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First Generation

1. Edward1 REAVIS Sr was born in England circa 1680. He died in Northampton County, NC 1751. He married twice. He married Hannah ALLEY between 1710 and 1714. Hannah was born circa 1690. She died circa 1735. He married Sarah GILLIAM between 1737 and 1744 in Henrico County, Virginia. Sarah was born before 1700 in Virginia. She died in Surry County, NC shortly after November 1778. On 3 Feb 1778 she was named in the minutes of Dutchman's Creek Baptist Church, in Surry (now Davie) Co, NC. On 24 Feb of the same year she was suspended from Dutchman's Creek for 'irregularities,' and then she was mentioned in the minutes once more on 19 Nov 1778. She probably died shortly thereafter. There is a general concensus among researchers that he was not born with the name Edward Reavis, but changed it early in his life. There have been several theories found explaining his origins, all vaguely similar. James Bradley Reavis, Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Washington, stated in a short bibliography, that Edward was "a descendant of a refugee, who landed with Ashley Cooper's expedition at Albemarle Sound, NC, and adopted the name of Reavis."It was stated in an issue of The State magazine, "The first of the family to come to America was Edward Reavis, who Sam Allen says really was named Edward Ashley. He fled England after killing a man in a duel, and perhaps that is why he changed his name."Marie Reavis Hall, in her book about the Reavis family, tells us "A certain Edward appears to have discarded his English family name and to have become 'Reavis' in Virginia... Edward appears not only to have adopted his name, but also to have created it."

Edward REAVIS Sr and Hannah ALLEY Reavis had the following children:

2 i. Edward2 REAVIS Jr was born in Henrico County, Virginia circa 1715. He died in Northampton County, NC 1750. He married Mary ISHAM circa 1740 in Henrico County, Virginia. Mary was born circa 1715. 3 ii. Agnes REAVIS was born in Henrico County, Virginia circa 1717. She married William Riddlehurst THOMPSON circa 1738 in Henrico County, Virginia. William was born circa 1717. 4 iii. James REAVIS Sr was born in Henrico County, Virginia 1719. He died in Rutherford County, NC 1804. He married Elizabeth STREET circa 1744 in Henrico County, Virginia. Elizabeth was born 1723. He made a will 15 Oct 1803 in Rutherford County, NC. James Reavis, second son of Edward and his first wife Hannah Alley, was born near the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, in the year 1719. This date is established through a computation based on the only genealogical record that claims to disclose the time of beginning of the Reavis family, being that of Fenton Goss Reavis. In the year 1888 he put into writing that his father James Ashley Reavis 'well-remembered' his grandfather James (the current subject), being a lad of fourteen in Rutherford County, North Carolina, when James died there (he said) in 1798 at the age of 85. Actually the death occurred in 1804, and counting back 85 years, makes the date of his birth 1719. Public records of Rutherford County enable us to ascertain the true date of James' death within a few months. James' will, which was in the form of a deed that was to be used upon his death, is dated 15 October 1803, and was recorded 26 November 1804. Death must therefore have occurred between those two dates and most likely in the latter year. Public records of Virginia make no mention of James Reavis. The earliest his name is found is in a North Carolina record in connection with his father's name. This was in Northampton County in the year 1747, when James would have been about 28 years old. Two years earlier, James' elder brother Edward had purchased land in this county, and now their father Edward purchases an improved farm there, and both sons placed their names on the purchase deed as witnesses. Apparently, by now all members of the Reavis family had removed from Virginia and were settled in North Carolina. These included the patriarch Edward, with his second wife and their four children, and also the families of Edward's five sons and one daughter who were the issue of his first marriage. They seem to have all located on contiguous and nearby farms, and apparently lived happily close together. Their various deed records invariably carry family names, two, three and even four of them, which fact presupposes family solidarity. Edward died in 1751 and therafter, more than twenty years passed before any family dispersion began. The sons of Edward were meanwhile fathering children, and a third generation of the Reavis family was growing up there in Northampton County, North Carolina. James brought with him out of Virginia, a wife and the beginning of his family, which in time came to number four sons and three daughters. He eventually became a 'planter,' so described in deeds, as were also his father and brothers. This means that their money crop was tobacco, and tobacco raising meant slave owning. At least two of James' brothers, Samuel and William, passed into the class of large plantation owners. It may be interesting to know what was back of the southward and westward migration. It is to be remembered that the settling of North Carolina had progressed very slowly up to the time at which the 'Proprietors' turned back their ownership of North Carolina to the Crown in the year 1729. When, therefore in 1745, the Reavis families moved over the line into Northampton County, they were locating in frontier, as compared to their home in Henrico County, Virginia. Schools in North Carolina were few or lacking, churches weak and scattered, transportation chiefly by waterways or otherwise over what had been Indian trails through wooded areas. Reavises of the second generation all had enough education to sign their names in full, but some members of the third generation signed only by a mark. They apparently never learned to write. This was one of the differences between being reared on the James River in Virginia, and growing up on the Roanoke River, or further west in North Carolina. Virginia lands had already been farmed for over a century without the application of fertilizers, and profitable tobacco growing called for virgin soil, wherefore frontier North Carolina had its allure, regardless of social deficiencies. James farmed in Northampton County until he was past fifty. Then came the years of friction between the colonies and Britain, accompanied by economic depression that was severe and widespread. It was hard on planters, but most irritating to the younger generation whose opportunities for advancement were limited. Westward therefore they looked, to where there were still virgin lands to be filed on for little cost. Therefore into the valley of the Yadkin River in Rowan County, later cut into Surry and other counties including Davie and Yadkin. In the close proximity of the Boone family, James' half-brothers and -sisters, step-mother, his own two married sons, and other Reavises, all migrated around the year 1770. James himself did not long delay, but gathering about him the younger members of his family and selling his property in Northampton County, and obtaining 'church letters' for himself and his wife, he moved out west into Surry County, where he settled and affiliated by letter with the Dutchman's Creek Baptist Church on 5 June 1773. James Reavis was living in Surry, now Yadkin County, when the 1790 U.S. census was taken. Already his children had become established in home of their own, and the 1790 census describes James and his wife Elizabeth, with four slaves, as constituting their entire household at that time. Elizabeth later died in Surry County, wherefore James then undertook to sell out and follow three of his sons and a son-in-law to where they had located new homes southwestward in Rutherford County, North Carolina. Only his son Joseph remained back in Surry County. Here Jospeh reared his family and here he eventually died. Two daughters of James there were, whose married names are unknown and their whereabouts in the 1770's uncertain. A strong bond of friendship apparently existed between James and his youngest son, James, Jr., whose large family of children was still quite young when the elder James went to live with them in Rutherford County. + 5 iv. Samuel REAVIS was born circa 1721 and died Oct 1789. 6 v. Thomas REAVIS was born in Henrico County, Virginia 1723. He died in Northampton County, NC 1760. He married Ann (last name unknown) circa 1750. Ann was born circa 1723. After the death of Thomas she married a Bryant. Thomas Reavis, son of Edward and his first wife Hannah Alley, is by no means an imaginary person, although knowledge of him is very limited, and supposition is somewhat resorted to in order to accord him full form and substance. He heads one of the seven branches of the family wose members we endeavor to trace generation by generation down to the present time. Then by way of testing what we have assumed to be true, we reverse the process and, whenever we hear of any present day Reavis, we endeavor to trace that individual's lineage back to the founder of the family. thereby, we obtain the patter in which all known Reavises do seemingly fit, and in consequence we conclude that our family tree is correctly delineated. Only the first five sons of Edward require such analytical study in order to identify them. Thomas was one of these. Edward's two younger sons, members of his second family, are identified in the will which he left. Why the members of the first family are not mentioned in that instrument we do not know. There exist at least two clues which indicate that some earlier distribution of Edward's property had been made, prior to his recorded will. Certainly there is no ill will nor jealousy between the two families revealed in the records, which show that the members all lived agreeably on contiguous or neighboring farms. And when there came the genearal migration westward, brothers and half-brothers and step-mother, Sarah, all moved pretty much together, settled not far apart, certain of them joined the same church in the west, and there was at least one marriage of cousins. The records of Northampton County, North Carolina are the principal reliance in establishing the members of Edward's family. Those records alone mention Thomas. It is observed in them that the early Reavis families showed a marked preference for their own members, rather than for outsiders, to witness deeds when they either made or accepted such instruments. Also that the early Reavises were inclined to buy and sell among themselves. This explains why, in recorded Reavis instruments we find as many as two, three, and even four of them named as principles and