Thomas Rees family 1681-??

 This is the most confusing family I've come across, in my 18 years of working on family history.  At this point, I have little to say about the Thomas Rees who was born in Wales and traveled with his parents, David and Elinor Lloyd Rees, to Philadelphia, where he eventually settled in the Welsh Tract, at least for a time. Thomas Rees and Morris Rees, whose family I wrote about last week, are brothers.

I should point out that the name Rees was a common Welsh name, originally spelled Rhys, and Thomas was also a common name for men.  I suspect that there are several men by the name of Thomas Rees in the time period of 1680-1750, and in Pennsylvania.  It appears that David may have had a brother Thomas.  David certainly had a son named Thomas, and he is most probably the one who belongs in this lineage.  But is our Thomas the one who died in 1713, or the one who died in 1740?  I cannot decide so I'll lay the two possibilities out.

The Thomas who died in 1713 had children Thomas, Sarah, Daniel, Mary, David, Isaac, Philip, Miriam, Thomas (again, likely the first one had died) and John.  Our Thomas, the sort of subject of this post, married Francis or Rebecca Price, the daughter of Philip Price, so including the name of Philip as a child is completely logical. Thomas and Rebecca had married in 1692 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  But I am wondering if this Thomas was actually the age of David's brother, which would explain the early birth date.  There are several references to Thomas Rees as taxpayer and landowner in the 1680s and 90s, which would be prior to the time our Thomas would have been of age to own land and owe taxes, if his 1681 birthdate is correct.

Another Thomas Rees died in 1740 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  I do not know where this list of children comes from but I show his children as Thomas, Henry, William, David, Robert, Solomon, Jane, Margaret, Mary known as Polly, and John.  I show son Thomas as having been born in Chester County, also.  This is likely to be either our Thomas or the son of the Thomas who died in 1713, but there are other possibilities, also.  

Since I have not much faith in either option (or in none of the above), I am not going to try to trace the children of Thomas until I have more confidence that I'm following the correct family.  I will simply note that both of the men I've mentioned had sons named Thomas, and in my next post, I'll follow that Thomas.  

If I've thoroughly confused you, join the crowd!  And if you have answers, please contact me.

The family of Morris Rees 1680-1768

 Morris Rees, an ancestor of the Beeks family, lived an interesting life.  He was born in Wales in 1680 and died in 1768 in Frederick County, Virginia.  In between those dates, he'd lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania and possibly at least one other location before settling in Virginia.  As a Quaker, his name is on several Society of Friends records, but also as a Quaker, birth information was not necessarily recorded for his children.  

We know that Morris was the son of David and Elinor Lloyd Rees, the immigrants.  He married Sarah Butterfield, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (possibly Taylor) Butterfield in 1718 at the Chester Monthly Meeting in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  Morris and Sarah had at least eight children and those children helped to thoroughly confuse the Rees family tree, as some married cousins and other Rees relatives.  

John was the first known son born, in 1720.  He married Lydia Hastings , the daughter of John and Mary Williams Hastings.  Their children are Lydia, Sara, Jacob, John, Morris, Hannah, Rachel and Enoch.  Various death dates are assigned to John (doubtless a confusion among several men named John Rees) but it appears that he died between 1791-1795.  He would have been of prime age and location to have served in the French and Indiana War, possibly even the Revolutionary War, if his Quaker beliefs had permitted.  I'm still researching that aspect of his life. There was a John Reese who was on the roll during Lord Dunsmore's War in 1774.  Is it this John?

Morris was the next son born, about 1721.  He married Sarah Hackney, the daughter of Joseph and Charity Harlan Hackney.  Their children are Morris, Mary, Margaret, Rebecca, Phebe, Charity, David, another Morris, Mary, and another Rebecca.  Morris died in 1800 in Frederick County, Virginia.  He also was old enough to have served in the two wars mentioned above.  It is also possible that the Rees families left Virginia (they mostly arrived in 1752-1753) and traveled east to less volatile locations during the wars. Morris Reece Sr and Morris Reece Jr were each listed as having missed one private muster from John Linsey's Company of Troop in Frederick County at a Court Martial held September 2, 1755, and it is quite possible that it is this Morris and his son Morris who are being referred to here.  Perhaps they missed a muster due to seeing that their families were safe. 

