Seth Read
Encyclopedia
Seth Read was born in Uxbridge
, Worcester County, Massachusetts
, and died at Erie
, Erie County, Pennsylvania
, as "Seth Reed", at age 51.
John Read, and Lucy Read. John Read had received his military title through active service in the French and Indian war
. Seth Read's brothers and sisters were: Sarah, born October 24, 1729, (married Josiah Adarns December 27, 1750); Joseph, March 6, 1732; Peter, November 13, 1735 ; John, June 1743 ; Seth, March 6, 1746 ; Josiah, July 23, 1753. Lieutenant John Read died at Uxbridge, January 18, 1771.
Seth Reed grew up in the colonial, agricultural and recently incorporated frontier town of Uxbridge. He would become a landowner, a militia member and a farmer. One reference mentioned that he worked as a physician.
Read married Hannah Harwood, (b. 1747), in 1768. Their son, Charles John Read, was born on December 23, 1771. Seth and Hannah's son Rufus was born in 1775. Seth and Hannah had seven children, James Manning, Charles John, Sophia, Rufus Seth, Sally Adams, Henry Joseph, George Washington and Mary (Polly) Reed. Seth Read also was the town clerk at Uxbridge from 1777 to 1778. Seth and his brother Joseph attended every meeting in the area having to do with preparing for the revolution. They are mentioned in the minutes of the town meeting as early as 1774 for Revolutionary War preparation and were active in the committee of correspondence
.
Seth Read was commissioned in the Revolutionary War
, served in the Battle of Lexington and Concord "Alarm", and commanded a regiment of troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill
, the Massachusetts 26th regiment, under Col. John Patterson on June 17, 1775. He participated in the Invasion of Canada (1775)
Campaign in the Massachusetts 15th Regiment
up until August 1776 but left active service in January 1777 that year due to health reasons, after the 15th had succumbed to smallpox and hunger. General George Washington
stopped at a tavern owned by Colonel Seth Read in June 1775, while on his way to assume command of the Continental Army
at Boston. Two years later, Seth Reed is referred to as having received a written vote by the Town of Uxbridge for particular duties related to public safety in the town. "the town chose “by written votes,” Seth Read, “to procure and Lay before the court the Evidence that may be had of the Inimical dispositions of any Inhabitant of this town towards this or any of the United States who shall be charged by the freeholders and other Inhabitants of said town, or if their residence within this State is lookt upon to be dangerous to the public peace and Safety.” In other words, Colonel Read was commissioned to deal with traitors, sedition
or suspected treason
within the town. Ironically, at least one source claims that Benedict Arnold
's widow, Peggy Shippen
, died here 59 years later. In the following year the Town of Uxbridge votes to send its troops and resources to the Continental Army
. Worcester, Massachusetts
Town Records indicate that Colonel Read was elected to the Massachusetts Senate
in 1780. Read also served as a member of the Constitutional Convention
in 1779.
