How Many Children Bass Reeves Had With Nellie Jennie (& What Happened To Them)

The new Paramount+ series Lawmen: Bass Reeves features a realistic depiction of the real-life Old West lawman, including his family life. As depicted in the first three episodes of the series, Bass Reeves’ legend began as a slave who was forced to fight for the Confederate Army during the United States Civil War under Colonel George R. Reeves. Bass Reeves’ heroics on the battlefield were noticed by George Reeves, whom Bass would eventually escape slavery from in 1864. Bass lived in Indigenous Territory until the end of the war and reunited with his one true love, Nellie Jennie.

Jennie in Lawmen: Bass Reeves becomes Bass’s wife and eventually has multiple children with him. The two are depicted in the series meeting while both are slaves under George Reeves in Grayson County, Texas. When Bass reunites with Jennie after they are both emancipated, he is stunned to find out that he has a daughter with Jennie named Sally. Sally is the oldest child of Jennie and Bass Reeves and is the only one of their children who is given an individual subplot in Lawmen: Bass Reeves. However, Bass and Jennie’s first child was actually named Sarah.

Bass Reeves & Nellie Jennie Had 11 Children

The real-life Bass Reeves and Nellie Jennie had a total of eleven children together throughout their marriage, which ended in 1896 with Jennie’s passing. After their first child Sarah was born in 1861, the couple had 10 more children from 1866 to 1882. The kids in order were named: Sarah, Robert, Harriet, Georgie, Newland, Edgar, William, Benjamin, Alice Mae, Lula, and Homer. It appears that Sarah (Sally), Robert, Harriet, Georgie, and Newland have been depicted so far in Lawmen: Bass Reeves.

Bass Reeves would eventually remarry after Jennie’s death in 1896 to Winnie Foreman Sumner. The two got married in 1900 and had one child together named Bass Reeves Jr. Like Jennie, Winnie had been born into slavery before she married a man named Benjamin Sumner. Bass also reportedly had a sister named Jane Reeves who is not chronicled in Lawmen: Bass Reeves but could potentially appear later in the series.

What Happened To Bass Reeves’ Children In Real Life

None of Bass Reeves’ eleven children with his Jennie ever did anything as remarkable as what he was able to do in his life, which ended in 1910. Sarah got married in the early 1900s and had two children. Robert Reeves did follow in his father’s footsteps but was killed on the job. Several of Bass’s sons, including Newland, Edgar, and Benjamin, went to prison for several years. Benjamin was notably arrested by Bass himself for killing his wife.

Not much else is known about the rest of Bass Reeves’ children, including Bass Reeves Jr. Several of them were not included in Bass’s will for unknown reasons, including Georgie and Newland. Lula tragically died in 1889 at the age of 17 from epilepsy. The oldest of Bass Reeves’ children, Alice Mae, lived to 1966. Bass Reeves himself died of Bright’s disease after serving more than 35 years as a Deputy U.S. Marshal. It’s uncertain how many of Bass’s children will be featured by the end of Lawmen: Bass Reeves.