William Rives (aft. 1712 - 1786)

Born after 1712 in Prince George County, Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1786 before age 74 in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, United States

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Biography

William Rives (aka Rivers) was born circa 1712, in Prince George county, Virginia. During the American Revolutionary War, William was living in Dinwidde county, Virginia, where he died in 1786. In 1780, William furnished 2,088 pounds of pork to the Virginia Militia. ^[1] On August 29, 1785, William Rivers' estate received £34, 2 shillings, plus interest of £2, 7 shillings. ^[2]

William Rives/Rivers is honored by the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution as DAR Ancestor #A096532. Applications for membership in the Society of the DAR have been made by the descendants of his sons, Robert Rives/Rivers, who married Martha Peterson Hardaway; and Thomas Henry Rives/Rivers, who married Eleanor Neal. ^[3]

Researchers Notes

William's estate is referred to as that of William Rivers, with a subnote at the bottom "say Rives." The image of the transaction for both William and Green Rivers say the same thing and may be viewed here: "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSFF-L521?cc=2546162&wc=WD6Q-RSH%3A1597372313 : 29 August 2019), South Carolina, Stub entries to indents, books U-W > image 292 of 318; citing various published state rosters, United States. On the DAR website, his records are under the name "Rives" (which may explain the note on the estate records) with the caveat: "As such, the DAR assigns a single standard surname that covers variant spellings of similar surnames. While the surname may appear incorrect, this does not mean it is in error. This spelling system ensures that patriots are not established under more than one spelling."

A wife for William Rives born Prince George County, Virginia c1712 and died 1786, Dinwiddie County is not shown in DAR records for him.^[4]

William Rives

• Born: 1712 at Prince Orange County, Virginia
• Married:
• Died: 1786 at Bath Parish, Virginia

• Father: William Rives Colonel
• Mother: Elizabeth Foster

WIFE

• Name: Mary Pegram
• Born: Abt 1724 at York Co., VA
• Died:
• Father: Daniel Pegram
• Mother: Sarah

CHILDREN

• Name: Thomas Henry Rives Born: 1740 at Prince George County, Virginia
  • Died: 1809 at Chatham, North Carolina
  • Wife: Eleanor Neal
• Name: Robert Rives Born: 13 Jul 1743
  • Died: 1809

Mary Pegram 1, 2 (Daniel , George ) was born about 1724 in York Co., Virginia.

From this page: http://www.patch.net/pegram/pegg03.html#6279C

The book "Relics of the Rives" by James Rives Childs includes the following:

"It has been stated that William Rives married a Miss Pegram, and to this I am disposed to give some credence on the strength of the unusual authentic testimony preserved by his descendants of the family relationships, and which whenever tested has disclosed none of the customary chaff of the untrustworthy tradition."

Dr. Simmons included the following addition comments about William Rives and Mary Pegram:

"Records in Amelia County show William Rives patented some land. When he sold the land his wife signed with him, and her given name was Mary . In the 1782 personalty tax list of Dinwiddie County the only titheable of William Rives was a man by the name of Thomas Parham. In Hughes' book on Dinwiddie County, Thomas Parham is listed in the records of a doctor in Dinwiddie, as a son-in-law of E. Pegram. This was in the 1780s. Edward Pegram married Ann Harper Parham, after his first wife, Mary Lyle, died. Actually Thomas Parham was not a son-in-law of E. Pegram, but was the son of Edward's wife, who had previously been married to a Parham . This is additional information of the relationship between William Rives and the Pegram family."

Was this Mary Pegram the daughter of Daniel? The evidence indicates that she was. There was simply no other Mary Pegram of record that would have been old enough to have had children in the 1740s. This fact places her in the same age bracket as Daniel and Edward, her brothers, sons of Daniel...

Based on the foregoing, it appears that Mary Pegram, the daughter of Daniel, married William Rives, and lived in the Dinwiddie-Amelia County area, as did her brother Edward, and her brother Daniel. It is also likely, that her brother George and sister Sarah lived there. "

Mary married William Rives 1. William was born in 1712 in Prince George Co., Virginia. He died in 1787.

The Rives data here is limited to the direct line of William Rives and his wife, Mary Pegram. We have borrowed heavily from Reliques of Rives by James Rives Childs for the early generations and have frequently copied parts almost verbatim. Later generations are from our own research, primarily by Winona Solomon, and work by a number of other talented Rives researchers.

William Rives was born presumably in Prince George county, Virginia, about 1712, the son of Col. William and Elizabeth Rives, of the same county. With Benjamin Rives, he patented on January 10, 1735, 500 acres of land n Amelia County which was formed on September 30, 1734, from Prince George and Brunswick counties.In a deed dated November 12, 1746, and recorded in Amelia on March 20, 1746/7, William Rives and Benjamin Rives of the County of Prince George deeded the above-mentioned 500 acres to George Currie.

He evidently resided in that part of Prince George county from which Dinwiddie county was formed in 1752: for, in a survey made in Dinwiddie on March 28, 1771, of 1,312 acres "lying on both sides of and near the heads of Saponey Creek and in the Parish of Bath and County of Dinwiddie," reference is made to "two white oaks near William Reeves's." In 1782 he appears as the owner in Dinwiddie of 466 acres of land, valued at Í?175, and of 11 slaves, 8 horses, and 33 head of cattle.

He died in Bath Parish in 1786 about 25 miles south of Petersburg, and left a will which has perished in the destruction of the Dinwiddie county records.

They had the following children:

1. Thomas Henry Rives was born about 1740. He died in 1809.
2. Robert Rives was born on 13 Jul 1743. He died in 1809.
3. Unknown Son Rives.

Sources

1. ↑ ABERCROMBIE & SLATTEN, VA REV PUB CLAIMS VOL 1 P 309
2. ↑ "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZ5-QF22 : 16 August 2019), Wm Rivers or Rives, 29 Aug 1775; citing Military Service, United States, Citing various published state rosters, United States; FHL microfilm 103140766
3. ↑ https://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A096532
4. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 1 October 2018), "Record of William Rives", Ancestor # A096532.

• https://www.geni.com/people/William-Rivers/6000000150367701902
• The Reeves Project (TRP): Entry for William Rives (accessed 22 March 2020)
• Alabama, Surname Files Expanded, 1702-1981: Family Data Collection-Individual Records: Reliques of the Rives(Ryves); being historical and genealogical notes of the ancient family Ryves of County Dorset: U.S., Sons if the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
• For the Rives surname in general: James Rives Childs, Reliques of the Rives (Ryves) (c) 1929 James R. Childs, pub. by J. P. Bell Co., Lynchburg, Va. Facsimile reprint publ. 1994 by Heritage Books, Bowie, Md. Vol. 1 p. 1-344, Vol. 2 p. 345-750