Center for Archival Collections

Introduction | Biographical Sketch | Scope and Content | Series Description | Inventory

Introduction

The Frazier Reams, Sr. Papers were donated to the Center for Archival Collections by Mrs. Frazier Reams, Sr., in June 1978. The collection consists of various scrapbooks, speeches, biographical sketches, and correspondence dating from 1933 to 1954. Personal and public information about Reams may also be found within the records. The collection, processed by Marcia Sommerfield, Graduate Assistant, Department of History, occupies five and one-half linear feet and contains seventy-eight items. Scholarly, literary, and property rights have been granted to the public for the purposes of scholarly research.

Biographical Sketch

Frazier Reams was born in Franklin, Tennessee, on January 15, 1897, the son of Herschel and Tabitha Reams. Herschel B. Reams, pastor of the Franklin Methodist Church, instilled in Frazier and his siblings a great love for religion which Frazier carried with him throughout his life. After attending the University of Tennessee (1915-1919), Reams entered the College of Law at Vanderbilt University in 1919. In 1921, he was admitted to the Tennessee Bar Association. Later, in 1922, he was admitted to the Ohio Bar Association. Upon moving to Toledo, Ohio, Reams met Crystal Petree at the Epworth Methodist Church and, on June 27, 1924, they were married.

Reams' public career began in 1933. His overwhelming concern for public welfare dictated his determination to free Toledo from criminal injustices and to improve conditions within Ohio's penitentiaries. Reams also was involved in nation-wide politics throughout his career. He became a member of the Ohio Delegation to the Democratic National Convention in 1928 and served at each succeeding convention until 1956.

The appointments and offices Reams held were: Prosecuting Attorney of Lucas County (1933-1937); Special Investigator of the Ohio Penitentiary (1935-1936); Director of Public Welfare in the State of Ohio (1945-1946); United States Collector of Internal Revenue (1941-1942, appointed by President Roosevelt); Manager of Roosevelt's campaign in Ohio (1936); Trustee for Bowling Green State University (1948-1957); and Representative to the United States Congress from Ohio's 9th District (1951-1954). Reams remained a prominent, well-known public figure in Ohio and the nation until his death at the age of 74 in 1971.

Scope and Content

The Frazier Reams, Sr. Papers, 1933-c1954, mainly document his terms as Prosecuting Attorney for Lucas County, Public Welfare Director, and Congressman from Ohio's 9th District. Reams' scrapbooks, the major portion of the collection, contain numerous articles pertaining to life in Ohio and the city of Toledo. Articles may be found documenting criminal injustices, hospital and penitentiary conditions, and campaign activities. Limited primary materials include speeches and correspondence.

The speeches, given before audiences of political, religious, and educational orientation, contain information on Ohio's penitentiary system, religion, patriotism, and various other topics. A portion of the correspondence deals with Bowling Green State University and Reams' congressional campaign. All other letters are of a miscellaneous character.

The scrapbooks are arranged according to their number and date. The speeches, correspondence, and other miscellaneous items are indexed according to their original provenance within the collection. Correspondence about Reams' personal life is virtually non-existent. All the photographs of the collection have been removed to the Center for Archival Collections' permanent photograph files.

Series Description

LITERARY PRODUCTIONS

BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL
1953, n.d.
Arranged chronologically
Congressional record, accomplishments, and biographical sketches, including a manuscript by Don Wolfe, Frazier Reams: His Life and Time.

NOTES
1948-1952
Arranged chronologically
Includes material on teaching a Bible class, as well as some historical topics.

REPORTS
1935
Report of Proceedings Inquiring into Conditions Existing in the Ohio Penitentiary and Other State Penal Institutions.

SPEECHES
1943-1952
Includes speeches, talks, and addresses given by Frazier Reams, Sr. on a variety of occasions to a variety of groups.

CORRESPONDENCE

CORRESPONDENCE
1936-1954
Arranged by topic.
Includes correspondence concerning his campaign, Bowling Green State University, and Irving C. Reynolds.

PRINTED MATERIAL

SCRAPBOOKS, CLIPPINGS, ETC.
1901-1954 (scattered dates)
Includes articles on a variety of topics including politics, items of personal interest, and the penitentiary investigation. Some scrapbooks are indexed.

PHOTOGRAPHS

POSITIVE PRINTS
n.d., 1958
Includes photographs of Frazier Reams, Sr., his wife, and his son at a variety of occasions.

