The life of
Marinda Anna Reed
of Lowell, Cornwall, and Ottawa
1860 to 1919
and her family from 1600 to 1979
by
Jim Low
©2007 by James W.A. Low
Created: 2007-10-15
Updated: 2009-12-13
Not to be reproduced without permission of the author: jimlow@applewriter.com
.
Minnie
| The back of the photograph indicates this was taken by A.T. Porteous, Photographic Artist, Cornwall, Ontario. It was probably taken about 1880 when Minnie was about 20 years old. A friend of her husband, Richard Tanner, was George Porteous, a teacher, and a brother of Albert T. Porteous, Photographer. |
Introduction.
"Good, kindhearted Minnie Reed." This is how she is described in a poem by one of her friends.
Each individual is unique. Each leads a special life. Throughout life, we contribute our own personality to our family, community, country and the world. When we eventually pass on, people remember us. They add our contributions to their own lives and pass that on to others, including their children who, in turn, enrich future generations. We are links in the chain connecting the past with the future.
Genealogy and the study of Family History is only one small part of learning about our origins. Too often, the details of ancestors lives are lost and, at best, we may know names and dates of births and deaths. But there is much more to their lives than that. Sometimes we are lucky when more information is passed down through the generations. We need to know more about the ordinary people in our past, not just the famous. However, no one is ordinary. We are all special. This is the story of one very special person: Marinda Anna Reed, known throughout her life as Minnie.
Since 1957 I have been researching my family history and, as part of that, interviewed Anna Grace Tanner (my Great Aunt Grace), the eldest daughter of Marinda Anna Reed. Much information was obtained from Aunt Grace over the next dozen years. After Aunt Grace died, I obtained her notes, family historical papers, and photographs. A wealth of information was found in these papers and I am still going through them. Also, considerable research was done through public records, such as census returns and vital statistics.
This is an ongoing project. As new information becomes available, it will be added.
The story is divided into chapters. To continue in sequence click this link:
• NEXT
Individual chapters may also be selected:
Chapter 1. Early Years. From birth to 11. 1860 to 1871.
Chapter 2. Teenage Years. From 12 to 19. 1872 to 1879.
Chapter 3. Marriage and Family. 1880 to 1919.
Chapter 4. Letters to Minnie 1905 to 1919.
Chapter 5. Minnie's Husband: Richard Tanner.
Chapter 6. Minnie's Children.
Chapter 7. Minnie's Ancestors.
Genealogy Index
Home
Updates:
"Good, kindhearted Minnie Reed." This is how she is described in a poem by one of her friends.
Each individual is unique. Each leads a special life. Throughout life, we contribute our own personality to our family, community, country and the world. When we eventually pass on, people remember us. They add our contributions to their own lives and pass that on to others, including their children who, in turn, enrich future generations. We are links in the chain connecting the past with the future.
Genealogy and the study of Family History is only one small part of learning about our origins. Too often, the details of ancestors lives are lost and, at best, we may know names and dates of births and deaths. But there is much more to their lives than that. Sometimes we are lucky when more information is passed down through the generations. We need to know more about the ordinary people in our past, not just the famous. However, no one is ordinary. We are all special. This is the story of one very special person: Marinda Anna Reed, known throughout her life as Minnie.
Since 1957 I have been researching my family history and, as part of that, interviewed Anna Grace Tanner (my Great Aunt Grace), the eldest daughter of Marinda Anna Reed. Much information was obtained from Aunt Grace over the next dozen years. After Aunt Grace died, I obtained her notes, family historical papers, and photographs. A wealth of information was found in these papers and I am still going through them. Also, considerable research was done through public records, such as census returns and vital statistics.
This is an ongoing project. As new information becomes available, it will be added.
The story is divided into chapters. To continue in sequence click this link:
• NEXT
Individual chapters may also be selected:
Chapter 1. Early Years. From birth to 11. 1860 to 1871.
Chapter 2. Teenage Years. From 12 to 19. 1872 to 1879.
Chapter 3. Marriage and Family. 1880 to 1919.
Chapter 4. Letters to Minnie 1905 to 1919.
Chapter 5. Minnie's Husband: Richard Tanner.
Chapter 6. Minnie's Children.
Chapter 7. Minnie's Ancestors.
Genealogy Index
Home
Updates:
2009-12-13:
- Recently discovered
picture of Minnie as a teenager.
- Recently discovered pictures of Minnie's parents.
- Minor text corrections.
- Recently discovered pictures of Minnie's parents.
- Minor text corrections.