Setting the Record Straight: The Father of Wallace Putnam Reed

Wallace Putnam Reed, born about 1847, was a well-known Southern writer of the late 1800s. His articles and stories can be found in publications across the United States. He was an editorial writer at The Atlanta Constitution for over 10 years and published History of Atlanta, a 700-page history, in 1889. 

A few weeks ago, I came across Wallace while researching the family of my fourth great-grandfather, Benjamin Reed. According to information found at the tree at FamilySearch.org, Find-a-Grave, and Public Trees at Ancestry.com, Wallace's parents were Harvey L. Reed (1836-1859) and Fanny Rogers. Harvey L. Reed was the son of Luther Reed (or Read) and Jerusha Wilson of Windham County, Vermont. Luther was the son of my ancestor, Benjamin Reed.

Everything seemed to be in order—I had birth and marriage records and a detailed death record for Harvey L. Reed. However, as I added this information to my family tree, I noticed discrepancies - If the birth information was accurate, Harvey L. would have been only 9 years old when he married Fanny Rogers in 1845. And Harvey L., who died in 1859 in Massachusetts, was said to be single, not married, on his death record. Could there have been another Harvey Reed?

In 1845, Harvey Reed resided in Walpole, NH. 

A search of census records quickly confirmed that Wallace's father was not Harvey L. Reed, son of Luther and Jerusha, but another Harvey Reed born about 1811 in Vermont. Wallace Putnam Reed and his family were listed in the 1850 census for Wilcox County, Alabama, and the 1860 census for Fulton County, Georgia. Harvey is identified as "Henry" in both censuses and living with Fanny and Wallace. By 1870, Wallace Reed, now 24 years old, is found living in Atlanta, Ward 1, Fulton County, with his presumed parents, Harvey and Anna Reed.  The census records consistently show that Wallace and his mother were born in New Hampshire, while his father was born in Vermont.

In 1880, Wallace P. Reed, an editor, was living with his mother, Fanny Reed, age 55, in Atlanta and, on the same census, living with his wife and in-laws in Conyers, Rockdale County, Georgia. And, just to add another twist, Harvey Reed, Wallace's father, was enumerated as living in Cumberland County, New Jersey. 

To confirm that I had the correct Reed family in each location, I looked beyond census records at deeds, newspapers, and other resources.  These are shared at my Public Tree at Ancestry for Wallace Putnam Reed. 

Harvey, the father of Wallace Putnam Reed, died on 15 August 1889 in Hapeville, Fulton County, Georgia. His death date was found on a land transaction in Cumberland County, New Jersey, and his obituary in The Atlantic Constitution. 

I will not continue researching this Reed family as I now know they are not attached to my family. I will, however, share this information on Ancestry, Find a Grave, and FamilySearch.  For those related to this family, there are still some interesting questions to answer: 

• Who was the father of Harvey Reed, and how was this family connected to other Reed families in New England?
• Why did this Reed family move to Alabama? 
• Wallace P. Reed was found working as a clerk on the Massachusetts state census in 1865. Did the family leave Georgia during the Civil War? 
• What was Harvey Reed's connection to Cumberland County, New Jersey? 
• Did Fanny Reed remain in Georgia, or did she return to Vermont after her husband's death? 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

Sources 

Cumberland County, New Jersey, Deed Book 200: 212-215, Deed, 14 April 1890; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37Y-K99G-Z?view=fullText : accessed 18 August 2024), images 114-115. 

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31595322/wallace_putnam-reed: accessed September 10, 2024), memorial page for Wallace Putnam Reed (1849–1903), Find a Grave Memorial ID 31595322, citing Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, USA; Maintained by L Ferree (contributor 47116659).

History of Atlanta, Georgia: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers. United States: D. Mason & Company, 1889.

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635-1902 Vol. I  (no publisher named, 1901). 

Lancaster Teller, April 17, 1890, Page  3. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/lancaster-teller-wallace-putnam-reed-4-w/153117184/ : accessed August 17, 2024), clip page for Wallace Putnam Reed 4 with photo by user dewquinn

"Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910", FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHMZ-2NY : accessed 12 August 2024), Harvey Reed.

