My Reeves Family's Migration from North Carolina to Tennessee
My Reeves family had lived in the Gaston and Lincoln county area of North Carolina along the Catawba River since the late 1700’s. But when my 3rd Great Grandfather Willis Reeves died on August 12, 1846 in Gaston County, his wife Elizabeth Rooker Reeves and their grown children and their families decided to move farther west. Land was plentiful in west Tennessee after the Chickasaw Nation ceded their lands to the United States in 1818 and it was here the Reeves family decided to build a new life. A distant cousin and fellow researcher told me once that some of the older sons of Willis and Elizabeth Reeves had already migrated to west Tennessee by 1840. I have an original court document from Gibson County, Tennessee dated November 9, 1842 that lists William E. Reeves, W. S. (L) Reeves and John Rooker as witnesses, so I know they were in west Tennessee at that time.
According to family tradition, the Reeves family traveled for six weeks by covered wagon from Lincoln County, North Carolina to Gibson County, Tennessee. They arrived near the town of Gadsden on April 27, 1847. I have copies of deeds from 1848 and 1849 where each of the Reeves brothers purchased land here. At least one of these original properties is still owned by a Reeves descendant today.
I believe there were several migration routes into west Tennessee being used during this time period, but I haven’t been able to nail down the one which my family used. If anyone has any thoughts about this, I would appreciate hearing from you.
According to family tradition, the Reeves family traveled for six weeks by covered wagon from Lincoln County, North Carolina to Gibson County, Tennessee. They arrived near the town of Gadsden on April 27, 1847. I have copies of deeds from 1848 and 1849 where each of the Reeves brothers purchased land here. At least one of these original properties is still owned by a Reeves descendant today.
I believe there were several migration routes into west Tennessee being used during this time period, but I haven’t been able to nail down the one which my family used. If anyone has any thoughts about this, I would appreciate hearing from you.
posted by Barry | 8:30 PM
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my name is ronald eugene reeves
My descendants are from Tennessee.
We're from Georgia but oddly enough I dated a Reeves woman from Tennessee. She graduated from Vanderbilt, thank god.
My grandfather was actually named after DR. Rooker Reeves! My great grandfather was considered a "black sheep" when he married my great grandmother, a Catholic (big no no) but it also may have had something to do with Tom gunning down his brother over a land dispute, hard to tell..... Jake (my grandfather) died a few years back and we've recently moved back to Arkansas which pushed me to research more about our family! I remember him telling stories of farming what is currently Conway. Its been a little difficult for me to follow the trails after the family split in Tennessee.
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