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. 

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!

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!