Our earliest proven Reeves ancestor is James Reeves Sr. (c1780s – 1844) who lived in the Rich Hill area of Lancaster County, South Carolina. Since early high-school, I’ve spent countless hours tracing out his descendants and researching other Reeves families he appears to connect to. A tree containing numerous descendants of James Reeves is available here.

Early History of the Reeve(s) Family

Y-DNA testing and research with The Reeves Project has revealed that James is closely related to an early Virginia Reeve family which includes brothers George and John who appear in the Northern Neck area (Northumberland County) in the early 1700s but settled in Prince William County by the mid-1730s. These brothers may be sons of an earlier Thomas Reeve(s) who was present in the Northern Neck in the early 1700s and probably migrated to Virginia from England as an indentured servant.

Two of George’s sons, John and Moses, appear in South Carolina in the Chester County area by the late 1770s. Information contained in the Revolutionary War Pension Record of John’s son Daniel indicates they were living in Chester County during part of the Revolutionary War. His cousin Jesse testified in the record and is known to be the son of Moses since he was given administration of Moses’s estate in Kershaw County. John appears to have moved into Lancaster County by 1790 where he is listed on the census and Moses moved into Kershaw County. Most of Moses’s family appear to have moved to Alabama and Tennessee. Two of John’s children, Daniel and William are known for certain, and both moved to Tennessee.

In addition to our James Reeves Sr. being confirmed as a relative of the Prince William County, VA family through my YDNA test, descendants of Reuben Reeves/Rieves of Maury Co., TN, William Reeves of Bedford Co., TN, and James B. Reeves (aka Asa Reeves) of Jackson Co., TN, all of whom moved from upper SC to TN in the early 1800s, are also known through YDNA testing of descendants to be related to the Prince William County, VA families of George and John Reeve(s). Since George’s sons John and Moses are the only ones from this family to appear in upper South Carolina for any length of time, it’s likely all of these are children of either John or Moses.

John appears in the 1790 census in Lancaster County.¹ It’s possible he died there. However, there was a John who appears afterwards in Chesterfield County. Given that Reuben Reeves was also present in that area around the same time, it’s possible some of this family moved on to Chesterfield from Lancaster.

John’s son William owned some land in Lancaster County previous to moving to Tennessee. Since all of Moses’s family appears to have been associated with Kershaw County and moved on from there, it’s more likely that the Reeves who lived and remained in Lancaster County descend from John. There was an Elisha Reeves who also appeared in Lancaster County in the 1790 census with a young man under 16 in the household and disappears afterwards.² Our James Reeves Sr. is thought to perhaps be either a son or a grandson of John and perhaps the son of this Elisha, with Elisha being a son of John. It is of note that Elisha appears several doors down from several of the Blackmon households in the 1790 census. The Blackmon family and our James Reeves’s families were continually neighbors and intertwined by marriage from the early 1800s forward.

For more information on these early Reeves families and their connection through YDNA, see YDNA Group 10 Homepage and associated FamilyOf pages on The Reeves Project website.

James Reeves Sr.

James Reeves Sr. was born in the 1780s based on available census records. His eldest known child, John, was born around 1805, so it appears he married his first wife Betsy Garris before then. She was the daughter of Revolutionary War soldier Bedford Garris, whom she predeceased. The only known mention of her is in her father Bedford Garris’s probate record from 1835 which lists: “Elisha Reeves, James Reeves, John Reeves, Winny wife of W. P. Richardson and Jane wife of Amos Blackmon the children of a deceased daughter Betsy Reeves.”³ Bedford bought some land in Lancaster County in 1805. His pension record implies that he lived in South Carolina for about ten appears, approximately 1803-1813.⁴ Therefore James and Betsey likely married 1803-1805.

Betsey must have died between early 1815 when her youngest child Jane was born and 1825 when the eldest child of James by his second wife Bethenia Williams was born. Bethenia is believed to be the daughter of David Williams and Elizabeth Reeves. According to the Perry Belle Hough Papers, notes collected through various interviews and family information from older generations of Lancaster County residents, Elizabeth’s full name was Nannie Elizabeth Reeves.⁵ Historical records identify Mrs. Williams only as Nancy, not Elizabeth. She was born 1775-1778 and died 28 Feb 1865.⁶ Based on her age, it is thought she could have been a daughter of the John Reeves who moved from Prince William County to Lancaster County.

