Counce M. Reeves

Counce M. Reeves donated 2 acres of land for a Brush Arbor Church and Cemetery....known today as Reeves Chapel United Methodist Church and Cemetery in Pittsburg, Texas. A lot of the land around and close to this church was owned by the Hart's and the Bailey's. I call it the Heartland (Hartland). Tjhe church and cemetery has a historical marker and is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. So many of the Hart ancestors are buried in this cemetery.Counce Monroe REEVES-[Private] He was born 12/Apr/1830 in Montgomery County, NC and son of Eli H. and Nancy (STEED) REEVES. He met and married Selina BAILEY, daughter of Elijah J. and Lundy T. (STEED) BAILEY, born 13/Apr/1833 also in Montgomery County, NC. It is thought that this couple married about 1855 in Coweta Co. GA. By late 1857, many of the people from Campbell and Coweta Counties GA migrated to Upshur County, TX. Many of these people settled west and south of today's Pittsburg, TX in areas known as Reeves Chapel, Leesburg, and Simpsonville. Elijah BAILEY, Father-in-law of Counce REEVES first bought over 1000 acres of land.

In 1860, Counce REEVES bought some acres of land from Mr. BAILEY and built their homestead near the Bailey's in the area today known as Reeves Chapel, in fact directly across the road south.

< Rumors of the Great War were becoming reality, Counce joined: Co.H, 18th Texas Infantry in May of 1862. He fought in the campaign until the surrender of the Regiment at Hempstead, Texas in May of 1865.

Counce went home after the Civil War and started enjoying life. To their union were 6 children, 3 small children born in GA at home during the war and 3 children born after the war at Reeves Chapel. Eugene, William, Sarah Ella, John H., Emma and Stella. They worked the lands and by the late 1870's the Reeves decided to give 4 acres of land for the church and cemetery. The first church was a brush arbor, the second was a wood frame building 30' by 60', Men and boys on one side, women and children on the other, which was common in that time. In 1907, the congregation decided to build a bigger church building of Victorian style.

Counce and Selina both lived long enough into their golden years to see the new building. Both buried in Reeves Chapel Cemetery. Both have very nice stones, Mr. REEVES being a Confederate stone, Government issue.

Citations: Ancestry.com-1830 Montgomery Co. NC Census, 1840 Coweta Co. GA Census, 1850 Campbell Co. GA Census, 1860 Upshur Co. TX Census, 1880 Camp Co. TX Census, Pittsburg-Camp County Public Library, Pittsburg, TX, Confederate Veterans papers, TSL, Austin, TX. The Harold B. Simpson-Hill College-History Complex, Hillsboro, TX, "Land Records" Upshur Co. Courthouse, Gilmer, TX, "The Camp County Story" Artemesia Lucille Brison Spencer-1974, Camp County Texas, Customs and Characters, 1986. Mrs. Lilma (Hart) Godsey, Pittsburg, TX, Johnny Brown of Louisiana and Mrs. Kim Bonneville Bull of Texas, this only names a few of the many who helped.