Sons of Solomon continued...

I had a lot to say about the meanings of names in a previous post, so now I want to look at the names of the proposed sons of Solomon. Let's begin with the father himself.

Solomon means peace. Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba, he succeeded his father as king of Israel. He wrote the Book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. The wisdom of Solomon is proverbial because when asked what gift he would have from God, he asked only for the wisdom he would need to rule.

Isaiah means "salvation of god; the Lord helps me". He is one of the major prophets and writer of the Book of Isaiah. He prophesied the birth Immanuel.

Israel means "God perseveres". When Jacob, son of Isaac, was in his nineties, God changed his name to Israel as a token of blessing. His 12 sons became the ancestors of the Israelite nation.

Zadok means "just, righteous". In the bible Zadok was a high priest who showed great courage during the reigns of David and Solomon.

Bethuel means "house of God". The name Bethuel appears in the Book of Genesis. He is Rebekah's father, and some versions of the story say that Bethuel refused to give his daughter in marriage to Isaac, and for that reason God caused him to die suddenly. Kind of interesting in that Bethuel Reeve's two daughters are still unmarried at the time of the writing of his will.

In a community like Long Island, where there are flocks of James, Davids, Jeremiahs, Thomas, and Daniels, these names kind of stick out as different. It's interesting that they are all from the old testament and that they are all possibilities as Solomon's sons.

Sons of Solomon

So in Baker's Book (see my post on Reference Books), it states that Solomon left no will. Both Solomon and Sarah Ramsey Reeve lived until about 1783-84 and were quite elderly. Remember again this is about the same time the British are evacuating Long Island, there is a lot going on. I do not know if Solomon died without a will (intestate), or if he just never made one. So there is no clear document spelling out who his children were. Here is what Baker has to say about Solomon.

"7. Solomon Reeve 3 (Joseph 2, Thomas 1), last son of Joseph born before 1688 Census and next to last son referred to in Joseph's will under which he received land in Hog Neck and Indian Land; also Creek thatch. In 1715 he was in the Mattituck troop of Militia (Southold Company No. 2) with his brother Joseph. He is named only once in Southold land records - in 1744 as owner of adjoining property in a deed of Hog Neck property which we assume was the property in that locality received under his father's will.

He married Sarah Ramsay (Runsey) Nov. 10, 1724 who died May 17 or 18, 1783. Solomon died Sept-Oct 1784. Solomon Reeve and Son (who we believe was Solomon Jr.) were among those who refused to sign the Revolutionary Association in June & July 1775.

In the Southold 1776 Census, his family is given as 1 male over 50 and 1 female over 16 - no doubt Solomon and his wife. Immediately following in the census was Zadok Reeve who we judge was his son. A general analysis of Solomon's family, as it was in 1776, is on page 128.

Although we have no record of a will of Solomon to guide us, it appears those named below may have been his Children."

Baker goes on to name Solomon (Jr), an infant son who died March 19, 1728/9, Israel, Isaiah and Zadok, all of whom I'll discuss in time.

On P. 128 of Bakers book he discusses a fair portion, but not all of the 1776 Census. In order to keep this post from getting inordinately long I'm just going to address what he says about Solomon here.

"23. Solomon Reeve - His name is about 60th following Perrier Reeve, indicating he was in a different part of Southold. We suspect it was in Wading River, as Zadock Reeve, who follows directly after Solomon, as of Wading River. Solomon was son of Joseph 2 (Thomas 1), the youngest son listed in Joseph's family in the 1698 census. He married Sarah Ramsay in 1724 (Salmon Records). As he left no will, determination of the names of his children is difficult. Of the Reeves listed in the 1776 Census, we have indicated four who may be sons of Solomon - Isaiah, Solomon, Israel and Zadok and tow who may be his grandchildren - Ishmael and Silas."

