Genealogy of the Reed and Loud Families of Abington, Massachusetts

REED-LOUD (Abington families). These families, Reed and Loud, allied by marriage, are still represented in the ancient town of Abington, where for three generations the Reeds have been engaged in the lumber business with other lines connected with it. Reference is made to the late Amos S. Reed, to his son, the late Maj. Edward Payson Reed, and to the present Arthur B. Reed, son of Major Reed, all active business men, prominent and influential citizens of what is now North Abington. Both the Reed and Loud were early Weymouth families, and we take up the records in order. There follows from William Reed, the immigrant ancestor of the North Abington Reed family alluded to, chronologically arranged, the genealogy of the family.

The Reed Genealogy

William Reade, supposed to be the son of William Reade and Lucy Henage, born in 1605, sailed from Gravesend, in the County of Kent, England, in the “Assurance de Lo,” in 1635, for America. He settled in Weymouth, Mass., and was made a freeman Sept. 2, 1635. He bought a house and land in 1636. Mr. Reade was among the early settlers of Weymouth, it having been made a plantation May 8, 1635; and Rev. Mr. Hall and twenty-one families settled there. Mr. Reade was a representative from Weymouth in 1636 and 1638. He married Avis Deacon, and their children were:

1. Margaret Reed, born in 1636
2. Hannah Reed, born in 1637
3. William Reed, born Oct. 15, 1639
4. Esther Reed, born May 8, 1641
5. Ruth Reed, born in 1642
6. Thomas Reed, born in 1645
7. Mary Reed, born in 1647
8. John Reed, born in 1649
9. James Reed

Thomas Reed, son of William, married in 1670 Sarah Bicknell, and their children were:

1. Thomas Reed, born Sept. 12, 1671
2. Mary Reed, born in 1672
3. Sarah Reed
4. John Reed, born Dec. 30, 1679
5. Samuel Reed, born April 12, 1681
6. Ruth Reed, born Feb. 20, 1685
7. William Reed, born Feb. 4, 1688
8. Hannah Reed, born Sept. 25, 1689
9. Elizabeth Reed, born Nov. 9, 1694

Mr. Reed held both civil and military offices. He died Nov. 14, 1719.

Thomas Reed (2), son of Thomas and Sarah, born Sept. 12, 1671, married Jan. 14, 1701, Hannah Randall, and lived in Abington, Mass. Their children were:

1. Thomas Reed, born Oct. 18, 1701
2. Daniel Reed, born Sept. 10, 1704
3. Hannah Reed, born March 14, 1706
4. John Reed
5. William Reed
6. Sarah Reed, born Aug. 1, 1715

The father died Oct. 2, 1719.

Capt. Daniel Reed, son of Thomas and Hannah, born Sept. 10, 1704, married (first) Feb. 22, 1728, Ruth Torrey, and their children were:

1. Daniel Reed, born Nov. 10, 1729
2. Thomas Reed, born April 17, 1732
3. Ruth Reed, born April 3, 1735

He married (second) in 1765 Sarah Howland Dawes.

Thomas Reed, son of Daniel and Ruth, born April 17, 1732, married (first) July 10, 1755, Mrs. Mary White, a widow, whose maiden name was Hobart. He married (second) Sarah Pulling (widow of John Pulling, of Boston), whose maiden name was Thaxter. His children were:

1. Mary Reed, born June 7, 1758, who married in 1775 Simeon Gannett
2. Hannah Reed, born Oct. 24, 1759, who died young
3. Thomas Reed, born Dec. 12, 1761
4. Hannah Reed, born June 28, 1764, who married Daniel Bicknell
5. Samuel Reed, born March 11, 1766
6. Huldah Reed, born April 27, 1768, who married Aug. 12, 1784, Dr. Richard Briggs
7. Isaac Reed, born Aug. 4, 1770
8. Abiah Reed, born Nov. 22, 1773

Thomas Reed, born Dec. 12, 1761, married May 24, 1783, Joanna Shaw. Their children were:

1. Elizabeth Reed, born March 13, 1784
2. Thomas Reed, born Nov. 16, 1786
3. Goddard Reed, born May 3, 1788
4. Ebenezer Reed, born July 6, 1790
5. Simeon Gannett Reed, born Sept. 29, 1793
6. Joanna Reed, born Dec. 3, 1795
7. Albert Reed, born Oct. 8, 1800
8. Martha Reed, born Sept. 8, 1802
9. Amos S. Reed, born May 22, 1804
10. Adeline Reed, born April 22, 1806
11. Clarissa Reed, born June 7, 1808
12. Theodore Reed, born April 7, 1810

Amos Shaw Reed was born May 22, 1804, in the town of Abington, where he grew to manhood. He became engaged in the wood business at an early age, also farming his large tract of land, and engaging extensively in hog raising. In 1850 he established the lumber yard in North Abington, now owned by his grandson Arthur B. Reed, where he carried on a successful business for a number of years. He later took into partnership with him his son Amos Newton Reed, who had been station agent for the Old Colony Railroad Company, and after the Civil war his younger son, Edward P. Reed, became a member of the firm, the business being conducted under the firm name of A. S. Reed & Co., until his death. He had a fine home and was one of the leading men of his section in his day, being noted for his honesty and straightforward business dealings. He was the owner of much real estate in the town of Abington. A member of the Congregational Church of his town, he was an exemplary citizen, and a kind and devoted father and husband.

Mr. Reed was twice married. He married (first) on Nov. 9, 1826, Huldah Barker Loud, to which union two children were born, viz.:

1. Amos Newton Reed, born May 21, 1829, who died in 1903
2. Sarah Ann Reed, born June 14, 1832, who died Sept. 21, 1849

Mrs. Huldah B. Reed died Aug. 1, 1833, and Mr. Reed married (second) Dec. 14, 1834, Mrs. Rachel (Burgess) Reed, widow of Simeon G. Reed, whose son Simeon Reed became one of the leading men and wealthy citizens of Oregon. Three children were born to the second marriage:

1. Edward Payson Reed, born Sept. 21, 1836
2. Elizabeth Waldo Reed, born Aug. 4, 1839, who died Sept. 5, 1843
3. Miranda Reed, born April 26, 1843, who died Aug. 1, 1846

Mrs. Reed was a good Christian woman and a devout member of the Congregational Church. She died at her home in Rockland, formerly East Abington, Feb. 10, 1884. Amos S. Reed died Sept. 26, 1886, and is buried in Spring Lake cemetery, at Rockland.

Edward Payson Reed, son of Amos S. and Rachel Reed, was born in the town of Abington Sept. 21, 1836. He was educated in the schools of his native town and received a good common school training. He grew to manhood on the farm and was associated with his father in the lumber business. When the war broke out and the call to arms reached him he enlisted in Company G, 12th Massachusetts Regiment, being mustered into service June 26, 1861, as first lieutenant. Fletcher Webster, of Marshfield, son of Daniel Webster, was colonel of this regiment. Colonel Webster was killed at the battle of Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862, and the regiment was called Webster’s regiment. Mr. Reed was promoted to the rank of captain on June 25, 1862, and to the rank of major May 6, 1864. He was wounded in the hand at the battle of Antietam and in the leg at Fredericksburg. In 1863 and 1864 he was on detached duty on court martial at Long Island and Boston Harbor. He was a member of the staff of General Devens, and presiding officer of the court martial. He was a brave soldier and officer and won the esteem and respect of his superior officers. He was mustered out of the service July 8, 1864.

After returning from the war Major Reed again took up his work in business with his father and half-brother in the lumber, coal and grain trade until 1885, when the father, Amos S. Reed, retired from the firm, Amos Newton Reed taking up the coal and grain business, and admitting his son, Harry D. Reed, into partnership with him, and Maj. Edward P. Reed taking the lumber business, to which he gave his full time and attention. By his great foresight and business tact he made it one of the largest concerns of its kind in the State. He bought large tracts of timber land in Maine, where he erected sawmills, having had five mills on Union river, in and about Ellsworth – the Kilkenney mill, the Upper and Lower mills, the Doyle mill and the Town mill, the latter being used in the planing and matching of lumber. He also owned and operated eight schooners and an ocean-going tug, in the handling of his mill products, becoming largely interested in the manufacturing of lumber. He built up a successful business and through his energy and thrift was one of the wealthy men of the town at the time of his death.

Major Reed was a man noted for his public spirit; he took a deep interest in the growth and progress of Abington and adjoining towns, as well as in its public affairs. He was one of the promoters of the electric railway of Abington and was its president, being also president of the Electric Light & Power Company. He was a member of the joint water commission of Abington and Rockland and was chairman of the board of the joint water commission. Fraternally he was a thirty-second-degree Mason, a member of McPherson Post, No. 73, G. A. E., at Abington, and was commander of that body, a member of the Loyal Legion and also a member of the United Twelve. A Democrat in politics, he was elected a member of the Senate in 1874. A well read man, cultured and refined in his tastes, he took a deep interest in the leading events of the day. He was a devoted father and husband, and his beautiful home on Adams street was the finest in the town. He was a generous man and was noted for his many charitable deeds, always giving in a good cause. Major Reed’s death occurred at his home May 28, 1894, and he was buried in Mount Vernon cemetery at North Abington.

On Sept. 6, 1864, Major Reed married Georgiana S. Loud, daughter of Reuben and Betsey (Whiting) Loud. She was educated in the public and high schools of East Abington and taught school in Abington before her marriage. Four children were born to Major and Mrs. Reed:

1. Minnie Reed, born March 14, 1866, who died March 4, 1903
2. Arthur Burgess Reed, born Sept. 8, 1867
3. Edward Loud Reed, who died Feb. 22, 1878, aged three years, six months, twenty-four days
4. George Gordon Reed, born June 16, 1880, who was educated in the public and high schools of North Abington and in Thayer Academy, at Braintree, and is now living in Boston, unmarried.

Mrs. Reed passed away Nov. 9, 1910. She had long been prominently identified with the social affairs of the town, and had served as a member of the board of trustees of the Abington Public Library from its organization up to the time of her death.

Arthur Burgess Reed, son of the late Maj. Edward P. Reed, was born in North Abington, Sept. 8, 1867. He was educated in the town schools, graduating from the high school, and later at Williston Seminary, in the class of 1886. When his grandfather, Amos S. Reed, died in 1886 he willed to Arthur B. the old homestead, and here he settled down to farming at the age of nineteen years. He continued at the occupation of farming until 1889, when he entered the employ of his father in the lumberyard and in 1893 became foreman, which position he faithfully filled until the year 1900, when he became owner of the extensive business founded by his grandfather. Mr. Reed has followed closely the business principles of his father and grandfather before him, and by his energy and progressive ideas built up a wide and successful business.

Mr. Reed is a man of public spirit and like his late father takes deep interest in his town, its people and its general growth and progress. He is well liked and respected by-all who know him. In politics he is identified with the Democrats, and in fraternal connection he is a member of Old Colony Lodge, No. 103, Knights of Pythias, at Rockland (in which he has passed all the chairs, being past chancellor commander), and of the A. 0. U. W. lodge at Abington. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Boston.

On Jan. 7, 1893, Mr. Reed married at Abington Alice M. Birmingham, a native of Abington, daughter of Matthew and Eliza M. Birmingham. Mrs. Reed was educated in the public and high schools of Abington, having graduated from the latter. To this union have been born two children:

1. Edward Whitney Reed, born Sept. 25, 1893, who attended the local public and high schools and Worcester Academy, and is now in his father’s employ
2. Isabel Stewart Reed, born Dec. 25, 1903

The Loud Genealogy

The Loud family, to which Mrs. Georgiana S. Reed belonged, is traced back to Francis Loud, from whom we give her line of descent in chronological order.

Francis Loud and brother came from Scotland. The brother settled in St. John, N. B. Francis settled in Sagadahoc, on the Kennebec river in Maine, as early as 1675; was driven from his home in 1676 (during the war) by the Indians. He, with several of his neighbors, petitioned Sir Edmund Andros for the right to settle on Arrowsic island, where he remained till 1679. He subsequently settled with his family in Ipswich, Mass., later returning to Maine, where in 1726 he was at Fort Marys, Biddeford, where he probably died.

