FROM THE CONFEDERATE SERVICE RECORD OF WILLIAM D. REED

Company E, 17th Texas Infantry, Allen's Regiment, 3rd Lieutenant

Capt. Seth Mabry's Company, Allen's Regiment Texas Infantry

Age 38 years. Appears on a Company Muster Roll of the organization named above for Ap. 4 to June 30, 1862. He enlisted April 1, 186?. He enlisted at Llano and was enrolled by Seth Mabry. He mustered into service April 4, 1862 at Camp Terry by R.T.P. Allen. He enrolled for the war.

He was present on all muster rolls through October 31, 1862. On muster roll for April 4 to December 31, 1862 he is listed as absent-sick. On the company muster roll for Jan & Feb, 1863, he is given as discharged Feb. 13, 1863.

He appears on a register containing rosters of Commissioned Officers, Provisional Army Confederate States. Date of his appointment May 8, 1862. Date of resignation, death, transfer or promotion - Resigned Feb. 10, 1863. From Confederate Archives, Chap. 1, File No. 92, page 461.

Also in the file from the Head Quarters of the Trans-Mississippi Department, Little Rock, Feb. 10th, 1863. VI. The following named officers have tendered their resignation for reasons stated therein, the same are accepted to take effect from this date, subject to the approval of the Department of War.

1. Wm. D. Reed - 2nd Lieut. Co. E, Allen's Texas Regiment.

By Command of Lieut. General Holmes and signed by the ass't adj't general.

ON THE FACE OF THE RESIGNATION LETTER -

Resignation of Wm. D. Reed, Brevet 2nd Lt. Allen's 17 Regiment, McCulloch's Brigade, Texas Vol. Infantry - Hd. Q. Allen's Reg., McCulloch's Brigade, Camp Miles, Feb. 4, 186? It was signed by numerous men- too dark to read clearly.

RESIGNATION LETTER

Allen's Regt. Tex. Vol. Inft. McCulloch's Brigade &c.

Camp Mills, Feb. 4, 1863

Col. R.T.P. Allen: Comdg regt.

Sir:

In view of the fact that my health for some time has been such as to wholly incapacitate me for the duties of an officer, (which fact is substantiated by the Surgeon's Certificate herewith appended, and to which I refer you - ) and believing that my constitution is so far impaired that I cannot hope to be restored by remaining in camp, I hereby tender my immediate and unconditional resignation.

Very respectfully,

Your obt. svt.

Wm. D. Reed

2" Let. Co. "E"

I certify that have carefully examined the said Wm. D. Reed of Co. "E", and find him unfit to do the duties of his office because of dyspepsia and chronic diarrhea, which have greatly reduced his struggle and much emaciated his frame, early in Oct last, he began to decline and whilst at Camp Nelson he had an attack of pneumonia since which time he has not been able to do duty in my opinion he cannot recover his health while ? to the vicissitudes of Camp Life I would therefore recommend that his resignation be accepted.

D. Port. Smith, Surg.

FROM THE 1850 TEXAS CENSUS:

HH 46-54 also in Wm.'s household are Mary Trent/Dent age 17, born Arkansas and Nancy J. Miller age 13 born Arkansas as well as his mother, Mary, age 56, born Kentucky

NOTE: From the age of William's second wife, it would appear that the Nancy J. Miller is the same Louisa J/I Miller he married in 1854 as his second wife!

Per letter from C. Vale Mayes; he is a Miller descendant. Mrs. Wanda Malone Buckner sent this to me July 1996. This letter states he is a Miller descendant but he sent Xerox pictures of Will A. Reed, wife Ollie, Mother Louisa J. (Lou) Miller Reed and other family members. He stated that Lou Miller married William Daken Reed b. 1819 West Virginia?! Lou Miller's parents were John B. Miller born about 1793 Kentucky and Mary (Polly) Roberts b. 1798 Kentucky, married 1813 Gibson County, Indiana.

NOTE: In reviewing Reed information in "Old Northwest Texas" (the book on old Navarro County, Texas) I have discovered that William D. Reed probably remained in Navarro County until or through 1847.

William D. Reed was also a veteran of the Mexican War, having served in James S. Gillet's Company - 2nd service. Mustered in at Camp Arbuckle, Texas 16 June 1848 to 16 December 1848. He was a private, age 22 at the time.

FROM HISTORY OF BURNET COUNTY, VOL. 1 PUBLISHED BY THE BURNET COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION, 1979 pp. 52-53

Signed petition to form county from Williamson and was elected in 1852 as the first tax assessor-collector of the new Burnet County.

