Byron Reed (March 12, 1829 – June 6, 1891) was an American pioneer real estate businessman and local politician in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. He founded the first real estate office in the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

and became the foremost agent after

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

achieved

statehood A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...

Biography

Reed was born in Darien, Genesee County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. While he was attending the Alexander Classical School, Reed's family moved to

Darien, Wisconsin Darien ( or ) is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The village is located within the Darien (town), Wisconsin, Town of Dari ...

. At the age of 20 he took a job as a

telegraph operator A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is a person who uses a telegraph key to send and receive Morse code messages in a telegraphy system. These messages, also called telegrams, can be transmitte ...

, working in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...

until 1855. He also served at the

Register of Deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights ove ...

for Trumbull County during this time. Reed came to Omaha in late 1855, the year the city was founded. By the early 1860s he had accumulated a variety of land holdings across the city. As Omaha became an important gateway to the West and its economy boomed, Reed became very rich and assumed a prominent position in the business and political affairs of both the city and the state. In a time when correspondents were frequently targeted, Reed was working as a correspondent of the ''

New York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'' and traveling throughout southern Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri to cover the

Border Ruffians Border ruffians were proslavery raiders who crossed into the Kansas Territory from Missouri during the mid-19th century to help ensure the territory entered the United States as a slave state. Their activities formed a major part of a series o ...

battles. In March 1856 he opened an office in the old State House building in

Downtown Omaha Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, U.S. state of Nebraska. The boundaries are Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha's 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east ...

and established a real estate business. Within three years the business was incorporated, and Reed's business was regarded as successful.(1890
"Byron Reed"
''Omaha Illustrated''. Retrieved 1/28/08. That year he acquired the land surrounding the Prospect Hill Cemetery, and ten years later he donated it to the

City of Omaha Omaha ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 41st-most-populous city, Omaha had a popul ...

. Reed was instrumental in the formation of the Forest Lawn Cemetery Association and brokered the turn over of Prospect Hill to it in 1885. Throughout the rest of his life Reed was a surveyor, abstractor and land developer, creating many of the subdivisions that grew around downtown Omaha. The company he founded in 1856 is still active in Omaha today.

Political involvement

In 1860 he was elected

City Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

in Omaha, serving until 1867. From 1861 to 1863 he served as deputy County Clerk of Douglas County, and in 1863 he was elected to a two-year term as

County Clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

. Starting in 1871 he served on the

Omaha City Council The City Council of Omaha, Nebraska, is elected every four years on a nonpartisan basis. The next election will occur in 2025. Omaha has a strong mayor form of government. Members are elected by district. Currently seven city council districts ...

, acting as president in 1872.

Byron Reed Collection

Byron Reed found time to collect rare books, manuscripts, autographs and American coins, in which last field he was preeminent; according to

numismatists A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coins (and poss ...

, "Byron Reed was one of the greatest collectors of the 19th century," with a reputation as a

coin collector Coin collecting is the collecting of coins or other forms of minted legal tender. Coins of interest to collectors include beautiful, rare, and historically significant pieces. Collectors may be interested, for example, in complete sets of a ...

that is "largely unrecognized." His collection of colonial and United States coinage, paper money and sutlers' tokens is thought to be one of the most complete in the United States, and his numismatic library is one of the largest in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

; according to experts, the library is probably the last private numismatic library formed in the 19th century to remain intact.Gibbs, W.T. (2001) "Byron Reed Collection worth $7.9m - Patterns most valuable portion; 1804 dollar is top coin" ''Coin WORLD.'' July 15, 2001. Retrieved 2/1/08. Donated to the

upon Reed's death, today the collection is housed at the Durham Western Heritage Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Byron 1829 births 1891 deaths American businesspeople in real estate American numismatists Politicians from Warren, Ohio People from Darien, New York Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Pioneer history of Omaha, Nebraska Burials at Prospect Hill Cemetery (North Omaha, Nebraska) People from Darien, Wisconsin 19th-century American businesspeople

Biography

Political involvement

Byron Reed Collection

See also

References