52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #22 — Joseph Albert Glynn, Nancy Reed’s Son and My Second Great-Grandfather

Joseph Albert Glynn was born on 13 February 1835 in Putney, Windham County, Vermont, the son of Joseph T. Glynn and Nancy Reed. His town birth record gives his full name as Joseph Albert Glynn and records his birth in Putney. Later records often identify him more simply as Albert Glynn.

One conflict should be kept in mind. Albert’s gravestone in Maple Grove Cemetery gives his birth date as 13 February 1834, while his town birth record gives 13 February 1835. The 1900 U.S. census also records his birth year as 1835.

For now, the 1835 date appears to be better supported. The town record was created much closer to his birth, presumably from information supplied by his family, while Albert himself may have provided the information recorded in the 1900 census. In addition, his obituaries, death record, and probate records consistently state that he was seventy years old when he died. A birth date of 13 February 1835 would make him seventy at death; a birth date in 1834 would make him seventy-one.

Page from Putney. Birth Records 1789–1862 listing the children of Joseph T. and Nancy Glynn, including Joseph Albert Glynn, whose birth date is recorded as 13 February 1835.

The 1900 U.S. census records Albert Glynn’s birth as February 1835, which supports the 1835 birth year found in the Putney birth record.

In 1850, Albert was fifteen years old and living in Putney with his parents, Joseph and Nancy, and his siblings Henry and Caroline. His father was listed as a laborer, with real estate valued at $100.

The family experienced several losses while Albert was still young. His sister Caroline Almira Glynn died in Putney in 1852, and his mother, Nancy Reed Glynn, died there on 2 April 1854. His father later remarried and left for Massachusetts.

On 9 June 1861, Joseph Albert Glynn married Julia Harvey in Walpole, New Hampshire. The marriage record names her as Johanna. I have learned that Johanna, Julia, and a few related forms of the name can sometimes be used interchangeably, especially in records related to Catholic families or churches.

Albert and Julia began their married life in Vermont during the Civil War years. Albert Glynn was drafted, but instead of serving, he paid commutation, a fee that legally released him from that draft obligation.

Sisters, Mary Lucy Glynn Giddens and
Caroline Glynn Alter in about 1920

Three of Albert and Julia’s children were born in Putney: Henry Harvey Glynn on 4 December 1862, Mary Lucy Glynn on 15 February 1866, and Garrett Glynn on 30 October 1868.

Albert was found as a farmer and farm laborer in Vermont, but his work changed after his marriage. Julia’s three sisters’ husbands all worked for the railroad, and it is possible that those family connections influenced Albert’s move into railroad work. By 1870, Albert was working as a trackman in New York, and by 1875, he was recorded as a railroad overseer.

In 1870, the family was living on Staten Island in Westfield, Richmond County, New York. A few years later, Albert and Julia’s daughter Caroline “Carrie” Glynn was born in New York in September 1874. On 1 June 1875, Joseph Albert Glynn was recorded as head of household in Southfield, Richmond County, New York.

By 1880, Albert was no longer living with Julia and the children. In the 1880 census, Julia was living with five-year-old Carrie in Middletown on Staten Island. She did not appear to be working outside the home. A mark appears next to her name in the widowed/divorced column, and her occupation was recorded as housekeeping. Family lore also tells of Carrie’s eventual move to an orphanage.

Albert and Julia’s daughter Mary Lucy, then fourteen, was working as a servant in the household of Cornelius W. Sleight in Tottenville, also on Staten Island. Garrett, born in 1868, does not appear in the 1875 state census, and it is said that he died young. Henry Harvey Glynn would have been at least eighteen years old by 1880 and was later found living in and around Cohoes, New York, in the late 1880s and early 1890s. He died in 1895, soon after moving to Colorado for his health.

It is unknown where Albert lived and worked after 1875. I have seen several Joseph Glynns and Albert Glynns in records, but nothing that definitely points to him.

