William Wesley Rees

William Wesley Rees

William Wesley Rees, a resident of Sylvania Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania, was drafted as a Private at the age of 26 into Company H, 99th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. The 99th Pennsylvania was commanded by Colonel Edwin R. Biles. Company H was commanded by Captain Edward Fords. His service was from February 21, 1865 until July 1, 1865 when he was discharged at the end of the Civil War. At his discharge when he was last paid he owed $4.60 for clothing and $6.00 for equipment.

William Wesley Rees was a member of A.F. Port #20, Grand Army of the Republic, Chartered in 1881. He was the son of Isaac Rees, the oldest son of Ely Rees and Mary Ann Nelson. His father, Isaac, was a member of the original pioneer family that came to Sylvania Township from the Philadelphia area in 1830. William Wesley had the following brothers and sisters: Martha who married Edward Harding, Ann who married William Putman, Harriet who married Henry Taylor, Nancy who died single, Mary who married George Younglove, Henry who married Jerusla Wedsworth, and David who remained single.

On January 16, 1870, William Wesley Rees married the former Alice Lodlca Byam of Elmira, New York (d.o.b April 19, 1847). To them was born Irving Clifton Reese - date of birth, December 2, 1889. They adopted their second child, Florence - date of birth January 6, 1894. In 1880 they purchased land in Eulalla Township, Pennsylvania, on the west Bank of the Allegany River. In later years the family settled In Gold, Pennsylvania.

Additional information on William Wesley Rees may be obtained by going to: http://home.earthlink.net/~navetsusa/reessearch/d-isaac/07dffdbb.html

Photograph submitted by William Wesley Rees's great grandson, Edward C. Reese, NCCS, USN, Retired, NCCM, NYNM.

William Wesley Rees