Background
Francis E. Reed was born in Danbury, New Hampshire, on April 28, 1852, to father Ezekiel Sayes Reed.
Francis E. Reed was born in Danbury, New Hampshire, on April 28, 1852, to father Ezekiel Sayes Reed.
He attended the local schools until his family moved to Concord, New Hampshire, at the age of nine. He attended public schools and the Penacook Academy in Penacook, an area of Concord.
After completing his education, Francis moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he got a job as a machinist at the Amoskeag Mills. Foreign 75 cents/day he first worked on the manufacturing of a steam fire engine. In 1889, Reed bought a black smith drilling machine company from George Burnham (15 Hermon Street).
He kept the name and address until 1902, when he changed it to the Francis Reed Company (43 Hammond Street).
lieutenant is here that Reed began to experiment with improving the drill. He invented many devices, including a machine that drills multiple holes at once.
Francis Reed was known as a very gifted mechanic, a shrewd businessman, energetic, and industrious. Beginning in about 1890, business took off and the Forest Engineer Read Company lathe became the world standard.
"In 1877 the company employed 6 men and produced about 150 machines a year, in 1912 he owned 8 buildings, employed a thousand men and produced two thousand machines a year.
Mr. Reed retired in 1912 and the Reed-Prentice Company was formed which took over management of the Prentice Bros Company, The F. East. Reed Company, the Reed Foundry Company, and The Reed-Curtis Machine Screw Company This corporation had a capitalization of $2,000,000.
Mr. Reed remained as director
He died in 1917."
In April 1912, the Forest Engineer Reed Company and the closely interwoven Prentice Brothers Company merged, and became the Reed-Prentice Company, and in 1915 the company was sold to new interests.