New Blog Design

As you can see, I have been working on a new design for this blog.  I have been wanting to widen my post column, but the template I was using was one of Blogger's older ones that would not allow me to do that very easily.  I like the way this one works so far.  

Please bear with me as I make a few changes - for the better, I hope!  As always, your feedback is welcomed. 

Inst. and Ult. Lead Me on a Merry Chase

When reading very old articles, I often run across phrases using the strange-looking abbreviations "inst." or "ult."  Here are two examples:

Obituary for Swanson Lunsford from City Gazette and Daily Advertiser (Charleston, SC) 16 Aug 1799, p2.  Found on www.GenealogyBank.com.  Used with permission.

When used as part of a date, "inst." is an abbreviation for "instant" and means "in this same month" or "in the current month."  

Obituary for George Wade from The Southern Chronicle (Camden, SC) 17 Dec 1823, p3 col3.  Found on www.GenealogyBank.com.  Used with permission.

"Ult." is an abbreviation for the Latin "ultimo," meaning last.  When used as part of a date, it indicates the previous month.  

The Merry Chase

There are issues with both of these obituaries that I discovered only this morning.  They made me take a harder look at my facts.  Even though these two gentlemen are on my mother's side far across my family tree from the Reeds, I cannot resist sharing this with you.

Swanson Lunsford was my 5-great grandfather.  He is buried on the grounds of the South Carolina State House.  (Click here to see his grave.) The obituary above states that he died on August 17, 1799.  According to his tombstone, however, he died on Aug 7, 1799.  In addition, neither August 7 nor 17 were on a Wednesday that year.  Confusing things further is the fact that the paper was dated Aug 16!  My conclusion:  Stick with the tombstone date.

George Wade was my 6-great grandfather and father-in-law to Swanson Lunsford.  (He is said to be buried in an unmarked grave behind his second wife's family's home here in Columbia, SC.)  For years I have had his death date as 23 Oct 1823, because that's the date given on "Family Data Collection - Individual Records," a database found on Ancestry.com which is at best a secondary source.  (However, it is often the only source available.)  This morning I discovered that according to this obituary, he died 23 NOV 1823, not in October.

George Wade's will (click here to see) yielded the fact that he signed his will on 23 Oct 1823, his witness was sworn on 27 Nov 1823, and his executor qualified on 28 Nov 1823.  My conclusion:  Go with the newspaper date of 23 NOV 1823. 

It pays to keep your mind open to all possibilities, especially when looking for information as old as this.  It is our continual duty to "Verify, Verify,Verify!"

Obituary for James Henry Reed

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 17^th 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? 

How Many Samuels Do You Have?

On my tree, I count seven Samuel Reeds and four others with different last names who were named Samuel Reed.  

1. 1751-1823 - Samuel Reed, husband of Mary Clark 
2. 1795-1847 - Samuel Reed, son of Samuel and Mary 
3. 1810-1887 - Samuel Reed, son of Hugh and Jane McSpeddon Reed 
4. 1826-1862 - Samuel James Reed, son of #2 above and Elizabeth Boylston
5. 1829-1864 - Samuel Reed Boylston, son of #1's daughter Mary Reed and Austin Boylston
6. 1835-1848 - Samuel Reed Waters, son of #1's daughter Jane Reed and Jonathan Thomas Waters
7. 1846-1889 - Samuel Elijah Reed, son of #3 above and Matilda Willis
8. 1862-1924 - Samuel Reed Boylston, Jr., son of #5 above and Elizabeth Rebecca Riley
9. 1874-1874 - Samuel S. Reed, son of James William Reed (son of Hugh) and  Anna Rebecca Tyler Reed
10. 1882-1918 - Samuel Elijah Reed, Jr., son of #7 above and Emma Warner
11. 1885-1849 - Samuel Reed Copeland, son of Ida Reed and William Riley Copeland (Ida was a daughter of James Henry and Mary Cook Reed, granddaughter of John and Julia Odom Reed, great-granddaughter of Samuel and Mary)

Other Samuels on the tree who descend from Samuel and Mary:  

1. 1823-1890 - Samuel J. Hartzog, son of Rebecca Reed (daughter of #1 above) and Henry Bernard Hartzog 
2. 1825-1899 - Samuel Ledwick Hair - son of Lavisa Reed (daughter of #1 above) and David Hair 
3. 1840-1912 - Samuel Prioleau Chisolm, son of Adella Ursula Reed (daughter of #3 above) and Samuel Prioleau Chisolm (granted, he was named after his father) 
4. 1848-?? - Samuel Powell Cooper, son of Alice Ann Reed (daughter of #2 above) and Clark Columbus Cooper 
5. 1853-1853 - Samuel Capers Milhous, son of Cyrena Reed (daughter of Hugh) and William Capers Milhous 
6. 1858-?? - Samuel E. Ray, son of Martha Jane Reed (daughter of #3 above) and Hugh Charles Ray 
7. 1860-?? - Samuel Hutchins Still - son of Ellen Rebecca Rebecca Hair (daughter of Lavisa Reed and David Hair) and Samuel Hutchins Still (yes, named after his father)
8. 1880-1894 - Samuel Lemuel Hair - son of David Furman Hair (son of Lavisa Reed and David Hair) and Irene Sophora Addison

And, although he's not a descendant, it is interesting to note that the first name of the father of Jane McSpeddon (Hugh Reed's wife) was Samuel!  

