MEMORANDUM

This memorandum summarizes the inferences drawn from Mick Reed’s web page and his e-mails to me, as well as e-mails from his cousin. It includes web-based information on Monkwearmouth, Longhorsley and Elsdon that throw a surprising amount of light on possible future research. References persons named Reed in all variant spellings in published histories of Counties Durham and Northumberland are disappointingly scarce and unreliable.

On 17 July 2008, I found out that Mick Reed of Armidale, New South Wales, Australia and I had a35/ 37 marker Y DNA match. Since we had a common surname, the probability is that we have a common ancestor within 16 generations. FamilyTree DNA states in its explanation of DNA match that Mick and I are "within the range of most well-established surname lineages in Western Europe." A 36/37 match would predict a common ancestor within 5 to 16 generations and a 35/37 match such as ours should yield the same judgment of probability. Mick has researched his family for five generations, and I have been able to extend our USA Reed research back five generations.

Since Mick Reed has a well-worked out family history lineage back to William Reed of Monkwearmouth, County Durham, England, I will summarize his findings first, then follow with mine.

There are no co-incidences. The relationships noted below explain the probable origin of our common ancestor in Redesdale, Northumberland sometime around 1600-1650. The Northumberlands National Park studies on Wingates Township and Elsdon village and Parish in Northumberland are very useful sources of background information that may help us to find our common ancestor.

The memorandum also summarizes the known ancestry of Tom Reed of New Castle, Delaware as far back as his research has taken him. There is a "missing link" yet to be identified that connects Mick Reed’s known ancestors with John Reed of Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Pennsylvania.

A. Generation One

1 William Reed (b. ca. 1735 unk. d. aft 1786 unk).

William Reed (reference number 1) was a resident of Monkwearmouth from 1767 to 1786. He married Isabella Grey on 4 January 1767 in St. Peter’s Church, Monkwearmouth (from St. Peter’s marriage records bishop’s transcripts Bishop of Durham).

CHILDREN

2. John Reed (b. ca.1750 d. aft 18 Oct. 1790 Wingates Twp.)

John Reed’s will from the ecclesiastical court records held by the University of Durham was

the will of an unmarried man who left specific bequests to his brothers William and Anthony, and willed his farm lease to his brother Anthony who lived at Coal yard in the chaplery of Netherwitten, Northumberland. He also willed personal property to his niece Judith Reed who lived with him.

3. Anthony Reed ( b. ca 1750 d. aft. 7 Jun 1805 Coal Yard) Anthony, John Reed’s brother, also a bachelor willed most of his property to his nephew John Turner, with specific bequests to nephews William and John Reed. The devise to John Turner included his farm lease in Wingates willed to him by John Reed.

John and Anthony Reed’s wills make specific bequests to Isabella, John and William Reed, who appear to be children of William Reed & Isabella Grey. One may safely conclude that Anthony, John and William Reed(1) were brothers. More work needs to be done to confirm this inference.

12. John Reed b. 24 Aug 1769 d. 16 Oct 1860 Wingate, Longhorsley. John Reed (12) moved to Wingate Township before his uncle Anthony’s death in 1805. He had married Jane Storey on 6 June 1793 stating his residence was Longhorsley, according to the Bishop of Durham’s marriage transcription. John Reed died in 1860 and is buried at Longhorsley. His grave is marked with a stone that lists his children.

CHILDREN

121(12) Ann Reed b.17 Jun 1811 Longhorsley d. unk

17. William Reed b. 1783, Monkwearmouth, County Durham, d. 18 Jun 1856 Clerkenwell, Middlesex London) is a well-documented London skilled tradesman and undertaker. His 1856 will was probated. John Mawman Reed, his son and nephew Anthony Storey Reed (also a builder) were his executors

CHILDREN

C. Third Generation

171 Mary Reed b. ca. 1817 Clerkenwell, Middlesex, living 1878 m. Edmonson ca. 1835-40. Mary Reed Edmonson’s children have not been identified. She took over administration of William Reed 1’s estate in 1878 when John Mawman Reed died.

172 Robert Middleton Reed , b. ca. 1817-22 Clerkenwell, Middlesex m. Jane Beall 21 Apr 1849 Clerkenwell Middlesex, d aft 1849 unk. No children as yet identified

173 William Middleton Reed b. ca. 1817-24 Clerkenwell, Middlesex. No information on any spouse or children from William M. Reed.

174 John Mawman Reed b. ca. 1827 christened 27 Dec 1827, d. 17 Aug 1878 Clerkwenwell, Middlesex. John M. Reed was a Clerkwenwell undertaker for about 30 years. He married Celia Susanna Bielfefeld on 3 Dec 1853 in Clerkenwell.

CHILDREN

175 Elizabeth Middleton Reed 175 b. 21 Jan 1831 Clerkenwell, Middlesex, d. aft 1888 m. Charles W. Mutlow 9 Apr 1853 Clerkwenwell

CHILDREN

12(10). Anthony Storey Reed (son of John Reed b. 1769 Monkwearmouth) b. 25 Apr 1808 Wingates Longhorsley, County Northumberland d. 1873 Walthamstowe, Essex. Anthony S. Reed was a builder working in Essex east of Londong for about 50 years.

CHILDREN

1741 William J. Reed, b. abt 1852 Clerkenwell, Middlesex, d aft 1900 unk Clerkenwell Furniture dealer.

CHILDREN:

1742 Henry James Reed , b. 30 Jan 1856 Clerkenwell, Middlesex, d. Clerkenwell aft 1910. Henry J. Reed was a printer and printer’s laborer for most of his adult life. Late n life he took up carpentry. He married Eliza J. Walter 3 September 1876 at St. Giles Cripplegate Church London

CHILDREN:

1743 Charles Reed, b. bet 1853 and 1879 Clerkenwell Middlesx, d. unk. Nothing is known about this man or his family, if any, at this time.

1744 Elizabeth Reed, b. bet 1853 and 1879 Clerkenwell Middlesx, d. unk. Nothing more is known about Elizabeth Reed 1744 at this time.

1745 Amelia Elizabeth Lorimer Reed, b. 9 Jul 1860 Clerkenwell Middlesx, d. unk

m. Thomas Waterhouse d. unk

CHILD

E. Fifth Generation

17422 William James Reed 17422 b. 20 Oct 1880 Clerkenwell, d. aft 1915 unk., m. Annie May Reed a/k/a Hannah Walters 1915

CHILDREN:

174221 William Reed, b. 1914 Clerkenwell, London d. Jan 2008 unk

[nine other children unmentioned]

174221 William Reed, b. 1914 Clerkenwell, London d. Jan 2008 unk m. 1942

CHILDREN

A. First Generation

1. John Reed (b. 18 Feb 1776 Pennsylvania, d. ca. 1848 Alabama)

John Reed 1 was identified in 1981 from Jacob W. Reed’s History of the Reed Family in the United States (1861). According to J. W. Reed, John Reed was born February 18, 1776. He married "Miss Bishop" in Virginia and later settled in Alabama. This brief account does not give a complete picture of John Reed's migration. According to his son's statements on two U.S. Census returns, John Reed was born in Pennsylvania. His eldest son, James, born in 1807, was a native of Virginia. Isaac P. Reed, William Reed and Thomas Reed, his next three sons, born between 1814 and 1818, were natives of Tennessee. John Reed's youngest son, Johns born in the late 1820's, may have been a native of Alabama. John Reed left Virginia sometime between 1807 and 1814 and settled somewhere in Tennessee. Around 1830, he migrated to Alabama, settling near Town Creek in northwestern Lawrence County. Reed's relocation to Lawrence County, Alabama ca. 1830 is confirmed by two tax deeds to him from the County Treasurer in 1831 and 1833, and by his presence in the 1830 and 1840 U.S. Censuses for Lawrence County, Alabama. John Reed does not appear in the 1850 census, although several of his children appear in the census as heads of families. According to J.W. Reed, John Reed died in a yellow fever epidemic. Extant records do not show a yellow fever epidemic in northern Alabama from 1840 to 1850. The 1848 cholera epidemic, however, did strike that region. It is probable that John Reed was a casualty of that scourge. He was survived by several sons and daughters: James Reed, William Reed, Isaac P.Reed, Thomas C. Reed, John Reed, Jane Reed, Margaret Reed McGee, Eveline Reed, Huldah or Hannah Reed, Nancy Reed and Frances Reed..

CHILDREN

B. Second Generation

11. James Reed, b. 10 Apr. 1807 Virginia d 9 Sep. 1876 Missouri City, Clay County, Missouri. James Reed married Nancy Pitts, November 6, 1827 in Ray County, Missouri.

CHILDREN

13 Isaac Pearson b, ca. 1814 Tennessee, d. 1888 Gober, Fannin County, Texas. Isaac

Pearson Reed, married Elizabeth Pickens Henderson of Lawrence County on April 14, 1835 before Rev. C. M. Donald of the Disciples of Christ.

CHILDREN:

14 William B. Reed b. ca. 1815, Tennessee, d. 1861 Lawrence County, Alabama. On August 20, 1849, he married Delana Flowers in Lawrence County, Alabama. He was a saddle & harness maker.

CHILDREN

15 Thomas C. Reed 15 b. 2 October 1816, Tennessee, d. 30 January1883, Missouri City, Clay County, Missouri. He married Emily Pitts in Ray County Missouri

CHILDREN

135 Thomas Clark Reed 135 b 16 March 1843 Lawrence County, Alabama, d. 24 March 1923, Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas, m. Mary Jane Miller, 1875 Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas.

CHILDREN:

1351 Forrest Thomas Reed b. 20 February 1876, Ladonia Texas, d. 1941 Dallas, Texas. Forrest Reed was born in Ladonia, Fannin County, Texas. He married Maude Hendrix about 1900. They were childless. Maude was a fine musician and singer. Her father was a minister. Forrest Reed worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. He eventually became district manager in Dallas, Texas. He retired from Southwestern Bell in 1940. He died quite suddenly the next year. Maude Hendrix died in 1972 or 1973 in Dallas. Both are buried in Ladonia, Texas.

141 Charles Andrew Reed (b. 11 Oct. 1851, Lawrence County, Alabama d. 15 Oct. 1882 Jackson County, Alabama. Charles Reed is listed in William Reed̓s household in the 1860 U.S. Census for Lawrence County, Alabama. He married Mary Brandon 29 January 1874 in Jackson County, Alabama.

CHILDREN:

142 Sarah F. Reed b.1854 Lawrence County, Alabama, d. aft 1878 Jackson County, Alabama. Sarah F. Reed was listed in her father̓s household in the 1860 U.S. Census. She married Thomas Benton Pierce 22 December 1878 in Jackson County, Alabama.

CHILDREN

143 William Thomas Reed d b.1855 Lawrence County, Alabama, died 10 January 1890 Fannin County, Texas. William Reed appears in his father̓s household in the 1860 U.S. Census. He married (1) Tincy Hayes, (2) Eunice Hayes

CHILDREN W/ TINCY HAYES

CHILDREN W/ EUNICE HAYES

144 Mary Lewis Reed b.1857 Lawrence County, Alabama, d. 1879 Jackson County, Alabama.. Mary L. Reed appears in her father̓s household in the 1860 U.S. Census. She married Thomas Porter Kirby 15 August 1875 in Jackson County, Alabama.

CHILDREN:

114 Mary (Molly) Reed , b. 1846 Ray County, Missouri, d. unk. She married Arthur Leopold of Missouri City 4 September 1865. Mr. Leopold ran a restaurant in Missouri City for a number of years. The family moved to Kansas City where Mr. Leopold had a number of jobs before dying in 1902.

CHILDREN

Died unmarried after 1930.

Arthur married Parkins abt 1923 Kansas City, Missouri. They had no children.

1354 Paul C. Reed, b. 17 March 1885, Honey Grove, Texas, d 7 November 1972, Wichita Falls Texas. Paul C. Reed married Nell Wilson 8 Jun. 1908 in Pilot :Point, Texas.

CHILDREN

1356 John M. Reed b. 1 August 1895 Ladonia, Texas, d. 30 March 1977 Dallas, Texas, married Eddrie his wife around 1918.

CHILDREN

13461 Doris Reed b. 25 June 1925, Dallas, Texas, d. 2005) Doris Reed married Loren Bowie in 1947. Mr. and Mrs. Bowie lived in Dallas, Texas. They had no children

13462 Living 2007.

     1412 Dilana Catherine Reed b 28 August 1876, Jackson County, Alabama, d. 22 March 1953, Gainesville, Cook County, Texas. She married Julian Houck Hancock 28 September 1895 in Jackson County, Alabama.

CHILDREN:

1421 Arthur Reed Pierce, b. 1874 Jackson County, Alabama d. 1908 unk. Arthur Pierce married Lucinda King before 1900. They had no children.

1422 Ella Virginia Pierce, b. 6 December 1875 Scottsboro, Alabama, d. 9 May 1965 Scottsboro Jackson County, Alabama. She married Earnest M. Donald Woods before 1901 in Jackson County, Alabama. Mr. and Mrs. Woods had no children.

1431 Pierce William Reed, b. 21 February 1882, Ladonia, Texas, d. 23 December 1973, Scottsboro, Alabama. Pierce Reed married Mae Hancock before 1905 in Scottsboro, Alabama

CHILDREN

    1141 Harvey Leopold b. 1866 Missouri City, Missouri, d. aft 1930 Kansas City, Missouri. Harvey Leopold married Eris ca. 1915 in Kansas City Missouri

CHILDREN:

CHILDREN

E. Fifth Generation

13541 Thomas P. Reed, b. 4 Oct 1909 Gainesville, Texas, d. 19 Mar. 1979 Bloomington, IL m. Bernardine M. Dorsey 1937 Wilmington, Illinois

CHILDREN:

        3542 Nell Wilson Reed b. 21 April 1915, Gainesville, Texas, d. 2006 ,Donna Texas. Nell Reed was born in Wichita Falls, and graduated from high school and business college in Wichita Falls. In 1935, she married William A. (Mac) McLean, who worked for Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. Mr. and Mrs. McLean had two children, 135421 and 135422 both of whom are living in 2007. Mr. McLean died of cancer in 1952.

CHILDREN:

C. 13462   Living 2007.

CHILDREN

D.11444 Naomi Leopold, b. 12 September 1912 Kansas City, Missouri, d. 31 July 1988 Yuma, Arizona. She married Donald Knouse abt. 1930.

CHILDREN:

A. Monkwearmouth, County Durham.

William Reed, the ancestor of Mick Reed came down from northeastern England to London about 1820. Prior to 1820 he lived in Monkwearmouth, County Durham. Monkwearmouth today is a suburb of Durham, across the River Wear from Durham Castle and Durham Cathedral. It was a far older settlement than Durham. The Venerable Bede, England’s first serious scholar and historian was born in Monkwearmouth in the 8^th century. The parish church of St. Peter’s Monkwearmouth, was originally built in the 9th century, although much modified and modernized by later pastors.

Mick’s earliest ancestor, William Reed 1, was a carpenter working in Monkwearmouth in the late 18^th century. His burial site is unknown. The tombstones were removed from the church graveyard many years ago and their whereabouts are not known. The parish records of St. Peters were burned in a 1791 fire.

The background information presented is taken from an article on Monkwearmouth published by Durham Records on-line written by Ken Coleman.

Originally built as a monastery, much has been written about St Peter’s and its fame and reputation as the seat of learning and religion during the Saxon ages may indeed be viewed as a legitimate object of historical research. However, as the focus of this review is to deal not with the Church but more with its parishioners who resided around the mouth of the river Wear, it is felt that a potted history will suffice.

Around 674 AD, in the fourth year of the reign of Egfrid, King of Northumberland, Benedict Biscop obtained a grant of land on the north bank of the river Wear, on which he built a monastery and dedicated it to St Peter, the chief of the Apostles. The ground is believed to have been quite considerable in extent, amounting to some 15 square miles. In about 689, at the tender age of seven a young boy named Bede was brought to the monastery and committed to the care of Benedict, under whom and his successor Ceolfrid he was carefully instructed for twelve years. At the age of nineteen he was ordained deacon and became exemplary at that early age for his piety and studious life. Ordained a priest at thirty, he published his ‘Ecclesiastical History’ in 731 at the age of forty nine, and died in 735 having being bestowed with the title of Venerable Bede.

In the latter part of the eighth century, the Danes in one of their many predatory incursions, subjected the monastery at Wearmouth to merciless avarice, destroying every ornament of the church, slaying the monks and setting the building on fire. At this time, Christianity was almost extinct; very few churches were built for nearly two hundred years afterwards. After a degree of reparation, the monastery once again suffered extensive damage, firstly from the vengeance of William the Conqueror on account of the murder of Robert Comyn, a Norman baron whom the Northumbrians had slain during an insurrection, and then shortly afterwards in 1070 when Malcolm, King of Scotland laid waste the whole neighbourhood.

In 1084 in the eighteenth year of his reign, King William the Conqueror decreed that the monks of Jarrow and Wearmouth be received by the bishop, and their liberties, customs and dignities be restored. From this period Wearmouth became a cell for three or four monks only, at the Benedictine order, subordinate to the Abbey of Durham.

It was during the rule of Bishop Pudsey of Durham (1153-1197), that the parishes of Monkwearmouth and Bishopwearmouth were integrated under a charter of privileges. Through the unification of these two settlements sundered (eroded) from each other by the river Wear, the town of Sunderland came into being.

In 1358, Bishop Hatfield leased the borough of Sunderland with the fisheries in the Wear to Richard Hedworth of Southwick for twenty years. For many years religious life continued relatively uninterrupted in the area against the background of the Hundred Years war with France; intermittent wars with Scotland and Wales, and the Black Death.

In 1384, Richard II, on account of his devotions to St Cuthbert the titular saint of Durham, granted leave to export coals from the mines without paying any duties to the corporation of Newcastle. This was speedily taken advantage of and in 1395 coals were shipped to Whitby in Yorkshire from Sunderland and neighbouring ports at a rate of three shillings and four pence per chaldron of thirty-six bushels. In the year 1421, it was enacted that the ‘keels’ (an ancient Saxon word for a ship or vessel) carrying coals to the colliers (coal-carrying ships) should measure exactly twenty chaldrons, to prevent fraud in the duties payable to the King. In 1464, Edward IV granted the borough with the passage of the river, and the fisheries to Robert Bertram to which the King provided his lease with a ferry boat.

For centuries small wooden sailing ships came to the Wear for coal, glass and pottery and as they arrived on the tide and moored up, they would be served by the keels which were flat-bottomed craft carrying a variety of buckets, skips and slings. The ship’s crews and the keelman would unload the tons of sand ballast from far-away beaches. As each keel was filled it made its way to the bank where the sand would be dumped on dry land.

In 1590, Bishop Hutton leased the borough, the ferry boats and the fisheries to Ralph Bowes Esq., of Barnes. After the statute of Henry VIII by which the palatine jurisdiction was restrained and mutilated, Sunderland became a place of considerable note; and about the latter end of the reign of Elizabeth, the coal trade began to find its way into the Wear. It may be of interest to note that in 1609 Sunderland exported 11,648 tons of coal.

Seventeenth Century

Shortly after Charles I was crowned in Edinburgh in 1633 Bishop Morton desirous of encouraging the rising trade of the borough, incorporated the burgesses and inhabitants by the title of Mayor, twelve Alderman and Commonality of the Borough of Sunderland, and granted the privilege of a market and annual fairs. Previous to this incorporation, the borough had been governed by a Bailiff appointed under the Bishop. The charter states "…that Sunderland had beyond the memory of man been an ancient borough known by the name of the New Borough of Weremouth, containing in itself a certain port where ships had plied….that the trade was then greatly increased by reason of the multitude of ships that resorted thither, and the borough anciently enjoyed divers liberties and free customs, as well as by prescription, as by virtue of sundry charters from the Bishops of Durham confirmed to them by the crown; which from defect in form proved insufficient for the support of the ancient liberties, privileges, and free customs of the borough."

The gentlemen incorporated under this charter were (alphabetically) as follows:

Mayor: Sir William Belasye, of Morton House, Kent

Aldermen:

Robert Bowes, of Biddic-Waterville, Esq;

George Burgorn, of Wearmouth, Gent;

George Gray, of Southwick, Gent;

Richard Hedworth, of Chester Deannery, Esq;

Francis James, of Hetton, Esq;

Sir William Lambton, of Lambton, Kent;

William Langley, Gent;

George Lilburne, of Sunderland, Gent;

George Walton, Alderman, of Durham;

Hugh Walton, Alderman, of Durham;

Thomas Wharton, Esq;

Hugh Wright, of Durham, Esq

Common Council Men:

Thomas Atkinson; Adam Burdon; William Caldwell; Robert Collingwood; Christopher Dickenson; William Dossey; William

Freeman; John Hardcastle; Humphrey Harrison; John Harrison; George Humble; William Huntley; John Husband; Thomas Lacie; Edward Lee, of Monkwearmouth, Gent; Clement Oldcorn; Thomas Palmer; William Potts; Thomas Scarborough,

William Thompson; William Wycliffe of Offerton, Gent; William Watt and Robert Young.

In 1641 a resolution of Parliament requested all males aged over 18 to take an oath in support of the Crown, Parliament and the Protestant religion, to oppose the "plots and conspiracies of priests and Jesuits" that were allegedly subverting the kingdom. Lists of those taking the oath in each parish were sent to Parliament in 1642. Most men took the oath and those who refused to sign (mostly Catholics) were sometimes also listed. The Protestation Returns’ for Monkwearmouth taken on 24 February, 1641 are set out below:

Addison, John	Cuth(e)bert, Richard	Harrison, William	Rockwood, Robert	Thompson, Thomas
Addison, John	Daile, George	Henderson, James	Rockwood, Tabat	Thompson, Thomas
Ager, William	Dayle, Robert	Hesley, William	Rockwood, Thomas	Todd, John
Ammond, John	Denninge, Richard	Heworth, John	Rowland, Francis	Todd, Thomas
Amory, John	Dickeson, Thomas	Hickes, Richard **	Roxby, William	Todd, Thomas
Anderson, Thomas	Ditchburne, Ralph	Hilton, John	Sanderson, Ralph	Todd, William
Atchinson, Edward	Dodg(s)on, Thomas	Hilton, Ralph	Scurfield, Bernard	Tongue, William
Atchinson, Edward	Doweson, Richard	Hilton, Robert	Scurfield, William	Trumble, Usward
Atchinson, Robert	Drydon, Richard	Hilton, Robert, Jun	Seemar (?), William	Trumble, Usward
Atchinson, Thomas	Emmerson, John	Hopper, Edward	Shepherdson, Christop’r	Ushaw, John
Bee, Bernard	Errington, John	Humble, Alexander	Smith, Duke	Vas(e)y, Ralph
Bell, John	Fawcet, John	Hunter, Thomas	Smith, John	Vas(e)y, Ralph
Bell, John	Field, William	Hunter, William	Sparrow, John, Snr	Wade, Richard
Bell, John	Foster, John	Kitchinge, Thomas	Sparrow, John	Wake, Richard
Bell, Nicholas	Foster, Matthew	Langley, John,	Sparrow, Thomas	Wake, Thomas
Bell, Robert	Foster, Thomas	Locky, John	Spence, Andrew	Watteson, John
Bell, Robert	Foster, Thomas	Lumley, Ralph	Stoddard, Nicholas	Wear, Anthony
Boomer, Ralph	Gardiner, Richard	Lumley, Thomas	Story, Thomas	Wear, John
Bowry, William	Garret, Cuthbert	Maddison, John	Symy/Simey, Michael	Wetherall, Richard
Brough, George	Garret, Cuthbert	Matthew, Toby	Symy/Simey, William	Whittingham, Edward
Browne, Thomas	Gibson, John	Matthew, William	Taylor, Anthony	Whittingham, Matthew
Browne, William	Gibson, Thomas, Snr	Miles, Nicholas	Taylor, Edward	Wilkinson, Cuthbert
Bubby (?), Richard	Gibson, Thomas, Jun	Moody, Williams	Taylor, John	Wilson, Robert
Burlye, William	Gowland, Richard	Mushtian, John	Taylor, John	Woods, Thomas
Calvert, Christopher	Grainger, Ralph	Ourde, Henry	Taylor, Michael	Wrangam, Henry
Cocke, John	Gray, George, Snr	Page, Thomas	Taylor, Nicholas	Wright, Lancelot
Cole, William	Gray, George, Jun	Pierson, John	Taylor, Richard	Wudel, William
Colison, Ralph	Gray, John	Porrat, Thomas	Taylor, Thomas	Wygam, Christopher
Collyer, Thomas	Gray, Thomas	Rea(y), John	Teasdale, George	Young, John
Cooper, Daniel	Green, William	Rea(y), Lionel	Teasdale, Thomas	Young, John
Cotterall, Henry	Haderick, Robert	Reed, Thomas	Thompson, Cuthbert
Cotterall, John	Hall, John	Reed, William	Thompson, John
Cotterall, Richard	Hall, William	Rickaby, William	Thompson, John
Cummin, Nicholas	Harrison, John	Robinson, William	Thompson, Robert

The names of persons refusing to take the protestation, and those at sea:

Melcher Hickes, at sea. John Hilton, Jun, absent

Papists: George Simpson, Cuthbert Wilkinson, John Coleson, Henry Dickinson, and Ralph Grainger, who is absent.

Minister: Richard Hickes** Baptized at Whitburn 9 Nov 1604, son of John Hickes, rector of Whitburn, by his wife Alice Blakiston, of University College, Oxford. Licensed to the Perpetual Curacy of Monkwearmouth 13 Sept 1638. First marriage to Dorothy Heath on 15 Dec 1631. Second wife Alicia buried in Washington on 6 May 1673. Resigned in 1662, died in 1669.

Churchwardens: Thomas Collyer, Thomas Rockwood.

Constables: Christopher Shepherdson, Robert Rockwood, John Young, Thomas Wake.

Overseeers (for the poor): John Fawcet, Michael Symy (Simey).

The Protestation Returns’ for Bishopwearmouth are also available but have not yet been transcribed.

By mid-August 1642, all hope had faded of King Charles I and Parliament mending their differences, and the end of August saw the outbreak of the English Civil War. During this unhappy contest between king and Parliament, many of the leading families within the County of Durham supported the king; whilst the middling and lower orders, for obvious reasons, warmly espoused the cause of Parliament. In 1642 the manor of Monkwearmouth had become the property of the parliamentarian Colonel George Fenwick of Brinkburn in Northumberland. His youngest daughter Dorothea (later became the Dame Dorothy after whom the street was named), married Sir Thomas Williamson. The Williamson’s came from East Markham near Nottingham and had been penalised for their support of the Royalist cause in the Civil War. Throughout the conflict, the borough of Sunderland remained entirely devoted to parliamentary interest; a circumstance which may be attributed to the commanding influence of the Lilburne family who possessed a far greater share of both property and interest than any other private family within the borough. The first of the Lilburne family who settled in Sunderland was George Lilburne. During the civil wars he acted as the only civil magistrate within the limits of the borough.

In May 1660 sees the formal restoration of the monarchy in England when Charles II is proclaimed King at the age of 30. However, for decades long before the restoration of Charles II, there were many who objected to the national church, and imbibed the principles of dissenters. From the passing of the act of uniformity in 1662, until the revolution in 1688, as many as refused to conform to the established worship, were denominated Nonconformists. Among these were about 2,000 clergy men who left the church on St Bartholomew’s day in 1662.

By the mid 1660’s, the export of coals from Sunderland had greatly increased, much to the jealousy of Newcastle men. With an intention of balancing the trade of the two ports, a fee of one shilling per chaldron (approx 1.4 tons) was imposed on all coals exported from Sunderland. In the year 1665, during the plague of London the disease was imported to Sunderland by shipping. An entry in a local parish register states that

"Jeremy Read, Billingham in Kent, bringer of the plague, of which died about thirty persons out of Sunderland in three months – July 5^th, 1665".

No attempt was made to organize proper harbour facilities on the Wear until the mid 17^th Century, and the river’s edges were untidy-looking, especially the north bank. Before the first piers were built, the shore at Monkwearmouth was wide open to the sea, scoured by every tide, silted-up and then washed down again. Year after year, coal went out in the collier brigs and thousands of tons of sand came in. Navigation through the sand banks and mud banks was apparently not the only hazard, for it is recorded that in June 1667 "a fleet of 100 light colliers coming from Southward and in sight of Sunderland were struck by a storm with at least one half of them lost".

In matters of religion, the country witnessed many turbulent years. Some years after Charles II secretly agreed to declare his conversion to Catholicism and subsequently to restore it to Britain, he issued his Declaration of Indulgence (March, 1672) permitting freedom of worship and assumed the right to cancel all penal legislation against both Protestants and Catholics.

Against the background of intermittent wars with Holland and France, a number of parliaments of Charles II were began and dissolved; plots of his assassinations discovered, culminating in his death in 1685. He was succeeded by his brother as James II of England and VII of Scotland. In 1688, James II issued his Declaration of Liberty of Conscience which, although professing toleration for all religions, clearly favoured Catholics. The ‘Glorious Revolution’ began when a son, James Stuart was born to James II, opening up the prospect of a succession of Catholic Kings. To counter this, Tory leaders invited the King’s son-in-law, William III of Orange, to save Britain from Catholicism. He accepted and Parliament subsequently offered the Crown to William and his wife Mary as joint sovereigns. On their accession in 1689, the name of Nonconformist was changed to that of Protestant Dissenter.

In the year 1689, Dame Dorothy, wife of Baronet Thomas Williamson bought the Monkwearmouth estates from her nephew. Upon her death in 1699, she gave the following charities, yearly, to the poor of the towns of : North Weremouth Town – 1 Pound; North Weremouth Shore – 3 Pounds; Sunderland – 2 pounds

Monkwearmouth burials, 1683-1706

An article entitled ‘Monkwearmouth Registers, 1683-1706’ appeared in the Wearmouth Magazine for December 1882. It was written by Edward J. Taylor F.S.A. who was lent a copy of the burials from the original register by W.H.D Longstaffe, Esq F.S.A. of Gateshead. The list contains 333 burial entries over a 24-year period (an average of 14 burials per annum!), indicating the small population of the five townships.

Year	Period	No of burials
1683	April 6 - March 23	11
1684	April 28 - March 21	15
1685	April 19 – February 21	12
1686	April 21 – March 20	14
1687	April 3 – March 24	18
1688	April 13 – March 11	12
1689	May 6 – March 23	12
1690	March 29 – March 16	14
1691	June 25 – March 14	11
1692	April 2 – March 24	31
1693	May 6 – February 20	9
1694	April 20 – November 23	6
1695	April 23 – February 2	20
1696	April 19 – March 21	12
1697	April 4 – March 11	9
1698	April 29 – March 12	19
1699	April 27 – February 19	11
1700	June 2 – March 9	15
1701	April 14 – March 4	11
1702	May 10 – March 19	12
1703	April 13 – February 19	17
1704	April 30 – December 26	8
1705	April 2 – March 16	16
1706	March 26 – March 24	18

The original article was shown in chronological order, with the year running from Easter to Easter. The listing that follows has been rearranged alphabetically, and yearly from January to December.

By the close of the seventeenth century, the export of coals from Sunderland had been greatly increased, despite the numerous tax impositions by parliament on coal exports. In 1695, five shillings per chaldron (thirty six bushels, Winchester measure) were ordered by parliament to be levied on coals. In the following years, a petition for the owners of ships were brought into parliament against this imposition; and at the same time set forth that, by a late storm, they had lost nearly two hundred sail of ships, worth upwards of two hundred thousand pounds.

Between 1704 to 1710, the average exportation of coals from Sunderland annually was 65,760 chaldrons (approx. 92,000 tons). It is interesting to compare this to the 11,648 tons a century earlier.

The River Wear Commissioners were established in 1717 to ensure that the Wear was navigable from the mouth as far as Biddick; finance for this was provided by a duty on coal and cinders (coke) loaded onto vessels on the river. The first engineer in the employment of the Commissioners was a Mr James Fawcett who, in 1719, prepared a plan of the mouth of the River Wear. This plan showed the hazards for ships entering the river to collect their cargoes of coal, lime, salt and glass. The Commissioners began construction of the South Pier in 1723; additions and alterations continued throughout the 18^th century.

In 1727, the coal-owners in the county of Durham signed a seven year agreement not to sell coals to any fitter for less than eleven shillings and sixpence per chaldron. In 1738, a petition was presented to the House of Commons by the glass makers, brewers etc., of London, protesting against the excessive price of coals. On this occasion, counter petitions were sent from the coal-owners of Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle, and the fitters of these places. A rapid increase appears to have taken place in the export of coals from Sunderland between the years 1710 and 1748; the number of chaldrons shipped in the latter year amounting to 147,403 (approx. 206,000 tons). It is estimated that by 1750, there were between 500-600 keelmen on the Wear.

