Rives, William Alston

Summary

Father: Edward Rives
Mother: Mary Ann Alston

Birth: 1 Nov 1803, Hickory Mount Township, in Chatham county, North Carolina
Birth Source: Reliques of the Rives

Death: 18 Feb 1883, Chatham county, North Carolina
Death Source: Reliques of the Rives

Spouse1: Frances H. Smith, m. 27 Feb 1828
Spouse2:Lydia Reid, m. 31 May 1832

Narrative

Children of William Alston Rives and Frances H. Smith:

1. Margaret Melissa Rives, b. 10 May 1830

Children of William Alston Rives and Lydia Reid:

1. Frances Smith Rives, b. 16 Sep 1833, m. Oran Stedman Poe
2. Mary Ramsey Rives, b. 29 Dec 1834, m1. Joseph Moore, m2. John Edwards Rives
3. Margaret Elisa Rives, b. 9 Apr 1836, m. David Nicholas Dalton
4. David Edward Rives, b. 17 Jan 1838
5. William Alston Rives, b. 8 Oct 1840
6. Lydia Rives, b. 26 Apr 1844, d. Jan 1877
7. Aldine Alston Rives, b. 1 Aug 1845, m. Joseph Ausley
8. Virginia Victoria Rives, b. 1 Aug 1847, m. Alexander Wesley Palmer
9. Josephine Elizabeth Rives, b. 24 July 1849, m. Oran A. Hanner

From Reliques of the Rives:
William Alston Rives was a man of large mental endowments and of handsome countenance; and, but for his reserve, might have been more widely known. He was universally respected by his neighbors and his judgment was very highly regarded. The esteem in which he was held was reflected in his appointment as postmaster, and in his election to the county court. Like his cousins Thomas and Robert Rives, he was a man of unusual size, weighing some 325 pounds in his late life. Born in Hickory Mount Township, in Chatham county, N. C, he passed the whole of his life in the same county where he died February 18, 1883.

A second stone with William's headstone names his two wives and their marriage dates.

Sources

Birth:       Headstone, William Alston Rives Cemetery, Chatham County, North Carolina
                   Edward Rives Family Bible
Marriage1:  Edward Rives Family Bible
Marriage2:  Edward Rives Family Bible
Death:       Headstone, William Alston Rives Cemetery, Chatham County, North Carolina

1840 Census:  Chatham County, North Carolina
1860 Census:  Chatham County, North Carolina
1870 Census:  Chatham County, North Carolina
1880 Census:  Chatham County, North Carolina

Childs, James Rives. Reliques of the Rives, p239