Here's what I've collected, over the years:

The immigrant patriarch of Deaver families in the United States is generally recognized as Richard DEVER who, with his wife Grace, came to this continent in 1658. It is not known exactly what part of Britain he came from; the ship on which arrived, the Lionheart, originally sailed from Scotland, but may have made port in other places before making the crossing.

Richard DEVER settled near Providence (now Annapolis) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland and, having completed his service, he received a grant of land in 1662. He quickly became a successful landowner. He had three sons that we know of, perhaps more. Within a couple of generations, the Deaver family in Maryland had become both numerous and prosperous.

After the Revolution, the DEAVER descendants began to migrate southward and westward. William R DEAVER, Sr., and four of his sons came to western North Carolina by way of Virginia. They were among the founders of Buncombe (1791) and, later, Haywood (1808) Counties. Later generations of that branch can be found in Texas and California.

Other DEAVER families migrated westward from Maryland into southeastern Ohio, where they founded Deavertown, in Morgan County. Their descendants continued to migrate westward, eventually reaching California. The late Michael Keith DEAVER, advisor to President Reagan, was a descendant of that branch of the family.

Around 1790, two other DEAVER brothers, William John and Thomas DEAVER, came to western North Carolina from Maryland and settled in the Pigeon River valley. They were most likely cousins of the William R DEAVER family, but the exact relationship has not been established. William John and Thomas DEAVER were accompanied by William HAMBY (1744-1840). Originally from Maryland himself, William HAMBY was a veteran of the Revolution, having served in the North Carolina Militia.

We suspect that William John DEAVER was married to a daughter of William HAMBY. William John and his brother, Thomas, settled near the Pigeon River in a region that was then Buncombe, but became Haywood, County, North Carolina. William John DEAVER had four children, that we know of. In 1809, at the age of about 39, William John DEAVER died.

We believe that Thomas DEAVER then married his brother's widow. Thomas DEAVER had three children: Susannah, born about 1810, Reuben Keith, born January 9, 1811, and Harvey B DEAVER, who was born a year or two later. Thomas DEAVER took his family and settled in Cades Cove, Tennessee--a site now within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park--where he died in 1815.

Where the children lived during the next ten years is not clear. Some researchers suggest that their mother died while they were quite young, and that they were raised by William HAMBY. William HAMBY lived to the remarkable age of 96. In his will, he left all his property to the children of William John and Thomas DEAVER, six of them, by name. William HAMBY is buried in Cades Cove.

Reuben Keith DEAVER was only four years old when his father died. He had little formal education, but managed to learn the skills of a surveyor. He mapped the Cherokee lands in western North Carolina and, in 1837, produced a remarkable map which now resides in the office of the Secretary of State of North Carolina.

In 1832, Reuben Keith DEAVER married Lydia THOMAS of Sevierville, Tennessee. Lydia may have been a grand-daughter of Isaac THOMAS, a well-known trader who lived among the Cherokee. Initially, Reuben and Lydia lived in Sevier County but, by 1834, had settled at the Forks of Ivy, in what was then Buncombe, but is now part of Madison County. It was from there that he made his surveying expeditions to the southwest. It was also at the Forks of Ivy that most of his children were born.

In 1840, Reuben Keith DEAVER was ordained as a Baptist minister. In 1843, he established the Forks of Ivy Missionary Baptist Church along the bank of the Little Ivy River, just south of Mars Hill. Incidentally, near the church, his brother, Thomas Shepherd DEAVER, built a grist mill and a sawmill. From there, Shepherd DEAVER produced the lumber that he donated for the first building at Mars Hill College.

Around 1853, Reuben Keith DEAVER moved his growing family to the Nottla District of Cherokee County, which he had surveyed years earlier. There, he became a charter member of the Nottla Baptist Church. It was in Nottla that my great-grandfather, Reuben Miles DEAVER, the youngest of twelve children, was born in 1854. As it would turn out, Reuben Miles DEAVER would be the only one born in Cherokee County. To the best of my knowledge, these are the children of Reuben Keith DEAVER's first family:

i. William Hamby DEAVER, b. 11 Oct 1832, d. 19 Oct 1877;
m1. Jane DOWNS, no children;
m2. Louisa A "Lois" McELROY, no children;
ii. Thomas Shepard DEAVER, b. 1833, d. 1901;
m. Evaline REID, 2 children;
iii. Verena M DEAVER, b. 1836;
m. Garrett A DEWEESE, 7 children;
iv. Ephraim Moore DEAVER, b. 29 Jun 1840, d. aft 1890;
m1. (1865) Nancy Catherine ANDERSON, 10 children;
m2. Mary Elizabeth LEATHERWOOD, 3 children;
v. Elvira DEAVER, b. 1842, d. 1880;
m. William Washington WELCH, 7 children;
vi. Mary Luarte DEAVER, b. 11 Mar 1843, d. 16 Apr 1931;
m1. Jesse RICE, 2 children;
m2. Alexander PARKER, 4 children;
vii. John Anderson DEAVER, b. 1846 (twin), d. 10 Jan 1936;
m1. Chesdominion "Eliza"/"Chissie" ANDERSON, 9 children;
m2. Rebecca Jane WALKER, 2 children;
m3. Sarah C DAVIS, no children;
viii. Nancy/Mary Jane "Morresy" DEAVER, b. 1846 (twin), d. 1912;
m1. Burton A RUNION, 1 child;
m2. George W BROWN, 9 children;
ix. Cecelia Ann DEAVER, b. 5 May 1847, d. 2 Mar 1925;
m. Joseph M ANDERSON, 11 children;
x. Susan M DEAVER, b. 1848;
xi. Lidia Samantha DEAVER, b. 1852;
m. William David THOMPSON, 12 children;
xii. Reuben Miles DEAVER, b. 10 Oct 1854, d. 28 Nov 1832;
m. Nancy Jane CHASTAIN, 5 children.

Lydia Thomas DEAVER died in 1870. The Rev. Reuben Keith DEAVER then married, second, Susannah Catherine CHAPMAN of Union County, Georgia. He moved from Nottla to Ivy Log, where four more sons were born. They were:

i. Adolphus Pinkney DEAVER b 22 Sep 1871; m Mary SIMPSON?, m Lilly CHAMSEY; d 16 Nov 1951;
ii. Solomon Alfred DEAVER b 17 Oct 1874; m Amanda Caroline (Callie) CHASTAIN; d 21 May 1948;
iii. Harvey Wilson DEAVER b 31 Dec 1876; m Frances (Fanny) Odell DAVIS; d 08 Jun 1966;
iv. Isaac Benjamin DEAVER b 02 Feb 1880; m Dora Pathena LANKFORD; d 28 Dec 1954.

Rev. Reuben Keith DEAVER died 21 Mar 1888. He is buried, alongside his first wife, Lydia, at the Old Ivy Log Cemetery in Union County.

I an outline of the descendants of the children of the first family; others are more familiar with the second family.
--
David Thomas
Sugar Land, Texas