Joseph Rea Reed

Joseph Rea Reed
Member of the United States House of Representatives
In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Constituency	Iowa's 9th district
Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
In office January 1, 1884 – February 28, 1889
Member of the Iowa Senate
In office 1866–1888
Personal details
Born	(1835-03-12)March 12, 1835 Ashland County, Ohio
Died	April 2, 1925(1925-04-02) (aged 90) Council Bluffs, Iowa
Resting place	Walnut Hill Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Occupation	Jurist, politician
Military service
Branch/service	Union Army
Years of service	July 1861–June 10, 1865
Rank	Captain
Unit	2nd Iowa Independent Battery Light Artillery
Battles/wars	Civil War

Joseph Rea Reed (March 12, 1835 – April 2, 1925) was an Iowa Supreme Court justice, one-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 9th congressional district in southwestern Iowa, and chief justice of a specialized federal court.

Biography

Born in Ashland County, Ohio, Reed attended the common schools and Vermillion Institution in Hayesville, Ohio from 1854 to 1857. He moved to Adel, Iowa, in 1857. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1859 and engaged in the practice of law at Adel until 1861.

In July 1861, upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, Reed enlisted as first lieutenant in the 2nd Iowa Independent Battery Light Artillery. He was promoted to captain in October 1864, and served until June 10, 1865. Following the war, he resumed the practice of law in Adel. He served as member of the Iowa Senate in 1866 and 1868, moving to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1869.

In 1872, he became a judge. He served as judge of the district court from 1872 to 1884. He was then elevated to the Iowa Supreme Court, where he served from January 1, 1884, until he resigned on February 28, 1889 (including two months as chief justice).

In 1888, Reed received the Republican nomination for election as the 9th congressional district's representative in the U.S. House, after incumbent Republican Joseph Lyman declined to seek a third term. After winning the general election, Reed served in the Fifty-first Congress. However, Reed was not re-elected, but was defeated in 1890 by Democrat Thomas Bowman as part of the Democrats' landslide victory. He served in Congress from March 4, 1889 to March 3, 1891.

In June 1891, he was named by President Benjamin Harrison as the chief justice of the new United States Court of Private Land Claims, a court created to decide land claims guaranteed by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, in the territories of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, and in the states of Nevada, Colorado, and Wyoming. He served on that court from 1891 to 1904. He then resumed the practice of law in Council Bluffs, where he died on April 2, 1925. He was interred in Walnut Hill Cemetery.

References

• United States Congress. "Joseph Rea Reed (id: R000124)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Iowa Judicial Branch Past Iowa Supreme Court Justices page for Joseph Rea Reed at the Wayback Machine (archived 2015-09-24)