52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #28 - Patrick Halvey or John Harvey?

I know very little about my Irish ancestor Patrick Halvey. He married Judith Hartigan on 27 November 1830 in the Roman Catholic parish of Parteen, County Clare, Ireland. They had at least four daughters, including my second-great-grandmother, Julia Harvey.

I have not found a record of Patrick's death. Two American records offer some details about his life, but they contradict each other. Julia's 1861 marriage record identifies her father as a farmer, while her 1909 admission record at the New York City Home for the Aged and Infirm describes him as a baker.

Even something as basic as his name is not entirely clear. In the Irish parish registers, he appears as Patrick Halvey. In American records of his daughters, the surname becomes Harvey. And two later death records identify him as John Harvey.

Which name was correct?

The earliest records consistently identify him as Patt or Patrick Halvey. The American records created during Julia's lifetime also name him Patrick, although they use the surname Harvey.

Only the two death records name him John. Mary's 1912 death certificate was informed by her husband, Thomas Buck, whom she married in America and who likely never met Patrick. Julia's 1919 death certificate names no informant, and the details suggest someone who did not know her well. In both cases, people without firsthand knowledge of Patrick supplied the information long after his lifetime.

The earlier records provide stronger evidence because they were created closer to the events they document and were more likely to contain information from Patrick or people with firsthand knowledge.

As for Halvey and Harvey, the records show the family used both spellings. I don't know when or why the change occurred, or whether Patrick himself ever used Harvey.

The evidence points to Patrick Halvey, not John Harvey, as his name, so I will use Patrick Halvey in my family tree.

To learn more about the families I research, follow my Facebook page, where I share each post and other genealogical finds.

Diana

© 2026

New York City Department of Health, Bureau of Records. Certificate of Death, Registered No. 1779, Julia Glynn, died 12 February 1919, Bronx; digital image in the possession of this author.

New York City Home for the Aged and Infirm, Manhattan Division. Inmate record for Julia Glynn, admitted 18 October 1909, record no. 25/1524; digital image, Ancestry.com, “New York, U.S., Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1830–1920” (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1083/images/31864_243908-00516?pId=142209 : accessed 10 August 2026); citing Census of Inmates in Almshouses and Poorhouses, 1875–1921, series A1978, reel A1978:123, New York State Archives, Albany, New York.

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Baptism register, 29 March 1833, Mary Halvey, daughter of Patt Halvey and Judith Hartigan, sponsor Mary Carty; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 12, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_012 : accessed 11 August 2026).

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Baptism register, 21 February 1836, Bridget Halvey, daughter of Patt Halvey and Johanna Hartigan, sponsors John Harvey and Ellen Heily; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 28, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634992?locale=en#page/28/mode/1up : accessed 14 August 2026).

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Baptism register, 3 March 1839, Judit [transcribed elsewhere as “Jud”] Halvey, daughter of Patritii [Patrick] Halvey and Julia Hartigan, sponsors Michaela Halvey and Maria Flynn; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/03, p. 46, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/pages/vtls000634992_046 : accessed 11 August 2026).

Parteen Roman Catholic Parish (County Clare, Ireland). Marriage register, 27 November 1830, Patt Halvey and Judith Hartigan; digital image, Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, microfilm 02410/02, p. 30, National Library of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland (https://registers.nli.ie/ : accessed 11 August 2026).

St. Albans Daily Messenger. 16 January 1912, p. 7; via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-albans-daily-messenger-harvey-buck/83967254/ : accessed 13 August 2026), clip page for Mary Harvey Buck's obituary, and naming her sister, by user dewquinn.

Vermont. Death record for Mary Harvey Buck, 15 January 1912, St. Albans; digital image, Ancestry.com, “Vermont, U.S., Death Records, 1909–2008,” image 31394_203831-01414 (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1607/images/31394_203831-01414?pId=49104 : accessed 10 August 2026); citing Vermont Death Records, 1909–2003, Vermont State Archives and Records Administration, Montpelier, Vermont.

Walpole, New Hampshire. Marriages, 1857–1894, p. 67, marriage record for Albert Glynn and Johanna Harvey, 9 June 1861; digital image, Ancestry.com, “New Hampshire, U.S., Marriage and Divorce Records, 1659–1947” (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5241/records/15910753 : accessed 10 August 2026); citing New Hampshire Bureau of Vital Records, Concord, New Hampshire; images provided by New England Historic Genealogical Society.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #11 Martha J. Lamb, an Accomplished Woman

In 1858, John Adams Vinton, in The Vinton Memorial, Comprising a Genealogy of the Descendants of John Vinton of Lynn, 1648, described Martha Joanna Nash Lamb as “an accomplished woman.” At the time, she was the wife of Charles A. Lamb and living in Maumee City, Ohio. Still, she was only at the beginning of her life’s work, and neither Vinton nor his readers could have known just how accomplished she would become.

