by Bruce Whitaker
Eldad Reed III was born in Rowan, now Davidson County, NC, on December 9, 1799. He was the second of four children born to Eldad Reed II (1768-1849) and Aeshia Lanning (1766-1845). Eldad III’s parents moved to Fairview, NC, in the fall of 1800 or the spring of 1801. Eldad Reed’s grandfather, Eldad Reed I (or Sr.), died in Fairview in 1806. After his grandfather’s death, Eldad Reed II eventually started going by Eldad Sr. and Eldad III went by Eldad Jr. Eldad Reed I’s farm was located on Gap Creek not far from the point Gap Creek runs into Cane Creek.
Eldad Reed II was a prominent member of the Fairview community. He was a justice of the peace, election judge and administer of many estates. The Reed’s were among the first members of Cane Creek (now Fairview) Baptist Church. Eldad Reed II’s brothers, William Reed (1761-1835 ca) and Peter Reed (1772-1848), and sisters, Hannah Reed (1777-1855 ca) and Jane Reed (1779-1853), lived at his parents’ (Eldad Reed I and Jane Whitaker) home, which was not far from Eldad II’s, until their deaths. The four apparently never married or at least not for very long.
Eldad Reed III married Elizabeth Gallimore on November 18, 1824. Elizabeth was born August 5, 1804, probably in Fairview. She was the daughter of Asa Gallimore and Elizabeth Garren.
Eldad Reed III became one of the most respected and prominent men in Fairview. He was a surveyor, and in April 1847 he was appointed a justice in Fairview. Also in 1847, Eldad Reed, David Garren, and B.N. Merriment were appointed to a committee to settle with Alexander Henry, former administrator and guardian of the heirs of Ephraim Henry. In April 1848 Eldad Reed was appointed justice to make a tax list of all the taxable property in Fairview. In October 1848, Eldad Reed was appointed to settle with Henry Casey (Keizer) and Jacob Reed regarding the property of George Williams, deceased. On December 31, 1851, Eldad Reed was appointed a justice of the peace in Buncombe County. During the 1850s, Eldad Reed III performed most of the non-church weddings in Fairview.
Eldad Reed III’s brother-in-law William Clements died in 1853. Eldad was appointed guardian of William’s three minor children in July 1853. In July 1854 Eldad Reed (Esquire) was appointed the court clerk in Buncombe County. He was also a deputy sheriff and a major in the militia.
Eldad’s wife Elizabeth died May 11, 1851. She is buried in Cane Creek Cemetery in Fairview. Eldad Reed and most of his children moved to Sullivan County, Missouri in 1860. He bought a farm in Jackson Township and was active in the community. Eldad Reed III died in Sullivan County on October 17, 1865. He was a month and a half short of his 66th birthday. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Milan, Missouri.
Eldad and Elizabeth Gallimore Reed had the following children, all born in Fairview, NC.
1. Aeshia Reed, born March 11, 1825 in Fairview. She married James H. Burch (1827-1862). Her second husband George Board (1804-1868). She died in Sullivan Co., Missouri in 1900.
2. infant daughter, born April 26, 1827, died May 6, 1827, and buried in Cane Creek Cemetery in Fairview.
3. Mary Sophronia Reed, born August 6, 1828 in Fairview. She married in Fairview, to Joseph Riley Trantham (1827-1887), son of Joseph Trantham and Mary Whitaker. Sophronia died in May 1862 in Pollock, Sullivan County, Missouri.
4. Naomi C. Reed, born in Fairview on June 10, 1830. She was married in Fairview to Joshua Rickman on June 24, 1850. Joshua Rickman was born in Fairview on February 10, 1823. He died October 3, 1903 in Blackburn, Arkansas. He was the son of John Rickman Jr. and Nancy Whitaker. They moved to Indiana soon after their marriage in 1850. They moved to Iowa by 1854. They moved back to Fairview briefly in 1857 and then to Iowa by 1858. By 1861 they were in Missouri. Naomi died in Sullivan County, Missouri on September 20, 1870.
5. Joseph Riley Reed, born in Fairview on October 1, 1831. He married in Fairview, on January 3, 1856, to Harriett Isabella Brevard. She was born in Fairview on April 1, 1836. She was the daughter of James Brevard and Ruth Ashworth. Harriett died July 9, 1893 in Sullivan County, Missouri. Joseph died May 9, 1911 in Clay, Sullivan County, Missouri.
6. John Alexander Reed, born in Fairview on July 17, 1833. He married Altamira Britton (April 5, 1831- Feb 10, 1868) in Greene County, Tennessee. His second wife was Lavinia Bowers (1837-1913). He died December 16, 1875 in Greene County, Tennessee.
7. Nancy Maloney Reed, born December 18, 1835 in Fairview. She married Martin C. Bridwell (1828-1872). Her second husband was John Atwell Courtney (1827-bef. 1880). Nancy died November 23, 1907 in Warner, Muskogee County, Oklahoma.
8. Eldad Reed IV, born March 15, 1837 in Fairview. He married Eliza Marie Belt (1844-1871). His second marriage was to Sarah Ellen Greene (1845-1923). Eldad died August 2, 1917 at Cross Timbers, Hickory County, Missouri.
9. Asa Madad Reed, born in Fairview on March 27, 1838. He married Nancy Jane Watkins (1845-1929). Asa died February 27, 1916 in West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri.
10. Susan Anna Reed, born October 14, 1840 in Fairview. She married Martin Van Buren Moore (1834-1916). She died August 31, 1905 in Blackburn, Washington County, Arkansas.
11. Columbus Harrison Reed, born May 3, 1842 in Fairview. He married Sarah Ellen Dusky (1847-1914). Columbus died August 21, 1900 in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri.
Local historian Bruce Whitaker documents genealogy in the Fairview area. He can be reached at 628-1089 or [email protected]