Frary, Edward Harrison

The following data is extracted from Genealogy and Biography of Ontario County, New York.

(V) Edward Harrison, only son and second child of William Stoddard and Lydia Ann (Warren) Frary, was born at Lyndon, Cattaraugus county, New York, April 25, 1840. He received his education in the common schools and the Rushford Academy, from which he graduated. His occupations have been varied and successful ones. He has been farmer, carpenter, hardware clerk and census enumerator. Having always taken a decided interest in the public affairs of the town, and been a staunch supporter of Republican principles, he has been elected to fill a number of public offices. He was elected justice of the peace in 1887, and reelected in 1891-95-99-1903-07, his present term expiring in 1911. He was appointed collector of the Union Free School District, No. 1, Canandaigua, August, 1887, and with the exception of three years, has held the office continuously to the present time. He served as town collector 1869; constable, 1870-71-72-93; and as village collector, 1880-81.

His record during the civil war, while brief, is notable and creditable. He enlisted, August 15, 1863, in Company A, Ninety-seventh New York Volunteer Infantry, at a time when the struggle centered around Gettysburg. During the following winter his regiment suffered much loss by reason of cold and exposure, and they then went into camp west of Culpeper, Virginia, remaining there until May 4, 1864. They crossed the Rapidan river, and were in the thick of the fight which raged for the next few days. Mr. Frary was wounded in the same engagement in which General James S. Wadsworth was killed. A minie ball penetrated his neck, passing through his body in such a manner as to break a rib, injure the spinal cord, sever the nerve leading to the left arm, and finally passed through the upper part of the left lung. This happened just as the regiment fell back, and Mr. Frary was carried by his comrades for a mile or more till he became unconscious from loss of blood which was flowing freely from his nose and mouth, and was left on the field for dead. Toward nightfall he recovered consciousness, was carried back by stretcher-hearers, then by ambulance to the field hospital, whence, after a few days, he was transported by army wagon to Fredericksburg, Virginia. This journey caused him excruciating suffering, as the roads were in exceedingly bad condition, and the jolting of the wagon became almost intolerable. After three months spent in the Fort Schuyler General Hospital he received a furlough. As soon as strength would permit him to do so he rejoined the army, which was not until October, but as he was declared unfit for duty, he was discharged February 15, 1865. He returned home almost a helpless cripple. It was nearly a year before he recovered even a partial use of his left arm, for fifteen years he suffered from severe hemorrhages from the lungs, and for more than thirty years suffered almost constant pain in his spine and head, which at times became very nearly unbearable. Since 1893 his condition has in some respects improved, but, as he himself says, it is not so much what he did for his country as what he has suffered for it. While on picket duty in November, 1863, at Bristow Station, he was captured, and recaptured the same day by a cavalry scouting party. Mr. Frary is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has served as adjutant senior vicecommander and commander. He and his family are members of the Baptist church.

Mr. Frary married (first) at Canandaigua, New York, July 8, 1860, Emily A. Cross, a native of New York state. She was the daughter of Joseph and Fidelia (Babcock) Cross, who had children: William, Harkley, Emily A., Lemina, Abigail, Marilla and Alsadena. Mr. and Mrs. Frary had children : i. Nellie Ann, born July 2, 1861 ; died September 2, 1898. 2. Edward Warren, born July 11, 1863; married, 1886, Jennie Palmer. Children: i. Nina Belle, born in 1887; married, January, 1910, Roland Bellis. ii. Ethel Starr, born 1889; married, 1907, Howard Robinson, and has: Bessie, born in 1908. iii. Alice E., born 1897. iv. Warren E., born in 1902. v. Harold, born in 1907. 3. Minnie B., born November 25, 1865; married, 1896, Frank Dexter. Mr. Frary married (second) at Centerville, New York, June 17, 1896, Maryette Laura, daughter of Nelson and Alida (Vrooman) Farmer. Nelson Farmer was a farmer, a lieutenant in the New York State Militia, and died in 1883.

Source: Genealogy and Biography of Ontario County, New York

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