Not much is known about James himself. He owned land in several parts of Lancaster County, but lived in the area of the Rich Hill Crossroads. His will mentions the land he resided on as including “the dwelling house, mill house, gin and screw and all the other buildings on the said tract of land.”⁷ He also mentioned the “Mike Horton tract of land.” Equity and deed records list four tracts of land sold after his death: the Mike Horton tract of 525 acres bought by his son John Reeves, land by the Blackmon and Baskin families of 78 acres bought by Thomas Fleming, land by the Blackmons and Baskins of 200 acres bought by his son-in-law James A. Blackmon, and land by D. Haile, Susannah Baskin et al of 201 acres bought by John Taylor.⁸ The mortgage of John Taylor to Commissoner James H. Witherspoon refers to the deed and plat from the sale by Witherspoon to Taylor and states “the plat shows the 20 acres laid off to James C. McMullan the tract being known as the James Reeves old place.”⁹ The plat shows these 20 acres as being situated right below Primus Crossroads between Flat Creek Rd and Rocky River Rd, along Flat Creek Rd, approximately between current address number 4280 and 4338 Flat Creek Rd.¹⁰ There are two deeds from 1813¹¹ and 1814¹² in which James bought land along Rocky River Road from James Blackmon and David Miers which may have included this land.

Robert Mills, the famous designer of the Washington Monument and many other public buildings, published an Atlas of South Carolina in 1825 which included surveys of each county. The surnames of prominent residential households were often included on the map along with other locations of interest like mills and taverns. The map for Lancaster County was surveyed by J. Boykin in 1820.¹³ “Reeves” appears marked on the map just to east of Rocky River Road, perhaps about where Daisy Couch Rd connects to Rocky River Road today. Either the plat or Mill’s Map was just an estimate, or James must have moved up the road a bit, and possibly to the Flat Creek side of the property, by the time of his death. It is interesting to note that the map shows a mill located along Bear Creek about two miles west from the Reeves place where there is a fork in the creek. Notably his will mentions a “mill house, gin and screw,” although at the time this was apparently on the same piece of land as his house.

On 7 July 1831, the Weekly Raleigh Register reported that James was offering a reward for three slaves named Frederick, Poll and Dolly who had run away, possibly taken by his son John to Georgia. It seems to imply John could have stolen them. The age of John given in this advertisement is off by about seven years based on later census records, which is surprising.

James Reeves Sr. died on 29 Jan 1844 according to his son-in-law James A. Blackmon’s Family Bible.¹⁴ In addition to his will, there are a number of equity court papers and deeds which name all of his children. Although it is not known where he was buried, his family seems to be consistently associated with Fork Hill Baptist Church, about two miles from where he lived. Three of his children, James Jr., Elizabeth H., and Melissa Caroline, along with a number of other Reeves, were baptized there during a famous Great Revival which took place there in 1839.¹⁵ No family cemetery has been located for the Reeves family. Therefore it’s likely James and most of his family were buried at Fork Hill.

James Brady Reeves Jr.

Although a middle name has not been found in records for James Sr., multiple records give his son’s name as Brady Reeves¹⁶ and he appears as James B. Reeves in numerous records. He was born around 1812 according to the census¹⁷ and lived his entire life in Lancaster County, listed as a farmer. His wife was named Frankey H. Reeves, and a court case concerning the estate of Ervin Sims includes “Franky H. Reeves, wife of James B. Reeves” as one of Ervin’s children.¹⁸ Interestingly, a “Hawkins Reaves” is listed next to James Jr. on the 1839 list of baptisms from the revival at Fork Hill. In addition, the Death Certificate for their son James Calvin Reeves appears to list the mother as Hawkins Reeves.¹⁹ This therefore may have been her middle name.

His grandson James A. Reeves’s wife, “Tish” Robertson Reeves, said he always wore a suit and white shirt, information that has been passed down the family.²⁰ The old minutes book of Fork Hill Baptist Church lists him as a member.²¹ A Common Pleas case states that James B. Reeves died intestate on or about the 11th day of March 1894 and lists the heirs as “Thomas C Reeves, Elizabeth Ellis, J J Reeves, James C Reeves and William D Reeves, and Jane Gardner, who has since died intestate.” Jane Gardner was the wife of Henry J. Gardner.²²

Dora Reeves, a researcher in James A. Reeves’s family, was able to record some information from an old family Bible which now appears to be lost. Although she didn’t make an actual transcription, a family group sheet lists the names and birth dates of the children of James Jr.. and states “As recorded in the old Reeves Bible Cecile (Kinnet) has – the Bible belonged to Aunt Beulah, Grandpa Jim and may have been Johns Bible.”²³ It appears at least the names and birth dates on the family group sheet are from the Bible and are listed by Dora as follows:

• Thomas Columbus Reeves b. 5 May 1840
• Mary Elizabeth Reeves b. 14 Nov 1843
• John Garret Reeves b. 23 Feb 1845
• Sarah Jane Reeves b. 22 Apr 1847
• James Calvin Reeves b. 23 Apr 1849
• William Darling Reeves b. 31 Dec 1850
• Dorcas Missouri Reeves b. 21 July 1854

John Jarrett Reeves

According to Dora Reeves, the family Bible lists his name as originally John Garret Reeves. It’s likely he was originally named for his uncle Garrett Sims. But later records consistently give his name as John J. Reeves. The information from the family Bible states he was born 23 Feb 1845. Notably his death certificate gives a wrong date of 8 April.²⁴ The 1900 census agrees with the information reported from the Bible, stating Feb. 1845 as his birth month and year.²⁵

John enlisted as a private in Company H of the 2nd Regiment of the South Carolina Infantry, known as the Lancaster Invincibles, on 17 Feb 1863.²⁶ The record states he “was only 17 years old when enlisted, is entitled to bounty.” It was six days before his 18th birthday. His older brother Thomas Columbus Reeves, was mustered into this same company the day it was originally mustered, 22 May 1861.²⁷

According to Jim Boyd, a descendant of John’s son Erasmus, he was wounded once at Gettysburg in the heel.²⁸ The family would always tease him, saying that he must have been running from the Yankees to get shot in the back of the foot. He would get mad and say that he was chasing a Yankee around a barn when the Yankee slipped behind and shot at him. Reports from the Battle of Gettysburg reproduced in Jeffcoat’s Confederate Records book do indeed show that he was slightly wounded at Gettysburg.²⁹ John went through the war in the same company as his brother T. C. Reeves. T. C.’s obituary describes some of his own experience of the war: “He was wounded twice, once at Chicamauga, and received his second wound at Little Charlestown, Va. He belonged to the colorguard. The color sergeant was killed in battle and he caught up the colors and the staff was shot off just above his hand. He caught the colors before they fell and received a severe wound in his side. He delivered the colors to Colonel Wallace and was carried off the battle field. He has suffered a great deal since from the wound.”³⁰

According to family information from Dora Reeves, John and Becky lived in a house in the right hand corner where Barrett Road connects with Rob Neal Road close to where Mr. Otis Reeves later lived. John always enjoyed gathering with his fellow men in arms after the war, and continued to attend reunions until his death. After Grandma Becky died in 1909, Grandpa John would walk regularly to Kershaw and meet with his friends at a Café owned by some black people. He’d spend the night with one of his daughters, then walk back home afterwards, a one way trip of over four and a half miles.

Henry Oscar Reeves

According to a grandson, Oscar, as he was called, trained fox-hounds and bird-dogs when he was young. The game caught was sometimes his dinner. Oscar never learned to read. Overall, he had about a 3rd grade education. This did not cripple him though. He memorized long passages of scripture and would sometimes recite them in church.

He and his wife Mary owned a small farm. Once on this farm there were two roosters: the red rooster and the white rooster. The white rooster was a bully and always got to be with the chickens because the red one could never beat the white rooster. So once, when Mary was away, Oscar poured molasses all over the white rooster and put ashes from the fire on him. When the roosters met, the red one fought and won against this new “grey” rooster, not recognizing him as the old white one.

Every night, Mary would read from the scriptures since Oscar couldn’t. Thus, he was able to remember and quote it at length. Oscar is said to have been a very strong man. The story is told that a man once bet him he could carry a cotton bale. They went down to the loading dock, and there Oscar carried one of the bales. Once, he got annoyed with his horse, hit at it, and missed, pealing his hand open. He paid no mind to it, continuing to work with the horse. Oscar loved to play catcher in baseball. Although his hands would swell after every game, he played without a glove. Later in life, Oscar worked at a box factory, cutting wood for the boxes. And although he could remember things read to him, he remained illiterate his entire life.

Stanley Boyd Reeves

As a young boy, Stanley went to the Flint Ridge School. Later, he went to the Heath Springs School. Stan lived next to (or with) his Grandpa Willie Crimminger during some of his teenage years, helping him with the farm. Kids would tie an inner tube from a tire to the fence, making a sling-shot, and shoot rocks at Grandpa Willie’s Cows. Stan’s father, Oscar wanted him to work in the fields instead of going to school. The school offered to let him skip a grade so that he would be with the kids his age after being out of school. Once, when Stan decided he was big enough to go to a party, Oscar told him, “If you’re big enough to go to the party tonight, you’re big enough to go to the field tomorrow.” He went to the party and the very next day was taken out of school. Once, Stan had to deliver Grandpa Willie’s produce to costumers in Lancaster while Grandpa Willie was sick. The horse that he used was accustomed to the trip and guided Stan to each of the costumer’s houses without Stan knowing who they were. Any time he went alone to Lancaster, Stan was afraid that the train might spook the horse.

By 17 years, Stan had moved in with his brother Bill and was working in the mill. About six months later, in November of 1933, he married Edna Barrett. Previous to their marriage, Stan would visit Edna any time he could, even though the distance was a long walk. After their marriage, they moved into the Rob Neal place in Flint Ridge. From age 17-20, Stan moved several times. The family finally settled on a property just on the limits of Heath Springs.

