Green Rives of Dinwiddie County Virginia

Transcribed from book written by John R. T. Rives

Introduction

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. Proverbs, Chapter 22, Verse 1. A person's name stands for the personality behind it as a country's flag stands for the country itself. There is something sacred in a name, the symbol of a precious heritage, and our respect for an individual begins with the recognition that his name is as good as ours.

Remembering the Biblical injunction that we honor our parents, the author has undertaken the task of recording a brief biographical history of Green Rives and his descendants.

The work has taken over thirty years in which visits to old graveyards have been made in Virginia and Tennessee and many records searched in the Congressional Library at Washington, the Newberry Library in Chicago and the archives at the capitol at Nashville. I also am indebted to many living members of the family for photographs and other data. I was assisted by Joel M. Rives of Fayetteville, Tenn. (since deceased) , Joseph Anderson Rives, of Comanche, Oklahoma, Henry D. Rives of Stonewall, Oklahoma, Mrs. Jane Rives of Petersburg, Tenn., and J. Stone Rives of Jacksonville, Texas, all of whom have since died.

The author also received much valuable data from Hon J. Rives Childs, formerly of the United States Con- sular Service, later U. S. Ambassador to Saudi, Arabia, who wrote a book of the Rives family covering every branch dating from 1490 to the present day, and which every member of the family should have. He is retired and now living in Nice, France.

Also recently secured additional biographical data from Mrs. Bertha (Rives) Lancaster, grand daughter of Littleberry William Rives of Dallas, Texas; Mrs. Pauline Nanna (Rives) Freeny, daughter of Henry Daniel Rives of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Robert Gilmore Rives, son of Judge Owen Higgins Rives, Sr., of Holden- ville, Oklahoma.

Trusting that this history of Green Rives and his descendants may be of some value in preserving a name that is almost as old as the country, this book is dedi- cated to those early pioneers who crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and settled in the state of Tennessee, and whose descendants pushed further west in to Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

	Jno. R. T. Rives

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Note: I have already included some of the pictures but not all.  I will get the remainder formatted and update the file as quickly as possible.  Normally we would not post anything published this recently.  However, the book is already being sold on CDs and posted elsewhere.  Apparently there was no intent to copyright the book so I decided to make it available here in an easy to read text format for the benefit of all the descendants of this line.  Although I am not a direct descendant of Green Rives, his line has long been of research interest based on the Pegram connection.  I hope his descendants will approve of this small attempt to honor his memory.

The Rives in England

The Rives, from the most authentic records we have been able to find, lived in France, at or near Lan- guedoc, prior to their settlement in England. There are still families of that name living in France and Spain. The French pronunciation is Reve, the I having the sound of E the S being silent. From "Hutchins History of Dorset" 3rd edition, Vol. IV, pp 95, 96, 97, we learn that Robert (Rives) Reve or Ryves, born about 1490 was the first of the name in England, of whom there is brief record, purchased Ranston or Randleston Castle from Henry VIII, King of England, and that he died there February 11, 1551. His wife, Joan died December 12, 1560.¹

Ranston: "In former times a manor and hamlet, now extinguished and depopulated, consists only of the seat of Sir Edward Baker-Baker. Peter William Baker purchased it with the estate belonging to it of Thomas Ryves, Esq., in the year 1781, for 12,000 guineas. It is distant about half a mile south from Shroton." (Hutchins History of Dorset, Vol. IV, p. 92)

Damory Castle, Blandford, Dorsetshire England. Ryves—Seat of Sir John Ryves of Damory "Dame Mary Place."

Natives and Eminent Persons

(From Blandford Church, Dorsetshire, England)

(There is also a "Blandford Church" in Petersburg, Virginia. See page 14)
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© 2007 Nola Duffy or individual contributors. No portion of the data available here may be reproduced for further publication without express consent of the original contributor.