Reeves, William Jr.

Summary

Father: William Reeves
Mother: Sarah MNU

Birth: c1801 to 1805, probably Fleming County, Kentucky
Birth Source: Age estimates from census

Death: before 1850
Death Source: Wife Fannie appears to be widowed and is head of household in 1850 census.

Spouse1: Frances "Fannie" Fisher

Narrative

Children of William Reeves, Jr. and Frances Fisher:

1. Mary Jane Reeves, b. 1824
2. John W. Reeves, b. 1826
3. George Reeves, b. 1830
4. William Reeves, b. 1832

Although no probate documents have currently been found for William Reeves, Sr., the following are the bases for believing that William Jr was the son of William Reeves:

William Reeves Sr’s 1810 census listing in Fleming County included a male < age 10 (so, born between late 1800 and 1810).

This male was not in William Sr’s 1820 census listing for Brown County OH. However, a man of the appropriate age (b between 1800 and 1810), with the name William Reeves, appeared as a head of household in the Brown County OH census for both 1830 and 1840. By this time he had married Frances (Fannie) Fisher (b ~1802). Although no marriage record has been found, the birth of their daughter Mary Jane in late 1824 (age 5-9 in the 1830 census listing) suggests that they had married by at least 1824.
The younger William Reeves was not listed as a head of household in Brown County OH in 1820. So — if he was William Sr’s son, but not in William Sr’s household in 1820 — where was he?

Although William and Fannie might have married earlier than 1824, there was no male of William’s age in the household of Fannie’s father, George Fisher, in 1820, and there were three females of the appropriate age for Fannie. So it is reasonable to assume that William was still unmarried in 1820.

One possibility is that William had stayed behind in Fleming Co KY when his father migrated to Ohio. There were several Reeves households in the 1820 census for Fleming Co KY, where William could have been living, but the most reasonable is the household of his brother Thomas. That household a male aged 16-18 — too old to have been Thomas’ son. This could well have been a younger brother William, who had not yet migrated to Ohio; if so, his year of birth was between 1801 and 1804.

There is also a possibility that William was living in the household of Ila Reeves in Brown Co OH in 1820. That household included a male aged 10-15 (b 1804-1810). Ila and Frankey Reeves did not marry until December, 1810, making it unlikely that this was their son, and the boy’s identity has not been established. He could have been William Sr’s son, born around 1804-5 — before Sarah’s death — and living in the household of this cousin, rather than in the household of his father and step-mother. This seems less likely than his living with Thomas in Kentucky, since Ila would have been a somewhat distant relative — 1st cousin once removed. However, William would have been old enough to be of assistance on his cousin’s farm. In this scenario, he might have migrated to Ohio with his father, but conflicts had arisen in his father’s blended family over time, and the solution was to go work on the farm of a relative — even one somewhat distant. And even if he had been born as late as 1805, he would still have been old enough to marry by 1824.

Given the younger William’s name, it is reasonable to assume that he could have been the son of a man with the same name. If so, his marriage by 1824 makes it more likely that he was the son of William Sr’s first wife Sarah than of Ellinor Wood.

It is noteworthy that a Daniel Fisher was present at the marriage of Elizabeth Reeves believed to be William's sister in 1824. There is a documented tie between the Fisher and Reeves families in Brown County OH in the early part of the 2nd decade of the 19th Century. Those two families have been identified as early (possibly charter) members of a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) that was organized in Brown County about 1810 and became known as Liberty Chapel (History of Brown County, Ohio, p. 700). Although by the time of the younger William Reeves’ death, there were several other presumably-unrelated Reeves families in Brown County, most of those unrelated families arrived after 1830. The link of the earlier Reeveses with the Fishers as members of Liberty Chapel suggests that Fannie Fisher’s husband probably came from the family of either William Sr. or Eli, the heads of the two earliest known Reeves families in the county. Lists of Eli’s children published in several county histories include no mention of a son named William. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that the younger William’s father was William Sr.

On 25 Jul 1843, page 3, the Democratic Standard of Georgetown, Ohio published a listing of letters remaining at the post office on 30 Jun 1843 which included the name of William Reeves, Sr. which should serve as documentation of the existence of a William Reeves, Jr.

Estimated birth: 1801-1805 (thus in the correct age group in census listings for 1810, 1830 and 1840; fitting into the household of either his brother Thomas or cousin Ila in 1820; born before his father’s remarriage; and old enough for marriage by 1824).

Estimated death: between 1844 and 1850. He is known to have been alive as late as 14 Sep 1844, when he and Fannie signed an indenture, transferring land in Brown Co OH to Jacob Hughes. The 1850 census lists Fannie as a head of household in Byrd Twp, Brown Co OH.

Note: From the research of TRP members Lois Downey and Anne McDonald.

Sources

1810 Census - Fleming County, Kentucky
1820 Census - Brown County, Ohio
1830 Census - Byrd Township, Brown County, Ohio
1840 Census - Byrd Township, Brown County, Ohio
1850 Census - Byrd Township, Brown County, Ohio (Frances Reeves - HOH)
History of Brown County, Ohio
The Democratic Standard, Georgetown, OH, pub 25 Jul 1843 pg 3