Reed, Simeon Gannett, 1830-1895.

Simeon Reed was born in 1830 in Massachusetts. After several jobs in commerce, he married Amanda Wood, and in 1852 they sailed to San Francisco. That same year they moved to Portland, where he worked in William Ladd's general merchandise store, becoming a partner four years later. He helped organize and run the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which monopolized commercial traffic on the Columbia River and from which he reaped much profit before it sold in 1879. Reed bought farms, owned several mines, and was an ardent horse breeder. The Reed's retired to Pasadena, California, and built a house on their estate "Carmelita", where Simeon died in 1895. Amanda Reed died in 1904, leaving their wealth to establish an "institution of learning" that became Reed College. Their heirs litigated the will for nearly eight years, and the Reed Institute was founded in 1911 with the help of their nephew, Martin Winch, and the appointed trustees, including T.L. Eliot.

From the description of Simeon and Amanda Reed papers, 1823-1916. 1823-1916. (CORVALLIS BENTON COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY). WorldCat record id: 55114610

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