I am writing this history both for preservation as well as to seek additional information about the ongoing historical assessment of the Reese Family Plantation in Richland County, SC. This information has been acquired from my personal genealogical research.
1st Generation
John
William Rees (or Rhys or Reese or Reece) was born about 1678 in Denbighshire,
Wales. Although the birth date is
unknown, an historical record from the Christening Index from England and Wales
shows his baptism date as April 24, 1678 at Holt, Denbighshire, Wales and that his
father’s name was William. While it is
unclear what date John arrived in the American colonies, a record of his son
Evan Rees arriving in 1724 does show up on the Passenger and Immigration Lists
so John and the rest of the family may have arrived at this time or may have
already come across earlier in the 1700s.
John and his family were granted land in Duck Creek 100, Kent County, Delaware, and a map of Fox Hall Plantation shows this land bordered Owen David’s land from 1708 to 1768.
John’s
Will dated November 10, 1727/28 is documented in the Kent County Delaware Probate
Records from 1680 to 1800. It states
that his heirs were his son-in-law, Michall Richman; grandsons John Richman and
Evan Richman; granddaughters Temperance Richman and Elener Hootten; daughters
Jane Rees Marshall, Hannah Rees Hootten, Martha Rees, Esther Rees; wife Elener;
and son Evan Rees. Evan does seem to be
his only son. His wife Elener and son Evan
were named executers of the Will. Witnesses
were listed as Richard Empson, William Strickland, and Catharing
Strickland. The Will was probated April 20,
1728. Arch.vol.A43, page 17. Reg. of Wills, Liber G, folios 11-12.
John’s date of death was somewhere before the April 20, 1728 date of the probate of his Will. His wife Elener was still living at the time of his death, and it is not known how long she lived afterwards. Verified by the Will, John and Elener’s children are Mary Rees Richman (ca. 1701-before 1728), Martha Rees (ca. 1701-after 1728), Esther Rees (ca. 1702-after 1728), Jane Rees Marshall (ca. 1705-after 1728), Hannah Rees Hooten (ca. 1707-after 1728), and Evan Rees (1707-1757).
2nd Generation
Evan
Rees was born circa 1707 in Wales. His
arrival in America was documented on Passenger and Immigration Lists in 1724 so
he may have arrived at the same time as his father and the rest of his
family. A book called “Samuel Griffin of
New Castle County on Delaware, Planter and his Descendants to the 7th
Generation” By Thomas Hale Streets (published in 1905) states, “Evan Rees and
James Howell were the heads of two Welsh Baptist families who settled in Duck
Creek hundred in 1733, having come hither, with others (James Hyatt, Nathaniel
Wilds, David Evan, David Rees, Evan David Hughs and Joshua Edwards), from the
Welsh Tract in Pencader hundred, and were members of that church. (Morgan Edwards’s “History of the Baptists in
Delaware.”) Although this book states
the first settlement of Duck Creek as 1733, it is apparent that Evan’s father
John Rees was already in possession of land in Duck Creek before his death in
1728 and that he left that property to his heirs, including his only son
Evan.
A family data collection record lists the marriage of Evan Rees to Sarah Lewis of New Castle County, Delaware in 1731. There is another Delaware Land Records record stating that Evan Reece resided in New Castle, Delaware in 1751 so maybe he still had land holdings in that area. His wife Sarah Allison Lewis may have received land in this area from her family. A family data collection record has Sarah Lewis being born to John Lewis and Sarah Reece in New Castle, Delaware in 1711, but this record may have her mother’s maiden name confused with her own married name. If her mother’s maiden name was indeed “Reece” then it is possible that she was from another family that spelled their name “Reece” and that the Evan Reece who resided in New Castle in 1751 was a relative of hers. A record in the Delaware Wills and Probate Records list a Will for Evan Rees probated July 18, 1737 in Kent, Delaware although it is known that the Evan Rees in our line did not die in Delaware. This Will may have belonged to a different Evan Rees whose family also came over to settle that part of Delaware from Wales. That Will listed Evan’s heirs as daughters, Eleanor and Mary; son David; son-in-law George Griffith; granddaughter Esther Rees; and son Richard. We know our Evan Rees had a son named Joseph Reese so it does not appear that this is the same Evan who later moved to South Carolina. There was a David Rees also listed in the New Castle County book named above who may have been the son mentioned in this Will who also resided in Duck Creek, Delaware.
