John Palmer Rees (1827 - 1900)

Born 23 Nov 1827 in Jasper, Georgia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Emily Elizabeth (Moseley) Rees — married 6 Jan 1856 in Coweta, Georgia, United States

Died 13 May 1900 at age 72 in Coweta, Georgia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jay Reese [send private message]

Biography

John P. Reese was born 23 Nov 1827 and died 13 Mah 1900. ^[1]

John P. Reese and Emila E. Mosely were married 6 Jan 1856 in Coweta Co., Georgia by John M. Key M.G. License issued 5 Jan 1856. ^{[2] [3]}

CENSUS:

1870 Coweta Co., Georgia, 742 G.M. or 5th District, p.o. Neunun; Aug 12; pg 28
208/207
John P. Reese 42 Ga $640/$200 Farmer
Emily E. " 32 Ga Keeping House
Dewitt A. " 13 Ga At School
John T. " 11 Ga At School
Della N. " 9 Ga At School
Mary R. " 7 Ga At School
Jann J. " 4 Ga At Home
Kora E. " 1 Ga At Home
David Mosely 67 Ga $300/$--- Retired Farmer
Elizabeth " 67 Ga At Home

Egbert C. Palmer (32) lives at 206/205, and Nancy E. Mosely (40) lives in his household.

1880 Coweta Co., Georgia, 742'd (Cedar Creek) Dist, ED 37; June 15; pg 23
206/209
John P. Reese 52 WM Ga Ga Ga Farmer
Emily E. " 42 WF Ga Ga Ga Keeping House
Dewitt A. " 23 WM Ga Ga Ga Works on Farm
Della N. " 19 WF Ga Ga Ga At Home
Rena M. " 16 WF Ga Ga Ga At Home
James J. " 14 WM Ga Ga Ga works on Farm
Cora E. " 11 WF Ga Ga Ga At Home
William H. " 9 WM Ga Ga Ga
Charles W. " 6 WM Ga Ga Ga
Florence E. " 3 WF Ga Ga Ga
Clifford " 1 WM Ga Ga Ga
Thomas Gibson 15 BM Ga Ga Ga Farm Laborer

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Find-a-Grave Memorial # 64535189:

Twin brother of Henry Smith Rees. He was the son of Reverend James Rees and Rebecca (Smith) Rees. He served in Company I of the 37th Georgia Infantry during the Civil War. He married Elizabeth Mosley (date unknown) of which there were ten children born to this union. He was a prominent writer and singer of Sacred Harp music and taught singing schools for a number of years in Georgia and Alabama. He served for a time as the president of the Chattahoochie Music Association and the Chattahoochie Convention and was a major contributor to the 1859 Sacred Harp revision.

SACRED HARP:

In The Makers of the Sacred Harp by David Warren Steel and Richard H. Hulan (University of Illinois Press, 2010) there are multiple references to John Palmer Reese and to Henry Smith Reese. See Chapter 1 "The Origins of the Sacred Harp".

The following is on page 151:

REESE, JOHN PALMER (23 November 1828--13 May 1900), the twin brother of H. S. Reese, was born in Jasper County, lived in Columbus, Georgia, during the 1850s, and finally settled in Coweta County in 1855, in a location two miles north of Newnan. "Squire Reese" was a farmer, a tax collector, and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He married Elizabeth Mosley and was the father of ten children. A pupil of S. R. Penick, he taught singing schools for more than thirty years in Georgia and Alabama. As early as 1855 he was contributing tunes to The Organ, including YOUTH WILL SOON BE GONE on 6 June 1855 and CELESTIAL LIGHT on 31 October 1855. He was a member of the 1859 revision committee and longtime president of the Chattahoochee Convention. He lost his library and music manuscripts in a fire at his home. He contributed to E. T. Pound's Barnesville Gazette under the name "Rubin" and to the Newnan Herald and Advertiser under the name "Ripples." He died of pneumonia and was buried with Masonic honors in Oak Hill Cemetery, Newnan. During the Civil War Reese served in Company I of the 37th Georgia Infantry. Like B. F. White, he was a student of the "freaks of nature": while composing WEEPING PILGRIM outdoors, he troubled over the last tenor note in the 3/4 section until he heard the lowing of a cow in a nearby field; he then incorporated this note into his composition. His obituary in the Herald and Advertiser, 18 May 1900, states

He was devoted to the art of song, and enjoyed a wide reputation as a vocalist, having served for several years as president of the Chattahoochee Music Association. He had probably presided over more singing conventions than any man in Georgia. He took part in these meetings, not for amusement, but in a sprit[sic] of earnest worship, and was never happier than when leading an exercise of this character.

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #64535189
2. ↑ "Georgia, Marriage Records From Select Counties, 1828-1978" at ancestry.com, Coweta > Record of Marriages, Book C, 1852-1865
3. ↑ "Georgia, County Marriages, 1785-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXVK-CK7 : 7 February 2020), John P. Reese and Emila E. Moseley, 6 Jan 1856; citing Marriage, Coweta, Georgia, United States, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Morrow, FHL microfilm 470,365.