I'll note here that the Silas mentioned cannot be Bethuel's son Silas because in the 1776 Census of Southampton, it appears that Silas is numbered in Bethual's family. The number of family members is the same as Bethuel's will minus Daniel who is in the army. Although Bethuel's son Silas and Isaiah's son Silas would have been born about the same time, and of the same generation which adds to confusion.

Stay tuned, because I have more to say on the sons of Solomon and who they are.

Names and neighbors

I'm going to take a minute and digress here about name choices in families. Names are important and can provide clues in genealogy research. Majority of parents, when naming a child, go to a fair amount of trouble to be thoughtful about it. Meanings of the names are important, as is sound, it should go well with the surname. Children's names are often chosen to honor a relative, sometimes immediate, sometimes more distant. I bear my grandmother's middle name.

When I began researching my family I only had my great grandfather's name to go on. His name was Oscar Reeve and I knew he came to California from Ohio. My first discovery was an obituary for Oscar that someone had posted on one of the community boards. The Obituary mentioned his middle name "Joel" and the town of Willoughby among some other tidbits. The name Joel was the real clue though, that name led me all the way back to Bethuel's eldest son. It took some more research to make the family lines clear and proven, but "Joel" was the clue that got me there. Names again come into play in my theories about who Bethuel's father and brothers are, but that's a topic for another post.

Neighbors are important too. The world of 1776 was different than it is today. People were more focused on the local area in which they lived. When I first started doing census work, I only paid attention to the names in my family. As I worked though, I started to see patterns. There was a Reeve family living right next to a Haines family for almost a century. My great grandfather Oscar followed his Uncle Henry out to California. People tended to live near other family members, sometimes with them. Older adults often live next to, or with a married child's family. There's a quote from the movie "The Silence of the Lambs" that I often think of..."People covet what they see every day". The Children of one family grew up next to the children of another family and naturally one or two would intermarry. When Bethuel moved to North Sea from Southold, he ended up living nearby the Haines family to whom his wife Mary Haines Reeve just happened to be related. Did Bethuel choose North Sea to be closer to his in-laws,or did the in-laws follow Bethuel. When I'm looking for clues as to who a wife is, I often look to the families surrounding them in the census for clues. Rather than just looking for my ancestor, I look for other familiar names as well.

Bethuel - the will and 1776 census

Bethuel lived on Long Island, New York, his whole life. He was born about 1727, which is only a guess from the 1776 census of Southampton which lists him as being under 50. His will was proved in 1882, wills were ususally proved within a year of death.

"P88. In the name of God, Amen. I, Bethuel Reeve, of Southampton,
Suffolk County, shoemaker and tanner, being infirm of body. I leave to my wellbeloved wife Mary, two thrids of my lands and buildings; to be improved by her three years after my decease, then the improvement of one half of my
lands and buildings to be improved by her while she is my widow; Also, one third of all my moveable estate; one feather bed with reasonable furniture. Unto my eldest son, Joel, one third part of my lands and buildings; to improve
the same from the last of next March to the term of three years following (if he improves it personally) and then the improvement of one half of my lands and buildings as long as his mother remains my widow; otherwise, to be void; and further, on consideration of these above improvements fulfilled, then I give to him the one half and one sixth part of all my lands and buildings. Unto my two sons, Jeremiah and Silas, all the lands and tenements remaining, in equal shares. If they should ever sell they are to give their brother Joel first offer. Unto my two sons, Daniel and Zebulon Reeve, 20 each. Unto my two daughters, Keturah and Bethiah Reeve, 20 each. I make my son Joel and David Haines Foster, of Southampton, executors.
Dated July 25, 1776. Witnesses, John Lum and David Lum, David Haines Foster, of said county, yoeman. Proved, July 3,
1782."

In the will we find Bethuel's trade, that he was sick or injured by July 25th 1776, the begining of the American Revolution, the names of his wife and children. Mary's last name was Haines and her family lives next them in every census after. David Haines Foster is also related to Mary and I believe his son marries a Reeve. The John and David Lum are also neighbors. It seems that neither Keturah nor Bethiah are married yet in 1776. All five sons are alive in 1776 when he writes the will. It is likely Bethual recovered somewhat from his illness and lived until 1781-2. Considering, however that Long Island was under British occupation from late August 1776 until the evacuation of the British in mid August 1783, it's possible that Bethuel died and the will was unable to be proved due to the situation.

