Frederick Watson Reed Papers

Collection

Identifier: M/A 0055

Staff Only

Description of Contents

The collection consists of letters and papers from the early 1900s to 1940s that were presented to the Minneapolis Collection by Frederick Watson Reed in 1944. Papers and correspondence cover topics of legal aid issues, the Chattel Loan Business trial (mortgage on personal property as security for an obligation or draft), Anti-Saloon League, liquor patrols, Ku Klux Klan, and correspondence with Rev. David Nelson Beach of the Plymouth Congregational Church. Files also include autobiographical writings and biographical clippings.

Dates

Creation: 1906 - 1946

Creator

Reed, Frederick Watson (Person)

Access Restrictions

The collection is available for use in Special Collections at Minneapolis Central Library during the department's open hours.

Biography

Frederick Watson Reed was an attorney for the Legal Aid Society and practicing attorney in a Minneapolis law firm in the early 1900s. He was considered the Father of the Conciliation Court. He was also instrumental in the development of the Bethel Sunday School, which developed into the Pillsbury Settlement House. He was director of Associated Charities and very involved in the Plymouth Congregational Church. He married Selina Brown, a librarian at the Minneapolis Public Library. They were members of the Saturday Club. After retiring, he wrote a volume of essays on law, democracy, and world conditions, entitled What Price Freedom? He died in 1945 at the age of 92.