witness in a single deed. from such name groupings, it is clear that we discover Edward's sons by name. The dates often help, and sometimes there is a specific comment in a deed that is additionally serviceable. From such data, we satisfy ourselves that Thomas was in fact one of the sons of Edward, and that when he died, thomas left property in Northampton County, north carolina, which his widow sold after remarriage. Thomas died comparatively young, leaving, it is believed, three sons, born respectively in 1752 and 1754, and possibly the third son was born as late as 1760. The widow Ann, surname unknown, had remarried by or before 1766, and in that year her second husband sold her property, as to which she at the time renounced her dower rights. This property described in the deed as 'where we now live, being the estate of Thomas Reaves, deceased.' In the few deed records where the name Thomas Reavis appears, each record indicates the name was signed in full. The same may be said of all of the brothers of Thomas as well as of their father Edward. They were men of some education, thanks perhaps to their long settled residence in Virginia on the James River before moving to North Carolina. mention is made of this fact, because the first two sons of Thomas, left fatherless at early ages, apparently never learned to read and write. Their recorded instruments appear all to have been signed by an X. Possibly their step-father Bryant was not interested in education, nor possibly in the boys. They seemd to have possessed an affection for their first cousin Isham (son of Edward, Jr.), who was born in the same vicinity as they in the year 1748, and like them left fatherless at an early age. Isham, however, acquired an education, and his widowed mother seems not to have remarried. When Isham moved from Northampton County to western North Carolina, just before the Revolution, Thomas' son's followed, and when, some twenty-odd years later, Isham crossed the mountains into Kentucky and westward, the cousins soon followed, lived for a time in Kentucky, and finally settled north of the Ohio River, where certain of Isham's sons had located earlier. In the families of Thomas' sons, the name Isham is bestowed on children and grandchildren, presumably in honor of cousin Isham. In no other branch of the Reavis family, outside Isham's own, is this name found. It is assumed that Thomas was born in 1723, and undoubtedly in Henrico County, Virginia, where he lived until teh 1740's the starting point for determining this date is the known date of birth of his brother James, which was in 1719. If Thomas' date of birth is correct, then he was thirty years old when he first appears in the public records in 1753, in Northampton County. Since his first son was born in 1752, he presumably married at the approximate age of 28. It is assumed that he died no later than 1760, becase the latest public record that has been found in Thomas' name is dated 1757. "We are indebted to Hon. Edward E. Adams of Taylorville, Illinois, for most of the material that appears hereafter concerning Henry and Harris, Thomas's sons, and their immediate descendants. Mr. Adams, over a period of years, has been gathering information on these families. Without access to his data, our record of this branch of the family would have been meagre and fragmentary. For such assistance, we are indeed grateful. As a further source of information on the more recent descendants, Mrs. Effie Reavis Curtis of Terre Haute, Indiana, has been very helpful. We thank her too for her assistance." 7 vi. William REAVIS Sr was born in Henrico County, Virginia circa 1725. He died in Northampton County, NC 1785. He married twice. He married Jamry JORDON circa 1750. Jamry was born circa 1725. He married Mary JORDAN circa 1763 in Northampton County, NC. Mary was born circa 1745 in Brunswick County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Thomas JORDAN. Mary, the widow named in William's will, was undoubtedly much younger than he, as could be reasonably expected of a second wife. We know that she remarrried soon after becoming widowed, also that her first son, Isaac, was born in the year 1764. By this time, William had reached the age of approximately forty years, which would have been late for a first marriage. Before William's estate was finally settled, Mary Reavis by remarriage had become Mary Brock. Her name so appears in the administrator's report to the Court. William Reavis, son of Edward by his first wife Hannah, was born on the James River in Henrico County, Virginia, in about the year 1725. He was a grown man when, in 1747, his father's entire family, which included every Reavis of the period, moved southward into the valley of the Roanoke River in Northampton County, North Carolina. All of them remained there until just prior to the American Revolution, when their western exodus got under way, leaving behind only the families of William and his brother Samuel. Samuel was an old man when, urged by his son, he was induced to establish a new home on the higher ground of Granville County, west of Northampton. Thus, William is the only member of the second generation of the Reavis family to successfully resist the lure of westward migration. He spent his entire adult life in Northampton County, North Carolina, and there made his home until his death. He had acquired property on the Neuse River in the central area of NC in Wake County, where there was already the growing city of Raleigh, but he never made his home in that county. Like all of his brothers, William received a common school education before moving out of Virginia. A sample of his neat handwriting is preserved in his will, which is in the files of the North Carolina Historical Commission in Raleigh. That will mentions, among other things, 'a parcel of books.' This is an item that suggests a home in which there was reading, and at a time when illiteracy was common in North Carolina and when many a Tarheel had to sign his name with an X. Reared in colonial Virginia, where the Church was established by law and was tax supported, William seems to have been a dissenter. He was a Baptist, as were all other Reavises of that period, and some of them creditable lay preachers in that faith. William was evidently more than a passive church member, for he is found listed in the Minutes of the Kehukey (Baptist) Association as a 'messenger,' or a delegate, from the Brunswick County, Virginia church to an annual meeting of the several Baptist churches convened at Halifax, North Carolina. Those preserved minutes cover a period from 1769 to 1777. William is listed as a messenger in the minutes of 31 July 1773, and his nephew Isham is listed in the same capacity in the minutes of 6 August 1774. The Brunswick Church, which William represented as its messenger, is of added interest because of its association with a certain Zachariah Thompson, close friend of William's, and for many years minister of that particular church. Several Reavis names, and especially that of William, are found associated with Thompson's name in various public records of land transfers. Baptist preachers of that period farmed as well as preached and thereby largely furnished their own support. It is believed that William named his first son Zachariah in honor of his preacher friend, and that this minister's influence probably led to William bestowing Bible names to two other sons, David and Isaac, before reverting to the more characteristic Reavis names of William and Samuel. Authentic data on William's family is unfortunately meager. It is believed, although definite proof is lacking, that William was twice married and that he reared two successive groups of children. If this is correct, and since William's will, dated 30 October 1784 and filed in Northampton County, omits mention of an earlier family, it is assumed that in this respect he followed the example set by his father Edward, whose will only mentioned his second wife and her children. It is known that Edward's grown children of the first family were on the friendliest of terms with their step-mother and half-brothers and second families. However, the two families of William did not appear to intermingle as did the two families of his father, Edward. The name of William's first wife, if indeed he did marry twice, is as of yet undiscovered. Mary, the widow named in William's will, was undoubtedly much younger than he was, as could be reasonably be expected of a second wife. It is known that she remarried soon after being widowed, also that her first son, Isaac, was born in the year 1764. At this time, William would have been approximately forty years old, which would have been late for a first marriage. Before William's estate was finally settled, Mary Reavis by marriage had become Mary Brock. Her name so appears in the administrator's report to the Court. William is believed to have died in the year 1785. Edward REAVIS Sr and Sarah GILLIAM Reavis had the following children:

8 vii. Jesse REAVIS was born in Henrico County, Virginia circa 1738. He died in Surry County, NC 1830. He married three times. He married Fortune (last name unknown) circa 1757 in Virginia. Fortune was born circa 1738. She died between 1790 and 1808. He married Prudence WEBB between 1790 and 1808. Prudence was born circa 1780. She died after 1816. He married Mary (last name unknown) after 1816. Mary was born 1774 in NC. She died after 1850. Jesse Reavis, son Edward and his second wife Sarah Gilliam, had attained the age of twelve years when the family bade good-bye to his birthplace on the James River in Virginia and founded a new home on the Roanoke River in Northampton County, North Carolina. Born about the year 1738 and evidently named for his mother's father, Jesse lived to the age of 92 years. He was a virile man and fathered a son when past eighty. This son, Joel, lived until the year 1907. The elapsed time from Jesse's birth to Joel's death was therefore 172 years - an exceptionally long time to be embraced in the combined lives of a father and his son. These dates and ages are intriguing, in that they suggest that Jesse would doubtless have remembered many incidents of the Virginia home, and being fifteen years old at the death of his father Edward, founder of the Reavis family, he would have known much of that patriarch. Then having lived until his own son Joel was a lad of fifteen, he would probably have told Joel many things about first and second generation Reavises. Unfortunately for us, Joel, at his death, left no written family record, probably considering it unimportant, and no one seems to have set down anything that Joel had heard of his forebears. What an exceptional opportunity to obtain authentic, first hand genealogical data that was irretrievably lost with the passing of Joel Reavis! Fenton Goss Reavis, of the line of Jesse's half-brother James, originally collected the source material which constitutes the incentive for the present book prior to the year 1888, which was long before Joel's death had occurred, but unfortunately Fenton Goss never knew of Joel's branch of the family. We must therefore look to public records for what little we can learn of Jesse, his purchases and sales of land, and his moves from one locality to another. Jesse's mother Sarah, apparently in honor of this son's becoming of age in 1756, deeded to him 160 acres of land in Northampton County. The consideration stated in the instrument was significantly for "love, good will and affection." Jesse remained on this land for many years. Meanwhile, he was raising a family with Fortune, his first wife. Her family name is not known, but her given name is learned from its appearance on the deed which evidenced the sale of their home when the family decided to establish a new home in far western North Carolina in Surry County. This move was accomplished only a few years prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution, in which Jesse served. Jesse's family was accompanied by his mother Sarah, with her son John and at least two of her daughters, all of whom joined in this migration. Glimpses of this family group in its new home are obtained through church minutes fortunately preserved at Wake Forest University, a prominent Baptist institution of North Carolina. These records are self-described as "Minutes of Dutchman's Creek Baptist Church located in the forks of the Yadkin," an expression which signifies that the location was on uplands that drain into the Yadkin, not at the edge of that river. Jesse is named in these minutes as one of the seven founders of the church on 5 October 1772. Sarah's name appears a few times, and the baptism of one of her daughters is also recorded. James, the half-brother of Jesse, was later taken into the same church 'by letter,' presumably having carried this instrument of transfer from a corresponding church in Northampton County. Conforming to the way of life in the new community, Jesse engaged in farming. This was necessarily of more general character than just tobacco growing, for such homes as his had to be essentially self-supporting out there on the frontier. In the 1790 U.S. census, Jesse's name, correctly spelled, appears in the Salisbury District of Surry County, where also lived several other Reavises, descendants of Jesse's brother James. Jesse is therein listed as having one son over sixteen and two females, presumably his wife and a daughter, but no slaves. Slaves were never numerous in hilly western North Carolina where small farming was generally practiced, although some Reavises in that area did own a few slaves. In Davie County, North Carolina, this notice was filed on 19 April 1830: "Division of lands of Jesse Reavis to allot dower to widow Mary - 61 acres & dwelling house." This is probably the same Jesse, and evidence of his having a third wife, Mary. This genealogy is indebted in particular to David Hayes Reavis of Nashville, Tennessee, a great-great-grandson of Jesse Reavis, for much information herein presented relative to this line of his forebear. 9 viii. Mary REAVIS was born circa 1740. 10 ix. Judith REAVIS was born circa 1740. She died after 1787. 11 x. John REAVIS was born in Henrico County, Virginia circa 1745. He died 1820. He was buried at Bear Creek Baptist Church in Davie County, NC. He married Granny (last name unknown) circa 1783. Granny was born circa 1760. John Reavis, seventh and final son of Edward and his second wife, Sarah Gilliam, was born in Henrico County, Virginia, probably about the year 1745. The family moved into Northampton County, North Carolina in 1747, hence John was too young to have remembered anything of Virginia. John's father died in 1751, and it was in the early 1770's that John's brother Jesse and their mother Sarah, with the sister Judith, and perhaps the sister Mary also, are known to have migrated from Northampton County into western North Carolina where they settled in Surry County. Presumably John accompanied them, a grown man by this time. Such a conclusion is supported by the fact the when the 1790 U.S. census was taken, John and his family were enumerated in old Surry County. John's family was then small, consisting of the parents with two males under sixteen years of age, their sons. The name John does not appear in the Dutchman Creek Baptist Church record, but sometime before 1789 he had been a member of Flat Rock Baptist Church in Surry (now Yadkin) County. In 1792, Bear Creek Baptist Church was organized from Flat Rock Baptist Church. John was the first prior elder of Bear Creek Church. In 1793 and 1795, he was sent as a messenger to the Baptist Association. In 1802, John was appointed to record minutes. In 1808, he was sent as a help to Deep Creek Baptist Church, and in 1820 he was sent to help Flat Rock. John was buried in Bear Creek Church Cemetery. The gravestone, still legible in 1969, simply reads 'John Reavis 1820.' A gravestone beside John reads 'Alyse Reavis, October 1820, age 25 years.' This would be the daughter-in-law of John and the first wife of Jesse (son of John). Many of the inscriptions in this cemetery of this age and older have completely worn away. All of the old markers were identical, made by hand with the inscriptions hand carved. The family name of John's wife is unknown. Even her given name failed to come down within the family, because later generations knew her simply as Granny. One descendent says: 'It seems to me that my grandmother said Granny was a Ridings.' John left no will, and it is difficult to identify any public records of any real estate transactions as positively referring to him. Another John (son of Jesse, son of the original Edward, who served in the Revolution) lived near by, and it is not easy to tell which particular John Reavis is meant when the name is found in a public record of that period. A few of John's descendants migrated west, and at least one family of John's line defied western migration patterns and moved north to Virginia. Some of John's descendants still live in Virginia, but they are most numerous in western North Carolina. We are indebted to Calvin Reavis (1846-1948) of Burlington Junction, Missouri, great-grandson of John Reavis, for information as to where the homestead of John lay. Calvin calls attention to the southern line of the present Yadkin County, which forms the northern boundary of the present Davie and Iredell Counties, so that at one point the three counties meet, and he says: "The land of my great-granbdfather (John) lay across the county line, and in the inheritance Dave and Sam got the land on the Yadkin side and Joseph and Jess (all sons of John) got the land on the Davie side, but must have disposed of it before my time. I think the Reavis land ran to the Iredell County line." On a rough sketch of a map showing the common corner of the three counties, Calvin states: "About 40 rods over here is where my great-grandfather (John) lived and raised his family and died." Elsewhere he has this: "Over here 8 or 10 rods on the Yadkin side is a little graveyard where a Pensioner John, his wife, and Rushing John are buried, also a few other graves, without markers except flint rocks on them." This abandoned cemetery is south of Lone Hickory on what is now known as the the Bill Reavis place (in 1971). It is owned by Reavis descendants, Hugh and Hazel Reavis Brandon. Rushing John was the unmarried son of John (the present subject), and Pensioner John was presumably the son of Jesse, John's half-brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Second Generation

