I have researched William Reese for about 15 years, I know he is pivotal in a lot of folks genealogical research so I offer this to help! :)
William Reese was born about 1808 in Tennessee, as witnessed by census records from 1840 and 1850 listing his age and birthplace as Tennessee.
We was most likely born in Greene County Tennessee, which borders on what was, at that time, the Old Cherokee Nation.
Wills and Probate information from Tennessee show a preponderance of evidence that William was the son of John Adams Reese and Mary Ottinger-Reese. One thing is certain, this William Reese is NOT the son of Charles Tasker Reese, who is the Cherokee half-blood William “We Le” Reese, who was born in the Cherokee Nation, rode for the Cherokee Rifle Mount in the Civil War and died in an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma in 1869, having been married to a woman who was not Rebecca Reese. This is witnessed by the work of Parker Sams in his book “Fighting Charles Reese”, as well as genealogy records for We Le Reese.
We know sometime before the birth of his first son Jacob, that he took as his wife Rebecca Black and that by 1831 they were in Vigo County Indiana, near Terre Haute.
Throughout the 15 years of my researching William, one thing does seem fairly clear; wherever the Black Family went, William went as well. It is also interesting that they left in advance of the Cherokee “Trail of Tears” and that the Blacks’ ended up settling in Reynolds County about 10 Miles from the Hildebrand Route of the Trail of Tears, which moved the Cherokee out of Tennessee and Georgia into Oklahoma.
By 1832 they were in Crawford / Clark County Illinois (they were once the same county), in Marshall Illinois. We know this by Crawford County history books showing William Reese fighting in the Blackhawk Indian wars in 1832 for a regiment from Crawford.
Many say they were married in Marshall in 1829 and that a transcription error lists the Groom as “William Redden” I doubt this story as I have personally seen the original in the Clark County courthouse and it is clearly listed as William Redden, it is not blurred or illegible, it is very clear. The confusion may exist because there was more than one Rebecca Black in Clark County.
They continued to have family until sometime between 1845 and 1849 as witnessed by the census listing their daughter Mahulda as being born in Missouri.
By 1857 William and his son Jacob, as well as many of the members of the Black Family, began to buy land on or around the Brushy Creek near present day Black and Lesterville, MO. These are verified by BMO land grant documents signed by James Buchanan, the President at that time.
By 1860 we know that William in farming full time on the Brushy Creek and that he has been elected one of the Reynolds County Judges as well as supervising the construction of the first county jail in 1860 as witnessed by James Bell’s book on the early history of Reynolds County.
As witnessed by Civil Servant data, we know that William Reese served at the Postmaster for the “Reese Hill, MO” post office, in 1863.
The Civil War years were tumultuous in Reynolds County, and historical data is sparse due to multiple burnings of the Reynolds County Courthouse in Centreville, MO.
There is documentation of a court judgment of William Reese’s land in 1869 and the land descriptors list the land as those match his BMO land records. It lists him passing on December 31, 1868 in Reynolds County.
William Reese was born about 1808 in Tennessee, as witnessed by census records from 1840 and 1850 listing his age and birthplace as Tennessee.
We was most likely born in Greene County Tennessee, which borders on what was, at that time, the Old Cherokee Nation.
Wills and Probate information from Tennessee show a preponderance of evidence that William was the son of John Adams Reese and Mary Ottinger-Reese. One thing is certain, this William Reese is NOT the son of Charles Tasker Reese, who is the Cherokee half-blood William “We Le” Reese, who was born in the Cherokee Nation, rode for the Cherokee Rifle Mount in the Civil War and died in an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma in 1869, having been married to a woman who was not Rebecca Reese. This is witnessed by the work of Parker Sams in his book “Fighting Charles Reese”, as well as genealogy records for We Le Reese.
We know sometime before the birth of his first son Jacob, that he took as his wife Rebecca Black and that by 1831 they were in Vigo County Indiana, near Terre Haute.
