Representative Robert Rentoul Reed

Robert Rentoul Reed (March 12, 1807 – December 14, 1864) was a physician and Whig politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania and later in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was born in Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania, where he spent the greater part of his life and built a career that combined medicine and public service.

Reed pursued a classical education locally and entered Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, an institution that was then emerging as a prominent center of higher learning in the region. He graduated from Washington and Jefferson College in 1824, at a relatively young age, reflecting an early completion of his collegiate studies. Seeking professional training in the medical field, he subsequently enrolled in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, one of the leading medical schools in the United States at the time. He completed his medical degree there in 1829.

Following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, Reed returned to his native Washington, Pennsylvania, to begin the practice of medicine. As a physician in a growing western Pennsylvania community, he would have been engaged in general medical practice at a time when formal specialization was rare and physicians often served broad public and private needs. His medical career established him as a respected figure in local society and provided a platform from which he entered political life.

Reed’s transition from medicine to politics culminated in his election as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress. Representing Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives, he served during a period marked by sectional tensions and debates over slavery, territorial expansion, and economic policy. As a Whig, he was aligned with a party that generally supported congressional supremacy, economic development, and internal improvements, although specific details of his committee assignments and legislative initiatives are not extensively documented in surviving records. His service in the Thirty-first Congress placed him among the national lawmakers during the early 1850s, a critical prelude to the political realignments that would soon follow.

After his tenure in Congress, Reed returned to Pennsylvania and continued to be active in public affairs. During the Civil War era, he reentered elective office at the state level. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1863 and 1864, participating in state governance at a time when Pennsylvania played a pivotal role in the Union war effort, including the mobilization of troops and resources and the response to major campaigns such as the Gettysburg Campaign. His legislative service in Harrisburg coincided with some of the most consequential years in the state’s and the nation’s history.

Robert Rentoul Reed died near Washington, Pennsylvania, on December 14, 1864. He was interred in Washington Cemetery in Washington, Pennsylvania, reflecting his lifelong connection to the community in which he was born, educated, practiced medicine, and from which he launched his political career.