Samuel Reeves Goes to USA 1850 - 1860

[MaineGirl]

I want to thank everyone who responded with tips to my original post. From census and marriage records I now know that my ancestor, Samuel Reeves, emigrated from England to the US  between 1850 and 1860. From bible records, I believe he was born in 1818 and that his parents were William and Sarah. LDS records give two conflicting possibilities: a Samuel born to William and Sarah in Tipton and a Samuel born to William and Sarah in Mavesyn Ridware, England.

I've located Samuel, age 43, in a Lowell, Mass, boarding house with Francis (son?), age 17, around 1860 and have tracked him forward in time. I found his marriage in 1860 to Elizabeth Mellor (formerly Healey), his service in the Civil War, and his subsequent residences in Holmesville, Ohio (1870 census) and in Cambridge, Mass (1880 census). A mystery has come up - according to cemetery records, Samuel died in 1890 in Sylvania, Ohio, but was returned to Cambridge for burial. Lucas County, Ohio, Probate and Cambridge Town records have no record of the death. What was Samuel doing in Ohio? Was his visit connected to his residence there in 1870, and could the connection have to do with Francis who disappeared from Lowell? There was a Francis Reeves, age 19, who enlisted in the Civil War from Manchester, NH, around the same time that Samuel enlisted in Lowell. The connection to Manchester, NH, is supported by the birth of Samuel and Elizabeth's (Healey/Mellor) first son, Frederick William Reeves, who was born in 1861 in Manchester, NH.

I still need a definitive tie between Samuel-in-Lowell and the Samuel-in-Manchester-England from the 1851 census. Maybe I can work backward from Francis. Does anyone have information on a Francis (Frank) Reeves, who may have settled in Ohio around 1864-5? The Francis from Manchester, NH, mustered in in 1861 and out in 1864. I'm trying  to find a town and/or county of origin in England that could tie him to Samuel Reeves and thereby Samuel to his counterpart in Manchester, England.

[MaineGirl]

The marriage of my ancestor, Samuel Reeves, to a widow named Elizabeth Mellor (formerly Healey) in Lowell, 1860, was recorded as a second marriage for both. I can't be sure of Samuel's first wife's name or if she emigrated with him; he was 43 when he remarried. I'm trying to trace his English origins, but have only bible records claiming his father was William and his mother may have been Sarah. Samuel's Massachusetts gravestone says he was born in 1818. The Church of Latter Day Saints database has two records:  son Samuel born to William and Sarah Reeves 14 Dec 1817, in Mavesyn Ridware, Staffordshire (from from Bishop's transcripts 1663-1867: Church of England, Parish Church of Mavesyn-Ridware) and son Samuel born to William and Sarah Reeves 13 Sept 1818, in Tipton, Staffordshire (from Bishop's transcripts 1672-1837: Church of England Parish Church of Tipton). Does anyone have information in their family tree which might indicate which record applies to my Samuel? I found a Samuel in the 1851 England census for Manchester, but I can't tie him back to either Tipton or to Mavesyn Ridware. The town is blurred.

[Dave Francis]

Hi there - and welcome to Rootschat!

You might want to keep a note of this...


1851 Census of Manchester (St George) Lancashire
HO 107/2230 folio 622 pages 16-17

29 Tebbutt Street
Samuel Reeves, head, mar, <30>, smallware manufacturer, <Rid..> Staffordshire
Elizabeth, wife, 28, Manchester Lancaster
Francis, son, 8, Manchester Lancaster
Samuel, son, <2?>, Manchester Lancaster
Sarah, sister, unm, 14, servant, London Middlesex

Unfortunately this Samuel's age is not entirely legible, nor is his birthplace.

[Dave Francis]

... and I can't see that family in the 1861 Census!

Returning to your main question, I would imagine that your Samuel would have sailed from Liverpool.

Dave

[Dave Francis]

Think I found him here:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,326876.msg2073409.html#msg2073409

Mavesyn Ridware looks possible!

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[MaineGirl]

Hi Dave,
Thank you for your reply to my post. I am, in fact, holding 1851 Samuel from Manchester in my files as a very likely candidate. He and his son Francis match the Lowell guys' ages pretty well, and I've learned census records are often inaccurate about spelling of names and exact ages. Also noted the family wasn't in England in 1871, although there is a 22-year-old Samuel (Samuel Jr ?) living with his mother Elizabeth (right age for the wife in 1851) who is a smallware manufacturer. She's married, but no husband present . . . hmmm. I was especially intrigued by the Rid----, and so disappointed it was partially illegible! My cousin has tracked Manchester-Samuel's family and that of his wife Elizabeth Heywood throughout Manchester and beyond; she's done an incredible detective job. She even found an earlier marriage to a Mary Renshaw in Pendleton. But we're missing that elusive link back to Mavesyn Ridware or to Tipton. I'm hoping if I work forward from William and Sarah, there might be a meeting in the middle. So now I have all this information about Manchester-Samuel's family, but I'm not sure he's the right one. So frustrating. Do you know how to locate Liverpool records in England?

[merjones]

Is this your ancestor?

1860 Lowell Massachusetts

Samuel Reeves 41 occupation: pedler Born 1819 England
Frank Reeves 17 probably Samuel's son also born England
Living in a boarding house whose Proprietess is named:

Elizabeth Galinou age 45 born England

1880 Cambridge Massachusetts

Samuel Reeves 62  England
Elizabeth Reeves 55  England
Joseph Melloc 24  Stepson England
Fred W. Reeves 19  son born New Hampshire USA
William A. Reeves 17  born Massachusetts USA

[JustJean]

Did you have info on who the parents of the Elizabeth Reeves would have been?

THere is a death in Lawrence Mass March 25, 1859 of an Elizabeth Reeves age 24 yrs 2 month 20 days of consumption.  She is unfortnatley not marked as either married or single!  Her parents names are stated as William and Elizabeth and her place of birth England.  Lawrence and Lowell are only about 12 miles apart.

Best wishes
Jean