Frank Barrows Freyer
14th Naval Governor of Guam
In office
November 5, 1910 – January 21, 1911
Preceded byEdward John Dorn
Succeeded byGeorge Salisbury
Personal details
BornDecember 10, 1878
Marietta, Georgia, United States
DiedDecember 7, 1947(1947-12-07) (aged 68)
Nationality United States
Alma materUnited States Naval Academy
George Washington University
AwardsOrder of the Sun
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy Seal United States Navy
Rank Captain
CommandsPeruvian Navy
USS Procyon
USS Trenton

Frank Barrows Freyer (December 10, 1878 – December 7, 1947) was a United States Navy captain who served as the 14th Naval Governor of Guam. Freyer graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1902, having played several collegiate sports there. The Navy assigned him to many different ships, including having him participate in the Great White Fleet and its visit to Japan. Soon after, he was transferred to the Naval Base Guam, where he served as assistant to the Commandant before from November 5, 1910, to January 21, 1911, he became acting governor of the island. As governor, he suspended the licenses of all midwives on the island because of an alarming rate of infection, requiring them all to be re-certified. After George Salisbury relieved him of the position, Freyer became his aide.

In 1913, he received a Bachelor of Laws from George Washington University and, in 1918, became assistant to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. After agreeing to help Peru restructure its naval forces, the United States Navy ordered Freyer there to take command of the efforts; he became Chief of Staff of the Peruvian Navy the following year. In the position, he helped rebuild the naval tactics and education of the country, and stayed there for many years. During his stay, Freyer collected over 1,000 works of Peruvian art, now on display as the "Frank Barrow Freyer Collection" at the Denver Art Museum. He went on to command USS Procyon and USS Trenton before retiring.

Life

Freyer was originally from Marietta, Georgia.[1] He began his college career at Georgia Institute of Technology in the fall of 1895. While there he founded the Georgia Tech chapter of Kappa Sigma. In the fall of 1898 he transferred to the United States Naval Academy. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1902 and received a Bachelor of Laws from George Washington University in 1913.[2] He married and two children, a daughter Engracia[3] and a son Frank Barrow Freyer II.[4] His granddaughter, G. Diane Freyer, married William Schneider, Jr., an Under-Secretary of State in the Reagan administration.[4] After retiring from the Navy, Freyer and his wife lived in Denver, Colorado.[5] He and his wife were avid art collectors, amassing a painting and furniture collection of over 1,000 works of Peruvian artwork.[6] The "Frank Barrow Freyer Collection" has been displayed in numerous museums, including the Newark Museum,[7] the Brooklyn Museum,[8] the Columbus Museum of Fine Arts, and the Toledo Museum of Art.[9] Many of the collection's pieces currently reside in the Denver Art Museum, and a piece from the collection, Ignacio Chacon's Madonna and Child with Bird, was depicted on a United States postage stamp in 2006.[10]

Naval career

Freyer was admitted to the United States Naval Academy in May 1898 from Georgia.[11] While attending the academy, he participated as a member of the Navy Midshipmen crew team[12] and as a fullback for the Navy Midshipmen football team.[13] He was also a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.[14] Soon after graduating, Freyer served as an ensign aboard USS Olympia in 1903.[15] Freyer later served aboard USS Missouri during its visit to Japan as part of the Great White Fleet.[16] In 1917, Freyer was stationed aboard USS Oregon.[17] In 1918, he was transferred to Washington, D.C., where he became assistant to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy.[18]

Freyer, now a commander, sailed for Peru in August 1920 as head of a mission aiding in the reorganization of the Peruvian Navy.[19] He was soon named Chief of Staff of the Peruvian Navy in January 1921, using the position to rebuild Peruvian naval education and command.[20][21] For his service to Peru, the Congress of the Republic of Peru awarded him the nation's highest award, the Order of the Sun. After leaving Peru, he captained USS Procyon.[22] In 1929, Captain Freyer commanded USS Trenton.[23]