FROM HANDBOOK OF McCULLOCH COUNTY, TEXAS HISTORY COMPILED BY WAYNE SPILLERS, PUBLISHED BY HEART OF TEXAS MUSEUM, VOL. II, 1986?

From a Masonic history in this Vol. II written by Clarence Snider, he stated that on 27 August 1863 a petition was submitted to form a Masonic Lodge - Laws (sic-Lost) Creek. W.D. Reed was given as the Worshipful Master and an original petitioner. Charles A. Reed & W.D. Reed were listed as Master Masons.

1866 - W.D. Reed was still the W.M. in Fellowcraft was B.P. Reed

Grand Lodge Proceedings of 1869:

McCulloch Lodge #273 petitioned to move the lodge as quoted "...the meeting place of the McCulloch Lodge #273 in San Saba County is at the site of the mill formerly owned by Major A.J. Rose and was then known as the Rose Mill. That mill, however, has been purchased by Joseph Miller and his son-in-law William Daken Reed. (It must be noted that the editor of the Handbook considered this a very selfish move as it was further away from the main body of the county population.) The lodge was granted permission to move and after the move the lodge became dormant.

In November of 1882, Camp San Saba petitioned for the formation of the Camp San Saba Lodge #555. B.F. Reed was one of the petitioners and member Masons.

There is a photo of William Daken Reed in the magazine "Old West" Fall, 1979 issue. It is included with an article about the Millers entitled "San Saba River Folk" by Wayne Spiller.

FROM MY GIRLHOOD AMONG OUTLAWS BY LILY CASEY KLASNER

In 1873 the town of Seven Rivers, New Mexico got it's start. Two men named Dick (Dake) Reed and George Hoag, seemed to have first realized that Seven Rivers, considered by all cattle drivers as a good place to stop, would be an advantageous location for a general store, and their store became a nucleus of the town. Hoag was a single man, but Reed had a large family which included his son-in-law, Will Gray, who later, while acting as deputy sheriff, accidentally shot himself and subsequently died of his wounds.

In the course of a short time, two of Reed's brothers came to Seven Rivers and established themselves with their families. About 1876 Reed died of dropsy at our house and was buried in our family graveyard. Later his partner Hoag sold out and went to Colorado.

In about 1877 a terrible epidemic of black smallpox broke out. Lily's younger sister, four years of age, died and was buried in the little cemetery on the ranch, in which there were already six bodies (two were white men who had been waylaid and killed by Indians in 1866). In 1872, three of mother's children, Johnny, aged five, Kathleen Belle, aged three and Mollie Florence, aged one, had died within 24 hours and were buried in one grave. Dr. Styer of Ft. Stanton diagnosed their sickness as diphtheria. Mollie Kathleen was the seventh buried in our graveyard.

NOTE: When Lily Casey talks about Reed dying at their house, she is talking about their ranch on the Rio Hondo in New Mexico, which I believe to be east of Hondo, New Mexico. Some books say it is close to Picachao, New Mexico.

According to "grassroots" historian, Margaret Waring of Comanche County, Texas, William D. Reed did have a cattle business in Comanche Co. Texas as outlined in an e-mail from her:

"There is a conveyance from Reed Bros. to D.F. Higginbotham, a bill of sale for cattle, dated 24 October 1871, for $1,000 gold with a list of marks and brands in the Hamilton Co. records. The firm is Wm. D. Reed, John Reed, B.F. Reed, C.T. Judd and Geo. Hogg. On 24 October 1871, Wm. D. Reed & Co. made a promissory note to D.F. Higginbotham for $1,000 gold @ 10% per annum. Three months later, Wm.D. Reed conveys a bill of cattle, range delivery, to Higginbotham to secure payment of this note. This is signed Reed Bros. & Co. by John S. Reed. Reed Bros. is apparently operating in New Mexico soon after all this. There is a suit in which Reed Bros. of Comanche is sued on a note made at Bosque Grande, NM. The date on this note is 187_ (?) left blank. #2,591.95. Note is payable to Chas. Raddchilds at the First National Bank in Denver. It had been sold several times.

I am just guessing the Reeds were gone by 1873 which is nothing but my educated opinion. Wm. Reed is on the Comanche tax roll for 1872 but he is not charged a poll tax which makes me think he was gone. The land he had was 160 acres of the Jesse J. Reed Survey (MY COMMENT: This Reed is not a relation that I know of). By 1873, he's disappeared."