A Civil War veteran, Ream became a millionaire by investing in steel, railroads, insurance, and banking.

[3] Shortly after the war, in 1866, Ream moved to Princeton, Illinois,[3] where he opened a store.

[1] He ran up debt as a result of a crop failure, but managed to pay it off, and moved to Chicago in 1877.

[1] Ream would rise early to talk to the people at the Union Stock Yards before the Board of Trade opened at 10AM.

[1] Over the year, Ream became an investment advisor to business magnates like J. P. Morgan, Marshall Field, George Pullman.

[2] Ream also served on the board of directors of the National Biscuit Company,[2] later known as Nabisco, now a subsidiary of Mondelēz International.

[14] Another son, Louis, who graduated from Princeton University and worked for the New York Trust Company, also eloped, marrying Eleanor Pendleton, a stage actress.

[18] Another daughter, Marion Buckingham Ream, first married Redmond B. Stevens,[19] and later Anastasy Vonsyatsky, a Polish-born fascist leader.

[7][10] After his death, his widow resided at 903 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.