William and Tabitha Reynolds, prominent among the early settlers of Hardeman County were William and Tabitha (Coburn) Reynolds, both natives of North Carolina. In 1824, William came to Hardeman County and helped clear the forest from the spot where the town of Bolivar now stands. Some time after this he married and settled in this county, making it his permanent home. Their family consisted of seven children, only three now living. The father was a Democrat before the war and a strong out-spoken Union man afterward. For a calling in life, he followed manufacturing and selling furniture. He died in 1878. The mother is still living, is over threescore and ten years of age and is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. William H., the eldest son of William and Tabitha (Coburn) Reynolds, was born June 21, 1837, in Bolivar, where he received his education. At the age of eighteen he took charge of his father’s business, learning the cabinet-maker’s trade, at which he has worked ever since. In 1867, he married Jennie Estes, and the fruits of this union were six children, five of whom are living. In 1859, William H. went to Arkansas, where he remained for some time. In 1866, he returned to Bolivar and since then has been engaged in the undertaking and furniture business. In 1884, he opened a grocery and hardware store and is engaged in this business at the present. He is also somewhat interested in farming. He is a Democrat in politics and for forty-nine years has made this county his home. Twenty years of that time he was intimately associated with the business interests of Bolivar. Although not a church member, he is liberal toward churches, schools and all other worthy enterprises. He also took an active part in raising the funds and helped survey the grounds, etc., for the new asylum. He is of Scotch-Irish origin.
Source: “The Goodspeed Publishing Co., History of Tennessee, 1886”