John Cromwell Reynolds (c.1810-1849)

John C. Reynolds was born the son of Reuben Reynolds in Cecil County, Maryland around 1810. He studied at an early age at the Nottingham Academy in his home county and then entered Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania with the class of 1825. When he graduated with honors, Reynolds was still only sixteen years old. He then went on to study medicine with Dr. Nathan Smith in Baltimore.

Reynolds interned in the hospitals of Baltimore and then became a commissioned surgeon in the United States Army. He saw his first action in the second Seminole War, fought between 1835 and 1842 in Florida. Reynolds also was involved with the Cherokee unrest. This included the subsequent treaty signing authorizing the final removal of that tribe in 1835, and the escorting of 5000 tribe members across the Mississippi in the infamous "Trail of Tears" in 1838. He went on to serve under General Winfield Scott in the Mexican War in 1846.

Reynolds married Eleanor Moore of Lewistown, Pennsylvania and from then on called Mifflin County his home. John Cromwell Reynolds died on February 20, 1849 in Lewistown. He was thirty-eight years old.