Sarah Reese (abt. 1765 - 1854)

Descendants

Died 31 Dec 1854 at about age 89 in Bedford, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Sarah was born in about 1765. She died 31 Dec 1854 and is buried in Bedford Co., Tennessee.^[1] Some sources say that her husband was William Berry Rees, but no evidence has been provided. See below, especially the comments about Y-DNA. There is evidence, but not proof, that her maiden name was Reese.

Census

1820 Bedford Co., Virginia, Southern District ^[2]
Sally Reese 020100-01201; 3 in agriculture, no slaves
male female
<10
2 10-16 1
16-18
1 16-26 2
26-45
>45 1

1830 Bedford Co., Virginia
Sally Reese 00001-000010001; no slaves ^[3]
male female
< 5
5-10
10-15
15-20
1 20-30 1
30-40
40-50
50-60
60-70 1

1840 Lincoln Co., Tennessee, Civil District No 2 ^[4]
Sarah Reese 100001-0000010001; 1 in learned professional engineers, no slaves
male female
1 < 5
5-10
10-15
15-20
20-30
1 30-40 1
40-50
50-60
60-70
70-80 1
80-90

She is in the sequence Robt W. Reese, 2x, Sarah Reese, Martha Jaret. The male 30-40 is probably Sarah's son Wilkinson W. Reese. He was born in 1807 and does not have an entry of his own in 1840. However, he married in 1838, and if the female 30-40 is his wife, then Parthenia is not in the census.

In 1850 Sarah Rees is living in Lincoln Co., Tennessee with her son Wilkinson W. Rees and her daughter Parthenia. Sarah is 85. See her son's profile for an explanation of why she appears to be 14. ^[5]

Bequest from Littleberry Leftwich

"Will books, 1763-1914; general indexes, 1754-1976" at familysearch.org, "Will books, v. 5-6 1817-1828", Book 5, pg 419, image 232/511:

The following item is in the will of Littleberry Leftwich, signed May 30, 1823 in Bedford Co., Virginia.

Item 2nd I will and devise to the children of Sally Reese which may now exist the tract of Land on which she now lives on, lying on Wolf Creek, containing one Hundred and ninety odd acres, reserving unto the said Sally Reese the right of living thereon with the free priviledge of clearing and cultivating the land with the use of the timbre thereof in any way she may think proper espressly for her own use and benefit only as long as she may continue to live on the land herself and no longer; and I do further hereby release the said Sally from any claims that may be now due me or in any manner coming to me from her.

Sale of the Land

On May 14, 1831 Richard Hobson of Bedford Co., Virginia pays $550 lawful money of Virginia for a tract of 190 odd acres, more or less, in Bedford Co. on the northeast side of Wolf Creek where Sally Reese now lives and which was divised to the grantors by the last will and testament of Col. Littleberry Leftwich, dec'd, and which is bounded by the lands of the said Richard Hobson and Thomas Meade. (Bedford Co. Deed Records, Vol 22, pg 368) The grantors are listed in the following order:

Sally Reese
William Reese and Catharine, his wife
Robert W. Reese and Nancy, his wife
James Campbell and Meaky, his wife
Elijah Beard and Nancy, his wife
James Reese and Anney, his wife
Featherston Reese and Patsey, his wife
Thomas Garrett and Patsey, his wife
Wilkerson Reese
Parthenia Reese
Fleming S. Reese

Within the document the spelling of given names and surnames is variable. Reese, Reece, and Rees all appear. James Campbell and his wife, Elijah Beard and his wife, and William's wife Catharine do not sign the document. The signers are specifically

Sally (her X mark) Reese
Featherston Rees
Martha (her X mark) Reese
James R. Reese
Ann J. (her X mark) Rees
Parthenia (her X mark) Reese
Wilkinson W. Rees
Fleming S. Rees
William Rees
Nancy C. Rees
Martha (her X mark) Garrett
Thomas B. Jarred
R. W. Rees

Order of Children

The grantors in the deed of May 14, 1831 are probably listed in chronological order.

