The family of Owen Traveler Reese 1792-1876

At last!  A Reese family that I can mostly trace!  And best of all, in working on this family, I learned that I only had found three of their 8 (or possibly more) children.  It was a lot of fun doing the admittedly superficial research for this family, as I had to pull it together from a lot of different sites and documents.  Of course there are still remaining questions, but this was a very close knit family, with Owen and his wife, Margaret Ellen Moon,and most, if not all, of their children living out their lives in and around Kempton, Tipton County, Indiana, and buried at the Kempton cemetery.  The children were born in Fayette County, Ohio and the Reese family moved to Kempton between the census years of 1850 and 1860.  

One thing I've learned about Owen is that he may have served in the War of 1812.  There are records for Owen Rees and Owen Reece in Ohio but I have not delved into them yet.  It was only after the family moved to Indiana that the Reese spelling was standardized in this branch of the family.  

Owen and Margaret were married in 1813 but their first known child was born in 1818 or 1819, so it's possible that there are other children not yet discovered, or that there were unsuccessful pregnancies.  Their first known child is Christine or Christiane.  She married David Goodnight, who was a descendant of Samuel and Magdalena Berkheimer Goodnight. His parents are Leonrad and Martha Fernaugh Goodnight  The Goodnight name will show up later in this post, as the families had several mingled branches.  Christine and David's known children are William, Samuel, Isaac, Margaret, Martha, Margaret (again), John, Mary, Levi, and Christie Ann.  She died in 1877.

Thomas Jefferson Reese was the first known son, born in 1821 and died in 1887.  Some sites are giving him the designation "Rev." but I have not yet found what denomination he was associated with.  It is also possible that he was in the Civil War.  There were two Thomas Reese soldiers from Indiana on the National Park Service database, but I haven't explored that further.  He generally used the name "Jefferson"; that is on his headstone.  Thomas married Priscilla Gustin, the daughter of James and Sarah Palm Gustin or Gustine.  Their children are John, Sarah, William, Andrew, Jackson, James, Margaret, Emma, Mary, David, and Thomas J.  

Ann Marie was born in 1824 and died in 1902.  She never married, living with her parents, then as a boarder, and in her last years with another family member.  I don't know whether it was her choice to stay single or whether she had a physical or mental challenge.  

Isabella was born in 1827 and died in 1892.  She married William Floyd, the son of John and Nancy Spurgeon Floyd.  Their children are Margaret, John, Henry, Mary, and unnamed female, Martha, and Christina.  

Andrew Jackson was born in 1828 and died in 1903.  He married Lucinda Moomaw, the daughter of Henry and Anna Gray Moomaw.  Their children are Margaret, John, Eliza, Owen, Mary, Amanda, and Isabell.  It is a little confusing here regarding Lucinda.  There seem to be records for a Lucinda Rees who married George Hoover in 1870 and then a Lucinda Hoover who married David Croy in 1881, all in Tipton County.  There are three possibilities:  Perhaps the death date for Andrew is wrong (there were other men named Andrew or Jackson Reese in the same area).  Perhaps Andrew and Lucinda divorced.  Or perhaps the Lucinda Rees who appears to have married George Hoover is a different one, although Lucinda is not a name I've found in connection with other Reese families.  

Eliza Matilda Reese was born in 1830 and died in 1900.  She married Samuel Goodnight Dunham, the son of Jacob and Catherine Goodnight Dunham.  (Catherine Goodnight and Leonard Goodnight, mentioned above, were siblings.) Their children are William, Margaret Catherine, Jacob, and James.  

Margaret was born in 1832 and died in 1912.  She married Amos Dunham, who was also the son of Jacob and Catherine Goodnight Dunham.  (Do not ask me to figure out all the ways the children of Christine, Eliza, and Margaret are related.  It is too much for this brain!)  Their children are Margaret and James.  Amos died and Margaret then married John Wilson, also seen as Rev. John Wilson.  They had no children together.

And the last known child is Albert, who married Eliza J. Bonecutter, the daughter of George and Nancy Conner Bonecutter.  (I did a little research and "Bonecutter" may be the rough translation of the German word for butcher.  Otherwise, I can't explain it!)  Their children are Margaret, John, Thomas, Albert, and Ada.  

I have also seen the names of James and Eleanor listed as children of Owen and Margaret.  The birthdate shown for James is much too late for the couple, and I've seen no birthdate at all for Eleanor.  At the moment, I consider them as being outside of this family, but I wanted to mention them in case someone knows more about these two.  

It's been fun doing this brief sketch.  I know more about my children's ancestors and how they would have interacted.  Can you imagine the family reunions that could have taken place?  Or maybe they all met for Sunday dinners together, after church.  That would be quite an event!   

This is the last of my posts for the Rees/Reese family, unless I find out some of the answers to the many questions I have.