Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Reeve, John Thomas |
Othernames |
John Thomas Reeve |
Born |
01/07/1871 |
Birthplace |
Brittannia, Peel County, Ontario |
Places of residence |
Lot 7, Jones Range, Keppel Township, Grey County Oxenden, Keppel Township, Grey County Toronto 1198 4th Ave. East, Owen Sound, Grey County |
Father |
Samuel Houston Reeve 1822-1895 |
Mother |
Jane Reeve nee Fearnall 1835-1895 (Farne |
Nationality |
Canadian |
Notes |
John Thomas Reeve was born January 7, 1871. His parents were Samuel Houston Reeve, and Jane Reeve (nee Fernell), and farmed at Lot 7, Jones Range in Keppel Township. His uncle, Thomas H. Reeve,was a Postmaster and General store owner at Oxenden. At the age of 18 he learned the blacksmith trade and later took up barbering. As an adult, he started out driving a car and delivering groceries and worked as a grocer in Oxenden, operating the General Store from 1904-1920. J. T. Reeve married Maggie Smeltzer (Scott) of Oxenden in 1907. Her full name was Margaret Scott (b. 1875-d. 1919). When she died on December 5, 1919, while pregnant with their 7th child, he was left to raise his family on his own. He moved to Owen Sound in 1920, where he operated a store under the name "J.T. Reeve Grocer." It was located at 1198 4th Ave. E., across from Strathcona Public School. On October 8, 1923 he married Grace Monsinger in York County, a former school teacher, who worked alongside him, in the store. BEAUTIFUL STONEY KEPPEL mentions that J. T. Reeve had run the store at Oxenden from 1904 to 1920. He was known as Owen Sound's oldest grocer, operating the store for more than 40 years. In the 1922 Vernon's Directory of Owen Sound, the J. T. Reeve grocery store was listed, and there were quite a few groceries in town. In 1926, it was listed at 1198 4th Ave. East, Owen Sound. The business was still operating circa 1964 at the same location (Owen Sound Sun-Times, "At 92, John T. Reeve Is City's Oldest Grocer", March 14, 1964). During the Second World War, two of the Reeve sons served overseas. Pilot Officer Walker Reeve (also known as Bill Reeve) had enlisted with the R.C.A.F. in September, 1941. He later disappeared when his bomber failed to report to a base at Ceylon. He was presumed lost in India, or in the Indian Ocean. His brother Sergeant-Major Elwood Reeve was stationed in Germany. He survived the war and died in Hanover, Grey County, in 1979. J. T. Reeve's older brother (21 years old) was killed by a kick from a horse. J.T. Reeve died on October 8, 1966 at the General and Marine Hospital in Owen Sound and was survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters. J. T. Reeve's grandfather was a William Beckwith Reeve of Toronto Township, who had worked as a Justice of the Peace. William's son, Thomas Houston Reeve (b. 1828-d. 1925) had come up from the Toronto area to settle in Keppel along with Samuel Reeve, sometime before 1871. |
Occupation |
General Store owner (Oxenden 1904-1920), and Owen Sound) |
Publications |
BEAUTIFUL STONEY KEPPEL, 1986, p. 408, has Reeve family geneaology |
Relationships |
He had a cousin in Toronto named John T. Reeve, so do not confuse the two. Parents-in-law (1): John W. Scott of Oxenden and wife Mary Ann Scott nee Winter Parents-in-law (2): Daniel Monsinger and Kate Monsinger (nee Howell) Member of Christian adn Misionary Alliance Church |
Role |
Business person |
Spouse |
1. Maggie Scott, m. 1907, 2. Grace Monsinger, m. Oct. 8, 1923 |
Children |
Lillian Reeve (m. Mr. Hinton) Elda (m. Ivan Alexander of Creemore) Doreen Reeve (m. Fred Perks of Creemore) Elwood "Ab" Reeve (d. 1979 at Hanover, Grey County) John Russell Reeve (b. 1908) Walker "Bill" Reeve (lost in Second World War over the Indian Ocean while serving with the R.C.A.F.) |
