Sophia Reeve published a number of novels, largely of the "Gothic" type, in the first two decades of the 19th century.

William Rees was born in 1800 in Bristol and was apprenticed to Sir Astley Cooper, a prominent surgeon and anatomist at St. Thomas and Guy's Hospital in London, where he studied medicine. In 1819, he immigrated to Lower Canada and became an immigration health officer at the port of Quebec. In 1822, he was commissioned to take medical charge of transport to England.

After moving to York, Upper Canada, he received his medical license in January 1830 after passing the Medical Board of Upper Canada (MBUC) licensing examinations. He purchased the practice of Dr. John Porter Daly, which he operated until 1840. In 1840, he became superintendent of the Toronto Temporary Lunatic Asylum. In 1845, he was injured by a patient and subsequently dismissed from the asylum. This led to Rees falling into debt and being unable to work. He eventually passed away in the Toronto General Hospital in 1874.

John Ernest (Johann Ernst) Juncken Rees was born on 15 August 1758 in Philadelphia to John Jacob Rees and Christina Dorothea Juncken. He moved to Quebec City in approximately 1787 to assist his uncle, Henry Juncken, in his hat-making business. After his uncle's death in 1802, he moved back to Philadelphia with his aunt.

Reverend William Henry Rees was born on 2 June, 1805, in Philadelphia, the son of George Rees and Elizabeth Daum. He married Eliza Ann Fowler Rees on 17 April 1827. In the early 1860s, he retired from his parish and moved to Newark, New Jersey for health reasons. He died on 3 September 1869.

George (Johann Georg) Rees was born on 24 August 1762 in Philadelphia to Christina Dorothea Juncken Rees and Jacob Rees. He married Elizabeth Daum on 30 October 1788. They had at least five children together, including George, Charles, Sarah, John, and William Henry. He died on 10 January 1844 in Philadelphia.

Frederick Augustus Rees was born in Bristol, England. He immigrated to Quebec City between 1817 and 1824. He graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA, in 1843. He married Margaret Catherine Musson on Jan. 2, 1847 and immigrated to Bermuda between 1843 and 1847. Dr. Frederick Augustus Rees was a physician practicing in Hamilton, Bermuda. He died May 24, 1886 in Hamilton, Bermuda and is buried there.

Christina Dorothea Juncken was born 29 May 1733 in Durlach, Germany, the daughter of Christina Dorothea Juncken and Johann Ernst Juncken. She moved with her family to Philadelphia in 1753. She married John Jacob Rees and together they had a number of children, including Johann Ernst (John), Lorrents (Lorentz), Johann Georg (George), Christina Barbara, Susanna Dorothea, Maria Juliana, and Johann Peter. Christina Dorothea's family suffered significant hardship, and at least three of her adult children died during the 1793 yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. Christina Dorothea died in 1802.