John L. Reed and Elizabeth Hall
By Mike Landwehr
Copyright 2011
John L. Reed, the son of John Reed and Hannah ‘Anna’ Shipman, was probably born somewhere in Tennessee in 1805 or 1806. Based solely on the age of their oldest child, it seems likely that John married Elizabeth Hall, daughter of Thomas Hall and Sarah Mily ‘Sally’ William, in the mid to late 1820’s. We don’t know where this couple was married. However, based on what we know of their parents, it is likely that they were married in Jackson County, Alabama.
Their eldest child we are able to identify was William Reed. The only record we have of William is the 1850 census record, which suggests that William was born in Alabama in late 1828 or early 1829. If William was born in 1828 or 1829, we would expect to find John and Elizabeth in the 1830 census of Jackson County, Alabama. But, we have not been able to locate the couple. They might have been missed by the census, or they might have moved out of the county after their marriage. Other possibilities also exist. In 1830, the Jackson County household of John’s parents, John and Hannah (Shipman) Reed, consisted of one male aged 50-59 (probably John Reed, father of John L. Reed), one male aged 20-29 (unidentified), two males aged 15-19 (probably Ralph A. Reed and William Reed), one male aged 10-14 (probably Joseph Reed), one female aged 40-49 (probably Hannah (Shipman) Reed), and one female aged 15-19 (probably Mary Reed). The John Reed household was listed next to the household of his married son, Matthew; was separated from the household of his married daughter, Sarah, by only one household; and was separated from the household of his married son, Shipman, by only three households. So, all of the John and Hannah Reed family can be identified as living in very close vicinity of each other, with the exception of John L. Reed. I suspect the unidentified male in the John Reed home, who was aged 20-29, was John L. Reed. But, if it was, that raises some interesting questions.
If John L. Reed and Elizabeth Hall did marry before 1830, and did have a son, William, why was John L. Reed living with his parents, instead of with his wife and young son. Had John and Elizabeth temporarily separated? Or, was William Reed the son of Elizabeth and a prior husband, or from a prior relationship, and did Elizabeth marry John L. Reed sometime after the 1830 census? It is also possible that we are mistaken about the date of birth of William Reed. Our only evidence is the record of his age from the 1850 census records. Perhaps John and Elizabeth married soon after the 1830 census was enumerated, and William was actually born in 1830 or 1831. An examination of the household of Elizabeth’s mother in the 1830 census reveals that the household included a female aged 20-29. There was no one else in that family who would fall into that age category, leading me to the conclusion that Elizabeth Hall was still living with her mother and siblings in 1830. There was also a young boy in the household, under five years of age. That boy could have been a younger brother of Elizabeth Hall, or could have been her son, William. Perhaps, with further research, we will be able to cast more light on this puzzle.
In any event, we believe that the next child born to John and Elizabeth (Hall) Reed was Lucinda, and that she was born in Jackson County in November of 1832. Three more children were born to the couple in Alabama. A son, Ralph, was born in 1833 or 1834. Mary Ann was born in 1835 or 1836, and Sarah Mily was born in 1837 or 1838.
The next child born to John and Elizabeth was a son, Shipman Wesley Reed, named after his paternal grandmother’s family. We aren’t certain where Shipman was born. We do know that John L. Reed and his wife and children were still living in Jackson County, Alabama, when the 1840 census was enumerated. And, a comparison of the ages of the residents of the household to the information we have about the family indicates that Shipman was not counted as a member of the household in the 1840 census. It appears that Shipman was born after June 1 of 1840. Census records and not consistent, but suggest that Shipman was born in either Alabama or Missouri between 1839 and 1841. Another source indicates that Shipman was born in Arkansas, on March 24, 1839 There is some evidence that John and Elizabeth moved from Alabama to Missouri in 1840 or 1841. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that Shipman was born in Jackson County, Alabama, or in Ripley County, Missouri, on March 24, 1841.
The John L. Reed family continued to grow after the family’s migration to Missouri. A son, John W. Reed, was born in Missouri in 1841 or 1842. By the time their daughter, Celia E. Reed, was born in 1844 or 1845, the family had moved to Arkansas, where Joseph Reed was born in 1846 or 1847, and George Reed was born in 1848 or 1849. In December of 1850, John and Elizabeth and their ten children were enumerated in the census of Prairie Township, in Washington County, Arkansas. In the census records, their household is listed immediately “next door” to the household of John’s brother and Elizabeth’s sister, Ralph and Mary Reed. Both John and Ralph listed their occupations as farmers.
During the 1850’s, John L. Reed’s family would continue to grow. James M. Reed was born in 1852 or 1853, and Samuel A. Reed was born in 1853 or 1854. Both were born in Arkansas. Then, sometime between 1853 and 1860, John and Elizabeth moved their family about fifty miles north, to Rutledge Township, in McDonald County, Missouri, where they were enumerated in the Federal census in June of 1860. McDonald County is located in the extreme southwest corner of Missouri, bordered by Oklahoma on the west, and Arkansas on the south.
Their eldest son, William, was absent from the John L. Reed household in 1860. We don’t know whether William died during the 1850’s, or had simply left home by 1860. It does not appear that their eldest daughter, Lucinda, moved to Missouri with her parents. In 1860, Lucinda was still in Washington County, living with the Thomas Keller family. Lucinda would marry in Washington County in 1861, and would remain there with her husband until about 1873. Ralph Reed, the third child of John L. and Elizabeth Reed, is also absent from his parents’ household in 1860. Again, we don’t know whether he died during the 1850’s, or whether he was out on his own by 1860. Sarah Mily Reed, the fifth child of John L. and Elizabeth Reed, was married in Washington County in December of 1857. Because Sarah was only 18 years old when she married, I would speculate that her parents did not move the family from Washington County to Missouri until 1858 or later. By June of 1860, Sarah and her husband were living in Newton County, Missouri, which is located immediately north of McDonald County.
George Reed, a younger son of John L. and Elizabeth Reed, is also absent from the John L. Reed household in 1860. Because of his young age, I can only assume that George died in childhood. But, John and Elizabeth still had seven children living at home in 1860. John valued his personal property at $400, but he apparently did not own any land in McDonald County. The family’s Post Office was located at Rutledge, about five miles southeast of Pineville, Missouri.
The decade of the 1860 was tumultuous for the nation. The Civil War was found between 1861 and 1865. It was apparently a tumultuous decade for the John L. Reed family, as well. The John L. Reed family was the only Reed family listed in the 1860 census of McDonald County. And, the only Reed name on the 1861 McDonald County tax list was that of “Elizabeth Reed”. While this doesn’t prove anything, it certainly is suggestive of the death or disappearance of John L. Reed in 1860 or 1861.
We don’t know how long the Reed family remained in McDonald County. There are some clues suggesting that some, or all, of the family may have returned to Washington County, Arkansas. Lucinda Reed and her husband remained in Washington County, Arkansas, until they migrated to Parker County, Texas, about 1873. After Sarah Mily Reed lost her first husband during the early 1860’s, she may have moved from Newton County, Missouri, back to Washington County, Arkansas, as that is where she remarried in 1865. After her marriage, Sarah and her second husband went to Missouri, then to Kansas, and finally to Grayson County, Texas in the early 1870’s. After Shipman served in the Civil War, he was married in Washington County, Arkansas, in 1868. He and his wife migrated to Texas in the mid-1870’s. We lose track of John W. Reed and Joseph Reed after the 1860 census, and don’t know whether they survived the war.
It would be easy to make the argument that the entire family moved from McDonald County, Missouri, back to Washington County, Arkansas, after the apparent loss of John L. Reed. However, there is one bit of information that suggests otherwise. In February of 1870, Celia Reed was married to William T. Phillips in McDonald County. If John L. Reed died in 1860 or 1861, and if several of his children returned to Washington County during the 1860’s, why was Celia married in McDonald County in 1870? Soon after Celia was married in McDonald County, in February of 1870, she and her husband moved to Grayson County, Texas, where they were enumerated in November of 1870 with three of her unmarried siblings, Mary Ann, James and Samuel Reed.
While it is pure speculation, based on the limited information we have available, I would guess that Celia and her husband decided to move to Grayson County, Texas, and took three of Celia’s unmarried siblings with them. Sarah Mily Reed and her second husband joined them a few years later.
In summary, we know very little about Elizabeth (Hall) Reed. We have found her name recorded in only four places. One is the Sarah Literal notebooks. The name “Elizabeth Reed” also appears in the 1850 and 1860 Federal census records. And, finally, her name appears in the 1861 McDonald County tax list. We have no idea what happened to Elizabeth after 1861. My hunch would be that she did not survive the Civil War. But, there is no evidence, at this point, to support that hypothesis. Perhaps she remarried. Or, perhaps she made her home with one of her children whom we have not been able to trace. Certainly, further research will be needed to determine what happened to both John L. Reed and Elizabeth (Hall) Reed.
NOTE TO READERS: The information contained in the biographical sketch comes from many sources, and I have exchanged information with numerous Hall and Reed family researchers over the years. I particularly want to acknowledge the generous assistance provided by Donna Reed, a good friend for many years, and an excellent Reed family researcher.
This biographical sketch was last updated in October of 2011. If you are interested in updates to this information, have questions about the content, or can add anything to the material provided by this sketch, please contact me at [email protected].
Copyright 2011
John L. Reed, the son of John Reed and Hannah ‘Anna’ Shipman, was probably born somewhere in Tennessee in 1805 or 1806. Based solely on the age of their oldest child, it seems likely that John married Elizabeth Hall, daughter of Thomas Hall and Sarah Mily ‘Sally’ William, in the mid to late 1820’s. We don’t know where this couple was married. However, based on what we know of their parents, it is likely that they were married in Jackson County, Alabama.
Their eldest child we are able to identify was William Reed. The only record we have of William is the 1850 census record, which suggests that William was born in Alabama in late 1828 or early 1829. If William was born in 1828 or 1829, we would expect to find John and Elizabeth in the 1830 census of Jackson County, Alabama. But, we have not been able to locate the couple. They might have been missed by the census, or they might have moved out of the county after their marriage. Other possibilities also exist. In 1830, the Jackson County household of John’s parents, John and Hannah (Shipman) Reed, consisted of one male aged 50-59 (probably John Reed, father of John L. Reed), one male aged 20-29 (unidentified), two males aged 15-19 (probably Ralph A. Reed and William Reed), one male aged 10-14 (probably Joseph Reed), one female aged 40-49 (probably Hannah (Shipman) Reed), and one female aged 15-19 (probably Mary Reed). The John Reed household was listed next to the household of his married son, Matthew; was separated from the household of his married daughter, Sarah, by only one household; and was separated from the household of his married son, Shipman, by only three households. So, all of the John and Hannah Reed family can be identified as living in very close vicinity of each other, with the exception of John L. Reed. I suspect the unidentified male in the John Reed home, who was aged 20-29, was John L. Reed. But, if it was, that raises some interesting questions.
If John L. Reed and Elizabeth Hall did marry before 1830, and did have a son, William, why was John L. Reed living with his parents, instead of with his wife and young son. Had John and Elizabeth temporarily separated? Or, was William Reed the son of Elizabeth and a prior husband, or from a prior relationship, and did Elizabeth marry John L. Reed sometime after the 1830 census? It is also possible that we are mistaken about the date of birth of William Reed. Our only evidence is the record of his age from the 1850 census records. Perhaps John and Elizabeth married soon after the 1830 census was enumerated, and William was actually born in 1830 or 1831. An examination of the household of Elizabeth’s mother in the 1830 census reveals that the household included a female aged 20-29. There was no one else in that family who would fall into that age category, leading me to the conclusion that Elizabeth Hall was still living with her mother and siblings in 1830. There was also a young boy in the household, under five years of age. That boy could have been a younger brother of Elizabeth Hall, or could have been her son, William. Perhaps, with further research, we will be able to cast more light on this puzzle.
In any event, we believe that the next child born to John and Elizabeth (Hall) Reed was Lucinda, and that she was born in Jackson County in November of 1832. Three more children were born to the couple in Alabama. A son, Ralph, was born in 1833 or 1834. Mary Ann was born in 1835 or 1836, and Sarah Mily was born in 1837 or 1838.
The next child born to John and Elizabeth was a son, Shipman Wesley Reed, named after his paternal grandmother’s family. We aren’t certain where Shipman was born. We do know that John L. Reed and his wife and children were still living in Jackson County, Alabama, when the 1840 census was enumerated. And, a comparison of the ages of the residents of the household to the information we have about the family indicates that Shipman was not counted as a member of the household in the 1840 census. It appears that Shipman was born after June 1 of 1840. Census records and not consistent, but suggest that Shipman was born in either Alabama or Missouri between 1839 and 1841. Another source indicates that Shipman was born in Arkansas, on March 24, 1839 There is some evidence that John and Elizabeth moved from Alabama to Missouri in 1840 or 1841. My guess, and it is only a guess, is that Shipman was born in Jackson County, Alabama, or in Ripley County, Missouri, on March 24, 1841.
The John L. Reed family continued to grow after the family’s migration to Missouri. A son, John W. Reed, was born in Missouri in 1841 or 1842. By the time their daughter, Celia E. Reed, was born in 1844 or 1845, the family had moved to Arkansas, where Joseph Reed was born in 1846 or 1847, and George Reed was born in 1848 or 1849. In December of 1850, John and Elizabeth and their ten children were enumerated in the census of Prairie Township, in Washington County, Arkansas. In the census records, their household is listed immediately “next door” to the household of John’s brother and Elizabeth’s sister, Ralph and Mary Reed. Both John and Ralph listed their occupations as farmers.
During the 1850’s, John L. Reed’s family would continue to grow. James M. Reed was born in 1852 or 1853, and Samuel A. Reed was born in 1853 or 1854. Both were born in Arkansas. Then, sometime between 1853 and 1860, John and Elizabeth moved their family about fifty miles north, to Rutledge Township, in McDonald County, Missouri, where they were enumerated in the Federal census in June of 1860. McDonald County is located in the extreme southwest corner of Missouri, bordered by Oklahoma on the west, and Arkansas on the south.
Their eldest son, William, was absent from the John L. Reed household in 1860. We don’t know whether William died during the 1850’s, or had simply left home by 1860. It does not appear that their eldest daughter, Lucinda, moved to Missouri with her parents. In 1860, Lucinda was still in Washington County, living with the Thomas Keller family. Lucinda would marry in Washington County in 1861, and would remain there with her husband until about 1873. Ralph Reed, the third child of John L. and Elizabeth Reed, is also absent from his parents’ household in 1860. Again, we don’t know whether he died during the 1850’s, or whether he was out on his own by 1860. Sarah Mily Reed, the fifth child of John L. and Elizabeth Reed, was married in Washington County in December of 1857. Because Sarah was only 18 years old when she married, I would speculate that her parents did not move the family from Washington County to Missouri until 1858 or later. By June of 1860, Sarah and her husband were living in Newton County, Missouri, which is located immediately north of McDonald County.
George Reed, a younger son of John L. and Elizabeth Reed, is also absent from the John L. Reed household in 1860. Because of his young age, I can only assume that George died in childhood. But, John and Elizabeth still had seven children living at home in 1860. John valued his personal property at $400, but he apparently did not own any land in McDonald County. The family’s Post Office was located at Rutledge, about five miles southeast of Pineville, Missouri.
The decade of the 1860 was tumultuous for the nation. The Civil War was found between 1861 and 1865. It was apparently a tumultuous decade for the John L. Reed family, as well. The John L. Reed family was the only Reed family listed in the 1860 census of McDonald County. And, the only Reed name on the 1861 McDonald County tax list was that of “Elizabeth Reed”. While this doesn’t prove anything, it certainly is suggestive of the death or disappearance of John L. Reed in 1860 or 1861.
We don’t know how long the Reed family remained in McDonald County. There are some clues suggesting that some, or all, of the family may have returned to Washington County, Arkansas. Lucinda Reed and her husband remained in Washington County, Arkansas, until they migrated to Parker County, Texas, about 1873. After Sarah Mily Reed lost her first husband during the early 1860’s, she may have moved from Newton County, Missouri, back to Washington County, Arkansas, as that is where she remarried in 1865. After her marriage, Sarah and her second husband went to Missouri, then to Kansas, and finally to Grayson County, Texas in the early 1870’s. After Shipman served in the Civil War, he was married in Washington County, Arkansas, in 1868. He and his wife migrated to Texas in the mid-1870’s. We lose track of John W. Reed and Joseph Reed after the 1860 census, and don’t know whether they survived the war.
It would be easy to make the argument that the entire family moved from McDonald County, Missouri, back to Washington County, Arkansas, after the apparent loss of John L. Reed. However, there is one bit of information that suggests otherwise. In February of 1870, Celia Reed was married to William T. Phillips in McDonald County. If John L. Reed died in 1860 or 1861, and if several of his children returned to Washington County during the 1860’s, why was Celia married in McDonald County in 1870? Soon after Celia was married in McDonald County, in February of 1870, she and her husband moved to Grayson County, Texas, where they were enumerated in November of 1870 with three of her unmarried siblings, Mary Ann, James and Samuel Reed.
While it is pure speculation, based on the limited information we have available, I would guess that Celia and her husband decided to move to Grayson County, Texas, and took three of Celia’s unmarried siblings with them. Sarah Mily Reed and her second husband joined them a few years later.
In summary, we know very little about Elizabeth (Hall) Reed. We have found her name recorded in only four places. One is the Sarah Literal notebooks. The name “Elizabeth Reed” also appears in the 1850 and 1860 Federal census records. And, finally, her name appears in the 1861 McDonald County tax list. We have no idea what happened to Elizabeth after 1861. My hunch would be that she did not survive the Civil War. But, there is no evidence, at this point, to support that hypothesis. Perhaps she remarried. Or, perhaps she made her home with one of her children whom we have not been able to trace. Certainly, further research will be needed to determine what happened to both John L. Reed and Elizabeth (Hall) Reed.
NOTE TO READERS: The information contained in the biographical sketch comes from many sources, and I have exchanged information with numerous Hall and Reed family researchers over the years. I particularly want to acknowledge the generous assistance provided by Donna Reed, a good friend for many years, and an excellent Reed family researcher.
This biographical sketch was last updated in October of 2011. If you are interested in updates to this information, have questions about the content, or can add anything to the material provided by this sketch, please contact me at [email protected].