After the war we find references to Seth Read in the early records of Worcester County
and the Town of Uxbridge. He remained active in the local political life. Colonel Seth Read served in the Massachusetts General Court
, or State Legislature from 1784 to 1786. In March 1786, Seth Reed petitioned the Massachusetts General Court, both the House and the Senate, for a franchise to mint coins, both copper and silver, and "it was concurred".(Massachusetts Coppers)http://books.google.com/books?id=qJUUAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA107&lpg=RA1-PA107&dq=Seth+Reed-+petition+to+mint+coins+in+Massachusetts&source=web&ots=qDWGjJDk6o&sig=aicPPy3A917xqvyTcIGUvuhdbPk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PRA1-PA107,M1 According to the U.S. Treasury Colonel Reed of Uxbridge, Massachusetts was said to be instrumental in having E Pluribus Unum
placed on United States coins. The phrase is placed on all U.S. coins. The phrase "E Pluribus unum", "Out of Many, One,", is now considered the traditional motto of the United States. The United States Treasury was first organized in 1789. The first official U.S. money with printing which included E Pluribus Unum was in 1795, and possibly as early as 1791. The first use of e pluribus unum on any U.S. coins was trace"d to copper coins minted at Newburg New York in 1786. The text which cites these earlier printings, again attributes use of e pluribus unum on US coins to Colonel Read of Uxbridge, Mass. Modern US coins have the phrase on the reverse side of the coin, (see the infobox of the one cent coin below where the inscription "E Pluribus Unum" appears above the Lincoln Memorial). The inaugural journey of President George Washington
through New England in 1789 mentions the President's intent to visit his friend Colonel Read on passing through Uxbridge. But Colonel Reed was out of town reportedly moving his family to upstate Geneva, New York
. Colonel Reed was reported to be a great landowner in Uxbridge. Another indicator of Seth Read's prominence in early Uxbridge was this citation. Referring to the Capron house in Uxbridge, “This house was built by Col. Seth Read, who once owned most of the real estate in this village” The biography of Seth Read and his descendants describes that Colonel Seth Read and his brother, Colonel Joseph Read
owned half of the land in the town of Uxbridge, and in the town of Northbridge. Their two houses were within a mile and a half of each other on either side of the town common in Uxbridge. But during the war their financial fortunes took a severe reversal and these two entrepreneurial adventurous men returned to Uxbridge to a relative state of poverty.
, Ontario County, New York
in the winter of 1790. At the conclusion of the war he moved from Massachusetts into Ontario County, where by trade with the Indians he became owner of a tract of land eighteen miles in extent. This occurred in 1787, while Hannah stayed in Uxbridge with the family. Finally, he sold this property and brought his wife and two sons (James Manning and Charles John) to the present site of Erie, arriving on the 17th of June, 1795. The settlement at Geneva was not permanent yet, and there were attacks by the Indians
.
Colonel Reed, Hannah and their family, were then, the first European pioneers and family to have settled Erie, Pennsylvania
, in 1795. The family came from Buffalo
to Erie in a sail boat, reaching the harbor in the evening and camping on the peninsula over night, for fear of the Indians
. Soon after his arrival in June 1795, Colonel Reed erected a log cabin
at the mouth of Mill Creek
, which was the first permanent building in Erie. Known as the Presque Isle
Hotel, it was used by its builder both as family residence and public house. In the following fall the Colonel’s others sons, Rufus S. and George W., came to Erie by way of Pittsburgh
, and in the succeeding year the family homestead became the well known farm on Walnut Creek, where the pioneer father died at the age of 51 on March 19, 1797, less than two years after his arrival at Mill Creek. Seth Read, in 51 years, left his legacy, as a patriot soldier, a legislator, a pioneer, and as one who was instrumental in the phrase E Pluribus Unum
, ("From Many, One") being added to all U.S. coins. This phrase is considered "the traditional motto" of the United States. "In God We Trust" was then added in 1956.
Congressman
, from Pennsylvania, and wealthy great lakes steamship captain from Erie. Colonel Reed, was the great-grandfather of William Ward Reed, who has a prominent place in PA biographies. There were later Congressmen who were descended from Colonel Reed from PA. In Uxbridge, the family name was spelled Read, and in Pennsylvania, as Reed. The Read or Reed family was the most prominent family in northwest Pennsylvania for many decades. The descendents of this same family were extensively scattered across the United States.
, originally of Cumberland, Rhode Island
and later from Grovsvenordale, CT. John Capron pioneered Capron Mills
which had the first power looms for woolens, developed at the Mumford River
falls, in downtown Uxbridge, where the estate is located. Capron Mills
and its successors manufactured U.S. Military uniforms from before the Civil War Period to 1962 including the first U.S. Air force blues. Colonel John Capron
's first wife was a descendent of the Read family in Uxbridge. Colonel Read's original home at Uxbridge, known later as a Capron house and later owned by Chase's, was razed in 1967 to make a parking lot for a local drug store. The local drug store, is now a liquor store, and is actually built in the same 1777 grist mill built by Seth Read. The grist mill and water works later served as Bay State Arms, a manufacturer of single shot rifles, in the 1880s. A photograph of this house can be found in the book entitled, "Uxbridge, Images of America", by B. Mae Edwards Wrona, published in 2000 and in Mary Buford's book about his life.http://books.google.com/books?id=ABlMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=buford+mary+hunter+1895+%22seth+read%22&source=web&ots=_540EB_Xa8&sig=L2OHCI7kvzQ2l582XuF0fvFBMUk#PPA72-IA2,M1
Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was first settled in 1662, incorporated in 1727 at Suffolk County, and named for the Earl of Uxbridge. Uxbridge is south-southeast of Worcester, north-northwest of Providence, and southwest of Boston. It is part of...
