Beeks line: Thomas Rees 1734-1812

 There are many men by the name of Thomas Rees, who are somehow connected to this Rees line, and they have been sadly intermixed on many family trees.  To set the record straight, our Thomas is not the one who fought in the South in the Revolutionary War (as a Loyalist!) although the two may have been cousins of some sort.  Our Thomas led an interesting life, but not quite that interesting!

Thomas was born about 1734, probably in Chester County (now Delaware County), Pennsylvania.  His family was of Welsh ancestry, and came to Philadelphia about 1684, as Quakers.  The family stayed firm in Quaker beliefs for several generations.  Thomas's parents were Thomas and Margaret Bowen Rees, and he was probably the second of their ten children.  The whole family moved to Frederick County, Virginia (now Berkley County, West Virginia) on the Opequon Creek, in 1753, where they were associated with Hopewell Meeting House.  

Thomas is said to have married Hannah Rees, who was the daughter of Morris and Sarah Butterfield Rees, and yes, the two were cousins.  Hannah's grandparents, and Thomas's great grandparents, were David and Elinor Lloyd Rees, the original Welsh Quaker immigrants, if our information is correct.  I've not found documentation for this marriage but it was probably about 1756, since children began arriving in 1757. Thomas and Hannah are credited with 14 children, the last arriving in 1777.

Life was not easy on the frontier, especially since shortly after the Rees family arrived, the French and Indian War broke out.   Thomas and Hannah stayed during the first few years of the conflict, but when the Shenandoah Valley repeatedly came under attack, Thomas and Hannah went back to Pennsylvania and stayed there, probably with relatives, for about a year.  They came back in 1759, having added a third child while they were waiting for safer times to return.  (Again, a tribute to the pioneers who lived such a life, with courage triumphing over fear; I have such admiration for them!)  

Thomas and Hannah stayed in the Shenandoah Valley for another 20 or so years, but in 1781 were in West Bethlehem Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania.  This would have been another major move for the Rees family, as the trip was about 150 miles and there doesn't appear to be an easy travel route between the two areas.  Plus, all those children!  ("Are we there yet?  How much longer?")  

This would have put them in the same area, at the same time, as the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, when the federal army put down an insurrection relating to taxes applied to the whiskey that was the main cash crop of the area at the time.  We have no indication that the Rees family was involved in this, but their neighbors would have been, and it was a tense time in American history.  

Thomas may have been a restless man, or he may have been just seeking a more peaceful life, but for whatever reason, he moved to Hocking Township, Fairfield County, Ohio about 1801, shortly after the county was formed.  He had owned a large tract of land in Pennsylvania and began selling it off in 1805, with the final sale in 1810 going to his son, Thomas, who had stayed in Pennsylvania.  Most of the rest of Thomas's children had moved to various places in Ohio by then.  

Hannah died between 1800 and 1805, and Thomas died before February, 1812, in Fairfield County.  I have not been able to locate a will but it is noted that his son Morris and his nephew David Rees were executors.  His personal estate had a value of $89.10.  One wonders whether he had given whatever wealth he had to his children earlier, or whether this low amount was the result of life on the move.

We have lots of questions about Thomas.  Did he ever take up arms to protect his family, or to serve in the military?  What motivated the moves he made throughout his life? Was he seeking adventure, or safety, or economic gain?  Was he still part of a Quaker community when he died?    Whenever we learn one fact, we have several more questions!  

The line of descent is:

Thomas Rees-Hannah Rees

Solomon Rees-Anna

Owen T Reese-Margaret Ellen Moon

Eliza Matilda Reese-Samuel G Dunham

Margaret Catherine Dunham=Harvey Aldridge

Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks

Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Their descendants