Another family data collection record shows Sarah Lewis married Evan Rees in New Castle County, Delaware in 1731 and that she later died in South Carolina on November 2, 1757. Her parents were again listed as John Lewis and Sarah Reece. A Find a Grave Index record lists Sarah Allison Lewis as being born in 1711 and dying November 2, 1757 in Orangeburg County, South Carolina. Her spouse was listed as Evan Reese and her son, Joseph Reese, is also listed.
Evan Rees is also mentioned in this story from Virginia showing he may have been on his way to South Carolina in the 1740s. In 1748, William Hay, from Virginia, erected a "gris mill" to the great benefit and encouragement of the inhabitants of the community, but for want of a blouting cloth it could not be called complete. The expense, he said, of this mill had reduced him to so low a pitch that he was not able to buy the cloth, and so he humbly petitioned his excellency and their honors of the council to send for a cloth for him, for which he would make payment as soon as he was able. His petition was certified by John Fairchild, Thomas Howell, John Lester, Gilbert Gilder, James Weston, Evan Rees, John Pearson, James Lessly, Thomas McPherson, that the mill had been erected and was actually at work (Council Jour., Sept.6, 1749).
Evan Reese’s birth and death dates are documented in a Find a Grave Index as having been born in 1707 and dying November 30, 1757. His wife’s name is listed as Sarah Allison Lewis, and his son, Joseph Reese, is also listed. Another Find a Grave Index listed the same date of death and shows that he was buried in Pioneer Graveyard in Orangeburg, South Carolina. A monument has been erected at this location that states “Rev. John Giessendanner’s and Other Death Records of Unmarked Graves in this Plot.” “Evan Reece Nov. 30, 1757” is inscribed as the 5th name from the bottom.
The only child that we can verify as the descendant of our Evan Rees is Joseph B. Reese.
3rd Generation
Joseph Rees is mentioned as the son of Evan Rees and Sarah Lewis on both of his parents’ Find A Grave records. A family data collection record also shows Joseph B. Rees being born in 1732 in Duck Creek, Kent, Delaware to Evan Rees and Sarah Lewis. Joseph Reese of Richland, South Carolina is named in a 1790 Federal Census which would have been one of the first censuses completed after the Revolutionary War. Another family data collection record listed Joseph B. Rees as marrying Sarah Altum Raiford (name may be incorrect here). It also listed Joseph’s parents as Evan Rees and Sarah Lewis and his birth date as 1732 in Kent County, Duck Creek, Delaware as well as his death date as March 5, 1795 in Richland County, South Carolina. It appears that the Rees family did not move to South Carolina until after Joseph’s birth in 1732. Another family data collection record shows the marriage of Joseph Reese to Ann Sarah Reynolds in 1753 in South Carolina. A Find a Grave Index record for Rev. Joseph Reese born in 1732 and dying on March 5, 1795 listed his parents as Evan Reese and Sarah Allison Lewis and his spouse as Ann Sarah Reese. I believe Ann Sarah (Edwards) Reynolds Reese is the correct name for Joseph’s spouse. A U.S. and International Marriage Records record showed Joseph Reese born in Pennsylvania (the later state where Duck Creek is located) in 1732 married Ann Edwards Reynolds.
A South Carolina Census record also existed for Joseph Rees in South Carolina residing in the 96th District in 1779, and a U.S. Census Constructed Record listed Joseph Rees residing in the 96th District in South Carolina in the town of “Turkey Creek and Savannah River” in 1780. Rev. Joseph Reese is also listed on a South Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution ancestral roll document. A U.S. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Application was also completed for Reverend Joseph Reese born March 5, 1732 (probably not a correct date of birth being the same as his date of death) in Kent, Delaware/Pennsylvania and dying March 5, 1795 in Richland, South Carolina. The application was dated June 30, 1926 and listed Joseph’s wife as Sarah Atturo Reese and his son, Joseph Reese.
In a book called “Stateburg and its People,” Chapter VII entitled The High Hills Church discussed Rev. Joseph Rees holding a successful series of evangelistic meetings at this Baptist meeting house. On the website for the Congaree Baptist Church, it describes the history of the oldest church of any denomination in Richland County as being founded on November 30, 1765. Rev. Joseph Reese is listed as the first pastor of the church and served as such from 1768 until his death in 1795. He is described as a “faithful pastor, greatly used evangelist, tireless church planter and a representative in the South Carolina General Assembly from 1776-1778. The first meeting house was located on an acre of land given by William Howell and about three miles from Joseph Reese’s farm.