5. Samuel2 REAVIS (Edward1) was born in Henrico County, Virginia circa 1721. He died in Granville County, NC Oct 1789. He married Nancy JONES circa 1757 in Northampton County, NC. Nancy was born circa 1735. She died in Vance County, NC 1807. In 1789 Samuel, along with his three sons, Lewis, Samuel Jr., and Whitfield, settled in Granville County (now Vance County) and founded the town of Henderson. His house, the first to be built in that section, was located near the Henderson Normal Institute. Samuel never actually lived within the city limits of Henderson. Samuel Reavis and his family had been living in Northampton County, on the Roanoke River, where it was low and damp and where mosquitoes and chills were the order of the day. Accordingly, Samuel sent his sons Lewis and Samuel, Jr., to find a more desirable locality in which to live. When they reached Granville County where it was high, hilly, and well drained, they chose it as the permanent home of this Reavis clan. Samuel, Sr. built a home at Rock Spring; his son Whitfield, built a home at Chalk Level, on the northern edge of Henderson, and Samuel, Jr., built on land which is now on the highway to Satterwhite's Point, and home of many of his modern-day descendants. A house still stands in Vance county that was believed to be built by Samuel. It is owned today by James Tolson Reavis, a direct descendant of Samuel. "This two story frame house with circular front steps of native stone has overall form of typical 18th century Georgian houses. It is an excellent example of an enterprising owner who probably served as his own architect and builder. Comfortable and functional if less than palatial, its age is revealed in wide, low home-made interior mortised doors set in wide three part frames with HL hinges, shop made nails and latches, entire 12'x9' trees used for under frame, 14' interior walls, enclosed stairs with extremely high rise. Stone single shouldered chimneys stand at either gable end of A-roof; a third chimney was destroyed by Hurricane Hazel. Some simple Greek Revival interior character is a result of remodeling around 1825." Samuel REAVIS and Nancy JONES Reavis had the following children:

