Tonight’s lesson is about everyone’s favorite family chain, Howard Reece. We all know that Howard was a complicated guy with a complicated ancestry. I’ll start at the beginning (as far as I can find it) and work my way to Howard.
Lord Gryfford Ap Rhys was born in 1594 in Wales. Details on his lineage are confusing, and really can’t be relied upon, but it seems possible that he was a descendant of Richard of Tyddon, a “king” of Wales in the 1100’s. Not a lot of confidence in that position, but let’s just go with it anyway because it makes us part of the British Royal Family and therefore eligible to inherit the throne of England if a lot of other people die (like 250,000 or so). Anyway…
Lord Gryfford’s first son was Davyd (welsh spelling). Davyd lived 97 years, from 1612-1709, which is really remarkable at that time. Lord Davyd’s eldest son was Thomas, his second son was Reverend David Ap Rees. Thomas died in 1663, leaving the baronet to his younger brother David. However, at some point during his lifetime, David emigrated to the Pennsylvania colony with wife Gwendolyn Konan, a descendant of Griffith Konan, who was known as “King of Wales” in his own right. So we’ve got it from both sides. David and Gwendolyn settled on a farm north of Philadelphia, in what is now Bucks County, about 60 miles from where we live today.
Their son, David Ap Reese, born in Wales in 1680, found his way to Cecil, Maryland. David’s son, David Tasker Reece (sometimes spelled with an S), had also been born in Wales in 1709, which means the family, or at least this family, did not emigrate until after 1709. Both were Presbyterian ministers of some renown.
David Tasker Reece married Susan Ruth Polk in 1738 in North Carolina. Susan was born in Maryland in 1719 to Robert Bruce Polk, Jr. Robert Bruce Polk Jr was born in Maryland on September 18, 1672, and his father, Robert Bruce Polk, Sr had been born in 1625 in Donegal, Ireland.
David Tasker Reece and Susan Ruth Polk, married in 1738 in North Carolina. They have 9 children, the first of whom was Solomon. David Tasker Reece died in Charlotte, NC at age 78 on August 11, 1787. Solomon unfortunately died in 1757 at age 27. Before he died, though, he had married Sarah “Sally” Boone. Sally Boone, also from Surry, North Carolina, was the daughter of Benjamin Boone of Devon, England. Benjamin’s older brother was Squire Boone, whose son Daniel would go on to international fame for his opening of the west through the Cumberland Gap. Yes, you read that right, we are related to Daniel Boone.
So back to the Reece’s. Solomon & Sally had only one child, Abraham. Abraham was born in 1750. There is a theory that he was actually the illegitimate child of Daniel Boone and a young Quaker girl from Pennsylvania, and another theory is that his father was actually Thomas Reece, a brother of his grandfather David Tasker Reece. There’s really no reason that these articles / theories make any sense at this point in the research, but it’s an interesting little side note anyway. He definitely served in the Revolution as a Forge Maker, based on the application of one of his great-great-grandsons for the Sons of the American Revolution. No details on his unit or any service record, though. He married Mary Huff or Hough in 1771, and among their sons was Eli. Abraham lived a long life; he died in 1822 in Charlotte, NC. Notably, in 1817, he became a Quaker.
Eli was born in 1775 in Deep Creek, North Carolina. He married Elizabeth Wells in 1795, and had 5 children between 1796 and 1812. Among these children was George Whitfield Reece. Elizabeth died in 1817, and Eli re-married a few months later to Sarah Crommel. They had 2 more children together. Eli was a farmer, and though there is no record of it available, you have to wonder if he had slaves. In North Carolina at the time, the crop would have been converting to tobacco, which required significant field hands. If he stayed a Quaker, we should assume he did not hold slaves, but if he went back to Presbyterianism, or if he was the convert to Catholicism (which has to happen at some point, right?) then all bets are off. On the plus side, Eli is a War of 1812 Veteran, fighting with the North Carolina Volunteers in the Battle of New Orleans under Andrew Jackson. Unclear of his rank.
Their son George Whitfield Reece was born on August 12, 1806 in Surrey, NC. In the 1850 Census he is listed as a Blacksmith, with his wife Jane, and 5 children. Their son Adam is listed as a blacksmith as well, his son William as a mail carrier. Julius is only 14 at the time of the 1850 census. Not much is known about George’s wife, Larthna, other than that she was born in 1829. I think we should have named Mary after Great Grandma Larthna.
George died on December 27, 1861, a few months after the start of hostilities in the Civil War. As a native of North Carolina, we can assume where his loyalties lay. In fact, at least 2 of his sons, William and Julian, fought for the North Carolina Cavalry in the Civil War. William L Reece had quite an experience. On February 14, 1864, he was executed by a Confederate Court Martial for murdering a man named GW Chambers while William was trying to desert. While it’s hard to imagine the stress and fright that must have been involved in being a soldier in the Civil War, let’s remember at this point that he was fighting for the continuation of slavery, and though he was our great-grandfather’s grandfather’s brother, we don’t need to mourn him too severely for this.
Julian has an undistinguished war record. At one point I had detail that made it appear that he had died at the battle of Petersburg, but that seems to be another Julian Reece from North Carolina. I know – small world. Anyway, Julian married Sarah Hall and had one son, Albert R Reece, on July 8, 1860. What a time to have a kid in the south! After the war, but before the 1870 census, Julian, Sarah and young Albert moved to South Bend, Indiana. He listed his occupation as a farmer, and by the time of the 1880 census, Albert was listed as a 20 year old farmer himself. Julian and Sarah’s death dates are unknown.
Albert married Maggie Fields on May 4, 1886 in Goshen, Indiana. There’s no information on Maggie’s family. Their children were as follows – George, born 1889; Mary, born 1892; Howard, born July 14, 1895; and Francis, born 1899. All four were born in St Joseph County, Indiana (South Bend). But in the 1900 census, they are located in the City of Chicago. The handwriting on the census form is terrible, and it’s unclear that George lists as his profession. He does state he was born in Virginia on the document, though, which is an interesting change from 1880 and 1890 where he lists his birth place as North Carolina. By the 1910 census, he lists himself as an Assistant Foreman for a Rail Road, with an address of 5515 S Emerald. Howard is 15 years old in 1910, but the census form lists him as 13. 5515 S Emerald in Chicago, which would have been a fairly nice neighborhood at the time.
Albert died on February 13, 1913 in Chicago, and was buried in South Bend. Howard would have been about 18 years old. I don’t have the exact date that he and Emma were married, but by the time of the 1920 census, they are both listed as living with his mother, Maggie, at the same Emerald address. Nana was born on September 12, 1922. By the time of the 1930 census, they had moved to Mishawaka, Indiana. By 1935, they were back at 8143 S. Elizabeth St. in Chicago. You can google all of these addresses and at least see what they look like now. I think the Elizabeth St address is probably the same house.
As an aside, at times, Nana appears as Patricia Anne Reece, and at other times as Patricia Eleanor Reece. Interesting.
So, long story short; Howard was a descendant of Welsh kings, Scots-Irish ministers, Quakers, confederates, his great uncle was shot for desertion, and his great grandfather likely owned slaves. What a legacy we all get to take on.
This stuff is fascinating. It will be a few days before I can dig in on the next one due to some travel, but I’ll let you know what I find next…
Tropp Family History 