1855 On 27 July, Elias W Reed was born. [1]
1870 Abraham Reed (age 52) lived in Union City, Elkhart County, Indiana, with wife Mary Reed and Noah (age 23), Aaron (age 21), Anna (age 21), Abraham (age 19), Mary (age 17), Lydia (age 17), and Elias (age 15). [2]
1880 Abraham and Mary Reed lived in Union City, Elkhart County, Indiana with Noah, (farmer, age 30), and Elias, (carpenter, age 24). [3]
1883 Elias W. Reed and Mary D. Blosser were married on February 22, 1883, in Mahoning County, Ohio. [4]
1894 Clayton Reed died on Mar. 7, 1894 and was buried at Midway Mennonite Church Cemetery, Mahoning County, Ohio. Plot: Row 5. Clayton Reed was born Feb. 23, 1893. [5]
Reed -- On the 6th of March 1894, in Mahoning Co, Ohio, of brain fever, Clayton, son of Elias W and Mary Reed, aged 1 year and 14 days.
Interment at the Oberholzer M H, where services were held by Adam Brenneman and John Burkholder.
Herald of Truth
Vol XXXI, No 7, April 1, 1894
1900 Elias W Reed (born in Ohio in Jul 1855, married for 17 years) lived in Beaver Twp, Mahoning County, Ohio, in a household with May D Reed (age 43), Allen A Reed (age 16), Martha J Reed (age 14), Homer B Reed (age 13), Ada C Reed (age 12), Luella M Reed (age 10), Hanna E Reed (age 3), and Esther Reed (age 2). Elias W Reed's father was born in Virginia and his mother was born in Pennsylvania. Elias W Reed's occupation was farmer. [6]
1904 An obituary for Elias W, Reed reported [7]:
Reed- Elias W. Reed was born July 27, 1855, and died at his home near East Lewistown, Mahoning County, Ohio, July 25, 1904; aged 48 y. 11 m. 28 d. Bro., Reed was kicked on his breast by a horse about five weeks ago, from the effects of which he died after much suffering. He was married to Mary D. Blosser, who, with five daughters and three sons, survives him. One son preceded him to the spirit world. He also leaves four brothers and three sisters and many friends to mourn his early departure, but they can have the hope that their loss is his eternal gain. The funeral was held on the 28th, at the Midway M. H. The house was filled to overflowing with friends and neighbors to pay the last tribute of respect to one whom they loved and respected. His four brothers and also one sister, all of Elkhart County, Indiana, were present at his funeral. He was a member of the Mennonite church. Services were conducted by David S. Lehman, John Burkholder and Allen Rickert. Text, John 11:14. The family has the sympathy of many friends and neighbors in this sad hour.
1910 An obituary for Mary Detwiler Blosser Reed reported [8]:
Reed.- Mary Detweiler Blosser was born near North Lima, O., March 27, 1858; died Sept. 7, 1910; aged 52 y. 5 m. 10 d. In 1883 she was married to Elias W. Reed of Nappanee, Indiana. To this union were born nine children of whom eight, also one grandchild, survive her. In the same year she and her parents began housekeeping near Nappanee, where they lived for three years. Then they moved to this community and in 1886 bought the farm a short distance west of East Lewistown. Here they lived happily until 1904, when Sister Reed had the misfortune of losing her husband. After his death she continued to live on the home farm until 1908 when she bought her present home near North Lima. Sister Reed, as well as her husband, had an early death, yet she knew the meaning of life. She had experienced the happiness of courtship, the responsibility of marriage, then meaning of motherhood, the hardship of widowhood, the weariness of incessant toll, the grief of burying husband and child, the moral effort of submitting to death. Her life was one of meek and humble service for her family and the happiness which she enjoyed was such as came from delight in her children and the consciousness of having performed her duty. She was a faithful, wife and a good mother. She lived for her children and if it had not been for her little ones she would rather been out of this world. The hardest struggle which she had to undergo was to give up her wish to live long enough to see all her children grow to maturity. But when she saw that death was probably certain she humbly submitted and entrusted the care of her small children to her oldest son Allan, and hoped that he might have all the encouragement and sympathy necessary for successfully carrying out so great a responsibility. The funeral services were very pathetic. Conducted by Bros. Allen Rickert and David Lehman.
[1] Jonas G. Wenger, Martin D. Wenger, and Joseph H. Wenger, History of the Descendants of Christian Wenger (1903), 188, [GoogleBooks], [HathiTrust], [InternetArchive].
[2] United States Federal Census, 1870, [FamilySearchImage], [FamilySearchRecord].
[3] US census, 1880, Reel 0275, Image 537, family 263, [InternetArchive].
[4] Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016, [FamilySearchImage], [FamilySearchRecord].
[5] Find A Grave Memorial 31442493, [FindAGrave].
[6] United States Federal Census, 1900, [AncestryImage], [AncestryRecord].
[7] Mennonite Obituary Archives, Herald of Truth, Vol. XLI, No. 33, August 11, 1904 - page 263, 264, [MennObits].
[8] Mennonite Obituary Archives, Gospel Herald, Volume III, Number 25 - September 22, 1910, pages 399, 400, [MennObits].