Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 5).djvu/239

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REESE
REHN
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congress in 1837-'8, and was an ardent temperance reformer. He published a series of discourses on the “Obligations of the Sabbath” (1829), and “Thoughts of an Itinerant” (1841).

REESE, Thomas, clergyman, b. in Pennsylvania in 1742; d. near Pendleton, S. C., in August, 1794. He was graduated at Princeton in 1768, studied theology, and was admitted to the ministry of the Presbyterian church in 1773. He then became pastor of Salem church, Sumter district, S. C., where he continued until the Revolution. During the war he preached in Mecklenburg, N. C., but in 1782 he returned to his previous charge, and in 1792-'3 he was pastor of two churches in Pendleton district. Princeton gave him the degree of D. D. in 1789. Dr. Reese was an eminent scholar and a successful teacher, and did much to promote the religious life of the colored race in his district, to whom he regularly lectured. He published a valuable essay on the “Influence of Religion on Civil Society” (Charleston, S. C., 1788), and three sermons in the “American Preacher.”

REESE, William Brown, jurist, b. in Jefferson county, Tenn., 29 Nov., 1793; d. near Knoxville, Tenn., 7 July, 1860. He was graduated at Greenville college with the first honors, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1817. In 1831 he became chancellor of the state, and in 1835 he was elected to the bench of the supreme court in Tennessee. He resigned in 1847. In 1850 he was chosen president of the University of East Tennessee, which place he filled until failing health compelled him to resign. He was elected president of the East Tennessee historical society in 1830, and held the office until his death. In 1845 the University of East Tennessee conferred upon him the degree of LL. D. Judge Reese's opinion in a case involving a construction of the “rule in Shelly's case” elicited high commendation from Chancellor Kent. He was a man of literary tastes and an able scholar.

REEVE, Isaac Van Duzen, soldier, b. in Butternuts, Otsego co., N. Y., 29 July, 1813; d. in New York city, 31 Dec., 1890. He was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1835, was engaged in the Florida war in 1836-'7 and in 1840-'2, and served throughout the war with Mexico. He became captain in 1846, and received the brevet of major and lieutenant-colonel for gallant and meritorious service at Contreras, Churubusco, and Molino del Rey. He commanded the expedition against the Pinal Apache Indians in 1858-'9, became major in May, 1861, was made prisoner of war by Gen. David E. Twiggs on 9 May of that year, and was not exchanged till 20 Aug., 1862. He was chief mustering and disbursing officer in 1862-'3, became lieutenant-colonel in September, 1862, and was in command of the draft rendezvous at Pittsburg, Pa., in 1864-'5. He became colonel of the 13th infantry in October, 1864, and was brevetted brigadier-general in the U. S. army, 13 March, 1865, “for faithful and meritorious service during the civil war.” In January, 1871, he was retired at his own request.

REEVE, Tapping, jurist, b. in Brookhaven, L. I., in October, 1744; d. in Litchfield, Conn., 13 Dec., 1823. He was graduated at Princeton in 1763, and in 1767-'70 was a tutor there. In 1772 he removed to Litchfield, Conn., and began the practice of law, and in 1784 he established there a law-school that attained to great reputation throughout the country. Many men that afterward became celebrated obtained their legal education there. He was its sole instructor till 1798, when he associated with him James Gould (q. v.), but he continued to give lectures till 1820. The modest one-story building where Messrs. Reeve and Gould

 

delivered their lectures is still standing in a dilapidated condition. It has been removed to the outskirts of the town, and is used as a dwelling. Mr. Reeve was a judge of the Connecticut superior court from 1798 till 1814, when he became chief justice of the state, but he retired in the latter year, on reaching the age of seventy. He was a Federalist in politics, and, though averse to public life, served once in the legislature and once in the council. During the Revolution he was an ardent patriot, and after the reverses to the American arms in 1776 he was active in raising recruits, going as an officer to the vicinity of New York, where the news of the victories at Trenton and Princeton made his services unnecessary. Judge Reeve was the first eminent lawyer in this country that labored to effect a change in the laws regarding the property of married women. He received the degree of LL. D. from Middlebury in 1808, and from Princeton in 1813. He married Sarah, sister of Aaron Burr. Judge Reeve published “The Law of Baron and Femme; of Parent and Child; of Guardian and Ward; of Master and Servant, etc.” (New Haven, 1816; 2d ed., by Lucius E. Chittenden, Burlington, Vt., 1846; with appendix by J. W. Allen, 1857; 3d ed., by Amasa J. Parker and C. E. Baldwin, Albany, 1862); and “Treatise on the Law of Descents in the Several United States of America” (New York, 1825).

REEVES, John, English jurist, b. in England in 1752; d. there in 1829. He was educated at Merton college, Oxford, called to the bar about 1780, and in 1791-'2 was chief justice of Newfoundland. In the latter year he founded the Association for preserving liberty and property against Levellers and Republicans. He became one of the king's printers in 1800, was superintendent of aliens in 1803-'14, and was also a law-clerk to the board of trade. His numerous publications include “History of the English Law” (2 vols., London, 1783-'4; with additions, 4 vols., 1787; completed, 1829); “History of the Government of Newfoundland” (1793); and two tracts, showing that Americans who were born before the war of independence are not aliens by the laws of England (1814 and 1816).

REEVES, Marian Calhoun Legare, author, b. in Charleston, S. C., about 1854. She received a home education, and began to write about 1866 under the pen-name of “Fadette.” Her publications include “Ingemisco” (New York, 1867); “Randolph Honor” (1868); “Sea-Drift” (Philadelphia, 1869): “Wearithorne” (1872); “A Little Maid of Acadie” (New York, 1888); and, with Emily Read, “Old Martin Boscawen's Jest” (New York, 1878), and “Pilot Fortune” (Boston, 1883).

REHAN, Ada, actress, b. in Limerick, Ireland, 22 April, 1859. She came to this country at an early age, was educated in the Brooklyn public schools, and made her first public appearance on the stage at fifteen years of age, but subsequently resumed her studies for a year. After two seasons in Mrs. Drew's theatre, Philadelphia, she joined Augustin Daly's company in New York city. She has been eminently successful in light comedy rôles, such as Katherine in “Taming of the Shrew,” and the principal female characters in such plays as “Cinderella at School,” “Needles and Pins,” “A Wooden Spoon,” “The Railroad of Love,” “After Business Hours,” and “Our English Friend.” Miss Rehan met with great success and favorable criticism when she appeared in London with Daly's American company in May, 1888.

REHN, Frank Knox Morton, artist, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., 12 April, 1848. He studied under Christian Schussele at the Pennsylvania academy