Dr. James Theodore Reeve was born in New York in 1834. He received degrees from the Farmers' Hall Academy, Castleton Medical College in Vermont, and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. In 1855 he emigrated to DePere, Wis., where he married Laura Spofford in 1857.
On Sept. 18, 1861, Reeve applied for and received a commission with the 10th Wisconsin Regiment as 2nd Assistant Surgeon. He was promoted and transferred to the 21st Wisconsin Volunteers on Aug. 5, 1862, being promoted to Surgeon in Nov., 1862. He later became acting Chief Surgeon of the regiment.
The 21st Wisconsin Volunteers participated in several major engagements, including Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, and Sherman's siege of Atlanta and march to the sea. Sometime in 1863 Dr. Reeve was captured and held as a prisoner of war, being released in Nov., 1863. On June 8, 1865, at the end of the war, Dr. Reeve was mustered out.
When he returned, Dr. Reeve moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he resided until his death in 1906. He was active in civic affairs, although the medical field was his primary interest. He was active in the G.A.R. and was appointed G.A.R. medical director for Wisconsin three times. This support of medical organizations led to his becoming president of the Fox River Medical Society and secretary and president of the State Medical Society of Wisconsin. In 1876 he attended the International Medical Congress as a delegate, and was a member of the Pan-American Congress in 1893. Dr. Reeve was secretary of the state board of health from 1876 to 1894. In addition to these medical activities, he was instrumental in starting and developing the public library in Appleton and was an active member of the 1st Congregational Church.
Three of Dr. Reeve's six children died, one, “Chip”, in 1868. Those surviving were Howard D. Reeve of Spokane, Washington, and Miss Katherine Reeve and Dr. James S. Reeve of Appleton.
