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

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

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

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

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

Peter Reed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peter Reed at War

1754 – The French and Indian War Begins

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

1758 – The Expedition Against Canada

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

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

1760–1762 – Continued Service

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

The American Revolution

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

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

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

Peter's Legacy

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

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

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

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

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

If you would like to learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 : accessed 9 March 2026).

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

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635–1902, vol. 1 (1901); digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed/page/n11/mode/2up : accessed 18 April 2026).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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