Jacob Ries immigrant of 1759 and Descendants (Rieß)

Trade, independent state of Franklin

The Ries immigrant is Jacob Ries of Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. Questions of his exact name birthdate and immigration year vary. I have made determinations based on sensible information and not ancestry site replication and truth stretching. Note that I do not use Johan in his name.

There were several men named Johan Jacob Ries, two said to be from Wurttemberg, however one immigrated to Philadelphia in 1749. This particular Johan Jacob was said to be born May 14, 1729. This Ries can be disqualified as the subject of this blog. Some family trees have incorrectly assumed this to be the ancestor the Ries/Reese line of Yadkin, Trade, Haywood and Buncombe descendants. I also doubt he was from Wurttemberg. There should be a Johan Ries line and a separate Jacob Ries line to clear the confusion and cross mentioning. The combined person doesn’t exist; it is Johan Ries line and the Jacob Ries line. Jacob Ries was having his children in Germany when the Johan Ries was already in America. To make matters even more complicated, words from Jacob’s daughter Barbara were interpreted to say that Valentine was her brother and her father was Johanne Jakob Reiss. Did the person writing this down know the correct spelling? I believe that the ancestor was Johanne Jacob Ries but to avoid mixing with other lines and to simplify, I will refer to him as Jacob Ries.

Wiki Tree does include DNA sections for the Palatine Migration Project and for Jacob Ries but as of the latest update, no Y‑DNA haplogroup has been publicly assigned to him or his direct male descendants. There have been 18 DNA tests for Ries lines but no Y-DNA test from a direct male descendant. If you are a Reese or Reece male, you are confident that Jacob Ries is you ancestor, have $449 to spend, then order and take the Y-DNA 700 test. This will set the haplogroup for the line.

Some of Jacob’s children were said to have been born in Germany although some were born in Albrecht Dorf, Prussia. Valentine “Felty” Ries was documented as being born in Albrecht Dorf, Prussia and there is further documentation of his baptismal on May 2, 1742. Barbara Ries was born in 1745. and Martin Ries in 1753.

The Jacob Ries family certainly migrated between 1754 and 1760, and most like 1759. This aligns with the post–War of Austrian Succession German emigration wave and the existence of the Württemberg–Palatine–Rotterdam migration corridor in conjunction with the Rotterdam to Crowes to Philadelphia route by sea. The most compelling proof is that the family traveled directly from Philadelphia shortly after landing into Yadkin by 1761. Jacob was most likely born around 1720.

The ancestry sites continue to mix Johan and Jacob Ries in other incorrect ways such as combining the names. But we can separate the two as such: Johan Ries immigrated in 1749 on the Chesterfield. Jacob Ries and family immigrated likely in 1759-1760 on an unknown vessel although the sailing route was identical. Jacob was associated with the Moravian community, and he moved close to Henry Spoohauer and Frederick Schor both of Muttenz. A Ries family in Prussia could easily have Swiss roots in Muttenz. Swiss German “Ries” is pronounced Reece, not “Reez.” The Ries family likely followed an immigration path Württemberg / Basel region → Prussia (Albrechtsdorf) → America.

The Pennsylvania State Archives has missing lists for 1757–1760. One surviving record notes that “Ries and his family had refuge in Bethania during the Indian War”. This would place him in the area in 1759.

Jacob’s wife has also been widely misrepresented. Most likely she was Anna Maria Sieber who was a German speaking European born between 1710 and 1729. Ancestry sites have several with the same with confusing birth and wedding dates. She could not have married in 1762 but closer to 1742 to match up with Felty’s birth. Ancestry sites conflate John Reiss as marrying Anna Maria Seiburrin and try to combine these families. She was most likely born on September 29, 1729, in Eichstetten, Baden and was Lutherin.

To summarize, Jacob Ries was likely of Swiss and German ancestry who immigrated to Rowan, N.C. after landing in Philadelphia around 1659, and settled initially in the Yadkin territory surrounded with former Swiss relatives or friends.