Jacob was born in 1723 and may have died in 1789 in Harrison County, in what is now West Virginia.  He married Hannah Kirk, the daughter of Roger and Jane Bowen Kirk.  Their children are Joel, Sarah, Jonathan, Jacob, Nathan, Morris, Hannah, and Jesse.  

Mary was their first daughter, born in 1726.  She married Job or Joel Hastings, the son of John and Mary Williams Hastings.  Their children are Hannah, Isaac, Henry, Thomas, Reese, and Sarah.  After her first husband died, she may have married Jesse Faulkner when she was about 60 years old.  I'm not sure this was the same Mary, but it's possible.  Mary died in 1794 in Berkley County, in what is now West Virginia.

Margaret was born in 1728 and died before 1788.  She married Archibald Jobe, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Maxwell Jobe.  Their children are Morris, Thomas, Daniel, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Margaret. 

David was born in 1730 and died in 1812 in Berkley County, (West) Virginia.  He married Martha Chandler, the daughter of Jacob and Martha Greave Chandler.  Their children are Jacob, Jane, Enoch, Mary, Daniel, Ellis, Martha, Lydia, Hannah, and Samuel. A David Reece was fined in 1760 for being absent from a private muster from John Greenfield's Company in Frederick County.  We can't be sure this is our David, due to a multitude of David Rees (etc) men in the area, but it's possible.  `

Hannah was born in 1732 and died in 1803 in Frederick County, Virginia.  She married Thomas Reese, the son of Thomas and Margaret Bowen Reese.  (My next post will be about the family of Thomas and Margaret.)  Their children are Solomon, Morris, Thomas, Sarah/Sally, Margaret, Jesse, Mary, and Hannah.  

Finally, there is Thomas, born in 1734.  He married Margaret Bowen, who was the daughter of Thomas and Margaret Bowen Reese, mentioned above.  Their children are Elizabeth, Martha, Leah, Thomas, and Mary. Thomas died in 1819 in Berkley County, (West) Virginia.

As we can guess, there are many stories hidden in these brief facts.  Love, marriage (not necessarily in that order), children, war, religion, making a living and living a life were parts of each of these lives.  As near as I can tell, this was a family full of good people who faced challenging times and set a good  example for their descendants. 

The family of (Hugh) David Rees 1655-1706

 Researching this family has been like herding cats.  Just when one thing seems to fall in line, everything or everyone else is ready to escape to a new and better life, different parents, a possible second spouse, more or fewer children-anyone who has tried to research an early Pennsylvania family who traces back to Wales knows what I am experiencing.  In briefly researching for this family sketch, I've found a lot of questions, a lot of confusion, and a lot of dead ends.  This post will attempt to sort some of this out, point out possible alternatives, and at least leave some bread crumbs for the next searchers.  All help is most welcome.  

The first question is David's name.  Was his first name Hugh, or was it David?  I'm using David because I've not found anything at all that used the name Hugh, but it's possible that someone knows something I don't.  And as for "Rees", well, it could be Reece, Reese, Rhys, or even ap Rhys, which some have then interpreted as Price.  

David is the son of (unconfirmed) Henry and Elizabeth Lewis Rees.  (I'm reasonably confident that the mother's name is correct but I have also seen the father as John and as Price.)  He was born about 1655, probably in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and married Elinor Lloyd, who may be the daughter of Thomas and Catherine (verch) William Lloyd.  I don't have a firm marriage date for them, but it was sometime in the mid 1670's, still in Wales.  David and Elinor came to Pennsylvania in 1682, probably but not necessarily with their first children.  I'll explain that statement in a moment.

This family was party of the Welsh Quaker community.  In fact, I have seen David referred to as "Reverend", although of course the Society of Friends, as they are also known, did not use such titles as far as I know.  However, the Rees name does show up in Quaker records for generations.  

