An early 19th Century RIP. However, he became wealthy.
granddad
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John Reed (Johannes Reith) was a Hessian soldier who left the British army near the conclusion of the Revolutionary War and came to settle near fellow German's living in the lower Piedmont of North Carolina. Most of the people dwelt on modest family-run farms in rural areas, where they raised small grain crops such as corn and wheat.
The life of farmer John Reed would have been long forgotten had it not been for a chance event one Sunday in 1799. On that day Reed's son Conrad found a large yellow rock in Little Meadow's Creek on the Reed farm in Cabarrus County. This rock reportedly weighed seventeen pounds and for three years was used as a doorstop at the Reed house. In 1802 a Fayetteville jeweler identified the gold nugget. He purchased it from Reed for the asked-for price of $3.50.
The following year John Reed began his mining operation by forming a partnership with three local men. The partners supplied equipment and workers to dig for gold in the creek bed, while Reed provided the land. The returns were to be divided equally. The men mined mainly in the off-season from farming, giving first prioirity to raising their crops. Before the end of the first year, a slave named Peter had unearthed a twenty-eight-pound nugget. Using only pans and rockers to wash the creek gravel, the part-time miners recovered can estimated yield of one hundred thousand dollars by 1824.
John Reed was a wealthy man when he died in 1845.
Have a Great Day!
Louis
The life of farmer John Reed would have been long forgotten had it not been for a chance event one Sunday in 1799. On that day Reed's son Conrad found a large yellow rock in Little Meadow's Creek on the Reed farm in Cabarrus County. This rock reportedly weighed seventeen pounds and for three years was used as a doorstop at the Reed house. In 1802 a Fayetteville jeweler identified the gold nugget. He purchased it from Reed for the asked-for price of $3.50.
The following year John Reed began his mining operation by forming a partnership with three local men. The partners supplied equipment and workers to dig for gold in the creek bed, while Reed provided the land. The returns were to be divided equally. The men mined mainly in the off-season from farming, giving first prioirity to raising their crops. Before the end of the first year, a slave named Peter had unearthed a twenty-eight-pound nugget. Using only pans and rockers to wash the creek gravel, the part-time miners recovered can estimated yield of one hundred thousand dollars by 1824.
John Reed was a wealthy man when he died in 1845.
Have a Great Day!
Louis
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I believe I have seen the historical markers for this here locally !
jim