Charles Manning Reed Explained

Charles Manning Reed (April 3, 1803 – December 16, 1871) was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Charles M. Reed was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was the grandson of the first settler of Erie, Seth Reed. He attended the public schools and was graduated from Washington College in Washington, Pennsylvania. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia in 1824 but did not practice. He was engaged in business in Erie with his father, an owner of vessels on the Great Lakes. He was appointed colonel of militia in 1831 and brigadier general at the expiration of his commission. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1837 and 1838.

Reed was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-eighth Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1844. He resumed shipping on the Great Lakes and was also engaged in banking, mercantile pursuits, and the railroad business from 1846 to 1849. He died in 1871 in Erie, where he is interred in Erie Cemetery.

Reed's son, Charles M. Reed, Jr., served as mayor of Erie from 1872 to 1873. His election being shortly after Reed's death, one newspaper described the new mayor as the son of the late General Charles M. Reed.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Sources

• The Political Graveyard

Notes and References

1. Edwardsville (Illinois) Intelligencer, 28 March 1872, Charles M Reed, son of the late General Charles M Reed, elected mayor of Erie without opposition
2. History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Vol II, pg 921; born 1844, died 1917; served two terms as mayor
3. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Reference Book of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Part VI, pg 544; served two years as mayor, twice elected, in 1872 and 1873; director of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway; one of the largest stockholders in the First National Bank of Erie, and second vice president of its board of directors; his father's estate, which Charles shared with his brother, was valued at between $5 million and $15 million.
4. 1860 Federal Census of Pennsylvania, Erie County, Erie, shows Charles Reed, Jr., age 16, born in Pennsylvania, living in household of Charles M. Reed, age 57, born in Pennsylvania. The head of household was retired and owned $400,000 in land and $100,000 in personal property.