RHEA-L Archives

Archiver > RHEA > 2001-01 > 0980395546


From: "Robert P. Rhea" <>
Subject: Re: [RHEA-L] Elijah Waldon Rhea
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 22:05:46 -0600
References: <2b.f43152b.2785ccab@aol.com> <001601c079fd$a5970ac0$3007aec7@ix.netcom.com>


Polly Dixon & List,

Polly, thanks for remembering. I draw a blank on this one. All I can do is
guess, and that can be dangerous! But here goes:

If Robert Rhea was the father of Elijah Walden Rhea, and Elijah was born in
1824 as reported by the woman in California, that would place Robert's birth
somewhere between 1780 and 1802. I know, with one or two exceptions, the
marriages of the Robert Rheas of that era who descended from the William,
Archibald, & Robert Rhea brothers. Robert's son, Robert, Jr., who married
Mary Stephens in 1787, moved to E. Tennessee. I know the names of some of
their children, but not all (Jehu Stephens, Louis L., Elizabeth, and a
retarded son, Dillan or Dillian). They could have had a son, Robert, who
would be a candidate for the Robert who married Elizabeth Balch. He would
have been born in the same time frame and same general area. I do not know
if Robert's son, John, married and had children. It is unlikely, for his
sister, Ann (Rhea) Turk, had an interest in John's estate which she in turn
deeded to her grandson, George W. Turk. Persons with children seldom
devised to siblings. Archibald had a son, Robert, who was named in the
will of his maternal grandfather, John McCausland, and in his own will.
This Robert and his brothers, John and William, were living in Rockbridge
Co., VA, in 1810, when they witnessed a deed for their mother, Jane, and
"her son," Archibald. I have seen no record of Robert's marriage. The
Archibald who married
Susannah Litteral of Rockbridge County in 1805 went to Wilson County, TN.
I
believe that this Archibald was the grandson of Archibald Sr. who died in
1804. This is based on census records, and on the fact that in 1785
Archibald Rhea witnessed a deed for his father. If at least 21 at the time,
he was born no later than 1764, and would have been 4 if he was married to
Susannah Litteral in 1805.

To summarize: Might the Robert Rhea who married Elizabeth Balch have been
the son of Archibald and Jean Rhea? Or a son of Robert's son, Robert Jr.?
Or, an outside chance, a son of Robert's son, John? Of the three,
Archibald's son is the only one that I have documented. The other two may
never have existed. And, of course, the Greene County Robert may have been
from an entirely different line of Rheas, for example, the Rev. Joseph Rhea
line of which I am not too familiar, or "The Other Joseph" Rhea line
outlined in Joseph C. Rhea's
book, RAY-RHEA, 1969. There is no one named Balch in the index.

A few years ago I did some research at the Greene Co., TN, Courthouse,
searching mostly for Archibald Rhea, Robert, Sr.'s son, who moved from Wythe
Co., VA, to E. Tennessee around 1787. He settled at the confluence of the
French Broad and Holston Rivers at Knoxville, an area that was then a part
of Greene County. Time was limited, so I didn't pursue other Rheas. I have
run across other Rheas in Greene County, TN, over the years, but have no
firm knowledge about their ancestry.

Please excuse the belatedness of this reply. I have recently had some
problems from changing my ISP. . My new email address is:

Sincerely,
Robert Perry Rhea

--- Original Message -----
From: "Polly Dixon" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, January 08, 2001 11:33 PM
Subject: Re: [RHEA-L] Elijah Waldon Rhea


