Person:Joseph Reed (20)

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JOSEPH L. REED, M. D. -- In the veins of Dr. Reed is mingled the blo od of the sturdy Irish and Scotch races, blood that has contributed as mu ch if not more than any other to the strength and firmness of our composi te national life. His grandfather, William F. Reed, a native of North Ire land, came to the United States a number of years ago, a single man, and s ettled in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he met a young la dy by the name of Susan Wyandt, who afterwards became his wife. Her parents migrated to Stark county, Ohio, when there was but a single l og cabin on the present site of Canton, and entered a tract of land in wh at is now the township of Sugar Creek. They were joined a little lat er by another family of Wyandts, accompanied by William F. Reed, the litt le company making their way from Pennsylvania to what was then the far we st in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. Mr. Reed went to work as a farm ha nd, assisting his future father-in-law and others in clearing and prepari ng their lands for cultivation. After his marriage with Susan Wyandt he a lso settled in Sugar Creek township, cleared a farm and lived on the sa me until his death, at the age of fifty-six years. His wife survived him for some time, departing this life when about sevent y-eight years old.

Henry Reed, son of William F. and Susan Reed, was born on the old farmste ad in the township of Sugar Creek, October 2, 1846, spent his early days b eneath the parental roof and at the early age of seventeen joined an Oh io regiment to fight for the preservation of the Union. He entered the se rvice of the country in 186x, and at the expiration of his period of enlis tment veteranized in the Nineteenth Ohio Regiment of Infantry, and remain ed in the army until the close of the Rebellion. After the war, he resum ed agricultural pursuits in his native township and in 1867 was unit ed in marriage to Miss Mary Shunk, whose birth occurred in Stark county, O hio, on the 25th of December, 1848. Michael Shunk, father of Mrs. Reed, w as a native of Pennsylvania, as was also his wife, who bore the maiden na me of Christiana Putman, both coming from the county of Westmoreland. T he grandfather of Mrs. Shunk, Gabriel Putman, is said to have been the fir st permanent white settler in the southern part of Stark county, taki ng up there three hundred and sixty acres of land and locating on the sa me when the country was an unbroken wilderness. He became a well-to-do m an and worthy citizen, accumulated a large estate and died in 1882 at t he advanced age of ninety years. At the time of his death he had two brot hers and a sister, the youngest being eighty-two years old.

Not long after Henry Reed's marriage he purchased a farm of one hundred a nd sixty acres in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in what is now know as the "Roc ks" and continued to live there and prosper until 1870, when he dispos ed of his place and formed a partnership with D. W. Rush in the manufacture of furniture at the then town of Milton, now Wilmot. Two yea rs later their shop was destroyed by fire, but they immediately rebuilt a nd continued the business under the firm name of Rush & Reed, until Septem ber, 1882, when the latter withdrew, but did not dispose of his entire int erest until three years later. In 1885 Mr. Reed purchased the old Gilbe rt farm in Sugar Creek township and disposing of a part of the land for t he purpose of erecting buildings made the place one of the finest and most valuable of its area in that part of the county. He sti ll makes his home on this farm and is deservedly classed among the most su ccessful agriculturists as well as one of the most intelligent and enterpr ising citizens of the community in which he resides. He and his good wi fe are now practically retired and enjoying the well-earned fruits of the ir many years of toil and honorable endeavor. In politics Henry Re ed is a stanch Republican and as such has been elected to several local offices, including that of township trustee, in whi ch he is now serving his second term. He was a member of the local scho ol board for a period of fourteen years, during which time he did mu ch to promote the educational interests of his township. Fraternal ly he is an active member of Wilmot Post No. 384, Grand Army of the Republ ic, and religiously belongs to the Protestant Methodist church, as does al so his wife.

Dr. Joseph L. Reed, the only child of his parents, was born in Tuscaraw as county, Ohio, June 25, 1868, and when he was two years old his paren ts removed to the town of Wilmot, Stark county. His early advantages we re similar to those enjoyed by the majority of country and village lads, a nd the public schools afforded him the means of acquiring a good educatio n. He was graduated from the Wilmot high school in 1885 and immediately t hereafter began teaching, in which profession he made a reputation second to that of few of his fellow educators in the coun ty of Stark. He entered this field of endeavor at the age of seventeen a nd from that time forward relied entirely upon his own resources not on ly for a livelihood but for carrying to successful issue the plans for h is future course of action. While teaching he spent his vacations at M t. Union College and in this way succeeded in working his way through th at institution, graduating in 1891 with the degree of Bachelor of Scienc e.

During the three years following the completion of his collegiate course D r. Reed served as superintendent of the Navarre public schools, meantim e, on the 8th day of January, 1892, being united in marriage to Miss Mildr ed Shorb, daughter of James and Adelaide Shorb, of Canton. Although we ll qualified by nature and intellectual training for school work, Dr. Re ed did not see fit to spend his life in the educational field, but h ad he done so there is no doubt that he would have achieved marked success both as a teacher and manager of schools. In 1894 he turned his a ttention to agricultural pursuits, not as an end, but as a means to an en d, as he had long contemplated preparing himself for another calling mo re in harmony with his tastes and much more remunerative from a financi al point of view, -- the medical profession. Yielding to this desir e, he entered in the fall of 1894 the Ohio Medical University, at Columbu s, and there prosecuted his studies with great assiduity until 1897, on Ap ril 17th of which year he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medic ine. Unlike many young physicians who choose for their first location so me small village or remote country town, Dr. Reed at once selected a larger field, opening an office in May, 1897, at No. 430 S outh Market Street, Canton. His reputation as a capable physician and sur geon soon became known and almost from the beginning his practice has be en large and lucrative. He now ranks with the able medical men of the cit y, stands high in the estimation of the public and spares no pains to ke ep in touch with the trend of modern thought in all matters relating to h is chosen calling. For two years he served as physician for the county infirmary and discharged the duties of the position in a mann er highly creditable to himself and satisfactory to all concerne d. He is identified with the Stark county Medical Society and the Cant on Medical Society, and is regarded by older physicians as one of the prom ising medical men of the future.

Dr. Reed belongs to several benevolent and fraternal societies, among whi ch are Clinton Lodge No. 47, Free and Accepted Masons, at Massillon; Garfi eld Lodge, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, and Lodge No. 26, Pr otected Home Circle, the last two in Canton. He is keenly alive to the gr eat public questions of the day, national and international, and as a stan ch supporter of the Republican party takes an active interest in politic al matters, but not as an aspirant for official honors.

[Biography-Memoirs of Men and Women of Stark County. Compiled by JOHN DANN ER. B.F. Bowen, Publisher 1904. Transcribed by Jane Curci.]

1. ↑ Message from Jane Curci
   June 4, 2006.
2. ↑ tusc-essex.ged. (Admin note: source flagged for Speedy Delete, 16 Jun 2017).

   Date of Import: Oct 2, 2006

3. ↑ tusc-essex.ged. (Admin note: source flagged for Speedy Delete, 16 Jun 2017).

   Date of Import: Oct 2, 2006