John Reed (abt. 1740 - aft. 1805)

Born about 1740 in Hopewell Township, Hunterdon, New Jersey

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 6 Jun 1805 after about age 65 in Rowan, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

John was born about 1735 (birth is an estimate). His wife’s name was Mary. He passed away after 1805.

Will

In the name of God Amen! I John Reed of Rowan County & State of N Carolina, weak in body, but of sound mind & memory thanks be to God for his mercies Do make & order this to be my last Will & test: Revoking all other wills, heretofore by me made hoping it may be received with content by all whom it may concern First I bequeath my soul to God who gave it & my body to the earth from whence it came to be decently buried at the discretion of my loving wife & the other executors hereafter named & my worldly goods as it had pleased God to bless me with, I give & bequeath as follows.

1. I give & bequeath unto my loving wife Mary Reed the room of the east end of my house, together with my household furniture, one mare, one cow & calf with the priviledges of a support on the plantation, during her natural life.

2. I give & bequeath to my son John Reed all that tract of land on Flat Creek whereon he now lives.

3. I give & bequeath to my son David Reed that tract of land whereon he now lives on the Yadnin river.

4. I give & bequeath unto my son Noah Reed, all that tract whereon he now lives from the line run between the tract I now love in which is the lower part of said tract.

5. I give & bequeath unto my son Moses Reed, the tract whereon I now live, from the line mentioned, before which is the Disoper end, also all my sheeps but three, reserved for my wife, Mary Reed, also one sow to my wife, also all my cattle & hogs to Moses Reed, & my waggon to be equally for the use of both, Noah Reed & Moses Reed.

[page 2]

Also my Will & desire is that my give unto my daughter Salley Lewis ten dollars, or the worth old that out of her legacy, and lastly I constitute & appoint my loving wife Mary Reed my executrix with my loving & worthy friend John Hamptonson my executor of this my last Will & test: In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & seal this 6th day of June 1805. John X Reed” witnesses: Buckner Kimball, Darby Henley^[1]

Research Notes

• His wife Mary’s first name was given in John’s Will, but nowhere does it mention her maiden name. A number of online family trees name her Mary Drake, but I have found no source for this name.Hardman-1532 17:55, 19 June 2021 (UTC). She has an unsourced burial record on findagrave^[2]. She left a Will dated 1824.^[3]

• He is reputedly one of the sons of John Reed Sr (? - c1754) and his wife Hannah Davis, Hannah having supposedly moved to Rowan County with her ten children in 1755, after her husband’s death.^[4] Four of the siblings (John, Eldad, Madad and Moses) are mentioned in the blurb about the Reed Cemetery on the findagrave website.^[5] There is some supporting evidence for this version of events, in that a number of the names appear in census in the area, including 1790, and also are recorded in old surveys of the cemetery. A page on rootsweb claims the old family bible lists the children as

1. William Madad b 26 Nov 1730 in ,, New Jersey
2. John b ABT. 1732/4 in Hopewell, Hunterdon, New Jersey
3. Eldad b: 1738 in ,, New Jersey [married Jane (Whitaker) Reed (1745-1811) c1760^[6]]
4. Moses b: ABT 1739 in ,, New Jersey
5. Elizabeth b: ABT 1741 in ,, New Jersey
6. Sarah b: ABT 1742 in ,New Jersey
7. Hannah b: ABT 1744 in ,, New Jersey
8. Rachel b: ABT 1746 in ,, New Jersey
9. Mary b: 31 Oct 1748 in ,, New Jersey ^[7] [married Joshua Whitaker Sr (1735-1798) on 12 Sep 1764^[8]]

• The burial record on Find-a-Grave in 1808 is unsourced. He certainly died after he signed his Will in 1805.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Carolina County, District and Probate Courts; Indexes to Wills, and Wills, 1757-1942; Author: North Carolina. Superior Court (Rowan County); Will Books, Vol G, 1797-1819 pp32-33
2. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/65957676/mary-reed : accessed 20 June 2021), memorial page for Mary Drake Reed (17 Nov 1737–4 Dec 1830), Find A Grave: Memorial #65957676, citing Reed Graveyard, Gold Hill, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Debbie Parris Hill (contributor 46542433) .
3. ↑ Wills for the Reed Family
4. ↑ https://fairviewtowncrier.com/2014/08/joshua-whitaker-sr-and-mary-reed-whitaker-part-one/
5. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2379848/reed-graveyard
6. ↑ https://fairviewtowncrier.com/2014/08/joshua-whitaker-sr-and-mary-reed-whitaker-part-one/
7. ↑ http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~janet/genealogy/Reed.html
8. ↑ https://fairviewtowncrier.com/2014/08/joshua-whitaker-sr-and-mary-reed-whitaker-part-one/
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (www.findagrave.com/memorial/195997580/john-reed : accessed 20 June 2021), memorial page for John Reed (1735–1808), Find A Grave: Memorial #195997580, citing Reed Graveyard, Gold Hill, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Sherry Reed (contributor 48996463) .

See also:

• Ancestry Profile

• Wills for the Reed Family