> I have a partial answer to this query, but possibly Robert Perry Rhea may
> have more information on Elijah Walden Rhea by now. Robert -- can you
help?
> As you may recall, we corresponded about this line in 1994.
>
> The information in paragraphs 1-5 (below) came several years ago from a
dear
> friend who lives in Gresham, OR who has been a Ray/Rhea researcher for
more
> than half a century. We corresponded for several years, and I finally got
> to meet her about a year ago at the nursing care facility where she was
then
> living. Unfortunately, she no longer had access to her records. She was
93
> last year, but her memory was very clear. I haven't heard from her since
> then. Her hearing and eyesight were failing and she had difficulty
reading
> and writing. She is not a descendant of Elijah Walden Rhea, but had some
> records on him.
>
> I do not have documentation for this information, but copied it here as my
> friend gave it to me. She said she and her husband went to Heppner,
Oregon
> many years ago, and this information was given to them by the historian of
> Heppner. There are some discrepancies between this information and that
> which was given to me by a woman in California (see paragraphs 6-8).
>
> 1. "Elijah Walden Rhea family came to Oregon 1852 and settled in Powell
> Valley, later moving to Eugene near the Forks of the Willamette River
where
> they took a donation land claim. In 1864, Elijah's son Columbus A.
settled
> on Rhea Creek which was named after Columbus A. because he was the first
> settler there. In 1868, Elijah Walden Rhea followed his son, and settled
on
> Rhea Creek.
>
> 2. "Listed in 1860 census, Springfield Precinct, Eugene City P.O. Elijah
> Walden, age 36 yrs, blacksmith, born Tenn. Columbus A., age 15 yrs born
> Missouri., John Rhea, 13, born Missouri; Thomas 11, b. Missouri; Mary E.
9,
> b. Missouri; James 5, born Oregon; and Sarah Frances age 3, b. Oregon.
>
> 3. "After several years Elijah sold the homestead and moved to Arlington,
> OR where they owned and operated a hotel for a number of years. He died
> there and is the only Rhea buried in Arlington. His wife later married
> Samuel Donaldson, early resident of Heppner. (Note: I cannot locate
> Arlington in my atlas.)
>
> 4. "Josie Jones, a granddaughter of Elijah, said that Elijah had 18
> children. Catherine Milliorn was first wife and she and infant died in
> childbirth, 1858. No 2 wife was Lucile Coffee Rhea and she died with
> infant. (She had a son named Green Coffee). Elijah and families came to
> Oregon and drove oxen. Columbus was 7 yrs old when they came to Oregon.
In
> Heppner, Morrow Co., Oregon, he had 7000 acres and raised cattle and
sheep.
> Then he founded the First National Bank at Heppner.
>
> 5. "From Oregon probate records: Estate of Elijah Walden Rhea, deceased
7
> Apr 1883 in Wasco Co., Oregon: Mildred A. Rhea, widow; children Rhetta
Rhea
> age 5, Nellie Rhea age 8, Lillian age 11, and Ada age 14; also Huldah
Yancy
> age 16. All residing Alkali, Oregon. The following have been passed
their
> legacies: Eveline W. Cleary/Clark of Yambill (sp?) Co, OR; Eliza Eagin of
> Yambill Co., OR; Francis Luper of
> Junction, Lane Co., OR; James Rhea; Lizzie Morgan; Thomas A. Rhea,
Columbus
> Rhea. James, Lizzie, Thomas and Columbus were all of Heppner, Morrow(?)
> Co., OR. Elijah's grandchildren (children of John Rhea dec'd): Dinah
> (could this be Dora?) Rhea, Luetta (sp?) Rhea, Ollie Rhea, Robert Rhea,
all
> minors residing at Junction in Lane Co., OR." (End of quote from the lady
> in Gresham, Oregon)
>
> I have also corresponded briefly with a woman in California, whose husband
> is a descendant of Elijah Walden Rhea.
>
> NOTE: If the person who sent the original query about Elijah to RHEA-L
will
> e-mail me personally at , I will give you the address
> of the lady in California. This person gave me the information in
> paragraphs 6-8 below. She said she has a lot of information on Elijah
> Walden Rhea and his descendants but doesn't know much about his parents.
>
> 6. She said that the parents of Elijah Walden Rhea were Robert and
> Elizabeth Balch. Elizabeth Balch was b. in TN and died 1849 in Missouri.
> Her husband Robert Rhea later moved to Oregon with his daughter, Emily
Rhea,
> and is said to have also been in California. Elijah W. Rhea was b. 27 Feb
> 1824 Green Co., TN; died 7 Apr 1883, Arlington, Morrow Co., OR; m. (first)
8
> Jun 1844 Jackson Co., MO to Eliza Catherine Milliorn, b. 1827 in Virginia,
> d. 13 June 1860, Lane Co., Oregon. Elijah m. 2nd 13 Jan. 1861, Lane Co.,
OR
> Mrs. Lucille Jane (Baker) Coffey; m. 3rd 27 Sept 1866, Lane Co., OR.,
> Mildred A. Withrow. He had 13 children.
>
> 7. One of Elijah's children was John Rhea b. 1849 in Jackson Co., MO;
died
> 16 Jan. 1879, Lane Co., OR; m. 21 Dec 1870 Lane Co., OR to Ruby Leaura
> Baker, who was b. abt 1855 in MO; d. 8 Feb 1910, Lane Co., OR. Her
parents
> were William A. Baker, b. 1825, Cumberland Co., VA and Eliza Hudson, who
> were m. 1 May 1851, Pike Co., IL.
>
> 8. John and Ruby Leaura Baker Rhea had four children, one of whom was
Dora
> Belle Rhea, b. 29 Feb. 1872, near Heppner, Morrow Co., OR; d. 30 Sep 1970,
> Lane Co., OR; m. 9 Jan 1877, Lane Co., OR. to George Hicks. (Note: Could
> this be "Dinah" listed in paragraph 5 above?)
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Polly Dixon in Houston
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Thursday, January 04, 2001 6:55 AM
> Subject: [RHEA-L] Elijah Waldon Rhea
>
> > Does anyone know who this Elijah Rhea is?
> > Post to the list.
> >
> > Oregon Genealogical Society: Oregon Pioneers, from Jackson Co. MO
> > 2 Rhea, Elijah Waldon Milliorn, Elizabeth Cather 1852 Jackson Co,
MO
> > Lane Co. OR
> >
> > They arrived in Oregon in 1852 from Jackson Co. Mo. and settled in Lane
> Co.
> > OR (Eugene OR) created in 1851. Parent counties Linn and Benton.
>
>
>
>
>
> ==== RHEA Mailing List ====
> http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/surnames/r/h/Rhea/deeds
> Rhea Deeds at GenConnect
>















This thread: