BIO: W. L. REED - s/o JESSE & ELIZABETH WILSON REED - BOURBON CO Page 612 W. L. REED, one of the merchants of Orleans, was born in Orange County, Ind., April 17,1840, a son of Jesse and Elizabeth (Wilson) Reed. His paternal grandfather was George Reed, a native of Virginia, who was one of the earliest settlers in Kentukcy. His son Jesse was born November 28, 1798, and during his life was a farmer and blacksmith, and married his wife in Bourbon County, Ky., her place of nativity. In 1832 they came to Orange County where his death occurred December 25, 1851, and hers June 1, 1858. W. L. Reed enjoyed but moderate advantages for education, and for six years followed the avocation of his father, that of blacksmithing. He then began clerking for T. B. Walker in the mercantile business at Orleans, and in 1861 went out as sutler in the Twenty-fourth Indiana Regiment where he continued until the close of the war. In 1866 he attended commercial college at Indianapolis, and the same year began his present business. Mr. Reed is now considered one of the most successful and energetic merchants in Orleans. April 17, 1867, he was married to Nancy C. Walker, a native of New Albany, Ind., and by her he is the father of these five children: Thomas L., Fannie L., Jessie W., Sarah R. and Esther. "HISTORY OF LAWRENCE, ORANGE & WASHINGTON COUNTIES INDIANA" GOODSPEED BROS. 1884 BIO: MOSES ROBERTS - HENRY CO Page 651 MOSES ROBERTS, of Greenfield Township, came from Henry County, Ky., his place of nativity, to Orange County, Ind. His parents were James and Sarah (Bishop) Roberts, who reared a family of six children, and of which Moses was the third. Mrs. Roberts died in 1847, and they were both members of the Baptist Church. Moses was the oldest son and was born October 24, 1825. He lived with his mother until her death, and during his minority acquired but a limited education. His first marriage was to Miss Lucy E. Zaring, who bore him three children: Nancy A., James B., and John H. Her death occurred December 27, 1863, and he was again married on March 20, 1864, this time to Miss Catharine King. On the fourteenth of March in the following year Mr. Roberts was again a widower by the death of his second wife. On August 14, following, Nancy J. Lowe became his third wife, and to them five children have been born, named Byram L., Maranda E., William B., Anna C., and Dora J., all living. Mr. Roberts is one of the principal farmers in the township, and with his wife is a member of the United Brethren Church. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and a Democrat in politics. "HISTORY OF LAWRENCE, ORANGE & WASHINGTON COUNTIES INDIANA" GOODSPEED BROS. 1884 BIO: DR. SAMUEL RYAN - s/o WILSON RYAN - Unknown Co Page 645 DR. SAMUEL RYAN is a native of Floyd County, Ind., and was born May 3, 1829, a son of Wilson and Rebecca (Taylor) Ryan. His father was a native of Kentucky, and was born in 1807, and while a young man, moved to Corydon, Ind. He was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Later in life he moved to Missouri, where his death occurred in 1846. Miss Rebecca Taylor was born in Floyd County, in 1811, and when about sixteen was married to Wilson Ryan. Of their three children, only one, Dr. Ryan, is now living. Wilson Ryan was three times married and the father of seven children. Dr. Samuel Ryan was raised in Greenville, Ind., by his father, and in 1846 he went to the Mexican war and remained fourteen months. Being too young to enlist as a soldier, he went as a teamster. On his return from the war he lived in Missouri for a time with his parents, and it was then he began the study of medicine. This he continued for six months, then moved to Harrison County, Ind., and for about four years did a mercantile trade. He continued the study of medicine after this with Dr. John S. Ducate, at Fredericksburg, Ind., and attended lectures in the Eclectic Medical College at Cincinnati, and in the Central College of Physicians and Surgeons at Indianapolis. He has practiced his profession for twenty-six years, most of the time at French Lick Springs, Orange County, Indiana, where he has an extensive and lucrative practice. Miss Amelia D. Hancock, of Harrison County, Ind., became his wife in October, 1850. Of their four children, only William E. and Annie are now living. The former is a graduate in medicine, and assoc- iated with his father, in the practice at the Springs. Dr. Ryan is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and belongs to the Masonic fraternity. "HISTORY OF LAWRENCE, ORANGE & WASHINGTON COUNTIES INDIANA" GOODSPEED BROS. 1884 Transcribed by Diana Flynn Date: Sun, 13 Jul 1997