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Frazier Reams | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's9th district | |
| In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1955 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Henry Burke |
| Succeeded by | Thomas L. Ashley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Henry Frazier Reams (1897-01-15)January 15, 1897 Franklin, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | September 15, 1971(1971-09-15) (aged 74) Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio) |
| Political party | Independent |
| Relations | Frazier Reams Jr. (son) |
| Alma mater | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1918–1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Henry Frazier Reams Sr. (January 15, 1897 – September 15, 1971) was anAmerican lawyer and politician of theUnited States Democratic Party fromToledo, Ohio. He served two terms as a U.S. Congressman from Ohio from 1951 to 1955.
Reams was born inFranklin, Tennessee in 1897. His father was aMethodist minister.
Reams served in theUnited States Army, with the 58th Field Artillery, duringWorld War I, in 1918–1919. He was discharged at the rank of lieutenant.
After the war, Reams finished his degree at theUniversity of Tennessee at Knoxville, earning a bachelor's degree in 1919. In 1922, he received a law degree fromVanderbilt University.
In 1920, Reams was licensed to practice law in Tennessee. In 1922, he moved toToledo, Ohio, where his brother Glenn was a medical resident atthe 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 theDemocratic National Convention in 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, 1948, and 1956.
From 1933 to 1937, Reams served as prosecutor ofLucas County, Ohio. 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 ofThomas "Yonnie" Licavoli, who controlled bootlegging and illegal gambling operations inDetroit, Michigan and Toledo. Licavoli was sentenced to life in prison and served a 37-year sentence atOhio Penitentiary starting in 1935. Gov.Martin L. Davey 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 ofOhio Attorney General, but he lost toHerbert 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 theToledo Port Commission. From 1942 to 1944, he was collector of internal revenue.
In 1944, Reams sought the Democratic nomination forGovernor of Ohio, but he placed fourth in the contest that was won byFrank 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 hisNew York Times obituary,[1] split with the Democratic organization in Toledo and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as an independent. He served in theHouse from 1951 to 1955, during the 82nd and 83rd Congresses, and represented the ninth congressional district ofOhio. 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 theCouncil of Europe. In 1953 and 1954, he was a delegate to theInterparliamentary Union Conference.
From 1937 to 1960, Reams served on the board of the Community Broadcasting Co. (the operator of WTOL and WCWA radio andWTOL TV), which he had founded in 1928. In 1955, Reams was one of the founding directors of theToledo-Lucas County Port Authority. From 1948 to 1957, he was a trustee ofBowling Green State University. From 1965 until his death, he was chairman of the board of Reams Broadcasting Corp.
After his retirement, Reams moved toSan Mateo, California. He died inOakland, California in 1971 and was buried in theWoodlawn Cemetery (Toledo, Ohio).
Reams's son,Frazier Reams Jr., was the Democratic nominee for Ohio governor in 1966.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Thomas H. Burke (Incumbent): 45,268 | Homer A. Ramey: 43,301 |  YFrazier Reams (Independent): 51,024 |
| 1952 | Thomas H. Burke: 61,047 | Gilmore Flues: 46,989 | YFrazier Reams (Independent, Incumbent): 74,821 |
| 1954 | YThomas L. Ashley: 48,471 | Irving C. Reynolds: 39,933 | Frazier Reams (Independent, Incumbent): 44,656 |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOhio's 9th congressional district January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1955 | Succeeded by |
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