"Massachusetts State Census, 1865," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQH4-CVZ : 15 August 2024), Entry for Walllace P. Reed, 1865.

Memoirs of Georgia : containing historical accounts of the state's civil, military, industrial and professional interests, and personal sketches of many of its people; v. 01, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/509429 : accessed 1 August 2024).

Public Member Trees, database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1030/ : accessed 12 August 2024). A search for Wallace Putnam Reed resulted in 13 trees. 

The Atlanta Constitution, August 17, 1889, Page 5. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-harvey-reeds-f/153319632/ : accessed August 17, 2024), clip page for Harvey Reed's funeral names son Wallace Putnam Reed by user dewquinn

The Atlanta Constitution, August 16, 1889, Page 5. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-harvey-reed-obi/153319590/ : accessed August 17, 2024), clip page for Harvey Reed obituary by user dewquinn

"United States Census, 1850", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH5C-JYV : accessed 12 August 2024), Entry for Henry Reed and Fanny Reed, 1850.

"United States Census, 1860", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZMP-4YS : accessed 12 August 2024), Entry for Henry Reed and Fannie Reed, 1860.

"United States Census, 1870", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC3S-SCX : accessed 12 August 2024), Entry for Harry [Harvey] Reed and Anna Reed, 1870.

"United States Census, 1880." FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8L1-X3K: accessed 11 August 2024), Entry for Fannie Reed and Wallace P. Reed, 1880.

"United States Census, 1880," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNZT-GBZ : accessed 12 August 2024), Entry for Hettie Elden and Harvey Reed, 1880.

"United States Census, 1880," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8GR-BPD : accessed 11 August 2024), Entry for Wallace P. Reed and Kate S. Reed, 1880.

"Vermont Vital Records, 1760-1954," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V8MR-TKD : accessed 12 August 2024), Entry for Harvey Reed and Fanny Rogers, 03 Dec 1845.

Wallace Putnam Reed in the FamilySearch Tree, ID L259-K43, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L259-K43 :accessed September 10, 2024). 

Ancestry's Quick Links in my Toolbox - a Better Way

Ancestry.com has informed its members that the Quick Links feature will be discontinued starting November 1, 2024. We were given an early warning last year when the ability to add new links to the Quick Links widget was disabled. Yesterday, I learned that less than 1% of Ancestry users took advantage of this feature.[1] As one of that small percentage, I didn’t wait around when last year's announcement came through. I made sure to back up my favorite links, which included Public Trees shared by other users and all Federal Census Records. These links are a huge time-saver for me.

Within a few hours, I had transferred all of these links into my personal genealogy "Toolbox," a file I keep handy on my Chrome toolbar. 

I soon realized that having the links in my Toolbox was even more convenient than relying on the Quick Links on my Ancestry.com homepage. It’s much easier to pull up census records and those family trees now, as I no longer have to navigate away from the page I’m working on—saving clicks in the process. I found it so useful that I’ve created a separate file of links to Federal Census Records at FamilySearch, which I turn to whenever I can't locate someone in the Ancestry.com records.

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

Source:

[1] Timothy J. Barron, "Ancestry Users," Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/469269581613668 : posted 14 September 2024).

Friday's Photo: A Play at Hope High School, Bienville Parish, Louisiana

A reader sent me this program from a play at Hope High School in 1922. Her great-grandmother, Maggie Frye, played Mrs. Gordon and Miss Madden, and her great-grandfather, Charlie Wedgeworth, played a lineman. In reading my past posts, I saw that 1922 was the year an addition was added to Hope School, and from that time, it was usually known as Hope High School. 

"Hope School" is written on the back of this photo from the Frye Family Collection. 

I had hoped to have photos of students named—I had two. You can see them at the links below. 

• Friday's Photo: Clara and Kyle Davis of Bienville Parish

• Friday's Photo: Charles Lavelle Davis Jr.

Other posts about Hope School:

• A Revisit to Hope School

• Friday's Photo: Hope School - Was this in Bienville Parish?

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

"A Kentucky Colonel / Belle," digital image, original program from the collection of  Chantel Freeman, September 2024. Used with permission. 

"Hope School," original photograph from the Frye Family collection, C. Frye, CA.  Accessed June 6, 2016, and June 3, 2019. Used with permission.

