Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 09.djvu/67

 REED

FEED

fideatial secretary to the commander-in-chief, with the rank of Heutenaut-colonel. He was chairman of the PhiUidelphia committee of safety, 1775-76, and was a member of the pro- vincial assembly, Jan.-Sept., 1776. In June, 1776, he was appointed adjutant-general of the Continental army, with the rank of colonel, and took an active part in the battles of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776; White Plains, Oct. 28,

1776, and Fort Washington, Nov. 16, 1776. In 1777 he was offered the appointment of briga- dier-general with the command of all the Ameri- can cavalry, and also the chief-justiceship of Pennsylvania, both of which offices he refused. He was present as a volunteer officer at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown and Mon- mouth. He was elected a delegate from Pennsyl- vania to the Continental congress in September,

1777, but remained with the army until April 6,

1778, when he took his seat in the congress assembled at York, Pa. He was chairman of a committee to confer with Washington concern- ing the management of the campaign of 1778; declined election to the Pennsylvania assembly in October, 1777, but accepted the appointment of president of the supreme executive council, Dec. 1, 1778, and continued in office until 1781, He aided in founding the University of Pennsyl- vania, of which he was a trustee, 1782-85; favored the abolishment of the proprietary powers of the Penn family, and in 1780 was instrumental in suppressing the insubordination in the Pennsyl- vania line. He resumed his law practice in 1781; was a member of the commission to settle the boundary dispute between Pennsylvania and Connecticut; visited England for his health in 1784, and was again chosen a delegate to con- gress in 1785, but did not live to take his seat. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred on him by the University of Pennsylvania in 1766. He was elected a member of the American Philo- .sophical society in 1768, and served as a trustee of the College of New Jersey, 1780-85. He is the author of: Remarks on Governor Johnstone's Speech in Parliament (1779), and Remarks on a Late Publication in the Independent Gazetteer, with an Address to the People of Pennsylvania (1783). He died in Philadelphia, Pa., March 5, 1785.

REED, Myrtle, author, was born at Norwood Park, Chicago, 111., Sept. 27, 1874; daughter of Hii-am Von and Elizabeth (Armstrong) Reed; granddaughter of Dyer and Huldah (Holdredge) Reed and of Alvin O. and Sylvia (Murrell) Arm- strong; and great granddaughter of Capt. Dyer Reed of the American Revolutionary army and of Capt. William Armstrong, born in Carlisle, England, April 20, 1739. She was graduated from a Chicago high school in 1893, and became known as a contributor of short stories, verse

and essays to periodicals. Her published books are: Love Letters of a Musician (1899); Later Love Letters of a Musician (1900); The Spinster Book (1901).

REED, Philip, senator, was born in Kent county, Md. He was liberally educated, and served as a captain in the Revolutionary army. He was elected U.S. senator from Maryland by the Democratic party to fill the unexpired term of Robert Wright, resigned, and served, Dec. 20, 1806-March 3. 1807, and was re-elected for a full term, serving 1807-13. At Moorefields, Md., Aug. 30, 1814, he was in command of the regiment of Maryland guards that defeated the British sea- men under Sir Peter Parker. He was a Demo- cratic representative from Maryland in the 15th congress, 1817-19, and successfully contested the seat of his opponent, Jeremiah Causden. to the 17th congress, serving, March 20, 1822-March 3, 1823. He died at Huntingville, Md., Nov. 2, 1829.

REED, Thomas B., senator, was born in Ken- tucky. He practised law in Lexington, Ky., and removed to Natchez, Miss., where he presented the argument for the defence in the criminal case of the state versus the Blennerhassetts in 1818. He was attorney-general of the state, 1821-25; was elected U.S. senator from Mississippi to com- plete the term of David Holmes who had re- ' signed in 1825, Powhatan Ellis having been ap- pointed by the governor, senator j^ro tempore, and Reed took his seat, March 11, 1826. serving until March 8, 1827. He was re-elected for the term expiring March 3, 1833, but died while on his way to Washington to take his seat, at Lex- ington, Ky., Nov. 26, 1829.

REED, Thomas Brackett, representative, was born in the ancestral home of the Reed family for eight generations, in Portland, Maine, Oct. 18, 1839; son of Thomas Brackett Reed. He was assisted through Bowdoin college by the Congregational church of which he was a member, this course having been undertaken with a view to his entering the ministry. He was graduated at Bowdoin, A.B., 1860, and when he de- cided upon studying law, his first concern was to repay the

money loaned by the society, which he did by teaching in the Portland High school. 1860-63. He removed to California in 1863, where he completed his law studies and was admitted

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