Notable Ancestors

Do I have notable ancestors? Here are some that I think stand out.

Here is what is known about Abraham Reece, 1746–1822. He is interesting because information about his father's history cannot be determined.

While a husband and father, Abraham Reece served in the Revolutionary War. "Patriots and Tories were present when General Greene returned on March 15, 1781. Yadkin County men such as: Samuel Arnold, Thomas Arnold, Thomas Hampton, George Holcomb, William Harding, Strangman Hutchins, Jacob Hautts, Claiborne Howard, Hardy Jones, Abraham Reece, Joseph Reeves, Overton Pinnex, and Isaac Windsor served in the Revolutionary War or rendered patriotic service to the cause of the Revolution." (The Heritage of Yadkin County, p 277)

According to another unverified tradition, Abraham "served in the Revolutionary War as a Forage Master for E. Gamble Adam." (from material compiled by Frank W. Snider, Sr.) No documents exist to transform this latter tradition to fact. There are receipts in existence showing that Abraham was paid for services rendered during the Revolutionary War, but they do not identify a specific duty assignment nor his service engagements. Both SAR and DAR acknowledgements have been awarded to descendants of Abraham Reece. (If anyone is interested in joining SAR or DAR, you can submit Steven Jackson Reece as your relative and they have his name traced to Abraham Reece.)

Another interesting thought about why Abraham's father cannot be found is that Abraham's mother was unmarried; Reece would be his mother's maiden name. This idea was submitted by David Reece.

Josiah Jackson, 1732–1801, of Frederick County, VA, served as a cavalryman in the Virginia Militia. Josiah Jackson served in the Revolutionary War in a cavalry organization of Virginia troops, designation of organization not shown. His name appears only on a list of soldiers and seamen who received certificates for the balance of their full pay, agreeable to action of Assembly passed Nov. session 1781, which shows relative to him: "By Whom drawn, Mr. Morton; Time, April 2, 1784, Sum 56 pounds, seven shillings, 11 pence." Found in: Index of Rolls of Honor (Ancestor's index) in the Lineage Books of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Vol. I, p. 203. Both SAR and DAR acknowledgements have been awarded to descendants of Josiah Jackson of Frederick County, Virginia. (Steven Jackson Reece's mother's maiden name was Jackson.)

Stephen McBride, 1759–1837. In May of 1778 Congress resolved to raise an army to defend the frontier from British and Indian hostility. In 1778, at the age of 19, Stephen McBride was drafted in Hampshire County, Virginia for a term of 6 months. He served under General Lachlan McIntosh while helping to construct Fort Laurens near present-day Bolivar, Ohio. After the building of Fort Laurens, Stephen was placed under the command of Captain Foreman and marched to Fort Wheeling. He served a total of 9 months and left service early in 1779.

In 1780 he returned to Hopewell and married Hannah Smith. At some point he volunteered for the Continental Army and is recorded to have been with Washington at Yorktown. He served as a private and drummer boy. The Yorktown victory ended the war in 1781. He was a 22-year-old "drummer boy." Perhaps this non-combat status was due to his Quaker religion. At some point in early adulthood, Stephen became a Quaker and took measures while he was alive to deny pension due him as not being compatible with his religious beliefs. However, family descendants of Stephen McBride were successful in obtaining DAR membership and acceptance in Feb. 1912; DAR Lineage Book Vol. XCII, 1912.

My Aunt Shirley Reece Rose was a courageous woman who persevered through many hardships to accomplish her life call in ministry. Her daughter Mary wrote a funeral homily that beautifully captures Shirley's life of service, her perseverance, her gift of presence, and how she "kept singing" through every setback. Shirley began theology training in the 1950s, persevered through breakdowns and a bishop who tried to block her ordination, and was finally ordained in the early 1980s after the Episcopal Church recognized the ordination of women. She served at St. Matthias Church in Whittier. Her life was a pilgrim's mirror, refracting the blessing of the sacred.

Now to Dorothy Lewis Reece's family. Sadly, I do not have much information on this side of the family. Dorothy Lewis Reece's great-grandfather, Alva Tibbits Lewis, was a carpenter. He made caskets, tables, and other useful items. We have in our possession a few items: a Bible table (with Michael Kimes), a men's "hope chest" that belonged to Dorothy's father, Delbert Norton Lewis (with Steve Kimes), and a women's "hope chest" that was Delbert's sister-in-law Ida Norton's (with Susan Kimes).

Dorothy had a brother, Richard Lewis, who served in the Navy on a ship in WWII. His ship sank and all souls were lost. Both of Dorothy's parents, Delbert Norton Lewis and Margaret Obrey Staley, were Mormon and from a long line of Mormons.

Final note: in an ancestry birth certificate search it was discovered that Delbert Norton Lewis fathered a child with a woman other than his wife. He never had contact with the child. Some family knew of the affair, but it was not spoken of to the three grandchildren.

Do I have notable ancestors? Certainly interesting to me.