My Genealogy Hound

George Reeves, one of the substantial and representative farmers of Oakland County, Michigan, resides on his well cultivated estate of 200 acres, located in section 22, Pontiac township. Mr. Reeves was born June 3, 1823, in Palmyra, Wayne County, New York, and is a son of Stephen and Mary (White) Reeves, and a grandson of James Reeves, who was born in England, and reared these children to maturity: Lyman, Stephen, James, Fannie, Amanda and Sarah.

Stephen Reeves was not only an early settler in Oakland County, but he was also one of the most prominent and efficient men of his time. He was born in Wayne County, New York, and was reared there to a farmer’s life, and it was in the hope of bettering his condition that he started for the wilds of Michigan when the Territory was opened for settlement. With two companions, Stephen Reeves walked the whole distance from his home in Wayne County to Oakland County, and here he secured 160 acres of land at $1.25 per acre, securing a government title. When he brought his wife and babe, our subject, to this place in the following year, it was still covered with its natural growth of timber, all of which he cleared off by his own industry. The first pioneer home was a log house, 18 by 20 feet in dimensions, which he erected and which sheltered the family for about 14 years, when he constructed a part of the present comfortable frame building. Those days were often filled with much hardship, for within a radius of 10 miles there were no neighbors except at the little settlement which was the nucleus of the present city of Pontiac. There were no roads, no mills, no churches nor schools, and the Indians were still a menace to the courageous white settlers, even Chief Pontiac himself frequently visiting the neighborhood. In a community of this kind, a man of the sterling character of Stephen Reeves was welcomed and upon him were laid the burdens of judicial life and he was called upon to serve in almost every local office, his capacity being recognized along with his integrity. For a long period he adjusted the differences among his neighbors as a justice of the peace, and for 14 years he served as judge of Probate, under appointment of the late venerable Lewis Cass, at that time Governor of Michigan. His life closed in 1873 after 75 useful years. In his youth he served in the Revolutionary War as a lieutenant. He was a stanch Democrat and upheld the principles of that party until the close of his life. The present Presbyterian Church of Pontiac owed much to his early interest in religious affairs.

The mother of our subject was Mary White, who was born on Long Island, New York, and was a daughter of Captain White, a whaler and deep-sea sailor. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Reeves, as follows: George; Caroline and Jane, who both married Galloways, brothers; Mrs. Amanda Fisher, a widow, living at Pontiac; Mrs. Mary Galloway, whose husband was a relative of the Galloway brothers named above; Maria, who died single; and Mehitable, who resides with our subject.

In early manhood George Reeves married Helen Phelps, who was born April 7, 1828, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and is a daughter of L. Nathan and Clarissa (Colt) Phelps, whom she accompanied to Michigan when she was six years old. Five children have been born to this marriage, the three survivors being: Stephen, the present supervisor of Pontiac township, living on a farm adjoining that of his father, who married Susie Colby and they have one child, Clara; Fred, living with his father, who married Clara Hauxwell and they have seven children, — Howard, Maurice, Byron, Harry, Helen, Bernice and Myron; and Frank, residing in Pontiac, who married Carrie Ensign and they have one child, Edwin. George and Clara, the oldest and youngest children of our subject, are deceased.

Mr. Reeves, like his esteemed father, has always been a Democrat, and also like his parent has been proffered almost all of the township offices. His tastes, however, have not led in the direction of public life and he has declined to accept positions, consenting only to serve as highway commissioner and as school inspector. He has always been an attendant of the Presbyterian Church and has been a liberal supporter of it. Since his 21st year he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity and has attained to the Royal Arch degree. A long and fruitful life of more than 80 years stretches backward for Mr. Reeves and he has been a witness of the wonderful developments which have taken place in this section of Michigan. His years of active labor are over and he is now surrounded by all that makes life dear, — affectionate friends, devoted descendants, ample means and a wide circle of estimable fellow citizens who hold him in the highest regard.