Throughout the 15 years of my researching William, one thing does seem fairly clear; wherever the Black Family went, William went as well. It is also interesting that they left in advance of the Cherokee “Trail of Tears” and that the Blacks’ ended up settling in Reynolds County about 10 Miles from the Hildebrand Route of the Trail of Tears, which moved the Cherokee out of Tennessee and Georgia into Oklahoma.
By 1832 they were in Crawford / Clark County Illinois (they were once the same county), in Marshall Illinois. We know this by Crawford County history books showing William Reese fighting in the Blackhawk Indian wars in 1832 for a regiment from Crawford.
Many say they were married in Marshall in 1829 and that a transcription error lists the Groom as “William Redden” I doubt this story as I have personally seen the original in the Clark County courthouse and it is clearly listed as William Redden, it is not blurred or illegible, it is very clear. The confusion may exist because there was more than one Rebecca Black in Clark County.
They continued to have family until sometime between 1845 and 1849 as witnessed by the census listing their daughter Mahulda as being born in Missouri.
By 1857 William and his son Jacob, as well as many of the members of the Black Family, began to buy land on or around the Brushy Creek near present day Black and Lesterville, MO. These are verified by BMO land grant documents signed by James Buchanan, the President at that time.
By 1860 we know that William in farming full time on the Brushy Creek and that he has been elected one of the Reynolds County Judges as well as supervising the construction of the first county jail in 1860 as witnessed by James Bell’s book on the early history of Reynolds County.
As witnessed by Civil Servant data, we know that William Reese served at the Postmaster for the “Reese Hill, MO” post office, in 1863.
The Civil War years were tumultuous in Reynolds County, and historical data is sparse due to multiple burnings of the Reynolds County Courthouse in Centreville, MO.
There is documentation of a court judgment of William Reese’s land in 1869 and the land descriptors list the land as those match his BMO land records. It lists him passing on December 31, 1868 in Reynolds County.
I have researched William Reese for about 15 years, I know he is pivotal in a lot of folks genealogical research so I offer this to help! :)
William Reese was born about 1808 in Tennessee, as witnessed by census records from 1840 and 1850 listing his age and birthplace as Tennessee.
We was most likely born in Greene County Tennessee, which borders on what was, at that time, the Old Cherokee Nation.
Wills and Probate information from Tennessee show a preponderance of evidence that William was the son of John Adams Reese and Mary Ottinger-Reese. One thing is certain, this William Reese is NOT the son of Charles Tasker Reese, who is the Cherokee half-blood William “We Le” Reese, who was born in the Cherokee Nation, rode for the Cherokee Rifle Mount in the Civil War and died in an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma in 1869, having been married to a woman who was not Rebecca Reese. This is witnessed by the work of Parker Sams in his book “Fighting Charles Reese”, as well as genealogy records for We Le Reese.
We know sometime before the birth of his first son Jacob, that he took as his wife Rebecca Black and that by 1831 they were in Vigo County Indiana, near Terre Haute.
Throughout the 15 years of my researching William, one thing does seem fairly clear; wherever the Black Family went, William went as well. It is also interesting that they left in advance of the Cherokee “Trail of Tears” and that the Blacks’ ended up settling in Reynolds County about 10 Miles from the Hildebrand Route of the Trail of Tears, which moved the Cherokee out of Tennessee and Georgia into Oklahoma.
By 1832 they were in Crawford / Clark County Illinois (they were once the same county), in Marshall Illinois. We know this by Crawford County history books showing William Reese fighting in the Blackhawk Indian wars in 1832 for a regiment from Crawford.
Many say they were married in Marshall in 1829 and that a transcription error lists the Groom as “William Redden” I doubt this story as I have personally seen the original in the Clark County courthouse and it is clearly listed as William Redden, it is not blurred or illegible, it is very clear. The confusion may exist because there was more than one Rebecca Black in Clark County.
They continued to have family until sometime between 1845 and 1849 as witnessed by the census listing their daughter Mahulda as being born in Missouri.
By 1857 William and his son Jacob, as well as many of the members of the Black Family, began to buy land on or around the Brushy Creek near present day Black and Lesterville, MO. These are verified by BMO land grant documents signed by James Buchanan, the President at that time.
By 1860 we know that William in farming full time on the Brushy Creek and that he has been elected one of the Reynolds County Judges as well as supervising the construction of the first county jail in 1860 as witnessed by James Bell’s book on the early history of Reynolds County.
As witnessed by Civil Servant data, we know that William Reese served at the Postmaster for the “Reese Hill, MO” post office, in 1863.
The Civil War years were tumultuous in Reynolds County, and historical data is sparse due to multiple burnings of the Reynolds County Courthouse in Centreville, MO.
There is documentation of a court judgment of William Reese’s land in 1869 and the land descriptors list the land as those match his BMO land records. It lists him passing on December 31, 1868 in Reynolds County.
William Reese was born about 1808 in Tennessee, as witnessed by census records from 1840 and 1850 listing his age and birthplace as Tennessee.
We was most likely born in Greene County Tennessee, which borders on what was, at that time, the Old Cherokee Nation.
Wills and Probate information from Tennessee show a preponderance of evidence that William was the son of John Adams Reese and Mary Ottinger-Reese. One thing is certain, this William Reese is NOT the son of Charles Tasker Reese, who is the Cherokee half-blood William “We Le” Reese, who was born in the Cherokee Nation, rode for the Cherokee Rifle Mount in the Civil War and died in an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma in 1869, having been married to a woman who was not Rebecca Reese. This is witnessed by the work of Parker Sams in his book “Fighting Charles Reese”, as well as genealogy records for We Le Reese.
We know sometime before the birth of his first son Jacob, that he took as his wife Rebecca Black and that by 1831 they were in Vigo County Indiana, near Terre Haute.
Throughout the 15 years of my researching William, one thing does seem fairly clear; wherever the Black Family went, William went as well. It is also interesting that they left in advance of the Cherokee “Trail of Tears” and that the Blacks’ ended up settling in Reynolds County about 10 Miles from the Hildebrand Route of the Trail of Tears, which moved the Cherokee out of Tennessee and Georgia into Oklahoma.
By 1832 they were in Crawford / Clark County Illinois (they were once the same county), in Marshall Illinois. We know this by Crawford County history books showing William Reese fighting in the Blackhawk Indian wars in 1832 for a regiment from Crawford.
Many say they were married in Marshall in 1829 and that a transcription error lists the Groom as “William Redden” I doubt this story as I have personally seen the original in the Clark County courthouse and it is clearly listed as William Redden, it is not blurred or illegible, it is very clear. The confusion may exist because there was more than one Rebecca Black in Clark County.
They continued to have family until sometime between 1845 and 1849 as witnessed by the census listing their daughter Mahulda as being born in Missouri.
By 1857 William and his son Jacob, as well as many of the members of the Black Family, began to buy land on or around the Brushy Creek near present day Black and Lesterville, MO. These are verified by BMO land grant documents signed by James Buchanan, the President at that time.
By 1860 we know that William in farming full time on the Brushy Creek and that he has been elected one of the Reynolds County Judges as well as supervising the construction of the first county jail in 1860 as witnessed by James Bell’s book on the early history of Reynolds County.
As witnessed by Civil Servant data, we know that William Reese served at the Postmaster for the “Reese Hill, MO” post office, in 1863.
The Civil War years were tumultuous in Reynolds County, and historical data is sparse due to multiple burnings of the Reynolds County Courthouse in Centreville, MO.
There is documentation of a court judgment of William Reese’s land in 1869 and the land descriptors list the land as those match his BMO land records. It lists him passing on December 31, 1868 in Reynolds County.
Gravesite Details
Headstones now illegible, but next to Rebecca
Family Members
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