Stephen Reed (September 26, 1801 – July 12, 1877) was an American physician, newspaper publisher and geologist. Reed, the younger son of John and Susanna (Beach) Reed, was born in

Cornwall, Connecticut Cornwall is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. History The town of Cornwall, Connecticut, is named after the county of ...

, on September 26, 1801. When he was ten years old, his parents moved to Canaan, Connecticut, from where he went to college. He graduated from Yale College in 1824. After two or three years spent in teaching school and in studying medicine, he established himself as a physician in

Goshen, Connecticut Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. Geography Goshen is in central Litchfield County and is bordered to the ea ...

. A year later he moved to

Roxbury, Connecticut Roxbury is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,260 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is located northeast of New York City, and is p ...

, and in 1831 to

Richmond, Massachusetts Richmond is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 census. History Present day Richmond was first settled by Mi ...

. Finding the exposure to the severity of the weather too much for his rather delicate constitution, he gave up his profession in about 1837 and opened a boarding school for boys in Richmond. In 1848, he moved to

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

, to take charge of an agricultural warehouse and seed store, connected with a printing office from which a weekly agricultural and miscellaneous newspaper, the ''Berkshire Agriculturist'', was published. This paper, which he renamed ''The Culturist and Gazette'', he continued to edit until 1858, when its publication was suspended. The paper published a satirical piece by Pittsfield resident

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

in 1850. Reed afterwards sold his share in the warehouse and spent the rest of his life in Pittsfield, at leisure for his favorite study, geology. His name became well known in connection with geological discoveries in western New England, mainly through his account of a long train of boulders across part of Central Berkshire. He was also active in all the public interests of the town. He died in Pittsfield, after less than a week's illness, on July 12, 1877, aged nearly 76 years. He was married in 1829 to Emeline Beebe, a student of

Sarah Pierce Sarah Pierce (June 26, 1767 – January 19, 1852) was a teacher, educator and founder of one of the earliest schools for girls in the United States, the Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut. The school having been established in ...

Litchfield Female Academy The Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut, founded in 1792 by Sarah Pierce, was one of the most important institutions of female education in the United States. During the 30 years after its opening the school enrolled more than 2 ...

, of Canaan, who died in 1832; and again on May 7, 1833, to Sarah E. Chapin, who survived him. He had no children.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Stephen 1801 births 1877 deaths Physicians from Connecticut Yale University alumni American educators American newspaper publishers (people) American geologists People from Richmond, Massachusetts People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts