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Jacob Frolich

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Jacob Frolich
Secretary of State of Arkansas
In office
1879–1885
Personal details
BornNovember 15, 1837
Oberndorf, Germany
DiedApril 25, 1890
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Resting placeOakland-Fraternal Cemetery, Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
ProfessionNewspaper publisher

Jacob Frolich (November 15, 1837 – April 25, 1890) was a German-born, American politician who served as Arkansas Secretary of State from 1879 to 1885. He served as a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was the founder and publisher of the White County Record, a Democratic Party-affiliated newspaper that took a strong stance against Radical Republicans and Reconstruction efforts in Arkansas after the Civil War. He led the Searcy, Arkansas, branch of the Ku Klux Klan and was indicted for the murder of an agent of the Arkansas Governor Powell Clayton investigating Klan activity in White County, Arkansas. He was acquitted of the crime.

He served as assistant secretary of the Arkansas Senate in 1874 and chief secretary in 1878. He served as Adjutant general in the Arkansas militia from 1877 to 1879. He worked in the Grover Cleveland administration as chief clerk of the Mineral Division of the Interior Department and as chief financial clerk of the Patent Office.

Biography

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He was born on November 15, 1837,[1] in Oberndorf, Germany, to John Frolich and Marie Elizabeth Herrman. He emigrated to the United States with his family and they lived in New Orleans and other locations before they settled in Searcy, Arkansas. At the age of 14, he worked as a printer for several years in Evansville, Indiana, St. Louis and New Orleans. He worked as a clerk in a mercantile business in New Orleans for several years. He returned to the printing business and worked in Baton Rouge and other locations in Louisiana.[2]

He served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War in special service with the Army of Tennessee and with the Washington Artillery of New Orleans. He was wounded several times[2] and was promoted to Colonel.[3] His unit surrendered on May 1, 1865, at Augusta, Georgia.[4]

After the war he worked at The Memphis Appeal newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee. He saved up money to purchase printing equipment and moved back to Searcy.[2] In 1866, he founded the White County Record newspaper.[3] It was a Democratic Party-affiliated paper and had a strong stance against Radical Republicans and Reconstruction efforts in Arkansas after the Civil War.[5] After an argument with the editor of the Little Rock Republican he printed that he was "ready, willing and waiting to go hanging, shooting or roasting, provided the occasion offers the editor of the Republican as a victim."[6]

He purchased Curran Hall in Little Rock. He was under scrutiny from the Radical Republican government and Frolich set up trap doors and hiding places in the building in case it was raided.[7] He sold the house in 1881.[8]

Frolich was reported to lead the Searcy Ku Klux Klan.[5] He and several other men, including Dandridge McRae, were indicted for the 1868 murder of Albert Parker, an agent of Arkansas Governor Powell Clayton sent to investigate Klan activity in White County.[9] A warrant was issued for his arrest and Frolich fled to Canada and worked as a printer in Windsor, Ontario,[6] for a year. Governor Clayton offered a $1,000 bounty for his arrest. He returned to Arkansas in June 1871.[10] He demanded a trial and was acquitted when the prosecutor was unable to produce evidence.[5]

In 1874, he was elected as assistant secretary of the state Senate and as chief secretary of the state Senate in 1878.[2] He served in the Arkansas Militia and as Adjutant general from April 8, 1877, to 1879.[4] He served as Secretary of State of Arkansas for three terms, from 1879 to 1885.[11]

He moved to Washington D.C. and worked in the Grover Cleveland administration as chief clerk of the Mineral Division of the Interior Department and as chief financial clerk of the Patent Office.[2] He returned to Arkansas in 1889 and worked as business manager for the Arkansas Gazette newspaper.[1] He left the Gazette in 1890 and worked for the J.H. Sannoner & Co. mercantile business. He declared himself a candidate for state treasurer but died prior to the election.[2]

He died in Little Rock on April 25, 1890,[12] and was interred at Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.[2]

Personal life

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He married Mollie Gaines Finley on September 2, 1869, and they had three children.[2]

References

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Citations

  1. ^ a b Allsopp 1922, p. 572.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kwas, Mary L. (2011). A Pictorial History of Arkansas's Old State House - Celebrating 175 Years. The University of Arkansas Press. pp. 130–131. ISBN 978-1-55728-955-1. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b Allsopp 1922, p. 476.
  4. ^ a b "Arkansas Militia Pre World War I 1874-1916" (PDF). Arkansas Military Journal. 5 (2): 3–7. Winter 1996. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Jacob Frolich (1837-1890)". encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  6. ^ a b Allsopp 1922, p. 477.
  7. ^ "HABS ARK,60-LIRO,8- (sheet 5 of 9) - Curran Hall, 615 East Capitol Street, Little Rock, Pulaski County, AR Drawings from Survey HABS AR-36". www.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  8. ^ Zakrzewski, Katie (10 November 2021). "The Digs of the Deal: Curran Hall's Curmudgeonly Past". armoneyandpolitics.com. Arkansas Money and Politics. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  9. ^ Trelease, Allen W. (1971). White Terror - The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-7874-4. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  10. ^ Herndon, Dallas T. (1922). Centennial History of Arkansas. Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 588. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  11. ^ Allsopp 1922, pp. 571–572.
  12. ^ Allsopp 1923, p. 572.

Sources

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