The Census of Southampton 1776, shows Bethuel Reeve's Family as consisting of 2 Males under 50 and over 16 years; 3 Males under 16 years; 2 Females over 16 years and 1 Female under 16 years. The will shows 9 in the family, but the census records 8 in the family. Daniel is missing , he was in the Army of 1775 and British occupation of Long Island made it difficult to return home and he probably continued on in the army.

It is thought by most that Bethuel and Mary were married about 1752-3. We know from the will that Joel is the oldest and his year of birth is listed in the "Early History of Southampton" as 1755, the other four brothers would have been born after that. Joel stayed on the land he inherited from Bethuel and then passed it to his son Jeremiah b.1806 some time about 1830. Joel is not in the 1840 census, but Jeremiah and Joel's widow Anna are there near the Haines, Jennings and Lum decendants.

Daniel married Martha Russell on February 14, 1782 (note that this is the same year that Bethuel's will is proved and about a year before the British evacuation). Daniel and Martha resided in Westhampton.

So far I have been unable to untangle what happened to the daughters, following the women from this time is always more difficult.

Silas may have moved to Palmyra New York, but there are many Silas' to weed through to find the correct one.  (**Silas of Palmyra turned out not to be Bethuel's son).  I have yet to discover any solid leads on Jeremiah or Zebulon. Jeremiah is such a popular name, it's like a wild goose chase. Zebulon should not be as difficult to find as he seems to be though.

What family Bethuel belongs to is a puzzle. He does not appear to be an immigrant, but there is no documentation about his parentage that I or others have so far uncovered.

Bethuel is an old testement name, the Father of Rebecca. In hebrew it means "Man of God" or "House of God", and appears nine times in the Book of Genesis.

Source Texts for Long Island, New York.



Here are my essential source texts for Reeve(s) genealogy research on Long Island, New York.



1. Study of the Reeve family of Southold, Long Island, N.Y. : and Southold descendants of the Southampton, L.I. Reeves family and genealogy of said families up to 1800 Douglaston, N.Y.: Baker, Wesley Logan, 459 pgs.



2. Early History of Southampton, New York - With Genealogies, By George Rogers Howell, M.A.; Member of the Albany institute, corresponding member of the Troy Ass., NY Historical Society etc., Second Edition, Albany: Weed, Parsons and Company, 1887, 473 pp.



3.The book of records of the town of Southampton : BOOKS 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 - 1st book, 1639-1660 -- 2nd book, 1660-1717 -- 3rd book, 1717-1807 -- 4th book, 1809-1870 -- 5th book comprising Ancient Loose Documents as well as Abstracts of the Red Book of Deeds, AUTHORS: Southampton, Henry PHedges, William S. Pelletreau, Edward H. Foster, including all the writings in the town clerk's office from 1639 to 1660: with other ancient documents of historic value, Sag Harbor, N.Y.: J.H. Hunt, book and job printer, 1740 pages.



4. The Salmon records : a private register of marriages and deaths of the residents of the town of Southold, Suffolk County, N.Y., and of persons more or less closely associated with that place : 1696-1811 Authors: William Salmon, William A. Robbins, City of Publication: New York Publisher: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Date: 1918, 115 pgs.



5. Records of the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York - Two Volumes in pdf format - town records of Southold from about 1650 to the beginning of 1780. Most of the information is reproduced verbatim from Libers A, B, and C of the town records. The documents consist primarily of land grants by the town and deeds showing subsequent land transactions, but there is also a wide variety of other documents including a few wills, inventories and appraisals of estates, land divisions associated with estate settlements, depositions, petitions, and a few vital records. J. Wickham Case, 1884, 1055 pgs.



