User:Maxreaney/sandbox

John Reaney was born in London, England in April of 1839. He was the son of Irish immigrants, John and Catherine Reaney. John's father was a bricklayer who presumably moved to London in search of work on the English railroad. Like many Irish immigrants of this time period, the Reaney family lived in the slums of a London suburb on _______ Street. After moving to London, the Reaneys had three children; Andrew in 1835, John in 1839 and Catherine in 1843. John's father often left the family for periods of time while seeking work or working on location. The family often went hungry, and shortly after Catherine was born, they were arrested under the British Poor Laws and placed in a Workhouse. Their condition was recorded as "Wretched". They were release after a couple of months, but picked up again several months later. On this report, it was noted that the family was "abandoned by father". Their father soon returned, and by 1848, had purchased passage, aboard the Erin Go Bragh, for The two adults, and the two youngest children to sail to America. It was the height of the Potato Famine, and it was necessary to leave Andrew behind with relatives so that he could earn his own fare, and join them later which he did in 1852.

The Reaney family arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 29th 1848. It is unclear what work they were engaged in at this time, but family lore suggests their passage was paid for as part of an indentured servitude contract. Although the practice was officially outlawed by this time, it was still practiced in secret. A newspaper article in the Times Picayune from 1857 records an assault and robbery of John Reaney's who was waiting for his brother who worked as a night watchmen at a warehouse. His brother (un-named in the article) rescued him, but the perpetrators escaped with $70 (a large sum of money at the time) and a his watch. Nothing more is known of the family until the young John Reaney joins the call to arms of the Confederate States. John joins the Bienville Rifles unit Company B, 8th Regiment, Louisiana Infantry, at Camp Moore on ________ 1861. He served under the command of General _________ and then _______ Francis T. Nicholls. At the First Battle of Winchester, John Reaney was shot in the knee with a 50 caliber miniball. Francis T. Nicholls was also badly wounded, and some sort of bond must have been forged between he and John Reaney. John was captured by Union forces, but managed to escape after receiving medical attention which was still given to prisoners at this early stage of the war. After escaping, he managed to walk roughly 24 miles of the 1200 mile journey, and hitch rides from sympathizers for remainder of the distance. Vouchers could be submitted for reimbursement by those who offered support to soldiers, and one such voucher for helping John Reaney is recorded in the Confederate archives. Upon reaching Camp Moore, John Reaney was discharged on account of his wounds, and given a voucher for back pay, clothing, and ten cents per mile for walking. The total of $_______ Confederate dollars was paid.

Following his discharge, John attempted to re-enlist, but was denied. He tried joining the Washington Artillery unit, but was also denied on account of his inability to keep pace on march. John decided he would travel to Mobile Alabama to serve on the Confederate gunboat repair crews with his brother, Andrew. After working on the gunboats for some time, John contracted Yellow Fever. The only medicine available was back in New Orleans which had been taken by Union forces. John managed to sneak back into New Orleans and recover. It was then announced that the Union Army was rounding up former Confederate soldiers to be sent to Ship Island. John was able to sneak aboard a schooner bound for Bagdad, Mexico where Confederate ship repairs and commerce continued until the end of the war.

Following the war, John made his way back to New Orleans where he began a Drayman service, transporting goods from the boats to New Orleans merchants. At some point, he met and married Georgiana Meekins, the daughter of R.L. Meekins who was partners in Meekins Building Supply Company. The Meekins were former plantation owners who lost their farm and slaves as result of the war. John and Georgiana soon began a family. Their first child was Sarah Ann "Annie" Reaney, born _________. Next was John Andrew ________, William Clifford ________, Joseph Vernacius ________, Charles Richard _______, Georgiana Gertrude _______, Cecilia Bernadette _______, Genevieve Catherine _______, and Edmond Aloysius _________. John's Drayman service gave him access to a line which would become the Algiers & Gretna Railroad. In the early 1870's John was appointed Superintendent of the Railroad. He continued to work in that capacity while operating Reaney's Coffee Polishing Mill at the current site of Harrah's Casino in New Orleans. During this time period, John was also an active participant in several organizations which included the Gate Committee of ___________ Church, The Total Abstinence Society (a temperance organization), and the Army of Northern Virginia Benevolent Association, which helped to raise funds, and find work for disabled Confederate veterans. Through these organizations, and his connection to Francis T. Nicholls, John was able to successfully campaign for a seat in the Louisiana State House of Representatives.