As previously stated, the parish of Monkwearmouth is divided into five townships viz Monkwearmouth, Monkwearmouth-shore, Fulwell, Southwick and Hilton. The township of Monkwearmouth is of great antiquity and has been universally held under lease from the Dean and Chapter of Durham. Sir Hedworth Williamson was lord of the manor and proprietor of majority of the buildings which were erected under lease from him. He died in 1789, aged about 65. Monkwearmouth-shore is comparatavily of modern date, and owes its consequence to the extensive shipbuilding yards which during the Napoleonic war were established there. Nothing remarkable is recorded in history regarding the township of Fulwell, other than the discovery in 1759 of a gigantic human skeleton measuring nine feet six inches in length, and some Roman coins, on what was called Fulwell Hills. The township of Southwick, situated about one mile from Monkwearmouth, was an extremely pleasant village commanding fine views of the surrounding country. The township of Hilton is situated about three miles from Monkwearmouth. Hilton Manor, with the castle, was the possession of the family of the Hiltons before the Norman Conquest, and continued over seven hundred years, to the time of John Hilton Esq., the last male heir who died there in 1746.

The Revd. Thomas Gooday (son of Bartholomew Goodday of Penrith) was Perpetual Curate of Monkwearmouth St. Peter’s church from 1742 to 1768. He was an admirer and close friend of John Wesley the evangelist and founder of the Methodist Movement, who preached a number of times in Monkwearmouth church. The Revd. Goodday died in January, 1768 and was succeeded by the Revd. Jonathan Ivison who also welcomed Wesley. Jonathan Ivison had previously been the curate at Whitburn under Edward Hinton, rector, since 1753. In August 1774, aged 57, he married Isabella, aged 17, the youngest daughter of Mr Edward Watson, surgeon. They had several children, most of whom died in infancy. Notwithstanding the demands of his earlier years in the curacy, none could have been so torturous as 1790 when, during the early hours of a April morning, it is believed that a candle knocked over by him had started a fire in his homely residence in Monkwearmouth Hall. The matter weighed heavily on him and possibly contributed to his death in 1792, aged 75.

The following statement appears in the inside cover of a church book entitled ‘Copy Birth Register, 1702-1790’.

Parish of Monkwearmouth

County and in the Diocese of Durham

Be it known unto all Persons concerned that on the Twelfth day of April in the Year of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and ninety, a terrible fire broke out in the Dwelling house of the Reverend Jonathan Ivison, Minister of Monkwearmouth in the said County which entirely destroyed the same, together with all the Household Furniture therewith belonging, and amongst other Articles, the Registers of Marriages, Christnings, and Burials belonging the said Parish (being of great Antiquity) were totally consumed, Except the Registers of marriages from the Sixteenth day of October in the Year of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and eighty five, the Registers of Christnings from the Second day of September One Thousand seven hundred and Seventy nine, and the Registers of Burials from the First day of January One Thousand seven hundred and sixty eight, down to the time when the above fatal Accident happened.

And Whereas at a meeting of the Principal Inhabitants of the said Parish held at the Vestry on the Fourth day of January One Thousand seven hundred and ninety one it was deem’d necessary to take the Opinion of a Learned Council in the Law, together with the Opinion of the Arch Deacon of the Diocese, what Mode was to be adopted to replace such Registers so Destroyed by the Fire, when they propos’d an Advertizement to be inserted in the Newcastle Newspapers for every person concern’d to fetch Copies of such Private Registers as they had in their Possession to the Vestry where Attendance was given by the Church Wardens and several of the Principal Inhabitants of the said Parish every Tuesday for the Purpose of Entering the same in this Book.

We the Minister; Church Wardens and Principal Inhabitants whose names are hereunder Subscribed do upon Oath testify to the Truth of the Premises as Witness our Hands the Eighteenth day of February in the Year of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and ninety one. Sworn at Sunderland the 18^th day of February One Thousand seven hundred & ninety one. Before us

(signed) Chrisr. Hull Jonathan Ivison Curate, Thomas Gibson Subcurate, Thos Bell &

Willm. Ettrick Joseph Yellowly (Church-Wardens); Geo. Longstaff, Thomas Burn,

Wm. Robinson Thos Cole, John Davison, Jos. Tulip Parish Clerk - parishioners

So it was that a register of births was started in January 1791, each of the churchwardens entering birth and/or baptismal information as received. Two separate registers were started, one on 25 January, the other on 8 February, 1791. Both ran concurrently throughout 1791. All the entries were made by either one of the churchwardens or by the curate Jonathan Ivison, and later by his successor, Thomas Gibson who married Jonathan’s widow Isabella.

As one would expect, the replacement entries are incomplete – after all, only a tiny minority of the population would read the Newcastle papers of the day; family Bibles might be few or memories short and, of course, as in any age, many people would simply not bother to come forward. A few notations had been inserted by the church wardens Matthew Brod(e)rick and John Avery as late as 1797.

The front cover of the register book measuring 23.5 x 15cm has a label boldly marked ‘Copy of Registers for Births’ and within it a faint notation: ‘By witnesses after fire’. The "first" register begins on page 5, the previous four being blank. An example of the format showing signatures in the attested entries, is shown below:

INFERENCES

1. Please note that Thomas Reed and William Reed are listed in the 1641 Protestation return of loyal oath takers in Monkwearmouth. Two adults males above 18 surnamed "Reed" lived in the parish in the 17^th century. At this time, neither can be identified as an ancestor of William Reed.

2. The following Reed marriages are listed in the Bishop’s transcripts for Monkwearmouth:

31 Mar 1746 John Cross = Ann Reed

27 May 1755 William Easterby = Mary Reed

8 Apr 1763 Ralph Reed = Jane Stobbart

4 Jan 1767 William Reed = Isabella Gray

11 Jun 1773 John Reed = Isabella Nichols

25 May 1774 Peter Reed = Jane French

26 May 1776 William Reed = Isabella Redhead

4 Mar 1781 John Reed = Mary Crake

23 Feb 1782 Matthew Reed = Sarah Heath

16 Sep 1786 Thomas Reedman Reed = Hannah Thompson

10 Jun 1788 William Reed = Sarah Brown

1 Jun 1790 Robert Reed = Ann Hodgson

11 Dec 1793 Edward Cockburn = Catherine Reed

13 Jun 1794 George Runcie = Elizabeth Reed

9 Aug 1794 Thomas Reed = Ann Applegarth

24 Jun 1795 Matthew Wallas = Elizabeth Reed

13 Jul 1797 John Henderson = Jane Reed

30 Jun 1799 Humphrey Reed = Ann Hope

The inference here is that there were two or more "Reed" families living in the parish and the marriage register does not help us untangle these families.

B. Wingate Township, Longhorsley Parish County Northumberland

Wingates Township is one of the survivor medieval villages in or near the Northumberland National Park. Its history is fairly well documented by a National Park Service study . The summary of the study will be sent as a separate attachment since it is quite lengthy. One of Mick Reed’s collateral relatives, John Reed, is buried in the churchyard at Longhorsley 3 miles east of Wingates. Wingates has no chapel of ease or burial ground. Earlier, I mentioned that John Reed, son of William Reed, took over the lease of Wingates East Farm sometime after 1790 when John Reed, his uncle, had died and apparently John Turner, to whom John Reed willed his farm lease in his will. He kept the lease up to his death in 1860. There are no references in the material I have found that relate to any "William Reed’ living in the township or in another township in the parish.

Wingate’s fee title was in the hands of the Thornton family from ca. 1760 to about 1850. The Thorntons were Roman Catholics. Since the lease to John Reed the first, and all transfers of the lease would have been approved by the Thorntons, it would pay to look for any collections of Thornton family papers for the period. The chances are that the papers will contain references to tenants and succession to leaseholds.

The wills of John Reed and Anthony Reed indicate that John and Anthony Reed were brothers of William Reed 1 of Monkwearmouth. These wills do not indicate whether William Reed1 came from Wingates Township or not.

The 1762 Northumberland Militia muster lists the following individuals (presumably between 18 and 45) with the surname "Reed"

Wingates Township

John Reed, labourer

John Reed, Shepherd

Anthony Reed, labourer

One of the two "John Reeds" was probably the brother of William Reed. It is unclear if "Anthony Reed" was the same person as Anthony Reed who lived in Coal Yards in another parish in 1805 when he died leaving bequests to the children of William Reed 1.

C Elsdon Parish & Village County Northumberland

Elsdon parish and the village of Elsdon are in Redesdale the valley of the River Reed, an area said to be the ancestral home of the Reed families of Scotland and England by at least one authority, J.W. Reed. If one were looking for "Reeds" one could do worse than looking in this parish for clues. A complete description of Elsdon taken from the National Park Service report on this medieval village will be sent as a separate attachment

The most interesting fact about Elsdon is that John Reed 1^st and Anthony Reed 1^st were buried in the Churchyard at Elsdon although John Reed lived several miles away in Wingates Township and Anthony Reed resided in Coal Yards, even further from Elsdon.

The National Park Service study on Elsdon medieval village notes a 13^th century altercation involving ‘William le Rede" and "Thomas le Rede." There is of course no way to link these two medieval brawlers with our family.

Elsdon Parish’s baptisms and marriages should be in the Bishop’s transcripts for Durham, since Esldon parish was in the Diocese of Durham.

DNA testing has established that the descendants of John Reed (18 Feb 1776- ca 1848) and the descendants of William Reed of Monwearmouth County Durham are descended from a common ancestor that is probably the grandfather or great grandfather of William Reed 1.

John Reed (18 Feb 1776-1848) was born in Pennsylvania at the beginning of the American Revolution. Since it is highly likely that his father was an Englishman and not a Scot or an Irishman, traces of his parents will not turn up in the Pennsylvania communities settled by Irish and Scottish Protestants. The Proprietors of Pennsylvania Colony, the descendants of William Penn, practiced a form of apartheid. They reserved settlement areas in the colony for specific ethnic and religious groups, i.e. Welsh townships, Irish townships and manors, German townships and manors. Most English immigrants to Pennsylvania in the late 17^th and early 18^th century were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers). Those Englishmen who were not Quakers usually belonged to the Church of England. Some were dissenting Baptists, but not many. Methodism did not penetrate the Colony until after the Revolution. Pennsylvania Colony also included the State of Delaware until mid-1776. Delaware was colonized by English immigrants during the same period.

Much work is still needed in Pennsylvania land and probate records to find John Reed’s parents. Bucks, Chester(including Delaware), Lancaster (including Dauphin) and Philadelphia(including Montgomery) Counties are the primary counties for review. Research on Delaware Reeds has been inconclusive and should be revisited now that all Delaware land and probate records from the 18^th and early 19^th century have been microfilmed and put on public view at the Delaware Hall of Records.

John Reed (18 Feb 1776-ca. 1848) could be a descendant of one of the New England settlers who migrated from western Connecticut and Massachusetts to the Connecticut Wyoming lands along the Susquehannah River in the 1770's. The settlement was wiped out by Tory Rangers during the Revolution.

As far as our English cousins are concerned, Bishops transcripts for Longhorsley and Elsdon parishes should be consulted. I am checking the ecclesiastical court records for Durham for all Reed wills from ca. 1660 forward to ca. 1820 and will report later on that search. These records September 1, 2008have been microfilmed and are available through the LDS church stake library system.