JOHN PAUL REAM
Lucas
county has been signally favored in the class of men who have
occupied her public offices and prominent among these is John
Paul Ream who is now filling the position of county treasurer
to which he was elected on the democratic ticket in 1908. That his service
received public indorsement is indicated by the fact that he
was reelected in 1910. He
was born in Benton township, Lucas county, July 9, 1869, a son
of Samuel Mitchell and Nancy E. (Murphy) Ream, who were
natives of Hillsboro, Ohio, and were reared, educated and
married there. Soon
afterward they removed westward with Iowa as their destination
and settled in Lucas county where the remainder of their lives
was spent upon a farm. The
father always carried on general agricultural pursuits and
after coming to this state he invested in land in Benton
township, paying for his first purchase only a dollar and a
quarter per acre. Ultimately
he became the owner of three hundred acres of rich and
productive land and in addition to the development of the
fields he conducted a profitable business in buying and
feeding cattle. In
politics he was a stanch democrat and believed firmly in the
principles of the party platform. He belonged to the Masonic fraternity
and he was a generous contributor to the support of the
Seventh Day Adventist church of which his wife was an active
and faithful member. He
died January 23, 1907, at the age of seventy-one years, while
his widow survived him for more than two years, passing away
October 7, 1909 at the age of seventy. They were the
parents of a large family of six sons and six daughters: Mrs. Emma Webb, who
is now deceased; W. D., the owner of an extensive ranch at
Dingle, Idaho; Dora Cain, living in Hartford, Iowa; Mrs. Edith
L. Burns, who has been a teacher all her life and is now at
Shawnee, Oklahoma, after residing in that state since it was
opened as a territory; John Paul; James C., living at Twin
Falls, Idaho; M. C., a farmer and traveling salesman; Mrs. Ida
Parsons, of Joliet, Montana; Duward B., living on the old
homestead in Lucas county; Elda, of Montana; and Samuel and
Nancy, who died in infancy.
John Paul Ream has always resided in Lucas county save for one year spent in Idaho as a salesman and farmer. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native county and for a few years engaged in teaching, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had acquired. He organized the Western Union Telephone Company and has been identified with many progressive movements which have had direct and important bearing upon the welfare, progress and prosperity of this section of the state. He is a stockholder in the Spring Lake Ice Company of Chariton and is the owner of a farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Benton township.
Business
interests, however, have been but one phase of his existence
and have not prevented his active participation in measures
relating to the public good.
He has also been a champion of the system of public
education and has been almost continuously connected with the
schools in some official capacity since attaining his
majority. At one
time he served as town clerk and also as assessor of Benton
township. In
politics he is a liberal democrat, voting as his judgment
dictates without feeling that he should blindly follow a party
leadership. In
1908 his fellowmen, appreciative of his worth and ability,
elected him county treasurer of Lucas county, he being either
the first or the second democrat ever chosen to that position. He ran far ahead of
his ticket, a fact indicative of his personal popularity and
the confidence and trust reposed in him. His excellent
record during his first term led to his reelection in 1910. He was prominently
identified with securing the second rural free delivery route
in Lucas county, circulating a petition in support of and
working hard for this measure.
On the 21st of January, 1889, Mr. Ream was married to Miss Anna E. Erickson, who was born in Lucas county and is a daughter of August and Anna Erickson, who are natives of Sweden. The living children of this marriage are five in number, Lester F., Eulala, Roscoe, Cecil and Sidney M., while two sons, Charles and Fred, died in infancy. The parents hold membership in the United Brethren church and Mr. Ream belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias—associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. Those who know him esteem him highly not alone for what he has accomplished in the business world but because of his fidelity and trustworthiness in every public relation.