, Worcester County, Massachusetts
Worcester County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...
, and died at Erie
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 280,566. Its county seat is the City of Erie.- Geography :...
, as "Seth Reed", at age 51.
Early life
He was the son of LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
John Read, and Lucy Read. John Read had received his military title through active service in the French and Indian war
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. Seth Read's brothers and sisters were: Sarah, born October 24, 1729, (married Josiah Adarns December 27, 1750); Joseph, March 6, 1732; Peter, November 13, 1735 ; John, June 1743 ; Seth, March 6, 1746 ; Josiah, July 23, 1753. Lieutenant John Read died at Uxbridge, January 18, 1771.
Seth Reed grew up in the colonial, agricultural and recently incorporated frontier town of Uxbridge. He would become a landowner, a militia member and a farmer. One reference mentioned that he worked as a physician.
Read married Hannah Harwood, (b. 1747), in 1768. Their son, Charles John Read, was born on December 23, 1771. Seth and Hannah's son Rufus was born in 1775. Seth and Hannah had seven children, James Manning, Charles John, Sophia, Rufus Seth, Sally Adams, Henry Joseph, George Washington and Mary (Polly) Reed. Seth Read also was the town clerk at Uxbridge from 1777 to 1778. Seth and his brother Joseph attended every meeting in the area having to do with preparing for the revolution. They are mentioned in the minutes of the town meeting as early as 1774 for Revolutionary War preparation and were active in the committee of correspondence
Committee of correspondence
The Committees of Correspondence were shadow governments organized by the Patriot leaders of the Thirteen Colonies on the eve of American Revolution. They coordinated responses to Britain and shared their plans; by 1773 they had emerged as shadow governments, superseding the colonial legislature...
.
Revolutionary war service
Lieutenant ColonelLieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
Seth Read was commissioned in the Revolutionary War
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, served in the Battle of Lexington and Concord "Alarm", and commanded a regiment of troops at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
, the Massachusetts 26th regiment, under Col. John Patterson on June 17, 1775. He participated in the Invasion of Canada (1775)
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
Campaign in the Massachusetts 15th Regiment
15th Continental Regiment
The 15th Continental Regiment was an infantry regiment of the 1776 establishment of the Continental Army.-Administrative history:The regiment was formed when the remnants of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment and Sayer's and Sullivan's companies of Scammon's Regiment were combined on 1 January 1776...
up until August 1776 but left active service in January 1777 that year due to health reasons, after the 15th had succumbed to smallpox and hunger. General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
stopped at a tavern owned by Colonel Seth Read in June 1775, while on his way to assume command of the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
at Boston. Two years later, Seth Reed is referred to as having received a written vote by the Town of Uxbridge for particular duties related to public safety in the town. "the town chose “by written votes,” Seth Read, “to procure and Lay before the court the Evidence that may be had of the Inimical dispositions of any Inhabitant of this town towards this or any of the United States who shall be charged by the freeholders and other Inhabitants of said town, or if their residence within this State is lookt upon to be dangerous to the public peace and Safety.” In other words, Colonel Read was commissioned to deal with traitors, sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
or suspected treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
within the town. Ironically, at least one source claims that Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
's widow, Peggy Shippen
Peggy Shippen
Peggy Shippen, or Margaret Shippen , was the second wife of General Benedict Arnold...
, died here 59 years later. In the following year the Town of Uxbridge votes to send its troops and resources to the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
. Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
Town Records indicate that Colonel Read was elected to the Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
in 1780. Read also served as a member of the Constitutional Convention
Constitutional convention (political meeting)
A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...
in 1779.
