History of the Reed family in Europe and America

26 ORIGIN OF THE NAME,
The same is now Pierce, or Pearce. The name of Peabody
meant " mountain-man," and had reference to the remnant of
the subjects of Boadicea, an English queen, who was taken
prisoner by the Romans, and the remnant of her army fled
to the mountains of "Wales, and were called Peabodies, or
" mountain-men." Winn is said to be an abbreviation of
Llewellyn, the Welsh prince who was taken and slain by
Edward I. ; Parker, from one who was keeper of a park ;
Forester, from one who was keeper of a forest, and the
name became Foster.
Some surnames have a significance of their own, as being
illegitimate descendants of princes and noblemen, particu-
larly all names ending with " son," as Johnson and Peterson:
the former meaning the illegitimate descendants of John ;
and the latter, those of Peter. The name of Perry is said
to be a corruption of Ap Harry, or the son of Henry.
The first notice taken of any person by the name of Rede,
in Kent, was Withred, King of Kent, in the seventh century.
Their seat was at Rede, in the hundred of Merdinnie, the
modern name of which is Harden. There was John, of this
place, in the muster-roll of William the Conqueror, a.d. 1075 ;
and a John of Merdinnie sold the manor of Silham in
Renham, or Reedham, in the year 1280. Rede is in the
north-westerly part of Kent, adjoining to Maidstone, a cele-
brated military station. It is within the district of the
weald, and has from the earliest times been esteemed a
part of the king's manor. The mansion is on the north side
of the district, and has always been called Reade Court.
There is likewise a Reade Court in the parish of Friends-
bury, in the same county, situated on the river Medway,
and adjoining to Hoo. There are likewise two other manors
in Kent, which for a great length of time belonged to the
Reads, — namely, East and "West Euherst, in Tunbridge
Wells ; but they belonged to the Reads of Harden.