The Reed Family of
Tate
County, Mississippi
1866 -
2009
Researched and written by Melvin J. Collier
E-mail questions to
BlackRootsSeeker@yahoo.com
THE REID PLACE - Lemuel Reid's house in Abbeville County, South Carolina was built around 1860, during a time when Bill Reed & others were enslaved on this farm. Bill Reed was sold from William Barr's plantation to the Reid Place around 1859. This is where he was living when he, his sister, and others from this farm and nearby farms were enticed to migrate to Como, Mississippi in 1866. For more information about our early, pre-Civil War history, see "History" at the following link: http://www.BarrDescendants.org.
I. Our History in Mississippi, 1866 - 2009
WILLIAM "BILL" REED
was born into slavery in 1846 on William Barr's plantation just north of
Abbeville, South Carolina. He was the first man in our family to
carry the Reed name. Bill would sit under his sycamore tree and
tell his children and grandchildren about his early slavery days in
South Carolina. He wanted his family to know their history while they
strive for success. One of the many stories he relayed to his family was
how he became a Reed. Grandpa Bill told his family that he was first a
Barr in South Carolina, but the Barr Family sold him to a Reed when he
was a young boy. His grandson, Isaac Deberry Sr., sat with him a lot
under his sycamore tree and listened to his stories. He also told his
family that it was shortly after the Civil War when he, his sister, Mary
Pratt, their niece, Fannie McKee, and other recently freed slaves came
to Como, Mississippi for a better life. They traveled in covered wagons
pulled by mules. Research has found that this was accurate, as records
indicate that they migrated to Panola County, Mississippi in the winter
of 1866.
Bill Reed married Sarah Partee on
November 8, 1871. Grandma Sarah was born into slavery about 1852 on
Squire Boone Partee’s plantation, eight miles east of Como in Panola
County. Family history claims that Grandma Sarah was half-Indian. Her
father may have been a full-blooded Cherokee Indian. Her mother was
named Polly Partee. According to the 1880 census, Polly was born in
North Carolina in or around 1833. Family oral history states that Polly
was the cook on the Partee Plantation. Isaac Deberry remembered his
mother saying that Grandma Polly was such a great cook, that she made
the food that you didn’t like taste delicious. Grandma Sarah Reed had
three brothers (sons of Polly) named Judge Partee (1854-1915), Square
Partee (1858), and Johnny Partee (1865). They were all born on the
Partee Plantation. It is believed that Grandma Sarah also had some
half-siblings.
Bill & Sarah Reed had a large family of eleven children. Their children were: (1) James “Jimmy” Reed, (2) Willie Reed, (3) Lou Anna Reed, (4) Doctor “Dock” Rogers Reed, Sr., (5) Sarah Reed, (6) Simpson Reed, (7) John Ella Reed Bobo, (8) Mary Ella Reed Lee, (9) Robert Reed, (10) Pleasant “Pleas” Reed, and (11) Martha Jane Reed Deberry. They all remained in Tate and Panola County. Seven of them married and had families of their own, and the family tree began to experience great growth. Interestingly, the wives of Jimmy, Willie, Dock, and Simpson Reed were all members of the Davis Family. The Reed Family remained a close-knit family for generations and was very well known throughout Tate County. They attended Beulah Baptist Church in Panola County, where many family members are laid to rest. Grandpa Bill Reed lived a long life that enabled most of his 57 grandchildren to get to know him.
During Grandpa Bill Reed’s first few years in Mississippi, he was a farmer who worked the land of Samuel Lyles. He only made a few dollars per month as a sharecropper. Since it was against the law during slavery to teach slaves to read and write, Grandpa Bill received no education. However, that certainly did not stop his desire to progress. He had a vision. With determination and hard work, Grandpa Bill was able to purchase his own land. The earliest land deed found at the Tate County courthouse showed him purchasing 150 acres of land in 1899. He also acquired additional land from the Edwin Earle Moore Family of Tate County, accumulating over 300 acres of land in southeast Tate County, south of the Looxahoma community. On his land, he built him and his family a new house – a house that was considered a very nice house during those times. It had a kitchen and four large bedrooms that were divided by a big hallway. In the hallway was an organ that some of his grandchildren loved to play. Isaac Deberry remembered that he and Grandma Sarah only allowed their grandchildren to play Christian music on that organ. Secular music was not allowed.
Not only did Grandpa Bill & and his sons raised many vegetables and had several fruit orchards, he and Gip Wilson operated a sorghum mill on his land where they made molasses. Grandpa Bill also had eight houses on his land that he rented out to several families in the community. Some of those families sharecropped his land. His farm is now known in the family as the Old Home Place. Presently, over 100 acres of that land Bill purchased over 100 years ago are still owned and farmed by some of his descendants.
