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.

Friday's Photo: Frances Wimberly Tooke - From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark

Frances Wimberly Tooke was born on 24 March 1886, the second child of John Lawson Wimberly Jr. and Alice Martha Bryan Wimberly. She spent her life rooted in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

On 20 January 1907, Frances married James Howard Tooke in Bienville Parish. James was born on 11 October 1885 in Ringgold, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, and was the son of Edwin Arthur Tooke and Susan Harriett Sledge. 

Frances and James had three known children: Karl B. Tooke, Henry Seward Tooke, and Susie Tooke.

Frances died on 17 July 1975 and is buried in Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, along with her husband, James, who died in 1979. 

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/90292349/frances-tooke: accessed May 22, 2026), memorial page for Frances Wimberly Tooke (1886–1975), Find a Grave Memorial ID 90292349, citing Wimberly Cemetery, Bienville, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA; Maintained by A Footstep In Time (contributor 47345816).

Frances Wimberly Tooke, 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 267-268.

My Amazing Week with AI and Big Projects

Last week, at my local genealogical society meeting, a member mentioned the possibility of taking inventory of everything in the library. I casually suggested, “Just take photos of the books and have AI put them in a table.” I suspect she may have thought I was being a bit unrealistic.

This morning, though, I decided the idea was worth testing before offering to help. I removed the handful of knick-knacks from my shelves and photographed five shelves of genealogy and history books.

My first prompt was as follows:

Inventory these books, I want to start at the top shelf that would be the number one shelf, the middle shelf number two, and the bottom shelf number three. If you can’t read the name of the book or it doesn’t have a title or author on the binding, just write "blank."

Note that this was done on my phone, and I used the mic to give the prompt. I had to retake one section as it needed a better photo. I followed up with shelves four and five, then requested that the inventory be listed by shelf in a table I could copy into a Word document. The result was a near-perfect inventory. Anything left blank did not have a title on the binding.

You can see a portion below. This is all a little surreal. What would have been a big, time-consuming project—not to mention the dust—is now a four-page Word document listing most of my genealogy books. I never had any intention of doing this.

Now I need to fill in a few blanks and get rid of the dust.

Amazing!

This wasn’t the only amazing project.

I serve as the Education Committee chairperson for the Virginia Beach Genealogical Society. Most months, we offer an in-person Lunch and Learn program. As we began planning for next year, we had eight possible topics and needed to decide who would teach each.

Instead of asking someone to create and teach an entire two-hour class from scratch, I thought there had to be a better way. We could use a short video, a selected video segment, or a podcast for the teaching portion, then spend most of the session on discussion and hands-on practice.

I entered the topics into ChatGPT, suggested a few places to look for videos and podcasts, and asked it to find two options for each topic, preferably around thirty minutes long. Without my asking, AI also suggested a simple format for each session:

10 minutes — introduce the skill and why it matters

20–30 minutes — video or selected excerpt

10 minutes — group discussion

45–60 minutes — hands-on practice with participants’ own research

10–15 minutes — share one takeaway or next step

Then I simply asked, “Can this be organized in a spreadsheet or Word document?” AI created both. I preferred the Word document. In addition to an easy-to-understand format, AI created practice activities for each topic. We are not completely done. We still need to evaluate the videos and review the practice activities, but we already have much less work to do. It looks very promising.

AI-generated (ChatGPT) garden concept based on a photo and instructions provided by DQuinn, May 2026.

My last project was not genealogical, but AI gave me more amazing results. I am trying to redo a garden bed in my backyard and turn it into something attractive but fairly easy to care for. I uploaded a photo of the current bed and explained which shrubs were being removed, which plants I wanted to keep, and what I hoped to add—much of which I already had elsewhere in my yard. The tall tree in the AI-generated image is not mine, and the birdhouse it suggested is too expensive, but the overall plan is almost exactly what I had pictured.

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

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #14 Children, Grandchildren, and Other Descendants of Sarah Reed and Joel Hill

After posting last week about Sarah Reed Hill, I knew I needed to say more about her family. Sarah herself was the starting point, but the larger purpose was to serve as collateral research. In genealogy, collateral research means looking beyond a direct ancestor and studying related family lines — siblings, cousins, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and descendants of those families. Sometimes a record for one of those relatives provides the clue that our direct ancestor did not leave behind.

That is why Sarah mattered to this search. She was a descendant of Peter Reed and is thought to have been the sister of Benjamin Reed, the man I am trying to prove as Peter Reed’s son. I hoped that by tracing Sarah’s family forward, I might find a record, connection, or clue that would place Benjamin more clearly within Peter Reed’s family.

The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902 showed that Sarah and some of her descendants were in touch with Benjamin Reed's family. As I followed the family lines, the locations alone suggested that these families likely knew one another well.

One connection was especially interesting. Sarah’s son, David Hill, had a daughter, Ann Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hill, who married David S. Reed. David was the son of Benjamin Reed Jr., who was the son of Benjamin Reed—the same Benjamin who may have been Sarah Reed Hill’s brother and Peter Reed’s son. 

Unlike Sarah’s children, who stayed in Windham County, the grandchildren scattered. I found some in Windham County, but others in Illinois, Iowa, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. There were some in prison, working in vaudeville, and two missing persons. Some were easy to follow. Others led me through tangled records, repeated names, mistaken family trees, and a few stories that were sad but still worth knowing.