12 i. Mary3 REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC 29 Sep 1758. She died in Williamson County, Tennessee 2 May 1828. She married Hartwell HYDE 1777 in Northampton County, NC. Hartwell was born 12 Jan 1759 in Northampton County, NC. He died in Williamson County, Tennessee 17 Jun 1833. Hartwell Hyde came from North Carolina to Tennessee with their eleven children in 1802. He settled on a thousand acres, east of Triune, Tennessee, that was purchased in 1801. They named their plantation 'Solitude,' and it still exists in Williamson County, Tennessee. "The Hydes built a sturdy log house and lived simply but abundantly, never replacing the pioneer dwelling with more pretentious brick as so many of their neighbors did. They were members of the Wilson Creek Baptist Church, where their son Hartwell Blount served as a deacon for many years. The large pulpit Bible he gave the church is still on display there (1971). "Hartwell Blount and Elizabeth Hyde continued to operate the homeplace after his parents' death. During the Civil War, Yankees were often in the neighborhood and on the advice of one of their officers, Hartwell Blount Hyde had his eldest son Joseph John secretly bury the silver and some valuables. It was a scene repeated countless times all over the South and many treasures were thus preserved from thieving soldiers. However, in this case it was to no avail, for when the place was uncovered, the box was gone and was never heard from again. "There were many buildings necessary for plantation life. On this place there was a work house where the slave women came daily to card wool and cotton. Here the thread was spun and material woven on the old spinning wheels and looms which were still there well into this century. There was a cobbler's shop and a cooper's shed where boards were made with a froe along with barrel stavesand other handmade objects. Along with the cotton gin and other log buildings there was a tread mill for grinding meal and flour. Its huge foundation stones may still be seen. Two of the original splendid wells are in the yard today. Contrary to most places, all of the outbuildings were to the front so they could be easily seen by the master. "As the Hyde children married, each was given a farm with abundant spring and good woodlot on it. The Hydes have always been quiet, gentle, unassuming people, good business men, proud and independent. Hartwell Blount Hyde was one of the most outstanding men in the Triune area. His word was his bond, and he was respected by rich and poor alike. Countless people beat a path to his door in distress and came away comforted; a piece of meat, a loan of money, or a word of advice helped many a discouraged man over a rough place. "Many of the present surrounding farms were once part of the Hyde plantation, but the descendents of Hartwell Hyde, through care and good management, have preserved their homeplace intact from 1801 until the present day. This is one of the most remarkable examples of continuity in land ownership to be found in Williamson County." Mary and Hartwell arrived in Williamson County, Tennessee about 1802. + 13 ii. Lucy Russell REAVIS was born 1760 and died 1837. 14 iii. Hannah REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1764. She married Dr Benjamin KING 21 Jan 1785 in Warren County, NC. Benjamin was born circa 1764. 15 iv. Lewis REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1766. He died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 19 Nov 1843. He married Sarah WYCHE Reavis 19 Jul 1808 in Brunswick County, Virginia. Sarah was born 16 Apr 1778 in Brunswick County, Virginia. She was the daughter of Peter WYCHE and Elizabeth JENKINS Wyche. She died in Henderson, Vance County, NC May 1850. "After his father's death, Lewis lived at the old homeplace with his mother, looking after the young brothers and sisters until they were grown and married. Henderson is built on his farm, where he had several hundred slaves in three large slave quarters. He loved the church, and taught his slaves how to live right... In 1807, after his mother's death, Lewis visited in Virginia, Hicks Ford (now Emporia), attending camp meetings. It was on this visit that he met and wooed Miss Sally Wyche, whom he married in Brunswick County, Virginia, on 19 July 1808." In 1811 Lewis cut down trees and cleared enough space in the woods by the side of the road to build a small frame store. That wooden store was the first building of any kind to built in what is now Henderson. This was twenty-two years after his father Samuel had built the first residence at Rock Spring, just outside of what is now the town. The store was located on the present corner of Garnett and Young Streets. The business of the store was run by Lewis and his brother-in- law, William Evans, as partners. In 1822 Lewis built the first residence in Henderson, near his store. It was a large two-story, frame building with a double-deck front porch supported by ten ornamental columns. It had seven bedrooms, a parlor, dining room, and kitchen. Outside, there were lovely box bushes, some big gates, an office on one side of the home and slave quarters to the rear. The large dwelling being on the highway, there was so much overnight company that Lewis converted the place into a tavern and made charges for his services. Here the Reavis family lived until Lewis died in 1843. In 1823, he conducted a school in a small house on William Street in Henderson. The Raleigh and Gaston Railroad was the first to reach the area, about 1836, and the train station was located on the hog pasture of Lewis's three-thousand acre farm.A big gathering was held at Rock Spring Methodist Church shortly thereafter at the home of Lewis Reavis, with barbecue dinner, and it was voted to name the new village Reavisville in honor of the Reavis family. Lewis asked that instead, the town be named in honor of his recently deceased friend, Judge Leonard Henderson, and this was done. Henderson was designated a US Post Office in 1838, chartered 11 January 1841, with Lewis Reavis as its first postmaster. Around 1842, Lewis Reavis gave the land on which the first church building of The Church of The Holy Innocents in Henderson was built, on the corner of Garnett and Church Streets. 16 v. Thomas REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1768. He died after 1840. He married Elizabeth MARSHALL 23 Apr 1796 in Granville County, NC. Elizabeth was born circa 1768. She died after 1822. For a time, Thomas and his wife Elizabeth made their home in Mecklenburg Co, Virginia. He served in the War of 1812, where he attained the rank of Captain. He was appointed constable of the Later, he lived in Orange County, NC, where supposedly all his children were born. Thomas taught school in Henderson from 1830-1840. 17 vi. Nancy Jones REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1770. She died in Granville (now Vance) County, NC circa 1840. She married John BRAME 10 Dec 1792 in Granville County, NC. John was born circa 1770 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He died in Granville (now Vance) County, NC circa 1840. 18 vii. Sarah Jane (Sally) REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1772. She married Turner MOSS 15 Nov 1797 in Granville County, NC. Turner was born circa 1772. 19 viii. Elizabeth REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1774. She married John RUSSELL circa 1794. John was born circa 1774. From 1818 to 1822 a Miss Drucilla Macon boarded in the home of Lewis Reavis and taught a school for girls at Chalk Level. Elizabeth was one of her students. + 20 ix. Samuel Jones REAVIS Sr was born circa 1775 and died 1854. 21 x. Rebecca REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1778. She married Arthur H HARRIS 24 Jun 1800 in Granville County, NC. Arthur was born circa 1778. 22 xi. William Whitfield REAVIS was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1780. He died in Henderson, Vance County, NC Oct 1861. He married Elizabeth Ann WIGGINS 25 Oct 1807 in Granville County, NC. Elizabeth was born 1793 in Warren County, NC. She died 1 Dec 1872. Called Whitfield by his family, he was a lad of not more than ten years when his father died. His brother Lewis was made guardian of the boy's estate during his minority, and acted as a time as his school teacher, evidently with some success, as Whitfield himself eventually taught school for a time. He served in the War of 1812 as a Sergeant. Already a member of the North Carolina Militia, he was enrolled on 10 April 1812 into the 8th Company, 1st Regiment of the Army, and was later transferred to the 4th Regiment from Granville County, where he served until the end of the war. He and his wife Elizabeth made their home at Chalk Level, NC, where they had a family of fourteen children. Whitfield was a considerably wealthy man, owning many slaves and much land. Later in life he suffered some financial reverses, and moved to Henderson where he served as postmaster. He was a notable hunter and something of a trapper. His flint-lock musket, squirrel gun, and some of his traps were long preserved as keepsakes by certain of his descendants. He was listed as a teacher in the 1850 census, and was appointed postmaster of Henderson on 16 July 1850.