Grandpa Bill Reed died on November 30, 1937 at the old age of 91. During the week of his death, he had been out chopping wood for several days and managed to chop two loads of firewood. He contracted pneumonia and died several days later. He was a strong and healthy man until several days before his death.
Grandma Sarah Reed died in Memphis, Tennessee on October 10, 1923. She had caught the train in Senatobia to visit her oldest daughter and son-in-law, Eli & John Ella Reed Bobo. Isaac Deberry was a young boy at the time, but he recalled his grandmother telling him, “I am getting ready to leave this place” as she was packing her bags. Afraid that she wasn’t coming back, he asked Grandpa Bill what she meant by her statement. He told young Isaac, “Don’t worry, she’s coming back in a few days. She’s just going up to Memphis to see John Ella”. Sadly, she never returned. Shortly after her arrival in Memphis, Grandma Sarah had a massive stroke. Word was sent back to Grandpa Bill about her sudden illness, and he and his sons immediately journeyed to Memphis. When they arrived at John Ella's home that afternoon, Sarah had passed away early that morning. She was 71. In 1928, Grandpa Bill married Dora Webber.
II. The Next Generations - the children and grandchildren of Bill & Sarah Reed
JAMES “JIMMY” REED was the first born child of Bill & Sarah Reed. He was born in January 1872. He was the first Reed in our family who was born after slavery. Like his father, Jimmy was a hardworking farmer who owned his own land in Tate County. He was a proud man who aimed to make a good life for him and his family. Jimmy Reed also owned a store in his community. On February 10, 1897, he married Anna Davis, the oldest child of Hector & Lucy Davis of Como, MS. She was a midwife. Jimmy and Anna Reed had eight children, but five of them lived to adulthood. Their son, Marcus Reed, had a twin brother named Matthew Reed, who died at a young age after swallowing a candle blade. Jimmy Reed died in 1959 at the age of 87.
Born from 1898 to 1907, Jimmy’s children were (1) James Mitchell “Mitch” Reed; (2) Joe Lovie Reed; (3) Rev. Leroy Reed Sr.; (4) Marcus Reed; (5) Matthew Reed; and (6) Etoy Reed Denson.
James "Jimmy" Reed
WILLIE REED was the second child of Bill & Sarah Reed. He was born in August of 1874. According to census records, he moved to Quitman County, in the Mississippi Delta, outside of Crenshaw, Mississippi and farmed land there. He always made frequent visits back to Tate County to visit his parents and siblings. Willie Reed married Mary Roland in 1896. She was the daughter of Mariah Davis Roland of Como, MS, a first cousin of Jimmy Reed’s wife, Anna, the aunt of Dock Reed’s wife, Mary Frances, and a cousin of Simpson Reed’s wife, Minnie. Willie & Mary had five sons. Their oldest son, Roger William Reed, passed away in August of 1998 in a nursing home in Memphis at the age of 101. He was the oldest living Reed. Willie Reed died in 1927 at the age of 53 of pneumonia. It was said that he had contracted pneumonia while hunting out in rainy weather. Willie Reed loved the outdoors and loved to hunt in good weather or bad weather. He made part of his living selling the hide off of wild game, which was valuable in those times.
Born from 1897 to 1905, his children were (1) Roger William Reed, Sr.; (2) Johnny Reed; (3) McBrady “Mack” Reed; (4) Eli “Butler” Reed, and (5) Bill Reed, Sr.
DOCTOR ROGERS “DOCK” REED was the fourth child of Bill & Sarah Reed. He was born on December 27, 1878. Dock Reed was a farmer and lived all of his life in Tate County, MS. He moved to the Crockett community of western Tate County in 1924. He was especially remembered for his straight “cold-black” hair, a trait he inherited from his mother’s family. On December 23, 1900, Dock married Mary Francis Scott, the daughter of William Scott & Flora Roland Scott Hill. They had 12 children. Mary died in 1941, and he married Rena Moss of the Crockett community in 1942. Dock Reed died in 1958 at the age of 79. He is buried in the Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery in Como, MS.
Born from 1901 to the 1920s, his children were: (1) Tommy “Yank” Reed; (2) Edward “Ed” Reed; (3) Sarah Jane Reed Smith; (4) Cleodel Reed; (5) Leona Reed Lewis; (6) Fred Reed; (7) Doctor Rogers Reed, Jr.; (8) Robert “Steve” Reed; (9) Jimmy Lue Reed Holliday; (10) Maeweather Reed; (11) Winnie Jane Reed Wilson; (12) Mary F. Reed; and (13) Delsey Reed.
Dock & Mary Reed
SIMPSON REED was the sixth child of Bill & Sarah Reed. He was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1881. Simpson grew up working on his father’s land with his brothers and sisters. He told his family that he wanted to become a doctor; however, that opportunity was not very probable for many African-Americans during that particular time. During his younger days, Simpson moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he lived with his sister, John Ella. He also spent four years in the Mississippi Delta, where he lived with his older brother, Willie Reed, near Crenshaw, MS. Simpson eventually moved back to Tate County by 1920 and helped his father on the farm. Although he never became a doctor, Simpson was a prosperous farmer in Tate County. He eventually owned over 150 acres of land.
On March 30, 1923, Simpson Reed married a schoolteacher, Addie Person, of Tate County. They had three children but only one son, Leon Reed, survived. Their second child was a daughter named Delphine Reed. She died on Aug. 6, 1931, at the age of 18 months of tuberculosis. Addie died in childbirth on Sept. 10, 1933, giving birth to their third child, Thomas Adison Reed. Little Thomas lived seven months and died on April 4, 1934.
On February 17, 1936, Simpson Reed married Minnie Lee Davis. She was also a schoolteacher and was the youngest daughter of John H. Davis & Mary Danner Davis of Como, MS. Minnie was also the niece of Jimmy Reed’s wife, Anna, a cousin of Willie Reed’s wife, Mary, and a cousin of Dock Reed’s wife, Mary Frances. This made Simpson Reed the fourth son of Bill & Sarah Reed to marry into the Davis Family. Simpson & Minnie had five children. He was known to be a kind, hardworking family man who could interpret any scripture in the Bible. He was a deacon at Beulah Baptist Church. Simpson died on August 15, 1955 at the age of 74. He is buried in the Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery.
Born from 1927 to 1946, his children were: (1) Leon Reed; (2) Delphine Reed; (3) Thomas A. Reed; (4) Eartha Reed Campbell; (5) Versia Reed Collier; (6) John Wesley Reed, Sr.; (7) Melvin Odell Reed; and (8) Willie Ed Reed, Sr.
JOHN ELLA REED BOBO was the seventh child of Bill & Sarah Reed. She was born on September 15, 1882. She is known in the Reed Family as the temperamental “Aunt John”. She married Eli Bobo of Como, MS. They moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where they stayed for a number of years. They owned a house located on Emmason Street. Uncle Eli died in 1931, and Aunt John later married a man whose last name was Green. To her dismay, he turned out to be a con artist who bribed her out of her possessions and skipped town. Aunt John moved back to Tate County where her brothers built her a house on the family land. There she died in January of 1974 at the age of 91. Although Aunt John did not have any children, her memory lives on through her many nieces and nephews.
John Ella Reed Bobo
MARY ELLA REED LEE was the eighth child of Bill & Sarah Reed. She was born in October 1884. Mary finished Baptist Industrial High School in Hernando, MS and later became a teacher – the first teacher in the family. She taught school in Sardis, MS. During the early 1910s, she married Rev. Henry Miles Lee, who was the pastor of Beulah Baptist Church. They lived in Sardis. Mary Ella had one son, John Will Lee, who was born around 1913. She died around 1916 of tuberculosis when John Will was about three years old. Rev. Lee and John Will left Tate County and moved to another part of the state. According to census records, they were living in Calhoun County in 1930. It was believed that they were living near Water Valley, MS. John Will came back to Tate County in the 1940’s to visit his mother’s family that he didn’t know. He had recently gotten out of the Army, and someone had told him where his real mother’s people lived. After that visit, he hadn’t been heard from since that time. NEWS ALERT (12/11/2009): John Will Lee and his descendants have been found! John Will Lee died in Cleveland, Ohio on July 2009 at the age of 96. His children reside in Cleveland, Ohio.
PLEASANT “PLEAS” REED was the youngest son and tenth child of Bill & Sarah Reed. He was born on April 20, 1888 and was given his grandfather’s name. Pleas Reed owned and farmed land in Tate County with his brothers. On January 7, 1914, he married Aris-Starcus Pratcher, the daughter of Edmond and Sallie Pratcher of Como, MS. They had 11 children. A daughter, Murlene, died at a very young age when a window fell on her neck and broke it. Like his brothers and sisters, Pleas Reed was very well respected and admired in his community. He was a man who kept himself real neat and well-groomed, and he was especially remembered for his slogan, “lacka dis and lacka dat.” He died at the age of 78 in August of 1966 and was buried in the Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery.
Born from 1910 to the 1930s, his children were: (1) Willie “Stone Pony” Reed; (2) Lou Anna Reed Sims; (3) Leonard Reed; (4) Cleveland Reed; (5) Armintha Reed Puryear; (6) Jessie Reed; (7) Enos Reed; (8) Edmond Otis Reed; (9) Murlene Reed; (10) Jewel C. Reed; (11) Snorilla Reed Clark; (12) Ophelia Reed Madden; and (13) Carrie Moss Leggins.
Pleasant "Pleas" Reed
MARTHA JANE REED DEBERRY was the youngest child of Bill & Sarah Reed. She was born in May of 1892. Martha attended Baptist Industrial High School in Hernando, MS and later taught school in Panola County. She married Ollie Deberry of Como, MS about 1912 and they had 11 children. However, he died in 1927, leaving Martha with 11 young children to raise on her own. She died in 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 79. She is buried in the Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery, beside her sister, John Ella.
Born from 1913 to 1927, her children were: (1) Roger Deberry; (2) Isaac Deberry, Sr.; (3) Ernestine Deberry Williams; (4) Olivet Deberry Harper; (5) Willie Mae Deberry; (6) William Bill Deberry; (7) Rev. Fred Deberry; (8) Lucille Deberry Piggee; (9) Rev. John Deberry Sr.; (10) Sarah Jane Deberry Smith; and (11) Dan Deberry.
Martha Jane Reed Deberry
III. Mary Reed Pratt: The Pratt & Hunter Family
When Grandpa Bill Reed and others came to Mississippi in 1866, his younger sister, Mary, also accompanied them. Around 1867, Aunt Mary married David Pratt who had also come from South Carolina with them on the wagon train. David & Mary Pratt raised three children: Louvenia Pratt Hunter (1867), Sue Pratt (1869), and William Mack Pratt (1870). Their child, Sue, died at a young age. Aunt Mary died shortly before 1910 in Panola County. Shortly after her death, David Pratt relocated to Tunica County, Mississippi where he remarried.
LOUVENIA PRATT HUNTER, who married John Allen Hunter of Como, MS in 1885, was the oldest daughter of David & Mary Reed Pratt. The Hunter Family lived near Hunters Chapel Church in Panola County, east of Como. John A. & Louvenia Hunter had seven children. Born from 1886 to 1906, their children were (1) James Frank Hunter; (2) Mary Hunter; (3) John Allen (Sonny Boy) Hunter; (4) Robert (Ball) Hunter; (5) Lucille Hunter Howard; (6) Simon (Owens) Hunter; and (7) Allie Bell Hunter Webb. Louvenia died on Sept. 1943 and was buried at Cistern Hill Church, Como, MS.
Louvenia Hunter was known throughout Panola County for her quilting and her making of feather pillows. Her husband, John Allen Hunter, was a prosperous, hard-working farmer who owned 195 acres of land in Panola County. On the Hunter farm, John & Louvenia Hunter and their children raised cotton, corn, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, popcorn, watermelon, and sorghum. Like their uncle Bill Reed, John & Louvenia also had a sorghum mill on their farm, raising 100 gallons of molasses that supplied many in the community with molasses. They also raised hogs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, and a variety of horses and mules.
Simon Hunter
WILLIAM MACK PRATT, who was named after his uncle Bill Reed, married Mattie Howard of Panola County. William Pratt died during the 1900’s, and his widow and children moved to the Delta (Tunica County) around 1910. William’s children were (1) Lizzie Pratt; (2) Nellie Pratt; (3) Otis Pratt; and (4) Willie Mae Pratt. Lizzie came back to Panola County where she lived with her Aunt Louvenia’s family. Cousin Lizzie also had a close relationship with her great-uncle Bill Reed and his family.
2008 Reed & Puryear Family Reunion, Nashville, Tennessee
IV. The Elijah Barr Family
When Bill Reed and Mary Pratt’s father, Pleasant Barr, was sold and taken to Ripley, Mississippi, he met Amanda Young, who was a slave of William Tandy Young of Ripley. During the Civil War, Amanda’s husband, Berry Young, left to fight in the Union Army, but he never returned. Now a widowed mother of several young children after the War, Pleas Barr took Amanda and her kids into his home. Pleas and Amanda married and they had one child together named ELIJAH BARR, who was born in 1867.
Elijah Barr left Ripley before 1900 and moved to Memphis, Tennessee. There he met Mrs. Lula Rayford, the widow of Phillip Rayford. Lula and Phillip had three children: Eugene, Earnest, and Otis Rayford, who were small at the time of their father’s death. Elijah and Lula married in 1907 in Memphis and added two more children to their family: Francis Barr Evans, born in 1910, and James Barr, born in 1913. After Elijah Barr’s death in 1918, Lula Barr and her kids relocated to Chicago, Illinois. In 1930, she and her son, James Barr, were living on Federal Street. Francis, who married George Evans, was next door, and had the following children: George Jr., Shirley, & Barry Evans. We are currently in search of the descendants of Francis Barr Evans & James Barr.
For more information about our early, pre-Civil War history, see "History" at the following link: http://www.BarrDescendants.org.