History of the Reed family in Europe and America

J INTRODUCTION.
Europe to America ; and those who embarked in such an
enterprise generally had to give up all they possessed,
or a great proportion of it, to get here. Many of them
who had the means returned to England ; but those who
had not were obliged to make the best of a bad bargain.
They had abandoned all hope or expectation of any remit-
tances from Europe. Many had been outlawed, and dared
not go back. They had turned their backs on all beyond
sea ; and, under such circumstances, it was most congenial
to their feelings to bury the whole subject in oblivion.
It was accordingly annoying to them to converse on the
subject ; and, to a great extent, they refrained from con-
versation in reference to these matters in the presence of
their children. Their location and pecuniary circumstances
also combined to cause the interest in genealogy to abate,
as they were scattered over a large extent of country.
And what attention and strength was not exercised in
defending themselves, their wives and children, from the
tomahawk, was required to clear the land, to build the
cottages and barns, to dig stumps and stones, to build
bridges, and erect meeting-houses and schoolhouses ; and
the taste for all kinds of knowledge, not called into im-
mediate use to accomplish these and kindred objects, neces-
sarily ceased.
When these difficulties ceased in some measure to be
objects of solicitude, and they had greatly overcome these
almost overwhelming difficulties; when the howl of the
wild beast and Indian had become in some degree silenced,
and, in their stead, had been reared in every town the
parish-church, with its spire pointing towards heaven ; when
their children began to move to the sound of the church-
going bell, and peace and comfort seemed to dawn upon
them, — then the French War broke out, with all the ter-
rors of the French and Indians combined : and, as soon