Sarah "Sally" Reese
Sex: F
Individual Information
Birth Date: Abt 1765 Christening: Death: 31 Dec 1854 1 Burial: in Old Mount Hermon Cem., Mount Herman, Bedford Co., TN Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: Sloman Reese ( -Abt 1803) Mother:
Spouses and Children
Children: 1. William G. Reese (Abt 1792- ) 2. Robert W. Reese (Abt 1794- ) 3. Meeky Reese (Abt 1796-After 1870) 4. Featherston Reese (Abt 1798-After 1860) 5. James R. Reese (1800-1888) 6. Martha Reese (Abt 1800-1840/1850) 7. Nancy Reese (1800/1810-After 1840) 8. Parthenia Reese (Abt 1804-1870/1880) 9. Wilkinson W. Reese (1807-1899) 10. Fleming Sanders Reese (1810-1870)
Notes
General:
CENSUS:
<pre>1820 Bedford Co., Virginia, Southern District
Sally Reese 020100-01201; 3 in agriculture, no slaves
male female
<10
2 10-16 1
16-18
1 16-26 2
26-45
>45 1 </pre>
<pre>1830 Bedford Co., Virginia
Sally Reese 00001-000010001; no slaves
male female
< 5
5-10
10-15
15-20
1 20-30 1
30-40
40-50
50-60
60-70 1 </pre>
<pre>1840 Lincoln Co., Tennessee, Civil District No 2
Sarah Reese 100001-0000010001; 1 in learned professional engineers, no slaves
male female
1 < 5
5-10
10-15
15-20
20-30
1 30-40 1
40-50
50-60
60-70
70-80 1
80-90 </pre>
She is in the sequence Robt W. Reese, 2x, Sarah Reese, Martha Jaret. The male 30-40 is probably Sarah's son Wilkinson W. Reese. He was born in 1807 and does not have an entry of his own in 1840. However, he married in 1838, and if the female 30-40 is his wife, then Parthenia is not in the census.
In 1850 Sarah Rees is living in Lincoln Co., Tennessee with her son Wilkinson W. Rees and her daughter Parthenia.
BEQUEST FROM LITTLEBERRY LEFTWICH:
"Will books, 1763-1914; general indexes, 1754-1976" at familysearch.org, "Will books, v. 5-6 1817-1828", Book 5, pg 419, image 232/511:
The following item is in the will of Littleberry Leftwich, signed May 30, 1823 in Bedford Co., Virginia.
Item 2nd I will and devise to the children of Sally Reese which may now exist the tract of Land on which she now lives on, lying on Wolf Creek, containing one Hundred and ninety odd acres, reserving unto the said Sally Reese the right of living thereon with the free priviledge of clearing and cultivating the land with the use of the timber thereof in any way she may think proper expressly for her own use and benefit only as long as she may continue to live on the land herself and no longer; and I do further hereby release the said Sally from any claims that may be now due me or in any manner coming to me from her.
SALE of the LAND:
On May 14, 1831 Richard Hobson of Bedford Co., Virginia pays $550 lawful money of Virginia for a tract of 190 odd acres, more or less, in Bedford Co. on the northeast side of Wolf Creek where Sally Reese now lives and which was divised to the grantors by the last will and testament of Col. Littleberry Leftwich, dec'd, and which is bounded by the lands of the said Richard Hobson and Thomas Meade. (Bedford Co. Deed Records, Vol 22, pg 368) The grantors are listed in the following order:
Sally Reese
William Reese and Catharine, his wife
Robert W. Reese and Nancy, his wife
James Campbell and Meaky, his wife
Elijah Beard and Nancy, his wife
James Reese and Anney, his wife
Featherston Reese and Patsey, his wife
Thomas Garrett and Patsey, his wife
Wilkerson Reese
Parthenia Reese
Fleming S. Reese
Within the document the spelling of given names and surnames is variable. Reese, Reece, and Rees all appear. James Campbell and his wife, Elijah Beard and his wife, and William's wife Catharine do not sign the document. The signers are specifically
Sally (her X mark) Reese
Featherston Rees
Martha (her X mark) Reese
James R. Reese
Ann J. (her X mark) Rees
Parthenia (her X mark) Reese
Wilkinson W. Rees
Fleming S. Rees
William Rees
Nancy C. Rees
Martha (her X mark) Garrett
Thomas B. Jarred
R. W. Rees
ORDER OF CHILDREN:
The grantors in the deed of May 14, 1831 are probably listed in chronological order.
INTERPRETATION:
The 1823 will of Littleberry Leftwich and the deed of 24 May 1831 deed clearly define a group of children and their mother. They say nothing about the father. In the 1820 census Sally Reese has her own census entry. The conventional assumption would be that Sally's husband and the father of the children died before 1820. However, Y-DNA evidence has shown that Littleberry Leftwich was the father of two of Sally's sons. He might be the father of some or all of the other children.
That Littleberry Leftwich was the father of some or all of Sally's children would be a sufficient reason for the bequest.
It is commonly said that Sally's husband was William Berry Reese. Hence the surname of the children. No marriage record has been found to document the marriage. The oldest of the 10 children mentioned in the deed is William G. Reese, born in about 1792. Five years earlier on 20 Nov 1787, when Sally was about 22 years old, Slowman Reese of Bedford Co. sold a dark bay horse known by the name of Prince to Salley G. Reese of Bedford Co. for 12 pounds (Bedford Co. Deed Records Book 8, pg 83). If she had been married in 1787, wouldn't her husband have bought the horse? And the usual expectation would be that if she had been married in 1787, she would have had a child before 1792. It is likely that Sally was unmarried in 1787 and that her maiden name was Reese, in which case she may be Sloman's daughter or a younger sister. It would seem unusual to sell something to a daughter.
The first appearance of a William Reese in the Bedford Co. personal property tax lists is in 1804. If William Berry Reese was the father of Sally's children, where was the family before 1804 if they weren't in Bedford Co.? I have not been able to find them in nearby counties. It is probably the case that there never was a person named William Berry Reese.
More research is needed.
BEDFORD CO., VIRGINIA PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX LIST:
Sally Reese does not have her own entry in the personal property tax list until 1825. She is there continuously until 1830, and she is always contiguous with her son Featherston. She has no slaves and 1, 2, or 3 horses. The family moved to Tennessee in about 1831. Featherston, Robert W., Wilkinson, and Fleming are in the tax list for the last time in 1831; Sally and James R. in 1830; William (BS) in 1829.
MIGRATION:
Sally and 9 of her 10 children migrated to Tennessee (Lincoln Co.) in about 1831. Meeky and her husband had previously gone to Kentucky. By 1850 Martha Jarratt and her husband have died, and three of their children are living in Hancock Co., Kentucky with or near Meeky.
1
"Find-a-Grave," Memorial # 17645093.
Home | Table of Contents | Surnames | Name List
This website was created 3 Oct 2022 with Legacy 9.0, a division of MyHeritage.com; content copyrighted and maintained by nparker41@att.net