Stan’s farm was not doing well, so he got a job at a mill in Kershaw. He went to Loom School and later became a Loom Fixer. He began teaching loom school after 20 years in the mill. The teaching sessions would last for 8 weeks, the classes taking several hours in the morning. He did this whenever the mill needed more loom fixers. Stan went from loom fixer to assistant overseer to style change coordinator. He worked a total of 42 years at the mill, retiring at 62 in 1978.

Stanley Jackson Reeves, Sr.

As a child, Jack lived in Kershaw. His family moved about 11 times in 13 years. Mary White was a housekeeper of the Stanley B. Reeves house. Jack and his siblings would tag along wherever she went. Mary remained a favorite of the family until her death. Jack graduated from Heath Springs Elementary and Highschool, then headed off to college at Clemson. Jack married Wilma Wilson in 1957. He lived in Abbeville, where he worked at a mill. Jack died on 13 Jun 1972 in Abbeville, South Carolina, from a heart attack. The family moved into a newly completed house soon after.

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1. “United States Census, 1790”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKN-Z76 : Fri Mar 08 00:28:36 UTC 2024), Entry for Jno Reeves, 1790. ↩︎
2. “United States Census, 1790”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKN-CGB : Sat Mar 09 12:16:58 UTC 2024), Entry for Elisha Reeves, 1790. ↩︎
3. “North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFSW-WW8 : Fri Mar 08 04:34:51 UTC 2024), Entry for Bedford Garris, 1835. (See image 1679 for Reeves references) ↩︎
4. Revolutionary War Pension Record, Bedford Garris, North Carolina, S. 6876 ↩︎
5. Lancaster County, South Carolina Library, Perry Belle Bennett Hough Collection, Folder “30-311 WILLIAMS-TURLEY-LOWERY-PERRY-CLYBURN-HILTON” ↩︎
6. Headstone of Nancy Williams,
   Pleasant Plain Baptist Church Cemetery, Lancaster Co., SC,
   Findagrave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51525877/elizabeth-nancy-williams) ↩︎
7. Will of James Reeves, Lancaster County, South Carolina Will Book A, p329. [Original], [Transcript] ↩︎
8. Lancaster County, South Carolina Sales Book of the Master, 1834-1859, p12. [Original], [Transcript] ↩︎
9. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deed Book P, p39. [Original], [Transcript] ↩︎
10. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deed Book P, p23. [Original], [Transcript] ↩︎
11. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deed Book H, p155. [Original], [Transcript] ↩︎
12. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deed Book H, p155. [Transcript] ↩︎
13. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, G3913.L2 1820 .M5 (Published version of entire atlas available on Amazon) ↩︎
14. Transcript of the James A Blackmon Bible from the Perry Belle Bennett Hough Collection Folder “8-58 BLACKMON” ↩︎
15. Story of the Great Revival at Fork Hill, from The Lancaster News, 2 May 1939 ↩︎
16. Lancaster County, South Carolina Deed Book R, p18. [Original], [Transcript] ↩︎
17. “United States Census, 1860”,, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZT8-XTM : Mon Jul 08 22:36:19 UTC 2024), Entry for J B Reves and Francis H Reves, 1860. ↩︎
18. Lancaster County, South Carolina Court of Probate, Samuel B. Sims vs. J. A. P. Blackmon & Heirs at Law of Ervin Sims Deceased, 1871 ↩︎
19. “South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1973”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N9NC-JHS : Mon May 06 19:48:34 UTC 2024), Entry for J. C. Reaves, 22 Jun 1927. ↩︎
20. Family information from Dora Reeves, wife of Walter Reeves, a grandson of James A. Reeves ↩︎
21. Viewed the membership book in the church office ↩︎
22. Lancaster County, South Carolina Common Pleas Pleadings and Judgments Book C, p521. [Original], [Transcript] ↩︎
23. Family Group Sheet from Dora Reeves with information from the Reeves Family Bible ↩︎
24. “South Carolina Deaths, 1915-1973”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N963-G5W : Mon May 06 19:55:06 UTC 2024), Entry for John Reeves and Brady Reeves, 20 Nov 1916. ↩︎
25. “United States Census, 1900”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3TW-G92 : Thu Apr 11 20:50:25 UTC 2024), Entry for J J Reaves and R J Reaves, 1900. ↩︎
26. Civil War Service Record, John J. Reeves, Co. H, 2 South Carolina Infantry (2 Palmetto Regiment) ↩︎
27. Civil War Service Record, T. C. Reeves, Co. H, 2 South Carolina Infantry (2 Palmetto Regiment) ↩︎
28. Phone conversation with Jim Boyd ↩︎
29. Jeffcoat, Frances Reeves. (1986). Confederate Records Lancaster District, South Carolina, p110 ↩︎
30. Lancaster Enterprise, 31 May 1899 ↩︎