Francis Loud (2), born in Ipswich, Mass., July 26, 1700, was published Oct. 22, 1722, to marry Onner (or Honor), daughter of Isaac and Mary (Turner) Prince, born Oct. 26, 1701, in Hull, Mass.; both were of Weymouth when published. He died Jan. 2, 1774; she died Jan. 18, 1777. Mary Turner was a descendant in the fourth generation from Elder William Brewster, of the “Mayflower,” 1620.

It is worthy to here note that from the fore-going source came the late distinguished Hon. Jacob Hersey Loud, of Plymouth, lawyer, State treasurer, senator, etc., and the distinguished Eugene F. Loud, long a representative from the State of California in the United States Congress, the latter being of Reed-Loud Abington connection.

The children of Francis and Onner (Prince) Loud of Weymouth town record were:

1. Jacob Loud, born May 24, 1723
2. Deborah Loud, born June 25, 1725
3. Onner Loud, born Feb. 5, 1727
4. Sarah Loud, born Jan. 19, 1728-29
5. Mary Loud, born Jan. 9, 1731
6. Francis Loud, born Dec. 23, 1732
7. Mercy Loud, born March 28, 1735
8. John Loud, born Feb. 23, 1737
9. William Loud, born Feb. 1, 1739
10. Unknown, born Feb. 1, 1741
11. Alice Loud, born March 30, 1742
12. Elliot Loud, born July 28, 1743
13. Caleb Loud, born April 18, 1747

Jacob Loud, son of Francis (2), born May 24, 1723, married July 3, 1746, Mary Smith. Their children were:

1. Jacob Loud, born March 6, 1747
2. Esau Loud, born Sept. 17, 1750
3. Peleg Loud, born Nov. 29, 1752
4. Eliphalet Loud, born Dec. 30, 1755
5. Reuben Loud, born Oct. 1, 1761
6. maybe others

Esau Loud, son of Jacob, born Sept. 17, 1750, married (intentions Oct. 6, 1781) Huldah Palmer, of Hanover, Mass. He died March 24, 1798, aged forty-eight, and she died July 25, 1819, aged sixty-five. Their children of Weymouth town record were:

1. Bezaleel Loud, born Sept. 21, 1782
2. Samuel Loud, born Nov. 16, 1783
3. Achsah Loud, born Dec. 20, 1785
4. Nathaniel Loud, born Oct. 12, 1787
5. Horatio Loud, born June 12, 1790
6. Percia Loud, born Oct. 28, 1792
7. Esau Loud, born Dec. 10, 1797

Samuel Loud, son of Esau, born Nov. 16, 1783, married (intentions expressed Aug. 31, 1804) Sarah Hollis, of Braintree, Massachusetts.

Reuben Loud, son of Samuel and Sarah (Hollis) Loud, born in Weymouth, Mass., Jan. 17, 1808, married Oct. 10, 1836, Betsey, born June 8, 1819, in Plymouth, Mass., daughter of Charles and Betsey (Poole) Whiting, of East Abington, Mass. Mr. Loud went from his native town to East Randolph (now the town of Holbrook), Mass., thence about 1830 located in East Abington, buying the Capt. Melvin Shaw farm comprising some one hundred acres. As a young man he was always very neat in his personal appearance, always when attending church wearing white gloves and the finest broadcloth, and was conceded by all to be the handsomest man in town seven days in the week. Associated with William Cushing he was at one time engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes, later following that business alone, and still later, as was then the custom in that section, he took in boot and shoe uppers to fit for others. He was one of the charter members of the Union Grocery Company in East Abington, and later was identified with a similar company. He was at one time an officer in the Abington Light Infantry Company and a member of the brass band of that town. He was repeatedly elected a member of the school board, and for many years was the most popular teacher in Abington. He had the reputation of being-one of the best town meeting debaters, and never lost an opportunity to speak in favor of good schools and good roads. He died Sunday Oct. 25, 1885, aged seventy-seven, and the same minister – Rev. Elmer Hewitt – who officiated at his marriage conducted his funeral service.

Mrs. Betsey Whiting Loud survived her husband many years, living to the advanced age of ninety years, and at the time of her decease was the oldest woman in Rockland. As stated she was a native of Plymouth, Mass., born in June, 1819, the youngest of five children. When she was five years old her father’s family located in what is now Rockland. After her marriage, in 1836, she went to reside in a house in Salem street, and there passed the rest of her life. Although of a nervous constitution she always enjoyed the best of health, seldom being confined to bed. She held her age well and was remarkably active up to her last illness and did her own housework. She died Aug. 7, 1909. Seven children were born to Reuben and Betsey (Whiting) Loud:

1. Rienzi Loud, born Sept. 20, 1837, went West and was a lieutenant in a Michigan company and regiment in the Civil war. He became a lawyer in that State. He is now deceased.
2. Marcus Morton Loud, born Dec. 2, 1839, lived in Massachusetts. He served as a soldier in Company G, 12th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. Fletcher Webster. He became an able lawyer and actor; served his town in the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court. He died July 20, 1890, aged fifty years.
3. Eugene P. Loud, who died at his home in San Francisco Dec. 20, 1908, was born at East Abington in 1847, and attended school in his native town. When thirteen years old be left home, with his father’s consent, to ship in 1860 from Boston on a sailing vessel bound for San Francisco, where he landed after a voyage of nine months around the Horn, during which the vessel had to make harbor several times on account of severe storms and there was mutiny among the crew. These experiences took the edge off the boy’s taste for the sea, and be located in San Francisco. In 1863, when the 2d Massachusetts Cavalry was being formed. Governor Andrew called upon the governor of California for a battalion. Young Loud was but sixteen at the time, but being large for his age he passed himself off for eighteen and was one of one hundred men selected for the service. After a short time in camp at Readville, Mass., he went to the front, and remained in the service until the close of the war. He served under Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley campaign and with the Army of the Potomac until the end of hostilities. After his army service Mr. Loud returned to East Abington and worked with his father in the shoe shop, continuing thus for two years, when he again went to San Francisco. He became foreman in the sticking department of Ernstein Brothers shoe factory, one of the largest shoe factories established there, and spent several years in that plant. Then he accepted a position in the post-office department of the United States government, and some time later filled the office of tax commissioner. Though a Republican in a strongly Democratic district he became very prominent in public life, was elected to the State Legislature, in which he served two terms, and for twelve years represented his district in Congress, serving with distinguished ability. He was noted for his high ideals regarding public service, an enemy to all forms of dishonesty in politics. While a member of Congress he served on various important committees and was chairman of the Post Office and Post Roads committee. Mr. Loud was prominent in business as well as in political circles, and after withdrawing from the public service devoted all his attention to his business interests. In 1906 he was appointed by President Roosevelt a delegate to the World’s Postal Congress in Rome, but was unable to accept the honor. Mr. Loud married Mary Garrison, who died in December, 1908, just two weeks before his own death.
4. Georgiana Spencer Loud, born Feb. 13, 1842, married the greatly lamented Maj. E. P. Reed, a brilliant and gallant soldier of the Civil war.
5. Huldah Barker Loud, born Sept. 13, 1844, for many years was a noted teacher, teaching in the grammar school of Abington; was also one of the school committee; taught also in Watertown. She had for many years been both editor and proprietor of the Rockland Independent. Her public career had been one both original and progressive. She delivered the Memorial address at Rockland for the year 1886, and of it said one: “The platform in Phenix Hall in the Memorial days that have passed has been honored by men of eminent ability, schooled by long years in public life; but none have excelled, if they have equalled, the address of Miss Loud’s in thoughtful fitness, in finished ease of expression or depth of patriotic sympathy. It was far beyond the anticipations of the warmest and most sanguine of her friends, holding the mind with its thought, charming the senses with its grace and dimming eyes ‘unused to weep’ with its womanly tenderness.” She died April 6, 1911, in Rockland, Massachusetts.
6. Sarah Ann Loud, born July 8, 1850, died in 1906, in Rockland, unmarried.
7. Clarice A. Loud, born July 3, 1854, married James B. Beverly, and they reside in Rockland, Mass., the parents of one daughter, Bess W.