William Birch Reed

"He lived, when young, mostly at Truro and Provincetown on Cape Cod; and the children were most of them born there, but lived a portion of the time at Bucksport, Maine. He was killed in the Battle of Hampden, Maine, Sept. 3, 1814, by a thirty-six pound shot from the Sloop-of-war Sylph, commanded by Com. Berry." From "History of the Reed Family in Europe and America" by Jacob Whittemore Reed: Boston, John Wilson & Son publisher; 1861, p. 493. !Marriage: Pg. 10 of original Truro town records: Reads "William Reed Burch and Elisabeth Eldridge, published 12 Jun 1788." Then on pg. 35 of the same records, reads: "William Birch Reed and Elisabeth Eldridge married 24 Aug 1788 in Truro." !Birth-Death: September 1, 1993 Letter from Geraldine M. Spooner, Librarian at Buck Memorial Library, Bucksport, Maine (see below). On August 31, 1993, I called the Bucksport Library and talked to Geraldine Spooner, Librarian. I had come to realize that William Birch Reed and his wife Elizabeth were probably buried in the Riverview Cemetery, which I had neglected to search for when I visited Bucksport. I also knew that a lady there (who wishes to remain anonymous) was in the process of transcribing the tombstones in the Riverview Cemetery, and so I requested that she look for William Birch Reed and his wife in that cemetery. The next day, September 1, 1993, she mailed a very interesting letter with the following information to me (I assume it came from tombstone or cemetery records): "Dear Mr. Chrisman, Regarding your telephone conversation of August 31, 1993: I spoke to the lady who is doing the cemetery research. She gave me the following information: Elizabeth Reed, Widow of William B. Reed, Born at Truro, Barnstable county, Mass. Nov. 20, 1776 Died Sept. 27, 1844 Age 77 Years, William B. Reed, Born at Snowhill, Worcester county, Mass., Aug. 23, 1767, Died Sept.3, 1814, Killed at Orrington, Me. (just beyond Bucksport) by a cannonball, fired from the English Sloop of War, the Sylph, commanded by Commodore Barry. His tombstone, as transcribed in ["Inscription from Grave Stones at North Bucksport, Maine" in the Maine Hist. Magazine, 1898, p. 1573] reads: "William B. Reed, born Snow Hill, Worcester Co., Maryland, Aug. 23, 1767. He was killed at Orrington by a 36 pound cannon Ball fired from English Sloop of War Sylph Commanded by Commodore Barrie Sept. 13, 1814. Wife Elizabeth born Truro Nov. 20, 1767, died Sept. 27, 1844, aged 77" I found this very interesting and glad we could be of help in your search. Sincerely, Geraldine M. Spooner, Librarian." Note that the dates and age of Elizabeth are off by 10 years in the above letter. It appears that the typist of the letter accidentally transposed the digits in the birthdate from 1767 to 1776. The date 1767 properly accounts for her age and brings the record into agreement with the birth record for Elizabeth Eldridge. -------------- They may have had one additional child, John Reed of Bucksport who married Marcy Nickerson of Orrington (cert. rec. 2 Dec 1819, Orrington). On 8 Nov 1789, "William Birch Read, and Elisabeth his Wife" were Covenant Owners at the Truro Church [Mayf.Des. 28:23]