Joseph’s
first wife, Ann Sarah (Edwards) Reynolds Reese, has a Find a Grave Index record
showing she was born in 1727 in Richmond County, Virginia and married Joseph
Reese. I believe Joseph’s first wife
predeceased him, and he married another woman named Sarah who had been previously
married with children. He referenced
these facts in his Will. An ancestor’s application
for Joseph to be a member of the Sons of the American Revolution listed Joseph’s
wife as Sarah Atturo Reese born in 1808 so I presume that was his second
wife. I also presume her date of birth is incorrect since her husband died in 1795 so she was born prior to that. She may have died in 1808.
Joseph Reese’s Will dated April 27, 1792 and later probated April 6, 1795 after his death March 5, 1795 listed his heirs as follows: wife Sarah Reese (2nd wife); daughter Catherine Reese Wells; Ann Reese Tucker; son Ephraim Reese; daughter Mary Reese Arthur; sons Joseph Reese, Jesse Reese, Timothy Reese, and John Altom Reese (received Cedar Creek tract of land).
4th Generation
John Altom Reese is named in the Will of his father Joseph Reese as his youngest son. A family data collection record named him John Alturn (sic) Reese as the son of Joseph Reese and Ann Reynolds born April 18, 1779 in South Carolina. Another family data record shows John Altum (sic) Rees born to Joseph B. Rees and Sarah Altum Raiford (sic) in Richland County, SC on April 18, 1779 and died March 8, 1844 in Richland County, SC. He was married to Mary Howell. A U.S. and International Marriage Record shows John Alton (sic) Reese born in 1779 married to Mary Howell. A Find a Grave Index record shows John Altumn (sic) Reese born April 18, 1779 and died March 8, 1844 buried in the Reese Family Plantation Cemetery in Hopkins, Richland County, SC. A U.S. Find a Grave Index lists John Altumn (sic) Reese born April 18, 1779 and died March 8, 1844 and buried in the Reese Family Plantation Cemetery in Hopkins, Richland County, SC. It also listed his spouse as Mary Reese.
A Will for John A Reese dated December 13, 1843 was probated March 11, 1844 in Richland County, SC. The Will listed his heirs as: wife Mary Reese; daughter Mary Howell Reese; daughter Martha S. Reese; daughter Gracy E. Reese Brown; son Joseph E. Reese; son Arthur H. Reese; and granddaughter Emma G. Reese.
Mary Reese, wife of John A. Reese, was later listed on an 1850 U.S. Census living in Richland County, SC at the age of 73 with her daughter Mary H. Reese and granddaughter Emma Reese. Her Find a Grave Index stated she was born December 27, 1776 in Congaree, Richland County, SC and died May 1, 1853 in Richland County, SC and was buried with her husband at Reese Family Plantation Cemetery in Hopkins, SC.
A Richland County Historical Resources Guide was published May 2017 that listed the Reese Family Plantation Cemetery as a historical site. This document explains the era in the 1740s when the Reese family first came to Richland County and were among the first permanent settlers to the region. They came from the northern colonies lured by generous headrights (50 acres for each member of the family). The area along the Congaree River was very fertile farming land and indigo cultivation of the land began aided by slave labor. Later, the guide references the Congaree Baptist Church as the first church in Richland County with Rev. Joseph Reese as pastor. It references Joseph’s grave on Garner’s Ferry Road in Horrell Hill.
References
to the Reese Family and Reese Family Plantation Cemetery Pgs. 20, 118, 122.
A Preservation Assessment and Mapping of the Reese Family Burying Ground in Richland County, SC was completed by Chicora Foundation, Inc. of Columbia, SC on February 22, 2012. At that time, the present owner, Rev. J.P. Neal, Jr. and the Council of Village Elders were interested in doing preservation work to help protect the cemetery. The results verified 19 unmarked graves and one marked grave. It also concluded as I have from my genealogical research that John Altom Reese, his wife Mary Howell Reese, and their daughter Mary Howell Reese were all buried in the cemetery although only the daughter’s grave was still marked by a broken headstone. It would be my ultimate goal to help put a memorial headstone marker at this site for John Altom and Mary Howell Reese as their living descendants. The preservation assessment also recommends that this site is eligible for National Register inclusion because of the unique use of a ditch and bank feature in the cemetery and because it is a good representation of a burial ground for a middle class status white southern family and also for the potential archaeological remains that could be found at the site. We would like to determine if anyone has applied for this certification since the 2012 study and if any additional historical assessments have been completed.
