James Azel Rea

1827 - 1894  (67 years)

• Name	James Azel Rea
  Born	1827	Rea Homestead, Amberson Valley, Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States
  Gender	Male
  Buried	1894	Rea plot, Riverside Cemetery, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States
  Died	31 Mar 1894	Alaska, Kent, Michigan, United States
  Person ID	P44551827	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	23 Jan 2011

  
  

  Father	Robert Scott Rea,   b. 1773, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland ,   d. 1844, Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States  (Age 71 years)
  Mother	Eleanor Fegan,   b. 1785, Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States ,   d. 1815, Amberson Valley, Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States  (Age 30 years)
  Married	1814	Amberson Valley, Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States
  Family ID	F2384	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Lucinda A. Barber,   b. 25 Oct 1831, Bath Township, Summit, Ohio, United States ,   d. 20 Aug 1883, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States  (Age 51 years)
  Married	11 Apr 1852	Summit County, Ohio, United States
  Children	1. Ida Izona Rea,   b. 6 Feb 1853, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. 1897, Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin  (Age 43 years)   2. Alfred Amberson Rea,   b. 16 Sep 1854, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. 16 Dec 1913, City Hospital, Buffalo, Erie County, New York  (Age 59 years)   3. Lulilia E. Rea,   b. 5 Jun 1857, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. 14 Dec 1866, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States  (Age 9 years)   4. Merchant Creighton Rea,   b. 6 Sep 1859, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. 13 Mar 1940, Lakeland, Polk, Florida, United States  (Age 80 years)   5. Orvin James Rea,   b. 07 Mar 1862, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. 08 Jun 1940, Lakeland, Polk, Florida, United States  (Age 78 years)   6. Clyde Weldon Rea,   b. Dec 1865, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. Bef 1912  (Age < 46 years)   7. Pearl Ernest Rea,   b. Apr 1867, Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. 15 Feb 1937, Tracy, Lyon, Minnesota, United States  (Age 69 years)   8. Jessie Guy Rea,   b. 17 May 1872, Sparta, Monroe, Wisconsin, United States ,   d. 23 Sep 1939, Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States  (Age 67 years)
  Last Modified	23 Jan 2011
  Family ID	F105	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Hannah R. (Jackson) Marsh,   b. 1884,   d. 1922, Alaska, Kent County, Michigan, United States  (Age 38 years)
  Married	16 Sep 1889
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2019
  Family ID	F106	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Went to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1840 with his father. They would have travelled the newly completed Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal, which ran north, through Akron and connected with the Erie Canal. After his father's death, from a riding accident, in 1844, when James was 17, he went back to Pennsylvania for the burial there and lived with his brother Robert, Jr. at the family homestead in the Amberson Valley (according to Book E, Orphans Court, which says that James, John, Robert, Jr., Sidney Jane, Thomas and Joseph were all living in the Amberson Valley in 1845). James returned to Akron, prior to 1852. There, in Akron, he met and married Lucinda Barber, who was born in Summit County. near Akron. They were married in Summit County on April 11, 1852. It was only eight years between his father's death and the time at which James married Lucinda, at age 25. There is no way of knowing when he may have left Pennsylvania for Ohio, but it would most likely have been when he was about 21, in 18488. Assuming this is true, James must have lived among Rea relatives in Ohio from about 1848 until 1852. Also living near Akron, during that period, was the family of Henry A. Rea, who lived in the Akron area. It is not known whether this Henry A A. Rea was related to James or not, nor is it known who Henry's parents were. If there was a relationship, then Henry would most likely have been a cousin of James' and James may have been staying with Henry's parents. According to the 1900 Ohio census, taken when Henry was almost 50, he was a painter who was born in Canada to a father born in New York and a mother born in Canada. He married Mary H. Parmelee on December 24, 1872 in Akron. He and Mary then moved to Kent, nearby, and had three children, Minnie, Luther and George. Another possible answer to James' whereabouts is provided, in part, by David A. Langkau's book, "Civil War Veterans of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Volume 2." According