John Rees
1770?-1804
John Rees is the earliest Rees ancestor that I've been able to document. John Rees is my fourth great grandfather. Just recently I found his will and it confirmed stories that were told to me by two cousins, Aileen Smith Craig and Elmyr Kimbrough Reese Tompkins. I started my family research in my late twenties (long before the internet put information at my fingertips) and relied heavily on information given to me by family members.
John Rees married Judith/Judah Palmer. I have not been able to find their marriage record, but she is named in his will and in her father Elles Palmer's will as Judah Rees. John and Judah Rees had four children:
1) Thomas Rees
2) Sally Rees m. David Coleman
3) James Rees m. Rebecca Mathews Smith
4) Herrod Rees m. Harriet B. Daniel
John Rees died in 1804 in Edgefield County, SC. His will was recorded and Judah/Judy was named the executrix along with her brother Elijah Palmer.
I found two deed abstracts from Edgefield County, SC which confirms the names of family members. In 1805 Judy Rees, executrix of John Rees's will sold 120 acres to Eaton Rees. (Deed Book 26, Edgefield Co, SC, p. 428) In 1812, Eaton Rees sold 130 acres of land to William Durham. In the deed Eaton states that the land originally belonged to his brother John Rees, deceased. Though I have not found John Rees's father, I did find a brother, Eaton. (Deed Book 36, Edgefield County, SC, p.213)
By 1820, Judah Rees is living in Putnam County, GA. There is no record of when and where she died.
Judith Palmer was the daughter of Ellis/Elles Palmer and Ann Rudd. Ellis Palmer was born in 1725 in Northumberland County, VA. and baptized in the Wicomico Parish Church. Ellis Palmer was in the 9th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The unit was adopted into the Continental Army on May 31, 1776. He later left the 9th Virginia regiment and joined the 10th Virginia Regiment. Ellis Palmer was in Weedon's Brigade, 5th Division. He was at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania under the leadership of George Washington 1777-1778. Later his brigade was in the battle of Charleston, SC in 1780 and was captured by the British Army. After the Revolutionary War, he moved his family to South Carolina. Ellis Palmer and Ann Rudd had at least twelve children (those named in his will).
1) Thomas Palmer
2) John Palmer
3) Whitty Palmer married __________ Canada
4) Rhoda Palmer m. _____________Porter
5) Hocky Palmer
6) Elijah Palmer
7) Elisha Palmer
8) Gideon Palmer
9) Judah Palmer m. John Rees
10) Sally Palmer
11) Russell Palmer
12) an unnamed daughter m. _____________ Limbecker
In Elles Palmer's will, he left one shilling sterling (about 20.00 in today's currency) to each child. He left his daughter Judah one bed, and furniture and an iron pot). But, in a codicil to his will, the furniture and pot given to Judah in the original would be sold and proceeds equally divided and given to his unmarried daughter Sally and grandchildren Thomas Rees and Jefee Limbecker.
The earliest Palmer ancestor that I have been able to document was Thomas Palmer, a Jamestown survivor. Thomas Palmer* was an English settler of colonial Virginia, arriving with his wife, Joan, eleven-year-old daughter Priscilla and servant Richard English on the Tyger in November 1621. The Palmers are listed as living at Jordan's Journey, which almost certainly saved their lives during the Indian Massacre of 1622. Thomas Palmer was one of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown on 16 October 16 1629, representing Shirley Hundred Island.
*“Early Palmers of Virginia.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 1, 1934, pp. 16–19., www.jstor.org/stable/1916374.
Virginia. General Assembly. House of Burgesses; McIlwaine, H. R. (Henry Read), 1864–1934, ed; Kennedy, John Pendleton, 1871- , ed; Virginia State Library)
1) Thomas Rees
2) Sally Rees m. David Coleman
3) James Rees m. Rebecca Mathews Smith
4) Herrod Rees m. Harriet B. Daniel
John Rees died in 1804 in Edgefield County, SC. His will was recorded and Judah/Judy was named the executrix along with her brother Elijah Palmer.
I found two deed abstracts from Edgefield County, SC which confirms the names of family members. In 1805 Judy Rees, executrix of John Rees's will sold 120 acres to Eaton Rees. (Deed Book 26, Edgefield Co, SC, p. 428) In 1812, Eaton Rees sold 130 acres of land to William Durham. In the deed Eaton states that the land originally belonged to his brother John Rees, deceased. Though I have not found John Rees's father, I did find a brother, Eaton. (Deed Book 36, Edgefield County, SC, p.213)
By 1820, Judah Rees is living in Putnam County, GA. There is no record of when and where she died.
Judith Palmer was the daughter of Ellis/Elles Palmer and Ann Rudd. Ellis Palmer was born in 1725 in Northumberland County, VA. and baptized in the Wicomico Parish Church. Ellis Palmer was in the 9th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The unit was adopted into the Continental Army on May 31, 1776. He later left the 9th Virginia regiment and joined the 10th Virginia Regiment. Ellis Palmer was in Weedon's Brigade, 5th Division. He was at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania under the leadership of George Washington 1777-1778. Later his brigade was in the battle of Charleston, SC in 1780 and was captured by the British Army. After the Revolutionary War, he moved his family to South Carolina. Ellis Palmer and Ann Rudd had at least twelve children (those named in his will).
1) Thomas Palmer
2) John Palmer
3) Whitty Palmer married __________ Canada
4) Rhoda Palmer m. _____________Porter
5) Hocky Palmer
6) Elijah Palmer
7) Elisha Palmer
8) Gideon Palmer
9) Judah Palmer m. John Rees
10) Sally Palmer
11) Russell Palmer
12) an unnamed daughter m. _____________ Limbecker
In Elles Palmer's will, he left one shilling sterling (about 20.00 in today's currency) to each child. He left his daughter Judah one bed, and furniture and an iron pot). But, in a codicil to his will, the furniture and pot given to Judah in the original would be sold and proceeds equally divided and given to his unmarried daughter Sally and grandchildren Thomas Rees and Jefee Limbecker.
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| Wicomico Parish Church Northumberland, VA |
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| Red Oak Baptist Church Edgefield County, SC |
The earliest Palmer ancestor that I have been able to document was Thomas Palmer, a Jamestown survivor. Thomas Palmer* was an English settler of colonial Virginia, arriving with his wife, Joan, eleven-year-old daughter Priscilla and servant Richard English on the Tyger in November 1621. The Palmers are listed as living at Jordan's Journey, which almost certainly saved their lives during the Indian Massacre of 1622. Thomas Palmer was one of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown on 16 October 16 1629, representing Shirley Hundred Island.
*“Early Palmers of Virginia.” The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 1, 1934, pp. 16–19., www.jstor.org/stable/1916374.
Virginia. General Assembly. House of Burgesses; McIlwaine, H. R. (Henry Read), 1864–1934, ed; Kennedy, John Pendleton, 1871- , ed; Virginia State Library)
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| The ruined tower of the 17th century Jamestown Church; the nave was reconstructed in 1907 on the original foundations |
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