TOM READ

Colonel John Read, only son of Henry and Mary (Molines) Read, was born in Dublin, Ireland, January 15, 1688, of English parentage. He fell in love at an early age with his cousin, a beautiful girl, who died before their engagement terminated in marriage. The shock so overcame him that he determined, in spite of his parents' opposition, to seek relief in entire change of scene. Crossing the ocean to Maryland, he purchased lands in several counties in that province, to which he added others in Delaware and Virginia. On his home plantation in Cecil county, Maryland, where his eldest son George was born, he erected a spacious brick mansion subsequently destroyed by fire. He possessed slaves, whom he treated with unvarying humanity. "Jim" was the head of his house servants, as "Juba" was the head of those of the next generation. He was fond of field sports, and the country rang with the sound of his dogs and gun. He was both hospitable and generous. He gave all the land to endow the churches in his vicinity, both in Maryland and Delaware. His life was honorable in all its relations. He was one of the original proprietors of the city of Charlestown, at the head of Chesapeake bay, a town in which many of his friends, the elder generations of the Washington family, and eventually General Washington himself, became deeply interested. Tradition preserves an account of the youthful Washington's visit to Colonel Read at the close of the latter's active, well-spent life. As one of the original proprietors of Charlestown, Colonel Read was appointed by the colonial legislature one of the commissioners to lay out and govern the new town. In the course of his active career he held several military commissions, and in the latter part of his life he resided on the plantation in New Castle county, Delaware, where he died June 15, 1756, He is buried in New Castle county. His will was signed the day of his death, as is mentioned in an indenture some thirty-five years later, for the original will was carried away by the British army, with many of the public records of New Castle county. Colonel Read embodied the characteristics which have always distinguished the Read family, piety, severe integrity, original and powerful intellectuality, devotion to friends and country, and fascinating manners. In figure, he resembled his English ancestors, being fuller in form than the majority of his American descendants. He was a remarkably handsome man, six feet in height, with a ruddy complexion, dark, expressive eyes, and was noted for his great strength. Bequeathing to his descendants the traditions of a well-ordered life, he was a fitting progenitor of an illustrious line of statesmen, jurists, soldiers, sailors and divines. Three of his sons were numbered among the founders and fathers of the United States. There are two portraits of Colonel John Read; one represents him in his youth, in the striking costume of the reign of Queen Anne; the other depicts him in middle life, in the wig and dress of the time of George II. After a long period of single life his early sorrow was consoled by his marriage, April 16, 1731, to Mary Howell (born 1711, died September 22, 1784), a charming young Welsh woman, many years his junior. When very young, she was brought from Wales to Delaware by her parents. Her father became a large planter, and her uncle was one of the founders of Newark, Delaware. Mrs. Read survived her husband nearly thirty years. Her nephew, Colonel Richard Howell, was a distinguished Revolutionary officer, and for eight years governor of New Jersey. Six sons and a daughter were born to Colonel John and Mary Read. . He was commissioned major and lieutenant-colonel, and was wounded at the battle of White Plains, while leading his men to the attack. Later he was muster-master general, member of the continental congress, and governor of Delaware. He left no issue. The sons were: .this cigar label biography by/www.schenectadyhistory.org