Massachusetts Roots, Vermont Branches: The Children of Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt

Benjamin Reed and Huldah Pratt were both born in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. At the time of their marriage on 3 December 1778 in Abington, Benjamin was residing in Cummington, Hampshire County, while Huldah was living in Bridgewater in Plymouth County.

According to this list, found at The Reed Genealogy, Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts From 1635 to 1902 by John Ludovicus Reed, Benjamin and Huldah had at least ten children between 1779 and 1802. Huldah was 19 when their first child was born and 42 at the birth of their last. My fourth great-grandmother, Nancy Reed, was their ninth child.

Hampshire County land records indicate that Benjamin and Huldah lived in Massachusetts until at least 1786, though brief absences during that period can’t be ruled out. This suggests that their children—Benjamin Junior, John, Huldah, and Cyrus—were born there. By May 1788, Benjamin Senior was named as a Bennington County, Vermont resident in a land purchase record, suggesting that son David, born in November 1788, was likely born in Vermont. As Benjamin and Huldah remained in Vermont, their children—Betsey, Calvin, Luther, Nancy, and Almira—are also presumed to have been born there.

This list of the Reed children is believed to have been given to John Ludovicus Reed for his book in 1899 by Mary E. Reed Roane, Luther Reed's daughter and Michael Roane's wife. According to John L. Reed, Mrs. Roane had a copy of a family record found in the Bible once owned by Benjamin and Huldah. I'm eager to connect with descendants of this family to learn more!

It was clear that someone was trying to decipher dates from a handwritten list when
naming these children. The dates circled in the list below were questioned in
the Reed book, possibly due to difficulty in reading them. I would love to
see the original document!

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

© 2025 

Doolittle, Amos. "State of Vermont Drawn and Engraved from the Latest Authorities," 1795, digital image, David Rumsey Map Collection (https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~34674~1180289 : accessed 20 March 2025).

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/27499358/huldah-read: accessed March 27, 2025), memorial page for Huldah Pratt Read (1760–17 May 1842), Find a Grave Memorial ID 27499358, citing East Putney Cemetery, East Putney, Windham County, Vermont, USA; Maintained by Cynthia Kaley (contributor 51056978).

Hampshire, Deeds 1789-1795, Book 3:550, Reed to Coock, images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99Z8-29DJ?view=fullText : Mar 28, 2025), image 286 of 597; Massachusetts. County Court (Hampshire County).

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

Scott, Joseph , "Massachusetts," 1795, digital image, Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/item/2018590108/ : accessed 20 March 2025). 

“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), images 266 to 320 for Benjamin Reed; 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.

"Woodford, Bennington, Vermont, United States records," images, FamilySearch

(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSVG-ZQ9S-4?view=fullText : accessed 2 Apr 2025), image 26 of 208.