Saturday, June 18, 2011

Samuel Reed (1810-1887), Son of Hugh

Signature on Administration Bond for his father Hugh's Estate, 2 June 1854

Samuel Reed, the second child and eldest son of Hugh and Jane McSpeddon Reed, was born 18 Oct 1810 in Barnwell County, SC.  Samuel and Mary Clark Reed were his grandparents. 

About 1832, Samuel married Matilda Willis (1815-1865), daughter of Robert and Keziah Watson Willis.  They had 13 children. 
  • Cyrena Kesiah Reed (1832-1893) m. William Capers Milhouse (1827-1894); both buried in Blackville Cemetery.
  • Martha Jane Reed (1834-1905) m1 Hugh Charles Ray (1832-1862), m2 William Jefferson Rowe (1816-1884); all three buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery.  
  • Anna Acklyn Reed (1836-1902) m. Henry P. Barr (1838-1868); Anna is buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery.
  • Emeline Antoinette Reed (1838-1864) m. Nathan A. Walker (1836-1865); Emeline is buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery. Nathan died at the Battle of Averysboro, NC in March 1865.
  • Robert Hugh Reed (1841-1851); buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery. 
  • Ellen F. Reed (1842-1910) m. Benjamin Franklin Rice (1832-1884)
  • Elliott Reed (abt 1844-1880)
  • Samuel Elijah Reed (1846-1889) m. Emma Warner (1854-1927); both buried in Blackville Cemetery.
  • Adella Ursula Reed (1848-1875) m. Rev. Samuel Prioleau Chisolm (1840-1912)
  • Rosa Matilda Reed (1849-1916) m. Jacob Banks; Rosa is buried at Double Branch Baptist Church in Neeses, SC.
  • Jerome Iverson Reed - (1853-1908) m. Hester B. "Mittie" Center (1853-1883); both are buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery. 
  • Tully Washington Reed - (1856-1910) m1 Anna Houser Reed (1856-1878), m2 Katie Thompson (1861-1929).  Tully and Katie are buried at Williston Cemetery; Anna is buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery. 
  • Sissie Reed (1858-1860); buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery.  

Samuel and his family were members of Healing Springs Baptist Church. Minutes from the church show that Samuel joined the congregation in July 1843. 


Samuel and his family are found in the 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880 Federal Censuses living near Blackville in Barnwell County.  His occupation was farming.  The 1850 Slave Schedules shows Samuel Reed with 15 slaves.  The 1860 Slave Schedule shows 33 slaves.  

When Samuel's father Hugh died without a will on 10 May 1854, Samuel administered the estate.  Click here to see the probate record.  

After Matilda's death on 26 Nov 1865, Samuel married Jane E. _____ (1826-1868.  After Jane's death, he married married Sarah A. _____ (born abt 1828). 

Samuel died on 3 Mar 1887 in Barnwell County.  He, his first wife Matilda, and his second wife Jane are buried in Hugh Reed's Family Cemetery.  

Tombstones of Matilda, Samuel, and Jane E. Reed

From The Working Christian, Issue of March 17, 1887: 
"On the 3rd of March 1887, Mr. Samuel Reed, who was in the 77th year of his age, departed this life. Bro. Reed united himself to the fellowship of the Healing Springs Baptist Church about fifty years ago."  
(Source:  Marriage and Death Notices from Baptist Newspapers of South Carolina, 1866-18,  published in the South Carolina Magazine of Ancestral Research [database on-line at Ancestry.com])

Many thanks to my dear fifth cousin Josie Reed for the portrait of Samuel Reed.  She snapped it from a portrait hanging in her family home in Boone, North Carolina.  In the very near future you will finally get to meet Josie here.  She has a treasure trove of old photographs she has graciously agreed to share with us on this site and on the photo blog.  Look forward to some "can't miss" posts! 

Monday, May 30, 2011

More Probate Records Found

Since the last post post, I've been digging and found 18 more probate records.  Here they are in alphabetical order.  I have shown the "naked links" instead of embedding them for a couple of reasons.  First, it's much easier for me.  Second, in case clicking on the link does not work, you can cut and paste the shown link into your browser. 