The most surprising story in this search belongs to the Cherry Sisters. Their mother, Laura M. Rawson Cherry, was a granddaughter of Sarah Reed and Joel Hill through their daughter Electa Hill Rawson. Laura was living in Windham County, Vermont, in 1850, but by 1856, she had moved to Linn County, Iowa, with her husband, Thomas Cherry, and a young daughter. Laura and Thomas had at least seven children – only one was a son. By 1890, both parents were dead, their son Nathan had left home, and five daughters remained on the family farm. Addie, Effie, Ella, Lizzie, and Jessie went on to perform as the Cherry Sisters, a vaudeville act remembered as one of the most unusual and widely known of its day.

The sisters first performed locally in the early 1890s. Their act was called “Something Good, Something Sad,” and it included songs, recitations, skits, morality pieces, and a dramatic sketch titled “The Gypsy’s Warning.” Audiences did not respond gently. The sisters became famous less for talent than for the reaction they provoked. People came to laugh, heckle, and sometimes throw vegetables, shoes, and other objects at the stage. Still, the Cherry Sisters kept performing. In 1896, Oscar Hammerstein* brought them to his Olympia Music Hall in New York, where their reputation as a terrible act became part of the attraction. They sold tickets, drew crowds, and became a national curiosity.

Gradually, the act was reduced to three sisters, and late in life, only two. Addie and Effie Cherry were living in Cedar Rapids when Addie died in 1942 and Effie in 1944.

This was not the kind of discovery I expected while tracing the grandchildren of Sarah Reed and Joel Hill, and it did not answer my Benjamin Reed question, but it made this collateral line impossible to forget!

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

*Oscar Hammerstein opened the Olympia Theatre in New York City’s Longacre Square, later Times Square, in 1895. Although he went bankrupt three years later, he continued building theaters in the city. Today, the Hammerstein name is best remembered through his grandson, Oscar Hammerstein II, the Broadway lyricist and writer.

Sources 

1850 U.S. census, Windham County, Vermont, population schedule, Wilmington, p. 415, dwelling 821, family 846, Luther Rawson household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4206192_00459?pId=1309965  : accessed 8 May 2026); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 929.

1850 U.S. census, Windham County, Vermont, population schedule, Wilmington, p. 410, dwelling 470, family 493, Timothy Brown household; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8054/records/1308129 : accessed 8 May 2026); citing National Archives microfilm publication M432, roll 929.

Andrew Henshaw Ward, Family Register of the Inhabitants of the Town of Shrewsbury, Mass.: From Its Settlement in 1717 to 1829, and of Some of Them to a Later Period (Boston: S. G. Drake, 1847), 78, marriage entry for Elizabeth Goddard and David Hill; digital images, HathiTrust Digital Library (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009576951 : accessed 9 May 2026).

“Cherry Bomb,” Early LCD, WFMU (https://wfmu.org/lcd/Early/cherry.html : accessed 13 May 2026).

“Diana’s Bryan-Quinn Family,” family tree, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/45260559/family?cfpid=6334928766 : accessed 8 May 2026).

Diana Bryan Quinn, “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks #13: Sarah Reed Hill,” Moments in Time: A Genealogy Blog, posted May 2026 (https://momentsintimeagenealogyblog.blogspot.com/2026/05/52-ancestors-in-52-weeks-13-sarah-reed.html: accessed 8 May 2026). 

Ephraim H. Newton, The History of the Town of Marlborough, Windham County, Vermont, with introduction by John Clement (Montpelier: Vermont Historical Society, 1930); digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofm00newt/page/n9/mode/2up : accessed 18 April 2026).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/164036557/laura-brown: accessed May 8, 2026), memorial page for Laura Brown (1801–21 Oct 1843), Find a Grave Memorial ID 164036557, citing Bennett Cemetery, East Dummerston, Windham County, Vermont, USA; Maintained by LadyGoshen (contributor 46951894).

“Jamaica, Windham, Vermont, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8999-VWT4?view=fullText : accessed 9 May 2025), image 281 of 568, page 517 marriage of Luther Rawson and Electra Reed; Image Group Number 005463989; citing Jamaica, Vermont, Town Clerk.

“Jamaica, Windham, Vermont, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8999-V4MD?view=fullText : accessed 9 May 2025), image 287 of 568, page 526 marriage of Laura Hill and Timothy Brown; Image Group Number 005463989; citing Jamaica, Vermont, Town Clerk.

“Jamaica, Windham, Vermont, United States records,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37V-T9V2-C?view=fullText : accessed 22 February 2025), image 295 of 546, deed involving Joel Hill, Louisa Hill, and Sally Hill, 1839.

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).

Linton Weeks, “The Cherry Sisters: Worst Act Ever?” NPR History Dept., NPR, 27 June 2015 (https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-history-dept/2015/06/27/417439984/the-cherry-sisters-worst-act-ever : accessed 13 May 2026).

“New Hampshire, U.S., Death Records, 1678–1974,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61834/records/218119  : accessed 18 April 2026), entry for Luther K. Rawson.

“The Celebrated Cherry Sisters,” photograph, undated, photo no. 20463; digital image, The History Center Online Collections Database, The History Center–Linn County Historical Society, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (https://historycenter.catalogaccess.com/photos/20463: accessed 13 May 2026), used with permission.

“Vermont, Births and Christenings, 1765–1908,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8LN-NM4 : accessed 8 May 2026), entry for Edson Hill, 1814. 

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