The Spirit of Elijah has certainly rested upon the Reid family. At our initial family history research gathering in November 2009, several members of the extended family accepted responsibility to coordinate the research efforts of the George Samuel Reid family and its affiliated ancestral lines. The assignments are as follows:
- Richard Parker Reid: Chairman of the Reid Family History Research Group. Coordinator of the research on the Sharp and Shirley lines.
- Robyn Reid Dickson: Coordinator of the research on the Reid paternal line.
- Stan Reid: Coordinator of the research on the Holt and Thurgood lines.
- Robin Davis: Coordinator of the research on the Duke line.
As agreed, the coordinators met at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake on 23 Jan 2010 to report progress of our efforts. One word could describe our meeting, amazing! In addition to the annoucement of the “soft-launch” of this blog, Robyn, Robin Davis, Richard, and Stan all reported on their efforts.
Robyn Reid Dickson, and mother Colleen Reid, continue to scour reference materials at the FHL for any clues related to the ancestry of Jacob Reid. That work can only be described as tedious. Sarah Palin may be a pit bull with lipstick, but Robyn taught her how to put it on.
Robin Davis is making great progress on working to verify the lineage of Green Reginald Duke. He is also our technical advisor and a master genealogist, so he’s often consulted about using all the tools available to us at the FHL and on the web.
Richard brought copies of a published Shirley Family History, and shared with us a copy of a recent re-publication of the Ila Howarth Parker history. Both are wonderful works, and we’re planning to incorporate them at some point in the blog.
Stan has been working to verify LDS ordinance data on the Holt and Thurgood lines. That information is best represented and maintained on the LDS Church Family History web site. We have some work to do there to ensure that all the ancestral lines are accurately represented.
A few additional items of interest came of the meeting:
- We have agreed to pursue DNA testing to help trace the paternal and maternal Reid lines.
- We will work to expand the George Samuel Reid Family Blog to include related lines. We’re hoping many family members will contribute to that cause.
Finally, please note that our next gathering is intended for the entire family. It is currently scheduled for Sunday evening, May 2, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. We’d love to see you there!
George Samuel Reid Family Roots 
Hello, My name is Ronnie Reid, I live in Lizella,Ga, this is a little town about 6 miles west of I-475, in Macon,Ga. Jacob Reid is my g,g,g grandfather, my father was Jacob C Reid,son of William F Reid and Anna Arcadia Jones Reid,son of Jacob Reid and Nancy Simmons Reid,son of William Reid and Susannah Hales Reid, son of Jacob Reid and Mary Elizabeth Staton Reid. I have added four children to this line, Monica Brooke Reid Foster, her husband is Chris, they have two children, Marisa and Grant, They live in New Bern,NC., Joshua Christopher Reid and Taylor Michelle Reid, they live in Cordele,Ga. Josh is married to Amanda Fountain Reid, they are expecting there first child in April, a little boy!!. Taylor is in college at Georgia Southwestern in Americus,Ga. She is studing Nursing. Monica is also a Nurse. My youngest is Jared Chase Reid,he is twelve and lives with me. Jared and me have been working on our Family Tree, about six months, he loves it. We are now in the process of cleaning up the Reid Family Plot in the old Jones Chapel Cemetery, in Macon. Jacob and Nancy Reid are buried here. It looks like a jungle in there. Jared has posted some pictures of it on our Family Tree on Ancestry.com and on Find A Grave. I would like to say how much I have enjoyed reading about this line in my family history and to everyone, for all the work it took to put this together. We would love to hear from you,and again, Thanks. Ronnie and Jared Reid
Ronnie and Jared,
It’s great to hear from you. My sister, Robyn, and I have kept a close eye on your Ancestry family tree since we spotted it several months ago. We’ve been hoping to make contact with you.
Thank you for the work you are doing to open up the Reid Family Plot in Jones Chapel Cemetery. Jared, your pictures are great, as are the obituaries you have posted. They are very helpful.
Forgive our excitement, but we must ask. How is it that you know that William Reid is the father of Jacob Reid who married Nancy Simmons? We have assumed that the relation is correct because of the use of the names William and Jacob in each generation thereafter. However, we do not have documented proof of the relationship. Anything you can provide us in that regard would be very much appreciated.
We are pleased that you found this site, and we look forward to continuing to share with you what we know about the Reid family. In addition to this site, you can also find us on the Reid/Holt and WMReid Family Trees on Ancestry.com.
Thank you again for your comments.
Hello, Ronnie. Thanks for the research you are doing. Perhaps you have located the marriage date of Jacob Reid and Nancy Simmons in Putnam County GA on January 6, 1850. (My source is the book, Early Records of Putnam County GA 1807-1860, compiled by Edward Hull, Ashland, AL.)
Dear Ronnie,
I also note in this book that Nancy Simmons’ oldest sister, Rebecca Simmons, married Lucien Harris on December 21, 1826 in Putnam County GA. Lucien Harris had died before 1850 but Nancy and Rebecca’s mother (Sarah Simmons) was living with Rebecca and her family in 1850 in Putnam County GA.
Hello,
My name is Nancee Vespa, and I am Reed/Reid descendant. I have spent years working on my Reed line and have been able to trace it back to John and Elizabeth Coleman Reed in Amherst Co., Va. They were married circa 1792 and soon after their marriage “removed” to Shelby Co., Ky…I must confess, I am totally confused — so many Johns and cousins marrying cousins! If anyone can help me find my John’s father, I would be so appreciative, as I seem to have reached a dead-end.
Many thanks, Nancee