James Archibald Frear (October 24, 1861 – May 28, 1939) was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.

James A. Frear
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 9th district
In office
March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935
Preceded byGeorge J. Schneider
Succeeded byMerlin Hull
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 10th district
In office
March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1933
Preceded byElmer A. Morse
Succeeded byHubert H. Peavey
Member of the Wisconsin State Senate
In office
1905
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
1903
18th Secretary of State of Wisconsin
In office
January 7, 1907 – January 6, 1913
GovernorJames O. Davidson
Francis E. McGovern
Preceded byWalter L. Houser
Succeeded byJohn S. Donald
Personal details
Born(1861-10-24)October 24, 1861
Hudson, Wisconsin
DiedMay 28, 1939(1939-05-28) (aged 77)
Washington, D.C.
Political partyRepublican

Biography

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Born in Hudson, Wisconsin, in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, Frear attended the public schools, and Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1878.

He moved with his parents to Washington, D.C., in 1879. He served in the Signal Service, United States Army from 1879 to 1884. He graduated from the National Law University, Washington, D.C., in 1884. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Hudson, Wisconsin. He was city attorney of Hudson in 1894 and 1895. He served eleven years with the Wisconsin National Guard, retiring with the rank of colonel and judge advocate. He was elected district attorney of St. Croix County from 1896 to 1901. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1903. He then served in the Wisconsin State Senate in 1905. Frear became the Secretary of State of Wisconsin from 1907 to 1913.

Frear was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-third and to the ten succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1913 – January 3, 1935). On April 5, 1917, he voted against declaring war on Germany. For his first ten terms in office he represented Wisconsin's 10th congressional district, but for his last term in office, the 73rd Congress, he redistricted and represented Wisconsin's 9th congressional district. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1934. He resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C., where he died May 28, 1939. He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

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  • United States Congress. "James A. Frear (id: F000355)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Secretary of State of Wisconsin
1906, 1908, 1910
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Wisconsin
1907–1913
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 10th congressional district

March 4, 1913 - March 3, 1933
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Wisconsin's 9th congressional district

March 4, 1933 - January 3, 1935
Succeeded by