to Langkau's sources, James settled in Oshkosh in 1848. He makes no mention of James and Lucinda's marriage in Summit County, Ohio on April 11, 1852, however. In considering the date of James' settling in Oshkosh, I have concluded that James may have met and courted in Lucinda in Oshkosh and that they went to her parent's home in Summit County, Ohio in 1852 for the wedding, then came back to Oshkosh. At the time Robert Scott Rea's estate was settled (1845), James' sister, Nancy, 25, was umarried and living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This further suggests a connection to Henry A. Rea. If there were Rea cousins living in Toronto, this would explain how Nancy, a young single woman, was living in Toronto. James was slender, five feet eight inches tall, 140 pounds, with brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He had eight years of schooling. James lived for a time in Fond du Lac, probably from after 1844 (when his father died) until 1848, then moved to Oshkosh, where they owned a livery stable at 104 Kansas Street in 1856 (according to the Oshkosh Public Museum). It must have been i in either Fond du Lac or Oshjosh that James met Lucinda Barber and they went to her parents? home in Summit County, Ohio in April 1852 for their wedding. In 1867, they built the Empire House Hotel, at 107 Main Street (Main & Algoma Blvd.), whicich they ran until it burned in 1863. It was promptly rebuilt and the Reas owned and ran the hotel until October of 1873, when the Empire House was purchased by Sanford Beckwith and thereafter the Empire House was known as the Beckwith House. The former site of James' livery stable is now a private residence. The lot is at the dead end intersection of Kansas Street with a railroad track, probably much as it's been since 1856, when the livery stable would have served customers who had just got off the train, perhaps. The following is from an 1869 business directory of Oshkosh:"JAMES A. REA, PROPRIETOR EMPIRE HOUSE.In our travels it has not escaped our notice that many second rate hotels advertise themselves as first-class, and the public only find out the oppposite by stopping at such hotels once. Therefore we feel it uncumbent upon us in a work of this character, to point out to the public a thoroughly good house, one which can be recommended in every way, and this we shall do by naming the "Empire House," kept by that popular landlord and prince of hosts, James A. Rea. The house is large and convenient,-the leading and best one in the city, and is centrally located, being adjacent to all the business places, post office, &c. It was erected in 1867 by its present proprietor, and is a fine imposing brick structure, 88 by 106 feet, four stories high, and each room is fitted with a bell attached to an annunicator in the office,Most of the rooms are furnished with black walnut furnniture, marble top wash stands, &c., in fine the house is fitted with every convenience necessary for the comfort of guests. The first floor is used for stores, offices, billiard hall, &c., the second as sitting, reading and dining hall, together with several large and convenient sample rooms for commercial travelers. The house will comfortably accommodate about one hundred guests. All the rooms are light and airy. The table is spreadwith a great variety of eatables, which are well coooked and served in a clean, tasty manner. The charges at this hotel are reasonable considering its convenience and comforts, while Mr. Rea, the proprietor, who has had nearly twenty years hotel experience in this city, is one of those wholesouled and obliging gentlemen in whose company the traveler cannot but be highly satisfied and almost forget he is away from home. The hotel is located on the corner of Main and Algoma streets." The 1872 Oshkosh City Directory does include the Empire House, but James is not listed as its proprietor, so, evidently, he was no longer in Oshkosh, or he was, at any rate, no longer the proprietor of the Empire House, even though it was not puurchased by Beckwith until 1873. [ADDENDUM, MARCH 11, 2006: I have confirmed, via ?Civil War Veterans of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Volume 2,? by David A. Langkau, that James moved to Sparta in 1872. Also, according to Langkau, the Empire House burned in 1878] James is not listed in the residents index, either, proving that he and the family had moved to Sparta by 1872. The Empire House, though it was still listed in the 1872 directory, does not have a proprietor's name listed with iit, nor was there any advertising for the Empire House in this directory. This seems to indicate that it was during the year 1872, not 1873, that the Empire House was actually in the process of changing hands, from James to Beckwith, and that the transition hadn't yet been completed by the time the directory was printed. No Reas appear in