David and Anna Read had 9 children who were born between 1805 and 1826. There were at least 21 grandchildren, who were born between 1834 and 1865. I have identified 9 great-grandchildren, born between 1877 and 1886; 3 great-great-grandchild born between 1902 and 1918; and three great-great-great-grandchildren. Total individuals equals 45.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

David Read was the ninth child and fifth son of Joseph and Sarah Read. The data on his tombstone indicates that he was born on 12 August 1781 (Union Brick Cemetery). Kern (1938) also gives this birth date in his geneaology of the family. David was a few months short of his eleventh birthday when his father, Joseph Read, died. Shortly after he turned eleven, his mother, Sarah Sutton Read, also died. Who cared for David after his parents' deaths is not known. He was named as a minor child in his mother's will (New Jersey State Archives, hereinafter NJSA, Probate Records, File 538S). Sarah left her son a legacy of £36, which he was to receive upon reaching the age of 21. David came of age in August 1802.

On 8 March 1803, David Read of Knowlton, signed a quit claim deed to all his undivided one-nineth share in the estates of both his parents. The deed was executed in favor of his order borther, Isaac Read, Sr., who bought out the shares of his siblings in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Isaac paid David £135.5.0 for his share. In the quit claim David stated that his claim to the estate was "held in joint tenancy and as tenants in common with my brothers and sisters." David signed his name, he did not make a mark. His wife Anna was not party to the deed as they were not yet married (Sussex County Deeds Book K, page 2). David eventually purchased a 160 acre farm in Knowlton (now Hope) Township (WCSCR, Orphan Court Minutes Orphans Court Minutes Liber 1:240), near an area known in the late nineteenth century as Feebletown.

The four children of David and Anna Read who died before reaching the age of 21 were buried in Union Brick burial ground in Blairstown Township, Warren County, New Jersey (Kern 1938; Union Brick Cemetery). Three of their tombstones are still standing (there is no stone for Andrew). These stones are inscribed as follows:

Five of David and Anna's children reached the age of maturity and married. They were listed in the 1865 settlement of the estate of their cousin John Hetty Read (WCSCR Orphans Court Records). The settlement orders in part:

I am assuming that only those first cousins of John H. Read, who were alive on 14 August 1862, when John died, were considered heirs of the estate. The children of John's deceased first cousins did not receive a share of the estate. However, the court on 2 July 1865 did order payments to individuals who had died after 14 August 1862.

In addition to the demands of his farm and his growing family, David cared for other members of his extended family and participated in local politics. In 1806, David acted as the administrator of the estate of his brother, Joseph Read II (Sussex County Surrogate Court Records, hereinafter SCSCR, Letters of Administration and Guardianship Book A, page 68; Hutchinson 1947:274). He was also the guardian of Joseph's youngest son, Joseph Read IV (SCSCR Inventory Book D, page 368). He served as a Freeholder for Knowlton Township, Sussex (now Warren) County in 1819 and 1820 (Snell 1881:626). In 1825, David served on the first board of Freeholders of the newly formed Warren County (ibid:479). He also served as a Freeholder for Knowlton Township, Warren County, New Jersey in 1826 and 1827 (ibid:626). David was appinted a Justice of the Peace in Warren County on 2 January 1826 (ibid.).

The earliest available census for the state of New Jersey is the 1830 Census. David appears as the head of household in Knowlton Township, Warren County, New Jersey (page 378). There were seven individuals in his household, four males and three females. Table 1 lists the members of the household as given in the census and the probable individuals that the census data correspondes to. No slaves or free blacks are listed as members of the household. Four of David's children do not appear on the census. His eldest daughter Lavina was 25 years old, she was probably married to John Cummins by this time. An individual of her age does not appear as a member of the household. Three of David and Anna Read's children were deceased by this time. Their eldest son Abraham had died in January 1827 shortly before his 21^st birthday. Their son Andrew Jackson Read died in 1820 at the age of four. Another son, David B. Read, died in 1823. He was almost two years old at his death. The census lists as residents of Knowlton Township the following individuals in consecutive order: Samuel Read (David's younger brother), Jacob Stine and David Read. It appears that David and Samuel's farms lay close to one another in the township.

Table 1: Household of David Read in 1830

The year after the census, David Read died intestate (without a will) on 25 April 1831, he was 49 years old. He is buried in Union Brick burial ground with his wife, Anna and at least five of their children. These children were Lavina Cummins, Abraham Read, Andrew Jackson Read, David B. Read and David J. Read. His daughter-in-law, Charlotte Snyder Read (wife of Isaac S. Read), and her infant son, Abraham Read, are also buried there. The cemetery is located on Heller Hill Road in Blairstown Township, Warren County, New Jersey, near the intersection of Heller Hill and Union Brick Road. David's single stone is inscribed:

Ann Middlesworth Read is listed as the head of household on the 1840 United States Federal Census, Knowlton Township, Warren County, New Jersey (page 363). Her household consisted of a young woman between the age of 20 and 30 years (table 2). This was probably Ann's daughter, Sally Ann, who was born in 1819 and was about 20 years old when the census was taken. She married Anthony J. Osmun in February 1841 (Warren County Marriages), less than a year after the census was taken. There was a young woman between the age of 15 and 20, who was probably Ann's daughter Ellen. Ellen was born in 1823, and was about 16 years old when the census was taken. The household also another female between the ages of 50 and 60, a young man between the ages of 15 and 20 and two boys under the age of 5 years in the household. There is no possibility that these boys were David and Ann Read's children. They were born after 1835. David's death occured in 1831, at least four years before the two boys were born. Who these four individuals were is unknown.

Table 2: Household of Ann Read in 1840

By the time the 1850 United States Federal Census (page 435) was taken, Ann Read was 68 years old. She was living in Hope Township, Warren County, New Jersey with her son Isaac S. Read and his daughter, Lorraine, who was known as Emma. Isaac was a widower, his first wife, Charlotte Snyder, had died on 14 June 1845. Charlotte died shortly after the birth of their second child, Abraham, on 5 June 1845. This baby lived for only a short time. He died 16 August 1845 and is buried with his mother in Union Brick Cemetery. The data given in the census is listed below:

Table 3: Household of Isaac S. Read in 1850

Ann Middlesworth Read died on 15 April 1855. She is buried in Union Brick Cemetery with her husband. Her single stone is inscribed:

PRIMARY

Cemetery Data

Census Records

Land Records

Marriage Records

New Jersey State Archives

Newspapers

Surrogate Court Records

SECONDARY