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Elizabeth Thompson Reeve


Other Name:
Betsey Reeve
Gender:
Female
Born:
February 14, 1774
Died:
December 8, 1842
Home Town:
Bethlehem, CT
Marriage(s):
Tapping Reeve (April 30, 1798)
Biographical Notes:
Elizabeth Thompson Reeve was hired around 1794 by Tapping Reeve as a housekeeper and companion for his wife, Sally Burr Reeve, who died in 1797. Tapping Reeve and Elizabeth Thompson were married in 1799.

When Elizabeth died on 30 April 1842, her brother William H. Thompson served as her executor. Estate papers include receipts from Truman Munger for services as sexton; furniture maker David C. Bulkley for a mahogany coffin & plate; and R.M. Woodruff to balance accounts.

Amelia Ogden, a former student of the Litchfield Female Academy and cousin of Sally Burr Reeve, also lived in the Reeve's house and served as a companion for Elizabeth in her later years. Ogden remained in the house following Elizabeth's death.
Quotes:
"Mrs. Reeve was the largest woman I ever saw, with a full, ruddy face, that had no pretensions to beauty; but her strong and cultivated mind, her warm and generous feelings, and her remarkable conversational powers made her a universal favorite. She was both droll and witty, while she made so much sport of her own personal appearance that it removed all feeling of its disadvantages." Catharine Beecher, Autobiography, correspondence, etc., of Lyman Beecher, D.D by Beecher, Lyman, 1864 Accessed at https://archive.org/stream/autobiographyco03beecgoog/autobiographyco03beecgoog_djvu.txt May 12, 2023


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