"Everyone" says that Rebecca, born in 1676 in Wales, is the daughter of this couple, and that she married Moses Bowen, the son of Evan and Mary McMillan Bowen.  It's also stated that they came to Pennsylvania in 1698.  For all of this information to be accurate, Rebecca would have had to stay in Wales from the time her parents emigrated until she married, or she would have had to return to Wales to marry Moses.  (Or perhaps they came earlier and the 1698 trip was a second one, which is plausible because Moses seems to have been relatively well=off.)  Rebecca and Moses are said to have had several children: John, Gwentholyn, William, Robert, Thomas, Margaret, Daniel, Henry, Catherine, and Priscilla.  I don't know when Rebecca died.  The most common date I've seen, without documentation, is 1780, which would have made her a truly ancient woman.  

Margaret is generally given as the next daughter.  She was born about 1678.  Her death date is sometimes shown as 1761 but I believe that applies to a different Margaret.  It is possible that she died as an infant or child and never made it to America.  

Morris is the next child and the first son, according to most lists.  He was born in 1680 and died in 1768 in Frederick County, Virginia.  He married Sarah Butterfield, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (possibly Taylor) Butterfield.  Their children are John, Morris, Jacob, Mary, Margaret, David, Thomas, and Hannah.  I will write more about this family in an upcoming post.  

Another family that I will be following in a future post is that of Thomas.  He was born in 1681 and died in 1713 in Haverford, Chester County, Pennsylvania.  His wife was Rebecca Price, the daughter of Philip Price and an as yet unknown mother.  It is possible that these families, Rees and Price, were related, as Rees and Price are both known variations of "ap Rhys".  Thomas and Rebecca's children are Thomas, Henry, William, David, Robert, Solomon, and Jane.  It is possible that there were two children named Robert.  

Lewis is the next son, and born in 1683, not long after David and family (or some of them) arrived here. He married Grace Row, the daughter of William and Eliza (maiden name unknown) Row.  Their children are Mary, Rebecca, David, Elinor and Hannah.  Lewis died in 1775, in Newtown, Chester, Pennsylvania.    

The final child who is traceable is John, born in 1686.  He married Hannah Welsh, the daughter of Philip and Hannah Haggett Welch.  (Note: I'm not sure whether this was a proper surname or whether it was simply descriptive of their origins.)  This couple is credited with a large family.  Rose, Edward, Ellen, Jane, Hannah and John seem to belong.  I have also seen Lucretia, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Harry, Thomas and Edward listed as part of this family, but I am not convinced.  I hope someone can come to my aid on this family.  I have not found a death date for him; the 1759 date I've seen applies to a different man.,

As in John's family (above) there are three more names I've seen as children of David and Elinor.  There may have been another John and another Thomas, and also a son James.  However, I haven't yet been able to verify anything about any of these babies, boys, or men.  I would leave them as "possible" at this point.

Although David died at a relatively young age, his children lived to see the settling of Pennsylvania, and the various battles and violence of the French and Indian War.  As Quakers, they may not have actively supported military activity, but they would have done what was necessary to protect their families. 

 

The family of Vincent McCoy 1807-1857

Vincent McCoy is my great great grandfather.  I've been to his grave site and I've seen the area in which he lived (although I am not absolutely sure we located the actual site). He is really just a hop, skip, and a jump from where we live, just two or three counties over and up.  So I feel close to this man, even though so many years separate us.  Learning about his family has been a joy, even though, once again, there are unanswered questions.

Vincent is the son of William and Nancy Lane McCoy.  He married Eleanor Jackson, the daughter of Alexis and Catherine Moore Jackson in Marion County, Indiana, and soon moved his family to what became Fulton County, Indiana.  As I was researching (well, really, all I can do for these posts is a relatively quick survey, not real feet to the ground and nose to the wheel research) the children of Vincent and Eleanor, I was shocked and delighted to learn that I had missed their first child entirely.  Vincent and Eleanor had at least eleven children.

The first child born was Thomas H.  He is not to be confused with the Thomas H who married Malinda Pound and died in Marshalltown, Iowa, mentioned in a previous post as the child of William and Nancy Lane McCoy.  This Thomas was born in 1830 or 31, and married Elizabeth Brandow (also seen as Brando), the daughter of Moses and Phebe Wood Brandow.  Their children are James, Loretta, and John.  It is more than possible that Thomas was a Civil War veteran, as there were several Thomas H McCoy's from Indiana listed on the NPS web site.  However, I have not yet been able to differentiate the various men, so I won't claim that as certain.  I have been unable to find a death date or location for him, but the frequently seen date of 1916 and location of Marshalltown, Iowa is not this Thomas.

