Curtis Reed

Curtis Reed (March 24, 1815 – March 18, 1895) was an American businessman, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He is considered the founder of Menasha, Wisconsin, and was the first village president after its incorporation in 1853, he subsequently served as the 8th mayor of Menasha after it became a city. He also served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, in 1853 and 1861.

Most of Reed's siblings were also notable politicians or married to notable politicians. His brothers were George B. Reed, Orson Reed, and Harrison Reed. His youngest sister was Martha Reed Mitchell.

Early life Curtis Reed was born on March 24, 1815, in Westford, Massachusetts. As a child, he moved with his family to a farm in Vermont, where he received much of his education. At age 16, he went to work clerking at a store in Vermont, and then at a similar job in Troy, New York.

Early years in Wisconsin In December 1835, he came west to Milwaukee, following his eldest brother George B. Reed, who had traveled there the prior year. When they first arrived, the Reed family boarded with Milwaukee founder Solomon Juneau; George Reed was one of the few lawyers present in the territory at the time and served as an advisor to Juneau. The first post office was established there in 1838, with Curtis Reed as postmaster. and was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Neenah.

Personal life and family Curtis Reed was the sixth of eight children born to Seth Harrison Reed and his wife Rhoda ( Finney). The Reed family were descendants of the colonist Philip Reade, who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from England in the 1660s. Nearly all of Curtis Reed's seven siblings were notable in some way:

Julia Ann Reed (1806–1881) married physician Thomas J. Noyes who was the president of Milwaukee's first medical society, and the first doctor at Menasha, Wisconsin. George B. Reed (1807–1883) was the first village president of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and served three terms in the Wisconsin Senate, overlapping with Orson Reed's Senate term in 1866 and 1867. He was also a prominent railroad executive, known as the "father of the Wisconsin Central Railroad", which linked Lake Superior to Milwaukee. He died in the Newhall House Hotel Fire. Orson Reed (1809–1890) was a member of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly and served as sheriff of Waukesha County. Mary Augusta Reed (1811–1866) married attorney Abram D. Smith who became one of the first elected justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Harrison Jackson Reed (1813–1899) was one of the original owners of the Milwaukee Sentinel and an early editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, and then became one of the founders of Neenah, Wisconsin. Later he moved to Florida and, during reconstruction, he became the 9th governor of Florida. Martha Reed (1818–1902) married the prominent Milwaukee banker and congressman Alexander Mitchell and became a philanthropist. Their son John L. Mitchell was a U.S. senator; their grandson, Billy Mitchell, is considered the father of the United States Air Force. Herbert Reed (1822–1875) was a railroad depot agent in Iowa County, Wisconsin.

Curtis Reed married Augusta Lydia Ripley in 1849, at Jefferson County, New York. They had at least four children together and were married for 43 years before her death in 1893.