Joseph Reading (1728 - 1806)

Born 23 Nov 1728 in Amwell Township, Hunterdon, New Jersey

Ancestors

Husband of Amy (Pierson) Reading — married 21 Jun 1753 in Hunterdon, New Jersey

Descendants

Died 15 Nov 1806 at age 77 in Amwell Township, Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

Joseph Reading was born on November 23, 1728, in Amwell, New Jersey to John Reading (later acting Governor) and his wife Mary Ryerson. He married Amy Pierson on June 21, 1753, in Hunterdon, New Jersey. They had 12 children in 34 years. He died on November 15, 1806, in his hometown, having lived a long life of 77 years, and was buried at the Reading-Johnson Cemetery in Raven Rock, New Jersey.

Birth

• Joseph Reading was born on November 23, 1728, in Amwell, New Jersey, to Mary (Maritje) Ryerson, age 32, and Gov. John Reading, age 42.^[1][2][3]

Baptism

• Joseph was baptized 1 Jan 1729 at the Reformed Dutch Church in North Branch, Somerset, New Jersey.^[4]

Marriage

• Joseph married Amy Pierson in Hunterdon, New Jersey, on June 21, 1753, when he was 24 years old.^[1][2][3]

Death

• Joseph Reading died on November 15, 1806, in Amwell, New Jersey, when he was 77 years old.^[1][3]

Burial

• Joseph is buried in the Reading-Johnson Cemetery in Raven Rock, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.^[5]

Offices Held

• Justice of the Peace; Judge of the Court of Common Pleas; Judge of the Orphan's Court; Governor's Council;^[1][2][3]
• He was one of the leading citizens of his day in the county. As early as 1762 he was commissioned one of the justices of the peace, and from that time until his decease was in judicial position, either as justice, judge of the court of common pleas, or president judge of the orphans' court, being the first to hold the latter position, and served in the governor's council from 1781 until 1783. He was a member of the Amwell Presbyterian church, and frequently a delegate to the presbytery.

Residence

• He located on a plantation of several hundred acres above the Wickheckeoke creek, and about a mile southwest of what is now Rosemont. The old homestead commanded a view of the Delaware river and of the Pennsylvania shore, and was reached from the public road by a drive of one-fourth of a mile, on each side of which were cherry and other fruit trees planted in regular order, till the mansion-house was reached, thence continuing for one-eighth of a mile to the Delaware river. On the plantation is the family buiying-ground, where several generations of his descendants were buried.

Children

• Joseph and Amy had the following issue:^[3]
  1. William Reading d. April, 1788; m. Ann Emley.
  2. John Reading b. March 29, 1756; d. February 18, 1802; m. Mary Harrison.
  3. Elizabeth Reading b. March 6, 1758; d. January 1765.
  4. Joseph Reading b. January 28, 1760; d. March 11, 1810; m. Lucy Emley.
  5. Samuel Ryerson Reading, b. June 10, 1771; d. August 22, 1838; m. first, Ellen Anderson; m. second, Susan Rittenhouse.
  6. Pierson Reading b., 1780; d. August 26, 1847; m. first, Mary Opdyke; m. second, Charity Guild.
  7. Amy Reading m. Cornelius Harrison.
  8. Sarah Reading m. Fincher Helms (or Helling).
  9. Elizabeth Reading m. Samuel Boyle.
  10. Mary Reading, d. unm. in April, 1841.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Leach, Josiah Granville. Genealogical and biographical memorials of the Reading, Howell, Yerkes, Watts, Latham, and Elkins families. Printed for private circulation by J. B. Lippincott Co.; Philadelphia; 1898. Page 50. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_tEtMAAAAMAAJ/page/n9/mode/2up
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Kugler, Rev. John Backer. The History of the First English Presbyterian Church in Amwell. The Unionist-Gazette Association; Somerville, NJ; 1912. Page 45. https://archive.org/details/historyoffirsten00kugl/page/n7/mode/2up
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4} Ryerson, Albert Winslow. The Ryerson Genealogy – Genealogy of the Knickerbocker Families of Ryerson, Ryerse, Ryerss; also Adriance and Martense Families; all descendants of Martin and Adriaen Reyersz (Reyerszn), of Amsterdam, Holland. Privately printed for Edward L Ryerson; Chicago;1916, page 16.
4. ↑ Dutch Reformed Church Records from New York and New Jersey, Holland Society of New York; New York, New York; New Millstone North branch and Six Mile Run I, Book 76, page 70.
5. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 26 October 2020), memorial page for Judge Joseph Reading (23 Nov 1730–15 Nov 1806), Find a Grave Memorial no. 171523186, citing Reading-Johnson Cemetery, Raven Rock, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by James Reese (contributor 47076925) .

• Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Deaths and Burials Index, 1798-1971 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: "New Jersey Deaths and Burials, 1720–1971." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010.

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Reading-130 created through the import of RYER.GED on Aug 19, 2011 by Lawrence Schliessmann. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Lawrence and others.