Melissa Stinson Reed
I was digging through an antique store bin, looking for photos to add to the collection. As I kept looking, I came across a photo of a lovely young lady and I knew her story needed to be told. Meet Melissa Stinson Reed.
Captured in a portrait from June 1877, Melissa stands as an example of late Victorian style. But who was this woman wearing an elaborate lace cravat? Thanks to historical records and a wonderfully preserved card, we can piece together her story.
When Melissa stepped into Ryder’s Studio on Superior Street in Cleveland, Ohio, she was a young woman celebrating a major milestone. Exactly one year prior, on June 20, 1876, she had married a medical graduate named Dr. Robert Harvey Reed. To mark this milestone, Melissa chose the premier photographer of the era.
Born Melissa Ann Stinson in Wayne County, Ohio, she grew up in the community of Dalton. Her early life was marked by the hustle and bustle of an Ohio farming family, but her marriage to Dr. Reed would soon launch her into a life of prominent public and academic social circles.
By November 1880, Melissa and her husband relocated to Mansfield, Ohio, where Dr. Reed established what would become a very distinguished medical practice. Living in their home on West Third Street, Melissa took on a new role of mother, giving birth to their daughter, Gail, in March 1884.
As the wife of Mansfield's city health officer and a man who would go on to help found the Ohio Medical University, Melissa was a well connected, respected figure in local reading and social circles throughout the 1880s and 1890s.
As the 19th century drew to a close, the Reeds eventually relocated to California, where Dr. Reed passed away in 1907. Melissa eventually relocated to Chicago, IL where she passed away on August 26, 1920.
What makes Melissa’s portrait so special is the cursive trailing across the bottom of the card: "Yours Truly, Melissa Stinson Reed."
In a time when women's stories were so often overshadowed or left unrecorded, Melissa made sure to sign her name to her photo. Her photo stands not just as a piece of photographic history, but as a glimpse into the life of a real Victorian woman who lived through an extraordinary era of American history.
