George B. Reed

George B. Reed (November 9, 1807 – January 10, 1883) was an American lawyer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He served six years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Manitowoc County. He is the namesake of Reedsville, Wisconsin.

George Reed
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 19th district
In office
January 2, 1865 – January 2, 1871
Preceded byJoseph Vilas
Succeeded byCarl Schmidt
County Judge of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin
In office
January 3, 1853 – January 1, 1855
Preceded byEzekiel Ricker
Succeeded byGeorge C. Lee
1st Village President of Manitowoc, Wisconsin
In office
May 12, 1851 – April 1852
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJames Bennett
Member of the House of Representatives of the Wisconsin Territory for Waukesha County
In office
October 4, 1847 – May 29, 1848
Serving with Leonard Martin
Preceded byJoseph Bond & Chauncey G. Heath
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born(1807-11-09)November 9, 1807
Middlesex County, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedJanuary 10, 1883(1883-01-10) (aged 75)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Cause of deathNewhall House Hotel Fire
Resting placeForest Home Cemetery, Milwaukee
Political partyDemocratic
Relatives

Background and early years

Born in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, he studied at Middlebury College and studied law in Vermont. He moved to Milwaukee, Michigan Territory, in 1834, possibly from Chicago. He is believed to have been the first attorney to move to the Wisconsin Territory, and was for many years an advisor to Solomon Juneau.[1]

His brother Curtis Reed would become Mayor of Menasha, Wisconsin, and their brother Harrison Reed, Governor of Florida. Their sister, Martha Reed Mitchell, well known in charity, art and society circles.

George Reed moved to Waukesha County, Wisconsin, to the town of Summit, where he farmed. While in Summit, he served in the first Wisconsin Constitutional Convention of 1846 and in the Wisconsin Territorial House of Representatives in 1847-1848. Eventually he moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1850; while in Manitowoc, Reed served as a two-year term as county judge of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, and was elected as the first village president of Manitowoc upon its incorporation as a village.[2]

In 1854, Reed and Jacob Lueps bought a portion of the town of Maple Grove and had it surveyed and platted. These 56 blocks became the village of Mud Creek, later renamed Reedsville after "Judge Reed" (as he was widely known).[3]

Reed served as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate from 1865 to 1870.

Reed was involved in the railroad business. He died in the Newhall House Hotel Fire in Milwaukee in 1883.[4][5]

References
  1. Falge, Louis, editor-in-chief. History of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1912; vol. 2, p. 576
  2. Ehlert, Edward. Manitowoc County Historical Society: occupational monograph 36, 1978 series. Courts and the legal profession in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. From about 1820 to the present Manitowoc: Manitowoc County Historical Society, 1978; p. 9
  3. Zarnoth, Dorothy, ed. History of Reedsville to 1976 Brillion, Wisconsin: Zander Press, [1976?; p. 2
  4. "Reed, George 1807 - 1883". Wisconsin Historical Society. 8 August 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  5. 'The Convention of 1846,' Milo Milton Qualife, Wisconsin Historical Society: 1918, Biographical Sketch of George Reed, pg. 778
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