Martha was the daughter of Arvin Nash and Lucinda Vinton. Her paternal
grandparents were Jacob Nash and Joanna Reed. Joanna is #11 in my 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series, where I am documenting the Reed family and related lines on my mother’s maternal side. Martha's father, Arvin, is #10.

Her name was sometimes written as 
Martha Joanna Reade Nash Lamb
or Martha J. R. N. Lamb

According to the family register shared in my last post, Martha Joanna Nash was born on 13 August 1826 in Plainfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. Her childhood was marked by both loss and change. Her older brother died when she was still very young, and in 1835, she lost her mother, Lucinda. In the years that followed, her father married and was widowed two more times, and the household grew into a large blended family with half-siblings, step-relations, and other family members living in the home.

Martha was well educated. In her early school years, she attended a school near her home in Goshen, and later studied at Williston Academy in Easthampton and at Northampton High School in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Marriage and Life in Chicago

Martha taught mathematics at a school in Newark, New Jersey, before accepting a teaching position in Maumee, Ohio, where she met her future husband. In 1852, she married Charles A. Lamb at the Congregational Church in Plainfield, Massachusetts. Charles, twice widowed and with five children, lived in Maumee, where he owned a furniture business.

Within a few years of their marriage, Charles’s business failed, and by 1860, Martha, her husband, and three of his children were living in Chicago. Charles supported the family through a sales position before joining the Union army. Martha’s years in Chicago were important. She was credited as a principal founder of the Home for the Friendless and Half Orphan and served as secretary of the Ladies’ Relief Society. She was also named secretary of the Great Sanitary Fair, placing her in the middle of one of Chicago’s most important Civil War relief efforts. 

This tribute to Martha J. Lamb appeared
in numerous newspapers nationwide. This
example was published in The Lansing Journal
and was found at Newspapers.com.

New York City: Building a Career and a Legacy

Martha left her husband in May of 1866. She returned to Massachusetts, where she taught mathematics for about a year at the Pollock Institute in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, before making her way to New York City.

Martha built a new life in New York City. There, she wrote children’s books, stories, and magazine articles before turning more fully to history. Her greatest work, History of the City of New York, established her as a serious historian and brought her wide recognition. In 1883, she became owner and editor of the Magazine of American History, a position that gave her a leading role in historical writing and publishing in the late 1800s.

Martha Lamb was well known in New York social circles. She belonged to many historical and patriotic societies and was the first woman member of the New York Historical Society. In this society, her paper on Mrs. Edward Livingston was the first by a woman presented at a Society meeting in 1871. In 1878, she became the first woman known to read her own work before the Society.

Her reputation extended beyond New York society. In 1886, President Grover Cleveland honored Martha at a White House dinner. In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison recognized her work for the centennial celebration of Washington’s inauguration.

The description below of Martha J. Lamb was written shortly before her death in A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life.

“She has earned her reputation of the leading woman historian of the nineteenth century. She is a middle-aged woman, a good talker and a most industrious worker in the historic and literary field. Recognition of her genius has been prompt and full. She has been elected to honorary membership in twenty-seven historical and learned societies in this country and Europe, and she is a life-member of the American Historical Association and a fellow of the Clarendon Historical Association of Edinburgh, Scotland.”

Martha J. Lamb died in New York on 2 January 1893 and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Florence, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. She was a writer, editor, historian, and an accomplished member of the Reed family line.

More to Come

I am not finished writing about Martha J. Lamb. I have read some of her papers from Smith College and the New York Historical Society, but there are still family letters and photographs I have not yet accessed that may tell more of her story. When I began looking into Martha, I had hoped to find more about the Reed family in those collections, but so far, I have found little beyond the family’s awareness of a Mayflower connection through Martha’s grandmother, Joanna Reed. Even so, Martha’s life and papers seem well worth further study. Below are some of the resources I found most interesting while researching Martha J. Lamb. The full list of sources is at the end of the post. 

This Tribute, found in issue 29 of The
Magazine of American History confirmed
that Martha J. Lamb was a founder of the 
Society of Colonial Dames of America.

The Magazine of American history v.29 1893 has many nice tributes to Martha J. Lamb in this issue.  

A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life - Read the biographical sketch for Martha J. Lamb on page 444. Many interesting sketches for others are in this book, published in 1893. 

Mary Collins’s “The History of Martha J. Lamb: Her Origin, Rise, and Progress” was one of the most interesting and detailed resources I found.

