4th Generation

Matthew Rhea IV..........(son of Rev. Joseph Rhea and Elizabeth McIlwaine)

Born April 14 1755 in Fahan Parish, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Died Oct. 18, 1816  Sullivan County, Tennessee
He was buried in Weaver Cemetery, Weaver Pike, Sullivan Co., TN in an unmarked grave.

      Matthew was a Surveyor.  He served as Lt. under General Greene at Battles of Camden, South Carolina and Guilford Courthouse.  He held rank of Major in the Fifth Virginia Regiment of the Continentals.

He married twice:

Jannette 'Jane' Preston..........(daughter of John Preston and Eleanor Fairman)
Born Jan. 1, 1758 in Walnut Grove, Washington Co., Virginia
Died Nov. 1, 1800 in Sullivan Co., Tennessee
She was buried in Weaver Cemetery, Weaver Pike, Sullivan Co., TN
 

Matthew  IV and Jane had four children:

(I)----Joseph McIlwaine Rhea - (born May 14, 1787, Sullivan Co., TN - died June 14, 1860, Sullivan Co., TN) m. 1806 Catherine 'Kitty' Myers (July 28, 1788-Feb. 25, 1860), daughter of Charles Myers and Annie Case. Joseph and Catherine are buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery, Sullivan Co., TN.  They had 11 children.

      In 1801 Joseph entered Washington College in Tennessee at the age of 14 years old, graduated in 1805, and married Catherine in 1806.  He served in the War of 1812 as an Orderly Sergeant and was in Canada as secretary to an officer.
       When Joseph returned home from the war, he and Catherine lived in Washington and Scott Counties, Virginia; then came to the home place in Tennessee called 'Soldiers Nest,' where he lived until he died in 1860.
       He was a farmer and a school teacher, highly educated and a great temperance lecturer.  He was often urged to accept public offices but always declined.  He helped build the 'Pleasant Grove Church,' where he was an Elder until the time of his death.

(II)--**Robert Preston Rhea - (June 28, 1791 - March 31, 1872) m. Nancy Davidson.  Robert was a school teacher.*[more about Robert below in 5th Generation].

(III)--Margaret Rhea - (born about 1793, Sullivan Co., TN)  m. Abram Fickle (born about 1790, Washington Co., VA? - buried Greendale, VA).  Margaret and Abram had one child: Robert Preston Fickle (born 1822 - died Nov. 23, 1895, Sullivan Co., TN, buried Blountville Cemetery, Sullivan Co., TN) m. Oct. 30, 1850, Mary Elizabeth Chamberlain.  Robert was Postmaster in Blountville (1895), Chairman of the Chancery Court for 6 years, and was Lt. in reserve corps for C.S.A.

(IV)--Matthew Rhea V - (born Feb. 23, 1796, Sullivan Co., TN - died April 7, 1870, Sommerville, Fayette Co. TN?) m. Dec. 13, 1818 Mary 'Polly' Looney  (born June 10, 1804, Sullivan Co., TN - died Nov. 11, 1884, Sullivan Co., TN), daughter of Abraham Looney and Elizabeth Gammon.  Matthew and Mary had 13 children.

      In 1798 Matthew V was baptized by Rev. Samuel Doak under the old elm tree where his grandfather, the Rev. Joseph Rhea preached.  Rev. Rhea and Rev. Doak used a large stone for their pulpit near the great tree, thus called the "Rhea-Doak elm tree."
       Matthew attended Washington College, studying under the Rev. Doak and living in his home.  Matthew & Mary moved to West Tennessee about 1836 and they had 13 children.
       Matthew made a living by teaching, farming and surveying.  He surveyed the state of Tennessee, making the first map of the state, published in 1832, based on actual field surveys.  It was the most detailed and most accurate, locating mountains, rivers, waterfalls, ferries, counties, towns, Indian villages, mineral deposits, mills, iron works, furnaces and forges.  He pursued accuracy of information by interviews, visits, on-the-spot observations, and correspondence.  The map was large and valuable and highly sought after by Union Forces during the Civil War.
       In Somerville, the county seat of Fayette County, a new female academy was erected in 1833 and Matthew moved to Somerville to become the president and the first teacher of the Somerville Female Institution.  He remained connected with the Institute until 1860, when he retired to his farm near Somerville until his death in 1870.

5th Generation

Robert Preston Rhea..........(son of Matthew Rhea IV  and Jannette 'Jane' Preston)
Born July 28, 1791 in Bluff City, Sullivan Co., TN
Died March 31 1872 in Sullivan Co., TN
He was buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Sullivan Co., TN

      Robert was educated at Princeton.  He served in the War of 1812 under General Winfield Scott.  He was captured by the British and held a prisoner of war with his brother.  He was kept for one year in Quebec, Canada and put in irons.
       After living in Virginia, Robert moved to Sullivan County, Tennessee and lived on the land entered and located by his father, on East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, two miles East of Bluff City, Tennessee.
       Robert was a teacher and tutored "Stonewall" Jackson for West Point, as recorded on his gravestone.

He married Jan. 1, 1828:

Nancy Davidson
Born March 3, 1801 in Kentucky
Died Oct. 9, 1875 in Sullivan Co., TN
She was buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery in Sullivan Co., TN
 

Robert and Nancy had eight children:

(I)----Jane Rhea - (born Jan. 1, 1828, Sullivan Co., TN) m. Mr. Rivers (born about  1810)

(II)--**Dr. John Preston Rhea, Sr. - (July 20, 1829 - March 13, 1896) m. Matilda Ann Longacre, daughter of Joseph Addison Longacre and Mary Edwards.  John was a physician. *[more about John on the next page].

(III)---Josiah Davidson Rhea - (born abt. 1830, Sullivan Co., TN)

(IV)---Margaret Rhea - (born Jan. 1, 1833, Sullivan Co., TN)

(V)----Mary 'Mollie' R. Rhea - (born Jan. 1, 1835, Sullivan Co., TN)

(VI)--Dr. Robert Campbell Rhea - (born April 19, 1837, Sullivan Co., TN - died Nov. 3, 1911) m. Margaret Caroline McQueen (born about 1836).  Robert and Margaret had 10 children. Robert was a physician.

(VII)--Matthew Rhea - (born Jan. 1, 1838, Sullivan Co., TN) m. Sarah F. Rhea (born 1845, The Elms, Bristol, Sullivan Co. TN - died Nov. 16, 1893, Blountville, Sullivan Co., TN?), daughter of James Dysart Rhea and Elizabeth Juliet Carter. Matthew served in Company F, 63rd Tennessee Infantry.

(VIII)--**Sarah "Sallie" Preston Rhea - (born Feb. 12, 1841, Sullivan Co., TN - died July 31, 1920, Lookout Mountain, Dade Co., Georgia) m. Rev. Courtland Columbus Jackson, son of Asa Keyes Jackson and Princess Lobdell.  *(more about Sallie and Columbus on the next page).