http://chicora.org/pdfs/RC544%20Reese%20Family%20Burying%20Ground.pdf
5th Generation
Arthur Howell Reese was referenced as the youngest son of John Altom Reese in his Will. He is listed on an 1850 U.S. Census as being 23 years of age and incorrectly spelling his name “Arthur Ras.” Another U.S. Census Non-Population Schedule shows Arthur H. Reese living in Richland County, South Carolina on July 19, 1850 and the schedule type was agriculture. It shows him living with his wife Mary Ann Epps Geiger Reese’s family in Lexington, South Carolina. A.H. Reese was listed as a Confederate soldier with the 7th Regiment of the South Carolina Calvary in Company D as a Private. His film number was M381 roll 27. A Find A Grave Index record shows Arthur Howell Reese was born September 1820 in Sandy Run, Calhoun County, South Carolina and died January 1909 in Gaston, Lexington County, South Carolina. He was buried in Shiloh United Methodist Church Cemetery in West Columbia, SC. His wife was Mary Ann Epps Reese, and his children are named Arthur Howell Reese, Jr., Jesse Daniel Reese, Joseph Ephraim Reese, and John William Reese. He was granted a military veterans headstone showing an enlistment date of November 21, 1861 and a discharge date of April 9, 1865. A picture of his headstone is included on his Ancestry profile.
6th Generation
John William Reese, born January 5, 1850 in Lexington County, South Carolina, was the firstborn son of Arthur Howell Reese and Mary Ann Epps Geiger Reese. An 1880 U.S. Census showed him living in Lower Richland County, SC with his wife Susanna Pagett/Padget and children Mary Janie Reese, Girtrude Reese, and William Arthur Reese. In the 1900 U.S. Census, John was living in the Dutch Fork area of Lexington, SC with his wife Susanna and his children Kittie Nancy Reese, John Franklin Reese, Mattie Grace Reese, Jessie Estelle Reese, Dovie Elvaria Reese, Charlton Ephraim Reese, and Hugh Carroll Reese. A 1910 U.S. Census shows John living in Congaree, Lexington, SC with his wife Susanna and children Kittie, John Franklin, Jessie Estelle, Dovie Elvaria, Charlton Ephraim, and Hugh Carroll. A 1920 U.S. Census still shows him living in Congaree with his wife Susanna and children Sue Marshall Reese (sic), Jessie Estelle Reese, Charlton Ephraim Reese, and Hugh Carroll Reese. In 1930, he is shown still living in Congaree with his wife Susanna and children John Franklin, Jessie Estelle, and Hugh Carroll. South Carolina Death Records show John W. Reese died at the age of 87 on May 15, 1937 in Dixianna, Lexington, SC. A Find a Grave Index shows him dying May 15, 1937 in Gaston, Lexington County, SC and buried in Shiloh United Methodist Church Cemetery in West Columbia, SC.
His parents, Arthur Howell Reese and Mary Ann Epps Reese, and his wife Susanna Reese were listed as well as his children, Mary Janie Reese Slice, William Arthur Reese, John Franklin Reese, Jessie Estelle Reese, Hugh Carroll Reese, Mattie Grace Reese Gardner, Dovie Elvaria Reese Spigner, Charlton Ephraim Reese, Sue Marshall Reese Derrick, and Kittie Nancy Reese Busbee.
Susanna
Pagett/Padgett, wife of John William Reese, was listed on the South Carolina Death
Records as being born in 1860 to Wade H. Padgett and Angeline Padgett and dying
August 5, 1932 in Dixiana, Lexington, SC.
A Find a Grave Index further shows her birth date as October 12, 1856 in
Edgefield County, SC.
7th Generation
William
Arthur Reese, son of John William Reese and Susanna Pagett, was born March 4,
1876 in Lexington County, SC. The 1880
U.S. Census shows him living with his parents and siblings in Lower Richland
County, SC at the age of about 2 years. The
1910 U.S. Census showed him living in Fork, Lexington, SC with his wife Kate
Frances Corley and his children Melvin Sylvestor Reese and Eppininna Pearl Reese. The 1920 U.S. Census showed him living in
Congaree, Lexington, SC on Charleston Road with his wife Kate Frances Corley
and children Melvin Sylvestor Reese, Eppininna Pearl Reese, Jacob Corley Reese,
and Ida Mae Reese. The 1930 U.S. Census
showed him living in Congaree, Lexington, SC with his wife Kate Frances Corley
and children Melvin Sylvestor Reese, Eppininna Pearl Reese, Jacob Corley Reese,
Ida Mae Reese, James Arthur Reese, Sr., and Betty J. Reese. The 1940 U.S. Census showed him living in
Congaree, Lexington, SC with his wife Kate Frances Corley and his son James
Arthur Reese, Sr. South Carolina Death
Records show that William Arthur died at the age of 80 on December 19, 1955 in
West Columbia, SC. A Find a Grave Index
record verifies his date of death as December 19, 1955 and shows him being
buried at Mount Hebron United Methodist Church in West Columbia, SC. It further verifies his father and mother as
John William and Susanna Reese and his wife as Kate Frances Reese. His children are listed as Infant Reese
(Betty), Melvin Sylvestor Reese, Jacob Corley Reese, Eppininna Pearl Reese
Mathias, James Arthur Reese, and Ida Mae Reese Waites. A World War I Draft card for William Arthur Reese
shows him residing in Richland County, SC in 1917-1918 and having a medium
physical build, medium height, light color hair, and light blue eyes.