Family Notes From The Baylor County Banner, Baylor County, Texas - January 1919

In 1919, much of the news centered around World War I and the return of soldiers. While this isn't a photo from Baylor County, it’s one from my personal collection. It belonged to my great-uncle Charlie, whose unit was part of the Rainbow Division that served in France during the war.

The extracted data in this post was taken from Baylor County Banner issues on a microfilm reel labeled "Baylor County Banner Jan 2, 1919 thru Dec 30, 1920." 

Nearly two decades ago, I published this information on my web pages, which, while still online, can no longer be changed. To protect the content in case it disappears, I’m adding it to this blog.

Today, I fixed some errors and revisited several weekly issues to uncover additional details. Usually, I share information related to births, deaths, and marriages in Baylor County, along with details about my father's Bryan family. However, after coming across several intriguing letters from soldiers, I’ve also decided to include information about those.

You can locate the 1919 issues of the Banner on Newspaper Archives by Storied, a subscription site, though many groups offer it free to their members. I take advantage of this resource through my memberships with the Southern California Genealogical Society and the National Genealogical Society.

January 2, 1919 

Levelview - Mr. D. A. Chapman and his family of Plainview spent Christmas with her mother, Mrs. Cox.

Judge H. P. Branham died. 

Monroe Graham married Ova Boone.

Marriage of Bertha Martin and Rev. R. Egbert Connell (very long article)

Velma Harrison, daughter of W. C. Harrison, died in Abilene. 

Quarantine is Lifted - All Schools and Churches of the County Authorized to Hold Sessions. Also Gatherings. 

 

Letter from Ephraim Goss in France.

From Osro L. Watson, in France, to his father, O. Y. Watson. 

From Charley, in France, to his mother (last name not recorded) - he mentions Marvin Reynolds and Joe White.

Iry High, in Luxembourg, to his mother.

January 9, 1919

Lost: Somewhere between Porter well and Seymour a 10ft. hose, steel lined, with yellow cloth.  Had been used for loading fuel oil.  Reasonable reward to finder.  R. E. Bryan  14-15pd

Theodore Roosevelt dies

 Helen Robertson White died at age 23

A letter from Porter Brown, in France, to Bess, Aline, and Lee

A letter from Emberry D. Baccus, in Germany, to his parents

A letter from Reid Wallace Thomas, in Germany, to his mother

A letter from J. T. Crabb at Fort Travis in Texas to the people of Seymour and Baylor County

January 16, 1919 

Richland - Mr. Riley Henson and Ross Session visited Red Springs Sunday afternoon.

Little Charley Henson is on the sick list at this writing.

Death of Mrs. John M. McCauley (Miss Magie Lee Gwinn)

Claude B. Clouse died at 26. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Breeland from George W. Truett in England regarding their sons. 

Rhand H. Brothers, in France, to his family. 

J. W. Sanderson sent a letter to his mother. In it, he mentions Joe and Jesse. He appeared to be at a YMCA in France. 

John Franks wrote a letter to Lee from a village in France.

 

Rhand H Brothers wrote his mother and family from a base hospital in France. 

George W. Truett wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Breeland to tell them that he had seen their sons, Silas and one unnamed son, in England. 

 

January 23, 1919

A memorial service was held for these men who died in the war from Baylor County: William L. Blankenship, Frank Armstrong, Columbus Reed Morris, Wilburn Frank Watts, Reuben L. Wilson, Esaw H. Estridge, Arthur Williams, Noel H. Graham, Homer N. Dennis, Claude Ausley, and Sam Allen. 

In a regularly featured article, "WITH THE SUBSCRIBERS," the Banner editor wrote that it had been some time since he mentioned subscribers from other parts who had sent in renewals. This article covers more than half the newspaper page and includes renewals from as far back as October 1918. He wrote a short paragraph about each letter he received. I am adding names and residences at the time of renewal below.

