Our Family Genealogy Pages

Home Page  |  What's New  |  Photos  |  Histories  |  Headstones  |  Reports  |  Surnames
Search
First Name:


Last Name:

Birth Married


William REEVES

William REEVES

Male 1826 - 1926  (100 years)

Personal Information    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name William REEVES 
    Birth 1826  Langley, Maidstone, Kent Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • 1861 Census - born in Langley
    Gender Male 
    Apprenticed Abt 1839 
    • Description: to the 6th Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth
    Occupation Gentlemans' Gardener 
    Death 20 Nov 1926  69, Arney Road, Remuera, Auckland, NZ Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Burial 22 Nov 1926  Purewa Cemetery, Auckland, NZ Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Description: Block E, Row 37, Plot 66
    Notes 
    • According to Doris Reeves - (daughter of Frank William Reeves)
      Aged 13 he was apprenticed to the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth House as a gardener.
      Anne Billson (nee Whitaker) with son Henry Sydney came to Chatsworth as a sewing maid to the Duchess and sometime after the death of Henry Billson (1855), she married William Reeves. (Her son was then 16 years old).
      He worked with Paxton, (the Duke's Head Gardener) on the gardens at the Crystal Palace for 20 years. Eventually he went back to Chatsworth for the Duke, and then in 1875 emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand

      There is a possibility that Chatsworth was a mistake. Considering where they all lived it's more likely that they went to Chiswick House.


      William Spencer Cavendish (1790 - 1858) succeeded to the dukedom, and inherited 8 historic houses and 200,000 acres of land in 1811 at the age of 21. The 'Bachelor' Duke never married but loved entertaining and spent the 47 years of his dukedom improving his houses and embellishing them with every kind of object. He made extensive travels in Europe and said that "..at Rome.....the love of marble possesses most people like a new sense.". The most important room in the North Wing at Chatsworth, commissioned by him from Jeffry Wyatt (later Sir Jeffry Wyatville), was the Sculpture Gallery containing his outstanding collection of neo-classical (i.e. contemporary) sculpture. He also bought two complete libraries, many paintings and curiosities including the giant marble Colossal Foot and the Turkish Barge.
      The Duke was Lord Chamberlain to King William IV. His friendships were very varied; he was particularly close to Czar Nicholas I of Russia and to the head gardener at Chatsworth, Sir Joseph Paxton, but also enjoyed friendships with the novelist Charles Dickens and the sculptor Antonio Canova. As Paxton's patron the Duke became fascinated by gardening and their alterations to the garden at Chatsworth included the creation of rockeries, fountains and glass buildings, culminating in the Great Conservatory, forerunner to the Crystal Palace, built by Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851. They also rebuilt the village of Edensor in the Park at Chatsworth.
      The Duke wrote a "Handbook to Chatsworth and Hardwick" (published privately in 1844), in which he showed his enthusiasm and love for the two houses he owned in Derbyshire and his enjoyment of his possessions.
    Person ID I000034  Mills/Rushton Family History
    Last Modified 4 May 2008 

    Father William REEVES   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother Hester COMBER,   b. 1793, Langley Maidstone, Kent Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown 
    Relationship Birth 
    Marriage 17 Jun 1816  Maidstone, Kent Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F000264  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Ann WHITAKER,   b. 2 Nov 1823, St. Giles, Cripplegate, London Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 22 May 1902, Ellerslie, Auckland Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 78 years) 
    Marriage 17 Jun 1858  District Church of St. Mary ---? Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • FreeFormatDate:Jun Q 1858 1a 422 Westminster
    • Description: John White & Elizabeth Fisher
    Census 1861  Park House, Parsons Green Lane, Fulham Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Census 1871  5 Beulah Terrace, Croydon, Surrey Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Emigration 1875  England to Auckland, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address 1893  Orakei Road, Remuera, Auckland, NZ Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Electoral Register.
    Occupation Gardener 
    Children 
     1. Harriet REEVES,   b. Abt 1859, Fulham Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
     2. Amy REEVES,   b. Abt 1861, Fulham Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
     3. Frank REEVES,   b. Abt 1863, Fulham Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1954, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 91 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
    +4. Frank William REEVES,   b. 25 Feb 1865, Chiswick Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1938, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 72 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
     5. Horace Walter REEVES,   b. 1869, Croydon Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1942, New Zealand Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 73 years)  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
     6. Effie REEVES,   b. 1870, Croydon Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown  [Father: Birth]  [Mother: Birth]
    Family ID F000014  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart