Jim Fisher's Genealogy and Family History Pages
Reed in Dorset
Contents
This page is devoted to the REED ancestors of my mother - the origins of the name, who they were and where and when they lived. I have (thanks largely to the generosity of some other researchers) also some information about other Reed relatives in Dorset not currently shown on this page.
The genealogical data in these pages is accurate to the best of my current (at the time of writing) knowledge. This means it is of very variable reliability, since sources at one extreme are 100% certain (e.g. I know who I married, where and when, and the identity of my parents) to the mere rumour level, such as LDS data extracted from the IGI and Ancestral File, and reminiscences of elderly relatives, some now deceased. Anyone wishing to make any use whatever of this information is therefore strongly advised to contact me for source details.
The surname Reed, according to Hanks & Hodges A Dictionary of Surnames, comes from a nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion.
Read (which also has other origins), Reade, Red, Redd, Reid.
My maternal grandmother's mother was Rebecca Mary Reed, apparently usually known as Mary. She was born in Maiden Newton, Dorset on 17th January 1859. She was living in Old Road, Wmborne Minster,when she gave birth to my grandmother in April 1876, 16 months before her marriage.
On 14th August 1877 she married John Adams (N.B. two links) at the Registrar's Office in Wimborne Minster. The couple both gave Leigh Common, Wimborne as their address at the time of the marriage. They also both falsified their ages for the purpose of the marriage, apparently so that she would not need parental consent.
They lived at Christchurch for a short time, where their second child was born in 1879, and then to West Harnham, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. They spent the rest of their lives at The Old Cottage in West Harnham. The cottage is described in more detail on my West Harnham page, but this photo (41,229 bytes) shows what it looked like when I visited in 1986.
According to a family bible, which I was allowed to inspect in 1981 (my thanks to Mrs. A. West), and from which I transcribed all the family history information, they had a total of 9 children:
- Sarah Ann, born 2 April 1876
- Marriner (sic) Emma, born 19 June 1879
- Beatrice Georgeina, born 19th November 1881
- Charles Henry, born 8 June 1885
- Maurice Stanley, born 3 September 18??
- Bertram George, born 16 May 1887
- Violet Maud, born 1 May 1894
- Agnes Violet Martha, born ? October 1890
- Ethel Ada May, born 24 September 1892
Rebecca Mary's father was a labourer named John Reed, who was born in 1829. On 11th August 1857 he married Marina Wills at Maiden Newton parish church. The couple produced eight children:
Henry John (born about 1857 in Maiden Newton)
Rebecca Mary
Frederick (born about 1860 in Sturminster Marshall, Dorset)
Hiram (born 16 Feb 1862 in Blandford Forum, Dorset)
James (born about 1866 in Blandford Forum)
Albert (born about 1868 in Blandford Forum)
Charles (born about 1870 in Blandford Forum)
John (born Wimborne, Dorset, about 1873).
According to the family bible mentioned above, he (John) died on 15th December 1900, aged 71 years.
The above John Reed's father was also a labourer named John Reed. He married Martha Coombs at Maiden Newton 13 May 1799 and they produced the following children:
Josiah (born about 1799 in Dorset)
Susannah (born about 1801)
Elizabeth (born 6 Dec 1803 in Beaminster, Dorset)
Ebenezer (born 1808 in Maiden Newton)
Susan (born 1811 in Dorset)
Levi (bap 13 Feb 1815 in Maiden Newton)
Martha was buried 8 Feb 1824 in Maiden Newton, and John married again, to Mary Woodsford 22 Nov 1831 in Maiden Newton. They then produced the following children:
George (born about 1831 in Dorset)
Sarah (born about 1836 in Dorset, died 1865)
John
Deborah (born Apr 1841 in Maiden Newton)
John was buried 22 May 1853 in Maiden Newton
John's father was William Reed, who was born about 1742 and married Hannah Harris in 1778.
William's father was Thomas Reed, who was born about 1712 and died in 1792. He married Elizabeth Cammell 18 Sep 1740 in Maiden Newton, although the marriage was recorded, like several others around that time, in Wraxhall parish register instead of Maiden Newton's. After William, other children of that marriage were:
John (born about 1745, died 1798)
Mary (born about 1747)
Andrew (born 1748)
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