any subsequent Oshkosh directories. In the 1876 directory, the hotel is listed as the Beckwith House and there is an illustration of it, as well as much data, which includes mention of it being ..."the largest among the elegant structures of rebuilt Oshkosh," which verifies that there was, indeed, a fire that destroyed the Empire House, as well as many other buildings throughout Oshkosh, apparently. The new Beckwith House is described as being 132 feet by 110 feet in footprint, with 75 rooms, "...which are high, airy and well ventilated." The ad says "Beckwith & Fargo, Proprietors." The index lists a Sanford Beckwith and S. A. Fargo as the proprietors. According to the directory of 1879, the Great Fire of Oshkosh had occurred in April of 1875. Unlike the Empire House, which was a wood structure, the Beckwith House was a more modern brick structure. According to the 1879-1882 directory, "The first fire of any note occurred on the 10th of May, 1859, when the whole business portion portion of the city was destroyed. In May, 1866, another great fire desolated more than half the business portion of the city..." It gooes on to say that "The third conflagration we have to name took place on the 9th of May, 1874, which destroyed considerable property, and was followed in July of the same year by a much more serious loss. During the year 1874 over 700 structures were erected in the city, so that Oshkosh assumed a much better appearance than ever before. Just as the citizens were congratulating themselves on their thrift and what they had so speedily accomplished in re-building, and when they were busily engaged in their various vocations to retrieve their consumed savings and wealth, they were doomed to another calamity, and this time greater than they had ever before experienced. This was in the memorable fire of April 8th, 1875, which swept from the earth the entire business portion of the city and hundreds of residences, many of them the finest in the city." It goes on to say that the damage totalled "nearly three million dollars" and that this property was insured to only "about half that amount." This phenomenon was quite common throughout the country, indeed, the world, at the time, as most structures were built of wood. The same kind of "Great Fire" occurred in cities like Chicago and Spokane, as well. Spokane's last "Great Fire" occurred as late as 1889. After many such instances, the leadership of these cities finally started mandating that new buildings be constructed with brick from then on. See my notes on Merchant Creighton Rea (Jame's second son) for his role in the rebuilding of Spokane in 1889. Today, the former site of the Empire House is a parking lot for an adjacent building (according to an aerial photo, taken May 5, 1992). The curious thing is that they apparently did some reroutinng of the streets at the intersection of Main and Algoma at some point, because the 1876 rendering of Beckwith House, built on the same lot, shows a triangular building, built on a corner, much like the famous Flat Iron Building in New York Cityty. Today, however, the aerial photo shows the same lot as being at a normal ninety-degree right angle intersection. Even more curious is that, just a block northwest of Main & Algoma is a triangular corner lot, at the intersection of what is now Pearl Avenue and Commerce Street. April 5, 1853 James was elected first constable (listed as "Marshall" in an 1879 historical sketch) of Oshkosh when it was incorporated as a village. He served in this office for one year. The population at that time was 480. In 1857, he was an alderman to the City of Oshkosh. After Lucinda died in 1883, James remarried, to his Housekeeper, a widow, Mrs. Hannah Marsh, on September 16, 1889. Hannah was 45 at the time, the daughter of Henry Jackson and Elizabeth Story. James and Hannah had no children together. Apparentntly, Lucinda died from a long illness, as the 1880 census shows that two of their youngest children were living with other relatives when Lucinda was still alive. Clyde was living with his older brother Alfred and Pearl was living with his older sister, Ida and her husband Charles William Graves. Evidently, James was unable to care for them while Lucinda was sick. Also, it's possible Lucinda was in a hospital in Minneapolis, as that is where she died. James was commissioned as a first lieutenant, February 22, 1865 in Company F, 46th Wisconsin Infantry, which drilled at Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin. The unit was sent, via train, to guard the Nashville & Decatur Railroad at Athens, Alabamma, a U.S. military line that had been under attack by Confederate geurillas. Along the way, James acted as Captain of Company F while the head officers, including Company F's commanding officer, Captain Henry B. Williams attended the proceedings of a court martial, which took about a