William E. Frye

WILLIAM E. FRYE. - The Buckeye state has furnished to Wyandotte county no small proportion of her citizenship, and prominent among the representatives from that state is William E. Frye, an enterprising and prosperous fruit grower, whose home, spacious and substantial, is advantageously situated in Quindaro township, beautifully located on an eminence overlooking five counties. Practical industry wisely and vigorously applied, never fails of success; it carries a man onward and upward, brings out his individual character, and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others. The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means, implying the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance. The every day life, with its cares, necessities and duties, affords ample opportunities for acquiring experiences of the best kind, and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and self improvement. In the legitimate channels of agriculture, Mr. Frye has won a comfortable competence and he also stands a man of honored citizenship.

The subject was born in Clermont county, Ohio, on the 25th day of April, 1857. He is a son of Jonas and Hannah (Harker) Frye, both of whom were likewise natives of the Buckeye state. In 1861, when the subject was about five years of age, the family removed to the vicinity of Dayton, Ohio, where they engaged in farming. After residing there for over a decade, in 1872, they removed to Delaware county, Indiana, and took possession of a farm in the Hoosier state upon the same day that U. S. Grant was inaugurated the first time as president of the United States. In another ten years the family sold their Indiana farm and came to Kansas, locating near Olathe, in Johnson county, where they resumed agricultural operations. The mother passed on to the life eternal in 1900, but the father is still living in Olathe, a retired farmer, venerable and respected. These worthy people became the parents of the following six children: William E., the subject, the eldest in order of birth; Clem V.; Dee, wife of A. J. Kennedy; Charles E., who died in 1906; Raul W.; and Blanche, wife of Fred Secrest.

Mr. Fyre[sic] is endebted for his education to the schools of both Ohio and Indiana, his attendance while in the latter state being carried on while assisting his father in the farm labor. He subsequently taught school in Indiana, his pedagogical experience covering a period of two years. On the 25th day of December, 1879, Mr. Fyre[sic] was married in Indiana to Hattie Kirkwood, a native of the Hoosier state. In that same year, he and his wife came to Olathe, where for eight years the subject engaged in farming, making a specialty of the raising of wheat and corn. He subsequently removed to Kansas City, Kansas, and in President Cleveland's second administration, he was appointed stock examiner, which office he held for four years. Later he became a policeman and wore the star of the custodian of the law for eight years, during two years of which time he was police sergeant.

Mr. Frye's present holdings consist of twenty acres and upon this small, but valuable homestead is located a substantial brick house. The land is entirely given to fruit and is located on Parallel Rock road.

Mr. and Mrs. Frye share their pleasant home with three children, namely: Ralph K., with the Wells-Fargo Express Company; Grace D. Frances, wife of Tim McMahon; and William C., who is still a resident beneath the paternal roof. Mr. Fyre is Democratic in his political affiliations and his fraternal relations are confined to membership in the Modern Woodmen of America.