Person:William Reed (100)

Name	Capt. William Reed
Gender	Male
Birth^[1]^[2]	31 Jan 1678/79	Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States
Marriage	Bef. 1703	Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United Statesto Alice Nash
Death^[1]	3 Jun 1753	Abington, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Abington, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records to the Year 1850. (Boston, Mass: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1912), 2:345.

Reed, William, Capt., June 3, 1753. [[h. Alice] June 2, a. 74 y. 4 m. 3 d., G.R.12] [GR12=Old Cemetery on Washington Street, Abington. Since age calculation apparently used 2 Jun 1753, birth is presumed to be 31 Jan 1678/79.]
↑ Source:The Reed genealogy : descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Mass., from 1635-1902, p. 24, gives a birth date of 24 May 1682. This is based on Source:Vital records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, p. 1:252, but it is noted in this source that the record has the name of the child William added in pencil (i.e., appears to be a relatively modern addition to an old record). Another transcription of the record found in NEHGR, p. 4:58, "Early Records of Weymouth", gives the same record with the child's name missing. So, this appears to be a child of William and Esther Reed, but its association with William appears to be a non-contemporaneous guess by modern persons. The particular date in 1682 matches much better with what is known about their child Mercy. In addition, choosing the 1678/79 birthdate (calculated from William's age at death), has the advantage of making him the oldest son, which is what is claimed in his father's will, and is more typical of a son named after his father (and grandfather).