Following his election to the House of Representatives, John Reaney decided to sell his coffee polishing business. He sold it to a married couple by the name of ___________, taking a note for a portion of the proceeds. Unfortunately, in 18_____, the _________ went bankrupt, and the business was sold at auction. Reaney was forced to bid on his former business in order to protect his interest in the assets of the business secured by the promissory note signed by the _______________s. During this period, he was forced to operate the business once again which was becoming increasingly difficult due to his age and health. It was likely these difficulties that inspired him to invent the Reaney Beaney coffee polishing machine, patent number __________. The only evidence of the subsequent re-sale of the business, and its capital assets, is a long running set of advertisements for the boilers and other equipment associated with the business. It is presumed that he eventually sold the rights to the patent as well. No evidence of residual income from the patent has been discovered.

During his tenure as a State Representative, John Reaney was a member of the Anti-Lottery Commission. In this capacity, he sought to rid the state of the Lottery which has been established under _________ to help fund their political machine. John Reaney not only saw the Lottery as a political weapon of his oponents, but as a true evil which "_______________ from the working man". On ______ the Anti-Lottery Commission was successful in defeating the Lottery proponents and ending the Lottery. Ironically, over one hundred years later, the site of John Reaney's Coffee Polishing Mill would become the site of Harrah's Casino in New Orleans.

Following John Reaney's tenure as State Representative, he and _________ were appointed by Governor Nicholls as the new 5th District Tax Assessors for Algiers on the West Bank of New Orleans. This appointment followed the removal of the former assessors, _________, _________, on grounds of corruption. A lengthy and contentious court battle followed in which the new assessors were charged with contempt following their refusal to acknowledge an injunction placed upon their appointment. Reaney and _________ were ultimately cleared, and their appointment was upheld. Reaney would serve two terms as Assessor until his failing health made it impossible to attempt a third term. An article int he Times Picayune notes his trip to Mexico for his health.

In 1891, John Reaney's first wife, Georgiana Meekins died of causes unknown to the author. Two years later, John would marry a much younger woman, Marie Angelique Josselyn who was born in the French Quarter on April 14, 1870. On ________ 1893, they were married at Holy Name of Mary Church in Algiers. John and "Angeline", as she was known, had five children: John Berchman ________, Francis Anthony ______, Peter M _______, Mary Agnes _______, and Expedite James _______. Within a few years, John's developed glaucoma and cataracts in both eyes. In addition to his debilitating war injury, the partial blindness left him unable to find work related to his more successful years as a superintendent and politician. He was forced to enroll in the very program he helped develop for disabled veterans and to seek a Confederate soldier's disability pension. He was initially awarded three dollars per month, but was later able to have that increased to eight dollars per month following testimony from his doctor and former officers of his regiment. The declining health, insistence on yet more children, and requirement that his younger wife work to support the family were all in part responsible for their separation in 1910. Angeline and the younger children moved to a home on Patterson Avenue in Algiers and began running it as a boarding home.

In 1917, Angeline Reaney's only daughter, Mary Agnes Reaney, met and married Robert Arthur Maxwell, an electrician aboard the USS Castine which was stationed at Algiers Naval Base following a tour during World War I. They were married at Holy Name of Mary Church, and soon after moved to Philadelphia where Robert had been assigned to Naval Mine School. Angeline moved to Philadelphia as well following the birth of their first child, Robert Peter Maxwell in ____ 1918. This would serve as a point of contention when, a few years later, Angeline applied for a Confederate Widow's pension.