Postwar service
Worcester County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...
and the Town of Uxbridge. He remained active in the local political life. Colonel Seth Read served in the Massachusetts General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
, or State Legislature from 1784 to 1786. In March 1786, Seth Reed petitioned the Massachusetts General Court, both the House and the Senate, for a franchise to mint coins, both copper and silver, and "it was concurred".(Massachusetts Coppers)http://books.google.com/books?id=qJUUAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA107&lpg=RA1-PA107&dq=Seth+Reed-+petition+to+mint+coins+in+Massachusetts&source=web&ots=qDWGjJDk6o&sig=aicPPy3A917xqvyTcIGUvuhdbPk&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PRA1-PA107,M1 According to the U.S. Treasury Colonel Reed of Uxbridge, Massachusetts was said to be instrumental in having E Pluribus Unum
E pluribus unum
E pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
placed on United States coins. The phrase is placed on all U.S. coins. The phrase "E Pluribus unum", "Out of Many, One,", is now considered the traditional motto of the United States. The United States Treasury was first organized in 1789. The first official U.S. money with printing which included E Pluribus Unum was in 1795, and possibly as early as 1791. The first use of e pluribus unum on any U.S. coins was trace"d to copper coins minted at Newburg New York in 1786. The text which cites these earlier printings, again attributes use of e pluribus unum on US coins to Colonel Read of Uxbridge, Mass. Modern US coins have the phrase on the reverse side of the coin, (see the infobox of the one cent coin below where the inscription "E Pluribus Unum" appears above the Lincoln Memorial). The inaugural journey of President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
through New England in 1789 mentions the President's intent to visit his friend Colonel Read on passing through Uxbridge. But Colonel Reed was out of town reportedly moving his family to upstate Geneva, New York
Geneva, New York
Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...
. Colonel Reed was reported to be a great landowner in Uxbridge. Another indicator of Seth Read's prominence in early Uxbridge was this citation. Referring to the Capron house in Uxbridge, “This house was built by Col. Seth Read, who once owned most of the real estate in this village” The biography of Seth Read and his descendants describes that Colonel Seth Read and his brother, Colonel Joseph Read
Joseph Read
Joseph Read was a soldier and a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War.-Early life:Read was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, the son of John and Lucy Read. He married Eunice Taft of Uxbridge on Nov 22, 1753...
owned half of the land in the town of Uxbridge, and in the town of Northbridge. Their two houses were within a mile and a half of each other on either side of the town common in Uxbridge. But during the war their financial fortunes took a severe reversal and these two entrepreneurial adventurous men returned to Uxbridge to a relative state of poverty.
Pioneer moves: Geneva, New York
Seth Read moved, his wife Hannah and their family to GenevaGeneva, New York
Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...
, Ontario County, New York
Ontario County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 100,224 people, 38,370 households, and 26,360 families residing in the county. The population density was 156 people per square mile . There were 42,647 housing units at an average density of 66 per square mile...
in the winter of 1790. At the conclusion of the war he moved from Massachusetts into Ontario County, where by trade with the Indians he became owner of a tract of land eighteen miles in extent. This occurred in 1787, while Hannah stayed in Uxbridge with the family. Finally, he sold this property and brought his wife and two sons (James Manning and Charles John) to the present site of Erie, arriving on the 17th of June, 1795. The settlement at Geneva was not permanent yet, and there were attacks by the Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
.
First settler of Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, in 1795. The family came from Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
to Erie in a sail boat, reaching the harbor in the evening and camping on the peninsula over night, for fear of the Indians
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
. Soon after his arrival in June 1795, Colonel Reed erected a log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
at the mouth of Mill Creek
Mill Creek (Lake Erie)
The Mill Creek is a long tributary of Lake Erie in Erie County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It flows from Millcreek Township through the city of Erie, into Presque Isle Bay....
, which was the first permanent building in Erie. Known as the Presque Isle
Presque Isle Bay
Presque Isle Bay is a natural bay located off the coast of Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. Its embayment is about in length, about across at its widest point, and an average depth of about . The bay is bounded on the north and west by a recurved peninsula that makes up Presque Isle State Park...
Hotel, it was used by its builder both as family residence and public house. In the following fall the Colonel’s others sons, Rufus S. and George W., came to Erie by way of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, and in the succeeding year the family homestead became the well known farm on Walnut Creek, where the pioneer father died at the age of 51 on March 19, 1797, less than two years after his arrival at Mill Creek. Seth Read, in 51 years, left his legacy, as a patriot soldier, a legislator, a pioneer, and as one who was instrumental in the phrase E Pluribus Unum
E pluribus unum
E pluribus unum , Latin for "Out of many, one", is a phrase on the Seal of the United States, along with Annuit cœptis and Novus ordo seclorum, and adopted by an Act of Congress in 1782...
, ("From Many, One") being added to all U.S. coins. This phrase is considered "the traditional motto" of the United States. "In God We Trust" was then added in 1956.
Legacy and afterwards
His wife (born Hannah Harwood) died in Erie on December 8, 1821 at the age of 74, being the mother of the following children, four sons of whom have already been mentioned: James Manning, Charles John, Sophia, Rufus Seth, Sally Adams, Henry Joseph, George Washington and Mary (Polly). One of his sons celebrated the first marriage recorded in the local annals, and his grandson by this marriage was the first child of European descent born in Erie. Seth and Hannah's grandson, Charles M. Reed became a WhigWhig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
Congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, from Pennsylvania, and wealthy great lakes steamship captain from Erie. Colonel Reed, was the great-grandfather of William Ward Reed, who has a prominent place in PA biographies. There were later Congressmen who were descended from Colonel Reed from PA. In Uxbridge, the family name was spelled Read, and in Pennsylvania, as Reed. The Read or Reed family was the most prominent family in northwest Pennsylvania for many decades. The descendents of this same family were extensively scattered across the United States.
History of the Read estate at Uxbridge
The former "Colonel Seth Read estate and water works", built in 1767 and 1777, both at Uxbridge, were purchased in 1790, by John CapronJohn Capron
John Willard Capron was an American military officer in the infantry, state legislator, and textile manufacturer.-Early life, family:...
, originally of Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and later from Grovsvenordale, CT. John Capron pioneered Capron Mills
Bernat Mill
The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later "Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company", was a yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA, that was destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007....
which had the first power looms for woolens, developed at the Mumford River
Mumford River
The Mumford River is an river in south-central Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Blackstone River.The river rises from its headwaters in Sutton and Douglas at Manchaug Pond and flows east in a meandering path through a series of ponds , and joins the Blackstone River in Uxbridge.The river...
falls, in downtown Uxbridge, where the estate is located. Capron Mills
Bernat Mill
The Bernat Mill, also known as Capron Mill, and later "Bachman Uxbridge Worsted Company", was a yarn mill in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, USA, that was destroyed by fire on July 21, 2007....
and its successors manufactured U.S. Military uniforms from before the Civil War Period to 1962 including the first U.S. Air force blues. Colonel John Capron
John Capron
John Willard Capron was an American military officer in the infantry, state legislator, and textile manufacturer.-Early life, family:...
's first wife was a descendent of the Read family in Uxbridge. Colonel Read's original home at Uxbridge, known later as a Capron house and later owned by Chase's, was razed in 1967 to make a parking lot for a local drug store. The local drug store, is now a liquor store, and is actually built in the same 1777 grist mill built by Seth Read. The grist mill and water works later served as Bay State Arms, a manufacturer of single shot rifles, in the 1880s. A photograph of this house can be found in the book entitled, "Uxbridge, Images of America", by B. Mae Edwards Wrona, published in 2000 and in Mary Buford's book about his life.http://books.google.com/books?id=ABlMAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=buford+mary+hunter+1895+%22seth+read%22&source=web&ots=_540EB_Xa8&sig=L2OHCI7kvzQ2l582XuF0fvFBMUk#PPA72-IA2,M1