James was born April 21, 1832 and that is the last I know of him.  He is not found in his parents' household in 1850, the first year a US census listed household members by name.  He was 18 at the time of the census so it is possible that he had already left home, but it is also possible that he didn't survive to adulthood.

Catherine was the first daughter, born in May of 1834.  She married Brant McKee, son of Anthony and Nancy Agnew McKee.  Their children are Eleanor, Phebe, Virgil, Emma, Homer, Albert and Ira.  Her death dates are conflicting, but it was in August of 1899 in Rochester, Fulton County, Indiana.  Brant had died in 1875 and she then married Charles Wileman.  Wileman was a Civil War veteran, and she filed to collect a widow's pension after he died.  There were no children born to the second marriage.

Nancy was the next born, in 1836.  She married George R Allen, son of Archibald and Margaret Dunn Allen, and I've previously written of their family.  Their children are Emma, the mysterious "Major" Andrew, Edward, Edwin, and George.  Nancy died November 4, 1880 in Fulton County, Indiana.  

Isaac was born next, in 1838.  He died in 1855 in Fulton County, Indiana.  That is all that I know of his life, except that he must have been loved and mourned.

Next was William H McCoy.  He was born August 24, 1840 and died in 1928 in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.  He married Huldah Carter, the daughter of Evan and Mary Sharp Carter.  Their children are Henry, Mary, Elmer, Minnie, Edward and Charles.  The 1910 census indicates that he was not a veteran.

John was born September 2, 1842 and died March 15, 1926 at the Soldiers' Home in Lafayette, Indiana.  He was a Civil War veteran.  He married Surilda Warman, whom I have not been able to trace.  Their children are Nettie, Tina, James, Nelson, and Joseph.  Surilda died, and John then married Margaret Hampton.  (Her name is also seen as Hanson or Anson, but at the time of her death, the obituary says she was the daughter of James and Jane Hampton.) No children were born to this marriage.

Next born was Eliza, on January 7, 1845.  She died in August of 1855, just a few days before brother Isaac.  It's possible, perhaps probable, that whatever the cause of death was (and there are many possibilties), it was a contagious disease.  What a sorrowful month for our Vincent and Eleanor!

George was born October 30, 1846 and died March 22, 1932, probably in Wichita, Kansas, which is where he was buried.  His wife is Addie Liza Ogburn, daughter of Wilkins and Helen Hunt Ogburn.  Their children are Vincent, Vera, Virgil, and Vernon.  George was the last of this McCoy family, having lived 85 years.

Sarah was next.  She was born January 10, 1850 and died May 16, 1931 in Winamac, Pulaski County, Indiana.  She married Thomas Dudley Moore, the son of Thomas and Mary Ann Mowdy Moore.  Their children are Granville, Luke, Maude, Mabel, Thomas, and Marie.  

And finally, their son Nelson was born September 8, 1853, the last of the eleven known children of Vincent and Eleanor. (I note a three plus year span between the birth of George and Sarah, and again between Sarah and Nelson.  It's possible there were other pregnancies or births during this time, with children being born and dying between census dates.) However, when Nelson was born, all of the known family was intact, although one or more of the older ones may have left home.  Nelson married Mary Finley, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Burley Finley.  Their children are Lillie, Elizabeth, Eleanor, Gemima, Leota, Sadie, Ida, Minnie, Mary, and Eva.  I wonder if Nelson was at all disappointed to have 10 daughters and no sons?  He died October 11, 1917 in Vermilion County, Illinois.

In the short amount of time I've had to look at this family, I have not found records of their religious affiliation.  Vincent was the son of a Baptist minister, and I'd be interested to test the common belief that some of the grandchildren of strong Christians fall away from the church.  I do know that John's wife was a member of the Christian Church in Lafayette.  Perhaps John was also part of that congregation.  There was a Christian Church located near the border of Pulaski and Fulton Counties, where the McCoy children largely grew up, but I don't know if they attended there or not.  It's just one of the questions I have about the family.

This is my last post tracing the McCoys and their families, unless I someday can go back further in time.  I've enjoyed learning of their lives and livelihoods, their service to their country, and their service to God.