• Mr. C. A. Pierce of Silver City, Utah
• Rev. J. C. Cook of Norman, Oklahoma
• Mr. G. W. Ballard of Corpus Christi
• Mr. Fred B. McGuire from Gilliland
• Mrs. L. S. Foster of Vanderpool - She is one of Mr. A. E. Clayton's daughters.
• Mrs. J. S. Gore of Woodward, Oklahoma
• Mr. S. W. McRae of Burkburnett
• Mr. Lucian Goss of Dalhart
• Mr. F. L. Sorelle of Ft. Worth
• Mrs. M. A. Knight of Portales, New Mexico
• Mr. John Gunnels of Texico, New Mexico
• Mrs. D. P. Conditt of Frederick, Oklahoma
• Miss Lula Townzen formerly of Lake Creek community, remitted from O'Donnell. 
• Mr. C. E. Sessions of Adobe Walls. 
• Mr. J. E. Windield - It is not told where he lived. His sons Stillman and Hilory were with the Marine Corps in the West Indies. Uncle Bob Bennett and Mr. Newlin had been there visiting Mr. Sharver. 
• Mr. G. Gatzkie of Hoising, Kansas
• Mr. Don McLeod of Henryetta, Oklahoma
• Mr. L. L. Dantzler of Lexington, Kentucky (is married to Mary Hawkins)
• Mrs. J. A. Shawver of Crowell
• Mr. J. J. Macha of Shiner
• Mr. J. E. Blankenship of Yuma, Arizona
• Mrs. J. A. Morgan of Granite, Oklahoma
• Rev. Ed Tharp of Margaret
• Mr. J. S. Bussell of Rogerson, Idaho
• Mr. D. E. Hammettt of Phoenix, Arizona
• Mr. L. H. Brown of Burkburnett
• Rev. W. O. Hart of Kings Mountain, North Carolina
• Mr. J. S. Carr of Alpine
• Oct. 23 Mr. J. R. Hammett renewed from Post. He said money matters were close in the drouth district and he couldn't keep on taking the paper indefinitely unless things go to breaking better.  He may not be able to take the paper always.  Mr. Hammett has a boy in France.  They had just received a letter from him and he had been under shell fire for 31 days and had gone over the top and had not received a single scratch.  Mr. Hammett was very thankful for that and that his boy was not a slacker.  Mr. Hammett wishes the Banner and Old Baylor all kinds of good luck.
• Mr. W. H. Moore of Des Moines, New Mexico
• Mr. E. J. White of Idabel, Oklahoma
• Mr. W. T. Miller of Hedley
• Miss Ella Sewall of Jacksonville

R. E. Ford Dies in Christoval.

Martha Adeline Thomason married James Emmet Blakemore in Crowell, Texas.

The death of Mr. J. P. Hackley of Jacksboro, father of Mrs. G. L. Forrester. 

Letter from Charlie B. Dunn in France to his mother. 

A letter from Parks A. McLarty in France to Myrtle.

A letter from Lt. Francis S. Wall to Thomas Wilson about the death of his son, Rueben Wilson. 

A letter from Grady McRae in France to his brother, Sid McRae. 

 January 30, 1919

Mrs. C. O Thorton died in Yuma, Arizona. 

A letter to Mrs. Blankenship about the death of her son, Lawrence, written by an English chaplain, C. Hottan Vuisins, in Glasgow, Scotland. 

An extremely interesting letter from D. L. Chenault to Mr. Morris from France. In it, he describes his trip from Texas to France in detail and writes much about the town and the French people. 

A letter from Charles Euel Fogle from a hospital in Glasgow, Scotland. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

The Baylor County Banner issues from the year 1919, microfilm images, The Baylor County Banner (Seymour, Texas), 1916. Microfilm titled "Baylor County Banner Jan 2, 1919 thru Dec 30, 1920," accessed from the privately held collection of D.B. Quinn.

Learning More About Benjamin Reed: The Power of Collateral Research

A fascinating Reed discovery involves Martha J. Lamb, a historian, writer, and granddaughter of Benjamin's thought-to-be sister Joanna. Her papers, donated to various institutions,
promise to be a valuable resource for further research.[1]

The research I find most rewarding, yet also the most time-consuming, is digging into collateral relatives. In collateral research, you explore your non-direct-line ancestors. When faced with a challenging question, I often shift my focus to the siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren of my ancestors.  