Some of these folks are not very closely tied to our Reeds, but they are all on my master tree.  This seems to me to be the best place to share them with all sides of my family.  If you have any questions about any of them, please feel free to contact me. 

If you find any links I haven't listed, please share them with us!
Send an email to samuelreedfamilyATgmailDOTcom.


Aquilla Beard (son of William Beard) – Guardianship Committee by brother Thomas Beard

Asbury Martin Bozard, 1851-1924 – Orangeburg Will Book 11, pages 99-102 (images 328-330)

John L. Bozard, 1822-1888 – Orangeburg Will Book 2, page 191 (not p288 as will book states) (starts image 128)

Norman Cuthbert Bozard, 1880-1937 – Orangeburg Will Book 14 p5-6 (image 32-33)

David Newton Callahan 1875-1947 & Frances “Fannie” Strickland Callahan 1876-1953 – will from Orangeburg County vol 15 image 283-294
Left land to Hampton & Ethel Bell; Son-in-law Laurie Strickland executor or J. O. Reed if not.  Identified Hampton as their youngest son.  What about George? 

Jacob Cupstid / Cubsted / Cupstead, 1822-1862

Vastine R. Cupstid, 1857-1894

Elizabeth Fickling, 1808-1851 (daughter of Hugh & Jane McSpeddon Reed, wife of Rev. William Johnson Fickling 1806-1848, AKA Jane Elizabeth Reed)

F. L. [Florence L.] Fickling, et al., Guardianship of (children of William J. & Elizabeth Reed Fickling)

William Johnson Fickling, 1806-1848 (husband of Jane Elizabeth Reed who was daughter of Hugh & Jane Reed)

Andrew Foster, 1782-1866 – Spartanburg County Inventories, Appraisements, Sales, 1863-1871, page 45-46 (images 389-390) https://www.familysearch.org/search/image/show#uri=https%3A//api.familysearch.org/records/pal%3A/MM9.1.i/dgs%3A004752992.004752992_00389

Moses Foster, 1749-1813 – Spartanburg County Wills book, 1810-1820, Vol. A, page 43 (image 32)

John Hartzog 1760-1821 (father of Henry Barnard Hartzog who married Rebecca Reed)

Caroline Ann Salley Milhous (1825-1897)

Jane Jeter Ray, 1788-1849 (wife of Charles Ray 1785-1849)

Charlie P. Reed, 1860-1935 (son of John Wiley Reed & Louvisa Hair) – will from Orangeburg county vol 13 image 199-200

Tullie W. Reed, 1856-1910 (son of Samuel Reed and Matilda Willis)

Tilden F. Riley – Orangeburg Wills, 1944-1957, Vol. 16, pages 81-83 (images 69-70)


Sunday, May 22, 2011

Digitized Treasures

On May 9, FamilySearch.org released two collections that include wills, records of estates, and guardianships recorded in many South Carolina counties.  Many, many thanks to Cousin Brenda White for alerting me to this release. 

Folks, this is really BIG!!!

This week I have discovered much treasure, all available right here at my desk.  It has been a thrilling week! 

Here are links to these gold mines: 




Although the inclusive dates span a larger range, most of the records in these collections fall between the year 1800 through 1930.

These are not simply transcripts of wills, but images of the original estate records.  

Click here for a detailed description as well as some guidance on finding, using, and sourcing these records.

I must alert you that finding records on your ancestors will not be a matter of entering a name in a search engine and having the record pop up.  These records are not tied to a search engine.  It required a lot of looking around, discovering how the indexes on microfilm work, and a lot of hit and miss.  But the effort is definitely worth it!

I am glad to tell you, however, that Barnwell County records in the Files and Loose Papers were the easiest to find, in my opinion.  A tip about the index available (click here to see the index):  Pages 1-6 are headers; pages 7-65 seem to be wills only; pages 66-184 are wills, estate administrations, and guardianships.  Pages 185 to end seem to be a duplicate of pages 66-184.   (If you find out differently, please let me know.)

When you find a person on the index whom you want to look up, jot down the date(s), number of package, and number of case.  In Barnwell County, the case number will be the "bundle" number on the microfilm.

Armed with these notes, go to "Probate Court, Cases" and then click on "1787-1958."  You will see a ranges of numbers (click here to see).  These numbers are case/bundle numbers.  

Important to note is that the case numbers go only through 170.  Case numbers larger than that are not available at this time in this section.  (I really do hope they are made available in the future!  However, it is hard to be too disappointed, considering what has been made available.) 

Pick your appropriate range.  For example, Samuel Reed's will is bundle 42, pkg1, the easiest one I found because it was the first one in that range.  For others, it's a matter of fishing around, looking at dates, and getting lucky enough to find a page with the beginning of a package which looks similar to this:

From one of these pages you can tell easily whether you need to go forwards or backwards in your search. 

That's the best I can explain it for you at this point.  It becomes sort of a game - certainly a challenge!

If you get really stuck finding someone, please leave me a comment here, and I'll be happy to see what I can do to help.  

Now, for the really good stuff.  Here are links that will take you straight to wills, estate administrations, guardianships, and other information I have found so far: 


Samuel Reed, 1751-1823 (Husband of Mary Clark)

John Reed, 1792-1851 (Son of Samuel & Mary) John Reed was my 3gGF.  Now, for the first time, I have a correct death date for him rather than the "abt 1855" we've always had!

Hugh Reed, 1783-1854 (Son of Samuel & Mary)
Samuel Reed, Jr., 1795-1847 (Son of Samuel & Mary)
Samuel J. Reed, 1826-1862 (Son of Samuel Jr. and Elizabeth Boylston Reed)
George J. Reed, 1812-1857 (Son of Hugh & Jane McSpeddon Reed) (indexed as George I. Reed, but it is actually George J.)

Major Benjamin Odom, 1758-1822 (My 4gGF, Father of Emelia Odom and Julia Odom, wives of John Reed) 
Jesse Holman, 1792-1816 (First husband of Lavisa Reed 1794-1837, daughter of Samuel & Mary)
David Hair, 1791-1843 (Second husband of Lavisa Reed 1794-1837, daughter of Samuel & Mary)  These records include all the fees for the care of his children with Lavisa after his death. 
Guardianship of Henry Hair, (only son of David Hair with second wife Narcissa) Guardianship with his mother Narcissa H. Hair during which time Narcissa married William Stanyarne Johnson

George F. Hartzog, d 1855 (Husband of Eleanor “Nellie” Reed 1810-?, daughter of Samuel & Mary)
George F. Hartzog, 1812-1843 (First husband of Rebecca Kennerly Hartzog Reed, wife of George I. Reed.  This is not the George F. Hartzog who married Eleanor “Nellie” Reed.)
Henry Barnard Hartzog, 1791-1856 (husband of Rebecca Reed 1798-1871, daughter of Samuel & Mary)

Guardianship of Levicey I. Hartzog, Et Al. (Children of Henry Bernard Hartzog, 1791-1856, and Rebecca Reed)  Here is a page with information about Eleanor Reed Hartzog and her ward Levicey (daughter of her husband George F. Hartzog) that got mixed in with this set.
James Alexander Reed, 1859-1909 (Son of James W. Reed & Anna Rebecca Tyler) – will only
Daniel Hair, 1793-1846 (Father of 1- Louvisa Clementine “Clemmie” Hair who married John Wiley Reed and 2- Isaiah Hair who married Julia F. Reed.  Wiley and Julia Reed were children of John Reed, son of Samuel & Mary.)  Here is a page for Daniel's estate that got mixed up in David Hair's estate.

