52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #20 — Nancy Reed Glynn of Putney, Vermont

Nancy Reed, my third great-grandmother, was one of the children of Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt. According to The Reed Genealogy, she was born on 2 August 1798. Her birthplace is not stated in that account, but if she was born at her parents' home, she may have been born in Woodford, Bennington County, Vermont, where Benjamin and Huldah resided from about 1788 until at least 1803.

Nancy’s parents, Benjamin and Huldah, had deep New England roots. Benjamin Reed had served in the Revolutionary War and later moved his family from Massachusetts into Vermont. Benjamin wrote in his pension record that, while in Vermont, he lived in Woodford, Wardsboro, and Putney. By 1812, Benjamin, Huldah, and several of their children were living in Putney, Windham County, Vermont.

Nancy grew up in a large family. Some of her siblings lived long enough to leave records in Vermont and beyond, while others appear only briefly in the records. The Reed Genealogy names her siblings as Benjamin Jr., John, Cyrus, David, Calvin, Huldah, Betsey, Luther, and Almira. Combined information from the U.S. census and The Reed Genealogy suggests the probable Reed household in 1820, shown below.

Before Nancy’s marriage, I found her name in Putney records twice, both on the same day, 2 January 1821, in land transactions involving her parents and her brother Luther. Benjamin and Huldah sold land to Luther Read, and Luther then leased the farm back to Benjamin and Huldah for their natural lives. The rent was symbolic: one ear of corn each January 2nd, if demanded.

“To Have and to hold the said Land and buildings unto the said Benjamin Read and Huldah his wife, for and during their natural lives, and whichsoever of them shall continue the longest, they or either of them yealding and paying therefor, on the second day of January each and every year, one ear of corn if demanded on the premises.”

On 19 January 1829, Nancy Reed married Joseph T. Glynn* in Putney, Vermont. She was about thirty years old. Joseph was from nearby Dummerston and was often referred to as Truman.

Nancy and Joseph made their home in Putney and had at least three children:

• Caroline Almira Glynn, born 22 July 1829 in Putney

• Henry Reed Glynn, born 2 June 1833 in Putney

• Joseph Albert Glynn, born 13 February 1835 in Putney, my second great-grandfather

Only a few weeks before Joseph Albert’s birth, Nancy’s father, Benjamin Reed, died in Putney on 10 January 1835. Nancy’s mother, Huldah Pratt Reed, lived several more years and died in Putney on 17 May 1842. Huldah lived long enough to know all three of Nancy and Joseph’s known children. In the 1840 census of pensioners, Huldah was identified as living in Joseph T. Glynn’s household.

On 11 April 1842, shortly before Huldah’s death, Luther Read conveyed land in Putney to Nancy Glynn, wife of Joseph T. Glynn, for $10. The parcel began on the River Road near a little brook north of Elisha Wilber’s property and included the privilege of taking water from a spring about sixteen rods north of the land, by logs. The land was part of a lot Luther had bought from James Lowell.

The next year, on 10 May 1843, Luther Read sold a 60-acre Putney parcel to Lydia A. Campbell and Sophronia Sabin for $1,150. That deed reserved Nancy Glynn’s earlier right to take water from the spring under Luther’s deed to her dated 11 April 1842. Nancy and her heirs had to keep the logs or lead pipe covered, avoid unnecessary injury to the soil, and maintain a fence around her land at no expense to the new owners.

The 1850 census places Nancy in Putney, where she was living with her husband Joseph, a laborer, and their three children. Seventeen-year-old Henry and fifteen-year-old Albert attended school during the year and were also identified as laborers. Their daughter Caroline was twenty-one years old. Nancy’s brother Luther, a widower, was enumerated just above the Glynn family with three of his minor children. Luther’s wife, Jerusha, had died on 24 May 1850 at only thirty-eight years old.

That same year, Joseph and Nancy were also involved in a land transaction with the Vermont Valley Railroad Company. On 13 May 1850, they conveyed land to the railroad. The deed referred to “our land,” and Nancy was examined separately from her husband before acknowledging that she signed freely and without fear or compulsion. That detail is a reminder that Nancy’s legal interest in the land had to be formally recognized.

On 26 July 1850, Nancy’s brother Calvin died by accidental drowning at Mandarin, Duval County, Florida. He had been living in Florida for about twenty-five years.

