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 New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The town of Cornwall, Connecticut, is named af ...

, on September 26, 1801. When ten years old, his parents moved to

Canaan, Connecticut Canaan is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,080 at the 2020 census, down from 1,234 at the 2010 census. The town of Canaan is often referred to locally by the name of its principal settlement, Falls ...

, from where he went to college. He graduated from Yale College in 1824. After two or three years spent in school-teaching and in studying medicine, he established himself as a physician in Goshen, Conn. A year later he moved to

Roxbury, Connecticut Roxbury is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,260 at the 2020 census. The town is located northeast of New York City. History Roxbury, whose Native name was ''Shepaug'', a Mahican word signifying "r ...

, 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 Micah ...

. 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 which he proved highly successful. In 1848, he moved to

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

, 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 is noted for publishing a satirical piece by Pittsfield resident

Herman Melville Herman Melville (born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a r ...

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 ...

, 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 People from Cornwall, Connecticut Physicians from Connecticut Yale University alumni American newspaper publishers (people) American geologists People from Canaan, Connecticut People from Richmond, Massachusetts People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople