The 1850 Census shows Peter Reel, age 1, living in Beccaria, Clearfield, Pennsylvania with his parents, Samuel J. Reel, age 31 and Abigal S. Reel, age 21. His father is listed as a blacksmith, born in Pennsylvania. His mother is also listed as born in Pennsylvania. The image of the 1850 census:
After his father died, young Peter Reel found it difficult to live with his step-mother. He was adopted by Dr. James M. Stills, the brother of the founder of osteopathic medicine in the United States. On the 1870 census, Peter is listed as a farmer living with Dr. Stills. He told his family about making […]
The 1875 census of Eudora, Kansas, shows John Buck, Polly J. Buck and her three sons, Harmon, George, and Samuel. Samuel was born after her first husband, Samuel Jeremiah Reel, died. Her new husband is listed as saloon keeper. By 1875, her step-children, Peter and Mary Jane, had left home. Here is a copy of […]
My mom and I went to Kansas some years ago to investigate family stories. We knew that Samuel Jeremiah Reel, his wife Polly, and their children lived in Eudora, KS, a small German settlement near Lawrence. We were pretty frustrated when we could not find them in the 1860 census microfilm at the university. After […]