Edward Franklin Ed Reeder

Edd Reeder was the Director of the School Board in 1911 of New Hope School,Turkey Creek Township, Washita County, Oklahoma.

Biography

Edward Franklin Reeder, the eighth of ten children, was born on March 26, 1869 in Missouri. His father was Albert Green Reeder and his mother, Nancy Caroline (West) Reeder. The Reeder family went from Missouri to Chalk Mountain, Erath County, Texas, living there until 1897 when they relocated to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) and filed on farm land. The family came in a covered wagon with several horses, cows and chickens.

On 18 February 1891, Edward married Lovie Jane Hatchett in Chalk Mountain, Erath County, Texas. She was the daughter of John Crittenden Hatchett and Julia Ann Brown. Together they produced nine children.

Lovie's father, John C. Hatchett, and Julia and family, had moved from Erath County, Texas to Cloud Chief, OK, which was then county seat, and where he was county Judge several years. So Lovie and four children (Flora, Annie, Fred, and Lula) stayed with him for three months while a place for them to live was fixed, which was a sod house with wagon sheets for a roof. There was a spring in the nearby creek and not too many miles away so the main things were to be handy.

A man had squatted on the land for a cattleman to hold it for his herds. So dad gave him a good horse to leave and he did. They lived in the sod house until about 1901 when he hauled lumber from El Reno to build a house south of Foss, Washita County. He built a 14 x 28 home with an upstairs for the children which had been born into the family.

Ed's parents, Albert Green and Nancy Caroline Reeder, came from Texas to live with them in 1901, so a side room was added to the house. There was room for relatives and friends to stay when they came to Oklahoma. Albert G. Reeder was living with his son Edward F. Reeder on the 1910 census. He was 76 years old. His wife, Nancy had died in 1908.

Ed Reeder was doctor and veterinarian or anything else that was needed. A school was organized and a dugout made with split logs for seats. This dugout was on the east side of the road near where Roy Browning later built his house. Later a house was built across the corner on the Jerry Chisholm place and added to as needed. It was called New Hope District 64. Ed Reeder was the Director of the School Board in 1911 of New Hope School.

From biography by: Sarah Edna(Reeder) Hatfield-Bonny, (1979); Additions by: Phyllis Zahn Medeiros