Family Reunion: Reynolds
a quick overview of my work on this surname
Vicie Clark was something of a mystery to me for a long time. I only recently found records that tied her to her parents - but from there, I’ve been able to assemble a lot of information about her siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles.
Mary Ann Viceroy "Vicie" Reynolds was the third child, and only daughter, of Rev. James Thomas Reynolds and Mary Francis May, born on 27 Jul 1879 in Lewis County, Kentucky. Her father and both her oldest and youngest brother were all Baptist preachers. Vicie married David Ulysses Clark on 4 Sep 1898 "at the home of John Clark in Oakview" in Boyd County, Kentucky.
One reason that I found it so difficult to break through and make progress with Vicie’s family is the fact that she came from a couple of large families in a three-county area which intermarried and preferred very common names. Her grandparents’ surnames were: Reynolds, Arthur, May, and West. The May families and the West families, in particular, turn up a lot in each others’ family trees. For example, Her father and his brother, John Harold Reynolds, married May sisters. Vicie’s oldest daughter (my grandpa Russ’s sister) Opal married an Arthur, as did Vicie’s brother-in-law, James Sylvester Clark. Two of David Clark’s other siblings married Mays, and their mother’s mother was Jane West.
If you found that paragraph to be confusing, I sympathize.
I’ve only been able to take the Reynolds line back to Vicie’s grandfather. Reuben Reynolds was born about 1820 in either Virginia or North Carolina. He married Martha Arthur (add her to the list) about 1850, and they farmed and had two sons in Greenup County, Kentucky.
One day, I hope to trace them back beyond the United States, but for now, there are plenty of cousins in Kentucky to sort out. If you’re one of them, say hello!
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Okay, ya got me. Now my family seems so easy.