I have searched tax categories which are Steuerbücher, Lagerbücher, Seelenregister, and Familienregister across Württemberg with no results. Records would indicate legal and economic class and tax liability if there was one. A guess would be vietelbauern/viertel-hofe, or quarter-farm holders as most immigrants came from the classification. Oberamt (districts within Württemberg) were Oberamt Balingen, Oberamt Tübingen, Oberamt Urach, Oberamt Freudenstadt, Oberamt Herrenberg. Oberamt Nagold and Oberamt Calw. These are the districts where the surname Ries is historically concentrated. At this point we don’t know which district was home.

Jacob Ries moved through the Rhine corridor labor network long before he immigrated. He kept his family anchored in Württemberg but appeared to have worked seasonally alongside Swiss laborers near the southern border, and spent a period in Prussia, where his son Valentine was born during a temporary work contract. This could mean he was a smallholder who traveled for opportunity while maintaining roots at home. This traveling and the logistics for it likely conditioned him for immigration.

The Ries family left Württemberg during a period when many families were leaving the German states because of high taxes, military conscription, and limited access to land. His departure followed the standard route used by emigrants from the Neckar and upper Rhine regions.

He would have begun by traveling down the Neckar River, either on foot along the towpaths or aboard a small river vessel. The Neckar connected directly to the Rhine, the main artery for German emigration. From there, emigrants boarded larger boats that carried them downstream toward the Dutch ports. This part of the journey typically took one to two weeks, depending on river conditions.

Most emigrants from Württemberg reached Rotterdam, the primary departure point for ships bound for Pennsylvania. Typically, they waited while shipmasters gathered enough passengers to make the Atlantic crossing profitable. Emigrants were responsible for their own food and lodging while they waited.

The Atlantic crossing itself usually lasted 8 to 12 weeks. Ships stopped at Cowes, England, for inspection and clearance before heading to the colony. Conditions on board were cramped, and food and water were rationed. Illness was common. It was not unusual for children and older adults to die during the crossing. It was a hard journey especially with children.

Information on ships and passengers to Philadelphia from Rotterdam are missing but it is known that the ships Two Brothers, Phoenix, Edinburg, Patience, Neptune, Anderson, Brothers and Snow Squirrel were heavily used in this route.

Upon arrival in Philadelphia, every male immigrant aged sixteen or older was required to appear before provincial officials and sign the Oath of Allegiance which was a legal requirement for all non‑British immigrants. The oath affirmed loyalty to the British Crown. Signing the oath allowed immigrants to settle, work, and acquire land.

Neither Jacob nor Felty’s name appears in the surviving oath books, but this is not unusual. Several ship lists are missing, and German names were often recorded under incorrect spellings as these arrivals from Germany didn’t speak English. After completing the legal requirements, he would have traveled south along the Great Wagon Road, the main route from Pennsylvania into the Shenandoah Valley, down through Big Lick and then into the Piedmont of North Carolina. This road carried thousands of Germans and Scots‑Irish settlers into the southern backcountry. By the late 1760s, Jacob and Felty appears in documentation within the region that became Rowan, Surry, and Wilkes Counties, North Carolina.

What we can gather from Jacob’s actions are that he left the rigid hierarchy in Germany and immediately avoided the regulated German communities in Pennsylvania to move into the Yadkin frontier where oversight was light and where land was available and affordable. He preferred community order over control and chose to live around former friends or relatives.

Jacob Ries was granted 640 acres on the south side of the fork of Deep Creek in Rowan, North Carolina in February 5, 1761. Five years later he transferred 324 acres of this land to his neighbor, Peter Sprinkle. Jacob and his family appear in the records of the Moravian Church and often welcomed the church’s travelling preachers to their home.

The Boone family were established in the Yadkin River, Dutchman’s Creek, Mulberry Fields and South Fork areas when the Ries family arrived.

There is no record of the Ries and Boone families interacting personally, but they shared the same roads, used the same mills and trading posts and lived with a few miles of each other. By 1760 to 1765, Daniel Boone is hunting and scouting from the Yadkin into the Blue Ridge and Kentucky. Boone married Rebecca Ann Bryan (1739–1813) in 1756 in the Yadkin Valley. She had been born in Pennsylvania and raised in the Shenandoah Valley.

About 80 miles northwest and 4 days travel by a hunting parting from Yadkin, sits a long, deep and wooded gorge now called Linville Gorge. Daniel Boone with cousins John and William Linville were exploring and hunting there in 1766. The two Linville men were killed by Cherokee warriors. These two men are the namesakes of the Linville Gorge, falls and river.

I spent five days backpacking in the gorge in 1975 and its beauty is easily surpassed by its dangerous snakes. You can image the wildness of the region around 1760 when the Ries family arrived.

Where the Ries site would be in today’s area

The Yadkin Valley area in 1760 was covered with dense runs of oak, hickory, chestnut and walnut trees. These trees and underbrush had to be cleared prior to building cabins. The Dutchman’s Creek and Holman’s Ford were not deep waters and could be crossed. The Indigenous Indian Trading Path and the Great Wagon Road were nearby but were dirt path of modest width. These cabins you see on the following map were scattered and separated by forest vegetation.

The picture to follow shows the Jacob Ries homestead and also the one of Valentine Reese years later. Note the name of neighbors Frederick Shor, Adam Spier and Henry Spoonhauer, Swiss friends from Europe.

Jacob died in June,1772 in Rowan County, North Carolina. The will of Jacob Ries was made on July 22,1771, leaving five shillings to his son, Martin, one third of his estate to his beloved wife, Ann, and the remainder of his estate to his son, Valentine, who is also named as sole executor. Witnesses were John Harmon, William Rutledge and Simon Hadley

The Jacob Ries land sits along the Mulberry Fields Road which was close to the route used for transporting the Kings Mountain prisoners in 1780. His closest neighbors were Valentine Reece (1784) who appears just southwest, near South Fork and Hudspeth Store and Peter Sherman (1771), Frederick Shore (1762). Adam Speer (1777), Herman Renegar (1794), Samuel Arnold (1779), Joseph Renegar (1794), John Thomson (1778), John Humphries (1778), Thomas Bagley (1780), Benjamin Clanton (1780) and Frederick Long (1760).

The neighbors that were 3 to 5 miles away were: Carlton Lindsay (1787), Matthew McMahon (1787), William Rutledge (1787), James Lindsay (1787), John Hudspeth (1780), Benjamin Garrison (1780), George Forbus (1780), William Steelman (1789), Matthias Steelman (1789) and Henry Spoonhouer (1787).

It was a German Scots‑Irish frontier mix, with the Ries family among the earliest German settlers (1761). His close proximity to Frederick Long (1760) and the early Hudspeths (1761) shows he was among the first wave of settlers in the Mulberry Fields region who arrive just after the French and Indian War.

The proximity of Jacob Ries (1761) to Frederick Long (1760) and Hudspeth (1761) places him squarely among the first wave of settlers in the Mulberry Fields region, those who arrived just after the French and Indian War.

Frederick Long appears in the North Carolina Colonial Militia during the French & Indian War period and in the 1760-1761 Rowan County Militia lists under Capt. Morgan Bryan. Those in the same militia district were the Bryans, the Boones, the Linvilles, the Hudspeths, the Renegars and the Speers. Jacob Ries does not appear in any surviving muster roll but that is expected for a newly arrived German settler in 1761.

in Rowan County, Germans were a minority while the Scots Irish were the majority. English was the only language used in courts, deeds, militia, and land grants. The Ries family had to learn English to function. They likely used a German R that was throaty, had trouble with S endings and unstressed final syllables. Pronouncing their name could be heard as Reece, Reece or Rice. They would have thick accents for five to ten years in America. By accounts, the German immigrants were described as hard to understand and slow to English while quick to learn and good neighbors.

