This weekend was my stepmother’s family reunion and now that I’m genealogy obsessed, I approached it from a completely different perspective. Some of her ancestors have some interesting stories. In particular, they handed out information on the history of the Reid patriarch, Tony Reid. With the additional information, I was able to find Tony and his family in the 1910 and 1920 census.
Now, I’m working through additional details trying to verify the oral history. One fact in the oral history is that Tony had an uncle named Solomon Bean Shad who worked and earned enough to buy his freedom from his master, Mr. Bean. Shad was Tony’s father’s brother. In that 1870 census record that I suspected was Tony (despite he being listed with his mother’s last name of Crowell), I now do feel that it is him as on the same page, is Solomon Shad living in the household of a John Palmer. Living with Tony and his mother is an Eliza Parker.
So many more things to research, but I enjoy looking. I also have another contact who is researching african-american crowell’s from Cabarrus County and I found a post of his on Afrigeneas that mentions that the white Reid’s of the county opened a gold mine. Further research there reveals that it was the first documented gold find in the US. In 1880, Tony’s occupation is listed as Miner – he must have worked in that mine!
I need to add these resources to my “get” list:
1. Golden promise in the Piedmont : the story of John Reed’s mine – by Richard F. Knapp
2. Gold mining in North Carolina – by Richard F. Knapp and Brent D. Glass
3. Reed Mine Guidebook – by Linda Funk
4. The first gold rush: [a master plan for Reed Gold Mine] – by US National Park Service