The next year, Nancy’s youngest brother, Luther Read, died on 27 November 1851. A probate-related paper states that Luther Reed died leaving five minor children, one son and four daughters, and also one sister, the wife of Joseph T. Glynn, all then living in Putney. This record is especially important because it identifies Nancy, wife of Joseph T. Glynn, as Luther’s sister.

Less than a year after Luther’s death, Nancy and Joseph lost their only daughter. Caroline Almira Glynn died on 6 August 1852 at the age of twenty-three from what was then called consumption, now known as tuberculosis. Her obituary follows:

“In Putney, Aug. 6, of consumption, Miss CAROLINE ALMINA, daughter of Joseph F. and Nancy Glynn, aged 23. Being an only daughter, she naturally won an unusual share of parental and fraternal affection, which was the more deserved on account of her excellent moral qualities. She bore a lingering sickness with christian fortitude and resignation. Trusting in the mercy of God through the merits of a crucified Saviour, she met the closing scene with calmness, leaving evidence that hers was the death of the righteous. Printers in Mass. and N. H. please copy.”

Nancy’s name appears in 1853 on a paper regarding one of Luther’s minor daughters, Hellen [Helen] Read. On 26 August 1853, Nancy Glynn signed a request asking the Probate Court for the District of Westminster to appoint a guardian for Hellen, who was under the age of fourteen. This places Nancy in Putney and still involved in Reed family matters less than a year before her own death.

Nancy Reed Glynn died in Putney on 2 April 1854, at about age fifty-five. She is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Putney, along with her daughter Caroline and her son Joseph Albert.

Nancy did not leave many records that tell her story directly, but the records that do name her are meaningful. They place her in the Reed household before marriage, on Reed family land after marriage, and in Putney’s legal records as a wife, mother, sister, and landholder.

*Nancy Reed Glynn should not be confused with Nancy Lockwood, who married a different Joseph Glynn and lived in Windsor County, Vermont. The two couples are sometimes combined or confused in online family trees and other web-based sources.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

“Calvin Read obituary,” Florida Republican (Jacksonville, Florida), 8 August 1850, digital image, OldNews (https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?record_id=record-11024-225493483&page_id=3 : accessed 13 June 2026). OldNews incorrectly indexed this issue as The Florida Republican, Jacksonville, Duval, Florida, 1 January 1848; the masthead identifies the paper as Florida Republican and gives the date as Thursday, 8 August 1850.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190058477/nancy-glynn: accessed July 2, 2026), memorial page for Nancy Reed Glynn (2 Aug 1798–2 Apr 1854), Find a Grave Memorial ID 190058477, citing Maple Grove Cemetery, Putney, Windham County, Vermont, USA; Maintained by dbquinn (contributor 47552132).

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, vol. 1 (1901); digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed/page/n11/mode/2up : accessed 18 April 2026).

“Mortuary Notice,” The Semi-Weekly Eagle (Brattleboro, Vermont), 27 September 1852, p. 3, for Caroline Almira Glynn; digital image, GenealogyBank  (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 2 July 2026).

The Vermont Gazette, February 4, 1876, Page  2. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vermont-gazette-benjamin-reed-town/155440991/: accessed July 2, 2026), clip page for Benjamin Reed - Town Clerk from 1792 - 1803 by user dewquinn.

"United States, Census, 1820", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHLP-7XZ : accessed18 April 2026), Entry for Benjamin Read, 1820.

"United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC2N-4L1 : accessed 18 April 2026), Entry for Joseph Glynn and Nancy Glynn, 1850.

"Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFVW-SZY : accessed 18 April 2026), Entry for Nancy Glynn, 02 Apr 1854.

“U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database and images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/49769:1995 : accessed 25 June 2022), for Benjamin Reed, images 266 to 320; citing "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files" (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Vermont, Vital Records, 1760-1954", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFVW-S4G : accessed 18 April 2026), Entry for Joseph F Glynn and Nancy Read, 19 Jan 1829.

"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908", FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F825-54H : accessed 18 April 2026), Nancy in entry for Caroline Almira Glynn, 1829.

"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908", FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8L6-CJS : accessed 18 April 2026), Nancy in entry for Henry Reed Glynn, 1833.

"Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765-1908", FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8L6-CJH : accessed 18 April 2026), Nancy in entry for Joseph Albert Glynn, 1835.

"Windham, Vermont, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://

www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89S9-F9FC-7?view=fullText : 18 Apri, 2026), image 80 of 198; Vermont. Supreme Court, probate mentioning minor children, and sister of Luther Read. 

"Windham, Vermont, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https:// www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9S9-FTN5?view=fullText : accessed 2 July 2026), image 270 of 301; Vermont, Supreme Court, guardianship, Hellen Read. 

Friday’s Photo: Two Sisters in Bellerose, 1939

Happy birthday to my mother and her sister, 94 and 93 years young.

This family photo was taken in Bellerose, Queens, New York, in 1939. I don’t think I have ever shared it before; if I did, it was many years ago. The address was 248-50 89th Avenue. Mom said the photographer had only one hat and one neckerchief, so Mom wore the hat and her sister wore the neckerchief.

I am so glad this little moment was saved.

248-50 89th Avenue, Queens, New York, tax photograph, ca. 1939–1941. Courtesy of the Municipal Archives, City of New York.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post along with other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Family photograph of two sisters at 248-50 89th Avenue, Bellerose, Queens, New York, 1939; privately held by E. M. Bryan, 2026.

New York City Municipal Archives, digital image, “1940s Tax Department photographs, 1939–1951,” Queens, 248-50 89th Avenue, Queens, New York; NYC Municipal Archives Digital Collections (https://nycrecords.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_e3693f7b-c24a-461e-951a-76294dde6ca0/ : accessed 25 June 2026); citing Tax Department photographs, 1939–1951, REC0040, Municipal Archives, City of New York.

FamilySearch’s Limited-Access Toggle: A New Research Tool

Include limited access content in your full-text search

I have been excited about FamilySearch Full-text Search since day one, but recently I found something new to get excited about: the “Include limited access content” toggle.

This is a big deal.

For years, I have known that some FamilySearch records are not viewable from home. I have taught others to use the FamilySearch Catalog to find land, probate, court, church, and other records that may be available only at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library. That method still matters. The Catalog is still important. But it takes organization, patience, and a good research plan.

The new toggle does something different. It does not make restricted images viewable from home, but it can show that a name appears in limited-access material when searching Full-text. That means I may now be able to more easily identify and organize the records I need to review later at a FamilySearch Center or FamilySearch Affiliate Library.

The chart above shows my comparisons of different Full-text searches with and without using the toggle. For Luther Read/Reed and Nancy Read/Reed in Windham County, Vermont, the number of results remained unchanged. Each search produced the same number of results with the toggle turned on or off.

For John Reed/Read in Jefferson County, New York, the search changed from 545 results without the toggle to 558 results with the toggle turned on. Those thirteen additional records included military, church, and court records. The church records are now at the top of my list to check. I will be at my local FamilySearch Affiliate Library tomorrow!

For Reddick Bryan, who lived in NC, GA, and LA, the situation is different. I already knew that many of his Bienville Parish, Louisiana, land records were limited in access, and I had copies of many from earlier searches. However, this new Full-Text Search option gives me a better way to search, compare, and organize what still needs to be examined.

The toggle does not replace the Catalog, but it gives me a better way to build a research list.

FamilySearch, if you are listening, my next wish is a “limited access only” filter.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

FamilySearch, “Unlock New Discoveries with Full-Text Search,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/full-text/ : accessed 23 June 2026), landing page for FamilySearch Full-Text Search; page includes the “Include limited access content” option.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #19 — Calvin Read, From Vermont to Florida

Detail from Samuel Augustus Mitchell, Henry S. Tanner, and Frederick Bourquin, “Florida,” 1848, in A New Universal Atlas; David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, List No. 4578.022, Image No. 4578022. Cropped and enlarged to show Mandarin in Duval County, Florida

Calvin Read was born on 2 December 1793 in Vermont, the son of Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt, who lived in Woodford, Bennington County, at the time of his birth. By about 1812, his family was living in Putney, Windham County. In 1824, Calvin and his brother, Luther Read, purchased land together in Putney that lay near land associated with their father, Benjamin Reed. It is thought that Calvin relocated to Florida soon after this land transaction. Note that although their parents and extended family usually used the spelling Reed, Calvin and Luther consistently spelled their surname as Read. 

According to the Reed Genealogy, Calvin married Mary Reynolds, also from Windham County, on 22 February 1830 in Florida. Mary died in January 1833, and Calvin later married Rebekah Elizabeth Jones on 1 March 1834 in Duval County, Florida. He served as a private in the Florida Militia during the Florida Indian Wars. 

Although Calvin made his home in Florida, he kept his property interests in Vermont. After his death, Vermont probate records identified him as “late of Mandarin” and listed his half of the Putney farm he had owned with his brother, Luther. 

Calvin Read has been credited with naming the town of Mandarin in 1830. He was a citrus farmer with a significant orange grove on the St. Johns River. A Mandarin Museum newsletter included a document from the 1848 U.S. Senate involving a payment of $716 to Calvin Read for cutting down trees for a fort built in response to the Seminole raid on Mandarin in 1841. A brief reference in John Ludovicus Reed’s Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade, of Weymouth, Mass., from 1635–1902, published in 1901, adds another interesting detail: “In connection with a Mr. Lowell he bought a large tract of land on the St. John's river. The old home is still standing and occupied by his grandchildren. The parapet to protect the town from the Seminole Indians was built on Calvin's property, the remains of the works can still be traced.” Since the book was published in 1901, the statement that the home was occupied by his grandchildren likely refers to that period or to the years shortly before publication.

Calvin died by accidental drowning at Mandarin on 26 July 1850.  The newspaper account reported that Calvin had gone aboard a brig to arrange passage north, but fell from the gangway while leaving the vessel. His body was recovered, but efforts to revive him failed.

It was written in his obituary that he had lived in East Florida for about twenty-five years and that he was a longtime postmaster and justice of the peace at Mandarin. Calvin was survived by his widow, Rebekah E. Read, and by Charles F. Read, his son by his first wife.

For more stories about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share new posts and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

“Calvin Read obituary,” Florida Republican (Jacksonville, Florida), 8 August 1850, digital image, OldNews (https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?record_id=record-11024-225493483&page_id=3 : accessed 13 June 2026). OldNews incorrectly indexed this issue as The Florida Republican, Jacksonville, Duval, Florida, 1 January 1848; the masthead identifies the paper as Florida Republican and gives the date as Thursday, 8 August 1850.

Calvin Read, private, 1st Florida Mounted Volunteers (Warren’s), 1837–38, Florida War; compiled service record card, indexed with enlistment date 19 June 1837 and enlistment place Jacksonville; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 13 June 2026), database “Florida, U.S., Compiled Service Records, Florida Indian Wars, 1835–1858,” path: Florida War > 1st Florida Mounted Volunteers (Warren’s), 1837–38 > M–Y; citing National Archives microfilm publication M1086, Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Florida During the Florida Indian Wars, 1835–1858.

Duval County, Florida, marriage-related property agreement, Calvin Read and Rebekah Elizabeth Jones, signed by Rebekah Elizabeth Jones, 15 March 1830; images, FamilySearch, “Duval, Florida, United States records” (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89QR-M1MM?view=fullText: accessed 13 June 2026), image 677 of 1380; citing Duval County, Florida, County Judge; Image Group Number 005886100.

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, vol. 1 (1901); digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed/page/n11/mode/2up : accessed 18 April 2026), page 170.

Mandarin Museum & Historical Society, “October 2018 Newsletter from Mandarin Museum & Historical Society,” MMHS News, October 2018, “A fascinating new accession for our collection”; https://myemail-api.constantcontact.com/October-2018-Newsletter-from-Mandarin-Museum---Historical-Society.html?aid=NmHt1xrFiqU&soid=1102459510579 : accessed 10 June 2026.

Mandarin Museum & Historical Society, “Other Notable Residents,” Mandarin Museum, Calvin Read entry; https://www.mandarinmuseum.org/mandarin-history/notable-residents : accessed 10 June 2026.

Putney, Windham County, Vermont, town records, p. 579, Benjamin Reed to James Clay, deed, 23 April 1811, acknowledged and recorded 2 March 1812; “Putney, Windham, Vermont, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSCM-6SS2-H : accessed 22 February 2025), image 309 of 719.

Putney, Vermont, land records, David Carpenter conveyance and related transactions involving Calvin Read and Luther Read, 24 August 1824 and 16 June 1833; images, FamilySearch, “Putney, Windham, Vermont, United States records” (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSYS-1348-3?view=explore : accessed 13 June 2026), image 112 of 582; citing Putney town records, Windham County, Vermont; Image Group Number 008349644.

Samuel Augustus Mitchell, Henry S. Tanner, and Frederick Bourquin, “Florida,” atlas map, 1848, in A New Universal Atlas Containing Maps of the Various Empires, Kingdoms, States and Republics of the World (Philadelphia: S. Augustus Mitchell, 1848), p. 21; digital image, David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, List No. 4578.022, Image No. 4578022, https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~35719~1200945:Florida- : accessed 1 June 2026; cropped and enlarged by DBQuinn to show Mandarin, Duval County, Florida.

The Vermont Journal, December 30, 1793, Page  4. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vermont-journal-benjamin-reed-of-woo/199505909/ : accessed June 13, 2026), clip page for Benjamin Reed of Woodford  by user dewquinn.

“U.S. Brig Somers, sketched by a crewmember of USS Columbus,” digital image, Wikimedia Commons, “File Somers (1842).jpg”; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Somers_(1842).jpg : accessed 13 June 2026; citing Naval History and Heritage Command photo no. NH 97588-KN.

Windham County, Vermont, probate records, document naming Calvin Read and Luther Read; images, FamilySearch, “Windham, Vermont, United States records” (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BH-JSYV-M?view=explore : accessed 13 June 2026), image 495 of 577; Image Group Number 007714788.

Friday's Photo: In Honor of Women Veterans Recognition Day

My mother - 1952

Many people know about Veterans Day on 11 November, but far fewer know about Women Veterans Recognition Day, observed each year on 12 June. It is not a separate Veterans Day for women, nor is it a federal holiday. Instead, it is a day of recognition tied to an important moment in military history.

On 12 June 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act. This law gave women the right to serve as permanent, regular members of the U.S. armed forces. Before then, women had served in vital roles, especially during wartime, but their service was often treated as temporary.

This day also made me think again about my mother’s own service in the Navy. I have written about her military service before, including in “Honor a Servicewoman on Veterans Day: The Military Women’s Memorial Register,” “My Mother, A Navy Veteran,” and “Honoring My Parents on Veterans Day.” But as I looked back at those posts, I realized I have only one photograph of Mom in uniform. That needs to change. I definitely want to ask her about any other photographs she may have and record the stories that go with them.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Missina Schallus, “Dispelling the Myths of Women Veterans Recognition Day,” VA News, 8 June 2022; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, digital article, https://news.va.gov/105206/dispelling-the-myths-of-women-veterans-recognition-day/ : accessed 12 June 2026.

Photo from Boot Camp, photograph, ca. 1952; scanned image, from the privately held photo collection of D. B. Quinn, VA, 2021.

Friday's Photo: Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin Cook - From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark

Mary Margurite “Maggie” Martin, mother of Marguerite Cook Clark, was born near Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, on 29 January 1887. She was the eighth child of Thomas Jefferson Martin and Laura Frances Bryan Martin. 

This photo of Maggie (right), her mother, and her brother
Charley appears to have been taken on the same day.

On 4 October 1905, Maggie married Edward Clifton Cook near Ringgold. Edward, born in Jasper County, Mississippi, was the son of Napoleon B. Cook and Pauline Porter Cook. He worked as a dentist in Ringgold, where he and Maggie made their home. The couple were Methodists and raised five children: E. Clifton, Paul, Marguerite, Charles L., and Virginia.

Maggie died on 17 November 1970 in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana. She was buried beside Edward in Providence Cemetery in Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana

According to Maggie's granddaughter, Palma, the names written in green on all the photos in the Marguerite Cook Clark collection were written by Maggie. 

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Mary Marguerite "Maggie" Martin Cook, photographs, no date; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas, on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission. 

Vera Meeks Wimberly, Wimberly Family History, Ancestors, Relatives, and Descendants of William Wimberly, Pioneer from Georgia to Louisiana 1837 (Houston Texas: D. Anderson, 1979), page 320.

Using AI to Give Names to the Tick Marks

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, page 115

When looking for family members before 1850, I often analyze earlier census records — the ones with only heads of household and tick marks. My goal is to determine who could have been living in the household during those years.

By giving names to the tick marks, I can track children over time, identify gaps, uncover possible missing family members, and estimate birth years.

This is not a new process for me.

In an earlier project, I compared the 1830 census for the Bryan family with birth information from the Bryan family Bible transcript. In that case, I was trying to see whether another child could fit into the household. The census did not name each person, but the age and gender categories gave me a way to test the family structure.

I have also used this approach with my John Giddens family in Wayne County, North Carolina. The 1800 census showed John Giddens with a wife, six sons, and two daughters. Comparing the census categories with the known or suspected children helped me see who fit, who did not, and where the gaps might matter.

Usually, I sort the household members into census categories by making a handwritten table, using a spreadsheet, or even writing notes on a printed copy of the census. But last week, I tried something different. I used AI to help me organize the comparisons. 

I was working with Benjamin Reed and his wife, Huldah Pratt, of Woodford, Bennington County, Vermont. One source that has been especially helpful is John Ludovicus Reed’s The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635 to 1902. The clipped entry at the top of the page lists ten children for Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt.

That list was important to me because, until I found The Reed Genealogy, I did not know about four of the ten children named in the book. 

Of course, a published genealogy is not the final answer. It needs to be tested against other records whenever possible. For Benjamin Reed’s family, the 1790 and 1800 census records gave me one way to see whether the children named in The Reed Genealogy fit the household Benjamin Reed headed in Woodford, Vermont.

For these comparisons, my process was simple: I asked AI to check the Ancestry.com census transcriptions against the original images, use information found in The Reed Genealogy as a working family list, match likely household members to the census categories, and point out where the records fit or raised questions. In other words, AI was helping me follow the same process I use when I do this work by hand.

The 1790 census gave me my first test. Benjamin Reed’s household in Woodford included one male aged sixteen and over, three males under sixteen, and two females.

Most of that household fits the family described in The Reed Genealogy. Benjamin fits the adult male. Huldah Pratt Reed and her daughter Huldah fit as the two females. Several of the sons fit the male-under-sixteen category.

But there was one problem. Based on the children listed in The Reed Genealogy, I expected four males under sixteen: Benjamin Jr., John, Cyrus, and David. The census only counted three.

Table created with assistance from ChatGPT by comparing the 1790 census entry for Benjamin Reed with the family list in The Reed Genealogy. The comparison and conclusions were reviewed by the author.

That mismatch does not disprove the Reed genealogy entry. Census records are not perfect. A child may have been missed, be living elsewhere, or be temporarily away, or the household may have been reported or recorded incorrectly.

The 1800 census gave me a much cleaner comparison. By 1800, Benjamin Reed’s household in Woodford included nine people. When I compared those age categories with the children listed in the Reed genealogy, the younger children lined up very neatly.

Table created with assistance from ChatGPT by comparing the 1800 census entry for Benjamin Reed with the family list in The Reed Genealogy. The comparison and conclusions were reviewed by the author.

The two oldest sons, Benjamin Jr. and John, do not appear to be living in Benjamin Reed’s household in 1800, which makes sense, as they were about 19 or 20 years old.

The 1800 census does not prove the Reed genealogy entry on its own, but it fits the family group remarkably well. It also gives indirect support for family members who may not have left many records of their own. 

 AI did not prove that the published genealogy was correct. It did not replace the need to read the original census image. It did not solve the Reed family for me. However, it organized the information quickly. It helped calculate which children fit into each census category. It showed where the numbers matched and where they did not. What usually takes me well over an hour took only a few prompts. Both comparisons were useful, and AI saved me much time

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

1790 U.S. census, Bennington County, Vermont, population schedule, Woodford, p. 244, Benjn Reed household; digital image, Ancestry.com, “1790 United States Federal Census” (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5058/ : accessed 2 June 2026); citing First Census of the United States, 1790, NARA microfilm publication M637, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

1800 U.S. census, Bennington County, Vermont, population schedule, Woodford, Benjamin Reed household; digital image, Ancestry.com, “1800 United States Federal Census” (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7590/ : accessed 2 June 2026); citing Second Census of the United States, 1800, NARA microfilm publication M32, National Archives, Washington, D.C.

1830 U.S. Census, Houston County, Georgia, population schedule, p.274, line 4, district or territory not named, Reddick Bryan; digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/: accessed 8 March 2021); citing National Archives microfilm publication M19, roll 18.

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, vol. 1 (1901); digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed/page/n11/mode/2up : accessed 18 April 2026).

"United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRD-ZJR : accessed 15 January 2022), John Giddens, Wayne, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 856, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 32; FHL microfilm 337,908.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: They Were Named Only Once — #16 Huldah, #17 Cyrus, and #18 Betsey

Among the children of Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt were three whose lives were brief enough that they left almost nothing behind. They did not marry, buy land, appear in many records, or leave descendants to remember them. Their names survive because a copy of the family Bible record was preserved in the family and later used, at least in part, by John Ludovicus Reed in The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, hereafter The Reed Genealogy.

Huldah, Cyrus, and Betsey were unknown to me until I found The Reed Genealogy. The strongest clue to Reed’s source appears in the entry for Mary E. Reed Roane, daughter of Luther and Jerusha Wilson Reed and granddaughter of Benjamin and Huldah. Reed wrote that Mrs. Roane had “a copy of the family Bible of Benjamin and Huldah (Pratt) Reed, with a list of their children.” That does not prove that the printed list was copied directly from that Bible copy, but it makes Mrs. Roane’s record the clearest known source behind the names of Benjamin and Huldah’s children.

The printed list also has the feel of information copied from an older family source. Several dates are uncertain or given as alternatives: Benjamin was born “Aug. 4, or 17”; John was born “July 20, or 21”; Huldah died “Dec. 13, 1813, or 1818”; Cyrus died “Oct. 14, or 19”; and Almira was born “Sept. 9, or 18.” Those uncertain readings suggest a difficult-to-read, possibly handwritten, record.

Huldah Reed

Huldah Reed, daughter of Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt, was said to have been born on 21 August 1783. She was the third child and first daughter. At that time, Benjamin and Huldah were living in Massachusetts, probably in Hampshire County. By the age of five, Huldah was living with her family in the rugged mountains of Bennington County, Vermont, in the sparsely populated town of Woodford.

The Reed family remained in Woodford until sometime between 1801 and 1807, when they moved to Wardsboro. By 1812, they were in Putney, where Benjamin and Huldah remained until their deaths. The Reed Genealogy gives the younger Huldah’s death as 13 December, either in 1813 or 1818. If she remained with her family, Putney is the most likely place of death, though I have not found a record that proves it. She would have been either thirty or thirty-five years old.

Cyrus Reed

Cyrus Reed was born on 24 October 1786, according to The Reed Genealogy. Based on the records I have found for Benjamin Reed, the family lived in Massachusetts until about 1788, placing Cyrus’s birth in Massachusetts.

Cyrus was seventeen years old when he died on either 14 or 19 October 1804. It is difficult to determine where his death may have occurred. Even if he was still with his family, they were moving from Woodford to nearby Wardsboro around that time, and I have not been able to pinpoint the exact date or even the year of the move.

Cyrus was probably still with his family in 1800. When I reconstructed Benjamin Reed’s household from the 1800 U.S. census, there was room for a son of Cyrus’s age. 

In the 1800 U.S. Census, Benjamin Reed’s household in Woodford included nine people. When I compared those age categories with the children listed in the Reed genealogy, the younger children lined up very neatly along with Benjamin and Huldah. The two oldest sons, Benjamin Jr. (age 20) and John (age 19) did not appear to be living with the family. 

Betsey Reed

Betsey Reed was born on 22 August 1791 and died on 9 March 1801. She was nine years old. If she remained with her family during those years, she was probably born in Woodford and died there before the family moved to Wardsboro.

For Huldah, Cyrus, and Betsey, this one published list is the only place I have found them named. They do not appear later as married adults, landowners, parents, or heads of households. Their lives have to be followed indirectly, through the movements of Benjamin and Huldah and through the few dates preserved beside their names.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Bennington County, Vermont, land records, 192, Benjamin Reed to James Greenslet, deed, 5 November 1806; “Bennington, Bennington, Vermont, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLR-N9XB-9 : accessed 26 February 2025), image 403 of 803. Shows residency in Wardsboro. 

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, vol. 1 (1901); digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed/page/n11/mode/2up : accessed 18 April 2026).

Putney, Windham County, Vermont, town records, p. 579, Benjamin Reed to James Clay, deed, 23 April 1811, acknowledged and recorded 2 March 1812; “Putney, Windham, Vermont, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSCM-6SS2-H : accessed 22 February 2025), image 309 of 719.

“U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900,” database and images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/49769:1995 : accessed 25 June 2022), for Benjamin Reed, images 266 to 320; citing "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files" (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

“United States, Census, 1800,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRQ-6XP : accessed 25 May 2026), entry for Benjamin Reed, 1800.

Friday's Photo: Tommie E. L. Bryan Nix - From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark

Robert Robertson and Tommie Etta Bryan Nix and 9 of their 12 children (clockwise) - Bertha (Back with flower on dress), Marshall, Alma, Clarence, Bobbie, Genie, Lula, Fannie, and Henry

Aunt Fannie W is penciled in at the 
top on the back. The photo was probably
hers at one time. Fannie was Tillman
Bryan's sister, Georgia Ann Frances
Bryan, who first married James S.
Pittman, and later married Ezekiel
Wimberly.

Tommie Etta Lizinia Bryan Nix had 105 living descendants when she died in Bienville Parish at age 91. She was the daughter of Tillman Capers Bryan and Mildred Manning Prothro Bryan. Tommie was born in Bienville Parish in 1869. She married Robert Robertson Nix on 25 December 1887, and they had 12 children. Nine of their children are pictured above. Ten of the 12 children were still living when Tommie died. The other two, Marshall and Fannie, lived to adulthood but died in the 1920s.

Both the photograph and the obituary were found in Marguerite Cook Clark’s files. Marguerite’s mother, Maggie, was Tommie’s first cousin.

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25156547/tommie_etta-nix: accessed May 29, 2026), memorial page for Tommie Etta Bryan Nix (23 Dec 1869–9 Aug 1960), Find a Grave Memorial ID 25156547, citing Providence Cemetery, Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by A Footstep In Time (contributor 47345816).

“Louisiana, Parish Marriages, 1787–1958,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLMH-YZFQ : accessed 31 December 2025), entry for Robbert R. Nix and T. E. Bryan, married 25 December 1887.

“Mrs. Tommie Nix Dies at Jamestown,” obituary clipping, no newspaper identified, no date; digital image, from the privately held files of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913–1989), Waynesville, North Carolina. Clipping accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark’s daughter in Alpine, Texas, 28 April 2014, 14 September 2014, and 9–11 November 2016. Used with permission.

Tommie E. L. Bryan Nix, family photograph, no date; digital images, from the privately held photo collection of Marguerite Cook Clark (1913-1989), Waynesville, North Carolina, 2021. Photos were accessed and scanned at the home of Marguerite Cook Clark's daughter in Alpine, Texas, on April 28, 2014, September 14, 2014, and November 9 to 11, 2016. Used with permission. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #15 Almira Reed, Daughter of Benjamin and Huldah

Almira Reed was the daughter of Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt, my fourth great-grandparents. Only three records have been found for her so far: her cemetery stone, a death record from the Putney, Vermont, town clerk’s office, and a brief entry in John Ludovicus Reed’s The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635 to 1902.

According to The Reed Genealogy, Almira was born on either 9 or 18 September 1801. That information reportedly came from family Bible information sent to John Ludovicus Reed by Mary E. Reed Roane, daughter of Luther Reed, Almira's brother. Almira died in Putney, Vermont, on 28 July 1835. If the 1801 birth year is correct, she would have been 33 years old at the time of her death. Her cemetery stone, however, gives her age as 32, suggesting a possible birth year of 1802.

Almira’s death came soon after the death of her father, Benjamin Reed, who died in January of 1835. Although Almira left few records of her own, one family memory places relatives nearby at the time of her death. Louisa Hill Evans, a cousin, remembered being at the Reed home when Almira died, suggesting that Almira was surrounded by family at the time of her passing. Almira was buried in East Putney Cemetery, along with her parents. Almira’s grave marker closes with these words:

"And her Redeemer lives

And ever from the skies 

Looks down & watches all her dust 

Till he shall bid it rise."

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share posts and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27499359/almira-read: accessed 4 July 2022), memorial page for Almira Read, Find a Grave Memorial ID 27499357, citing East Putney Cemetery, East Putney, Windham County, Vermont; memorial maintained by Cynthia Kaley, contributor 51056978; gravestone photograph by Donna G. Dunham, contributor 46871624.

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, vol. 1 (1901); digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed/page/n11/mode/2up : accessed 18 April 2026).

Putney, Vermont, death record for Almira Reed, died 28 July 1835; “Montpelier, Washington, Vermont, United States records,” digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-YZ9R-B?view=index : accessed 24 May 2026), image 1995 of 4071; citing Vermont Secretary of State, Montpelier.