lee Barfield.

William's guardian, Myron Ellis (who was married to Mary Jossey) filed returns for him in Meriwether County in 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860. William was apparently alive on 27 February 1861 when the final return was filed.

He has not been conclusively identified in the 1860 census, but he is probably the 20-year-old William Reeves with wife Aurelia, age 18, living in Spalding Co., GA, District 2, Griffin P.O., HH 286, in 1860. He was shown as a farmer with property valued at $2000/$12000.

William and E. A. Reeves were enumerated in Griffin, Spalding Co., GA, in 1870, HH 99/108. William was a Retail Grocer with property valued at $1200/$600. He and wife E. A. had no children at that time. S. W. Mangham, Harriet L. Reeves Mangham, and Sarah M. Jossey Reeves were a few households away in HH 97/107.

Emily Aurelia Lockett Reeves died 27 September 1872 in Spalding Co., GA. She was born 27 August 1841 and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Griffin, GA. She was a daughter of U. T. and A. L. Lockett.

William may be the individual enumerated in Griffin, Spalding Co., GA, in 1880, GMD 1001, HH 155/188. He was a store clerk, and wife Florence S., age 30, was a boarding house keeper. In addition to 5-year-old son William R. B. Reeves, the household included several boarders, among them Henry J. Simonton and a Kendrick family. This man had married Florence Brown on 18 December 1873 in Houston Co., GA.

Florence Reeves was a widow in Spalding Co., GA, in 1900, living in GMD 1001 with son William and his family. She indicated that she was the mother of two children, both of whom were then living. Florence is buried in Oaklawn Cemetery, Fort Valley, Peach Co., GA. She died was born 19 August 1849 and died 25 March 1918 in Atlanta. News of her death and funeral, identifying her as Mrs. Florence Brown Reeves, appeared in the Atlanta Constitution on 26 and 27 March 1918. Her son, son-in-law, grandchildren, and several other family members are mentioned.

Notes

The William Reeves with wife Florence may not be the same man who had married Emily Aurelia Lockett. Some researchers have identified him as a son of Hiram Reeves and Susan Harper. They were in Butts Co., GA, in 1860 and 1870 with son William J. P. Reeves. He was not shown with the family in Butts Co., GA, in 1870 or in DeKalb Co., AL, in 1880. The geography and circumstances of William Reeves's marriage to Florence Brown fits corresponds ideally with the known facts concerning the William Reeves who married Emily Aurelia Lockett.

Sources

1850 Meriwether Co., GA, Census.
1860 Spalding Co., GA, Census.
1870 Spalding Co., GA, Census.
1880 Spalding Co., GA, Census.
1900 Spalding Co., GA, Census.
Meriwether Co., GA, Annual Returns Books E-F.
Atlanta Constitution, 26-27 March 1918.