Thursday, April 18, 2024

The family of Solomon and Ann possibly McNeal Rees

The heading for this post is something of a misnomer.  I am really not at all sure about the "family" I'm writing about.  I'm not sure who Solomon's parents are, I'm not sure who his wife is, and I'm not sure who his children are.  Ugh.  But I am sure (or as sure as I can be, with limited documentation) that he belongs in the line of Rees or Reese families that eventually join the Dunham line, so I'll lay out some of the possibilities here.

Solomon's parents may be Morris and Sarah Butterfield Rees, or they may be Thomas and Margaret Bowen Reese, or they may be Thomas and Hannah Rees Rees.  At the moment, I'm leaning toward the parents being Thomas and Margaret Bowen Rees, because they were disciplined for allowing a "hireling schoolteacher" to teach in their home, and Solomon is thought to have married a school teacher.  But I can find no other records that give me a confident feeling about this.  All three couples that I mentioned seem to have sons named Solomon, born in the time period that would "work".  I have as yet found no records for Solomon's marriage, nor have I found a likely McNeal family (supposed maiden name for Ann) in the general area.  And then, lists of his children are muddled and messy, and missing supporting documents.  What's a family historian to do?  I'm choosing to put this post together for the next people trying to sort this family, and I hope that they can zero in on the correct information.

I have names for seven children for Solomon and Ann.  I am confident about one of them, and there are possibilities for others, but take this with a grain of salt and a big desire for verification.

The son I am confident of is Owen, Owen Traveler to be exact.  He may actually be the youngest of the children, and there is a story that he acquired his middle name when he was born while his parents were enroute from Washington County, Pennsylvania to Fayette County, Ohio.  If that is true, Owen may have been born later than the 1791 birth year I have for him, because it is likely that his parents didn't arrive in Ohio until sometime about 1805.  Owen married Margaret Moon, the daughter of Thomas and Jean Gray Moon.  I currently show three daughters for them, Christine, Eliza Matilda, and Margaret.  Owen died in 1876 in Tipton County, Indiana.  

Rebecca seems a likely candidate to be a daughter.  She was born in 1793 and may have lived as long as 1896.  She married James Davis, the son of John and Sarah McNeal (!) Davis.  Their children are Jacob, Solomoin, John, Rebecca, Mary, Amanda, Thomas, and Isaac. 

Some lists show Hiram as a son.  He married Edith or Adah Dungan in 1828.  They had one daughter, Dezire.  I found a will for him but it listed a brother Stephen as executor, and as far as we know, there are no Stephens thought to belong to Solomon and Ann, so either this is the wrong Hiram, or he has been wrongly attached to this family.

Sarah is also a possibility.  There is a Sarah who married Moses Rees, the daughter of William and Charity Dillon Rees.  Her children are listed as Margaret, Moses, Catherine, Solomon, William, and James.  I am not sure this is the correct Sarah, but at this point, I can't eliminate her.  

Lydia Rees married Jacob or/and Joseph Butler and had a son John.  She is reported to have lived from 1774 to 1863, so it seems possible that there are more children.  I'm not at all sure she belongs to this family, but again, I can't eliminate her.

I have also seen John and Sampson on lists of children, but find nothing at all to give credence to these reports.  Facts, I need facts!

Again, I would appreciate any help anyone can give me on this family.  And please, don't take any of this as fact.  This is not a family I have spent a great deal of time on, and I'm mostly making suggestions here, hints to prove or disprove if time allows.

 

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