month. September 27, 1865, the unit started back to Madison, arriving October 2nd, 1865. The 46th was then mustered out and disbanded and James returned to Oshkosh. James' headstone at Riverside Cemtery in Oshkosh bears a Civil War Star and gives his rank as 1st Lieutenant. From a dispatch from Company F, printed in the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, 1865):"Company F, known as the Milwaukee Company, is conceded to be the healthiest and best drilled company in the regiment. The Captain, H.B. Williams, of Janesville being on detached service on Gen. Grainger's staff, the company is in the command of 1st Lieut. James A. Rea - a good soldier and first-class officer well liked by every member of the company, and esteemed by his brother officers. One would s scarcely recognize in his bronzed features and soldierly bearing, 'mine host" of the 'Phoenix' of Oshkosh [a reference to the rebuilt Empire House Hotel]. His friends know how well he can 'keep hotel,' and we can assure them that he knows how to command a company." James received a pension of $8 per month for disability of "one-half" caused by rheumatism which he contracted while on duty in the 46th Wisconsin Infantry. His widow, Hannah Marsh recieved the pension until her death. James built a flour mill in Marshall, Minnesota when the family moved there in 1878, and he sold it in 1888 and moved to Alaska, Michigan (today a suburb of Grand Rapids), where he built another mill on the Thornapple River. Floods destroyed the mill dam in 1892, but James and his sons repaired the damage and James continued to operate the mill until 1893, when floods completely washed it away. In later years, James suffered from accumulated flour dust in his lungs. He made a trip by river boat with his youngest son, Jesse who had recently married, to help Jesse set up a butter and egg business. James caught a cold on the trip and complications from the flour dust in his lungs, along with pneumonia caused his death. The butter and egg business never materialized. James and Lucinda are buried in the Rea family plot at Riverside Cemetery, Main & Algoma, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, along with James' older brother Thomas Elial Rea (1826-1852, who apparently died either on the way to Oshkosh from Ohio, or shortly after arrival in Oshkosh) and James and Lucinda's third child, Lula, who died at 9 of diptheria. There were three more burials in the Rea plot, but, apparently, the employees of Riverside Cemetery failed to get their names and dates of birth and death, somehow. A check with the current management revealed that the original card catalog, since replaced by a computer database, did not contain any names or dates for the three persons buried, nor do the stones for these three burials. All that was noted was that there were burials made there. Here is a photo I have of James Azel Rea: http://www.familyoldphotos.com/4c/2j/james_azel_rea.htm The following biographical sketch is from "History of the Minnesota Valley, including the Explorers and pioneers of Minnesota": Captain J. A. Rea was born in 1827 in Franklin county Pennsylvania, and at twenty years of age went to Fond du Lac. Wisconsin, where he learned cabinet making. He lived twenty-five years in Oshkosh; was in the cabinet aud hotel business; he engaged in milling six years in Sparta and in 1878 came here and erected the Marshall mill. Mr. Rea enlisted in January, 1865, in Company F, 46th Wisconsin; served through the remainder of the war. Miss L. A. Barber was married to him in 1852, and has borne him eight children: seven are living. Note that the bio says his place of birth was Franklin County, not Cumberland. According to the 1884 directory of Lake Marshall, Lyon County, Minnesota, James was no longer living there at that time. This coincides with Lucinda's death in Minneapolis in 1883, so, apparently, James had moved to Minneapolis (or Viroqua) sometime prior to 1883. A death notice for Lucinda was published in the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern on August 23, 1883: "Death of Mrs. James Rea. James Rea, one of the old settlers of this city, and formerly proprietor of the Empire House, where the Beckwith Block now stands, arrived here last eveing with the remains of his wife for burial. Of late years Mr. ReRea has resided in Minnesota, latterly in Minneapolis, where Mrs. Rea died two days ago of cancer. Having family relatives buried here the remains were brought here for internment. They were placed in the vault overnight and the burial took place this forenoon, quite a number of old friends and acquaintances attending. The funeral services having been held in Minneapolis, only the committal services were held at the grave." According to gravestone inscriptions at the Rea plot at Riverside Cemetery in Oshkosh, James was born in 1828, which contradicts all other records.