The birth record for John's first child establishes that he married, first, a woman named Sarah.[3] The 1901 Reed Genealogy[4] (which is cited in the entry for John in Chamberlain's History of Weymouth[5]) states that John married Sarah Hersey. However, the same source also states that John's brother Jacob Reed married Sarah Hersey,[6] suggesting that one of the entries was an error. Vital Records of Abington to 1850 includes an entry, based on a family bible, that states that Jacob Reed married Sarah Hersey,[7] supporting the proposition that Jacob, not John, married Sarah Hersey. Several other secondary sources show that John's first wife was named Sarah, but show her last name as unknown.[8][2]
John and Sarah had one child, born in Abington, Massachusetts:
John, b. August 10, 1713,[3][8][2] m. June 20, 1734 Mary Torrey[9]
John's wife, Sarah, died sometime before December 1715.
Second Wife and Children
John Read of Abington and Mary Wheeler of Rehoboth were married on December 1, 1715 in Rehoboth[10][11] after their intentions were published there on October 8, 1715.[12]
John and Mary had the following children, all born in Abington:
James, b. October 12, 1716,[3][8][2] m. August 30, 1741 Ruth (Ford) Pool in Abington[13]
Joseph, b. February 13, 1717/8,[14][8] m. December 29, 1744 Mary Dyer
Mary, b. December 21, 1719,[8][2] bpt. March 11, 1722[15]
Ezekiel, b. November 14, 1722, m. November 25, 1742 Hannah Beal in Abington. (See discussion and sources in Ezekiel's profile.)
John made his will on March 20, 1733. In his will, John made bequests to his wife Mary Reed, son James Reed, other seven children: John Reed, Joseph Reed, Ezekiel Reed, Peter Reed, Squire Reed, Samuel Reed and Mary Reed. John named his wife Mary as sole executrix. The will was witnessed by Nicholas Porter and Jacob Reed.[20]
John died sometime prior to April 17, 1739,
[21] because on that date, the marriage intentions of his widow, Mary Reed, and John Dyer of Bristol were recorded in the Abington records.[21][22]
Bonds were posted on May 16, 1739 by James Reed Jr., John Noyce and Ebenezer Reed to secured the performance by James Reed Jr of the administration of John's estate.[20][23]
On 4 June 1739, the appraisement of his inventory was "the real estate, one hundred and ninety pounds, bed & bedding, clothes, eight pounds, ten shillings, brass & pewter with other things twelve pounds, five shillings." Appraised by Jacob Read, Obadiah Read, and Samuel Pettingill.[24]
The inventory of debt of John's estate was sworn to by James Reed on June 2, 1740. No inventory of his assets has been found.[20]
In 1740, an account of his estate charges and his debts was recorded by his administrators. Included is "due to me for 14 months service and attendance on my Father in his sickness".[25][26]
Apparently, John's will was not admitted in probate, because on July 12, 1740, John Cushing, Judge of the Probate of Wills for Plymouth County, declared that the real estate of John Reed, late of Abbington, yeoman, deceased intestate, could not be divided without prejudice and gave the real estate to second son James Reed and ordered that James pay each of his siblings each £3-16-10, except eldest son John to receive a double share.[20]
↑ 3.03.13.2Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 185.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑
Reed, John Ludovicus. The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635 to 1902. Volume 1. 1901. p. 25.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑
Chamberlain, George Walter. History of Weymouth, Massachusetts in Four Volumes, Vol. 4 Genealogy of Weymouth Families. Weymouth Historical Society, 1923. p. 570. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
↑
Reed, John Ludovicus. The Reed Genealogy: Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1635 to 1902. Volume 1. 1901. p. 27.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 174.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑ 8.08.18.28.38.48.58.68.78.88.9
Roser, Susan E. Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Volume 1. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.p. 390. Link to page at ancestry.com.
"[Intentions] Read, John of Abington and Mary Wheeler of Rehoboth, Oct. 8, 1715."
↑Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 174. Link to page at archive.org.
↑Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume I - Births.New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 186.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 187.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 190.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑ 17.017.1Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 192.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 180.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 191.
Link to page at archive.org.
↑ 21.021.1Vital Record of Abington, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths. New England Genealogical Society, 1912. p. 176. Link to page at archive.org.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
However, there are no known yDNA test-takers in his direct paternal line.
Mitochondrial DNA test-takers in the direct maternal line:
John Reed's wife Sarah has been disconnected. The Cooke silver book (1996 ed. anyway) says "John married (1) about 1712 Sarah (Hersey?)" and cites Weymouth by Chamberlain 3:670, with the year estimated from birth of 1st child. Is there something more recent that discounts she might have been Hersey?
Source: Wood, Ralph V., Jr., Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Francis Cooke, Vol. 12 (Rockland, Maine: Picton Press, 1996), p. 222
Interesting: the same source, p. 223 says that his brother Jacob married a Sarah (Hersey?), about 1717, possibly the one born in Hingham on 26 Sep 1692, dau. of William and Sarah (Langler) (May) Hersey.
