Henry Frazier Reams Sr. (January 15, 1897 – September 15, 1971) was an American lawyer and politician of the

United States Democratic Party The Democratic Party is a Centre-left politics, center-left political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Major party, major parties of the U.S., it was founded in 1828, making it the world's oldes ...

from

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

. Reams served as a U.S. Congressman from Ohio from 1951 to 1955.

Life and career

Reams was born in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...

in 1897. His father was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister. Reams served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, with the 58th Field Artillery, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1918–1919. He was discharged at the rank of lieutenant. After the war, Reams finished his degree at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, earning a bachelor's degree in 1919. In 1922, he received a law degree from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. In 1920, Reams was licensed to practice law in Tennessee. In 1922, he moved to

, where his brother Glenn was a medical resident at the Toledo Hospital. Reams was admitted to the bar and practiced law with the firm Tracy, Chapman & Welles. He practiced as a lawyer while participating in Democratic politics, serving as a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1956. From 1933 to 1937, Reams served as prosecutor of

Lucas County, Ohio Lucas County is a Counties of the United States, county located in the Northwest Ohio, northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is bordered to the east by Lake Erie, and to the southeast by the Maumee River, which runs to the lake. As o ...

. During this time, Reams led a campaign to clean up Toledo and rid the city of the many gangsters and bootleggers who resided and did business there. Reams was most well known for leading the prosecution of Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli, who controlled bootlegging and illegal gambling operations in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and Toledo. Licavoli was sentenced to life in prison and served a 37-year sentence at

Ohio Penitentiary The Ohio Penitentiary, also known as the Ohio State Penitentiary, was a prison operated from 1834 to 1984 in downtown Columbus, Ohio, in what is now known as the Arena District. The state had built a small prison in Columbus in 1813, but as th ...

starting in 1935. Gov.

Martin L. Davey Martin Luther Davey (July 25, 1884March 31, 1946) was an American U.S. Democratic Party, Democratic politician from Ohio. After serving in the US House of Representatives , U.S. House of Representatives, he served as the 53rd governor of Ohio. ...

appointed Reams to investigate easy prison conditions and Reams's investigation of the luxuries that Licavoli was benefitting from at the Ohio Penitentiary resulted in the dismissal of the warden. In 1935, Reams got into a public dispute with Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Roy R. Stuart. A grand jury convened by County Prosecutor Reams had issued indictments of two brothers of Toledo Mayor Addison Q. Thacher, a Republican, on charges related to welfare payments and bank closings. Judge Stuart ordered the dismissal of the grand jury and Reams filed an "affidavit of prejudice," which prevented Stuart from hearing any criminal matter until the accusation of prejudice could be heard. In 1936, Reams sought the Democratic nomination for the office of

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...

, but he lost to Herbert S. Duffy. In 1937, Reams formed the law firm Reams, Bretherton & Neipp. His partners were Thomas A. Bretherton and Morton Neipp, both of whom had worked for him in the prosecutor's office. In 1938, Reams founded Toledo's second radio station, WTOL. He added an FM sister in 1949, WTOL-FM. In 1957, he signed on Toledo's second television station, WTOL-TV. He sold the television station in 1966, but his family kept the radio stations well into the 1990s. From 1939 to 1945 he served on the Toledo Port Commission. From 1942 to 1944, he was collector of internal revenue. In 1944, Reams sought the Democratic nomination for

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, but he placed fourth in the contest that was won by Frank Lausche. Once Lausche won the governorship, he appointed Reams to the office of state director of public welfare, where Reams served from 1945 to 1946. In 1950, Reams, according to his ''New York Times'' obituary,No author. "Frazier Reams; Served in House." ''New York Times'' ew York, N.Y. 16 Sept. 1971, p. 46. split with the Democratic organization in Toledo and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as an independent. He served in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

from 1951 to 1955, during the 82nd and 83rd Congresses, and represented the ninth congressional district of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. However, in 1954, Reams was unsuccessful in his bid for a third term in Congress, losing his seat to a fellow Democrat, Thomas Ludlow Ashley. In 1951, Reams served as a delegate to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...

. In 1953 and 1954, he was a delegate to the

Interparliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; , UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing g ...

Conference. From 1937 to 1960, Reams served on the board of the Community Broadcasting Co. (the operator of WTOL and WCWA radio and

WTOL WTOL (channel 11) is a television station in Toledo, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc., which provides certain services to Fox affiliate WUPW (channel 36) under a joint sales agreement (JSA) with American Sp ...

TV), which he had founded in 1928. In 1955, Reams was one of the founding directors of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority. From 1948 to 1957, he was a trustee of

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

. From 1965 until his death, he was chairman of the board of Reams Broadcasting Corp. After his retirement, Reams moved to

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

. He died in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

in 1971 and was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio). Reams's son, Frazier Reams Jr., was the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor in 1966.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reams, Frazier 1897 births 1971 deaths People from Franklin, Tennessee Politicians from Toledo, Ohio Members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio University of Tennessee alumni Vanderbilt University Law School alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers Military personnel from Tennessee County district attorneys in Ohio Ohio Democrats Ohio independents Independent members of the United States House of Representatives Lawyers from Toledo, Ohio Tennessee lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio) 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Life and career

See also

Sources