By 1897, however, Albert had returned to Putney, the town where his life had begun.

Albert died on 2 November 1905 in East Putney, Vermont. A newspaper account gives a fuller picture of his last day. It described him as a seventy-year-old farm laborer who lived alone and had been ill for some time with heart disease. Will Richards, who lived at M. C. Ingalls’s, had stayed with him overnight and left early the next morning. Around eight o’clock, Mrs. John Nichols, a nearby neighbor who had shown him many kindnesses, went to his house and found him dead on the floor. Albert had prepared breakfast and apparently suffered a sudden heart attack while doing his work.

The notice stated that he left two daughters, one in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and one in New York. The daughter in Phillipsburg was Mary Lucy, and the daughter in New York was Carrie. His funeral was held at the house at 10 o’clock on Saturday, 4 November 1905, with Rev. E. C. Charlton officiating. He was buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Putney.

One obituary says Albert was buried with his mother and two sisters in Maple Grove Cemetery. He was buried with his mother, Nancy Reed Glynn, and one of the named Glynns, Caroline Almira Glynn, is known to be his sister. The other, Delancy Glynn, is not currently identified as Albert’s sibling and may have been related through his father’s Glynn family.

Albert’s probate records add a valuable glimpse of his circumstances at the end of his life. M. C. Ingalls served as administrator, and the inventory, appraised on 25 November 1905, showed a modest estate. Albert had $1.73 in cash, carpenter and farming tools, household utensils and clothing, stove wood, potatoes, beans, and other provisions. His personal property totaled $59.73, and his real estate was valued at $160, bringing the estate to $219.73. Because the estate also had debts, a petition was filed to sell the real estate to pay them.

Joseph Albert Glynn’s records show a life that began and ended in Putney, but also included marriage, children, railroad work, separation from his family, and years that are still not fully accounted for.

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

1870 U.S. census, Richmond County, New York, population schedule, town of Westfield, Southfield post office, p. 73 (stamped 460), dwelling 700, family 709, Albert Glynn household, lines 9–13; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7163/records/32156611 : accessed 15 July 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 1086.

1875 New York state census, Richmond County, town of Southfield, first election district, p. 25, Albert Glynn household, lines 1–5; digital image, Ancestry.com, “New York, State Census, 1875” (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2026).

1880 U.S. census, Richmond County, New York, population schedule, town of Middletown, enumeration district 303, p. 30 (NARA p. 215B), line 22, Julia Glynn; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/records/4880681 : accessed 15 July 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 923.

1880 U.S. census, Richmond County, New York, population schedule, Tottenville, enumeration district 309, p. 21 (stamped 370A), Lucy M. Glynn, age 14, servant; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6742/records/4880681 : accessed 15 July 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 923.

1900 U.S. census, Windham County, Vermont, population schedule, Putney town, enumeration district 257, sheet 5A, Albert Glynn household; database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 16 July 2026); citing NARA microfilm publication T623, roll 1696.

Appraisal of the estate of Albert Glynn of Putney, deceased,” Windham, Vermont, United States records, image 313 of 328; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-7378-J : accessed 16 July 2026); citing Vermont Supreme Court, Administrative Services, image group no. 004742006.

Abby Maria Hemenway, coll., Vermont Historical Gazetteer: A Local History of All the Towns in the State, Civil, Educational, Biographical, Religious and Military, vol. 5, The Towns of Windham County, with Histories of Sutton in Caledonia County, and Bennington in Bennington County (Brandon, Vermont: Mrs. Carrie E. H. Page, 1891), entry/list noting Albert Glynn “furnished under draft and paid commutation,” image 256 of 677; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSSW-QSR9-L?view=explore : accessed 14 July 2026); Image Group Number 007817338.

DB Quinn, “#1 Diana's Bryan-Quinn Family,” public Ancestry Member Tree (login required), Ancestry.com (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.); URL upon request; accessed 15 July 2026.