I suspect that Jacob's supposed married to Sarah Hersey is the reason for discounting the proposition that John was married to Sarah Hersey. Jacob's marriage to Sarah Hersey is in NEHGS's "Vital Records of Abington, Massachusetts to the Year 1850". That book says the marriage was based on P.R. 19, which is "P.R.19. — private record, from the Christopher Dyer Bible, now in the possession of Dr. E . Alden Dyer of Whitman."
Mayflower Society 5th generations son on Amer Anc. James s/o William m. Abigail Nash. and James s/o John m. Ruth Ford. So it looks as though the bio here has it wrong
What sources/explanation does Mayflower cite for James, son William, marrying Abigail and James, son of John, marrying Ruth? Unless there is a will or a deed that makes it clear, this could be hard to definitively resolve. Worth discussing in the profiles for the two James'.
I note that unless we are confident as to which James married Abigail and which married Ruth, we need to make a choice of having (1) profiles for 2 James with certain parents but an uncertain spouse and uncertain children or (2) profiles for 2 James with certain spouses and certain children but uncertain parents. Option 1 works better from the standpoint of the profiles of the James's parents, but option 2 works better from the standpoint of the profiles for the James, their wives and children. I tend to favor option 2 since it creates problems for fewer profiles.
Okay, so fortunately, this turned out to be easier than I expected. James Reed, h/o Abigail names his "brother Daniel" executor of his will. So I think that clearly makes him the son of William Reed and Alice Nash? Which aligns with Mayflower Society as well... I'll create the second profile for son of John, and note the potential confusion.
Just looked at the probate info for this profile's John Reed. The bond he posted as administrator of John's estate refers to him as James Reed Jr. This makes sense since James son of John was born 6 months after James son of William. Therefore, it seems likely that the James Jr whose was married to Abigail Nash and who died in 1762 was the son of John, not the son of William.
I agree that the "brother Daniel" evidence is stronger. But James, son of John, really must have been James Jr. I think the only discrepancy is the "Jr" on the cover of the folder of the probate file for James son of William.
I was actually looking at the Docket, so seeing the Index interesting. The docket didn't include the guardianship records. I think the reference to James Jr. in the Docket may be a clerical error, as he is clearly Sr. (A good lesson for me to check the actual documents first). Or somehow he became Jr, after the other Jr. died???
I did see the Division of the Mitchell Lot. I'm laughing because its dated 1st of April (April Fool's Day), and i'm sure when I was starting in genealogy if I had come across that document I would have assumed Jr. and sr. were father and son, not cousins.
I'll compile the evidence in James Reed, and if nothing becomes clear post a Question in G2G.
Darn it! I backed into this by merging two Ruth Pool/Fords, and in completing her profile found she might have a third husband. Then in trying to determine that, I realized her second husband had two widows surviving him. So much for just trying to quickly eliminate duplicates! Once you start pulling that thread....
I'm trying to resolve a conflict between two James Reeds of Abington. One was married to Abigail Nash and d 1762, (is referred to as James Jr. in Probate). The other married Ruth (Ford) (Pool) and died 1753. (Real estate was divided until 1765. Plymouth Probate Index. Based on the age of their spouses they must have been close in age. I'm seeing some sources that say Ruth Ford m. James, son of John & Mary (Wheeler) Reed. But the bio here says their son m. Abigail Nash.
I guess the other possibility is James, son of William Reed and Alice Nash. Any insight?
M - See my reply to Anne B. You are probably most into the weeds on this. If you can see what evidence is out there to resolve it, that would be great.
The Reed Genealogy does say that John married Sarah Hersey (p25), but two pages later also says that Jacob married Sarah Hersey. https://archive.org/details/reedgenealogydes01reed/page/n131/mode/2up It seems like that one of those entries is an error.
edited by Chase Ashley
You've probably found this already, but here's the link to the probate record index entries for both James Jr (d. 1753) and James Sr. (d. 1762): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897D-XWTP?i=300&wc=M6BX-7P8%3A337858001&cc=2018320.
I think the issue is settled. It was nice working with you on this!
edited by Chase Ashley
I was actually looking at the Docket, so seeing the Index interesting. The docket didn't include the guardianship records. I think the reference to James Jr. in the Docket may be a clerical error, as he is clearly Sr. (A good lesson for me to check the actual documents first). Or somehow he became Jr, after the other Jr. died???
I did see the Division of the Mitchell Lot. I'm laughing because its dated 1st of April (April Fool's Day), and i'm sure when I was starting in genealogy if I had come across that document I would have assumed Jr. and sr. were father and son, not cousins.
Darn it! I backed into this by merging two Ruth Pool/Fords, and in completing her profile found she might have a third husband. Then in trying to determine that, I realized her second husband had two widows surviving him. So much for just trying to quickly eliminate duplicates! Once you start pulling that thread....
edited by M Cole
I guess the other possibility is James, son of William Reed and Alice Nash. Any insight?
edited by M Cole