The earliest traces of my Reese family are found in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The county was named after Christopher Columbus. To this day, much of Columbia County consists of farmlands and game lands. Ten of the county's mountains stand over 1,500 feet above sea level. [Source: Wikipedia].
Columbia County was formed in 1813. Prior to that, it was part of Northumberland County. According to the 1800 census, there were three Reese households in Northumberland County, in the town of "Mohonoy", as follows:
Two of the households were all females. A Mrs. Reese between the age of 16 and 25 who lived with two other women in the same age bracket, and another Mrs. Reese age 16-25 who lived alone with a young girl under age 9. The only male Reeses in the county in 1800 appear to have been in the home of Daniel Reese who was older than 45 years old, making him born before 1755. Living in the home with him was another man over age 45, a boy age 10-15, a woman age 16-25, and a young girl age 10-15.
Daniel Rees appears to have came from Philadelphia. See information about his 1774 land surveys here.
According to History of Columbia and Montour Counties, the region of Hemlock was referred to as Wyoming Township, Northumberland County. It was later called Mahoning Township until 1801 when Hemlock was created. Vaniah Rees built the first “house” in Hemlock in 1820. It was a hotel serving travelers on the stage line from Bloom (Bloomsburg) to Muncy. Vaniah laid out the town, built another house on the opposite end of the village and opened a store, the village's first, in 1836. He also built twelve or more other houses. Vaniah Reese is listed on the census in Hemlock in 1850. He was 57 and lived with Anna, age 53, Hiram, age 22, and “Marg” (or Mary), age 17. His property was valued at $20,000. In the same town lived Cyrus B. Reese, age 26, with his wife, Christiana, age 22, his sons Vaniah, age 2, and Theodore, age 5 months. Cyrus may have been a son of Vaniah & Anna Reese. Was Vaniah a son of Daniel?
Historical and biographical annals of Columbia and Montour counties, Pennsylvania, containing a concise history of the two counties and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, states the following on page 227:
"In 1840 a number of Welsh immigrants came to Locust township and bought farms, among them being the Watkins, Evans, Humpreys, Reese and Jones families."
Vania Reese died on March 9, 1860, in Hemlock. He was about 65 years old (born abt. 1795).
My ancestor, George Reese (born 1750), was living in Hemlock in 1810. It seems likely that he was related to Daniel and/or Vaniah. See my previous blog, The first Reese arrivals in Eastern Pennsylvania. Please comment below if you have information about this Reese family!
Sources:
History of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Edited by J.H. Battle. Published by A. Warner & Co., 1887. See also Historical and biographical annals of Columbia and Montour counties, Pennsylvania, containing a concise history of the two counties and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, Vol 1, 1915 by J. H. Beers & co., p. 227, 240.
Historical and biographical annals of Columbia and Montour counties, Pennsylvania, containing a concise history of the two counties and a genealogical and biographical record of representative families, 1915, by J.H. Beers & Co., p. 227.