Surely these are not all.  If you have any I've missed, please let me know!

NEW BLOG: Samuel and Mary Clark Reed of Barnwell Family Photos

This past weekend I spent most of my time creating "Samuel and Mary Clark Reed of Barnwell Family Photos."  It is a companion blog to this one that is designed to share our pictures of the descendants of Samuel and Mary Reed.  

I am still working out some of the kinks, but I believe I am ready to share it with you.  

The address is:  http://samuelreedfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/ 

When you go to the blog, you will see the latest post.  In the column to the right, there is a Photo Index.  Click on a name to take you to the post where you will find photos of that person. 

Of course, I started with photos of my own forebears.  (I thoroughly enjoyed spending yesterday with my grandparents!)  

In the next few weeks, I will be adding some wonderful old photos that I have received through the last few years.  Please let me know if you have photographs or portraits that you would like to share.  Be sure to let me know who has the original and an approximate date of the picture.  Contact me at samuelreedfamily@gmail.com.  

Privacy of living persons in photos will be guarded to the best of my ability.  I will also do my best to give credit where credit is due and request that you do the same.  

I would like to have your feedback on this photo blog idea.  It may or may not be the best way to accomplish this sharing.  We shall see, as time goes on, where it needs tweaking.  Please let me know how it works for you, good or bad, in opening and viewing the pages.  Does it take too long to load?  (Picture heavy pages sometimes do.)  

You will be able to leave comments on there just as you can on here.  Please share your memories and knowledge with us, as well as your photos! 

Michael Joshua Reed (1851-1924)

~ ~ ~

Michael Joshua Reed

Michael Joshua Reed was born on April 19, 1851, the fourth of 13 recorded children of James William Reed (1827-1901) and Anna Rebecca Tyler (1828-1882).

Michael married M. Pauline Tyler, daughter of Joshua Tyler and Jane Corbitt, on March 13, 1873, in Barbour County, Alabama.  They had seven children by 1887.  Pauline died in Alabama, after which Michael and his family returned to South Carolina. 

On December 31, 1889, Michael married Mary Alice Fanning, daughter of Joseph C. Fanning and Martha Corbett.  They had eight children.

Michael Joshua Reed died on February 2, 1924.  His obituary in the Augusta Chronicle stated that between 1200 and 1500 people attended his funeral and burial at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Springfield, SC! 

Michael Joshua Reed and Mary Alice Fanning Reed (abt 1920)

This photograph and the one at the top of this post were sent by Roger Ganis, a great-grandson of Michael and Mary Alice Reed.  Estimates place it in the early 1920s.

Michael and Mary Alice Fanning Reed (about 1890)

Stephanie Rowell Murray, a 2-great granddaughter of Michael and Mary Alice, contributed this picture.

(Remember that you can click on any of these pictures to see them larger.)  

Roger also has this picture of all eight Michael and Mary Alice's children plus "Add," a son from Michael's first marriage to Pauline Tyler.  It was taken before some time before Christine's death in 1956.

Children of Michael Joshua Reed

Ladies L-R:  Nina Maroney, Lula Emma Fogle, Myra Johnson, Christine Hair
Men, L-R: Dallas, Clayton, [Unsure], James, and [Unsure].

Many thanks to Roger's mother Annie Mae Fogle Ganis and Myrtle Quattlebaum for identification.  The two "unsures" are thought to be Addie (known as "Add") and George Arthur.  Please let me know if you know which is which. 

To Roger and Stephanie:  Thank you very much for sharing these treasures with us.  Photos like this really help our history come alive. 

Sources/Verifications:
Birth and Death Dates, Parents, Burial:  South Carolina Death Certificate #003063 at Ancestry.com
Marriage to Pauline:  Alabama Marriage Collection 1800-1969 at Ancestry.com
Marriage to Mary Alice:  William and Ann Carter Tyler and Some of their Descendants 1604-2008 by Albert L. Brodie, Jr.
M. J. Reed Obituary:  Augusta Chronicle (February 8, 1924, page B3) at Genealogybank.com; used with permission.  

"Many Years After" by D. Graham Copeland is Online

Yesterday, the University of South Carolina Libraries Digital Collections made available online the book Many Years After, A Bit of History and Some Recollections of Bamberg with Appendix of Data Concerning a Few Bamberg County Families and their Connections by D. Graham Copeland.

Click here to see it.  

I am thrilled!  Seeing it all from the comfort of my desk chair sure beats bending over a microfilm reader at the South Caroliniana Library! 

When you click "View Book" from the link above, it opens a viewer.  Browse the column to the left for chapter headings.  Test the different views available in the line above the image.

Edited 5/2/2011 to add:  "The Reeds and Their Connections" chapter is on pages 379-385. 

Click on "View" in the left column to see a drop-down menu.  If you select "complete print version," it will download a PDF of the entire book! (664 pages and 128 MB) 

Please keep in mind a couple of important points.

1)  This book is a source, not a verification.  I believe it is fabulous, but it remains a "jumping off point," a place to guide you to information that still needs to be verified through other sources.

2)  If you use any parts of this book, please remember to mind your copyright manners.  Give credit where credit is due, not just to Graham Copeland, but the USC libraries as well.