REED Brickwall.

[shirl27]

Hi

I know this is a long shot but I am seeking help in finding the birth and family of George (Chambers) REED b. abt. 1815 in Cumberland.  Mention is made in a book that he came from a wealthy shipping family and was shipwrecked off the Skeleton Coast of Southern Africa (Namibia) where he one of few survivors.

If this is true it must have taken place in approx. 1830 - 1838 as he married in Dec 1838 in South Africa where he settled, but periodically returned to England  prior to his death in S. Africa in 1878.

Not sure if there is a family connection but I  found a George Chambers REED (shipmaster) b. 1785 who became a naturalised American in Sep. 1810 and died Mar 1855 in Manhattan New York. In an obituary it mentioned  that  he was formally of Knowhill, Holme Cultram.  I have also found mention on the site http://www.1812privateers.org/ of a Chambers REED of England ,Captain of the Schooner "James"  who was issued with a Letter of Marque against France 1793-1815 - I think he also went to America.

Any clues or help to find him would be most gratefully received.

Shirley

[warncoort]

Is his second given name Chambers or was that added to make the connection?Familysearch has several baptisms around 1815.Does his marriage certificate help?If a regular visitor to UK,you might just find him on a census return.

[shirl27]

Thank you for your reply - much appreciated. As I live in South Africa, I have to rely on the internet to do my research.

In documents he signed his name as George REED, but was referred to as George Chambers REED by a grandaughter.  The combination of the names "Chambers Reed" have been used as first names up through the generations.  His marrige certificates both use the name George REED.

I have seen "Chambers"  used as a name on FamilySearch, but because I have no idea as to where exactly he was born or who his parents were, I have been unable to make a connection. Is there any particular naming pattern that could have been used?

The story goes that after the shipwreck he remained in South Africa working at any job he could find to earn enough money to return to England. When at last he returned home he found that he had been given up for dead with the result that his estate had been settled and the proceeds divided among his relatives.

I have checked all the census, but have had no luck at all. He married a 2nd time in South Africa to Isabella HUMPHREYS of Hull, Yorkshire and they both returned to England later - probably about 1868 - 1870  I have found Isabella together with her daughters in the census but George remains invisible!. In 1875 he rewrote his last Will and Testament in South Africa cancelling all other wills including a Will he had made in London England in Nov 1873.

He may have been related to the REED family of Troughend, Northumberland because he named his farm  Reedsdale, and his grandaughter named her country home in Stellenbosch -"Troughend".

[robert13]

HI   I FOUND THREE  BIRTHS  WITH THE NAME  CHAMBERS   REED   OF JOHN AND  ELIZABETH  REED   IN HOLN CULTRAM      ROB

[robert13]

ALSO THAT THE FATHER IS A YOEMAN

[robert13]

THERE WAS ONE MORE THING THAT IS IMPORTANT U MENTION    KNOW   HILL  THIS IS THE ABODE OF THE ONES  I FOUND     ROB

[robert13]

HI  I GOT THESE FROM THE RO TODAY

GEORGE CHAMBER REED BORN 5TH JULY 1785 BAPT AUGUST 12TH OF JOHN AND JANE HIS WIFE LATE BOAK

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ALSO MAY 12TH ELIZABETH JANE DAUGHTER OF JOHN AND ELIZABETH REED OF KNOW - HILL  FATHER A YOEMAN, 1816

         MAY 24TH FRANCES CHAMBERS REED DAUGHTER OF JOHN AND ELIZABETH REED, KNOW - HILL  FATHER YOEMAN
         
        1818.


       MAY 1ST  JUDITH CHAMBERS REED DAUGHTER OF JOHN AND EKIZABETH REED OF KNOW - HILL FATHER YOEMAN

       1820.

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ALSO I HAVE HAD A LOOK FOR ANYTHING TO DO WITH SHIPS, AND IVE SEEN ON THE INDEX CARDS THAT A JOHN REED WAS  IN ABT 1811, SO WILL TRY TO FIND OUT MORE ABT THIS TOMORROW.

BEST REGArds robert.

[shirl27]

Hi Robert

Thank you - I really appreciate all the help I can get.

I have seen the entries in Holme Cultam and Knowhill but am really battling to make a definite connection.  I read up on the Chambers Family of Raby Cote - Knowhill and found this passage:.............
........."The tenement continued in the family for a considerable time, the last owner in the direct line being George Chambers, who dying in 1765, left Knowhill to John Reed, his grandson, from whom it passed into the hands of the Reeds of Botcherby," ...............

From documents I have read, George (South Africa) must have been a fairly well educated man. He had a couple of businesses in South Africa where he traded in merino wool and animal skins, and had a business connection in Hull, Yorkshire, where his 2nd wife came from.

I have not found him on any shipping lists, despite the fact he and his family travelled back and forth to England a few times, - could they have travelled on their own ships?

Where can I  find out more about the family of - "GEORGE CHAMBER REED BORN 5TH JULY 1785 BAPT AUGUST 12TH OF JOHN AND JANE HIS WIFE LATE BOAK".    He must be the George Chambers REED who is the "Shipmaster" that Petitioned  for Naturalization in America, and who according to... "Deaths - Carlisle Journal 27 Apr. 1855"
“At New York, on the 17th March last, George Chambers REED Esq. formally of Knowhill, Holm Cultram in this Country.”.


Best wishes
Shirley

[robert13]

HI THERE IS 3 PLACES WHICH I FOUND  IN THE RO FOR THE SHIPING LIST FOR JOHN REED  WHITEHAVEN    WORKINGTON  AND  CARLISLE    ROB