Joseph Rea Reed

Joseph Rea Reed
Chief Justice of Court of Private Land Claims
In office June 1891 – 1894
Appointed by	Benjamin Harrison
Member of the United States House of Representatives
In office March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891
Preceded by	Joseph Lyman
Succeeded by	Thomas Bowman
Constituency	Iowa's 9th district
Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
In office January 1, 1889 – February 28, 1889
Preceded by	William H. Seevers
Succeeded by	James H. Rothrock
Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court
In office January 1, 1884 – February 28, 1889
Judge of Iowa's 13th Judicial District
In office 1872 – January 1, 1884
Appointed by	Cyrus C. Carpenter
Member of the Iowa Senate for the 21st District
In office 1866–1870
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 (also Chief Justice for 2 months), one-term Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 9th congressional district in southwestern Iowa, and chief justice of a specialized federal court.

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 from 1866 to 1870, moving to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1869.

In 1872, he was appointed by Governor Cyrus C. Carpenter as judge of the 13th 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, having been the Chief Justice from January 1, 1889 until his resignation.^[1]

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.

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.^[1][2] 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.

• 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)