Merchant Creighton Rea

1859 - 1940  (80 years)

• Name	Merchant Creighton Rea
  Born	6 Sep 1859	Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, United States
  Gender	Male
  Died	13 Mar 1940	Lakeland, Polk, Florida, United States
  Buried	Lakeland, Polk, Florida, United States
  Person ID	P44551829	My Genealogy
  Last Modified	10 Feb 2010

  
  

  Father	James Azel Rea,   b. 1827, Rea Homestead, Amberson Valley, Franklin, Pennsylvania, United States ,   d. 31 Mar 1894, Alaska, Kent, Michigan, United States  (Age 67 years)
  Mother	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
  Family ID	F105	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Stella Myer,   b. 27 May 1884,   d. 15 Jul 1969, Frostproof, Polk County, Florida  (Age 85 years)
  Divorced	Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	21 Jul 2019
  Family ID	F107	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Was an apprentice harness maker at the age of 20. At 29, Merch went to Spokane Falls (changed to Spokane, in 1891), Washington, where he worked as a laborer in 1889. He lived at 217 N. Oak in Spokane Falls. "It was a grand city in the early years, with many lavish homes and even elegant hotels, like the California House. Unfortunately, most of the elegance was lost in the Great Fire of 1889, the same year the territory became a state. It didn't take long for the city to rebuild from the ashes, but this time with brick and mortar. A lot of the original building from post- 1889 are still standing and functional today." - A short Spokane History "Children of the Sun" (http://www.rootsweb.com/~waspokan/history101.html). Given this, it's possible Merch was attracted to Spokane because there was work there, rebuilding the city after the fire. Merch was living in Tracy, Minnesota in September 1920, working as a carpenter, building houses. He was 60 years old at the time. Merch married Stella Myer, but the marriage ended in divorce and there were no children. Other sources say Merch also worked as a bartender, until prohibition. He worked part-time as a carpenter the rest of his life. Sometime after his brother, Orvin James Rea, retired to Lakeland, Florida, Merch also moved to Lakeland, where he died the same year as Orvin (1940). He was semi-retired in Lakeland. He built a one-room shack on Orvin's property, to live in. He never held steady employment. He kept weeds out of Orvin's orange grove to pay the rent. Unlike his brother, Clyde, Merch was not a drinker, however, he died destitute and without any children. Merchant's middle name, Creighton, appears to have come from the mistaken notion that his great-great-great-grandparents were William MacRea of Kintail and "Miss Creighton," who, as it turns out, have nothing whatever to do with my family. The confusion between William Rea of Drumskee and William MacRea of Kintail has continued to this day for some two hundred years and, evidently, my own ancestors fell victim to this error, at some point, as James Azel Rea believed he was naming Merchant after "Miss Creighton." As mentioned in "History of the Clan MacRae," William MacRea of Kintail came to America in 1710 or 1715 and settled in Delaware with "Miss Creighton." Their family spread out into New York and New Jersey and, while one of them did settle in Pennsylvania, he had nothing to do with any of my family.