Transcription of Obituary for
James Henry Reed
(17 Feb 1826 - 17 May 1901)
THE BARNWELL PEOPLE
Vol XXIV No. 39, p. 3, col. 3
Thursday, May 30, 1901
BLACKVILLE NEWS
Mr. James W. Reed died on the 17th inst., aged 77 years, and was buried in the Odom burial ground. Rev. W. D. Rice conducted the funeral services. For many years, he was a consistent member of Healing Springs Church.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I found this obituary recently on microfilm at the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina here in Columbia. Besides the fact that it has his middle initial as W instead of H (a fairly commonly found error), it poses a couple of questions.
James's birthdate on his tombstone is February 18, 1825. In the Benjamin Odom, Jr., Family Bible, it is February 17, 1826. According to this obituary, he was 77 years old when he died, which would have him born in 1824. I realize we may never know for sure, and I am okay with that. The date of death on the obituary does match the tombstone date, however.
More interesting to me is the phrase "buried in the Odom burial ground." The small plot where he is buried along with seven other relatives is on Gardenia Road in upper Barnwell County. Click here to see. I seriously doubt that more than eight graves would fit inside the chain link fence there.
The plot is on (or at least near) land that James's father John Reed bought from the estate of Benjamin Odom, his father-in-law. When Benjamin died, the land was auctioned on March 7, 1825. John Reed was the highest bidder at $2001.00. (Click here to see where this has been thoroughly documented by Bruce Odom.)
Does this make you wonder if other Odom and Reed unmarked graves might be at the same site?
James's birthdate on his tombstone is February 18, 1825. In the Benjamin Odom, Jr., Family Bible, it is February 17, 1826. According to this obituary, he was 77 years old when he died, which would have him born in 1824. I realize we may never know for sure, and I am okay with that. The date of death on the obituary does match the tombstone date, however.
More interesting to me is the phrase "buried in the Odom burial ground." The small plot where he is buried along with seven other relatives is on Gardenia Road in upper Barnwell County. Click here to see. I seriously doubt that more than eight graves would fit inside the chain link fence there.
The plot is on (or at least near) land that James's father John Reed bought from the estate of Benjamin Odom, his father-in-law. When Benjamin died, the land was auctioned on March 7, 1825. John Reed was the highest bidder at $2001.00. (Click here to see where this has been thoroughly documented by Bruce Odom.)
Does this make you wonder if other Odom and Reed unmarked graves might be at the same site?
No comments:
Post a Comment