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.

#52ancestors Post Twenty-Seven: Independence Day

This unused postcard, from my personal collection, was one of
many in the National Song Series published about 1910.  

Known as the Fourth of July or Independence Day, this day has been celebrated as the birth of American independence since 1776 when, during the American Revolution, the delegates of the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. 

I now know of three of my ancestors who served as patriots in the American Revolution.

• Ralph Regan, my 4th great-grandfather, was in the N. C. Militia and was known to have fought as a lieutenant in the Battle at Moores Creek Bridge. 

• John Giddens, another 4th great-grandfather, served in the N.C. Minutemen. He received land grants in Duplin and Wayne Counties. 

• Benjamin Reed (aka Read), also a 4th great-grandfather, enlisted in Massachusetts on April 21, 1775 to serve as a minute man in the Lexington Alarm. He fought continuously until discharged on November 29, 1777. 

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

© 2018

Sources

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

July 4th — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts. (n.d.). History.com — History Made Every Day — American & World History. Retrieved July 4, 2013, from http://www.history.com/topics/july-4th

Moss, B. G. (1992). Roster of the Patriots in the battle of Moores Creek Bridge. Blacksburg, S.C.: Scotia-Hibernia Press.

Office of the State Comptroller, Military Papers - Revolutionary War Army Accounts, State Archives of North Carolina, Volume V, Page 40, Folio 3.


Reed, John Ludovicus. Reed genealogy: descendants of William Reade, of Weymouth, Mass., from 1635-1902.  Internet Archive. Web. 27 Apr. 2018. <https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed>.

Friday's Photo: Plymouth Rock

Bill and I visited Plymouth in 1985.
We were looking at historical landmarks and buying
bargain antiques - NOT thinking about ancestry. 

I started two posts this week, one for my NC Giddens family and one for Bienville Parish families, but got a little distracted and haven't finished them as I found I am only one generation away from connecting my mother's Reed family to a Mayflower Passenger. 

I have been researching for 20 years and never looked at this family beyond what my mother found when she was searching in the 1980s. What a surprise to see other family trees at Ancestry.com connecting my family to Francis Cooke, a Mayflower passenger. 

I sent $35 to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants and learned the first five generations were proven and I would have to document the remaining. I have documentation for all except one generation. I will need to work on that one with hopes I can do most of it from home. However, another trip to Plymouth might be fun.  

So, if you are one of my cousins, who descends from Charles Giddens and Mary Lucy Glynn, this may be your family. 

Francis Cooke

Mary Cooke (his daughter) married John Tompson/Tomson

Hester Tomson married William Reed

John Reed married Mary Wheeler

Peter Reed married Lucy Hugens

Benjamin Reed married Huldah Pratt 

I need to prove Benjamin Reed (born about 1752) is the son of Peter Reed.

Nancy Reed married Joseph T. Glynn

Mary Lucy Glynn married Charles Giddens

My grandmother

My mother

Me

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

© 2018 

Sources 

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

Reed, John Ludovicus. Reed genealogy: descendants of William Reade, of Weymouth, Mass., from 1635-1902.  Internet Archive. Web. 27 Apr. 2018. <https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed>.