Editing Thomas Brackett Reed (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:OcrSusan P. Merrill.jpg|thumb|Susan P. Reed (née Merrill)|205x205px]]
Reed married his childhood friend and classmate Susan P. Merrill in 1871, when he was a member of the Maine legislature. She was born at [[Center Harbor, New Hampshire]], on [[Lake Winnipesaukee]] to the Rev. Samuel H. Merrill, a well-known [[Congregational]] clergyman, and Hannah Prentis, a native of New Hampshire. She had one brother, Edward P. Merrill, and one sister, who resided in Lowell, Massachusetts. They had one daughter, [[Katherine Reed Balentine]], who was born January 23, 1875.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hinman|first1=Ida|title=The Washington Sketch Book|date=1896|location=Washington D. C.|publisher=Hartman & Cadick, Printers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NxAyAQAAMAAJ|at=sec. Supplement p. 3|access-date=September 12, 2022}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> Katherine later started a monthly magazine called ''The Yellow Ribbon'', which promoted women's suffrage.{{Sfn|Grant|2011|p=374}}

Reed was well known for his acerbic wit (asked if his party might nominate him for president, he noted, "They could do worse, and they probably will"). His size, standing at over 6 feet in height and weighing over 300&nbsp;lbs (136&nbsp;kg), was also a distinguishing factor. Reed was a member of the social circle that included intellectuals and politicians [[Henry Cabot Lodge]], [[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[Henry Brooks Adams|Henry Adams]], and [[John Hay]]. Upon his retirement from public life, he also counted [[Mark Twain]] among his personal friends.

In 1894, Reed published his handbook on parliamentary procedure, titled ''Reed's Rules: A Manual of General Parliamentary Law'', which was, at the time, a very popular text on the subject and is still in use in the legislature of the State of Washington.<ref>{{cite web |title=Washington State Legislature - Legislative procedures |url=https://leg.wa.gov/about-the-legislature/legislative-procedures/reeds-rules/}}</ref>