Inventory

Box 1

1. Statement to Glenn Everett of Frazier Reams' background, July 30, 1953
2. Biographical sketch, compiled November 1953
3. Congressional record, accomplishments, and biographical sketch, n.d.
4. Lakeside Bible class teaching notes, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings, 1948-1952
5. Lakeside Bible class teaching information, July 20, 1952
6. Report on the location of penal institutions of the Post-War Program Commission, December 19, 1945
7. Speech before the Kiwanis Club, Dayton, Ohio, July 1, 1947
8. Speech before the Ohio Welfare Conference, November 26, (1946?)
9. Speech to the Mental Hygiene Institute of Greater Cleveland, February 19, 1946
10. Speech for Mother's Day before the Liedertaufel Class, May 11, 1947
11. Speech before the Akron Conference of Health, Welfare, and Recreation, April 25, 1946
12. Speech before the Ohio Probation Association, May 10, 1946
13. Speech delivered at the 55th Annual Ohio Welfare Conference, November 26, 1945
14. Speech before the Ohio Welfare Department, November 18, 1946
15. Speech entitled The Damned Politicians: address delivered by Claris Adams before the Torch Club, February 4, 1943
16. Speech for Memorial Day delivered at the cemetery of the Boy's Industrial School, May 30, 1945
17. Speech entitled "Your Children and the Atomic Age", n.d.
18. Speech before the Prosecutor's Section of the Ohio Bar Association, November 30, 1945
19. Speech given at the luncheon in honor of Dr. D. R. Sharpe, June 6, 1946
20. Speech given to the Class of Criminology at the Randolph Macon Women's College, November 15, 1946
21. Message to the Congress on the State of the Union at the Congress for High School Students, April 18-19, 1946
22. Speech before the Toledo Chamber of Commerce, 1945
23. Speech given to the Columbus Community Chest, October 23, 1946
24. Speech, opening remarks, "On the Columbus Town Hall of the Air", May 26, 1946
25. Announcement of candidacy for the office of Attorney General of the State of Ohio, December 11, 1947
26. Paper, Our Father, n.d.
27. Paper, Moses, the Great Leader and the People He Led, n.d.
28. The Role of the Independent in Congress, n.d.
29. Speech given on radio, announcing candidacy for re-election, 1952
30. Correspondence between Reams and Bruce Rhodes, February 1954
31. Correspondence and notes concerning the Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute, 1936-1937
32. Correspondence relating to the campaign, 1951-1953
33. Correspondence between Reams and Bowling Green State University, January 16, 1953-December 7, 1954
34. Correspondence, miscellaneous topics, November 12, 1936-March 13, 1942
35. Correspondence from Reams to Irving C. Reynolds, September 27, 1954

Box 2

1. Manuscript (original) of Frazier Reams: His Life and Time, by Don Wolfe, April 1978
2. Manuscript (final) of Frazier Reams: His Life and Time, by Don Wolfe, April 1978
3. Report of Proceedings Inquiring into Conditions Existing in the Ohio Penitentiary and Other State Penal Institutions, pp. 1-244, January 22, 1935.
4. Report of Proceedings Inquiring into Conditions Existing in the Ohio Penitentiary and Other State Penal Institutions, pp. 245-446, January 22, 1935
5. Report of Proceedings Inquiring into Conditions Existing in the Ohio Penitentiary and Other State Penal Institutions, pp. 447-746m, preface and index, January 22, 1935

Box 3

1. Scrapbook on prayer, 1947-1954
2. Loose papers extracted from scrapbook on prayer, n.d.
3. Journal, 1953-1954
4. Newspaper clippings from unidentified scrapbook, December 27, 1941-February 2, 1942
5. Newspaper clippings from unidentified scrapbook, February 1, 1942-February 19, 1942
6. Newspaper clippings from unidentified scrapbook, February 19, 1942-February 21, 1942
7. Newspaper clippings (unidentified) from scrapbooks, volumes 1-10
8. Newspaper clippings from scrapbooks, volumes 1-10
9. Correspondence (miscellaneous) from scrapbooks, December 7, 1917
10. Newspaper clipping, Toledo Blade, "Chinese Plan for Language Reform," December 25, 1955
11. Land contract, September 1923; Lease agreement, September 1939
12. Newspaper clipping on Winston Churchill from The Inlander, February 1901
13. Democratic National Convention material, 1948
14. Notes on Major General George H. Thomas (1816-1870) and John Bell Hood (1831-1879), n.d.
15. Publication, On the Record, from the Ohio State Mental Hygiene Services, March 1945-December 1946

Box 4

1. Scrapbook, January 26, 1933-August 13, 1933
2. Scrapbook, August 14, 1933-October 15, 1933
3. Scrapbook, October 16, 1933-January 3, 1934
4. Scrapbook, January 3, 1934-May 12, 1934
5. Scrapbook, May 15, 1934-October 6, 1934

Box 5

1. Scrapbook, October 6, 1934-March 5, 1935
2. Scrapbook, March 5, 1935-September 13, 1935
3. Scrapbook, September 13, 1935-February 29, 1936
4. Scrapbook, March 3, 1936-September 12, 1936
5. Scrapbook, September 14, 1936-December 8, 1936

Box 6

1. Scrapbook, (1940s)
2. Scrapbook, personal, 1936
3. Scrapbook, personal, 1932-1935
4. Scrapbook, penitentiary investigation, 1935
5. Scrapbook, penitentiary investigation, 1935

Box 7

1. Scrapbook, August 2, 1954-January 16, 1955
2. Scrapbook, January 1, 1955-October 21, 1955
3. Scrapbook (indexed), December 28, 1944-June 16, 1945
4. Scrapbook (indexed), June 13, 1945-October 25, 1945
5. Scrapbook (indexed), October 5, 1945-March 15, 1946
6. Scrapbook (indexed), March 15, 1946-September 11, 1946

Manuscripts by Subject | Political Collections