RHEA-L Archives

From: PHHGENE <>
Subject: 1st Part Robert and Sarah Bingham Rhea
Date: Tue, 23 Dec 1997 00:05:38 EST

Robert Reah, Reagh, Reaugh

Robert was a carpenter and joiner. He and Sarah apparently left Augusta county
after selling their land in 1758. The defeat of General Edward Braddock by the
French on July 9, 1755 prompted many to leave the county for safer areas to
the south. Two months later, Rev. Hugh McAden, while traveling through North
Carolina, wrote that he "came up with a large company of men, women and
children, who had fled for their lives from the Cow or Calf Pasture in
Virginia. Rev. Alexander Craighead and many from his congregation at Windy
Cove emigrated to Anson (later Mecklenburg) County, North Carolina to escape
the dangers of frequent Indian incursions resulting from Braddock's defeat.
Though not members of that congregation, it is suspected that Robert and Sarah
joined the exodus.

The National Archives has pension application papers for a Robert Rhea who
fought in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. He testified that he
was born in Mecklenburg (then Anson) County, North Carolina in April, 1763;
after five years moved to within ninety miles of Charleston, South Carolina;
and seven years later to Montgomery County, Virginia. There, in 1774, Robert,
his father, was issued a hemp certificate. In 1775-1776, the father and a
brother, "Arch'd Rheah," purchased land on Cripple Creek. Although owning land
in Montgomery County, the elder Robert was living in Washington County,
Virginia when he died in 1779. The inventory of his estate included carpentry
and silversmith tools.

There is evidence, albeit not proven, that Sarah was the daughter of John and
Sarah Bingham who purchased Beverly Manor land in 1749. Robert and Sarah's
daughter, Elizabeth, named a daughter Sarah Bingham. Besides Elizabeth, they
had at least five other children, Robert, Ann, John, Isabella and Archibald.

1. Robert Rhea, Jr., according to the pension papers, married Mary Stephens
on January 25, 1787. They moved to Knox County, Tennessee about 1791, then
after several years to Blount County, Tennessee. They were living in Monroe
County when he filed for a pension, but were living in Blount County again
when he died on February 18, 1850. Mary died there on February 9, 1857. Court
records indicate that all but one of her children had left, a retarded son who
was living with James C. Wright, the administrator of her estate. Another son,
Louis L. Rhea, 1797-1861, married Martha Halloway, 1807-1880, in 1824. The
author believes that another son was named Jehu Stephens Rhea. From about 1816
to 1841, he lived in Preble County, Ohio where Robert Rhea, a grandson of
William was living. A Col. Jehu Stephens was a neighbor to the Rheas on
Cripple Creek in Montgomery County, now Wythe. It is logical to assume that
Robert married the daughter of his neighbor, there being no other Stephens in
the area, and anamed a son in honor of her father. That Jehu Stephens Rhea and
Robert Rhea lived in adjacent townships in Preble County suggests a kinship.
Also, Robert's son James, named a son Jehu. Jehu Stephens Rhea was born in
Knox County, Tennessee, where Robert and Mary had lived from about 1791 to
1795. He died intestate in Ohio in 1841. His wife was Elizabeth Smith. Their
children were, Hannah Rhea, October 18, 1811-April 13, 1863, married David
Dillman on August 9, 1833; Robert K. Rhea (Kirkman from his mother's side),
February 3, 1813-November 18, 1901, married first, Nancy Lewellen, on August
8, 1833, second, Sarah E. Rhinehart, January 21, 1821-December 4, 1922, on
September 3, 1840, Mary Rhea, 1816-about 1850, married Robert Smith on
February 11, 1836, nancy Rhea, 1818-?, married Samuel Smith, August 23, 1838,
Archibald Rhea, June, 1822-??, married Harriet Parks on April 3, 1851, Smith
Rhea, 1823-?, married Amanda Jane Shook, September 4, 1845, Elizabeth Rhea,
1825-aft 1841, married James Smith, December 1, 1844; Alice/Alcey Rhea,
1826-aft 1860, married Obed Rinehart, on September 5, 1841; and Jane Rhea,
1828-?, married Martin Swisher on March 21, 1852. Mary and Nancy moved to
Adams County , Indianaa, as did Elizabeth, Archibald and Smith Rhea went to
Grant County, and Robert K. to Cass County, Indiana.

Any discussion, or any new findings?

Pat

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• 1st Part Robert and Sarah Bingham Rhea by PHHGENE <>