I’m here this fine morning on my back porch, with a story to tell – the story of Great-grandfather Charles Henry Reed.
My maternal great-grandfather, Charles Henry8 Reed (Charles
Shortly before his 17th birthday, he enlisted in the Union Army, Company D, 11th Vermont Infantry as private, August 9, 1862. He was transferred to Company E, 3rd Vermont Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 6th Army Corps, and discharged as corporal, June 19,1865. He took part in many battles, among them: Fredricksburg, Gettysburg, Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, Cedar Creek, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. He was wounded at Cold Harbor.
After the war, he returned to Lamoille County, Vermont. He married Pamelia Ann Randall, daughter of Foster Dana Randall and Rhoda Wheeler, 10 Oct 1869, in Hyde Park.
Charles Henry appears to have been something of an entrepreneur. In the 1880 US Census, Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont, he was enumerated with the occupation of “Grocery Keeper”. He is listed as “…prop. of saw-mill and manuf. and dealer in lumber and chair stock…” (Wolcott, Lamoille County 1883-1884 Business Directory), and a contemporary profile states: “C.H. Reed’s saw-mill, located on road 40, is operated by water-power, employs twenty-five men, and cuts about 1,500,000 feet of lumber per year.” (Gazetteer of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, VT. 1883-1884, Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child; May 1887, Pages 148-162.)
In 1886, he removed to Dakota Territory, and in 1887, to Duluth,
In Duluth, he owned and operated a restaurant, “C. H. Reed”, employing family members. Sons Merton Henry worked as a waiter and cook and Dana Charles worked as a clerk in the restaurant. Katie Griffith (younger sister of Ina May Griffith. Ina married his son Merton in 1902) worked at C.H. Reed as a waiter. He continued to be listed in the directory until 1900. (Polk’s Duluth City Directory, 1889-1890: “Reed, C.H. Restaurant 530 W. Superior, r. 4516 Dodge”).
About 1906, he removed to Hastings, Dakota, MN. He died 03 Dec 1924, and was buried in Lakeside Cemetery, Hastings, Dakota, MN.
Boomer Jack
Jack – what great history – my dad was researching his family as well and it gets really complicated. It’s great that you are putting it down in blog format. Maybe I’ll convince my dad to do the same.
Ines: Most of the 8,792 people, 24 generations and 2,037 different surnames in my genealogy are on line. Living persons are not on line, for obvious reasons. There is a whole different format for on-line genealogies that works better than the blog format. BTW: the on-line genealogy community is huge!
Jack
Wow Boomer.. Following and recording all of this.. incredible!
Hi Boomer,
I’m currently trying to connect my family line to that of William Reade of Weymouth m. Susanna Hayme. It’s a bit of a long story, but my line of Reeds is dead ended in Connecticut. Genealogical DNA testing linked my Reed line to a Read family that’s from the town William Reade got married in, 15 miles away from where he was (maybe) born. The odds are that the lines converge somewhere maybe 1500-1600. I’m looking to contact a male line descendent of William Reade to see if this ancestor is my ‘missing link’. Do you know any that might be interested?
Devon: I’m certainly descended from that William of Weymouth (there are two different Williams of Weymouth that are often combined into one person) & Susanna Hayme. But I’m not certain how comfortable I am in participating in DNA testing. You may contact me for further discussion, click on the “Contact” button at the top of the page for my e-address.
Jack Boardman
Hi Jack, I not sure if you remember me, I am the nephew of Ruth and Mert. After Ruth past away many items ended up at my parants home, and my parents are cleaning out the condo some, something they should work harder on, but one of the items is Ina’ WW2 scrapbook.
Ina keep the scrap book during WW2 about the servicemen and women from the Hastings area during WW2. The news clipping are pictures of 6 brothers and which Mert and Billl are picutred. Most of the clipping are just the coming and goings of the local residents. Some article are who was captured or Killed, but other local WW2 stories also. One news clipping that was not local is about the Sullivan Brothers, 5 brothers lost in the south pacific, so you can tell that the war was a concern to her.
Anyway please lt me know if you are interested, otherwise the Dakota County Historical Society is interested in it. It is getting pretty fragile as the scrapbook pages more so than the news clippings, so I would like to find the scrapbook a good home.
I also have the Josiah Reed of Connecticut and his descendants article, which must have been mimeographed some time ago.
Please let me know if you are interested.
Herb Jr
952.831.1101
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i have a line with a Margaret Read c. 1636 of Weymouth.
Married Richard Stubbs in 1658.
Her father was William Read b. c. 1607 of Batcomb, England.
He married Susannah Hayme 12 Oct 1629.
The Read/Reade line traces back to 1450.
i’m a Pope/Lyon. Read comes up in the Pope line.
Russell Pope
Very interesting. To date, I’ve found nothing on this family in England [then again I've not spent much time researching in the past four years, or so]. Thanks.