With my six-year-old grandson spending the summer with me, I've had limited time for large projects or blog posts. Instead, I've focused on researching the collateral family members of my ancestor, Benjamin Reed. This was something I could work on in brief intervals. 

Benjamin Reed was born in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, in 1752. His father is said to be Peter Reed.[2]  While birth records document all of Benjamin's possible siblings as children of Peter, Benjamin's own birth or baptismal record has not been found.[3]

I have exhausted all resources in my search for Benjamin Reed. I have found records online, in archives, and in libraries. DNA matches and indirect evidence point to Peter as Benjamin's father. Collateral research is the next step to finding additional records.  

My Question

Was Benjamin Reed, born in 1752 in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the son of Peter Reed, who was born in 1723 in Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts?

Steps I’m Taking

Click to see my most recent log format. 
Creating My All-Encompassing Genealogy
Research Log in OneNote

I will research Benjamin's siblings, children, and in-laws, along with their children, grandchildren, and maybe great-grandchildren. I will research Peter's siblings and in-laws in the same manner.

I use Microsoft OneNote to maintain individual research logs for each collateral family member and their descendants. These logs combine previously gathered information, new discoveries, and my thoughts and analysis.

I continually add these individuals to my Ancestry.com tree, which syncs with my Family Tree Maker account, and add comments and notes to entries. Found documents are filed by direct-line ancestors in surname-specific digital folders.

In my Reed family files, I have a folder for each direct line ancestor. The folder for John Reed, father of Peter, contains all information about John, his wife, and all children except Peter, my direct ancestor. Peter gets his own folder that contains information about him, his wife, her family, and all of his children except Benjamin, my direct ancestor, who gets his own folder, and so on.

Recent Discoveries 

1. While I haven't yet answered my question, I've uncovered connections and information that enabled me to easily document Reed ThruLines DNA matches at Ancestry.com. This has definitely strengthened my confidence in Benjamin's connection to Peter Reed. 

2. Although I've only researched a small number of the collateral family members, I've already found three whose writings or family papers may answer my question. I am waiting to receive copies from manuscript collections found in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and New York.  

Collateral research may not answer all questions, but exploring these extended family tree branches always yields a wealth of information, resources, and clues. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

Sources

[1] Frances E. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life. 1893 (https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Woman_of_the_Century/zXEEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en : accessed 1 September 2024), pages 444 - 445, images 455-456). And, Martha J. Lamb, The Magazine of American History,1888, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/magazineofamericv20n6stev : accessed 1 September 2024). And, 

Martha J. Lamb, History of the City of New York: its origin, rise, and progress Vol 1, 1877, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/01001942/ : accessed 1 September 2024).

[2] John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy : Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635-1902 Vol. I  (no publisher named, 1901). 

[3] Birth Records for the Children of Peter Reed, in the Brockton, MA First Parish Congregational Church records, 1738-1980, RG0037, The Congregational Library & Archives, Boston, MA (https://congregationallibrary.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/church-records-1740-1805-first-parish-congregational-church-in-north-bridgewater/5618? : accessed 1 August 2024). 

Friday's Photo: Josie Bryan Cook

Josie Bryan Cook has been mentioned many times on this blog. However, not all of her photos have been posted. Joseph "Josie" Sarah Catherine Bryan was the biological daughter of Joseph Bryan and Sarah Wimberly and the adopted daughter of James Bryan (brother to Joseph) and Alice Wimberly (sister to Sarah). 

Josie married Joseph "Joe" W. Cook on November 20, 1873 in Bienville Parish. They had five children - Lula Laura Cook, Karl Franklin Cook, Alice Belle Cook, Mary Elizabeth Cook, and James Bryan Cook. 

Joe and Josie are buried in Wimberly Cemetery in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

Other posts that feature Josie can be found at the links below. 

Friday's Photo: The Home of Joseph W. and Josie Bryan Cook - 1925 - Bienville Parish, Louisiana

Bienville Parish, Louisiana - The Lost Scrapbook

Friday's Photo: Josie Bryan Cook and William B. Trott Saved Our Family History  

Friday's Photo: An Important Celebration in Bienville Parish

From the Files of Marguerite Cook Clark: Joe and Josie Bryan Cook

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

Josie Bryan Cook, photographs, n.d.; 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.