Schenk-Redd-Groshong-Sappington

The History of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania by Smith states that the Red/Read/Redd family lived in Armstrong county starting as early as 1800:

"The present township of Sugar Creek is a comparatively small remnant of the parent one, left after organizing from what was its original territory, besides the portions of it included in East and West Franklin, 4 townships, 2 boroughs and 1 city.

In the southeastern part is the tract, nearly a square, 356 acres and 147 perches, which appears from the Gapen map to have been claimed by Samuel Kincaide, but the other map shows it to have been the Michael Red tract, about one-half of which is in what is now Washington township. Red probably settled on it the latter part of the last century. He was assessed, in 1805, with 400 acres, 1 horse and 2 cows, at $142, and the next year, with 300 acres and 4 cattle, at $122, and with 2 distilleries in 1812. Red's heirs conveyed it as containing 360 acres to Daniel Red, December 4, 1816, for $1,000. Chambers Orr, sheriff, conveyed it as containing 356 acres to Thomas R. McMillen, September 23, 1840, for $100, of which 130 acres were then cleared, and on which were a stone dwelling-house, a square log barn, stillhouse and other buildings, a meadow, and apple and peachorchards. McMillen conveyed it to Patrick Red, December 3, 1851, for $5, who by his will dated March 15, and registered June 6, 1854, devised it to his son Charles, the present owner."

In the same history, the following is contained in the biography of Charles Read:

"Although now exclusively engaged in farming, Mr. Read carried on the stilling business nearly all his life until 1864. This business was first established in 1804, on the homestead, by his grandfather, and the famous "Charley Read" brand of whisky became extensively known because of its well-merited qualities. It was not only used by business and professional men generally, but found a ready welcome in legislative halls and was selected for the army for medical use."

So it seems that Charles had a booming business in whiskey production at least some part of the time from 1840 when he was 18 years old until 1864 when he was 42 years old.

According to the website ellenjays.com<http://www.ellenjaye.com/hist_mono1intro.htm>, in the 1810's there was a type of rye whiskey produced in Pennsylvania known as Monongahela rye. It is unknown to us if this is the whiskey that Charles Read was known for.

There has been an open question in the family for years: which Red name is correct? While putting together an application for certification in First Families of Western Pennsylvania, I was able to see a pattern emerge. Here are the facts I have:

1) According to the will and probate records of Charles Bradley, Patrick Red was his son-in-law. In the will and probate records of Patrick Red, the name was spelled this way. But I noted in each of these documents, there was no indication that they were handwritten by the individual in question. Patrick's specifically has an indication of his mark, and "X." The spelling may have been at the discretion of the scribe. In the 1860 US Census, Patrick is listed as "Unable to read or write."

2) In documents written or signed after Patrick's death, the name is spelled "Read." Charles, son of Patrick, was a literate man. All inscriptions on the headstones in the St. Patrick's Cemetery in Sugarcreek (now Worthington) for family members Michael and Sophia Red, Patrick and Mary Red are spelled "Read" which may indicate that they were placed or replaced during Charles' lifetime. The biography of him in the History of Armstrong County by Smith lists his name "Read."

3) After Charles' death in 1890, names on documents from this time forward reflect the pronunciation unambiguously as "Redd." Charles Jr. identified his mother as Mary Redd after her death in 1907 and the census records thereafter show him as Charles Redd.

There is an outlier here: His daughter-in-law, Ida, is listed as "Read." She passed away nearly 10 years after Charles, Sr. But, she is buried near her first child, an unnamed infant son born while Charles Sr. was alive. All the Read family is listed on the same monument, so it may have made sense to add Ida with the "Read" name to be consistent with the rest of those buried there.