Reeves Family

(this data is NOT entirely documented but is the best summation of the information we currently have)

My great grandmother was Ellen Elizabeth Reeves. Her story is tragic in our family history. Ellen was born 14 April 1856 in Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, England. She died 5 June 1895, Islington, London, England (age 37) of an infected tooth, when my grandfather was barely 7 mos. old. Her death left my great grandfather a widower with 7 children (one twin had died at the age of 10 months) at the age of 43. Within 10 years, the family dwindled from 10 to 5 members as other tragic deaths took a toll...

A certified copy of Ellen's and William's marriage certificate reports:
William James Dewhurst (iron worker) m. Ellen Elizabeth Reeves (spinster) 25 December 1874, Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Hoxton, Middlesex, London. WJD's address was 35 Robert Pl.(?-illegible); his father's name is William Henry Dewhurst (alternately shown in various records to have been a Police Constable to the Metropolitan Police Force, a water colour artist and a print colourer). EER's address was 5 Brittannia Gardens; her father's name, John Reeves (Baker), she is listed as a minor. The witnesses names are Henry Stephens and Charlotte ?Gollis?

Grama said Ellen was Irish-from-Ulster, but her birth certificate places her birth in Bethnal Green and her father was also b. in London, according to census records in 1851 and 1861. Susannah Daniels nee Green, Ellen's mother, was born in Shoreditch, Hackney, Middlesex. There are census records from 1841 that show a John of the right age; one with a father named John (labourer), mother named Mary and younger brother Frederick, the other with father James (shoemaker), mother Charlotte, brother Thomas and sisters, Ann and Charlotte, living in Finsbury, but there is no proof yet that either are the right family. Another 1841 record lists father John, mother Caroline, son James and daughter Elizabeth living at Brittania Cotttages ~ interesting as John named his youngest daughter Caroline and Ellen listed her residence as Brittania Gardens when she married - could John have had two marriages? Curiously all the 1841 Reeves were b. "out of county," so research continues to try to prove any Irish connection. Or perhaps and Irish connection may be explained by a quote from Irish Genealogy Online; "In the year 1890, there were no births recorded of the name Reeves in Ireland. Any Reeves families that were in Ireland at the time were likely to be of English origin." Since Ulster is the Protestant portion of Ireland and Ellen was known to be Catholic, confusion continues.

In the Summer of 2000, we finally got Ellen's birth certificate. Information on her birth certificate led us to finding her family group in Census records 1851 - 1881 Census. As a result of lots of time and collaborated research, my cousin Nancy, and I are able now to show the beginnings of Ellen's genealogy.

[1] The Christening records for the children lists parents, Thomas and Jane, living on Holywell Lane in Shoreditch. His parents are possibly Thomas Reeve and Catharine, but need to work on it.

NAME	BIRTH	LOCATION	DEATH	LOCATION	MARRIAGE	LOCATION	SPOUSE
John Reeve Sr. [1]	Chr. 23 January 1792	Chr. St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England			18 August 1805	St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England	Elisabeth Pryke
William Reeve	b. 25 May 1806 Chr. 28 September 1806	b. Charles St., Hackney, Middlesex, England Chr. St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England
James Reeve	b. 16 January 1809 Chr. 7 May 1809	b. Charles St., Hackney, Middlesex, England Chr. St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England
John Reeve/s Jr.	b. 28 February 1812 Chr. 18 October 1814	b. Shoreditch, Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, London, England Chr. St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England	betw. 1861-1862	London	3 November 1850	Saint Andrew, Bethnal Green, London, England	Susan (Susannah) (nee Daniels) Green
Maria Reeve	b. 10 January 1817 Chr. 7 April 1817	b. New Inn Yard, Middlesex, London, England Chr. St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England
George Reeve	b. 25 December 1819 Chr. 4 March 1821	b. New Inn Yard, Middlesex, London, England Chr. St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England

[1] The marriage record is in the Crisp's Marriage License Index, 1713-1892. All the children were Christened in the same Parish that John and Susan Christened their children and I do not find another John in this time frame. While I do not have absolute proof this is the correct couple, all the birth records for these children list John Sr living on either Charles St. then at New Inn Yard as a "Matrap Maker" except the last record which says "Mat Maker;" showing they are a family group.

NAME	BIRTH	LOCATION	DEATH	LOCATION	MARRIAGE	LOCATION	SPOUSE
John Reeve/s Jr. [1]	b. 28 February 1812 Chr. 18 October 1814	b. Shoreditch, Tower Hamlets, Middlesex, London, England Chr. St. Leonard Shoreditch, London, England	betw. 1861-1862	London	3 November 1850	Saint Andrew, Bethnal Green, London, England	Susan (Susannah) (nee Daniels) Green
Charles James Green Reeves [2]	2nd Q 1846	b. Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, England Chr: St. Leonard's, Shoreditch, London, England
Susannah Reeves [3]	2 September 1849	b. Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, Chr: St. Andrew By The Wardrobe, London, London, England	?	?
John Reeves [4]	1st Q 1853	Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, England	3rd Q 1853	Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, England
Ellen Elizabeth Reed (sic) Reeves	b. 14 April 1856 Chr. 11 May 1856	b. Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, England Chr. St. Matthias, Bethnel Green , MIddlesex, England	5 June 1895	Islington, London, England	25 December 1874	St. John the Baptist, Shoreditch, Middlesex, London, England	William James Dewhurst
Susan Reeves	b. abt. 1860	Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, England	?	?
Caroline Reeves [5]	abt. 1862	Bethnal Green, Middlesex, London, England

[1] A marriage record for John Reeve and Susan Green shows Susan as a Widow. John Reeve, Upholsterer is father of John Jr. and James Daniels, Tilemaker, is father of Susan. Both men are shown living on Coventry St., Bethnal Green, however, the census puts the Daniels family on Little Collingswood, adjacent to where John and Susannah settle. A look at the map shows that Coventry and Little Collingswood are only one block away from each other. On Ellen's Christening record, John is listed as a Gingerbread Maker and the family lives at 7 Little Collingswood Street..John shows up in various records as a Matrap (sic) Maker and an Upholsterer. Death at 52 puts his birth between 1816 and 1817... John Reeves last shows up in the 1861 census, thus must have died between 1861-1871, since the 1871 census shows Susan as a widow with her youngest child Caroline, age 9 (thus conceived abt. 1861).

UPDATE 2005: 1871 census indeed shows Susan Reeve, widow, and all the children except daughter, Susannah, living at 7 Alfred Row, Bethnal Green. The 3rd Quarter 1869 includes a listing for the death of a John Reeves, 52 years old, in Bethnal Green., which is off slightly, but not by much.

[2] (from Nancy, Spring 2002) Susan was a widow when she married John Reeves. In 3rd Quarter 1845, Susan(nah) Daniels and Charles James Green married; 2nd Quarter 1846, this couple gave birth to Charles James Green, Jr.

[3] (from Nancy, Spring 2002) 3rd Quarter 1848, Susan(nah) Daniels and Charles James Green may have conceived Susan before Charles, Sr. death. If Susan Jr. was conceived with Charles, there is a Susan Green born in Marylebone in 3rd Quarter 1849 who could be this child... otherwise we will have to see how far in the 3rd Quarter Charles Sr. died. If Susan Jr is the child of Susan and John Reeves, there is a Susan Reeves born in Bethnal Green (where she is supposed to have been born) in 4th Quarter 1849. However, it was not until 3 Nov. 1850, that Susan Green nee Daniels marries John Reeve. In 1851, Susan is listed as age 1. In 1861, the family reports another child named Susan, but only 11 mos. old; suggesting the first Susan died early. By 1871, no Susan is listed as living with the family. There is a Susan in the right age range working as a servant in Kensington, but this is not proved.

[4] According to the GRO; John Reeves Jr.'s birth was REEVE, John, b.reg - 1q1853; vol 1c page 286 with a mother's maiden name of DANIELS, in Bethnal Green. Sadly there is also a death record shortly afterwards: REEVE, John; d.reg. 3q1853; vol 1c page 191.

[5] Caroline shows up in the 1871 census, age 9. In 1881, there is an unmarried Caroline with a 5 mos. old son, but no proof she belongs to us. In 1891, another Caroline shows up alone working as a chambermaid - again no proof so far she is ours.

The Reeve/s Family