Relatively Speaking Blog

The Reese family has been in Lycoming County and its bordering counties for over 200 years as evidenced by the U.S. census. My great grand uncle Peter Milton Reese, Milton as he was often called, was among this family’s descendants who lived his entire life in these counties. Except for information in a few vital records, most of what I know of my great grand uncle is from the U.S. census.

Milton was the eldest child of Josiah Reese and Effie Rachel Shaner, and he lived in their household for his first three census enumerations. He was born December 22, 1858, presumably in Franklin Township, Lycoming County PA, where his parents resided in the 1860 census when he was a baby. He grew up in this area and attended school as noted in the 1870 census. Although it is not known what the highest grade level he completed, subsequent enumerations indicated he could read and write. In 1880 he was working as a laborer while he still lived at home.

Sometime before the 1880 census Milton relocated with his family, moving across the county line to Davidson Township Sullivan County. It was here that the Reeses and Henry Swank and his family became acquainted as the Reeses settled near Henry and his family; the 1880 census listed the two families almost next to each other.

Milton was a young man by this time, and Henry’s daughter Christie caught his eye. One can imagine the courtship the two had back in those times with Milton walking down the country road, or perhaps borrowing his father’s horse to call on Christie. They were married around 1882 and began a family soon after with the birth of a daughter.

By 1900 Milton and Christie had ten children, although two had died. Cemetery records for Stoneheap Cemetery indicated that their two oldest daughters, Matilda and Carrie, died in 1887 within a couple weeks of each other. It is likely they both contracted a disease that ended their lives. Fortunately, Effie Jane, twin to Carrie, did not suffer the same fate.

Milton resided near two of his brothers in Davidson Township in the 1900 census. The census specified Milton owned a farm with a mortgage. Although his occupation was recorded as a day laborer, Milton likely worked his own farm, since his occupation was farmer on his children’s birth records around this time. It is possible that he worked both his farm and another job, as he was unemployed one month out of the year. His oldest three children attended school for five to six months during the 1899-1900 school year.

Sometime during the next decade he sold his farm in Sullivan County and bought another farm in Jordan Township, Lycoming County where he moved his family.  During that time his family grew with the addition of four more children. By the 1910 census his oldest three daughters were married and out of the house. Milton’s occupation was farmer of his own account, although this new farm also had a mortgage on it. The oldest five children at home attended school within the year.

1910 census  Jordan Township, Lycoming County, PA
Name	Relationship to head of household	Age	Marital Status	Years Married	Mother of how many children	Number of children living
Milton Reese	Head	51	M1	27
Christie A. Reese	wife	48	M1	27	14	12
Brady Reese	son	20	S
Persel Reese	son	16	S
Ida Reese	daughter	16	S
Jerry Reese	son	13	S
Amos Reese	son	12	S
Joseph Reese	son	8	S
Edith Reese	daughter	6	S
Oliver Reese	son	5	S
Russell Reese	son	1	S

In the 1920 census Joseph and Russell were the only children listed as part of Milton’s household, although two others were not yet adults. Hurley, age 14, was living with his brother Brady. However, their daughter Edith who was almost 17 at the time has not been located in this census. She might have been a domestic, working and living with another family, but for this year she was either incorrectly listed or missed being recorded entirely. With the help of the two sons who remained at home, Milton continued farming his land and had finally paid off his mortgage on his farm.

One oddity of the 1920 census is Milton’s wife was listed as Lidia, instead of Christie. Several items indicate they remained married until Christie’s death in 1925. Her death certificate listed her as married and the informant was Peter M. Reese (Milton) of Unityville. When Milton died, an obit mentioned that his wife had died years before him and his death certificate listed Christie as his wife. These convey that the enumerator, for whatever reason, incorrectly recorded Christie’s name in 1920.

1920 census  Jordan Township, Lycoming County, PA
Name	Relationship to head of household	Age	Marital Status	Occupation
Milton Reese	Head	63	M	farmer on general farm
Lidia Reese	wife	56	M
Joseph Reese	son	17	S
Russell Reese	son	13	S

By 1930 Milton retired from farming as he had no occupation in that year’s census. As a widower, now age 71, Milton had given up his farm and resided in Anthony Township, Montour County, with his son and daughter-in-law, Brady and Julia, and their family. Milton lived another six years until a lingering illness caused his death in January 1936. Milton and Christie are both buried in Stoneheap Cemetery; an article mentions how snow drifts impeded the hearse taking him to the cemetery and he was buried at a later date.

1930 census Anthony Township, Montour County, PA
Name	Relationship to head of household	Age	Marital Status	Age when first married	Occupation
Brady E. Reese	Head	40	M	22	farm operator
Julia J. Reese	wife	35	M	17
Edwin J. Reese	son	17	S
Carl L. Reese	son	15	S
Sylian E. Reese	son	12	S
Marie L. Reese	daughter	8	S
Mary R. Reese	daughter	6	S
Milton P. Reese	father	71	W	25

Milton is one of the many Reese relatives who worked the land like his ancestors and cousins. He remained in the Lycoming County area all of his life and certainly was a successful farmer. He celebrated over 40 years of marriage with Christie and together they raised a large family of which twelve children reached adulthood, most of whom married and had families of their own. Milton and Christie significantly added well over 500 descendants to the Reese line. Many of their great grandchildren still inhabit Lycoming County and the surrounding areas today, and continue to contribute to the legacy of the Reese family.