Lydia Cleminson was born March 24, 1836 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Her father was John Cleminson and mother was Lydia Lightner. John was born in England.
John Cleminson, 52, was captain of a 17 wagon Mormon train that left Independence, Mo on July 11, 1851, and arrived in San Diego on July 8, 1852. The Cleminson family included his wife, Lydia Lightner Cleminson, 51, and six of their children, including their daughter Lydia, age 15.
After they arrived in San Diego, after more than a years long journey, Lydia was one of the first American citizens to be married in San Diego after California became a state.
Fifty years later, she remembers being married on April 15, 1852, to Samuel Reeves, a fellow wagon train traveler. This date may have been a Mormon ceremony because the August 3, 1852 Alta California newspaper reported that her civil marriage ceremony took place on July 11, 1852.
Soon after the marriage in San Diego, Lydia and Samuel, as well as her Cleminson family moved to the new Mormon settlement of San Bernardino. Her first child, Alice Ann, was born in San Bernardino on March 13, 1853. Her second child, Mary Jane, was born in 1855 in San Bernardino. Around 1856 Mormon headquarters in Utah called all the brethren to return to Utah. The Cleminsons and Reeves decided to stay in California, and soon left the newly deserted ghost town of San Bernardino to take up farming in El Monte.
Lydia and Samuel would have a total of seven girls and one boy.
* Information provided from Chris Beckwith
Lydia Cleminson Reeves Bio
Lydia Cleminson was born March 24, 1836 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Her father was John Cleminson and mother was Lydia Lightner. John was born in England.
John Cleminson, 52, was captain of a 17 wagon Mormon train that left Independence, Mo on July 11, 1851, and arrived in San Diego on July 8, 1852. The Cleminson family included his wife, Lydia Lightner Cleminson, 51, and six of their children, including their daughter Lydia, age 15.
After they arrived in San Diego, after more than a years long journey, Lydia was one of the first American citizens to be married in San Diego after California became a state.
Fifty years later, she remembers being married on April 15, 1852, to Samuel Reeves, a fellow wagon train traveler. This date may have been a Mormon ceremony because the August 3, 1852 Alta California newspaper reported that her civil marriage ceremony took place on July 11, 1852.
Soon after the marriage in San Diego, Lydia and Samuel, as well as her Cleminson family moved to the new Mormon settlement of San Bernardino. Her first child, Alice Ann, was born in San Bernardino on March 13, 1853. Her second child, Mary Jane, was born in 1855 in San Bernardino. Around 1856 Mormon headquarters in Utah called all the brethren to return to Utah. The Cleminsons and Reeves decided to stay in California, and soon left the newly deserted ghost town of San Bernardino to take up farming in El Monte.
Lydia and Samuel would have a total of seven girls and one boy.
* Information provided from Chris Beckwith
Lydia Cleminson Reeves Bio
Family Members
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Alice Ann Reeves Gwinn
1853–1890
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Mary Jane Reeves Dougherty
1855–1956
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Ella Victoria Reeves Lord
1857–1897
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Lucetta Florence Reeves McDannald
1859–1931
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William Augustus Reeves
1862–1933
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Lydia Minneta "Minnie" Reeves Snodgrass
1867–1941
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Lillian Rosabelle Reeves
1871–1957
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Ina Dell Reeves Lewis
1875–1964
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