Kate Frances Corley was born December 17, 1886 in Lexington County, SC. A 1900 U.S. Census showed her living with her parents, Jacob Elijah Corley and Sarah Eppinina Senn Corley, in Congaree, Lexington, SC with her siblings, A. Corrie Corley, A. Sarah Corley, Melvin G. Corley, Addie Elizabeth Corley, Martin Sidney Corley, Tally Jacob Corley, and Eppinina Gertrude Corley. South Carolina Death Records and Find a Grave Index show Kate as born December 17, 1886 and died March 14, 1952 buried at Mount Hebron United Methodist Church in West Columbia, SC alongside her husband.
8th Generation
James
Arthur Reese, Sr. was the son of William Arthur Reese and Kate Frances
Corley. He was born March 9, 1920 in
Lexington County, SC. On September 16,
1940, he enlisted with the National Guard Infantry Branch at the age of 20
weighing 150 lbs. and 70 inches tall.
The Department of Veterans Affairs shows his enlistment date as October
31, 1942 and his discharge date October 30, 1945. His World War II Draft Card showed his
registration date as September 23, 1941, and he was a 21 year old employee of
Columbia Mills weighing 175 lbs. with light skin, blue eyes, brown hair, and
measuring 5’10”. A World War II
Hospital Admission card showed he suffered a minor facial injury from an unarmed physical assault in
April 1944 while in the line of duty. He
served on the European front fighting against Germany during the war. He told his grandson, James Edwin Reese, many
stories of the war during their many fishing trips in South Carolina. He married Alice Laura Lindler in about 1944
and had six children: Brenda Fay Reese Hallman
Sessoms, Sandra Kay Reese Sawyer, Elizabeth Diane Reese Geiser, James Arthur
Reese, Jr., William “Billy” Mitchell Reese, and John Thomas Reese.
The North Carolina Death Collection showed he died on November 5, 2000 in Richmond County, NC at the age of 80. He was buried with a U.S. Veterans Headstone showing he was Private First Class U.S. Army World War II in Richmond County Memorial Park, Rockingham, NC.
His wife, Alice Laura Lindler, was the daughter of John Jacob Lindler and Francis Caroline “Carrie” Corley, and was born September 28, 1924 in Lexington County, SC. In the 1930 U.S. Census, she was shown to live with her parents in Hollow Creek, Lexington, SC and her siblings, Inez Lindler, Fannie Mae Lindler, Kitty M. Lindler, William O. Lindler, James Wiley Lindler, and Louise Lindler Neal. Her oldest sibling, John Sidney Lindler, had died in 1927 at the age of 16 from a very tragic workplace accident. Alice's father later succumbed to his mental anguish and shot and killed himself in 1931 just a few days after the birth of his youngest daughter, Betty. After her father died and her mother likely had a lot of difficulty left to care for all of their children, Alice was shown in a 1940 U.S. Census living as a student in Epworth Orphanage in Columbia, Richland, SC. Alice and James Arthur made their home together in Rockingham, NC where they raised their six children. Alice worked most of her life and retired from Aleo Mills in 1979. She and James were faithful members of Abundant Life Church for many years. She was considered a mother of the church even after moving to Appleton in 2003. She was a praying woman who loved reading her Bible and doing word search books. She also enjoyed playing Bingo and cards, and fellowshipping with the people that lived in her apartment building. After her husband died, Alice went to live with her daughter Diane in Appleton, Minnesota. Alice died on October 28, 2013 at the age of 89. She was brought home to be buried beside her husband in Richmond County Memorial Park in Rockingham, NC.
9th Generation
James Arthur Reese, Jr. was the firstborn son of James Arthur Reese, Sr. and Alice Laura Lindler. He was born on June 8, 1952 in Columbia, Richland County, SC. He married Rowena King Hudson, daughter of David Edwin Hudson and Mattie Naomi Baxley of Rockingham, NC. They had two children, James Edwin and Alice Naomi. They resided in Rockingham, NC. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Vietnam War.
10th Generation
James Edwin continues the Reese family line with four sons and two daughters and has relocated back to Richland County, SC with his family.
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