lawyer, politician, Congressman, b. Hudson. He graduated from Lawrence College (1878), served in the U.S. Army signal corps (1879-1884), and graduated from the National Law Univ., Washington, D.C. (1884). Returning to Wisconsin in 1884, he set up a law practice in Hudson. A Republican, he was for a time secretary to Senator John C. Spooner (q.v.). He was Hudson city attorney, and district attorney for St. Croix County for several years. In the early I900's he became a supporter of Robert M. La Follette, Sr. (q.v.), and the progressive faction of the Republican party. He was state assemblyman (1903- 1904), state senator (1905-1906), and Wisconsin secretary of state (1907-1912). In 1912 he was elected U.S. Congressman from the old 10th district, and was successively re-elected, serving from 1913 to 1935. In Congress he generally supported the Progressive Republican program, advocating an excess profits tax, and monopoly investigation. Toward the end of his career, he became more conservative, and in the 1928 election supported Herbert Hoover for President. In 1923 he was a member of the unofficial Congressional committee, sponsored by the Hearst publications, that visited Russia to examine possibilities for re-establishing trade relations. After 1935 he returned to his private law practice. J. A. Frear, 40 Years of . . . Service (Washington, 1937); Biog. Dir. Amer. Gong. (1950); N.Y. Times, May 30, 1939; J. A. Frear Papers.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the James Archibald Frear Papers for details.

Learn More

Dictionary of Wisconsin History

Explore more than 1,600 people, places and events in Wisconsin history.

[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]