Orson Reed
Orson Reed (September 7, 18091890) was an American farmer, Democratic politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He represented Waukesha County in the Wisconsin Senate (1866, 1867) and State Assembly (1853), and also served as sheriff of Waukesha County. His first name was sometimes spelled "Orison". Most of Reed's siblings were also notable politicians or married to notable politicians. His brothers were George B. Reed, Harrison Reed, and Curtis Reed. His youngest sister was Martha Reed Mitchell. Biography Orson Reed was born September 7, 1809, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. When he was a child, his family moved to a farm in Westford, Massachusetts, and then to a new farm in Vermont in 1823. The Reed family began looking west in the 1830s, the first to go west was Orson's eldest brother, George B. Reed, who came to Milwaukee in 1834. Orson came with his parents and siblings in 1835. Two years later, Orson and his younger brother, Curtis Reed, went further west to what is now the village of Summit, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, where they established a claim and started a farm. Their parents followed them to Summit later that year. The first post office was established there in 1838, with Curtis Reed