The finding aid for the Martha J. Lamb Papers, 1838–1969, at Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, Massachusetts, is a wonderful resource. It offers a clear overview of what is available, including some digital items found by clicking here.

Diana

© 2026

Resources

“1860 United States Federal Census,” database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7667/4213430_00067/37130394  : accessed 3 March 2026), Martha Nash Lamb, Chicago Ward 1, Cook County, Illinois. 

Charles B. Kimbell, History of Battery “A,” First Illinois Light Artillery Volunteers (Chicago: Cushing Printing Company, 1899), contains biographical sketch of Charles A. Lamb; digital images, “Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States records,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-53LV-M885?view=fullText  : accessed 24 March 2026), image 102 of 177; Image Group Number 008885819.

“Diana’s Bryan-Quinn Family,” Ancestry Member Trees, tree no. 45260559, person profile for Martha Joanna Nash, person no. 412759456469, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/45260559/person/412759456469/facts : accessed 25 March 2026). 

“Family Register of Mr. Arvin Nash,” images 478–481, in “Massachusetts, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-13RK-YFQ2?view=fullText : accessed 19 March 2026); citing Daughters of the American Revolution (Massachusetts), Image Group Number 008977924.

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, GoogleBooks  (https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Woman_of_the_Century/zXEEAAAAYAAJ?hl=en : accessed 1 September 2024), pages 444 - 445, images 455-456). 

“Guide to the Martha J. Lamb Papers, 1756–1892 (bulk 1876–1892), MS 362,” finding aid, New York Historical, NYU Special Collections Finding Aids (https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/nyhs/ms362_martha_lamb/ : accessed 3 March 2026).

John Adams Vinton, The Vinton Memorial, Comprising a Genealogy of the Descendants of John Vinton of Lynn, 1648: Also, Genealogical Sketches of Several Allied Families ... with an Appendix Containing a History of the Braintree Iron Works, and Other Historical Matter (Boston: S. K. Whipple and Co., 1858), digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/vintonmemorialco00vint  : accessed 3 March 2026).

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).

Martha J. Lamb, The Magazine of American History,1888, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/magazineofamericv20n6stev : accessed 1 September 2024). 

“Martha J. Lamb Papers, 1838–1969: Finding Aid,” Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, Massachusetts (https://findingaids.smith.edu/repositories/2/resources/785 : accessed 3 March 2026).

“Martha Lamb: New-York Historical Society Pioneer,” New-York Historical Society Blog, 18 March 2020 (https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/martha-lamb-new-york-historical-society-pioneer : accessed 22 March 2026).

Mary Collins, “The History of Martha J. Lamb: Her Origin, Rise, and Progress” (2020), in CUNY Academic Works (https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3545  : accessed 13 July 2024).

 

Mrs. [Martha] Lamb, “A Poem: Addressed to the Members of Mathematical Department of the Pollack Institute,” 4 February 1867, Martha J. Lamb Papers, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts.

“New York, New York, Death Index, 1862–1948,” database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9131/records/452527 : accessed 3 March 2026), entry for Martha J. Lamb, death 1893, New York, New York. 

The Lansing Journal, February 6, 1893, Page  6. via Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-lansing-journal-martha-j-lamb-trib/194306813/ : accessed March 27, 2026), clip page for Martha J Lamb - tribute by user dewquinn.

The Magazine of American History, vol. 29 (New York: A. S. Barnes, 1893), digital images, HathiTrust Digital Library (https://hdl.handle.net/2027/coo.31924065789988: accessed 29 March 2026). 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #9 Joanna Reed, Daughter of Peter and Lucy

Baptism of Joanna Reed, 25 Dec. 1763

Joanna Reed was born on 8 September 1763 in Abington or Bridgewater (records vary) and was baptized in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, on 25 December 1763. She was the daughter of Peter Reed and Lucy Hugens.

Hill Top Cemetery, Plainfield, MA

Her life can be traced from Plymouth County to Cummington and later to Plainfield, both in Hampshire County. Charles N. Dyer, in his History of the Town of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., wrote that many of Plainfield’s early settlers moved west from Abington, Bridgewater, and Weymouth. Joanna’s path seems to fit that pattern, although I do not know when she left Plymouth County.

Joanna is believed to have been the sister of my fourth-great-grandfather, Benjamin Reed. Benjamin was in Cummington before the Revolutionary War. When their father, Peter Reed, died in 1780, it was said that his widow, Lucy, moved to Cummington. Did Joanna go to Cummington with her mother, or was she already in Hampshire County by that time?

On 14 April 1788, a marriage intention was recorded in Cummington for Joanna Reed and Jacob Nash, and they were married there on 27 November 1788.  Jacob Nash was born in Weymouth in 1760 and came to Plainfield soon after the close of the Revolutionary War. Dyer noted in his book that the Jacob Nash home was still standing in 1891.

Joanna and Jacob had five known children: 

Sibyl, born 19 August 1789 

Arvin, born 19 November 1790 

Roxanna, born 22 August 1792 

Eunice, born 30 April 1795 

Mandana, born 19 January 1800

The family remained closely tied to Plainfield and the surrounding area. Joanna died on 8 September 1849 in Plainfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, on her eighty-sixth birthday, and was buried there.

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

“Amherst, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G979-927F?view=fullText  : accessed 13 March 2026), image 505 of 562; Amherst (Massachusetts), death of Sibyl Nash, showing mother’s birthplace as Bridgewater; Image Group Number 007009211.

Charles N. Dyer, History of the Town of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., from Its Settlement to 1891, Including a Genealogical History of Twenty Three of the Original Settlers and Their Descendants, with Anecdotes and Sketches (Northampton, Massachusetts: Press of Gazette Printing Co., 1891), digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofp01dyer/page/n13/mode/2up  : accessed 13 February 2026).

“Cummington, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8979-H9YZ?view=fullText  : accessed 5 March 2026), image 134 of 162; Cummington (Massachusetts) marriage of Joanna Reed and Jacob Nash; Image Group Number 007009226.

“Find a Grave,” database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64880706/jacob-nash  : accessed 13 March 2026), memorial for Joanna Nash, Find a Grave Memorial ID 64880706; citing Hill Top Cemetery, Plainfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, USA; maintained by Anonymous. 

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).

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

“Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-P3X5-MR9N?view=fullText  : accessed 5 March 2026), image 30 of 67; marriage intention of Jacob Nash and Joanna Reed; Image Group Number 107028903.

“Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHV-L3X5-M5DJ?view=fullText  : accessed 6 March 2026), image 35 of 46; Image Group Number 107028906; death record for Joanna Reed.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #5 Esther Thomson, Mother of John

Esther Thomson was born on 28 July 1652. Her given name is usually written as Esther, though I sometimes see it recorded as Hester. Her surname also appears in several spellings—Thompson, Thomson, Tompson, and Tomson. I’ve seen her father’s name most often as Thomson, so I will refer to her as Esther Thomson in all following posts.

Esther was the daughter of John Thomson and Mary Cooke. Mary is well known as the daughter of Francis Cooke, a Mayflower passenger. There is also a surprising amount written about John. He came to Massachusetts from Wales at about age six with his mother and stepfather. He was a farmer and a carpenter who built many houses. He was described as a kind friend and served as a command lieutenant for a small garrison formed to fight Indians.

Mary and John had eleven known children. Esther was the fourth child and the second daughter. Esther married William Read/Reed. I do not have documentation for the marriage itself, but The Reed Genealogy and other genealogies give a date of about 1675. Esther is named in her father’s will, and William Read appears under a list of heirs (apparently signing for Esther). She is also named in William Read's will.  Some older genealogies identify Esther’s husband as Jonathan Reed, but the information in both wills clearly places Esther with William Read/Reed. 

Both William and Esther were said to have died between the writing of William’s will dated 26 Oct 1705 and probate in the fall of 1706. More about Esther and William can be found at my post, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #4 William Reed, Father of John.

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

Charles Hutchinson Thompson, A Genealogy of the Descendants of John Thomson of Plymouth, Mass.: Also Sketches of Families of Allen, Cooke and Hutchinson (Lansing: D.D. Thorp, printer, 1890), digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/genealogyofdesce00thom/page/n9/mode/2up?q=carpenter

 : accessed 2 February 2026).

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635 to 1902. Baltimore, Maryland: n.p., 1902, pages 5-14.

Massachusetts, Suffolk County Probate Court, Probate and Family Court Department File Papers, Box 18 (Cases 2961–3150), 1 January 1636–31 December 1894; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXD-83GV-Q?view=explore : accessed 26 January 2026), image 164 of 1320; Image Group Number 102992159; citing Massachusetts Department of Archives, Boston.

Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, The Mayflower Descendant: A Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy and History, vol. 4 (Boston: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1899), 67 (transcription of John Thompson’s will and estate papers); digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/mayflowerdescendv4mass/page/n67/mode/2up : accessed 2 February 2026).

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #4 William Reed, Father of John

According to The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, From 1635 to 1902, William Reed (also spelled Reade/Read) lived in Weymouth, Massachusetts, was born 15 Oct 1639, and was the son of William and Avis (Deacon) Reade. He is the father of John Reed (#3) and quite possibly my seventh-great-grandfather.

Across several decades, William appears repeatedly in Weymouth town business—work connected to fences, roads, boundary lines, and other civic responsibilities—including service as constable and selectman. The Reed Genealogy also places him on Pleasant Street in South Weymouth and describes him as an active landholder involved in numerous land transactions.

 

William served in King Philip’s War (1675–1676)—a New England conflict between English colonists and several Native communities, led in part by the Wampanoag under Metacom (called “King Philip” by the English). William was in the Weymouth militia and was also a Trooper, meaning he was part of a mounted unit used for quicker movement and patrol-type duties. Records place him in the Mount Hope campaign, an early phase of the war focused around the Mount Hope/Bristol area (in what is now Rhode Island).

William married Esther (also written as Hester) Thompson by about 1675. The Reed Genealogy reported that William and Esther had the following children:

• John, b. 21 Oct 1680; d. young

• William, b. 24 May 1682; d. 3 Jun 1753; m. 1703 Alice Nash

• John, b. 10 Jul 1687; m. (1) Sarah Hersey;* m. (2) Mary Wheeler

• Jacob, b. 6 Nov 1691; d. 1766; m. (1) Sarah Hersey;* m. (2) Hannah Noyes (widow)

• Bashna, m. Nicholas Porter

• Mercy, m. [surname Whitmarsh—first name missing in excerpt]

• Mary (details not in excerpt)

• Hester, m. 1707 Joseph Allen

• Sarah, b. 21 Mar 1694; m. Hezekiah King

*Needs more investigation.

Both William and Esther (Hester) were said to have died between the writing of William’s will dated 26 Oct 1705 and probate in the fall of 1706. William's will is below. 

Click on the will to see it enlarged. If you have a free FamilySearch

account, you can view the will here. 

Will of William Reed (Weymouth), dated 26 Oct 1705; proved 12 Sep 1706. William provided his wife, Esther/Hester, a lifetime right to the home place (house and adjoining land/meadow), barn and orchard, and household goods, while directing his sons, William and John, to manage it for her benefit.

He then divided major landholdings among sons William, John, and Jacob, left each daughter £20 (with instructions for which sons paid which legacies), and ordered shared assets—such as a wharf interest, common lot, Bridgewater land, and a sawmill interest—to be divided among the three sons.

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

John Ludovicus Reed, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635 to 1902. Baltimore, Maryland: n.p., 1902, pages 5-14.

Massachusetts. Suffolk County Probate Court, Probate and Family Court Department File Papers, Box 18 (Cases 2961–3150), 1 January 1636–31 December 1894; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXD-83GV-Q?view=explore : accessed 26 January 2026), image 164 of 1320; Image Group Number 102992159; citing Massachusetts Department of Archives, Boston.

Mathew Carey, The State of Massachusetts (Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1815), engraved hand-colored map, published in Carey’s General Atlas; digital image, David Rumsey Map Collection, List no. 16102.014 (https://www.davidrumsey.com/uv/index.html?manifestUrl=%2F%2Fwww.davidrumsey.com%2Fluna%2Fservlet%2Fiiif%2Fm%2FRUMSEY~8~1~363533~90131027%2Fmanifest#?: accessed 25 January 2026).

Philip Hildreth Reade, Ancestors of Captain Philip Reade, 3d Regiment of Infantry, U.S. Army: who, in a military capacity, aided to create, defend and preserve the colonies of North America between 1607 and 1776 (Fort Snelling, Minnesota: [publisher not identified], [1896]), unnumbered page, entry for “William Reade (Sometime Reed-Read-Reid.), 1633–1706”; print, Genealogy & local history series G5266; Allen County Public Library, Genealogy Center, Fort Wayne, Indiana.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #3 John Reed born July 10, 1687

Even though John Reed wrote a will in March 1733, the Plymouth County probate court later settled his estate as intestate—meaning the judge treated him as if no valid will was in force. In the 1740 probate paperwork, Judge John Cushing issued guardianships for John’s minor children and then ordered the distribution of his estate under intestacy rules rather than under the terms of the will. This doesn’t necessarily mean the will never existed; it may not have been presented to the court, it may have been considered invalid, or it may not have covered the property that ended up being distributed.

John Reed is, without a doubt, the earliest ancestor I’ve ever written about. He was the father of Peter Reed, who is said to be the father of my fourth great-grandfather, Benjamin Reed. If that relationship holds, John becomes my sixth great-grandfather—exciting for me, because I’m seldom able to document a line this far back. And the best part? John wasn’t the beginning. The Reed line extends into earlier, identified generations, and ultimately reaches a Mayflower connection.

John was born on 10 July 1687 in Weymouth, Massachusetts, to William Reed and Esther Tompson (also seen as Thompson). Esther was a granddaughter of Francis Cooke, a Mayflower passenger. John is said to have moved to Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, in 1708, and The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, From 1635 to 1902 places him “opposite the burying ground” in the south part of town. He married twice—first Sarah Hersey,* with whom he had a son, John, and then Mary Wheeler in 1715. John and Mary are credited with nine children: James, Joseph, Mary, Ezekiel, Peter (my direct line), Squire, Silence, Betty, and Samuel.

This marriage record shows that John Read of Abington married Mary Wheeler of Rehoboth in 1715, a timeframe that fits well with the birth years of their children. In The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, From 1635 to 1902 by John Ludovicus Reed, John’s second wife is identified as Mary Whitmarsh—but so far I have not found any record of a marriage to a Mary Whitmarsh, or to any Mary other than Mary Wheeler, during this period.

John’s March 1733 will provides a rare and detailed look at his family and property. After debts were paid, he left his wife, Mary, all household and movable goods, and allowed her to use the homestead and a one-quarter share of a “Fourth Division” land right as long as she remained his widow. If she remarried, her rights were reduced: she would receive only one-third of the homestead’s income and would have no further right to the Fourth Division share. John intended his son James to become the principal heir of the homestead—receiving two-thirds immediately if Mary remarried and the remaining third at her death—while his other children, named in the will (John, Joseph, Ezekiel, Peter, Squire, Samuel, and Mary), were to share the remaining three-quarters of the Fourth Division right. Two children listed in the genealogy—Betty and Silence—are not mentioned in the will. Mary was also empowered to sell a small meadow lot if necessary to help pay debts.

It is still unclear exactly when John died, but the probate trail that follows his will helps narrow the timeframe. On 2 June 1740, guardians were appointed for his minor children, suggesting that John’s death likely occurred closer to that date than to the will he signed in 1733. One of the most revealing documents reproduced in The Reed Genealogy is the court order distributing John Reed’s estate, issued by Judge John Cushing and dated 12 July 1740 at the town of Scituate, which confirms that John was deceased by then and that his estate required formal division among his heirs.

*Note: So far, I have found no record—other than The Reed Genealogy—to document a first marriage for John Reed to Sarah Hersey. John’s younger brother, Jacob Reed, is also said to have first married a woman of the same name. Based on the dates involved, the most reasonable conclusion is that these were two different women named Sarah Hersey, rather than one Sarah who married both brothers. 

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

Abington, Massachusetts, Town Records, 1747–1856, vol. 2: 144, “John Read of Abington and Mary Wheeler married 1 December 1715” (recorded in section “Marriages from Leicester and Rehoboth”); digital image, image 40 of 207, Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620–1988, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com  : accessed 18 January 2026); citing Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Vital and Town Records (Provo, Utah: Holbrook Research Institute [Jay and Delene Holbrook]).

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.

Reed, John Ludovicus, The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1635 to 1902. Baltimore, Maryland: n.p., 1902, pages 26-28.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: I Completed the Challenge!!

That was it! #52 was just posted! Blogger, Amy Johnson Crow challenged bloggers to write about 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks and I took it a bit farther and wrote only about those related to my Hairston family. I wanted to prove (or disprove) that Hugh Brown Hairston was the father of my great-great-grandfather, John L. Hairston. I did not achieve the goal, but my Hairston research is very well organized. And, I certainly know much more about John L. Hairston, my great-grandfather, Phillip A. Hairston, his siblings, possible cousins, and the Hairston family in general. 

However, I am not finished. I haven't even begun writing about John L. Hairston's daughter, Permelia Hairston Noah, and her family. There are more Hairston family members in Alabama and Arkansas that also need attention and several of my 52 ancestors need to be revisited.

I will continue to number the ancestors and add them to my family chart. It won't be "52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks" as that pace was much too difficult. Instead, you will see one or two new Hairston posts a month with the title "Beyond 52 Ancestors."

Thank you to Amy Johnson Crow for creating the challenge and to all of you who read and shared my posts! 

Diana

© 2014

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #51 Eliza Hairston, My Great-Great-Grandmother

The solid lines indicate that the connection to the family is documented while
the dotted lines indicate that direct evidence has not yet been found to
make the connection. Click on the family tree to see a larger image.

My great-grandfather, Phillip A. Hairston was born in Hinds County, Mississippi in 1852. His father was John L. Hairston, born in South Carolina, and his mother, Eliza, thought to be born in Georgia.  Eliza's maiden name is unknown and a marriage date and place for John and Eliza cannot be found. 

No Story Too Small

Eliza Hairston's first name has only been seen in four places; the 1850 United States census record as Eliza,  Liza on the death record of Phillip A. Hairston in 1917, as Eliza on the death record of Permelia Hairston, and as Luiza on a deed record. 

There are family stories about a Native American ancestor in the Hairston family and Eliza appears to be a good candidate. According to my father, "one great-grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee." Distant cousins (Noahs, Thompsons, Greshams, and Chisums) had heard family stories about Native American heritage. One Thompson cousin said that her father treated it as a family secret. In an old Bryan family letter, my grandmother was referred to as "an Indian woman named Hirston."

Eliza is first found on the 1850 census. Her age was 30 years old, her birthplace was recorded as Georgia, and it was reported that she did not read or write. 

In 1860, Eliza was seen as E. Huston and her age was reported as 39, giving her a birth year of 1820 or 1821. 

Eliza and John had the following children indicating that they lived for a time Arkansas and possibly spent some time in Alabama.

Mary Ann Hairston was born about 1840 in Alabama or Arkansas

Permelia Hairston March 15, 1843 in Bradley County, Arkansas

Sarah Jane Hairston born about 1845 in Arkansas.

William born about 1846 in Mississippi.

Adeline Hairston born about 1849 in Mississippi.

Phillip A. Hairston born on May 17, 1852 in Mississippi

Martha Elizabeth "Mattie" Hairston born on August 2, 1858 in Mississippi.

On October 10, 1865 John L. Hairston and wife sold his land in Hinds County to George W. Prince for $600. John's wife's name is clearly written as Luiza. I would guess that this was a transcription error made when copying from the original deed, but we will never really know.

Hinds County to Bradley County to Falls County
Click here to see a larger version of this map at Google Maps.

A story from Permelia Hairston Noah's descendants was that, after the war ended, the Hairston family left Hinds County, Mississippi for Falls County, first stopping in Bradley County, Arkansas. No mention is made of what happened to Eliza. The family was in Falls County, Texas by 1867 and on September 21, 1868, John L. Hairston married Cynthia H. Moffitt.

Diana

© 2014


Sources

Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903–1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn. 

Deed of Sale from John L. Hairston and Luiza Hairston to Geo. W. Prince, 10 Oct. 1865. (filed 15 Nov. 1865), Hinds County, Mississippi, Deed Book 28, page 697. Chancery Clerk's Office, Raymond, Mississippi.

Houston, John L. and Moffitt, Cynthia, Falls County Marriages, County Clerk's Office, Marlin, Texas.

Year: 1850; Census Place: Hinds, Mississippi; Roll: M432_372; Page: 165A; Image: 336

Year: 1860; Census Place: Hinds, Mississippi; Roll: M653_582; Page: 674; Image: 206; Family History Library Film: 803582

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #50 Walter Alexander Chisum, Son of James C. Chisum and Martha Elizabeth "Mattie" Hairston

The solid lines indicate that the connection to the family is documented while
the dotted lines indicate that direct evidence has not yet been found to
make the connection. Click on the family tree to see a larger image.

Walter Alexander Chisum
Photo taken in Erath County
Courtesy of Max Sinclair

No Story Too Small

Walter Alexander Chisum was born on August 20, 1876 in Falls County, Texas. He was the son of Martha Elizabeth "Mattie" Hairston and James C. Chisum. When he was about age seven, Walter's family moved to Erath County, Texas. 

The next time that I found Walter is when he married Laura Elvira Pitts in Erath County on November 9, 1897. Laura was from Lincoln County, Tennessee and the daughter of James Carroll Pitts and Martha Elizabeth Hague. Her father died in 1889 and between 1892 and 1900, all of Laura's siblings could be found in Texas or Oklahoma. Her mother was living in Oklahoma Territory in 1900. 

About 1902 - Walter with James Clayborne,
Laura, and Dorsey
Photo courtesy of Max Sinclair

It is presumed that Laura met Walter Chisum in Erath County as she had siblings who lived in Erath County. Her sister, Stella Pitts King, was in Erath County by 1893 and another sister, Louisa, married William L. Kiker in Erath County in 1895. 

One family story passed down to my third cousin and fellow researcher, Max Sinclair, was that Laura was disowned by her mother when she married Walter as he was of Native American descent . 

In 1900, Walter, Laura, and their first child, Dorsey Wilmer Chisum, were living in Palo Pinto County. Walter was working as a section hand for a railroad company. 

Both James Clayborne Chisum and Blanch Edith Chisum were born in Erath County. James Clayborn in 1901 and Blanch Edith in 1903. 

In 1905, daughter, Chessie Chisum was born in Quanah, Hardeman County, Texas.

By 1908, when daughter Mattie Elizabeth Chisum was born, the family was living in Greer County, Oklahoma. Son, Houston Pitts "Buster" Chisum, was born in 1910. Several of Walter's uncles and cousins lived in Greer County throughout the early 1900s. In 1910, the census indicated that Walter was working as a laborer doing odd jobs.

Son, Cloyd Chisum was born in Newlin, Hall County in 1912. Newlin was also the home of Walter's sister, Stella. 

Walter died of pneumonia at age 39 on March 19, 1916 in Wilbarger County, Texas. He is buried in the Harrold Cemetery. 

Walter and Laura's youngest child, Rita Walter Chisum, was born after the death of her father on June 3, 1916 in Harrold. 

Laura and all seven children were living in Harrold in Wilbarger County in 1920. 

I like to look at Google Maps to get an overall picture of where families lived and to determine their proximity to other family members. On this map, I added in all of the known places that Walter lived, where his children were born, my Hairston/Bryan family home of Baylor County and Jackson County, OK as some of Walter's family were found there. Click here to see a larger version of this map at Google Maps.

In 1930, Dorsey Chisum was reported to be head of the family living in Wilbarger County. He lived with his wife Eula, three children, his mother, and siblings, Houston, Cloyd, Reta, and Chessie and three of Chessie's children. Son, James Clayborne, was living in Wichita County, Texas and daughter, Blanch Edith, was married to Charles Burchfield and lived nearby in Wilbarger. 

On August 19, 1930, Edith Chisum Burchfield died following an operation to remove a kidney. She was twenty-seven years old and left a husband with three young children. One of those children, Glen, later purchased the marker that is on Walter Chisum's grave in the Harrold Cemetery. 

Laura Elvira Pitts Chisum Sanders
1950
Courtesy of Max Sinclair 

The 1940 United States Census shows that Dorsey Chisum, his mother, and two nephews were living in Maricopa, Arizona by 1935.  Also living in Maricopa in 1940 were Chessie Chisum Wilkerson, and her family, James Clayborne Chisum and family, Mattie Elizabeth Chisum Young and family, Houston Pitts Chisum and family, and Rita Walter Chisum Suggs and family. 

Laura Chisum remarried at age 65 to James C. Saunders in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona on December 19, 1942. Laura died on November 18, 1958 and is buried in Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery in Phoenix. 

Thank you to Max Sinclair for permission to use his photos, the documents that he sent me several years ago, and his very thorough Public Tree at Ancestry.com. 

Diana

© 2014

Sources

Ancestry.com. Web: Arizona, Find A Grave Index, 1861-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.

Ancestry.com. Public Member Trees [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.

Ancestry.com. Texas, Death Certificates, 1903–1982 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.


Burchfield, Glen. "Message Boards." Re: Laura Elvira Chisum. 29 Aug. 2002. Web. 27 Dec. 2014. <http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.chisum/70.74.115.1/mb.ashx>.

Certificate of Marriage, James C. Sanders to Laura Chisum, 19 December 1942, Maricopa, Arizona. Clerk of the Superior Court's Office, Phoenix, Arizona. Copy in possession of Diana Quinn, Virginia Beach, VA.

King, Dee Dee. Erath County, Texas, Bride Index and Groom Index, Volume 1: 1869-1900. N.p: Dee Dee King, 2005. Print.

"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-25241-7927-97?cc=1983324 : accessed 27 December 2014), Death certificates > 1930 > Vol 085, certificates 042001-042500, Aug-Sep, Uvalde-Bell counties > image 270 of 522; State Registrar Office, Austin.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Justice Precinct 4, Palo Pinto, Texas; Roll: 1663; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0122; FHL microfilm: 1241663

Year: 1910; Census Place: Granite Ward 1, Greer, Oklahoma; Roll: T624_1253; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 0113; FHL microfilm: 1375266

Year: 1920; Census Place: Justice Precinct 2, Wilbarger, Texas; Roll: T625_1855; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 137; Image: 372

Year: 1930; Census Place: Precinct 4, Wichita, Texas; Roll: 2410; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0054; Image: 468.0; FHL microfilm: 2342144

Year: 1930; Census Place: Precinct 2, Wilbarger, Texas; Roll: 2410; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0008; Image: 909.0; FHL microfilm: 2342144

Year: 1930; Census Place: Precinct 2, Wilbarger, Texas; Roll: 2410; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0008; Image: 908.0; FHL microfilm: 2342144

Year: 1940; Census Place: Maricopa, Arizona; Roll: T627_109; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 7-167

Year: 1940; Census Place: Maricopa, Arizona; Roll: T627_109; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 7-167 

Year: 1940; Census Place: Maricopa, Arizona; Roll: T627_109; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 7-169 

Year: 1940; Census Place: Maricopa, Arizona; Roll: T627_109; Page: 81A; Enumeration District: 7-167