Part of the Indiana Biographies Project
Irven Reed
The subject of this memoir was a son of Arthur and Martha Reed and was born in Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, January 8, 1809, and later removed to Richmond, Indiana, where he resided for many years and gained many warm friends who appreciated his sterling worth and true nobility of character. He was educated and grew to manhood in his native town. In 1S31 he moved to this city, where in 1833 he started the first drug store in the village. At that time the population was small, and he went on horseback to Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and other towns throughout the state, soliciting orders, which he returned to his store and filled. This store was continued until 1850, when he went to Cincinnati and embarked in the wholesale drug business, under the firm name of Irven Reed & Company, doing business at Nos. 16 and 18 Main street, in that city. This enterprise was conducted until 1854, when he returned to Richmond and permanently retired from the drug business, as it did not agree with his health. Three years later he engaged in the hardware business, opening a store on Main street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, under the name of Reed & Swayne. He afterward purchased the interest of Mr. Swayne, and in 1872 moved to the corner of Seventh and Main streets, where the business was conducted under the name of Irven Reed & Son. He continued in this business until his death, April 25, 1891, one son succeeding the other until the present proprietor, Frank Irven Reed, became a member of the firm. For two years Mr. Reed was out of the hardware business and dealt in saddlery hardware. The first son to enter the firm was Albert W. Reed, now of Washington, D. C, who retired in 1875 and was succeeded by Charles H., who remained a number of years and then withdrew to start a similar store for himself in the west. His place was taken by Frank Irven, who still conducts the business, under the name of Irven Reed & Son.
Mr. Reed was a councilman for many years and was a prominent Republican, entertaining many eminent personages at his home in Richmond. Henry Clay visited this city when running for the presidency, and was the guest of Mr. Reed. He also entertained O. P. Morton, the war governor of Indiana, Governor Burbank and President Hayes. During the reunion of the Ohio and Indiana National Guards, he entertained Governor Foster of Ohio. He took an active interest in the election of William Henry Harrison and assisted the local clubs by painting their flags, banners, etc. He was one of the originators and officers of the Fort Wayne Railroad, now the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad. He was reared in the Methodist faith, but united with the First Presbyterian church. A brother, Colonel Hugh B. Reed, of the Forty-fourth Indiana, commanded that regiment through the entire war and was mustered out at Fort Wayne. He was a brave commander and had four horses shot from under him, while he was spared, and died in New Jersey. One of his sons, Charles A. Reed, an able attorney of Somerville, New Jersey, has been elected president of the senate in that state.
In 1834 Mr. Reed was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Evans, of Baltimore, the ceremony being celebrated in Richmond. Six sons survive them, viz.: Colonel Arthur F., who was colonel of the Twelfth Indiana and served through the war, being mustered out at Fort Wayne; he now conducts a bookstore in St. Louis, Missouri. Albert W. is a retired commission merchant of Washington, D. C. Charles H. is a hardware merchant of San Luis Obispo, California. Lieutenant Hugh T., a retired United States Army officer of the First Infantry, is now residing in Chicago; he was appointed to West Point through George Julian, representative of the sixth congressional district of Indiana, and graduated from West Point in 1873, and retired, in 1893, on account of ill health. He is the author of "Military Science and Tactics," also "Cadet Life at West Point,"—both well-known works. He had raised a company of fourteen hundred men in Chicago, of which he was made colonel; but before they were mustered into service the war closed. Horace B., the fifth son, is the manufacturer of a patent fence, in McMinnville, Oregon. Frank I., who has always been engaged in the hardware business, is the successor to the business of Irven Reed & Son. He attended school in Richmond, and graduated from the Richmond Business College, after which he took a trip through the west. He was appointed postmaster of Fort Sully, Dakota, in 1875, and served seven months. This place was about twenty-five miles from Pierce City, North Dakota, and was an important post, being the distributing point for the mail along the Missouri river. In 1876 he entered his father's store and became a partner of the firm. He has conducted the business most successfully, and is a wide-awake business man, whose friends are legion. He is a prominent Mason, belonging to the commandery of Knights Templar.
Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899