Governorship

Freyer served as acting Naval Governor of Guam from November 5, 1910, to January 21, 1911.[24] Prior to becoming governor, he briefly served in the position of principal technical assistant to the Commandant of the Naval Base Guam from March 1 to March 8, 1909.[25] As governor, Freyer addressed the alarming spread of infection and tetanus by suspending the licenses of all pattera, or midwives, and requiring that they all pass an additional recertification exam.[26] After leaving the governorship, Lieutenant Freyer became aide to Governor George Salisbury.[27]

Personal life

On June 22, 1908, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California, Freyer married Maria Engracia Critcher. They had three children, Engracia, Frank, and John.[28]

In 1910, Freyer's daughter Engracia Enriquetta Critcher Freyer (1910-1977) was born in Hagåtña, Guam.[29]

References

  1. ^ "Initiates for the College Year 1895-96". Caduceus of Kappa Sigma. Charlottesville, Virginia: Kappa Sigma. 11: 388. 1896. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  2. ^ Catalogue. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University. 1913. p. 284. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Son to William Doughertys Jr". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times. 12 July 1949. p. 30.
  4. ^ a b "Miss Freyer Is the Bride of U. S. Aide". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 30 June 1986. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
  5. ^ "Engracia Freyer a Bride: Daughter of Naval Captain Wed to William A. Doughtery". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 18 November 1943. p. 26.
  6. ^ "Show Stresses Art of South America". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 14 January 1942. p. 16.
  7. ^ "Sundry Pulse Beats of Late Summer". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times. 31 August 1941. p. X7.
  8. ^ "Antiques from the Peru of the Incas". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 4 January 1931. p. SM8.
  9. ^ Bruner, Louise (7 January 1968). "Columbus Show Depicts Blending of Cultures". The Blade. Toledo. Block Communications. p. 41. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Ceremony for New 2006 Christmas Stamp". High Plains Sentinel. Wright, Wyoming. 12 October 2006. p. 2. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  11. ^ "The Naval Academy Opening" (PDF). The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 11 September 1898. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  12. ^ "Annapolis Boat Crews: Preparing for Spring Contests with Columbia and Pennsylvania" (PDF). The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 22 January 1899. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Football at Annapolis: Naval Cadets Will Put a Strong Eleven in the Field for the Coming Season" (PDF). The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 8 September 1901. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  14. ^ "Alpha-Tau". Caduceus of Kappa Sigma. Charlottesville, Virginia: Kappa Sigma. 16: 303. 1901. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  15. ^ Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and Reserve Officers on Active Duty. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1903. p. 188. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  16. ^ "Photo #: NH 82511". Online Library of Selected Images. Washington, D.C.: Naval History & Heritage Command. 19 January 1999. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  17. ^ Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps and Reserve Officers on Active Duty. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1917. p. 305. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  18. ^ Official Congressional Serial Set. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1918. p. 264. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  19. ^ "Social Notes" (PDF). The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 3 July 1920. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  20. ^ Masterson, Daniel (1991). Militarism and Politics in Latin America: Peru from Sánchez Cerro to Sendero Luminoso. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 31. ISBN 0-313-27213-1. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  21. ^ "Peru". The Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 1922.
  22. ^ "Caduceus". Caduceus of Kappa Sigma. Charlottesville, Virginia: Kappa Sigma. 41 (1): 49. 1924. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  23. ^ "New Cruiser Delivered". The New York Times. New York City. The New York Times Company. 27 August 1929. p. 55.
  24. ^ "Naval Era Governors of Guam". Guampedia. Guam: University of Guam. 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  25. ^ Annual Report of the Secretary of the Navy. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1909. p. 567. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  26. ^ Hattori, Anne Perez (2004). Colonial Dis-ease: US Navy Health Policies and the Chamorros of Guam, 1898-1941. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824828080. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  27. ^ Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn: Brooklyn Eagle. 1911. p. 357.
  28. ^ "SERVICE WEDDINGS". Army and Navy Journal. June 27, 1908. p. 1184. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  29. ^ "Engracia Enriquetta Critcher Freyer, 27 August 1910–27 February 1977 (Age 66)". familysearch.org. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
Categories