Samuel J. Reader

Samuel J. Reader (1836–1914) was an American diarist and artist who wrote about his experiences during Bleeding Kansas and the American Civil War.

Early life Indianola in 1860 – From an Oil Painting by Samuel J. Reader, 1901 Samuel James Reader was born on January 25, 1836, in Greenfield (present-day Coal Center), Pennsylvania, where his father settled in 1847 upon his second marriage, His mother died May 19, 1836, and he was raised by his maternal grandparents and an aunt, Eliza James. He lived in La Harpe, Illinois, from the age of five to 18. They were written in English and French. with four of his other paintings. and his painting Before Dawn is used on the cover of the book Kansas's War: The Civil War in Documents (2011) by Pearl T. Ponce. He retired from service on October 30, 1864.

On December 18, 1867, he married Elizabeth Smith at La Harpe, Illinois. They had three children, the only one of whom survived was their daughter, Elizabeth. His wife died in 1898 in Topeka. He died at his home on September 15, 1914, and was buried in Rochester Cemetery.