Henry B. Sanders, 1808-1835 (First husband of Narcissa H who next married David Hair and by whom she had a son named Jarvis)
William Stanyarne Johnson, 1799-1859 (Husband of Narcissa Hair after David Hair’s death)  p 632- image 326 – middle of left page

William Beard, 1784-1851 (My 3gGF, father of Thomas Beard, grandfather of Nan Jerusha Beard who married John William Cook Reed)
William McMillan Chitty, 1798-1850 (My 3gGF, father of Catherine Chitty Beard, grandfather of Nan Jerusha Beard who married John William Cook Reed)

Jacob Cook, 1780-1861 (My 3gGF, father of William Cook, grandfather of Mary A. Cook who married James Henry Reed)
John Canady, Sr., 1750-1822 (My 4gGF, 1gGF of Mary A. Cook who married James Henry Reed)
John Canady, Jr., 1780-1851 (My 3gGF, grandfather of Mary A. Cook who married James Henry Reed)
 

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Parents of Mary A. Cook Reed Found!

This weekend I found the last bit of information to confirm the parents of my 2-great grandmother Mary A. Cook who married James Henry Reed.  Most of this puzzler has been solved!

Mary's parents are William Cook (abt 1820 - before 1870) and Vesta/Vashti Canady (born 1819).  She shows up with them on the 1850 census living in Barnwell County.  By 1860 she was married to James Reed.

Mary and James Reed named their first son John William Cook Reed after both of his grandfathers.  John was for John Reed, son of Samuel and Mary.  William Cook was for Mary's father.

Mary's mother is found as Vashti early on, but was more consistently Vesta or Vesti later on.  Mary and James named a daughter "Vesta Ida" who was listed as "Vesta I." on the 1870 census.  She was most often known as Ida.  Ida's son Samuel Reed Copeland named one of his daughters Ida Vesta Copeland.

William Cook's parents were Jacob Cook (1780-1861) and Eliza (born abt 1790).  Vesta Canady's parents were John Canady (1780-1861) and Mary Johnson.  Mary was born about 1800 and died after 1880.  On the 1880 census, she shows up along with Vesta living with the family of Vesta's youngest daughter Ella in Rocky Springs, Aiken County, SC.

A portion of my brick wall still exists.  I have yet to determine when Mary Cook Reed died or where she is buried.  Also, her birthdate is still a quandary.  The 1850 census has about 1839, 1860 census has 1840, 1870 says 1845, 1880 claims 1840, and 1900 has Feb 1844.  I am going to use "abt 1840" until I learn something more definite. 

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Stanmore Judson Reed & Rachel Joanna Axson

Stanmore Judson Reed & Rachel Joanna Axson about 1890
Stanmore Judson Reed was a son of James William Reed (1827-1901) and Anna Rebecca Tyler (1828-1882).  He was born on 6 Sep 1862 and died on 13 Apr 1933, living all his life in Orangeburg County, SC.

In 1879, Stanmore married Rachel Joanna Axson, who was born 2 Feb 1859, a daughter of Robert Edward Axson (1829-1869) and Mary Ann Mack (1829-1880).  Stanmore and Joanna had seven children.  She died 7 Jul 1899.

In 1890, Stanmore married Mary Rebecca Pou (12 Dec 1877 - 2 Mar 1958).  They had at least nine children that I have been able to verify.

Stanmore and Mary are buried at Riverside Cemetery in North, SC.





Rachel Joanna Axson Reed is buried at Bull Swamp Baptist Church in North, SC.


I want to express my appreciation for sharing the photos of Stanmore and Joanna to Jane Morgan Rowell, a 4-great granddaughter of Samuel and Mary Clark Reed.  Stanmore was brother to her great-grandfather Michael Joshua Reed.  Her line:

.Samuel Reed & Mary Clark
..Hugh Reed & Jane McSpeddon
...James William Reed & Anna Rebecca Tyler
....Michael Joshua Reed & Mary Alice Fanning
.....Nina Beatrice Reed & Purvis Oscar Maroney
......Elsie Gertrude Maroney & Edward Thurston Morgan
.......Jane Morgan

Many thanks, too, go to Jane's daughter Stephanie Rowell Murray for her help in the writing of this post.  Stephanie, your willingness to share is what this genealogy business is all about as far as I'm concerned!  Thank you so much!

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

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. 

Friday, April 01, 2011

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!"