Reed Family Papers 1899-1946

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains the papers and biographic material, 1899-1946, of the Reed family of Floyd County, Virgina and Warren, Ohio. Included are personal letters and photographs, as well as records relating to service of family members in WWI and WWII. The correspondence series consists largely of personal letters written by Asa Daniel Reed to his future wife, Clarence Elizabeth Mangus (later Clarence Elizabeth Reed), during Reed's service in the U.S. Army. Reed's assignments included posts in the Philippines during the U.S. occupation thereof, in Texas along the border with Mexico, and in Germany and France during World War I. Interwar correspondences focus more on Clarence Reed's domestic life in Warren, Ohio. During the World War II period, Asa and Clarence Reed received correspondences from their son, Eugene Mangus Reed, serving in the U.S. Army. The biographic material series includes publications from the late nineteenth century on health remedies, as well as brief histories of the Ohio and Erie Railroads. The series also contains Asa D. Reed's discharge papers from the U.S. Army, the baby book of Eugene Mangus Reed, and a photograph of Clarence Mangus.

Biographical / historical:

Asa Daniel Reed, the son of P.A. Reed and Susan C. Reed, was born in Floyd County, Virginia, ca. 1888. He grew up in a farming family and served as a farm laborer until joining the U.S. Army on August 27, 1913, at the age of 24. Reed served in the ambulance and sanitary corps and rose to the rank of sergeant. His assignments included posts at the Regan Barracks in the Phillipines; Fort Clark, Texas; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort D.A. Russel, Wyoming; Adernach, Germany; Verdun, France; and Camp Pike, Arkansas. Reed married his long term love interest, Clarence Elizabeth Mangus, in April 1920. He received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army on June 4, 1920. Reed and his wife then moved to Warren, Ohio, where he began a career with the U.S. Postal Service. Reed's son, Eugene Mangus Reed, was born on November 28, 1923.

Clarence Elizabeth Reed was born as Clarence Elizabeth Mangus to H.J. Mangus and Kitty A. Mangus, farmers from Floyd County, Virginia. Clarence lived in Floyd County, Virgina before marrying Asa Daniel Reed and moving to Warren, Ohio in 1920. She gave birth to a son, Eugene Mangus Reed, on November 28, 1923.

Eugene Mangus Reed was born on November 28, 1923, in Warren, Ohio to Asa Daniel Reed and Clarence Elizabeth Reed. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Acquisition information:
This collection was purchased in January 2010.
Arrangement:

Organized into two series: Series 1: Correspondence, Series 2: Biographic Material. Each series is arranged chronologically.

Physical location:
Special Collections Research Center
Physical description:
.66 Cubic Feet