FIDELITY TRUST COMPANY
PITTSBURGH, PA.
ALEXANDER P. REED
PRESIDENT January 28, 1952
Mr. Andrew L. Colhoun
49 Lisburn Road
Belfast, Ireland
Dear Andy,
Last spring a cousin of mine living in Eastern Pennsylvania allowed me
to go over a lot of her papers pertaining to the Reed family. I have had
photostats made of some of them which were of particular interest to me.
Apparently Thomas Reed, son of Reverend Robert R. Reed, of Manorcunningham,
preceded his brother, Alexander Reed, in coming to America. He settled in
Washington, Pennsylvania, and started a small store. His partner was John
Colhoun.
Alexander Reed came to America in 1793 and shortly thereafter Thomas
Reed died. Before dying, however, he had made arrangements to purchase the
interest of John Colhoun in the store. John Colhoun had moved to
Chamberstown, or Chambersburg, which is in Central Pennsylvania near
Gettysburg.
I am enclosing a photostatic copy of a letter from John Colhoun to
Alexander Reed, dated October 23, 1795, and a copy of a letter from
Alexander Reed to John Colhoun, dated July 2, 1807 (?) which renders a final
accounting of his interest in the partnership.
I thought you might be able to identify this John Colhoun. Maybe that
is why your great-uncle, who lived in Clarksville for a time and married a
Miss Clark, spent several months with Alexander Reed in Washington,
Pennsylvania, in 1828.
I also found the original receipt which Alexander Reed received when he
paid his passage to America on September 20, 1793. It reads as follows:
"Received from Alex. [Alexander?] Reed, John Clark and Wm [William?] Lachey (?) 9 guineas for three passages on board the Ship Mary from
this to America."
Signed "Wm [William?] Glinn" or "Wm [William?] Glenn"
Dated "Derry 20 Sept [September?] 1793"
Attached to it was a memorandum which reads
as follows:
"Left Donmmoughal (possibly Donegal) 19th Sept [September?] 1793.
Sailed from Londonderry 30th. Landed in America 7th January 1794. Sailed
for Baltimore 1 February. Landed the eleventh (?). Set out for
Chamberstown 24th, arrived 28th. Left Chambersburgh 18th March, arrived in
Washington 22nd."
Apparently it took them over three months to come from Londonderry to
America. It does not say in what port they arrived; however, it probably
was New York or Boston, because they later sailed to Baltimore and drove
over the mountains from there to Chambersburg and then on to Washington.
I have no doubt that this John Colhoun was some relation of yours and
for this reason I feel closer to you than ever.
I received two books from James Stephenson in Belfast which told me
something of the early days of the Church at Manorcunningham. It was very
kind of him to send them to me and it was sincerely appreciated.
I will always be in your debt for writing to me about the grave of
Robert R. Reed in Baleighan Abbey, which aroused my interest in Robert R.
Reed and my family from Northern Ireland. My trip abroad was made more
enjoyable by your many kindnesses and Mrs. Reed and I have frequently told
of your gracious hospitality. If I can ever be of service to you, please do
not hesitate to write to me.
Of course, we were pleased with the re-election of Winston Churchill as
Prime Minister and I wish to report to you that he made a most favorable
[favourable?] impression upon the people of the United States during his
recent visit. He seems to have the knack of saying the right thing at the
right time.
With kindest regards.
Sincerely,
APR:AS
Enclosures
