Description

Elisha Marcus Reavis (b. 1827 – d. 1896) was born in Beardstown, Illinois in 1827 and died around April 10, 1896 in the Arizona Superstition Mountains near his mountain home. He was the son of James Alexander Reavis (b. 1797 – d. 1838) and Mary (Harlan) Reavis. He had a brother Logan Uriah Reavis (b. 1831 - d. 1889). Elisha attended college before going to California during the Gold Rush. He taught school briefly at El Monte, California and searched for gold along California’s San Gabriel River. He married Mary Y. Sexton at San Gabriel, California on December 30, 1867. They had one daughter, Louisa Maria Reavis.

Elisha went with other gold seekers to Arizona’s Bradshaw Mountains in 1863 but had little success. He returned to California but his wife refused to move to the rugged country in Arizona and preferred to live near her parents. After her death, their daughter went to St. Louis to live with Reavis relatives. Elisha returned to Arizona with his uncle who was appointed a judge on the territorial state supreme court by President Ulysses S. Grant. Elisha worked as a US Marshall before starting a small ranch near Fort Dowell, There he broke horses and mules, packed for the army during Indian campaigns before moving to a remote valley in 1874. Located on Iron Mountain, it was high enough to be cool and beautiful in what became known as the Superstition Mountains. Here he farmed and over the years raised farm animals, planted an apple orchard and raised vegetables and fruit. He would take these by pack mules to nearby towns for sale.

Many stories are told of him—The Hermit of Superstition Mountains—how he was a crack shot with a Winchester causing the Apaches to give him a wide berth after a fight in which he killed three of them, how he faced a bear with a rifle that misfired, etc. He was a well read man who had the first library of books in the Superstition Mountains. On April 9, 1896 a friend dropped by and Elisha said he was about to leave for Mesa to buy seed potatoes. On May 6, 1896, James Delabaugh stopped at Jack Fraser's ranch and discovered Reavis had never passed by. Alarmed, they backtracked and found his remains on the trail four miles south of his ranch. His mules were tied nearby and half starved. Reavis’ remains were scattered by wild animals. He was buried May 7, 1896 under a cairn of rocks at a nearby Indian ruins where the soil was softer. His grave was marked with a stone marker which is no longer there.

Sources: Family Search, Tom Kollenborn Chronicles, September 29, 2011, Find A Grave

Reproduction Rights owned by Arizona Historical Society Southern Division (Tucson).