6. A History of Mattituck, Long Island, N.Y. Author: unknown Originally published in 1906 400 pages



7. Refugees of 1776 From Long Island to Connecticut Author: Frederic G. Mather Originally published in Albany, New York, 1913.



All of these titles and more are available from the Long Island Genealogy website http://longislandgenealogy.com/



Some of these reference books are on Google Books in their entirety and completely searchable. In order to search Google Books, go to the Google website. There is a line of options on the top left hand side begining with "web" and ending with "more", next to which is an arrow pointing down. Click the arrow and you will see more options, select the one that says "books". The pages will now change, at the top you will have a text box, with a button on the end of it that says "Search Books". Type into the text box the name you wish to search for, if you get too many matches and partial matches you can put quotations around the name so that the search engine will look for that exact name. I will often run Reeve with and without an "s", for expample "Bethuel Reeve" and "Bethuel Reeves". I usually do use quotations so that the returns I get are managable in number especially with more common names. Try searching different ways and see what works best.

Memorials of old Brideghampton - Google Books

*Updated* unfortunately this Jetur Reeve was not the one I was searching for, as Joel's son is buried in the North Sea Cemetery with his father. This Jetur is actually Joel's grandson, the son of Jeremiah. He is also buried in North Sea Cemetery under the name Jeter Reeves, the stone says son of Jeremiah & Maria, died in California, October 30, 1850, Age 20.

I came accross this gem recently in my search for Jetur Reeve(s) grandson of Bethuel Reeve.

Memorials of old Brideghampton - Google Books: "The ship Sabina was purchased by 'The Southampton and California Mining and Trading Company,' which was made up of men mainly from Sag Harbor and the Hamptons and in regard to this company and voyage I have been able to gather much information."

Here's a link to the Library of Congress' copy of the voyage logbook:

http://library.mysticseaport.org/initiative/PageText.cfm?PageNum=1&BibID=33159

One of the best things about genealogy is how it gives history life and makes it personal. This will particularly interest those who have families that began their American History on Long Island, New York. In 1849 the news of gold was spreading accross the states like wildfire. Certainly, we've all hear of the wagon trains of miners headed for California to quench their gold fever. One of my favorite all time movies is Paint Your Wagon, a musical about the California Gold Rush (seriously, Clint Eastwood sings, what could possibly beat that!). So we all know about the Gold Rush, but i'll bet many of you did not realize the impact it had on little old Sag Harbor.

In fact, more than a dozen ships left Sag Harbor for the long voyage around Cape Horn then north to San Francisco. More than 250 sailors and would be miners left from the Hamptons and Sag Harbor, devistating the whaling industry at the time. There were no more crews to man the whalers, so many whaling ships were sold to companies for the voyage to San Francisco. Basically each shareholder paid a fixed amount to the treasury of a mining company like "The Southampton and California Mining and Trading Company". The Treasury was used to outfit the company for the voyage and excursion to the mines once they reached California. One such ship was the Sabine which left Sag Harbor in February of 1849.

Jetur Reeves eluded me for many years during my researching, I had begun to assume he died somewhere without any impact on the world to prove he ever lived. Imagine my shock as a California Native to learn this distant cousin could have met his end and rests in a long forgotten grave in the foothills an hour or two from my home. All that time searching and he was right under my nose.

It is facinating as well to realize ships like the Sabine, were moored and used as store houses, stripped and eventually sank becoming part of the landfill that now makes up San Franscisco's Embarcadero.

My father always told me that our name was Reeve, which was English in origin. Families that spelled their name "Reeves" were of Irish descent. Trying to define the difference between the various spellings of names is fraught with pitfalls. Even professional, published genealogists are not exempt from drawing simplistic conclusions about differences in name spellings. Take for example the "bible" for Reeve research in Long Island, New York:

Study of the Reeve family of Southold, Long Island, N.Y. : and Southold descendants of the Southampton, L.I. Reeves family and genealogy of said families up to 1800. Douglaston, N.Y.: unknown, 1970.