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Third Generation

13. Lucy Russell3 REAVIS (Samuel2, Edward1) was born in Northampton County, NC 1760. She died 1837. She married Lewis W PARHAM 19 Feb 1777. Lewis was born circa 1762 in Brunswick County, Virginia. He died before 1837. Lucy Russell REAVIS Parham and Lewis W PARHAM had the following child:

23 i. Asa4 PARHAM was born 23 Feb 1793. He died 5 Sep 1881. He married Delia Hawkins REAVIS 22 Mar 1824 in Granville County, NC. Delia was born 20 Apr 1800 in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC. She was the daughter of Samuel Jones REAVIS Sr and Patsey HARRIS Reavis. She died 20 Sep 1860. 20. Samuel Jones3 REAVIS Sr (Samuel2, Edward1) was born in Northampton County, NC circa 1775. He died in Granville County, NC 1854. He married Patsey HARRIS 21 Jul 1801 in Warren County, NC. Patsey was born circa 1775. Samuel was an extensive planter and slave owner in the Henderson District of Vance County, and lived a few miles from the present town of Henderson. His home was for many years a social center of the community. He was a man of good education, and was public spirited in all his undertakings. Samuel Jones REAVIS Sr and Patsey HARRIS Reavis had the following children:

24 i. Delia Hawkins4 REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC 20 Apr 1800. She died 20 Sep 1860. She married Asa PARHAM 22 Mar 1824 in Granville County, NC. Asa was born 23 Feb 1793. He was the son of Lewis W PARHAM and Lucy Russell REAVIS Parham. He died 5 Sep 1881. 25 ii. John B M REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC circa 1802. He died in Oakley, Macon County, Illinois 1869. He married Cloe BRINKLEY 6 Mar 1819 in Granville County, NC. Cloe was born circa 1798. After marriage, John and Cloe moved to Tennessee and lived most of their lives near Nashville. Here all of their children were born. The young folks eventually moved to Illinois, and there John B.M. Reavis died at the home of his son, James Whitfield Reavis. 26 iii. Nancy REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC circa 1803. She married Samuel BRAME 17 Sep 1821 in Granville County, NC. Samuel was born circa 1800. 27 iv. Lewis Pleasant REAVIS was born in Henderson, Vance County, NC 5 Oct 1804. He died in Vance County, NC 25 Dec 1879. He married Mary R COGHILL 5 Aug 1833 in Granville County, NC. Mary was born 11 Jun 1813 in Granville County, NC. She died Dec 1883. Lewis was a considerable property owned and planter in the Flat Rock Road area, and established his sons there. 28 v. Robert REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC circa 1805. He married Rebecca VAUGHAN 21 Feb 1824 in Granville County, NC. Rebecca was born circa 1802. 29 vi. Thomas D REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC 31 Mar 1808. He died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 20 Sep 1869. He married Lucy Daily AMIS 20 Oct 1837 in Granville County, NC. Lucy was born 4 Apr 1814. She died 20 Jun 1889. Thomas received a good education, and being slightly crippled from childhood, he took to school teaching and followed this calling most of his life. 30 vii. George W REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC circa 1810. He died 1861. He married Martha Ann HARRIS 7 Apr 1846 in Warren County, NC. Martha was born circa 1810. 31 viii. Richard REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC circa 1812. 32 ix. Elizabeth F REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC circa 1814. She married Vincent VAUGHAN 8 Nov 1834 in Granville County, NC. Vincent was born circa 1814. 33 x. William REAVIS was born in Chalk Level, Vance County, NC circa 1816. + 34 xi. Samuel Jones REAVIS Jr was born 6 May 1819 and died 1858.

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Fourth Generation

34. Samuel Jones4 REAVIS Jr (Samuel Jones3, Samuel2, Edward1) was born in Granville County, NC 6 May 1819. He died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 1858. He married Charity High HUNT 27 Mar 1840 in Franklin County, NC. Charity was born 5 May 1820 in Franklin County, NC. Charity was a relative of John Penn, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.Administration papers of Samuel's estate were filed 10 January 1859. Samuel Jones REAVIS Jr and Charity High HUNT Reavis Kearney had the following children:

35 i. Robert5 REAVIS was born in Henderson, Vance County, NC circa 1841. Robert served in the Civil War and was killed circa 1863. 36 ii. Pattie REAVIS was born in Henderson, Vance County, NC circa 1845. She married Ernest CREWS circa 1865. Ernest was born circa 1845. 37 iii. Mary Jane REAVIS was born in Henderson, Vance County, NC circa 1845. She died Dec 1882. 38 iv. David Hunt REAVIS was born in Henderson, Vance County, NC 14 Nov 1848. He died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 13 Jun 1926. He married Tabitha Duke BEST 20 May 1875. Tabitha was born 4 Jun 1848. She died 5 Jun 1936. He became identified with community interests and served several terms on the Vance County Board of Commissioners; a Democrat and a Baptist. 39 v. Hugh Jones REAVIS was born in Henderson, Vance County, NC circa 1851. He died 23 Oct 1921. He married Pattie Martha WORTHAM 14 Dec 1881 in Vance County, NC. Pattie was born 16 Oct 1863 in Warren County, NC. She was the daughter of Alexander W WORTHAM and Lucy Williams REAVIS Wortham Stone. She died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 12 Feb 1936. Pattie moved to Vance County with her parents while just a small child, and lived in the Flat Rock community of Henderson for over seventy years. She had been a member of Brookstone Presbyterian Church for sixty years. 40 vi. Rufus Perry REAVIS was born in Henderson, Vance County, NC 16 May 1853. Rufus was murdered by 'horse drovers' while he was asleep. + 41 vii. William Harvey REAVIS was born 13 Jan 1856 and died 12 Oct 1913.

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41. William Harvey5 REAVIS (Samuel Jones4, Samuel Jones3, Samuel2, Edward1) was born in Warren County, NC 13 Jan 1856. He died in Vance County, NC 12 Oct 1913. He married Sallie Barnes YOUNG 17 Dec 1879. Sallie was born 19 Jun 1862 in Wake County, NC. She died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 26 Sep 1937. She was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Henderson, Vance County, NC. In Sallie's obituary, it was said: "With her parents, she came to Vance County in infancy, and made her home here continuously since then in the Cokesbury community. She was a member of Cokesbury Methodist Episcopal Church since early childhood, and being a faithful attendant until her health began to fail." William Harvey REAVIS and Sallie Barnes YOUNG Reavis had the following children:

