Charles Reed (1854-1927)
Charles Reed (1854-1927) was a livestock farmer and politician. As a farmer, he raised purebred Duroc and Jersey hogs as well as sheep. He was also a strong Republican who served as Sangamon County deputy sheriff and was superintendent of the Sangamon County Poor Farm near Buffalo from 1915 until his death.
Amy Van Doren Reed
Amy Van Doren Reed (1860-1935), Charles’ wife, was poor farm matron for the same period. The couple’s eight children grew up at the poor farm.
A grandchild, Elaine Burrus, presented some of the children’s memories during a public discussion of the history of the poor farm held April 7, 2018, at the Buffalo Village Hall: see Family Life at the Sangamon County Poor Farm.
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I am just finding this article on the Poor Farm; is there is further information or photos available? I have an ancestor that lost everything and was relegated to living on the Poor Farm. Any information or direction where I could obtain information about residents who lived and died there would be most appreciatated. Thank you for your time in reading my note. (If it gets noticed – so much time has gone since the original article to my finding it now :(
Mr./Ms. Stone: Unfortunately, records about residents of the Poor Farm are VERY limited. Your best/only hope probably is to contact the Sangamon Valley Collection at Lincoln Library, Springfield’s municipal library, at (217) 753-4900 ext. 5634. Good luck.
Charles and Amy Jane were my mother-in-law’s Grandparents and she was named after her Grandma but she did not like the name Amy and never used it. My husband’s Uncle Morris Kessler (Elaine Burris’s cousin) wrote about the poor farm. My husband’s grandfather had a movie camera and had movies taken at the poor farm when the family would visit, so my husband’s cousin has the movies. He and his dad Morris put them on DVD and Uncle Morris narrated who the people were. I remember my mother-in-law and her brothers talking about the poor farm and the fun they had there when they visited. They talked about Pigeon also.