Person:Elizabeth Driskell (1)

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Elizabeth Driskell
m. Abt 1784
  1. Mary Driskell
  2. Peter DriskellAbt 1786 - Abt 1870
  3. Elizabeth DriskellAbt 1800 - 1839
  4. Matilda Driskell1802 - 1863
Facts and Events
Name Elizabeth Driskell
Gender Female
Birth? Abt 1800 Mason, Kentucky, United States
Death? 17 Oct 1839 Rush, Indiana, United States

The following was written by Benjamin F. Reeve on May 28, 1874.

   I am Benjamin F. Reeve of Rush County, Indiana. I was born in Prince William Co., Va. on the 17 day of Oct. 1798. I was taken to Mason Co., Ky. when quite young and lived there some thirty years and in March 1833 came to Rush Co., Indiana.
   My fathers name was Benjamin Reeve. He was born in Va. about 1760 and died in Mason Co., Ky., in 1830. My frandfathers name was Asa Reeve. He was raised in Va. and died in Fleming Co., Ky. quite aged.
   My mothers maiden name was Mary Crook. Her fathers name was Hesakiah Crook. He was raised in Va. and died in Madison Co., Ky. at an advanced age. My mother died a few years before my father. I had three sisters Elizabeth, Susan and Fannie and three brothers, Thomas, John and Reason. The girls were first then the boys. I was the second boy. Elizabeth married PETER DRISCKELL and Fannie married Jermiah Matterson(?). Susan never married. All that I have named are dead.
   I have been married twice. First to ELIZABETH DRISKELL, second to Elizabeth Bryant Lower. My first wife had eight children; George Washington and Francis Marion, Martha Dandridge, Henry Clay, Sarah Driskell, Mary Elizabeth, John Baldwin and Eliza Matilda. My first wife died Oct. 17, 1839. 

My second wife had four children; Ann Parker, Hester Highby Whiteman, Benjamin Franklin and Nancy Jane. The name of my first wife's father was ADAM DRISKELL. Her mother's maiden name was SARAH SHOCKLEY.

   The name of my second wife's father was North(?) Parker. Her mother's maiden name was Clarissa Higby.
   Benjamin F. Reeve was of Welch descent with a WRIGHT mixture of calch and irish (?). Tradition has it that very early in the history of this country, four brothers emigrated from Europe and setted in different parts of what is now called the United States, and from these brothers have descended all of that name in America. Asa Reeve, his grandfather, was a most zealous Methodist. He had two sons that were Methodist preachers, but the father of Benjamin F. Reeve never became a member of any church, rejecting all creeds, making one for himself, basing his hopes of the future upon honesty of purpose and action. During religious controversities that extended over 1827-1828, Benjamin F. Reeve , after a careful study of the scriptures, allied himself with the Church of Christ and was baptised by Rev. Jesse Holton.
   In the spring of 1833 he moved to Rush Co., Ind., and became a member of the Little Flat Rock Church, of which he became one of the elders and served in that capacity until the time of his death. His preaching extended to most of the churches in that region of the country and was attended with marked success.
   Fifteen yers of his life, just prior to his removal from Ky. was largely devoted to teaching school, gaining, in that profession an enviable reputation. After locating in Rush Co. he became a busy man. For several years he was a member of the Board of Managers of the White Water Canal, from its organization he was a efficient member of the Board of Directors Business Committee of the North Western Christian University (now Butler College). For thirteen consecutive years he was Justice of the Peace of Noble township, in which he lived. For many years much of his time was taken up in the settlement of estates and the guardianship of minor kins. Not only zealously guarding their financial interests, but directing their moral and intellectual training.
   He represented Rush County five years in the State legislature, 1836 to 1838 in the House and 1841 to 1844 in the Senate. In addition to all these public services he conducted successful, and with profit, a good sized farm, accumulating a competency to guarantee comfort in his declining years. (See Pioneer Preacher of Indiana--by Evans 1864).
   He died July 18, 1877 and was buried in the cemetery at Little Flat Rock Church. The church for which he had labored so many years. His funeral was preached by the Rev. E. S. Frazee.
   Mrs. W. T, Baker, 2812 Bonnywood, Dallas, Texas 75233 has the complete book on the Long-Reeve family - her lineage. Will share the information with others on these lines.

This article appeared in Vol. 10, No. 1, Winter 1974, Indiana Genealogist.