Diana Bryan Quinn, “#52ancestors Post Twenty-Four: Learning about my 3rd Great-Grandfather, Joseph T. Glynn, on Father’s Day,” Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog, posted 17 June 2018; Blogger, https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/52ancestors-post-twenty-four-learning.html : accessed 14 July 2026.

Diana Bryan Quinn, “Friday’s Photo: My Glynn Family in Maple Grove, A Cemetery in Putney, Vermont,” Moments in Time, A Genealogy Blog, posted 25 May 2018; Blogger, https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/fridays-photo-my-glynn-family-in-maple.html : accessed 14 July 2026.

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190070404/caroline_almira-glynn : accessed July 14, 2026), memorial page for Caroline Almira Glynn (unknown–6 Aug 1852), Find a Grave Memorial ID 190070404, citing Maple Grove Cemetery, Putney, Windham County, Vermont, USA; maintained by dbquinn (contributor 47552132).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23124364/cornelius_winant-sleight : accessed July 14, 2026), memorial page for Cornelius Winant Sleight (2 Feb 1817–21 Sep 1903), Find a Grave Memorial ID 23124364, citing Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery, Tottenville, Richmond County, New York, USA; maintained by Bethel Cemetery (contributor 48846027).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18185660/joseph_albert-glynn : accessed July 14, 2026), memorial page for Joseph Albert Glynn (3 May 1834–2 Nov 1905), Find a Grave Memorial ID 18185660, citing Maple Grove Cemetery, Putney, Windham County, Vermont, USA; maintained by Find a Grave.

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).

“First Names,” RootsIreland.ie (http://www.rootsireland.ie/help/first-names/ : accessed 6 March 2022).

Glynn gravestones at Maple Grove in Putney, Vermont, photographs, 1979, scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of E. M. Bryan, Virginia Beach, VA 2026. 

Grace Glynn King to Betty Bryan, letter, 17 September 1979, discussing Glynn family history; photocopy privately held by Diana Quinn, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2026; original held by E. M. Bryan, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 2026.

"Happy Days," photographs, c.1920, scanned images, from the privately held photo collection of E. M. Bryan, Virginia Beach, VA 2026. 

“Henry Glynn, formerly of Cohoes,” Cohoes Republican (Cohoes, New York), 20 April 1895, p. 3; digital image, NewspaperArchive (https://newspaperarchive.com : accessed 14 July 2026).

“New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637–1947,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL6Z-GGH : accessed 22 February 2021), Albert Glynn and Johanna Harvey, 9 June 1861; citing Walpole, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Concord; FHL microfilm 1,001,262.

“New York State, Marriage Index, 1881–1967,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2026), entry for Henry Glynn and Harriet Snyder, married 20 June 1888, Hoosick, Rensselaer County, New York; citing New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, New York State Marriage Index.

Putney, Windham County, Vermont, Birth Records, 1789–1862, births of the children of Joseph T. Glynn and Nancy Glynn, image 37 of 481; “Putney, Windham, Vermont, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L999-LWFP?view=fullText : accessed 16 July 2026); citing Putney Town Clerk, Vermont. Image Group Number 005464200.

Putney, Windham County, Vermont, town records, birth entry for Mary Lucy Glynn, 15 February 1866, image 95 of 1071; “Putney, Windham, Vermont, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L996-MWS9?view=explore : accessed 14 July 2026); citing Putney Town Clerk, Vermont; Image Group Number 005488192.

The Brattleboro Reformer, November 10, 1905, Page 7. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brattleboro-reformer-glynn-joseph-a/147870589/ : accessed July 15, 2026), clip page for Glynn, Joseph Albert - Obituary by user dewquinn

“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.

“U.S. City Directories, 1821–1989,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 July 2026), Henry Harvey Glynn, engineer, Cohoes, New York, 1892; citing city directory images, original sources vary by directory.

"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.

Vermont Phoenix, January 22, 1897, Page 7. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/vermont-phoenix-albert-glynn-1897/15229273/ : accessed July 15, 2026), clip page for Albert Glynn 1897 by user dewquinn.

Vermont Phoenix, November 10, 1905, Page 9. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/vermont-phoenix-joseph-albert-glynn-de/201756843/ : accessed July 16, 2026), clip page for Joseph Albert Glynn - detailed obit by user dewquinn.

A Follow-Up: Different, Not Better — Full-Text Search’s Toggle and the FamilySearch Catalog

The circled option, “Include limited access content,” is the toggle in FamilySearch Full-Text Search. Turning it on may reveal additional results that need to be viewed at a FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

I chose Bienville Parish, Louisiana, as an example
because I knew that many of its records are not 
available to view from home. With the limited-access
toggle turned on, Full-Text Search showed numerous
locked results, including some labeled as military
records. But those labels do not always tell the whole
story. In this case, some of the records labeled "military"
contain land-related records, and some even
contain complete deed or conveyance books. 

In my last post about FamilySearch Full-Text Search, I wrote that using the limited-access toggle gave me a “better” way to build a research list. As I revisited that post while

 preparing a newsletter article for my local genealogical society, I realized that “better” is not the right word.

A more accurate word is “different.”

The limited-access toggle is the option in FamilySearch Full-Text Search labeled “Include limited access content.” When it is turned on, the search may show additional results that cannot be viewed from home and may need to be opened at a FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.

The toggle is not better than the Catalog. It is a different tool, and it serves a different purpose. It reminds me that there may be additional Full-Text Search results I cannot view from home, while the Catalog helps me understand what records exist for a place or subject and how those records are organized.

FamilySearch Full-Text Search and the FamilySearch Catalog are connected, but they do not organize information in the same way. Full-Text Search is designed to find names, places, dates, and other words inside digitized records. Its collection titles and filters are useful for searching, but they can be broad and may not match the more specific descriptions found in the Catalog.

That distinction is important. A Full-Text Search result may tell me that a name or keyword appears in a record, but the collection title may not give me enough detail to understand the record set itself. I may still need the Catalog to identify the jurisdiction, dates covered, record type, volume, film or DGS number, and whether the record is part of a larger set.

FamilySearch Catalog entry for Bienville Parish, Louisiana, conveyance records. The Catalog gives details that may not appear in a Full-Text Search result title, including the record title, notes, date coverage, film numbers, Image Group Numbers, and specific items such as grantor indexes, grantee indexes, and conveyance books.

That is where the Catalog remains essential. Catalog entries often identify the specific record set, creator or author, place or subject, date range, format, and film or digital image group information. In the Film/Digital Notes section, the Catalog may also give item-level details, such as a grantor index, grantee index, conveyance book, probate volume, date range, film number, or Image Group Number.

So, the toggle is not better than the Catalog. It is another tool within Full-Text Search. Used together, Full-Text Search and the Catalog can strengthen my research.

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 Catalog, “Conveyance records, 1848–1900; Index to conveyance records, 1848–1930,” catalog entry, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog : accessed 8 July 2026), Bienville Parish, Louisiana, conveyance records; citing Bienville Parish Clerk of the District Court and Bienville Parish Recorder; microfilm of original records at the Bienville Parish courthouse, Arcadia, Louisiana; screen capture by author.

FamilySearch, Full-Text Search, search results for Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and Bryan, with “Include limited access content” selected, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text : accessed 8 July 2026); screen capture by author.

FamilySearch, Full-Text Search, search results with “Include limited access content” selected, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text : accessed 8 July 2026); screen capture by author.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #21 — Peter Reed: The Ancestor Behind Benjamin's Story

Souvenier of 4th of July
Sent to Mrs. Soto at 1271 Mastic Street, San Jose, California - June 22, 1909

Over the years, I have written a variety of Independence Day posts. My favorite may still be the story of my great-uncle Charles Giddens, who once helped fill an old cannon with dynamite in an enthusiastic attempt to celebrate the Fourth. He and his friend survived, but the story made national news.

This year, my research has been focused on the Reed family. I have written before about Benjamin Reed and his Revolutionary War service, but not about another Reed soldier—his father, Peter Reed.

For the past several years, I have been looking for Peter Reed in the records. He's the ancestor behind Benjamin Reed's story and the man named as Benjamin's father in The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reede of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1635–1902 by John Ludovicus Reed and in Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, December 1620, volume 12, Francis Cooke. Peter never left behind a diary, letters, or a pension application describing his military service. But the many scattered records preserved in town books, church registers, court records, probate files, and military rolls allow us to follow him through nearly sixty years of colonial Massachusetts, from childhood to the opening years of the American Revolution.

Peter Reed

Peter Reed was born in Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, on 29 March 1723, the son of John Reed and Mary Wheeler. The Reed family had lived in southeastern Massachusetts for generations, and Peter descended from Francis Cooke, one of the passengers aboard the Mayflower in 1620.

On 20 March 1733, when Peter was just ten years old, his father prepared his will. John Reed named his wife Mary as executrix and remembered each of his children: John, James, Joseph, Mary, Ezekiel, Peter, Squire, and Samuel. Peter was to receive an equal share of the family's Fourth Division land.

Within a few years, John had died, leaving several minor children. Because Peter was a minor, the Plymouth County Probate Court appointed John's brother, Jacob Reed of Abington, as guardian for Peter and some of his brothers. When John Reed's estate was distributed in 1740, Peter received his ninth share. Probate records indicated that the heirs would convey their interests to a sibling to avoid dividing valuable property.  I have not yet found any deed documenting Peter's transaction, and despite years of searching deed books and land records, I have found no evidence that Peter ever purchased land of his own.

On 25 March 1748, Peter married Lucy Hugens in Abington.

Only months after their marriage, Peter and Lucy appear in one of the more unusual records of colonial New England. In December 1748, they were "warned out" of Bridgewater while staying at Alexander Soper's home. This phrase sounds severe, but warning-out orders were a common legal procedure. They did not accuse Peter and Lucy of wrongdoing. Instead, they established that the couple legally belonged in Abington, ensuring that Bridgewater would not become responsible for their support should they ever need public assistance.

Fifteen years later, in 1763, another warning-out record tells a similar story. Peter, Lucy, and their family were again living in Bridgewater, this time at the home of Seth Brett. Once again, they were ordered to return to their legal place of settlement in Abington.

A note attributed to Cyrus Nash in The Reed Genealogy explains that Peter lived near the Abington-Bridgewater town line. That simple observation makes these records much easier to understand. Peter and Lucy may not have been moving far at all. They may simply have been living and working in a neighborhood where the town boundary mattered greatly to local officials but much less in everyday life.

Peter Reed at War

1754 – The French and Indian War Begins

Peter Reed enlisted from Bridgewater in Captain John Johnson's company for service on the eastern frontier. He was thirty-one years old, recently married, and beginning a family. 

1758 – The Expedition Against Canada

Four years later, Peter again entered military service, this time from Abington in Captain Simon Slocomb's company under Colonel Joseph Williams. The campaign formed part of Britain's effort to capture French Canada.

Records from this period include a series of billeting accounts. Rather than simply recording Peter's service, they trace his journey home after his discharge, documenting meals and lodging provided along the way. 

1760–1762 – Continued Service

Both Peter and his brother were serving in Halifax, Canada, at the end of the French and Indian War. Peter's brother, Ezekiel, died during the conflict and was said to be buried at sea near Boston. Newspaper accounts name Ezekiel as one of several men who died aboard the ship, The Friendship, before arriving in Boston. 

The American Revolution

More than twenty years after his first military service, Peter again answered the call.

By then, he was fifty-two years old. His son Benjamin had settled in No. 5 (later Cummington), nearly one hundred miles to the west. Yet father and son entered the same military company.

1775    Benjamin enlisted from No. 5.    Peter enlisted from Bridgewater.

Peter's Legacy

Peter Reed died in Abington on 18 February 1780, according to the notes from Cyrus Nash found in The Reed Genealogy, the only source I have found that gives a specific date for his death. He never lived to see the official birth of the nation whose independence his generation helped secure.

Unlike his father, Peter left no probate record that I have been able to find. No inventory survives to tell us what possessions he owned, and no estate settlement reveals how his belongings were divided among his family.

Yet Peter's story did not end with his death.

Peter and his wife, Lucy Hugens, were members of the Congregational church. The surviving church records include baptisms for four of their five children. No baptismal record has been found for Benjamin. Together, Peter and Lucy raised a family whose lives would lead me into many branches of Reed research. Their son Benjamin left southeastern Massachusetts for the frontier settlement of No. 5 before continuing on to Vermont. Sarah and Joanna settled in Cummington, where they were both married. Samuel also served during the Revolutionary War, a story I hope to explore more fully in the future.

Peter introduced me to an entire family. When I first began researching Benjamin Reed, Peter was simply the name of his father in The Reed Genealogy and the Francis Cooke Silver Book. Today, after years of following scattered records through town books, church registers, military rolls, probate files, and family manuscripts, I see him differently. He was a son who lost his father at a young age, a husband, a father, a soldier who served in two wars, and the head of a family whose descendants would help shape new chapters of American history.

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

“Abington, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L979-W74D?view=fullText

 : accessed 30 April 2025), image 7 of 152, birth entry for Sarah Reed; Image Group Number 007009636; citing Abington, Massachusetts, Town Clerk.

“Abington, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-9979-W7G7?view=fullText

 : accessed 7 January 2025), image 11 of 152, birth entry for Samuel Reed; citing Abington, Massachusetts, Town Clerk.

"Boston, December 6," Boston Evening-Post (Boston, Massachusetts), 10 December 1759, p. 2, col. 2; GenealogyBank (https://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 5 July 2026).

Cummington, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States records, images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8979-H9YZ?view=explore

 : accessed 11 January 2026), image 134 of 162, entry for the marriage of Jacob Nash and Joanna Reed, 27 November 1788, Cummington Town Clerk; Image Group Number 007009226.

Diana Quinn, “Monday’s News: Dynamite!,” Moments in Time, a Genealogy Blog, posted 2 July 2012, (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/mondays-news-dynamite.html: accessed 5 July 2026).

First Parish Congregational Church (North Bridgewater, Massachusetts), baptism of Joanna Reed, dau. of Peter Reed, 25 Dec. 1763; digital image, Congregational Library & Archives Digital Collections (https://congregationallibrary.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/church-records-1740-1805-first-parish-congregational-church-in-north-bridgewater/5618?item=5679

 : accessed 9 March 2026).

First Congregational Church (Abington, Massachusetts), church records, 1714–1749, entry for baptism of Unice Reed, 9 April 1749; digital image, Congregational Library & Archives, Digital Collections, “Church records, 1714-1749, First Congregational Church in Abington, Mass.,” item 40856 (https://congregationallibrary.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/church-records-1714-1749-first-congregational-church-in-abington-mass./40810?item=40856 : accessed 25 February 2026).

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).

Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, vol. 96, p. 267, billeting account card for Peter Reed, Capt. Sloakham’s Company, Col. Joseph Williams’s Regiment, sworn 23 March 1759, dated Shrewsbury, 9 March 1759; “Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America records,” images, FamilySearch ( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-V36W-M9BP?view=explore : accessed 5 July 2026), image 3150 of 3542; Image Group Number 008732099.

Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, vol. 97, p. 289, muster roll for Peter Reed, private, Capt. Lemuel Dunbar's Company, Col. John Thomas's Regiment, residence Abington, service from 6 April to 1 November 1759, sworn at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 28 February 1760; "Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J36W-M9LH-D?view=fullText : accessed 5 July 2026), image 61 of 3556; Massachusetts State Archives, Image Group Number 008732100.

Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, vol. 96, p. 308, billeting account card for Peter Reed, Capt. Slocum’s Company, Col. Joseph Williams’s Regiment, sworn Worcester, 9 December 1758; “Massachusetts, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-J36W-M98G-P?view=fullText : accessed 5 July 2026), image 56 of 3556.

Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, vol. 96, p. 359, receipt signed by Peter Reed and others, dated Medway, 25 May 1759, acknowledging payment of billeting money received from Capt. Simon Slocomb for service in Capt. Simon Slocomb's Company, Col. Joseph Williams's Regiment, during the expedition against Canada; "Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-V36W-M9X2-H?view=fullText : accessed 5 July 2026), image 60 of 3556; Massachusetts State Archives, Image Group Number 008732100.

Massachusetts Archives, Muster Rolls, vol. 96, p. 365, billeting account card for Peter Reed, Capt. Slothum’s Company, Col. Joseph Williams’s Regiment, sworn Hampshire County, 25 January 1759; “Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America records,” images, FamilySearch ( https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-V36W-M924-B?view=fullText : accessed 5 July 2026), image 57 of 3556; Massachusetts State Archives; Image Group Number 008732100.

Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Court (Plymouth), Probate Files, nos. 16552–16632 (Reed, Betsey R.–Reed, Joseph), will of John Reed; digital image, image 1156 of 1409, “Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RYS-4CR?view=explore  : accessed 18 September 2024); citing Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, custodian; Image Group Number 005008236.

Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Court (Plymouth), Probate Records, 1738–1742, vol. 8; digital image, image 119 of 288, “Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-NKZ2?view=explore : accessed 18 January 2026); citing Plymouth (Massachusetts) Town Clerk, custodian; Image Group Number 007050977.

Massachusetts. Secretary of the Commonwealth, French and Indian War muster roll for Peter Reed, private, Capt. Simon Slocomb's Company, Col. Joseph Williams's Regiment, 1758; imaged in "Massachusetts, United States Records," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YR-6V1T?view=fullText : accessed 5 July 2026), image 272 of 1759; Image Group Number 007703435.

Massachusetts, U.S., Marriages, 1633–1850, digital images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2495/images/40904_263574__0005-00142 : accessed 10 January 2026), image 142 of 192, Abington marriages, marriage of Peter Reed and Lucy Hugens, 25 March 1748, Congregational Church, Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts; citing Massachusetts Vital Records, Abington, Family History Library microfilm 1,409,404.

Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988, digital images, image 243, entry for the marriage of Sarah Reed and Joel Hill, 30 October 1782, Cummington, Hampshire County, Massachusetts; Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2495/records/58991557?tid=45260559&pid=412222903562&ssrc=pt  : accessed 16 May 2024).

"Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https:// 

www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-NK46?view=fullText : Jan 5, 2025), 

image 130 of 288; Plymouth (Massachusetts), Peter Reed's inherited land. 

Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records, images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS41-RST6-P?view=explore

 : accessed 11 January 2026), image 396 of 407, entry for Peter and Lucy Reed warned, 1748, Plymouth County Court of General Sessions of the Peace; Image Group Number 007902905.

Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States records, images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9B2-G9G5-S?view=explore

 : accessed 11 January 2026), image 156 of 971, entry for Peter and Lucy Reed warned, 1762 and 1763, Plymouth County Court of General Sessions of the Peace, volumes 2–6; Image Group Number 007726241.

Ralph V. Wood Jr., comp., Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, December 1620, vol. 12, Francis Cooke (Plymouth, Mass.: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1996).

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.