Isaac Reed
Isaac Morris Reed (1790-1854) was Scott County’s first Trustee, elected in 1850. Scott County was formed from parts of Campbell, Anderson, Morgan, and Fentress counties in 1849, and the first election was held in 1850.
Biography
Born in South Carolina on March 31, 1790, Isaac Reed was the son of Revolutionary War veteran John Reed (1762-1838) and Nancy Morris (1763-1855). It is not clear when his father moved to present-day Scott County. Although there is some dispute over whether his father was buried at an unidentified location on Brimstone Creek or at Demory Forge in Campbell County, it is generally accepted that he moved his family to New River. He appears on the plaque honoring Scott County’s Revolutionary War veterans that was placed at the Old Scott County Courthouse in 1976.
Most of the children of John Reed settled in other states. An exception is Allen Reed, Isaac’s brother, who settled in the Mountain View area near Robbins. Isaac’s sister, Rebecca, remained in the New River area and married into the Buttram family that lived there. Her husband was William “Billy” Buttram (1806-1888), son of John Buttram (1765-1841) and Jane Stevenson (1770-1840), and brother to Scott County Sheriff Bailey Buttram.
Isaac Reed married Phariba Hatfield (1795-1865) in 1810. She was the daughter of Revolutionary War veteran Joseph Hatfield (1740-1832) and Rachel Smith (1758-1858). Her family may have moved to present-day Scott County as early as 1802, although there’s evidence to suggest he did not move here from Wayne County, Ky., until sometime between 1823 and 1830.
Isaac and Phariba had 15 children: Pharaba (1810-1881), Allen (1811-1900), Sarah (1812-1907), Delilah (1815-1865), Elizabeth Jane (1818-1870), Campbell County (1820-1886), Andrew (1823-1904), Rebecca (1825-1882), Sampson (1827-1890), Isaac Jr. (1830-1880), Elizabeth Sarah (1830-1865), John (1832-1879), Emily Melinda (1834-1907), Eliza Jane (1835-1888), and Alice (1836-1937).
The oldest, Pharaba Reed, married James Timothy Cecil (1805-1871) in 1823, and was the matriarch of Scott County’s Cecil family.
Another daughter, Delilah, married John C. Lewallen (1812-1896) in 1833. He was elected Scott County’s first sheriff.
Campbell County Reed married Martha Ann “Patsy” Chitwood (1820-1901) in 1840 and became one of the first settlers of Hazel Valley near Oneida. He served as a justice of the peace (what we know today as county commissioner) in the 1850s and was a county clerk in the 1860s. He was the first person buried at Hazel Valley Memorial Cemetery, which is now Scott County’s largest cemetery.
Several other members of the Reed family remained in the New River community, which is primarily known for the Reed family. Many of them are buried at Reed Cemetery there.
Adult Life
Isaac Reed was a veteran of the War of 1812. He served in the militia from Tennessee, an indication that his father had moved his family to present-day Scott County from South Carolina by that time.
After Scott County was formed from parts of Campbell, Anderson, Morgan and Fentress counties in 1849, the county’s first election was held in 1850. Isaac Reed was elected Scott County’s first Trustee, and his son-in-law, John Lewallen, was elected Scott County’s first Sheriff. John Lewallen was the son of Anderson Grant Lewallen (1764-1829) and Lydia “Lucy” Rice (1766-1832), the first settlers of the Glenmary area.
Isaac Reed has thousands of descendants living in Scott County today, perhaps none more notable than the Cecil family, who developed a strong legacy in the Christian ministry. Pharaba Reed Cecil’s son, William Riley Cecil (1828-1903), had at least two sons (Isaac Reed’s great-grandsons) who were Baptist preachers: Reuben Churchwell Cecil (1853-1929) and George Washington Cecil (1861-1941).
George W. Cecil was especially well-noted as a minister, and preached the funeral of Scott County’s only legal hanging from the gallows.
Reuben Cecil’s grandson was Virgil Cecil (1906-1974, son of William Washington Cecil and Nancy Jane Duncan), who was a longtime pastor at Helenwood Baptist Church. Two of Virgil’s sons, Milford Cecil 1943-1997) and Roger Cecil (1948-2019) also pastored at Helenwood. Together, the three men pastored the church for 80 years. Milford and Roger Cecil were the fourth-great-grandsons of Isaac Reed.
Death
Isaac Reed died in 1854. It is not clear where he was buried. His mother-in-law, Rachel Smith Hatfield, was buried at Reed Cemetery at New River when she died in 1858. However, if Isaac Reed was buried there, his grave was not marked.