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From: <>
Subject: [RHEA-L] Re: P. V. Rhea (1821-1901 TN/TX) & P. V. Rhea (1803-1864 TN/AR)
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 01:21:27 EST

<< There is a family rumor that PV was John's son by an adulterous affair with
a
woman whom the sent away, after buying her a mill in Arkansas, on the
stipulation
that she leave the baby with sally, who would claim it as her own. No one
knows
if this is true, but is is noticeable that Pleasent V. was left less property
the
the other children at his parents death. >>

The problem here is that there are two individuals who have the same name,
both apparently came from Lincoln County, TN. Some people assume that they are
the same man. I believe that they are 2 different men. It gets very difficult
to keep it straight when discussing them because of the same names. The only
way I have found to keep them straight is to use their birth and death dates
as well as their spouses and death place. This gets a little cumbersome and
confusing. I hope this makes sense.

Pleasant Vincent Rhea referred to in the last Rhea digest was born 1821
probably in Lincoln or Bedford Co., Tennessee, married Mary Elizabeth
Fannin(g) 1845 in Bedford County, TN, moved to Hood County, TX in 1855. Many
people moved from Bedford and Lincoln Co., TN to Hood Co., TX at the same
time.

Pleasant Vincent Rhea, son of John and Sally Rhea of Lincoln County, TN,
married Fannie White, moved to Washington Co., AR, died there in 1864, buried
Old Burial Ground across from Rhea Cemetery,( P. V. Rhea 1803-1864.) He was a
prominent citizen of that area as well as the first mayor of Fayetteville,
Washington Co, AR. Many people moved at the same time from Lincoln Co., TN to
Washington Co., AR.

There is no evidence to support the supposition that P. V. (1821-1901 of Hood
County, TX) may have been the illegitimate son of John Rhea with that being
the explanation why so little was left to Pleasant V. Rhea in John and Sally
Rhea's wills. There could be several reasons for his being left so little, the
most usual being that they had already given him his share when he married and
moved out on his own or when he left for Arkansas. This happened frequently.

There is a mill in Arkansas named Rheas Mill, this was named after this
family, it is mentioned in Goodspeed's history quoted below. I have
corresponded with several descendants of this branch of the family and they
all were told by older family members that their P. V. (1803-1864, AR) was the
son of John and Sally Rhea of Lincoln County, TN.

>From Goodspeed's 1889 History of Washington County/pg. 1009-1010:
Pleasant V. Rhea (deceased), one of the early settlers of this county, was
born in Lincoln County, Tenn., grew to manhood there, and there married Miss
Fannie B. White. They moved to Washington County, Arkansas in 1830 and here
Mr. Rhea followed the occupation of a blacksmith, and also taught school,
taking his pay in corn, pumpkins, etc. His family consisted of seven
children, three sons and four daughters. He was a member of the Baptist
Church and died at the age of 61 years. The mother is also a member of the
same church, and is now living at the advanced age of 88 years. Their eldest
son, William H., was born in Lincoln Co., TN in 1825, and came with his
parents to Washington County, Ark., where he learned the blacksmith trade. At
the age of 24 he opened a little grocery in Maysville, Benton Co., Ark, and
after running that a short time he came to Cincinnati, and bought a stock of
goods. Being a shrewd business man he gradually arose until at the time of
his death, he owned three stores, a mill and several farms, amounting in all
to about $75,000. He was a public-spirited man, and was ever ready to
contribute to worthy enterprises. He was a Democrat in his political
views, and a member of the Masonic fraternity. He married Miss Elizabeth C.
Powell, daughter of Dr. Samuel Powell, and a native of East Tennessee. This
union resulted in the birth of eight children, four sons and four daughters.
He died in 1884, but she is still living. Their fifth child, Robert J., is
one of the most extensive merchants of Cincinnati. He was born at Rhea's
Mills October 15, 1862, and was reared chiefly in the store. He had good
educational advantages and at the age of 14 he commenced clerking in his
father's store, and has handled goods ever since that time. After the death
of his father he purchased his present store, and has the largest stock of
goods in the county outside Fayetteville. In 1886 he married Miss Myrtie,
daughter of Charles McClellan, and a native of Washington County, Arkansas,
born NOvember 5, 1868. To this union one son, William H., has been born. Mr.
Rhea is devoted to his business and is accounted a wide-awake business man.
He is a Democrat in politics, is a member of the I.O.O.F., and his wife is a
member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

The following is from "Bulletin Series" Washington County Historical Society,
Fayetteville, Ar. Bulletin #3 titled "Thirty Years in Arkansaw" by Rev. J.H.
RHEA, 1896.

The Introductory reads:

"Thirty Years in Arkansaw" was originally one of a series of lectures given by
the Rev. J.H. Rhea in Iowa and Illinois in the old lyceum-chautaugua days. It
was published in book form in 1896 by the Republican Printing Co. of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. A copy of this rare volume was made available to the Washington
County Historical Society by Mr.<sic> J.H. McIlroy of Fayetteville, who is a
niece of the author.

The Rheas came to Washington County, Ark., in the fall of 1829, a year after
the organization of the county. The clan was headed by Pleasant V. RHEA, a
native of Lincoln Co., Tennessee, and his wife Fannie White Rhea. They were
the parents of three sons and four daughters. Their two eldest sons, Wm. H.
and John H., were born in Tennessee - W.H. in 1825 and J.H. in 1827. They were
brought to Arkansas by their parents in 1829. W.H. Rhea later achieved
prominence and wealth. He married Elizabeth C. Powell, daughter of Dr. Samuel
Powell. His brother, J.H., became a schoolteacher. He taught for a time in old
Arkansas College, Fayetteville. He then became a Methodist minister . He was a
Union sympathizer when war came, and took his family north. He spent the rest
of his days in Illinois and Iowa, where he attained considerable fame as a
preacher and lecturer. One of his most popular lectures was "Thirty Years in
Arkansaw", which he was induced to put into book form shortly before his death
in 1896."

I hope that this is clear enough to understand, it gets very confusing to
discuss these two.

Denise Fischer
Santa Clara, CA

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