Found Friday - The Family Reese

Until the scavenging improves, I will run a particularly fine “found” photograph from over in LOST GALLERY on each Found Friday. Just to fill in the gaps.

On Reverse:
Top
Joseph Reese civil war
Seneca Reese Athens Georgia
Jesse E. Reese Pana Ill - Georgia
Bottom
Egvert Reese Chicago
L. D. Reese Crestor Ill
William Reese (half brother) Proffessor Kansas
Reunion held at Jesse E. Reese home
1912 Pana, Ill.

So we have a family reunion held at the Jesse E. Reese home in 1912. It was in Pana, Illinois. The six men are all identified with first and last names and/or initials. Five of them have a location added. One is designated as a “Half-Brother” who is a “Professor” from Kansas. One, Joseph, is followed by “Civil War” but no location is given.

One would think that with all this information, that their family connection would be easily verifiable and clear.

Not so.

After two days of intense examination I have proven only that Seneca and Jesse E. are brothers.

William Sherman Reese (half-brother) is the son of one Abram (Abraham) Reese and second wife Elizabeth. Abram and his first wife Katie had ten children all of whom would call William Sherman a “half-brother” and NONE of whom are in this picture. The identification on the reverse was probably done by one of William Sherman’s half-siblings.

And that’s it. Although I fashioned trees for at least two generations of each of the names on the reverse of this portrait, I could not find any connections other than the two mentioned above.

I did conclude that nearly EVERYONE in Illinois and Pennsylvania must have been named Reese around that time. There are lots of them.

20121025 update:
The 1900 Census documents that Egbert C. and Hulda Case were married in 1868.

The 1870 Census lists an Egbert C. age 28, with a Jesse age 16 and a Seneca age 19 as living with head of household Almira (could be Alinra or Alinsa) in Plain, Franklin, Ohio. Egbert C. is listed as a School Teacher. So the age for Egbert C. is right, the location is about right and two other family names are close.

The older woman’s name could, with a stretch, be Elinza or Elingra as listed in other places. The age is right for Elinza. Also her husband Thomas Reese, is shown in a couple places to have died in 1863.

This would make Egbert possibly a brother to Seneca and Jesse. The 1870 census is the only evidence of this so far.

And the question remains where is Hulda (Hilda) Case, Egbert’s wife of two years?