The second and third generations:

(1) Valentine “Felty” Reese (1742-1814) and Christina Ann Harmon (1748-1848). Married April 6, 1769 in Rowan County.

Be careful not to believe the stories of a David Reese, of Welsh heritage, that claims our Ries family were Welsh, they were not. However, some information can be gleamed from David Reese’s writings such as the following summary.

Christina Harmon was of German descent who was the sister or daughter of Jacob Harmon connected to a large 15,000 acreage of land with Valentine Sevier in Pulaski County, Virginia. The Tree Forks Baptist Church confirms her marriage to Valentine Reese and their children listed below.

(a) John Reese (1770-1840) and Hannah Silvers (1775-1875)

(b) Anthony “Tony” Reese (1774-1869) and Sallie Chambers (1772-1865)

(c) Hannah Reese (1776-1865)

(d) Isaac Reese (1788-1864) and Elizabeth Wagner (1793-1845)

(e) Daniel Reese (1795-1849) and Lucretia Smith (1801-1849)

(2) Barbara Reese (1742-1820) and Frederick Schor (Dec. 28, 1731-1818). I have to make assumptions that this Frederick Schor was the son of Jacob Ries’ friend Frederick Schor of Switzerland who had immigrated a few years before Jacob. The offsprings of the children listed below had changed their surname to Shores.

(a) Johannes Schor (1760-1780)

(b) Jacob Schor (1763-1809)

(c) Henry Schor (1771-1830)

(d) Johan Heinrich Schor (1766-1812)

(e) Peter Schor (1772-1812)

(f) Elizabeth Schor (1773-1867)

(3) Martin Ries (1753-1845) and unknown wife. There is no information to derive on Martin Ries or Reese.

(a) Barbara Reese (1773-1814)

Valentine Reece, his wife Christina Harmon, their children, and her Harmon family moved from the Yadkin Valley to the Trade, Tennessee region between 1778 and 1782, most likely around 1781–1782. The Harmon family was led by George Harmon, father of Christina Harmon, who was born around 1730. These families settled in the Trade, Roan Creek and Zionville corridor.

Other families who moved from Watauga records to those in Trade were the Dugger, Stout, Wilson and Baird families. The Trade / Roan Creek / Zionville corridor dangerously sits within the Cherokee hunting territory, Shawnee raiding paths, the Great Warrior Path and further east, the Watauga settlements which were risky as well.

Trade originated in the 18th century as “The Trade Gap,” a trading post established for Native Americans, pioneers, and fur traders. It was located on an old buffalo trail between Snake and Rich Mountains. It sits at 3100 feet elevation which is the highest of a town in Tennessee. It is one mile from the North Carolina border and 13 miles from Boone.

This was a borderland, not firmly controlled by any government especially North Carolina which ignored the region. The Revolutionary War ended shortly after the move, but this did not make the frontier more peaceful. There was a treaty drawn with the Cherokee called the Treaty of Long Swamp (1783) and Treaty of Hopewell (1785) which attempted to establish a definitive border between settlers and the Cherokee by this was ignored by settlers from Watauga thru the Nolichucky and Trade regions.

The settlers west of the Blue Ridge Mountains in now East Tennessee believed that the State of North Carolina had abandoned them. In 1784, North Carolina ceded its western lands to the federal government who ignored them. The settlers needed courts, sheriffs, tax collectors, militia and land title assurances. They were not getting this from anyone. The region faced Cherokee and Creek threats and North Carolina provided no militia support, no forts, and no supplies. In desperation in 1784, the settlers of western North Carolina declared themselves as the State of Franklin. The lack of support continued, and the settlers had to address every issue as a community.