Interpretation

The 1823 will of Littleberry Leftwich and the deed of 24 May 1831 deed clearly define a group of children and their mother. They say nothing about the father. In the 1820 census Sally Reese has her own census entry. The conventional assumption would be that Sally's husband and the father of the children died before 1820. However, Y-DNA evidence has shown that Littleberry Leftwich was the father of two of Sally's sons. He is probably the father of all of the other children.

That Littleberry Leftwich was the father of some or all of Sally's children would be a sufficient reason for the bequest. In his will Littleberry Leftwich mentions his 7 children. The youngest was born 24 Jul 1789. According to Find-a-Grave Littleberry's wife Frances Hopkins died 10 Sep 1792. Sally's oldest child was born in about 1792.

It is commonly said that Sally's husband was William Berry Reese. Hence the surname of the children. No marriage record has been found to document the marriage. The oldest of the 10 children mentioned in the deed is William G. Reese, born in about 1792. Five years earlier on 20 Nov 1787, when Sally was about 22 years old, Slowman Reese of Bedford Co. sold a dark bay horse known by the name of Prince to Salley G. Reese of Bedford Co. for 12 pounds (Bedford Co. Deed Records Book 8, pg 83). If she had been married in 1787, wouldn't her husband have bought the horse? And the usual expectation would be that she would have had a child before 1792. It is likely that Sally was unmarried in 1787 and that her maiden name was Reese, in which case she may be Sloman's daughter or a younger sister. It would be unusual to sell something to a daughter.

The first appearance of a William Reese in the Bedford Co. personal property tax lists is in 1804. If William Berry Reese was the father of Sally's children, where was the family before 1804 if they weren't in Bedford Co.? It has not been possible to find them in nearby counties. It is probably the case that there never was a person named William Berry Reese.

More research is needed.

Bedford Co., Virginia Personal Property Tax List

^[6]

Sally Reese does not have her own entry in the personal property tax list until 1825. She is there continuously until 1830, and she is always contiguous with her son Featherston. She has no slaves and 1, 2, or 3 horses. The family moved to Tennessee in about 1831. Featherston, Robert W., Wilkinson, and Fleming are in the tax list for the last time in 1831; Sally and James R. in 1830; William (BS) in 1829.

DNA

It is to be noted that descendants of Sally Reese are confirmed as matching the Littleberry Leftwich line at familytreedna.com. She was not LNAB Leftwich and her descendants are surname Reese.

In the Leftwich yDNA project there are a total of 6 surname Reese participating. Four of those match the Littleberry Leftwich line which includes others representing the sons of Augustine Leftwich Sr. Two tested Reeses match each other but not the Augustine/Littleberry line. They match each other and surnames Wells and Smith, both present in Bedford Virginia same timeframe as the named ancestors of Reece participants.

Littleberry's will was written 30 May 1823, recorded 23 June 1823. He left 180 A to Sarah Reese and her children. In 1831 the children sold the land. Littleberry and Sarah (Sally) Reese's children were: Featherston, Ann, Fleming, James, Martha, Nancy, Robert, Parthenia, William and Wilkerson. Four descendants of the Reese line are tested per Y DNA and match the Augustine group at familytreedna.com.

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #17645093
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1820", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLC-TN1 : Sun Mar 10 23:19:46 UTC 2024), Entry for Sally Reese, 1820.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1830", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH54-GLS : Sun Mar 10 15:37:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Sally Reese, 1830.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1840", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRY-2LN : Sun Mar 10 16:41:57 UTC 2024), Entry for Sarah Reese, 1840.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1850", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCDL-VHY : Sat Mar 09 04:14:56 UTC 2024), Entry for Wilkinson W Reese and Mary J Reese, 1850.
6. ↑ Film # 2024475 at familysearch.org

• http://www.sorrellgenealogy.com/tng/getperson.php?personID=I4140&tree=Sorrell1
• https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/leftwich/about
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Leftwich-145

• 1830 VA Bedford County tax https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSQF-W3LF-V

• 1831 Bedford Co., VA Deed Book V-22, page 368

Bio by: larry crabtree Gravesite Details REESE, Sarah, ca 1765 - Died 31 Dec 1854, Aged 89 Years. Blessed are they who die in the Lord. Henceforth they rest from their labors and their works do follow them.

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17645093?search=true