John Reed (1633 – 1730) was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from Norwalk,

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

in the May 1715 and October 1717 sessions. He was the son of James Reed. He was an officer in

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

's new model army, and a soldier from the age of sixteen. When

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

was restored to the throne, Reed left for America. He settled first in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until ...

. In Providence, he married Anne Samson Derby. He later moved to

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

, in 1684, where he lived for three or four years. He then established himself in the western part of Norwalk, at a house he built on the eastern side of the

Five Mile River The Five Mile River is a river located in Connecticut's Northeast Corner and flows through the towns of Thompson, Putnam, and Killingly.The original Nipmuc name was ''Assawaga'', meaning "place between" or "halfway place". The Assawaga received ...

, north of the Old Post Road and nearly two miles from the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

at a place called Reed's Farms. His name is found among the records of the town of Norwalk in 1687. John Reed was admitted to the bar in 1708 in Norwalk, Connecticut. His house was used for a meeting place for some years. His wife died and he married again to the Widow Scofield from Stamford. He died in Norwalk, in the ninety-eighth year of his age, in 1730, and was interred in a tomb on his own farm.

Notable descendants

* Third great-grandfather of William Benjamin Reed (1833–1909),

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of South Norwalk,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

from 1891 to 1892.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Read, John 1633 births 1730 deaths Connecticut lawyers English emigrants Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Politicians from Norwalk, Connecticut Roundheads People of colonial Connecticut Burials in Connecticut People from Wendron British emigrants People of Cornish descent