The year between 1784 and 1785 was a bloody year and full of ambushes, burned cabins, stolen livestock and families fleeing frequently to nearby forts. The Trade and Roan Creek were hit hard with the Reese, Dugger and Stout families forming defensive clusters. Cherokee hunting parties passed at will through the Trade gap and killed several settlers near the Old Buffalo Trail. Again, the state if North Carolina and the U.S. Government ignored the people, especially as the State of Franklin was not recognized. Franklin collapsed due to internal conflict in 1788. It became part of the Southwest Territory in 1790 and the State of Tennessee in 1796. About 5,000 settlers were affected from the Watauga, Nolichucky and Trade settlements.

The State of Franklin was led by a small but influential group of frontier leaders. John Sevier served as its governor, supported by Landon Carter in the Senate and William Cage and Joseph Hardin in the House. Judicial authority came from men like Joshua Gist, while frontier families such as the Seviers provided military and political strength.

The will of Felty Ries mentions that he had land on Cove Creek and that he had a maple sugaring operation. His will divides 50 acres to son Daniel and the remainder to his other children. He and his children had ties to the tied to the Three Forks Baptist Church.

Daniel Rees married Lucretia Smith on June 14, 1821, in Ashe County, North Carolina and moved to Johnson County, Tennessee after 1830. Daniel and Lucretia’s children were:

Hiram Wetzel Reece Sr. (Sept. 5, 1821- Sept 25, 1909) – Nancy Jane Snyder (May 5, 1825 -Oct 3, 1910). Served in the 64th Mounted Infantry for Confederate States of America.

Betsy Anna Reece, James Reece, Isaac W. Reese, Elizabeth Reece, Nancy C. Reece, Lucretia Reece, Anna Reece and Mary Reece — no information at this time

John Valentine Reece (1829 – 1900) – Mary C. Arney

The Reese migration into Haywood County around 1808–1812 was led by Anthony “Tony” Reese, along with several related families. They settled along the upper Pigeon River and Jonathan Creek, forming the core of the early Reese presence in western North Carolina. The Reese families settled primarily in the upper Pigeon River valley, near Jonathan Creek, Crabtree and Waynesville areas. This was the earliest settled parts of Haywood County which was connected to the Tennessee frontier by the Cataloochee and Pigeon River Gaps.

I use the name “Reese” because my ancestor, Jonathan Kimsey Reese and his father Samuel, used this spelling, although this is likely what clerks recorded. All his other siblings used “Reece”. For the illustration below, I used the Reece nomenclature.

Anthony “Tony” Reece moved into Haywood County between 1808 and 1812 with his many children and families such as the Harmons and Duggers. His children were:

(1) Enoch Reece (1805-1870) – unknown. He didn’t move to Haywood County

(2) Daniel Reece (1810-1880) – Sarah Hastings (1815-1880)

(3) Rachael Reece (1815-1885) – Robert Collins (1810-1880)

(4) David Wesley Reece (1820- 1890) – Nancy Wilson (1825-1890)

(5) Mary Ann Reece (1825-1895) – James Mann (1820-1890)

(6) Samuel Reese (1830-1900)- Cindy Church (1835-1900)

(7) David Wesley Reece (1820- 1890) – Nancy Wilson (1825-1890) lived their entire lives in Jonathan Creek, Haywood County, NC.

Note that in some cases these dates are approximate.

I intend to, from this point, spotlight primarily my own tree and that would be Samuel Reese and Cindy Church.

Samuel Reece (1810-1910) began his early life in Cocke County, Tennessee near the Pigeon River but migrated with the family to close proximity to Haywood County, North Carolina. He married Lucinda “Cindy” Church and had many children:

Leonard Reese (1834) – unknown spouse

Jonathan Kimsey Reese (1836-1901) – Julia Ann Cordell

Isaac Reese (1840) – quess is Nancy Jane Holt

James Reece (1844-1910) – Mary J. Mann

Polly Reese (1847) – guess is William Inman

Henry M. Reese (1850-1920) – Martha Jane Sutton

William A. Reese (1853-1930) – Eliza Jane Caldwell

Louisa Jane Reese (1856-1922) – John Wesley Inman

Levisa Vicey Reese (1858-1930) – Joseph Marion Messer

Inman marriages clustered around Jonathan Creek / Dellwood and the Messer marriages clustered around Maggie Valley / Fines Creek.

