Seth Read - Legacy and Afterwards

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 Whig 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.