In the 1860 census, Robert Jennings Reveley was a Deputy Sheriff , with the census identifying the post office as "Thornhill's Store". Anybody know where that was? There were Thornhills all around, and Robert's sister even married a Thornhill. Unfortunately, a family story says Reveley family fortunes were sunk when Robert co-signed a note for a Mr. Thornhill, using most of his farmland as collateral. Robert was reluctant to use his slaves as security for the note because he was too fond of them to risk losing them. Then Thornhill defaulted, the land was lost, and a few years later the Civil War freed the slaves. Robert's sister Judith married Joshua Thornhill, but we don't know if he was involved. In 1850, Robert had 5 slaves and was an Overseer and neighbor to Thornhills who had many slaves and a large plantation. In the 1860 census, Robert was a Deputy Sheriff at Thornhill's Store. In 1870 the Reveleys were in Lynchburg and Robert was working as a hand on the railroad. :(