Leonard Reedy has been recognized as one of the most skillful gunsmiths during the period 1650-1850. Reedy learned his trade in the Womelsdorf-Reading school gunsmithing.
Reedy was born on 20 August 1776 in Lehigh County, later moving to Schuylkill County before moving to Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania around 1815. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. He married twice and had thirteen children. His twin sons, Henry William Reedy and William Henry Reedy served in the Civil War.
In 1818, Reedy settled into a new log house and shop in Gratz. He practiced gunsmithing in Gratz for more than 20 years, but he was not well known in the gun world for 120 years. Through the efforts of a group of Pennsylvania-Kentucky Rifle enthusiasts, Leonard Reedy was researched and “discovered.” As a result, his work in Gratz put the small borough on the gun collecting map. The enthusiasts who brought Reedy to fame were: Samuel E. Dyke, of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Henry Kauffman, a professor at Millersville University; and Dr. Lee Boyer, also a professor at Millersville and himself a Gratz native. Later, Joe Kindig, a gun collector and author, wrote a book about Reedy and his guns.
Reedy was well-acquainted with at least two other gunsmiths of the area. Jacob Umholtz sold him four acres of land in March 1830 and Peter Bellis sold him 30 acres in Lykens Township in July 1830.
The account book of Leonard Reedy shows that he was a also a blacksmith and a Justice of the Peace. His work in the latter occupation made him responsible for writing and recording documents relating to sale of property, advertisements, the settling of estates and lawsuits, as well as other legal matters. For this work, he had to make long trips over Peter’s Mountain by horseback to Harrisburg, the county seat.
Reedy lived in Gratz until his death on 18 April 1837. He and his second wife Elizabeth are buried in Gratz Union Cemetery.
After Leonard Reedy died, his wife Elizabeth married again to Daniel Bitterman. After his death, she again married about 1856, this time to Jacob Shade. The Reedy children scattered. Margaret Reedy married Daniel Good and remained in Gratz. Benjamin Reedy lived in nearby Donaldson, Schuylkill County. William Reedy and Henry Reedy and some of their descendants, settled in the Tower City area. Jacob Reedy, a boatman, died in Halifax. Leonard Reedy Jr. died in Kansas. George Reedy died in Chicago. Edward Reedy learned gunsmithing and moved to Ogle County, Illinois.
An historical marker honoring Leonard Reedy‘s work as a gunsmith was dedicated in Gratz on 27 September 2008. It was placed near the site of his original Gratz home on what is now East Market Street.