The Confederate Conscription Act of April 16, 1862, was enforced in North Carolina because it was required to enforce them. This was the first draft in American history. All white men ages 18–35 were made liable for three years of military service. County officials compiled lists of all men in the age bracket. No matter how remote you were, you made the list. Local sheriffs and militia officers were responsible for rounding up conscripts. North Carolina had been one of the last states to secede, and many citizens resented centralized Confederate authority. Resistance was especially strong in farming regions where men were needed at home and in the western mountain regions of Haywood, Madison, Yancy and Watauga. As men were lost there was a second and third Conscription Act in February of 1864 in which service was required for duration of the war and the age range was from 17 to 50.

Company F of the 25th NC Infantry, “Haywood Highlanders”, was organized in the middle of 1861 and mustered in September of 1861, a date long before the conscription act was drawn. The men of this company were volunteers.

Jonathan Reese was 25 and I.P. Inman was 39 in 1861.

Company F Commissioned Officers were:

Captain William H. Leatherwood, 1st Lieutenant James M. Osborne, 2nd Lieutenant William H. Hargrove and 3rd Lieutenant John H. Smathers.

Non-commissioned officers were:

1st Sergeant J.W. McCracken, Sergeants J.R. Smathers, J.W. Inman, W.A. Boyd, R.N. Ferguson, Corporals J.M. Inman, W.H. Inman, J.R. Caldwell and A.J. Rathbone.

Including officers and men the roster including these men and more:

J. W. Inman, J. M. Inman, W. H. Inman, Isaac P. Inman, several Messer, A. J. Rathbone, W. Rathbone, J. Rathbone, J. R. Caldwell, W. Caldwell, Jonathan K. Reese, Smathers, McCracken, Boyd, Leatherwood, Ferguson, Hargrove, Moody, Sutton, Plott, Medford, Trantham and Noland.

These men believed the war would be short and wanted to choose their own officers and served with their neighbors and kin. Peer pressure in mountain communities was intense. Jonathan served alongside the husbands of some of his sisters such as Joseph Messer, J.W. Inman and William Inman. Jonathan’s brothers had married into the same families: Rathbone, Caldwell and Messer.

The company fought at New Bern, Seven Days Battles, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Plymouth, Petersburg and Appomattox.

I.P. Inman deserted immediately after the Battle of New Bern (March 14, 1862). I.P. fought at New Bern and went home afterward but because he left before conscription existed, he was not officially a deserter.

The 25th NC was positioned on the right flank of the Confederate line. Many errors were made as the line was too long and undermanned, the men were in the first battle, the ammunition supply was bad, and the Union forces were much bigger. The 25th NC was forced to retreat in disorganization and hundreds of men fled. Western North Carolina soldiers deserted in large numbers after this battle including I.P. Inman. He was not considered a straggler and remember, many of his company were kin and neighbors. I.P. Inman went on to be a good standing property owner, a mill operator and a neighbor to the Reece family.

A descendant of William P. Inman, I.P. Inman’s cousin, wrote a book called “Cold Mountain.” Charles Frazer took seven years to write the novel, and he researched it by familiarizing himself with the regiment, looking through mountain dairies and walking trails along the Pigeon River and Shining Rock Wilderness. An award-winning movie was made, same title, and depicted the mountain area of 1860 quite well. I.P. Inman was portrayed by actor Jude Law in the film, with Nichole Kidman, Renee Zelweger, Natalie Portman, Donald Sutherland and Philip Seymour Hoffman. This was not a true story but captured the area and times well. In actuality, most of the company from Haywood just went home after the battle in New Bern.

Jonathan Reese followed the same pattern as many mountain men that enlisted early, experienced battle shock, returned home to protect family and farm. He made the move to Buncombe County by 1869 as he married Julia Cordell on November 26, 1869.

Perhaps ten years before marrying Julia, a terrible accident occurred. A newspaper article in the Asheville Newspaper, with no date given, stated that the wife and 5-month-old child of Jonathan K. Reese of Cathy’s Mills on Hominy Creek were burned to death in a house fire while he was away on a log-roll at a neighbor’s farm. The child had whooping cough, and both had been up all night. They perished while sleeping that morning. The 1860 Census has him living with the Trull family of nine as a laborer. The farm was in the Pigeon District of Haywood County. I believe this tragedy happened just before 1860 and the Civil War.

Jonathan and second wife Julia’s children and grandchildren were:

(1) Joseph Henry Reese (1870-Jan 14, 1959) – spouses Mary Pittman Morgan (1855-1937) and Lela Elmira Cordell (1892-1950)

(a) Homer Garland Reese (1897-1972)

(b) Myrtle Lenora Reese (1898-1977)

(c) Joseph Henry Reese (1928-1962)

(d) Albert Roy Reese Sr. (1929-2017)

(e) June Joyce Reese (1933-2003)

(2) Alice Reese (1873), (3) Epsey Reese (1874) no information

(4) Robert Wilson Reese (July 20, 1880-December 14,1952) – Bertha Lillian Walker (1882-October 29, 1924)

(a) Blanche Elizabeth Reese Henderson (1909-1991)

(b) Clyde Robert Reese (1912-2000)

(c) Albert Terrell Reese (1917-1977)

(d) Bertha Nell Reese Reed (1919-2008)

(e) John David Reese (1921-1989)

(f) Mary Lillian Reese Ledbetter (1921-2011)

(5) Annie L. Reese (July 6, 1890 – February 2, 1979) – T.P. Padgett (1889-1977)

(a) Mary Helen Padgett Cambron (1910-1991)

(6) Benjamin Franklin Reese (April 9,1892- August 16, 1982)- Carrie Belie Morrow (1897-1985)

(a) Sadie Elizabeth Reese Tillis (1916-2011)

(b) Cecil Pinkney Reese (1920-2020)

(c) Wayne William Reese (1924-2013)

(d) Charles Dorsey Reese (1929-2014)

(7) Lillie Cornelia Reese (1876-1941) – Lewis E. Patton and Ross McMurray

(a) Robert Emanuel Patton (1897-1920)

(7) Horace K. Reese (July 25, 1892-July 12, 1924)

The grandsons of Jonathan Kimsey Reese and Julia Cordell Reese were born in a period when they would meet requirements for war, that is being born from 1920 to 1930, as their grandparents lived in the Civil War period.

Cecil Pinkney Reese, son of Benjamen Franklin Reese, was serving in the U.S. Army as a Sergeant at Fort Weaver, Hawaii on December 7,1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He survived the attack, completed his service, returned home to Georgia and lived to be a hundred years old. He is interned at the Western Carolina State Veterans Cemetery of Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Cecil Pinkney Reese

All three sons of Robert Wilson Reese served in the war.

Terrell Reese was a 1st Sergeant in Army Infantry that stormed Normandy and fought through Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes and central Europe.

Sam Henderson, Albert Terrell Reese Sr. and Robert Wilson Reese

Clyde Reese served as an Engineman Third Class in the U.S. Navy, Philippine Liberation. This assignment was a Third-Class Petty Officer specializing in engine and mechanical systems. On landing craft, ENs were often the engine operators during beach assaults.

John David Reese was a Pfc who served in the Army Air Corps, Pacific theatre.

This story is not complete. I will supplement as information is offered.

Tee