42 i. Eunice Maud6 REAVIS was born in Vance County, NC 11 Jan 1883. She died in Cokesbury, Vance County, NC 12 Nov 1934. Eunice never married, and was a member of Brookstone Presbyterian Church for twenty years. 43 ii. Bessie Lee REAVIS was born in Vance County, NC 13 Feb 1885. She died in Vance County, NC 25 Aug 1943. She married Starling Wesley FINCH 16 Jun 1907. Starling was born 5 Mar 1878 in Granville County, NC. 44 iii. Edward Clifton REAVIS was born in NC 5 Sep 1887. He married twice. He married Beulah Bettie REAVIS circa 1915. Beulah was born 26 Feb 1895 in NC. She was the daughter of Benjamin Lewis REAVIS Sr and Rose LIMER Reavis. She died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 7 Feb 1917. Beulah died four days after giving birth, of complications from the pregnancy. The child did not survive. He married Rosa Louise REAVIS 27 Jun 1920 in Henderson, Vance County, NC. Rosa was born 8 Feb 1905 in Warrenton, Warren County, NC. She was the daughter of Benjamin Lewis REAVIS Sr and Rose LIMER Reavis. She died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 11 Dec 1990. She was buried at Angier Primitive Baptist Church in Angier, Harnett County, NC. 45 iv. Archie William REAVIS Sr was born in Vance County, NC 22 Mar 1890. He died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 31 Jan 1976. He was buried in Middleburg Cemetery in Middleburg, Vance County, NC. He married Nannie Maynard FLOYD 16 Jun 1923 in Henderson, Vance County, NC. Nannie was born 21 Jun 1902 in Vance County, NC. She died in Henderson, Vance County, NC 22 Nov 1994. She was buried in Middleburg Cemetery in Middleburg, Vance County, NC. 46 v. Maurice Willard REAVIS was born in NC 19 Jul 1891. He never married. 47 vi. Ruth L REAVIS was born in NC 29 Oct 1892. She married Joseph T SHAW 16 Dec 1913, Vance County, NC. Joseph was born 15 Mar 1887, Warren County, NC. 48 vii. Perry Franklin REAVIS Sr was born in Vance County, NC 11 Jul 1895. He died in Asheville, Buncombe County, NC 9 Jul 1962. He married Lillie Mae SHAW 14 Dec 1921 in Vance County, NC. Lillie was born 1900 in Warren County, NC. Perry served in WW I. Perry lived in Angier, in Harnett County, NC. He died at the V.A. Hospital in Asheville, NC. 49 viii. Gladys Louise REAVIS was born in NC 7 Jul 1898. She married Clement Jones MABRY 5 Aug 1917. Clement was born 4 Feb 1888 in Vance County, NC. Gladys and her husband lived in Angier, Harnett County, NC.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bibliography

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Absher, Mrs. W.O. Surry County, North Carolina Deeds, Books D, E and F 1779-1797. Easley SC: Southern Historical Press, 1985.

Bradley, Dr. Stephen E., Jr. Franklin County, North Carolina Marriage Bonds 1779-1868. South Boston, VA: 1989.

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Dodd, Jordan R., ed. North Carolina Marriages Early to 1800. Bountiful, UT: Precision Indexing Publishers, 1990.

Fayette County (IL) Genealogical Society. "Fayette's First Families: Reavis Families." Fayette Facts Vol.XV, No.2 (June 1986): pp.65-100.

Grimes, J. Bryan. Abstract of North Carolina Wills. Raleigh NC: E.M. Uzzell & Co., State Printers and Binders, 1910.

Hall, Marie Reavis. The Reavis Family: In America Since 1700. Winston-Salem NC: Smith Printing, 1971.

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Henderson (NC) Daily Dispatch. 13 Nov 1934, p.8, col.5, "Miss Reavis Dies at the Age of 51".

Henderson (NC) Daily Dispatch. 13 Feb 1936, p.8, col.6, "Mrs. Reavis Dies at the Age of 72".

Henderson (NC) Daily Dispatch. 27 Sep 1937, p.8, col.1, "Mrs. Reavis Dies at the Age of 75".

Holcomb, Brent H. Marriages of Bute and Warren Counties, North Carolina 1764-1868. Baltimore: Genealogical Publ. Co., Inc., 1991.

Holcomb, Brent H. Marriages of Granville County, North Carolina 1753-1868. Baltimore: Genealogical Publ. Co., 1981.

Holcomb, Brent H. Marriages of Surry County, North Carolina 1779-1868. Baltimore MD: Genealogical Publ. Co., Inc., 1982.

Hoots, Carl C. Cemeteries of Yadkin County, North Carolina. Spartanburg SC: The Reprint Co., Publ., 1985.

Hummel, Elizabeth Hicks. Hick's History of Granville County, North Carolina, Vol. I, Marriage Bonds. Oxford, NC: Coble Printing Co., 1965.

Ingmire, Frances T. Franklin County, North Carolina Marriage Records 1789-1868. St. Louis MO: Ingmire Publications, 1984.

Linn, Jo White. Davie County, North Carolina Will and Deed Abstracts: Wills 1836-1900; Deeds 1836-1850. Salisbury NC: 1973.

Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers, Vol.III, 1695-1732. Richmond VA: Virginia State Library, 1979.

Olds. Abstract of North Carolina Wills 1690-1760..

Spann, Barbara, to Scott Reavis. Letter dated 22 Feb 1995 at 9539 Maplewood St., Bellflower, CA 90706. In possession of Scott Reavis, 1997.

Townsend, Rita Hineman. Descendants of Strangeman Hutchins. Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press, Inc., 1979.

Vance Co., NC Register of Deeds, Vance Co. Courthouse, 122 Young St., Henderson, NC 27536; (919)438-4155, ..

Vance County Historical Society. The Heritage of Vance County, North Carolina, Vol.I, 1984. Winston-Salem NC: Hunter Publ. Co., 1984.

Wooley, James E. & Vivian Wooley. Rutherford County, North Carolina Wills and Miscellaneous Records 1783-1868. Easley SC: Southern Historical Press, Inc., 1984.

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Last updated Apr. 13, 1998

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