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.