The author, Wesley Logan Baker, is one of the foremost sources on Reeve genealogy originating on L.I., New York. There really haven't been many new discoveries since Baker wrote his book in the 1970's. If anything, we have lost original source information since then. If you are researching a Reeve line anywhere near New York, you really want to have access to this book. I'd even say that it is worth subscribing to Ancestry.com to gain access. At one point I even tried to transcribe my own copy of this book, fortunately you can now get it on CD from The Long Island Genealogy, here: http://genealogycds.com/sales/Reeve.htm, or subscribe to Ancestry.com.

But even Baker makes some sweeping generalizations that cause confusion. On page 350 he makes the statement "It is possible, with the spelling of his name "Reeves," which has continued through the years in this line, that he is a member of the Southampton Reeves family." Baker strongly implies that the Southold families use the spelling "Reeve" and the Southampton families use the spelling "Reeves" and further that the spelling can be used to sort who is descendant from whom. In several cases he dismisses individuals as belonging to one or the other family based on how they spell their name.

However, the spelling differences are not as simple as that. Let's take for example Bethuel Reeve's line.

"Bethuel Reeve. Howell on page 359 of his 1887 History of Southampton says

"Bethuel Reeve of Southold town bought land in North Sea in 1758 and resided there. He was of about fourth generation in descent from James (of Southold)”. Howell also says Bethuel died 1782, had wife Mary and had children Joel (born 1755), Silas, Daniel, Zebulon, Jeremiah, Keturah and Bethia.

Mather’s Refugees, page 518 says “Mrs. Ruth A. Silk states she cannot prove Bethuel to be in the 4^th generation from James 2. She makes his Bethuel 4 (James or William 3, 2, Thomas 1)”.

Photos of both these references are included in our Study, pages 233 & 275. The following is quoted from our Note on p269: “we understand Mrs. Silk’s Daniel Reeve, 1759-1807 of Westhampton N.Y. Ancestors and Descendants which gives considerable data of Bethuel’s descendants (Daniel was a son), but gives no further details of his ancestors than stated above”.

The will of Bethuel Reeve of Southampton, dated July 25, 1776 was proved July 3, 1782 in Suffolk County and was recorded in New York in Liber 35, page 88. It is not included in our Study because it was a Southampton will and we doubt he was a descendant of the Southold Reeve family. We have not found any reference to him in Southold Records. If he was born or lived there, we suppose he was a son of the Southampton Reeves Family who moved to the western portion (Riverhead) of the Town of Southold in the 1700’s.

There are a number of references to Bethuel in Volume III of the printed Southampton Town Records, the earliest in 1753 when he recorded his ear mark. This was transferred to his son Joel in 1788. In 1776 Southamton Census in said Volume III, Bethuel shows of Watermill with 5 males and 3 females."

--From Baker's Study.

Currently Bethuel's parentage is unknown, no one seems to be able to link him solidly to any family in Southold or Southampton. Nor is there any evidence he was an immigrant, but we discuss this another day.

Just within this one family Bethuel uses the "Reeve" spelling, his son Joel and grandson Jeremiah who live on the North Sea land, adopt the "Reeves" spelling. However, other grandsons who leave the Suffolk County area maintain the "Reeve" spelling. The differences in the spelling of Reeve is not so much an indication of family associations as it may be a localized convenience. Perhaps the Reeves of Suffolk county adopted this naming convention for convenience rather than accuracy.

**Update, as it turns out, Joel and Jeremiah did actually use the "Reeve" spelling it was census workers and others that added the "s"

In my mothers line there is a Finish family that lived in the same area, for convenience sake, to keep the families straight they adopted their own naming tradition. One family group took the surname Josephs, and the other took Josephson. Neither name was their true surname, Steirna which was not so much a surname but a military title an early ancestor was awarded.

In the end, researchers cannot depend on the spelling of names to denote who is related. There are so many things that can effect spelling, including illiterate, illegible or non-English speaking clerks and officials, and familial or regional spelling conventions.