Martha Clarana Reed

Martha Clarana Reed

Martha Clarana "Mattie" Reed Wood, 1853-1929

• Father: Samuel Reed b. c 1820
• Mother: Martha Frances Harrison b. c 1830, d. c 1875

• Sam Reed entered into an agreement on 31 December 1850 with William M. Barrett to do all the brick work of Austin College, for the sum of $750.00, to be completed by 1 January 1852. The building, whose cornerstone was laid on Saint John's day, 24 June 1851, was constructed of soft sand-molded bricks forged at the state penitentiary. It still stands as "Austin Hall" at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Green's son Campbell attended Austin College from 1855 to 1857. Sam Reed's daughter Mattie married Green Wood's grandson Solomon Wm Wood in 1873, and the following year Sam's daughter Katie married Green's grandson Rush Brevard Wood.
• Martha Clarana Reed was born on 27 July 1853 in Dodge, Walker County, Texas.
• She was known as Mattie.
• She was the daughter of Samuel Reed and Martha Frances Harrison.
• She and Mary Sanford Reed and Katie Bertha Reed were enumerated in the census of 1 June 1860 in the household of Peter Royal and Martha Frances Harrison in Huntsville, Walker County, Texas.
• She and Henry Royal, Katie Bertha Reed, Robert James Tedford and William Dickson Tedford were enumerated in the census of 1 June 1870 in the household of Peter Royal and Martha Frances Harrison in Huntsville, Walker County, Texas.
• She married Solomon William Wood, son of Green Mark Wood and Mary Jane LeGrand, on 18 June 1873 in Walker County, Texas.
• She was enumerated in the census of 1 June 1880 in the household of Solomon William Wood in Walker County, Texas.
• Martha Clarana Reed and Solomon William Wood appeared in the census of 1 June 1900 in Anderson, Grimes County, Texas, and it should be noted that birth information for the entire family is extraordinarily inaccurate.. Other members of the household included Rush Brevard Wood II, Henry Campbell Wood, Walter Warren Wood, Homer LeGrand Wood, Ella Lynn Wood, Solomon William Wood Jr. and Elizabeth B. Hurst.
• The following appeared on 23 May 1909 in the Galveston Daily News: G. A. Wood arrived Friday and spent the day with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. W. Wood.
• A photo was taken of Mattie & Solomon William Wood , about 1918, with granddaughters Eloise Cecil & Fannie Kate Wood.
• She and William Boyd Wood, Walter Warren Wood, Solomon William Wood, Henry Campbell Wood, Claude Irvin Wood and Myrtle Ernestine Bay were enumerated in the census of 1 January 1920 in the household of Rush Brevard Wood II and Claudia Gertrude Bay in Richards, Grimes County, Texas.
• A snapshot was taken about 1920 of Mattie Reed Wood and her daughters Fannie Haynie and Lynn Cecil.
• Mattie Reed Wood and granddaughter Isabel Haynie on the porch swing, about 1920.
• Martha Clarana Reed became a widow at the 5 October 1922 death of her husband Solomon William Wood.
• Martha Clarana Reed died on 4 January 1929 at age 75.
• She was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Grimes County, Texas, near Richards.
• The following appeared on 11 January 1929 in the Navasota Examiner: The "Grim Reaper" has been busy in our town, have had four deaths within ten days. On Friday afternoon at 7:30 Mrs. Solomon Wood passed away at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ira Haynie. Mrs. Wood was making her home with Mrs. Haynie due to the fact that her grandson Billie Wood who she had raised left for college in September and it left her alone. Billie came home for the holidays and fell a victim of the flu. His grandmother stayed with him until she too was taken sick and it was more than her strength could over come. She was 75 years old in July. Everything that loved ones and physician and nurse could do was done for her but to no avail. Her suffering was intense, but she bore it as she always bore her sufferings with patience. She was a devoted mother, one who could not do too much for her children and grand children. She was a member of the Christian church uniting when a girl a firm believer in its doctrines. She was beloved by neighbors and her memory will be reverened by all. To know her was to love her. She was tenderly laid to rest in the Fairview cemetery Saturday afternoon. She leaves to mourn her loss, eight children, a host of relatives, grand children and friends. But we realize our loss is Heaven's gain. "One who loved her." Just above this entry appears: Billie Wood who has been seriously ill was carried to Houston Monday. Reports stated yesterday that pneumonia had developed.

• Last Edited: 2 Aug 2010